Favorite Itinerary?

[Luvcrusin']

We are planning to take our parents on a River Cruise in the spring or fall of 2006. What we are looking for are recommendations from others who have done this. Best itinerary (in your opinion). We are open to all!

 

Thank you!

kathy

[brisbane]

I have to presume that your parents are maybe 50+ - otherwise you may be incredibly rich. ANyway we just did Basel to Amsterdam on the Rhine for 7 days on Uniworld. It was a superb trip and can only recommend them.

 

However!!! There are some difficulties if your parents are not agile. Some of the ports along the way are difficult to walk around. There was plenty of walking tours at each port but these sometimes required you to negotiate some steep banks to the roadways and some kilometres of walking along cobblestones lanes etc - and sometimes quite a bit of standing and staring.

 

There were some people on our cruise who had difficulty but the crew were always extremely helpful and cognisant of providing safe entry and exit from the boat. You can exit the walking tours at any point and go your own way. A couple of people were quite happy to remain on board - most of the Rhine is worth looking at. I also notice that Uniworld(Trafalgar) are providing more short trips in 2006. For myself I thought the 7 days was sufficient. The River Queens also had n elevator on board.

 

If you stop anywhere and there is a cable ride up the hills and mountains then take it because you get very good pictures from up high.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Wild Blue Yonder]

Hi Kathy, we went on the Magnificent Europe river cruise this past May and had a great time exploring the cities and small towns by the Rhine River and the Danube - every day brought another fairy tale setting to life. It was the most relaxing and rewarding way to visit Europe, plus we had the luxury of having a supportive and congenial ship crew and a great dessert buffet at hand!

 

We were lucky to have ship mates who shared many of our interests (art history, food and wine, bridge, silly limericks!) so we were never bored. Time really did fly by.

 

By the way, we booked through UET after researching prices. In addition, the UET people were very helpful and informative and quick to respond to our questions.

 

Bon voyage!

[unberwoob]

I would suggest the Budapest to Prague itinerary. It combines three large cities, Prague, Vienna, and Budapest, each different and interesting, and several small cities like Passau, Nuremburg, Regensburg, and Melk which give the flavor of old Europe. There is also wonderful cruising past small villages and scenic countryside.

I would recommend Avalon first and Uniworld second. Also, I suggest adding days in Prague and Budapest. In my opinion, seven days is way too short and will make you wish you had more time. Since airfare is a major portion of the cost, it pays to stay longer.

Hope you find a good trip.

[easy dad]

Kathy,

 

We have taken both the Basel to Amsterdam cruise on Uniworld and the Budapest to Prague cruise on Avalon. We enjoyed both. On the Budapest to Prague Avalon cruise, your parents will unpack and pack three times: Budapest hotel, ship, and Prague hotel. On the Basel to Amsterdam Uniworld cruise, they will unpack & pack once on the ship. Just one consideration.

 

Highlight of the Uniworld Rhine cruise was Brugge. In Europe, Rome, Lucerne, Venice, Prague, Budapest, Salzburg, Heidelberg, Durnstein, Dordrecht ...are all beautiful. But Brugge is spectacular.

 

Easy dad

[tban]

Kathy,

 

we went on the Legendary Danube cruise from Prague to Budapest aboard the Symphony. The cruise was just memorable. Everything was perfect; the itinerary, the ship, the friendly crew, the food (especialy breakfast) our fellow travellers and also the weather (beginning of June). We only regretted not having booked some extra nights in Prague at the beginning of the tour. This should be absolutely done, since the regular itinerary does not give you the amount of time this city deserves. Along the way we met other "cruisers" from other ships. I do not think I ever heard any complains, no matter whether they were going with Uniworld, Deilman or Avalon etc. However there is one thing that distinguishes the cruises --- the price. You might safe substancially by shopping around. I found that online tour operators were the most competitive. We discovered UET on the internet and booked with them since their price was the best. And one more advice --- don't book the lowest deck cabin category, unless you don't care staring at a concrete wall when the ship is docked or passes through one of the many locks. I think the more costs of a higher deck cabin are well worth it. Have fun !