30th anniversary - first-ever river cruise - need a friend :-)

[terry&mike]

Being as you'd like to sail on the Rhine, and also have an interest in the Danube, and would like some Prague too, I would like to suggest that you look at the Grand European Tour cruise offered by Viking. It is a 14 day cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam (or reverse), and you can add a 3 night Prague extension on through Viking, or plan a short Prague extension on your own if you are comfortable. If you can be gone this long, there are some great rates that can be had on this voyage, including some nice air packages.

As to cabin, go with the French Balcony cabin; it features a large sliding glass door that opens, providing for lots of light and some fresh air. In the industry we often refer to this as a toes out balcony, and sometimes people will refer to it as a Juliette balcony.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

[Cyber Kat]

Another vote for AMA... we just returned from our first river cruise last month and it was great!

 

This was only our 2nd trip to Europe and I suggest, if you can possibly afford it, to fly business class... especially if you are flying from the west coast. Eleven hours is a LONG time to be in one of those regular seats. While we can never sleep on a plane, it is so nice to be able to stretch out and get in different positions. Well worth it, IMO. I know others would rather spend money elsewhere, but I would never fly to Europe if I did not budget for business class.

 

 

 

While I can’t speak for AMA - it was one of the 3 lines we considered. The other was Avalon but we chose Viking and were happy with it as I mentioned in my other post.

 

I’m responding here because I wanted to add a recommendation for business class. We flew twice to Europe in economy/coach - when we were younger [emoji16]

 

For this “once in a lifetime” cruise (yet now we have a second one booked!), we decided to treat ourselves and fly business class. It was a wonderful beginning and ending to our adventure. We enjoyed it so much, we didn’t hesitate to do it again for our Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) in September.

 

Some will recommend spending money elsewhere and that’s certainly an option, but we arrived well rested and were able to cope much better with the time change and had very little jet lag. The return flight gave us an opportunity to extend this special trip in style.

 

We also dreamed of taking a river cruise for some time and the planning was part of the fun. Whatever you choose, enjoy, savor the moments and happy anniversary!

 

 

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[Got2Cruise]

We sailed both AMA and Avalon. We were happy with both experiences. AMAs food was slightly better and that is subjective. I recommended Avalon to a set of relatives and they loved everything. We chose the Basel to Amsterdam. If you chose Avalon you fly directly to Zurich and Avalon transfers you to Basel as part of the fare. Then we did a post cruise in Amsterdam independently. We chose the Basel to Amsterdam because we are active and prefer more port stops instead of just sitting and watching.

 

 

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[KathyK13]

Like you, I was overwhelmed by the choices when we did our first river cruise, also for our 30th anniversary! I suggest you read through the stickies and then decide what's most important for you. We eliminated Viking from our list because of the small size of the french balcony rooms, and Uniworld because their ships at that time didn't have french balconies. We chose an Avalon Danube cruise based on cruise dates (we were still working then), price, and the recommendation of our travel agent. We used an agent we found online who also gave us an additional discount.

 

Since you're interested in doing some biking, Ama would be a good choice because they have bikes on board for passengers to use. Also Avalon has active cruises on the Rhine that include bike trips, hiking, and kayaking.

 

If you want to see the Rhine Gorge and visit Prague, take a look at Avalon's Central European Experience cruise. It's on the top of my short list of cruises to take next! It starts in Paris, travels the Moselle, Rhine Gorge, and Main river to Nuremberg, then ends with several days in Prague. You can do the cruise only, making your own plans to travel from Paris or Amsterdam to the ship and Prague at the end. But if it's your first time in Europe you might be more comfortable using Avalon's hotels and transportation.

 

I wouldn't wait too much longer to make reservations. Many lines have current deals that won't improve much unless you are willing to take a chance and wait for last minute deals.

 

Whatever you decide, enjoy the planning! You'll probably fall in love with river cruising!

[Roz]

I had a French balcony (Cat. 3 on the River Beatrice) on my first Uniworld cruise. On the 2nd one, I chose a Cat. 4 on the lower level of the River Duchess and was completely happy with it. There's a long horizontal window at the water line that allows for sunlight and you can look up and see the area where the ship is docked. Next cruise I'm in a Cat. 5 on the River Empress.

 

After the first cruise, when I saw how busy the days are off the ship, I decided I could downgrade my cabin and still have a great experience. I hung out in the lounge or in the area by the coffee machine, so didn't spend much time in my cabin except for early morning or late evening.

 

Roz

[gnome12]

I had a French balcony (Cat. 3 on the River Beatrice) on my first Uniworld cruise. On the 2nd one, I chose a Cat. 4 on the lower level of the River Duchess and was completely happy with it. There's a long horizontal window at the water line that allows for sunlight and you can look up and see the area where the ship is docked. Next cruise I'm in a Cat. 5 on the River Empress.

 

After the first cruise, when I saw how busy the days are off the ship, I decided I could downgrade my cabin and still have a great experience. I hung out in the lounge or in the area by the coffee machine, so didn't spend much time in my cabin except for early morning or late evening.

 

Roz

That window at the waterline is, I think, unique to some of the older Uniworld ships. It happens because of the split level design of those ships. I had it on each of my 2 Uniworld cruises and was very happy with it.

 

A few years later I did a barge and cycle on a much smaller ship, and all the cabins were below the waterline, with only the small window at the top. It was much less pleasant, even though I spent most of my time onboard in the lounge.

 

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[jeb_bud]

Depending on the type of room you want, you might want to give Scenic a look. We wanted a balcony for our Danube cruise in 2015. We compared just about all of the cruise lines and Scenic actually penciled out as the least expensive after considering the costs of the included items on Scenic that were not included on the other ships.

 

 

 

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[texasstar]

If you look at the AmaWaterways offerings, the do have a cruise that is titled Medieval Treasures that ends in Prague that includes the Rhine. You are bused from Nuremberg to Prague. The Europe Rivers and Castles starts in Prague and ends in Nuremberg.

You asked about our cruise on the Danube. We started in Budapest and ended in Prague. We loved it.Budapest is a delight.

Flights- I always book our own flights and hotels for the before and after stays as you can generally save money and are in control of when you fly. If Delta is an option, they have a sale on now from certain cities for Delta One (fat beds) that is very good. Don't wait too long, the longer you wait the higher the airfare will be.

[Host Jazzbeau]

If you look at the AmaWaterways offerings, the do have a cruise that is titled Medieval Treasures that ends in Prague that includes the Rhine. You are bused from Nuremberg to Prague. The Europe Rivers and Castles starts in Prague and ends in Nuremberg.

You asked about our cruise on the Danube. We started in Budapest and ended in Prague. We loved it.Budapest is a delight.

Flights- I always book our own flights and hotels for the before and after stays as you can generally save money and are in control of when you fly. If Delta is an option, they have a sale on now from certain cities for Delta One (fat beds) that is very good. Don't wait too long, the longer you wait the higher the airfare will be.

 

We found that the beds in Delta One, while nicely flat, were anything but fat -- and we are narrow people!

[texasstar]

Oops...typo. I meant to say flat beds, but you made me chuckle anyway!

[ConnMom]

I will try to answer a couple of your questions about Tauck's all-inclusive experience and about our Danube cruise with them. Tauck is more expensive than AMA and the other cruise lines that are not "all inclusive", but when I did an "apples-to-apples" comparison, the price difference wasn't huge, and I found on that particular itinerary, that Tauck includes some experiences that seem very special and are not offered on any of the other lines. Tauck's fare includes transfer from the airport to the hotel or boat, even if you do not use Tauck's air, and even if you arrive a day or two before the trip begins. Their Danube itinerary includes 2 nights in Prague in a very nice centrally located hotel, and 2 nights in Budapest in the Four Seasons hotel. The land portion also includes city tours and most meals, which does not seem to be standard with other river cruise companies. Tauck also includes all beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, while on the boat 24-7, and includes all tippng, whether on the boat or during the city stays. They even paid our bathroom entrance fees at all the sites we visited, which was not worth a lot of money but certainly was convenient. In addition, on one day when our tours were too far from the boat to return for lunch, they provided each person with 20 euros to purchase lunch at local restaurants of our choice. With the exception of a couple of meals during our 4 days in Prague and Budapest, we would not have had to spend any money at all from the time we landed at the airport until we flew out at the end of the trip.

Whether these things are included in the fare or collected piecemeal from the passenger in the form of extra charges, tips, etc. is not terribly important to me and does not substantially affect the cruise experience. Looking carefully at the specific itineraries of the various cruise lines became the determining factor for me on our Danube cruise, because Tauck offered some special experiences that others did not. For example, our trip included 3 very special evenings in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest rather than staying on the boat for all our evening meals. We had a private evening at a palace in Prague, with a welcome speech from the prince who owned the property, a cocktail hour, dinner with orchestral entertainment and a private tour. In Vienna, we also had dinner at a palace frollowed by musical entertainment, and in Budapest our lavish farewell dinner was held at a landmark which is not generally open to the public. For me, these experiences justified the higher fare, but value is subjective and I weigh each itinerary on its specific offerings.

Another Tauck difference is that its boats tend to have fewer passengers on comparably sized boats, and they provide 3 tour directors along with 1 cruise director, while most other lines seem to have just the one crise director. All the lines appear to use local guides for daily tours off the boat. We found both Tauck and AMA to be very well run, providing a comfortable, easy experience for the passenger. Personnel on both tours were excellent.

Just one other comment regarding the recommendation to fly business class to avoid uncomfortable economy class seating. I love business class, but have also traveled economy plus, which, is significantly more comfortable than economy at a much lower cost than business. Just something else to consider.

Happy planning. You have so many good choices. Whatever you select, I am sure it will be great.

Cheryl

[Bexredpen]

Fantastic, helpful, very useful info. Thank you so much, Cheryl!! More add to my ever-expanding file...

 

I will try to answer a couple of your questions about Tauck's all-inclusive experience and about our Danube cruise with them. Tauck is more expensive than AMA and the other cruise lines that are not "all inclusive", but when I did an "apples-to-apples" comparison, the price difference wasn't huge, and I found on that particular itinerary, that Tauck includes some experiences that seem very special and are not offered on any of the other lines. Tauck's fare includes transfer from the airport to the hotel or boat, even if you do not use Tauck's air, and even if you arrive a day or two before the trip begins. Their Danube itinerary includes 2 nights in Prague in a very nice centrally located hotel, and 2 nights in Budapest in the Four Seasons hotel. The land portion also includes city tours and most meals, which does not seem to be standard with other river cruise companies. Tauck also includes all beverages, alcoholic and non-alcoholic, while on the boat 24-7, and includes all tippng, whether on the boat or during the city stays. They even paid our bathroom entrance fees at all the sites we visited, which was not worth a lot of money but certainly was convenient. In addition, on one day when our tours were too far from the boat to return for lunch, they provided each person with 20 euros to purchase lunch at local restaurants of our choice. With the exception of a couple of meals during our 4 days in Prague and Budapest, we would not have had to spend any money at all from the time we landed at the airport until we flew out at the end of the trip.

Whether these things are included in the fare or collected piecemeal from the passenger in the form of extra charges, tips, etc. is not terribly important to me and does not substantially affect the cruise experience. Looking carefully at the specific itineraries of the various cruise lines became the determining factor for me on our Danube cruise, because Tauck offered some special experiences that others did not. For example, our trip included 3 very special evenings in Prague, Vienna, and Budapest rather than staying on the boat for all our evening meals. We had a private evening at a palace in Prague, with a welcome speech from the prince who owned the property, a cocktail hour, dinner with orchestral entertainment and a private tour. In Vienna, we also had dinner at a palace frollowed by musical entertainment, and in Budapest our lavish farewell dinner was held at a landmark which is not generally open to the public. For me, these experiences justified the higher fare, but value is subjective and I weigh each itinerary on its specific offerings.

Another Tauck difference is that its boats tend to have fewer passengers on comparably sized boats, and they provide 3 tour directors along with 1 cruise director, while most other lines seem to have just the one crise director. All the lines appear to use local guides for daily tours off the boat. We found both Tauck and AMA to be very well run, providing a comfortable, easy experience for the passenger. Personnel on both tours were excellent.

Just one other comment regarding the recommendation to fly business class to avoid uncomfortable economy class seating. I love business class, but have also traveled economy plus, which, is significantly more comfortable than economy at a much lower cost than business. Just something else to consider.

Happy planning. You have so many good choices. Whatever you select, I am sure it will be great.

Cheryl