River Boat Cruising

[mamaofami]

I know there's a whole section on this topic, but I value the experiences of you guys here on this board and wondered if any of you have done it, where, what cruise line and or ship,and if you have any advice. Thanks

[Barrheadlass]

I've taken 5 HAL cruises, and am about to take my 6th river cruise. Have sailed with Uniworld twice, the rest with Grand Circle. Have sailed the Douro, the Rhine (twice)and Moselle, the Seine, the Danube, and my next is on the Rhone. River boats usually dock right in a city, local guides take passengers on foot to see the sights. Sometimes there are excursions that cost more, some worth it, some not...like cruise ship tours! Every day there are included tours. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, but often there are menu items too. Dinners are usually at a set time, often 7, but Uniworld, I know is becoming more flexible. There are several choices in appetizer, main dish, etc. Most lines but not all include wine with dinner.

Uniworld is calling itself all inclusive, wasn't when we were on. There are suggested "tips" and we have always felt that every penny was earned. I could go on and on, but the river cruising forum has a huge amount of info. See the stickies at the top. If you have questions. Just ask!

[willtup5]

Have taken 12 cruises with various lines. Have taken 1 river cruise with scenic to Vietnam and Cambodia on the Mekong. The tour was a combo land and river cruise. Though expensive it was five star all the way. Though expensive, it was all inclusive. There are no expenses to pay at the end except maybe a massage and that was only a third of the price that you would find in a cruise ship. Check .em out

 

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[Shmoo here]

I know there's a whole section on this topic, but I value the experiences of you guys here on this board and wondered if any of you have done it, where, what cruise line and or ship,and if you have any advice. Thanks

We've done one river cruise (Vantage) the "full" Grand Europe cruise (Bucharest to Cologne). Would highly recommend them. We're doing another Vantage trip to China this fall.

 

Just be aware the rooms onboard are typically smaller than ocean cruise line rooms. Also, "rafting" is fairly common (where ship will tie up to the ship next to it and you have to cross through other ships to get on land).

 

Generally, river cruising is fairly similar between the various companies. Some are a bit more up-scale (and priced as such).

 

Tipping is higher on river cruises.

 

There are more included things (excursions) in the price.

[dpump]

Twice on Viking. Once to Europe (Amsterdam to Budapest) and once thru China. Love, loved, loved both (Europe a hair more). Small group of folks, zero kids.

[dockman]

I did a 14 day trip from Yangon to Mandalay Burma/Myanmar.....on Pandaw river cruises....one of the very best trips i have done EVER. All inclusive and some very very exotic scenery and experiences.

[BSinPNS]

Have done two river cruises on Viking and about 15 ocean cruises. The big thing for me is that you are seeing an area in depth. For example, we had the same bus drivers and buses for the first four days on Basel to Amsterdam, We refer to it as the castles and cathedrals cruise. Although Viking pictures European chefs, our kitchen staff was from the Philippines. China was totally different as there was lots of walking, flying, touring and only a few days on a very large river boat leased from a Chinese company (to comply with national rules).

[Stratheden]

We have done 3 River Cruises on Scenic. (See my sig). We really enjoyed them all, everything is included on Scenic, drinks, gratuities, excursions. Cabins are lovely, we had a balcony.

[Shmoo here]

We have done 3 River Cruises on Scenic. (See my sig). We really enjoyed them all, everything is included on Scenic, drinks, gratuities, excursions. Cabins are lovely, we had a balcony.

An actual balcony (wide enough for chairs)? Or the "French balcony" option that most river cruises have?

[bobandjo]

We've done a 14 day Amsterdam to Budapest on Avalon Vista. Fantastic!. Room was plenty large and sliding doors opened up really wide. Great food. Only one problem and on the first night in the dining room we heard a person coughing heavily. By the end of the cruise nearly everyone (150ish passengers) had it. Many going to doctors and two admitted to hospital with pneumonia. We started out from Calgary when they were having the severe flooding and one of two roads for us to Calgary was closed and the other close to closing. So we were in a hurryupmode and left a day early. Unfortunately my wife forgot her puffers in all the rush and wasn't able to get another until we got to Venice which was near the end of the trip. She missed several days excursions. River cruises have at least one included excursion every day and a few pay for like seeing a symphony orchestra in Venice. I'd like to do the Paris - Normandy and back then train south to the river and then ship to Mediterranean. About 14 days total.

[3rdGenCunarder]

We've only done one, and that was Uniworld. We wanted to do more, but Cunard kept having special crossings we wanted to do, and in between those, HAL kept having special promotions! So we haven't been back yet.

 

We loved the river cruise. I wish there was river cruising like it in the US. (Our one US river cruise did not even come close to our experience on Uniworld). If you don't like to take the ship's tours, then you might consider having them included in the price poor value for money. We enjoyed our tours, so we thought the whole package was good.

 

One comment on "rafting." If your cruise does not include much scenic cruising, I would recommend you save some money by skipping the expensive cabin with the big windows and juliet balcony. Our cruise had a port nearly every day, and we rafted several times. Not only does it mean you get ashore by walking through or over other boats, it's likely that your lovely big window will be right up against the other boat's lovely big windows, and everyone will close the drapes.

[RuthC]

I have researched river cruises enough to know they are not for me, due to my mobility problems. Anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs, walking up/down hills, or similar mobility problems should research their choices thoroughly.

 

Not all boats have elevators, and those that do don't all have elevators that go to every deck. Even if your boat has elevators, the boat you are rafted to may not, and that means climbing up, then back down, to get ashore.

Once on shore, it can be a climb up to street level.

 

I wish I could do at least one river cruise, but don't dare. I hope you can find one that works for you.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I have researched river cruises enough to know they are not for me, due to my mobility problems. Anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs, walking up/down hills, or similar mobility problems should research their choices thoroughly.

 

Not all boats have elevators, and those that do don't all have elevators that go to every deck. Even if your boat has elevators, the boat you are rafted to may not, and that means climbing up, then back down, to get ashore.

Once on shore, it can be a climb up to street level.

 

I wish I could do at least one river cruise, but don't dare. I hope you can find one that works for you.

 

Good point. Some of the times when we were rafted, we walked from entry lobby to entry lobby, no stairs. Possibly a step onto or off a gangway, I don't remember. But one time the route took us up to our top deck and across the top of the boat next to us, then down to their lobby and out.

[dpump]

I have researched river cruises enough to know they are not for me, due to my mobility problems. Anyone who has difficulty climbing stairs, walking up/down hills, or similar mobility problems should research their choices thoroughly.

 

Not all boats have elevators, and those that do don't all have elevators that go to every deck. Even if your boat has elevators, the boat you are rafted to may not, and that means climbing up, then back down, to get ashore.

Once on shore, it can be a climb up to street level.

 

I wish I could do at least one river cruise, but don't dare. I hope you can find one that works for you.

 

Ruth- you are absolutely correct on mobility issues on the river cruises.

[candbgirl]

I so agree with Ruth and thanks for bringing that very real issue up. It's important to check because even if a description says a ship has an elevator it might not go to every deck. And that is a real issue for some people.

 

 

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[mamaofami]

Thank you all for your responses and to Ruth for bring up the mobility issues. I do have trouble walking any distances and would have an issue going from ship to ship. My DH really wants to do this if it's feasible for me, but I'm beginning to realize there are many more obstacles for me on a river cruise than on a regular ship. Thanks again.

 

By the way, there are many ships that do have elevators, especially the newer ones, but they don't go all the way up to the sundeck.

[Stratheden]

An actual balcony (wide enough for chairs)? Or the "French balcony" option that most river cruises have?

Yes, Scenic River cruise boats do have proper balconies. We ate on ours several times. Here are some floor plans from a typical Scenic river cruise boat.

https://www.scenic.com.au/our-5-star-ships/scenic-gem

 

 

Ruth is correct. Anyone with mobility issues would be unfortunately very restricted on a river cruise. :(

[USN59-79]

We took a one week "Christmas Markets" cruise last December on Uniworld from Passau to Budapest on the Danube. We very much enjoyed the experience. It was all inclusive, including shore excursions in each town, gratuities (even for the tour guides) and most alcohol. The room had a "French Balcony", which is a large picture window that can be opened, but only extends about a foot away from the boat. I enjoyed the casual experience. We would return to the ship, step aboard, and they would scan our cabin card, then offer us a cup of hot gluwein. No x-rays, searching your bags, etc. Came aboard once and the weather was cold and wet. Walked up to the bar and the bartender said "You need some of this" and handed me a drink of schnapps, which hit the spot. The only drawbacks were the price, (about three times a comparable ocean cruise) and the shortness of it. Hate to fly from Seattle to Germany and back for a one-week cruise. And concerning the price, I feel we got a good value for what we paid.

[sammiedawg]

We did the 14 day Grand European Budapest to Amsterdam. It was a unique opportunity to visit the interior and inclusive tours provided an overview look at each port.

 

We enjoyed the experience but a couple things bothered me.

River cruises are much more regimented than a modern day ocean cruise. Everyone assembles at the same time to go on excursions. Everyone assembles at 6:30 pm for the daily meeting in a lounge, then passengers walk en mass to the dining room for dinner at 7pm. (We prefer setting our own schedule).

My other issue was the sun deck being dismantled on various days in order to go under low bridges. Riverboats are smaller so passengers had limited space to relax and hang out.

 

Ocean cruises miss ports for various reasons. River cruises encounter low and high water levels. You probably won't miss ports but you may be bussed around. We sailed mid June during a dry summer and water levels were too low around Regensburg Germany. We were bussed to the scheduled port for two days, then we switched riverboats to get around the bottleneck. Two groups of passengers swapped out riverboats, then proceeded on with their trips. It sounds worse than it was.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We have taken Vantage 3 Times and was very happy. One trip was the Grand Europe 27 days. 😀😀

[Roz]

I sailed the 8-days Budapest to Passau itinerary on Uniworld in November 2015, and liked it so much I'm doing a 10-day Bucharest to Budapest next month. Yes, it's expensive compared to ocean cruising, but Uniworld was a class act the whole way. For me it was truly an all inclusive experience, as my only onboard expense was for some postcard stamps. I really enjoyed the included excursions.

 

Roz

 

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[mamaofami]

Thanks everyone, I can see river boat cruising won't work for me. I am looking at a Konigsdam cruise that goes to Russia, Tallinn, Stockholm, Amsterdam, . I will hope to be able to use my scooter on excursions, even if we have to hire private guides.

[StartrainDD]

Thanks everyone, I can see river boat cruising won't work for me. I am looking at a Konigsdam cruise that goes to Russia, Tallinn, Stockholm, Amsterdam, . I will hope to be able to use my scooter on excursions, even if we have to hire private guides.

 

We did one Viking (Tulips and Windmills) and loved what we saw; the 'river cruise' was the best way to do this. What everyone else has said is absolutely true from the cost to the tips to the lack of dock space (one time we had to cross through five other ships to reach shore).

 

The 'walking tours' usually offer one group of "Slower" walkers, but we found that normal ones weren't all that fast either.

 

Koningsdam is likely better for you with the scooter. Not sure about St. Petersburg; you may want to talk with Holland excursions and also see about private tours. I know the private group tour we did would not have accommodated a scooter (sorry). The other ports you should be able to find good touring options. We loved Tallinn. Get a good spot in the Crow's nest for the sail in or out of Stockholm (and St. Petersburg for that matter!).

 

All the best!

[mamaofami]

We did one Viking (Tulips and Windmills) and loved what we saw; the 'river cruise' was the best way to do this. What everyone else has said is absolutely true from the cost to the tips to the lack of dock space (one time we had to cross through five other ships to reach shore).

 

The 'walking tours' usually offer one group of "Slower" walkers, but we found that normal ones weren't all that fast either.

 

Koningsdam is likely better for you with the scooter. Not sure about St. Petersburg; you may want to talk with Holland excursions and also see about private tours. I know the private group tour we did would not have accommodated a scooter (sorry). The other ports you should be able to find good touring options. We loved Tallinn. Get a good spot in the Crow's nest for the sail in or out of Stockholm (and St. Petersburg for that matter!).

 

All the best!

 

Thank you. Finding out about private tours in St. Petersburg.

[RuthC]

I was in St. Petersburg a few weeks ago, and took a private tour. I used a wheelchair, which my friend (who can benefit from using a walker/rollator) pushed for me. My tour company (Best Guides) brought the wheelchair (for a small fee; something like $20 for two days???), which had white wheels.

 

I learned that at least some of the frequented places either require wheel covers (which can be hard to get/use) or white wheels. Many places have unadvertised elevators, which your guide can access. A few places (like the Hermitage) have lifts attached to some staircases.

The Faberge Museum guards carried the wheelchair upstairs for me, but I had to climb up/down. There was a handrail, and I was not required to use the shoe booties for that short walk.