Parking on the Danube

[dd240dd]

We are researching whether or not to do an AmaWaterways Danube river cruise.  Three concerns that we have are :

 

1.   We've heard that the river boats stack up side by side when docking - is this the norm?

2.   The docking areas can be quite a way out of town - is this true?

 

Any advice or reviews would be greatly appreciated.

[jpalbny]

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic! River cruises can be a lot of fun if you know what you're getting into.

 

What cruise are you looking at? What are the ports?

 

To address your questions - there is no one answer, unfortunately, as your experience can vary from day to day, port to port.

 

1. Yes it's common. It's called rafting. The rivers are crowded; there are more boats than docks. They stack up 2- or 3-deep at times. 

 

2. It depends on the town. Some are close and easily walkable. Some are not. Some locations have multiple docking stations. Some are convenient to public transport, if you are comfortable with that option. Some are not.

 

We did the Danube on Uniworld in 2016. Loved it. My review:

 

 

[Roz]

May I ask why you're concerned about rafting?  Mobility issues?  Obstruction of view from cabin?  You want to book a balcony?

 

Roz

[Marjan1]

 

We cruised BUD-AMS last September.  

 

Occasionally we did gave another ship berth beside us, but I can’t say it was a major issue.  Even if two ships berth the gather, only one side of each ship is affected.  Luckily we never experienced being in the middle of 3!

 

We did berth beside another ship one lunchtime, so the curtains were closed in the dining room on the side.  

 

Occasionally we we had to cross another ship to get back to ours - stairs to the sun deck, gangway to our ship sun deck, back down stairs to the foyer.  Only an issue if mobility impaired.  

 

Don’t  worry about rafting.    If it happens, it won’t be very often.  

 

Docking areas are are hard to predict.  We travelled during the low water debacle last year and itineraries were constantly changing.  

 

[Canal archive]

Make a friend share a glass with your neighbour it’s not all doom and gloom, just make sure you get your glass back, your on holiday! CA  

[dd240dd]

Thank you all for your input.  

 

We are thinking of either cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest or Bucharest.  

 

Our concern with rafting is two fold:  When sea cruising we always use a lot of our private balcony for quiet relaxation, we feel that rafting impacts on our privacy.  Also how do you access your boat if you are two or three deep?

 

Having read even more reviews, we now also have concerns regarding river water levels and that river cruises for some people have turned into a coach holidays and also that the ports/stops may be over crowded to enjoy the true culture of these towns and cities 

 

We're now in a dilemma, should we river cruise or would it be better to do a series of city breaks.

 

 

 

 

 

[Daisi]

I wouldn't be to concerned about rafting...we did a Rhine cruise last May, and I think we were rafted 2x.  There is no options to get around it, as the captains have no choice as to where they dock, and the harbour masters are the ones who decide who rafts with who.

 

Water levels vary by river, last summer was bad for both the Rhine & Danube, but this year it seems to be only the Danube.  Summer season is usually hot & dry,  but you can't count on anything,  just like the weather where ever you live.  Early spring can be bad with high water, but nothing is set in stone.  The only times the cruises turn into a bus holiday is when the weather gets really bad...

 

As to the ports getting crowded, the busier the season (summer) the busier the ports.  You will have the same problems with crowds doing a self tour of city breaks, but at least if you are on the cruise you get the guide for free.  

 

River cruising is something you have to take what you get, sometimes it's great, sometimes it's more of an adventure than you planned, but with the right attitude, it will be a fantastic experience.

 

[Roz]

11 minutes ago, dd240dd said:

Thank you all for your input.  

 

We are thinking of either cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest or Bucharest.  

 

Our concern with rafting is two fold:  When sea cruising we always use a lot of our private balcony for quiet relaxation, we feel that rafting impacts on our privacy.  Also how do you access your boat if you are two or three deep?

 

Having read even more reviews, we now also have concerns regarding river water levels and that river cruises for some people have turned into a coach holidays and also that the ports/stops may be over crowded to enjoy the true culture of these towns and cities 

 

We're now in a dilemma, should we river cruise or would it be better to do a series of city breaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

You walk thru the other ships in order to get to your ship.  Sometimes this involves going up and down stairs.  

 

What time of year will you be cruising?  I've done mine in the late Fall, and did not find the ports to be overly crowded.  

 

You may find you don't use your balcony on a river cruise to the extent that you do on an ocean cruise.  

 

River levels are always going to be a potential issue.  Most of the time the ships are able to do the entire itinerary without it turning into a coach tour.  I've done 3 river cruises and have stayed onboard on all 3 of them.

 

Roz

[TravelerThom]

58 minutes ago, dd240dd said:

...We are thinking of either cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest or Bucharest.  

...When sea cruising we always use a lot of our private balcony...

...Having read even more reviews, we now also have concerns regarding river water levels and that river cruises for some people have turned into a coach holidays and also that the ports/stops may be over crowded to enjoy the true culture of these towns and cities 

We're now in a dilemma, should we river cruise or would it be better to do a series of city breaks.

I have done 25 river cruises on 4 continents and have only missed one (1) day of scheduled sailing (Rhône 2015, high water), but I consider myself quite lucky. 

 

River cruises have remarkably little in common with ocean cruises (and I have been on many more cruises on the ocean than on rivers), starting with the relatively small amount of time you’ll have to use your balcony. Furthermore no matter which side of the boat you are on, from your balcony you’ll miss the castles and other attractions on the other side while cruising (hint: most people will be on the sun deck or in the lounge where they can see both sides of the river). 2 to 3 weeks on a river cruise is a lot of time and money to invest if it turns out to not be your cup of tea. Even though I have cruised from Amsterdam to the Black Sea, given your multitude of concerns I would strongly suggest that you start out with a shorter river cruise (say one week) in conjunction with city breaks at the beginning and/or end. 

[Roz]

I noticed on the AMA website that they refer to rafting as "tethering".

 

Roz

[pontac]

I second what @TravelerThom says.

 

Of our 9 river cruises we had a balcony on our second and found we hardly used it. There's always something to see when cruising the river and from one's balcony you can see only one bank.

 

Also -- I've not been on an ocean cruise - but European river ships are built to a width that allows them to just fit in a dock. Thus the verandas - or at least the one on Viking Longships - are very narrow. The Explorer Suite is an exception on Longships and the verandas on Ukraine's Sineus are larger,

[G.M.T.]

When I read the title of this thread I had visions of

 

[G.M.T.]

If you want real river rafting, then here you are

 

 

[Got2Cruise]

The ports are NOT far from where Ama docks on the Danube. The furthest was from Linz to Salzburg but you made stops along the way. 

 

One thing to realize on the Danube and most other Rivers is that touring is done during the day, so you’re out and about, and then at dinner the ships begin cruising and continues through the night. 

 

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, G.M.T. said:

When I read the title of this thread I had visions of

 

 

That's parking IN the Danube, not ON the Danube 

[franski]

2 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

The ports are NOT far from where Ama docks on the Danube. The furthest was from Linz to Salzburg but you made stops along the way. 

 

Most of the river boats dock in the same general area...  the only real variation that I know of is in Paris - where Viking docks outside the city.

 

The OP asked about docking outside of town...  and, by that I took him to mean within walking distance of the docking area.  On the Danube -->  Budapest, Bratislava, Melk are all close.  Durnstein is a toss up - I have cruised that part of the Danube twice --> once we were docked close, the 2nd time we docked far enough away that we took a short bus ride.  I had the same experience in Cologne... (once close, once not....).  Nuremberg and Vienna are DEFINITELY not walkable from the boat - although Vienna has public transport available close to the docking area if you are so inclined.  If you are a bus ride away, many lines offer shuttle service between the boat and the downtown/tourist areas if they are docked for a longer period than is required for the included tours.

 

Fran

[TravelerThom]

Melk town might be reached in a 15 minute very flat walk from the river cruise dock on the Danube (there is a somewhat closer dock that I’ve only seen used for day-tripper boats), but from the boat to Melk Abbey entrance is a good 30 minute walk, including a rather steep hill. Most cruises provide a bus to the Abbey. 

 

Vienna main River Cruise docks near Vorgartenstrasser U-bahn to  Stephensplatz (at the cathedral) is a flat (okay, the city center is on a raised mound above the flood plain) 45 minute walk. This walk takes you right by Prater Park, home of the famous 1897 Wiener Riesenrad (Ferris wheel); admission fee to ride, but free admission to walk around the park. The roughly 2 mile walk is more than many may want to take when the U-bahn is an easy 20-15 minute trip, but not being a fan of walking around in circles on the deck to get exercise, I think it is a nice walk and definitely doable. Vienna has supplemental docks at Nussdorf which would be almost a 2 hour walk. 

[Canal archive]

A few years ago a German tourist visiting ‘The Barge Inn’ on the Kennet & Avon Canal confused the locals directions (not a difficult thing to do) and on leaving the pub drove straight into the canal indicating a left turn. So, yes parking by the canal not ‘in’ the canal, and our canals are tiny, not huge as those in Europe are. CA

[ural guy]

If you really want to avoid rafting, Budapest to Bucharest is the lesser traveled route.  I never rafted there, nor on the Moselle.

 

Bud-Buc is also a very different experience than gliding along and being among all the pretty castles.  The lower Danube isn't as scenic as the upper Danube or Rhine.  The history was fascinating to me and my wife on the lower Danube in a way that other places can't match.  Also a place where being on tour helps out.  

I can manage in Germany, Austria, etc.  Romania and Bulgaria, that would have been trickier.

 

A few days afterwards in Transylvania would be a nice end to the trip. 

 

[Floridiana]

On ‎7‎/‎22‎/‎2019 at 3:22 PM, dd240dd said:

1.   We've heard that the river boats stack up side by side when docking - is this the norm?

2.   The docking areas can be quite a way out of town - is this true?

 

1. On our recent Danube river cruise from Regensburg to Budapest, I found the  rafting annoying. If we had had a cabin on the other side of the ship, it would have been fine. The Danube is not crowded at all compared to the Rhine, but all the hotel ships go to the same places. 

2. If your excursions are included, it doesn't really matter. We were far from town only in Vienna.

 

What we enjoyed: Early morning on the river watching birds. The scenic stretches between Regensburg - Passau- Linz. The Wachau Valley. The river bend in Hungary.

 

We boarded the ship in Passau, then went upriver to Regensburg and back to Passau. This particular stretch of the Danube can be a problem in very low water and people were bussed in low water years. It's a relatively short bus ride. Regensburg is worth it.

[DougK]

On 7/24/2019 at 7:09 PM, franski said:

Nuremberg and Vienna are DEFINITELY not walkable from the boat - although Vienna has public transport available close to the docking area if you are so inclined.

 

It all depends on your definition of "walkable" which really varies a lot from person to person. As TravelerThom says, the walk from the dock to the inner city in Vienna is about 2 miles, and can be rather pleasant--and like him, I also enjoyed a walk around Prater Park. Nuremberg is tougher, but still walkable for some--at least based on where we docked on our Scenic trip last fall. It was about a 3-4 mile walk to both the old town and the Nazi Documentation Center (and another couple of miles between those spots). With a full day there and pleasant weather, I chose to walk and quite enjoyed my day, but I fully understand that the idea of walking a total of 10 miles is insane to most people.

[CPT Trips]

On July 24, 2019 at 6:49 PM, G.M.T. said:

When I read the title of this thread I had visions of

 

 

Really thick ice is needed to safely park. Many use a snowmobile to get to their ice fishing shack, others prefer an SUV.