New to river cruising

[MarciAnn]

My husband and I are in our late fifties and are considering a river cruise. We have cruised Seabourn many times and love its service and amenities. Which river cruise line will give us the most similar experience with passengers closest to our age?

[diane.in.ny]

I would suggest checking out AMA Waterways.

[franski]

I have not travelled with Seabourn - but understand it is fairly "high end" with lots of little luxuries/extras included.

 

If you want the luxury, I would suggest you look at Scenic or Uniworld. Both are, for the most part, all inclusive - and take pride in ensuring that the details are handled smoothly. I understand that Tauck is also quite luxurious.

 

As far as age group goes, Scenic might be your best bet. We (DH & I) are in our late 50s, and are often among the youngest demographic on board, This doesn't bother us particularly - as the other passengers are usually well travelled - so we find lots to talk about. We found that the demographic on our last Scenic cruise was a bit younger than what we have experienced on other cruises.

 

Many here find the decor on Uniworld is a bit "over the top" for person taste. It doesn't bother us - and I have found that it is less garish in person.

 

Have fun planning!!

 

Fran

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

I would Highly recommend Scenic Tours. You get a whole lot more for the amount of money invested.

All Have Private Butlers

Daily Restocking of Mini Bar with Wine,Beer, and Top Shelf Alcohol

Limo Transfers between either ship if you fly in the day of or to your hotel if you fly in early

All Gratuities included even that of Tour Guides

Scenic Sun Lounge that at a push of a Button converts Balcony Enclosure with a Clear Paine of Glass

Scenic Riverview - GPS activated expert commentary

Multi choices of different excursions while in port

and on and on.

Would highly recommend as Pure Luxury all The Way.

Oh for an explorer Suite on Viking compared to Royal Panorama Suite on Scenic $10,000 cheaper. Same Itinerary same time of year. Plus Viking wanted money up front by like 16 months prior to sailing as compared to 90 days prior to sailing

The Royal Panorama Suite Currently The Largest on The River 475Sq. Ft.

Oh Heated Floors in Bathroom

Tub and Shower in Suite

 

 

Just to give you some idea.

Have a Nice Day

Gary

[JVilleGal]

My research says Tauck :)

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

My research says Tauck :)

 

Hello Kathleen and a Happy Mothers Day to you. Are you getting excited yet? Won't be long now.

Oh I have reserved a private Salon Boat in Amsterdam for our first evening there as to get our anniversary Cruise Started off in A Romantic Evening Wine and Dinner Cruise. The Lieve is the ship and she shall come right up The Keizersgracht Canal and pick us up in front of The Toren.

 

[JVilleGal]

Sounds wonderful!!!! Make sure you do everything the doctor says....

[Canal archive]

I to recommend Scenic, all inclusive Butler for all cabins and loads of excursion choices, staff fantastic. The passenger range is Australian, Canadian, American and British the Aussies certainly make the cruises work, friendly wise although we have made many friends across all nationalities. The age range well just lets say that it doesn't matter when everyone is together why worry, good food, convivial atmosphere, great staff, enjoy.

CA

[caviargal]

IMO you would likely be happy with Tauck, Uniworld or AMA, depending on your preference for how inclusive you prefer the cruise to be as well as your stateroom preference.

 

Tauck is considered by many to be the most luxurious of the river cruise lines but we have not chosen them as they offer more inclusions that what we are interested in. We enjoy a good bit of independence on our river cruises and would not utilize many of the inclusions Tauck provides. Paying for components we will not use does not make sense to us so it is very unlikely we will ever sail with them.

 

Uniworld is well regarded but you need to take a close look at their boats. Only the newer Uniworld vessels have what IMO are good sized cabins, unless you book a suite. I personally would not be ok with a 128 sq ft or so cabin for a week. Even 150 is small for us.

 

Our preference is AMA; we are Oceania cruisers, and have never cruised with Seabourn and AMA is a very similar level of overall quality, comfort and style. We took our first river cruise when I was not yet 50 and still are always among the youngest on board.

 

We appreciate the variety of excursions AMA includes, geared towards various fitness levels as well as interests. We love their twin balcony cabins, consistent quality of food and service and uniformly warm and professional staff and crew.

 

I don't think Vantage, Viking, GCT would be upscale enough for you, nor would Avalon who IMO offers an experience more comparable to RCI.

 

I have heard good things about Scenic and may try them one of these days. We really have no interest in butler service on a river cruise (we like to be enjoying the destination as much as possible) and it is a more inclusive line than we prefer, with pricing to match.

[Canal archive]

We used our butler on our first two cruises but not on on our third, our room steward on all our cruses cleaned and refurbished our cabin at least twice a day. The Scenic Taylormaid devices ensured that you can either do your own thing or follow the always superb Scenic guides. Check the itinerary of the various cruise companies and what is included. Some say one company is more expensive than another but decided what you want, river cruiser has quite a good comparison guide.

CA

[Hydrokitty]

My research says Tauck :)

 

I would agree with you Jville Gal.....Tauck is very high end and while I've never traveled with, I have family members that did and they loved it.... I would also look at Asmara or Regent. I'm pretty sure both of them do river cruises now.

[Got2Cruise]

According to the taxi driver in Amsterdam, Tauck is the top of the line. They choose the best for their pax and don't nickel and dime on anything. This has been confirmed by past pax of Tauck. What impressed me is that I recall that one reviewer reported that they needed to use a public lavatory and the tour guide gave each of them the coins to use the lavatory. It might have only been 50 cents, but everything is included, including that.

 

I also notice that Tauck uses a higher end hotel for pre and post stay extensions than other cruise lines.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I would agree with you Jville Gal.....Tauck is very high end and while I've never traveled with, I have family members that did and they loved it.... I would also look at Asmara or Regent. I'm pretty sure both of them do river cruises now.

 

I'm fairly certain that neither Regent nor Azamara does river cruises.

[Ozjohnno]

According to the taxi driver in Amsterdam, Tauck is the top of the line. They choose the best for their pax and don't nickel and dime on anything. This has been confirmed by past pax of Tauck. What impressed me is that I recall that one reviewer reported that they needed to use a public lavatory and the tour guide gave each of them the coins to use the lavatory. It might have only been 50 cents, but everything is included, including that.

 

I also notice that Tauck uses a higher end hotel for pre and post stay extensions than other cruise lines.

 

I can confirm the above because I was that Tauck guest. I said on another thread that I admit I am biased but by my standards I believe that Tauck is the best value for money because before you leave home you've paid for everything and yes it is a pleasant surprise to find that even includes a 50 cent coin to pay for the Loo.

 

There are a number of very good river cruise companies and I'm sure you'll enjoy what ever cruise you choose.

 

Rod

[Host Jazzbeau]

In terms of age groups, Emerald (a new subsidiary of Scenic) is aiming for a younger demographic. They are too new to have very many reviews here, so I don't know how it's working out. But their marketing vibe is certainly younger than the other lines.

[caviargal]

I would agree with you Jville Gal.....Tauck is very high end and while I've never traveled with, I have family members that did and they loved it.... I would also look at Asmara or Regent. I'm pretty sure both of them do river cruises now.

 

Azamara and Regent do not offer river cruises. Perhaps you are thinking of Viking who recently got into the ocean cruise business as well as domestic river cruises?

[JVilleGal]

She must be thinking of Viking! I cruise a Regent and just booked Azamara (no river trips on either).

[jpalbny]

I've been getting e-mail and snail mail from Celebrity very recently, which is advertising their new package deals. These appear to be combination journeys, consisting of an ocean cruise and a river cruise after or before. For instance, a Med cruise on X, followed by a Danube cruise, all in the same trip. X doesn't own the river boat, but it's selling the river cruise.

 

I have not seen this type of deal (yet) from Azamara or Regent, but you never know. X still owns Azamara, right? I wonder if this is the type of deal that Hydrokitty is referring to.

[caviargal]

Interesting. I am Elite with X but don't cruise with them so have not paid attention to their emails.

 

This could be similar to Globus who resells Louis as part of their Greek Island packages. Louis is pretty modest in terms of quality and amenities and I often wondered why Globus choose such a low end ocean cruise product to bundle with their tours.

[Hydrokitty]

She must be thinking of Viking! I cruise a Regent and just booked Azamara (no river trips on either).

 

J'Ville and Caviargal: Nope, wasn't thinking of Viking...I remember now, it was my chiropractor who sails on Azamara frequently, loves them and then said he booked a river cruise and I just assumed we were still talking about the same company. Apparently not. :D I would agree with everyone else, Tauck is probably the best of them all for luxury cruising.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Hydrokitty

[MarciAnn]

Thanks to all of you for your advice! I think I will look at Tauck and Scenic.