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Considering River Cruising...

GLOCKer

By GLOCKer,
in River Cruising

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Hoyaheel

Hoyaheel

Posted
Posted (edited)

I doubt people were smoking IN the lounge - that's not allowed. Rather, the lounge (at least on Avalon) is one of the entrance/exits to the outside smoking area. So no, you cannot control people going in and out of the ship to smoke where they are allowed to smoke. And the smell can either linger on a person's clothing or blow in when the doors are opened.

 

(on a similar note, I've mentioned before that my husband and I were often the only people who ventured to the upper/outside deck on our December Christmas Market cruise. Each time we used the door in the forward lounge, people who were sitting RIGHT NEXT to the door would give us nasty looks. Really? You don't want to be cold, maybe don't sit RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE DOOR THAT PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO USE. Yes, that upset me a little:rolleyes:)

Edited by Hoyaheel
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Hoyaheel

Hoyaheel

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On Avalon ALL smoking is confined to a couple small spaces at the back of the ship.

 

Yes, but smells migrate sometimes. It just happens. From what I've read here and in various brochures, all river cruises marketed to english speaking passengers (American, British, Australia) have only one or two small outdoor smoking areas.

 

However - wind conditions, ventilation systems, who has their window and/or balconies open - these variables can all play a role in smoke being smelled inside a boat....

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JVilleGal

JVilleGal

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Yes, but smells migrate sometimes. It just happens. From what I've read here and in various brochures, all river cruises marketed to english speaking passengers (American, British, Australia) have only one or two small outdoor smoking areas.

 

However - wind conditions, ventilation systems, who has their window and/or balconies open - these variables can all play a role in smoke being smelled inside a boat....

 

Actually because 98% of the smoking by 4 passengers happened while we are under way there is literally little chance of the smoke or smell entering the boat at all. And I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke and frankly intolerant of rude smokers....

 

Our smokers once again smoked off the boat or on the back while the ship was underway, no chance for that smoke to travel anywhere but behind us when sailing at 8 knots!!

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josumello

josumello

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We did our one and only river cruise a few years ago. We were both late 60s among the youngest on board. Frankly age really isn't a factor for us but I must admit this cruise was pretty quiet. Another thing we didn't care for were the excursions. Too many town squares and cathedrals. After a while they lose their luster. As far as wandering into town at night that isn't possible very often. Many nights you are traveling to next port or the dock location isn't ideal. On our Rhine castle tour there was only one port where the was feasible. The scenery was beautiful during our daytime cruising!! I would definitely do a land tour before another river cruise. They are just too limiting for us and I hate to admit it,boring. Just another perspective on River cruising. On more thing that we didn't like was 3,4,5 ships tied up next to each other and that u had to walk thru these ships to get to the pier.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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We did our one and only river cruise a few years ago. We were both late 60s among the youngest on board. Frankly age really isn't a factor for us but I must admit this cruise was pretty quiet. Another thing we didn't care for were the excursions. Too many town squares and cathedrals. After a while they lose their luster. As far as wandering into town at night that isn't possible very often. Many nights you are traveling to next port or the dock location isn't ideal. On our Rhine castle tour there was only one port where the was feasible. The scenery was beautiful during our daytime cruising!! I would definitely do a land tour before another river cruise. They are just too limiting for us and I hate to admit it,boring. Just another perspective on River cruising. On more thing that we didn't like was 3,4,5 ships tied up next to each other and that u had to walk thru these ships to get to the pier.

 

Sorry you didn't enjoy it as much as the rest of us on this thread do...but it's not for everybody and the points you raise are accurate....we just don't mind them so much:D We did our last land tour about 10 years ago with Trafalgar...it was the Best of France and it certainly was, we didn't miss anything, but when we got home after almost 3 weeks traveling by bus we both agreed....NEVER AGAIN!!! We went on our first river cruise and have been on 8 so far....but I can see where it's not for everybody.

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Got2Cruise "Live from...." Rare

Got2Cruise

Posted
Posted
We did our one and only river cruise a few years ago. We were both late 60s among the youngest on board. Frankly age really isn't a factor for us but I must admit this cruise was pretty quiet. Another thing we didn't care for were the excursions. Too many town squares and cathedrals. After a while they lose their luster. As far as wandering into town at night that isn't possible very often. Many nights you are traveling to next port or the dock location isn't ideal. On our Rhine castle tour there was only one port where the was feasible. The scenery was beautiful during our daytime cruising!! I would definitely do a land tour before another river cruise. They are just too limiting for us and I hate to admit it,boring. Just another perspective on River cruising. On more thing that we didn't like was 3,4,5 ships tied up next to each other and that u had to walk thru these ships to get to the pier.

 

 

Well that is the history of the Rhine. Each town built a huge cathedral to display their wealth and power. But each individual town is unique. This summer hubby and I sailed the Mediterranean. Many of the stops were walled cities with forts to climb. This is living history.

 

On our River Cruises there were many pax younger than late sixties.

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Hoyaheel

Hoyaheel

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Actually because 98% of the smoking by 4 passengers happened while we are under way there is literally little chance of the smoke or smell entering the boat at all. And I am extremely sensitive to cigarette smoke and frankly intolerant of rude smokers....

 

Our smokers once again smoked off the boat or on the back while the ship was underway, no chance for that smoke to travel anywhere but behind us when sailing at 8 knots!!

 

Well, as I posted earlier and is mentioned in the other CCer's review I posted, we did have occasional cigarette smells in our cabins. On Avalon. Some cabins more than others. As with docking locations and cruise directors, it's hard to know what's actually going to take place on each itinerary as the voyages will all be different.

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Host Jazzbeau Great Review Rare

Host Jazzbeau

Posted
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I can only post my experience, 4 smokers all extremely considerate and no cigarette smell of any kind.

We did wake up to the smell of Bacon one morning !

 

Today is Back To The Future day [as Casey Stengel used to say, "You could look it up"], and there is one long-ago prediction that I would welcome: Smellovision -- not for movies, but for alarm clocks! I would gladly awaken to the smell of Bacon every morning!

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donnasworld

donnasworld

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We were scheduled to go on our first river cruise last month. We have previously been on several ocean cruises. The cruise was from Budapest to Bonn on Vantage although for this discussion, the cruise line itself is not relevant. As I started looking at the planned individual port itineraries they did not match what I was looking for, particularly the time in port. We like to research unique and off the beaten track places to visit on our travels as this is where we have had our most memorable experiences. On this itinerary, it was pretty much the highlights, which is certainly fine, but not what we were looking for. We also very much enjoy spending our evenings relaxing in quiet pubs or restaurants, preferably with nice views. This would not have been possible on this (or I guess any) cruise.

 

I then started to look at the costs of the cruise and compared it to what it would cost to do it on our own including adding visiting other nearby places that were not part of the cruise itinerary. I took into consideration that when we cruise we normally spend a few days before and after the cruise exploring the areas around the embarkation and disembarkation ports. Since this was a special occasion cruise (retirement) we had the luxury of having more time than we normally have when we travel.

 

I will not go into all the details but we decided to go for broke and spent six weeks in Europe. We stayed in nice places, mostly apartments but some hotels and spent about 3-4 days in each place including visiting almost all of the ports on our original itinerary plus adding places like Krakow (wonderful city!) and Munich. We travelled by train in some areas but also rented a car for about three weeks. We enjoyed late mornings in our apartment and late evenings in places like Budapest, Vienna, Krakow, and many more. We saw a lot and took our time doing it. We were able to do this for what it would have cost us to do the original two week cruise we had booked. Probably less because if we had gone on the cruise we would still have eaten out half of the time.

 

To be fair, this worked for us because of the type of activities we planned on doing and the fact that we were able to do them on our own. Sometimes this is not possible. As an example, we just booked a cruise on Oceania that will circumnavigate Australia. There is no way we could replicate this on our own and we are very excited about this cruise. We also have a cruise planned in Myanmar next year because we feel it would be much more complicated to do it on our own. Another factor is age and health. We are in our early sixties and in good health. I have no doubt that as we age or if health becomes an issue, a cruise like the one we had originally planned will be very attractive. However at this point in our lives and with all due respect for other points of view, for us, I believe there are much better options at least in Europe, than exploring by cruise ship.

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caviargal

caviargal

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Posted

 

 

I will not go into all the details but we decided to go for broke and spent six weeks in Europe.

 

How nice to have 6 weeks to spend in Europe! We both work full time and have responsibilities at home that make 2 weeks our absolute limit.

 

<However at this point in our lives and with all due respect for other points of view, for us, I believe there are much better options at least in Europe, than exploring by cruise ship.>

 

For you, that is clearly the case. And we love independent land trips as well. For those that are less independent and also have time constraints, the trip that worked best for you would not be a better option.

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Hoyaheel

Hoyaheel

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I can only post my experience, 4 smokers all extremely considerate and no cigarette smell of any kind.

 

Likewise, just reporting my own experience, which was different, which is why I noted you can't really say it will be one way or another because it's going to vary by trip.

 

We're back to our favorite travel- city based explorations, staying in apartments. NYC in July and London in January. Had hoped for December but I have two business trips to China, 2 1/2 weeks apart in Nov & Dec. Ah well.

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need2travel1

need2travel1

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Hi Glocker,

Just wanted to chime in w/ our 2 cents, we went on our 1st river cruise in July 2014, I was 43 & my husband 45. We had no problems at all w/ age differences between other cruisers and us, in fact our favorite 2 couples to hang out with were in their 70's. It's really all about similar interests & going to & seeing the things & places that you've always wanted to see.

 

The lack of entertainment after dinner didn't bother us, we just enjoyed watching the French countryside float by from the sundeck while drinking glasses of champagne.

 

We traveled w/ Uniworld & loved the whole trip from start to finish. We are starting to research our next river cruise & it will be on either Uniworld again or on Tauck (we are huge fans of theirs, we've done 9 land trips w/ them).

 

Enjoy your planning!

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

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Well lucky for you all, we only got Bacon (smells) one morning in the 15 we were onboard :)

 

Don't misunderstand, I don't doubt that you smelled bacon cooking...I just don't understand how because in all of my cruises and having a cabin on the same floor as the dining room..I have never smelled ANYTHING good or bad at any time coming from the kitchen....and believe me had I smelled fish at all, I would have noticed!!! I never even got a whiff of good smells...you know like cake or rolls! :D

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Di Princess

Di Princess

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Well lucky for you all, we only got Bacon (smells) one morning in the 15 we were onboard.

 

Every Wednesday from 10 AM to 11 AM, I take a Yoga class at the JACC (Japanese-American Cultural Centre) in Pacoima (San Fernando Valley). About half way through the class, I start smelling bacon. It is an ethnic neighborhood (Mexican and Asian). I don't know why they are eating breakfast so late. :eek:

 

Unless I am eating it, the smell is awful! I love bacon; however, not when exercising on just a cup of coffee. (I get gas if I eat first.)

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