Ocean cruiser need river cruising Tips

[rhsjr]

We have cruised on Princess and Holland America Line's many times. We would now like to try a river cruise. Can you give us some tips please.

We have always done balconies or mini suites. Can you suggest certain size suites on a river cruise ship, also forward, mid-ship, or aft. Also

any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[steverhodes]

We have cruised on Princess and Holland America Line's many times. We would now like to try a river cruise. Can you give us some tips please.

We have always done balconies or mini suites. Can you suggest certain size suites on a river cruise ship, also forward, mid-ship, or aft. Also

any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

 

I've done 5 river and 1 ocean. All Viking.

 

I always recommend the Veranda Rooms which are very nice but if you'd like more space the Veranda Suites have 2 rooms and cost about 40% more I think. I could be off a bit on pricing.

 

On a river boat it will be just as smooth regardless of your cabin location so I recommend getting closer to the center only so things like lounge and restaurant will be closer.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to river cruising! Many people love it so much that it becomes their top choice. But some experienced ocean cruisers find that river cruising is not their cup of tea at all.

 

First off, you need to recalibrate your expectations from ocean cruising to river cruising. As a recent review in the Wall Street Journal pointed out "the Subaru Impreza and the Ferrari Lusso have a lot in common. The Ferrari is powered by a 680-hp V12 engine. The Subaru also has an engine."

 

In that spirit, ocean ships and river ships both have cabins. On ocean ships "forward, mid-ship, or aft" is very important. On river ships that is usually irrelevant. River ships have 4 types of cabins: (1) window [aka Aquarium Class] -- on ocean ships these might be called 'ocean view' except there is no ocean to view and these cabins are on the lowest deck of a river ship so the view is of a swan's nether parts and the sky -- but they provide terrific value because most sightseeing is done from the top deck so you don't need a view from your cabin; (2) French balcony -- the entire outside wall of your cabin is glass, with a sliding part that opens up either the right half or the top half [depending on design] so you can get fresh air and stick your neck out -- these are located on the two middle decks; (3) Real balcony -- similar to what you are used to on ocean ships except there is much less opportunity to take advantage of the balcony, especially when two river ships are 'rafted' next to each other and your balcony abuts the neighbor ship -- and often the balcony area is stolen from the space of your cabin -- often on the top cabin deck, just below the exercise track; (4) Suites -- smaller than you are used to on ocean ships and less usable since you will be off the ship all day most days -- also located on the top deck.

 

What would be relevant to check is the size of the cabins, since different river cruise lines have cabins that range from extremely small to quite spacious. Another spec worth checking is the number of passengers -- almost all river ships are the same width and most new builds are 135m in length, but they range from 110 passengers [Crystal] to 190 passengers [Viking]. The more passengers, the more crowded the ship will feel.

 

Shore excursions are generally included [another difference from ocean cruises] and will seem similar as you read most river cruise line brochures -- until you get on board and find that some lines include all the options in the basic fare while others charge extra for the nicer ones.

 

Food is a big variable -- at least if you are a foodie -- that distinguishes the better lines from the pack. Same with the included wine at lunch and dinner: generic plonk versus decent crus that reflect the itinerary.

 

One final point: because river ships hold so few passengers, dis-economies of scale mean that all river cruises are more expensive than comparable ocean cruises. Keep this in mind when you look at the lowest priced river cruises: they must be saving money somewhere to counter those fixed costs.

[caviargal]

There is excellent info and comparisons between ocean and river lines in the Stickies at the top of this forum. I found them to be very accurate.

 

Jazz's comments are right on target and whether you will enjoy a river cruise depends on your travel style and expectations for the trip.

 

When we ocean cruise (rare these days) we choose upscale lines and smaller ships. Oceania is a favorite and we are trying Ponant this summer to Croatia. We used to cruise with HAL and liked them but it has been at least 8 years since our last HAL cruise and now their ships are just too large for us.

 

AMA is our line of choice as it offers the things most important to us: Well designed ships that handle extreme water conditions well; comfortable staterooms; outstanding staff and crew; very good food and service; extensive range of included excursions including active options; good local entertainment in the evenings; good quality included wines. We really enjoy their twin balcony staterooms as we use our personal outdoor space quite a bit.

 

We have also had positive experiences with Uniworld and Scenic and would sail with either line again.

Edited June 7, 2017 by caviargal

[Got2Cruise]

I have taken both ocean cruises and river cruises. It's like comparing apples and oranges. Two very different type vacations. The first thing to do is throw away any thinking that a river cruise is anything like an ocean cruise because it's not.

 

Read the stickies that describe the various lines. If a larger cabin is important to you read the descriptions of the square footage of the cabins very carefully. Also know that when docked your rc ship might be tied up to another ship. You might have no view whatsoever from your balcony at times. That said a rivercruise is an intimate sized vessel which gives you special experiences that are not possible with ocean cruising. My hubby would never go back to ocean cruising. I love both.

 

 

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[lackcreativity]

Be forewarned that river cruising can be adversely affected by river levels: too low, and ships may not be able to sail, too high and the ships may not be able to fit under the bridges. Each cruise line has its own way of dealing with these issues. Sometimes cruises may be canceled. Sometimes there may be a "ship swap", and while you are out touring your belongings will be transferred to the same cabin on a sister ship further along the river. There may be bus tours involved in these adjustments. Some ships have a shallower "draft" (is this the right term?) so they can sail in lower water levels than other ships.

 

Ocean cruises may of course be affected by weather as well, with missed ports and altered itineraries.

We have done one Viking river and one Viking ocean cruise, and loved them both.

[steverhodes]

Welcome to river cruising! Many people love it so much that it becomes their top choice. But some experienced ocean cruisers find that river cruising is not their cup of tea at all.

 

First off, you need to recalibrate your expectations from ocean cruising to river cruising. As a recent review in the Wall Street Journal pointed out "the Subaru Impreza and the Ferrari Lusso have a lot in common. The Ferrari is powered by a 680-hp V12 engine. The Subaru also has an engine."

 

Having done both and much preferring river cruising, I have another view of the differences.

 

An Ocean liner is like a large floating hotel filled with amenities to pamper your every need. But, like a hotel, there is no sense of community, just a bunch of people in rooms who might never even see each twice in a week.

 

A river ship quickly becomes a community of friends off together on one common adventure. The enjoyment comes more from the commraderie more than the amenities.

 

That's my take.

[deec]

We took a Viking Ocean and found it more intimate than the experiences we had on some of the other bigger ships...there is conversation between tables of strangers on Viking thus creating a little more feel of community but nothing like what you get on a River Cruise. We often shared tours with the same people however there were people we saw once and literally never saw again!

 

For us right now it comes down to WHERE in the world do we want to go and how do we get there without unpacking 10 times for a 3 week adventure!!!

[jklc123]

rhsjr

 

As you probably realize, river cruises are port intensive, with excursions every day at one or more ports and no sea days, so not as relaxing as ocean cruises can be. We've always cruised, ocean and river, because we wanted to experience a particular part of the world without moving from hotel to hotel. I have friends who ocean cruise mostly for the on-board options and don't much care where they are cruising. River cruising is not for them, but it is definitely our way to go!

[notamermaid]

Hello rhsjr,

 

great advice from the previous posters. I just want to pick up on two points mentioned before. 1. size of ship / size of cabin: while most new boats are 135m there are a few exceptions - one being the new-built 125m Uniworld ship on the Seine to fit in with authorities' docking specifications there and the Crystal Mozart on the Danube with double width (and added luxury making the cabins larger than any other river cruise vessel can do) restricting its itineraries to where the locks will allow passage. The cabin size is (apart from on the Crystal Mozart) not a thing that depends on the ships size that much and it varies from ship to ship and company to company, also sometimes river to river. The ships that are of 110m - and they can also be new or new-ish - do not neccesarily have smaller cabins. Which leads me to my 2. point: draft is quite naturally shallower with the 110m ships, it can be make or break in a low water situation. But all companies have plan B's for the water level related problems - see post further above. For flooding this does not matter that much - unless a low bridge gets in the way - as authorities then determine when a river is safe to sail or not.

 

From that a thought springs to mind not yet mentioned in previous posts - season. Choose carefully - certain rivers are more prone to flooding or low water and at slightly different times of the year. You can try and avoid it but accept that it is also luck as such occurences change from year to year. You might prefer a certain climate or want to see certain seasons.

 

Have fun planning.

 

notamermaid

[sunsetbeachgal]

I am also a frequent ocean cruiser (like you OP primarily on Princess and Holland America) took my first river cruise last year. My advice even before discussing specific cabin types is to start off by choosing a shorter river cruise. There are many that are 7 nights and you could do hotel stays in the cities at either end to explore the cities more in depth. We did the Rhine cruise and stayed in Switzerland for a week prior and then Amsterdam post cruise.

 

Not everyone likes river cruising. It is completely different from ocean cruising. We have booked a second river cruise but our traveling companions who are also frequent ocean cruisers did not care for it and will stick to ocean cruising or land vacations. There was a recent thread on these boards by an ocean cruiser who tried river cruising with a two week plus river cruise and did not like it and did not feel it was worth the money.

 

Try it and see what you think, but start off smaller as you don't want any very expensive mistakes!

 

 

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Edited June 8, 2017 by sunsetbeachgal

[caviargal]

 

Try it and see what you think, but start off smaller as you don't want any very expensive mistakes!

 

Excellent point! Our first was 5 days and the longest was 10. 7 is a great place to start.

[CroisiEurope America]

Welcome to the world of River Cruising!

Ocean Cruises and River Cruises are similar in that they are both worry free vacations - you arrive on day one with your luggage, and from there the effort you put in is up to you. You unpack, and let the ship and crew take you to different cities, wine and dine you, and immerse you in the art, culture, and life of your destination. With River Cruising especially, the size is small enough that you are typically docked in the heart of a city - imagine a hotel in the center of a new town for each port, without having to repack each day.

That may be the only thing they have in common. For River Cruisers, the destination is the biggest draw - you really have a chance each day to experience some of Europe's most alluring cities - Amsterdam, Porto, Seville, Prague, Strasbourg, Budapest - and many more. Tours are provided from the ship, and there is always free time to explore on your own.

On River Ships, cabins are all outside, so you'll have a view - but when cruising you can move to the Sun Deck for a full Panoramic Shot - sailing through the Romantic Rhine Valley's Castles, or the Danube's Iron Gates.

[Solent Richard]

We have cruised on Princess and Holland America Line's many times. We would now like to try a river cruise. Can you give us some tips please.

We have always done balconies or mini suites. Can you suggest certain size suites on a river cruise ship, also forward, mid-ship, or aft. Also

any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

 

 

Hi there.

 

This review covers my most recent river cruise and has lots of photographs...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2017/05/12/viking-eir-rhine-getaway-april-2017/

 

[Solent Richard]

While a little bit older by 12 months, an alternative river...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2015/11/09/viking-hermod-portraits-of-southern-france/

 

 

[Solent Richard]

And just in case you think it's all Viking, here's an alternative out of Bordeaux...

 

https://solentrichardscruiseblog.com/2016/10/01/scenic-diamond-beautiful-bordeaux/

 

[SuiteTraveler]

A river cruise is almost nothing like an ocean cruise. There are no casinos, no one spends a lot of time hanging out by the pool (IF there is one onboard) and your days are spent on tours included in the cost of your cruise, often by bus and then walking. You go with a whole group of people and a guide. Typically, you get up early in the morning and have breakfast in the dining room, which is a buffet, although coffee and juice are typically served by the waiters, then you get on the bus, go on your tour. Sometimes you come back to the ship for lunch and then there may be another tour in the afternoon. Sometimes you are far enough from the ship that you eat lunch in town and depending on the cruise line they may or may not give you the money for that. You return to the ship around 5pm and then there is a meeting where the cruise director will explain what you will be doing the next day, then everyone generally goes to dinner at 7pm. On some ships everyone eats at the same time (Viking) and on others you are free to dine as early or late as you want. So if having freedom of dining times is important to you, definitely check what the situation is on the specific cruise line. For example, Crystal Mozart has open dining times as does Uniworld. The river ships have a mixture of table types - some seat 6 or 8 and others seat 4 and some ships such as those belonging to Crystal and Uniworld also have tables for 2. We generally sit with others who become our friends during the cruise but you might not like that, so check out the table arrangements on whatever lines you are interested in. Some cruises have optional excursions that you pay extra for. Some cruises have dinners off the ship, others have theme dinners and also a special dinner for suite guests (usually steak and lobster.) Some ships have alternative dining venues.

 

In terms of cabins, they vary by cruise line as well. Uniworld (as well as many others) offers several levels of suites. The regular suites on the SS Antoinette (Rhine) are about the size of a Junior Suite on ocean cruise ships and they have expanded bathrooms with heated floors, 2 sinks and a large walk in shower. There will also be a small closet and some drawers and room for your suitcases under the bed. Uniworld suites offer butler service and they also come with a true balcony that can be opened as a balcony or closed and used as a solarium and there are 3 tv's including 1 on the balcony. Some cruise lines offer butler service, others do not - so check that out if you want that feature - basically it means you can have some degree of in-room dining. The largest suite on the SS Antoinette has a separate living room and bedroom and is actually the size of a some suites on ocean ships. It has a bathroom with a tub and separate walk in shower, 2 sinks, etc.

 

Typically wine and beer is included at lunch and dinner (and sometimes champagne at breakfast.) Some cruise lines serve wine from the region in which you are cruising and the wine changes every night depending upon what they are serving. Other cruise lines serve the same 2 wines for the duration of the entire cruise (apparently Viking does this.) You also have the option of purchasing glasses of wine or bottles of wine. Some of these cruise lines offer a beverage package as well.

 

Another neat feature of river cruising is that they offer theme cruises such as a wine theme cruise with special tours and events associated with the theme.

 

Should you choose the Uniworld SS Antoinette on the Rhine, what I can tell you is that in the first week of May, that ship was only rafted for boarding (rafting means tying the ships together side by side so guests have to walk through other ships to get to shore.) Rafting also means that your cabin view will be a view into the cabins on the ship you are rafted with and their view will be into your cabin. Some people share drinks across balconies in this circumstance, others keep their drapes closed. The other thing is that during the day, people typically keep their drapes closed when they are not onboard so the AC can cool the cabin down as the sun can heat the cabin up.

 

Some ships, such as the Crystal Mozart go with a contemporary theme in decor, some have a nautical theme and Uniworld does a lavish Country Manor style of decor that reflects the area in which the ship is sailing, so every ship is completely different in decor.

 

The ships that cruise rivers in Asia, India and Egypt are also considerably different than the river ships in Europe. They will typically have larger cabins and be more exotic in decor. There are so many wonderful options out there!

 

You won't experience much motion on a river cruise at all except in unusual situations. The ship engines are aft, so I would recommend choosing a cabin that is closer to the dining room and salon than aft.

[TW6cruiser]

I'd also add a few other differences. On Princess cruises (and many larger Ocean cruises) you have a laundry room to do your own laundry or to use an iron. Viking River cruises only has paid laundry service. As others stated, meals are at set times on River cruises and there is no "room service". But on the plus side the dining rooms on River cruises are small so there are no lines at breakfast or lunch. I also recall on Viking that we did have choices of meals to be served other than the buffet at breakfast and lunch. After dinner on a river cruise there is likely a piano player for entertainment. We've found the level of service by river cruise staff to be superior to staff on ocean cruises but with less passengers it's a totally different cruise.

 

 

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[Host Jazzbeau]

I'd also add a few other differences. On Princess cruises (and many larger Ocean cruises) you have a laundry room to do your own laundry or to use an iron. Viking River cruises only has paid laundry service. As others stated, meals are at set times on River cruises and there is no "room service". But on the plus side the dining rooms on River cruises are small so there are no lines at breakfast or lunch. I also recall on Viking that we did have choices of meals to be served other than the buffet at breakfast and lunch. After dinner on a river cruise there is likely a piano player for entertainment. We've found the level of service by river cruise staff to be superior to staff on ocean cruises but with less passengers it's a totally different cruise.

 

Compared to ocean cruises, there are no real lines at dinner either. There is the one big line after the port talk when everybody heads straight to the dining room but since you don't wait to be seated, once they open the doors the line disappears immediately.

[lackcreativity]

Typically wine and beer is included at lunch and dinner (and sometimes champagne at breakfast.) Some cruise lines serve wine from the region in which you are cruising and the wine changes every night depending upon what they are serving. Other cruise lines serve the same 2 wines for the duration of the entire cruise (apparently Viking does this.) You also have the option of purchasing glasses of wine or bottles of wine. Some of these cruise lines offer a beverage package as well.

 

It is not accurate that Viking serves the same two wines for an entire cruise. It was not true on our trip two years ago. Yesterday, in another thread, "dogsarepeopletoo" confirmed that they served a variety of wines on their trip that was just completed.

"I just returned from a Viking river cruise and that wasn't the case. I am not much of a wine

drinker, but I did try different whites when I noticed the evening's selection was from the land o' my ancestors in Germany."

[caviargal]

I'd also add a few other differences. On Princess cruises (and many larger Ocean cruises) you have a laundry room to do your own laundry or to use an iron. Viking River cruises only has paid laundry service. As others stated, meals are at set times on River cruises and there is no "room service". But on the plus side the dining rooms on River cruises are small so there are no lines at breakfast or lunch. I also recall on Viking that we did have choices of meals to be served other than the buffet at breakfast and lunch. After dinner on a river cruise there is likely a piano player for entertainment. We've found the level of service by river cruise staff to be superior to staff on ocean cruises but with less passengers it's a totally different cruise.

 

 

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Scenic offers room service as do some of the other high end lines.

 

 

While meals are at set times, you can go to the dining room within the hours they are open for breakfast and lunch. There are some lines have an open door policy for dinner where you can go whenever the dining room is open. Uniworld and Scenic both had that on our cruises with them and we really appreciated the flexibility.

 

Uniworld has self service laundries for guests on their boats.

 

 

We have been very happy with the entertainment on our AMA cruises overall, as compared to the other lines we have cruised with. Most nights there was local entertainment brought aboard.

[SuiteTraveler]

It is not accurate that Viking serves the same two wines for an entire cruise. It was not true on our trip two years ago. Yesterday, in another thread, "dogsarepeopletoo" confirmed that they served a variety of wines on their trip that was just completed.

"I just returned from a Viking river cruise and that wasn't the case. I am not much of a wine

drinker, but I did try different whites when I noticed the evening's selection was from the land o' my ancestors in Germany."

 

 

 

I've been trying to figure out if this is something that Viking is trying on one or two ships or if this is something they are doing fleet wide.

 

We were talking about the FREE wine only. Viking does have a drinks menu with different bottles of wine you can purchase or different glasses of wine you can get with your beverage package. But the same 2 wines every night was pointed out by a recent Viking cruiser on another thread here and also in a youtube review. Also another poster said this: "The "free" wine stayed pretty much the same (with the exception of a Riesling added once in that region) but they had other (maybe free, maybe not) options as well." And

 

Here is the red wine they were serving nightly on another cruise - this is the 4th poster who has reported the same 2 free wines each night:

Originally posted by Got2Cruise I hope he posts the pics. Taste of food is opinion. But the wine quality based on label and the selection of food choice is fact. I teach elementary school -- a fact is something you can prove, otherwise it's opinion.

 

Here is the same red wine that they have served the whole trip with lunch and dinner looked it up on Vivino website rating 3.4 out 5 average retail cost $7.05 per bottle

 

I do know this is the same bottle I saw in the video review. Notice it's an Argentinian wine being served on a Rhine cruise.

 

I don't know if Viking is trying this as a cost management measure on certain ships, if it is something recent they plan to discontinue or have discontinued or something recent they are rolling out fleet wide. Certainly we know that cruise lines change, sometimes frequently.

Edited June 10, 2017 by SuiteTraveler