“Cruise days” not on the ship

[SoBaycruiser]

When a river cruise like Berlin to Prague has days in those cities while not staying aboard the ship, is food included at the hotels?  I’m not talking about extensions but days that are included as part of the cruise.

[Rebel54]

With Avalon, my only experience, only breakfast was included.  We were responsible for our lunch and dinner.

[Mrs. Claypool]

With Uniworld and Tauck, in that situation you just got the hotel buffet breakfast for the day. 

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Generally only breakfast is included. That said some included tours and/or optional tours during the land portion may include a lunch or dinner. You need to read the descriptions carefully.  Hotel restaurants are generally overpriced and feature somewhat mediocre food. Better to explore the local food scene, with exceptions in countries that have less than stellar food handling/storage habits (Egypt for example) where eating at the hotel may lessen the chances for traveler “tummy” to use a polite phrase. 

[CDNPolar]

Our experience is generally just breakfast each day.

 

We had only one that I can recall where there was a group meal at the end of the cruise in the hotel.  This was a farewell dinner and all the ship guests were in the same hotel and there was a banquet style dinner on the last night in the hotel.

[pontac]

15 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

When a river cruise like Berlin to Prague has days in those cities while not staying aboard the ship, is food included at the hotels?

 

There are a great number of river cruise lines; if you have already booked then the website or brochure should say or phone the company. If you haven't yet booked then whether a cruise line includes meals at hotels may affect you booking.

 

In my experience with Scenic and Viking meals at hotels, other than breakfast, are not included. This gives you the freedom to eat at other than the hotel should you wish, and the freedom to go out all day sightseeing without needing to return for lunch at the hotel.

[SoBaycruiser]

Thank you all for the feedback.  I have not booked yet, just exploring the possibilities and comparing river cruises vs ocean cruising (which we’ve done a lot of).  When and if we decide on an itinerary, I will definitely call for details.

[Nippy Sweetie]

I certainly remember a very nice hotel lunch included in Salamanca on our Douro cruise. There were flamenco dancers too. 

Also a nice included lunch at a farm. 

[pontac]

I've not been on an ocean cruise but from reading this forum over the past few years it seems they have nothing in common except having a boat and water.

 

If you want multiple bars and dining options or theatre quality shows then you'll not find them on river cruises. You will moor in the centre of historic cities and be able to walk off the boat when you like, and back on without any formality. You will have wine, beer and softdrinks included with meals and you can bring drinks from outside onto the boat and consume them. You can see the price as including everything, food, drinks with meals, entertainment and sightseeing. Depending on the line and offers, you might have gratuities included.

 

I'd suggest reading this forum and paying special attention to the trip reports. Any specific questions, please ask.

[pontac]

5 minutes ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

I certainly remember a very nice hotel lunch included in Salamanca on our Douro cruise. There were flamenco dancers too. 

 So do I when we went with Viking. Looking at the current cruise tho', it appears neither are supplied now.

[Rebel54]

I think for the most part, hotels included at the beginning or end of a trip only include breakfast. If there is an "event" included there may be another meal.  This gives you the chance to go out and experience local cuisine.  You are paying for the standard hotel inclusion which is a room and breakfast and each day an excursion or two.

Don't think there's any comparison between ocean and river cruising...other than what was previously ... said ship and water.  The main difference....less people, less chaos, less control of your movement by the ship, etc. 

[Mrs. Claypool]

Generally the brochures or online descriptions of each cruise are very informative about how many meals you will be receiving overall and how many per day.

 

At the end of the description of each separate day’s activities, there will be listed some combination of the initials “B L D”.  That lets you know whether all meals will be included for that day or whether you’ll be responsible for some of your own dining experiences.

[Canal archive]

Well the Scenic brochure does note on the Salamanca B. L. D. which I believe means breakfast, lunch and dinner.

[Host Jazzbeau]

On Scenic we were each given 20 Euros to cover lunch on our own in Salamanca.  This was better than a group lunch IMO because it allowed the two of us to fit in a quick lunch around DIY sightseeing.  A fixed lunch would have eaten up a big chunk of the free time.

 

But this isn't really on topic for OP's question, which is about days during the trip when the itinerary has you staying in a hotel [and not about extensions before or after the trip].  The only experience I have with that scenario is our AMA African River Safari trip, which started with 3 nights in Cape Town [3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, no dinners] and ended with 2 nights in Victoria Falls [2 breakfasts, 0 lunches, 1 cocktails/hors d'oeuvres, 1 dinner]

[SoBaycruiser]

7 hours ago, pontac said:

I've not been on an ocean cruise but from reading this forum over the past few years it seems they have nothing in common except having a boat and water.

 

If you want multiple bars and dining options or theatre quality shows then you'll not find them on river cruises. You will moor in the centre of historic cities and be able to walk off the boat when you like, and back on without any formality. You will have wine, beer and softdrinks included with meals and you can bring drinks from outside onto the boat and consume them. You can see the price as including everything, food, drinks with meals, entertainment and sightseeing. Depending on the line and offers, you might have gratuities included.

 

I'd suggest reading this forum and paying special attention to the trip reports. Any specific questions, please ask.

I understand the difference.  Thank you for the warning.  I actually don’t like the big ocean going cruise ships.  We’ve traveled on ocean going ships from 100-700 passengers.  We like the intimate feel and the fact that they can go up river to some city centers like Bordeaux or Seville as well as narrow fjords.  In fact your description of river cruising sounds almost identical to our favorite ocean cruising line…except for included excursions.  The part I’m not used to is an itinerary where only half of the advertised cruise is on the river.  I understand the isn’t the usual case.  
 

Thanks again.

Edited June 19 by SoBaycruiser

[pontac]

14 hours ago, SoBaycruiser said:

The part I’m not used to is an itinerary where only half of the advertised cruise is on the river.  I understand the isn’t the usual case.

 

I too dislike such 'cruises' which involve long coach trips and hotel stays. But they are popular, mostly it seems to me, with Americans who want to see as much of Europe as they can, which is understandable  considering the long and costly flight they've taken.

 

Last year I took a Viking 8 day Rhone cruise called Lyon & Provence which cruised from Avignon to Lyon, but a very large contingent had booked a 12 day cruise titled Paris to the Swiss Alps. The cruising element was the same; they joined the ship in Avignon after being bussed from Switzerland and at the end of the cruise were bussed from Lyon to Paris - with a stop at the American cemetery in Luxembourg and a lunch break in Reims, Champagne.

The cruise also is taken by those who book France's Finest, which combines with the Paris & the Heart of Normandy cruise and involve a coach ride between Paris and Lyon - but no hotel nights!

 

Many of the cruises that feature hotels at the beginning and end are also available  to book just the cruise element. Another that comes to mind is the Douro which many lines start with a few days in Lisbon before a long coach ride from Lisbon to Porto where the boat is.

Edited June 20 by pontac

[CDNPolar]

5 hours ago, pontac said:

Many of the cruises that feature hotels at the beginning and end are also available  to book just the cruise element. Another that comes to mind is the Douro which many lines start with a few days in Lisbon before a long coach ride from Lisbon to Porto where the boat is.

 

Hmmmm... interesting.  We did the Douro on Viking and there was not an option to only book the cruise portion.  

I am going to look for that option in the future as perhaps it is offered by other cruise lines.

For the Douro however, the two nights in Lisbon were a nice welcome and get acclimated  to the time zone for us.  We do prefer the whole experience to be on the ship however.

[pontac]

6 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

We did the Douro on Viking and there was not an option to only book the cruise portion.  

 

It wasn't an option when we booked in 2014 and both our friends, with whom we travelled, and us agreed we'd like to cruise the Douro again but we wouldn't book unless we could do just the cruise.

 

Mrs P and I had been to Lisbon many times on business and if we want to go on vacation to that lovely city then its easy to arrange from the UK.

 

As soon as Viking offered just the cruise our friends booked it, and it was on our list for this year. However, as a combination of discounts and recommendations from our CC host, we are going on the longer 11 day cruise with Scenic (Porto>Porto) starting Friday next week.  Scenic also do a Lisbon>Porto option with a shorter cruising element

 

Maybe they're not offered on the American site, but here we have Viking's 10 day Portugal’s River of Gold (Lisbon>Porto) and the 8 day Douro’s Valleys & Vineyards (Porto>Porto)

[Canal archive]

Pontac I really really hope that you and your DW enjoy your Douro cruise as much as we did. 

Maybe you’ll see Bernard Cornwalls - Sharpe and his men coming around the corner.

Or

 

These lovely girls showing off their Flamenco skills not the street flamenco or ballet flamenco but very entertaining all the same.

I also hope the wine is up to standard, enjoy!

[ural guy]

Canal Archive-  Nice Sharpe reference.  I've been to Portugal 5 times, and have visited some of the forts and cities mentioned in the series.  Listened to podcasts on Sharpe with actor interviews, and a series just on the Peninsula campaigns of Napoleonic War.  Really fascinating stuff that greatly adds to a road trip.

 

For those who want to just do the Douro cruise, Porto is an easy Airport to fly into, with quite a few flights from US East coast.  Also, a great spot to get over jetlag.  If you want to explore Lisbon on your own prior to cruise, Porto is 3 hour train ride for Lisbon.  And if you stay in Sintra, we learned it takes two separate tickets to make that journey to Porto.   

Edited June 21 by ural guy