Any loyal Royal's ever take a European river cruise?

[dodgersmom]

DH and I are very loyal to RC. But, looking for a different experience so wondering if anyone has taken a river cruise in Europe.

 

We did the Med 2 years ago and loved it. I'm looking at a Viking cruise 12 day Paris to Prague in October 2017. We are a youngish couple me 52, DH 50. Would we be bored?

 

I know there is a Viking board, but interested in the opinions of people who are familiar with Royal.

 

 

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Edited April 6, 2016 by dodgersmom

[SC_Floaters]

Sue & I have never done a river cruise, however, we are booked On Avalon's Christmas Holidays cruise Leaving Amsterdam 10 DEC 2016, going down the Rhine to Basel, Switzerland.

 

We are looking forward to it..

 

Dennis & Sue

[Illmaxict]

never done one, but I've heard they are wonderful. so long as your expectations aren't linked to a monster ship i suppose.

[dln929]

DH and I are very loyal to RC. But, looking for a different experience so wondering if anyone has taken a river cruise in Europe.

 

We did the Med 2 years ago and loved it. I'm looking at a Viking cruise 12 day Paris to Prague in October 2017. We are a youngish couple me 52, DH 50. Would we be bored?

 

I know there is a Viking board, but interested in the opinions of people who are familiar with Royal.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

We're Diamond on Royal (D+ by end of year) and we took our first river cruise last November to visit the Christmas Markets. We're just a few years older than you, and no we were not bored! It was pretty wonderful. Is there anything in particular you were interested in, in the way of similarities and differences? I'll be happy to answer any questions!

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Just booked our 1st river cruise yesterday.......Viking Grand European.....July 15, 2016. 15 nights Budapest to Amsterdam. We're PC with Royal and have been cruising since 1987. Really excited to experience this amazing itinerary.

[Ontario Cruiser]

We just booked Avalon Oct 5th 2016 Bucharest to Vienna. OntarioCruiser

[Missus Makkem]

We are trying our first River cruise next month and are really looking forward to it.

Off down the Danube and the differences will be interesting but so far the company have been great.

[SonicShip]

DH and I are very loyal to RC. But, looking for a different experience so wondering if anyone has taken a river cruise in Europe.

 

We did the Med 2 years ago and loved it. I'm looking at a Viking cruise 12 day Paris to Prague in October 2017. We are a youngish couple me 52, DH 50. Would we be bored?

 

I know there is a Viking board, but interested in the opinions of people who are familiar with Royal.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I have done the Viking Danube Waltz last year. One thing that is different than ocean cruising is that EVERY day is a port day.up early to go on tours every day. You get Most people go to their cabins early, so no late nights.

 

The ships are very small and long. There is a lot of noise. You go by cities and through locks.

 

Overall I enjoyed the cruise. I had been to most of the cities before but got to see different things.

 

Make sure not to book in the summer month such as July. The rivers go low and they bus people around instead of the boat.

 

Yes I would do it again but not do a tour in every port and sleep in.

[mattR]

What do they usually have for entertainment and activity's on the ship?

Edited April 6, 2016 by mattR

[lakemurraykid]

A couple of years ago we did a Viking cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland going down the Rhine river. We had two other couples with us and we're all in our 60's. One of the couples had done another cruise down the Danube. We were not impressed and did not like the food at all.The ships are long and narrow in order to accommodate the locks. The cabins are tiny because of this unless you have a suite. In the evening after dinner it seemed that everyone went to bed. There was a small group of maybe 10 or 12 that stayed up til midnight, but we were the only ones. We will never take another one as we got bored. :mad:

[samplergal]

My husband and I went on a Viking River Cruise in 2009 from Amsterdam to Budapest and love it. It was a easy way to see Germany, Austria and Hungry. The food was great . At that time most of the excursions were included. i believe only 2 optional ones were available.The ship served dishes local to the area. We also bought the drink package. There is not allot of entertainment on board. There was nightly music in the lounge. We often had on board culture experiences and lectures--glass blowing demos, Viennese coffee making, German streusel and folk dancing. We found the rooms a little smaller than a E1 on a cruise ship. But the bathrooms were good size with a normal size shower with a glass door not a time capsule. At the end we took the train from Budapest to Prague. Prague is a very walk-able and easy city to do on your own.

 

We are doing a Christmas Market cruise on Viking in Dec going from Nuremberg to Budapest. This time we do have a daily included excursion but each day there are several optional excursion offered in each port. Not buying the drink package this time as wine,beer and soda are included with lunch and dinner.

 

Mary

[Trekker954]

My daughter and I are D+ and my son and DIL are Ds and have been pretty loyal to Royal, although we now try all the new ships when they come to So Fl if they have a shortie itinerary.

 

River cruises are really different. We love Europe, so the four of us (my kids 32, 30, and 27), are booked on the Christmas Market Amastella, the new ship, (Nuremberg to Budapest) with a pre cruise 5 nights in Munich and 3 nights in Prague and a couple days in Budapest post cruise. No, I don't think you are too old. This was my kids idea and I think I read the average age of river cruisers are between 45-55 years old. Excursions are pretty much included each stop and its very port intensive. Our ship booats they have excursions from each port at three different levels, one is called slow walkers and the highest does hikes and such. I hope to be in the middle group while the kids who knows. They also have bikes on board to use, which I would have enjoyed had it not been winter.

[linkerbink]

Yes...my sister, husband and I did a Danube Christmas Market cruise on Amadeus. It was wonderful, a completely different experience and change of pace. It was really neat to sit by a window and watch the countryside glide past. We loved it so much we will be going on AmaWaterways from Paris to the Normandy beaches this coming November. But we also have 3 more Royal cruises coming up.

[CapeCodCruiser]

I can't even imagine a river cruise nor a Med cruise! We do auto & rail in Europe and create our own itinerary & not-schedule!

 

We land in a city with carry on only luggage, activate a rail pass and GO! We stay as long or short in a place as we like. We stay a month - next year it will be two months.

 

I have to agree about the river boats - the cabins a tiny unless you lay out the REALLY big bucks for the premium ones. They are not at all about the boat but the stops - do not expect much in the way of activities on the boat itself. While I have not been on one I have researched them heavily and every time realized I could have MUCH more vacation for the buck by doing it on land.

 

Some people prefer on way while others prefer another - thank goodness we have choices.