We are considering a river cruise

[Caroldoll]

and are used to ships like Silverseas and Crystal. I know the suites are very much smaller on the river cruises, but I would like to have the best experience possible. Also, we would like to cover a long distance, i.e. 20 days or more. Which of the companies offers the most upscale experience. Cost is not a factor. Comfort and the quality of the ships and service are a factor. I would very much appreciate any help you could give me.

[MSEm]

One company you may want to look at is Tauck Tours. Tauck has 2 newly built river vessels and will have a new built vessel of 2009. That will give them a total of 3 built to order river vessels. Tauck markets to the English language market.

Tauck's passenger load is between 112- 120 and use 3 large tour buses for land transport. Also the Tauck fare is almost all inclusives including wine, tours, and some tips. I think you will still need to tip the local guides.

Peter Deliman is very upscale also but many operate in multi-languages.

 

For China I will recommend Viking River Cruises.

 

Good luck,

MSEm

[steamboats]

Caroldoll,

 

The most upscale river cruise companies:

 

Deilmann www.deilmannrivercruises.com

Seacloud (River Cloud I and II) www.seacloud.de

Premicon Queen (not out yet) www.premiconqueen.com

 

Also the new Australian company Scenic Tours sounds a bit more upscale than the average (Avalon, Amadeus, GCT, Globus, Uniworld, Viking, Vantage).

 

www.scenictours.com/Destinations/ERCintro.aspx?TourRegion=ERC

 

Longer distance? The farthest you can go is Amsterdam to Bucharest. That´ll be app. 3 weeks. Not every cruise company is offering an itinerary like this and there might be only one cruise a year (actually it´s split up in separate cruises and you add two or three together as back to backs).

 

steamboats

[Nippy Sweetie]

If you back to back you can go further than that. The Black sea to Amsterdam is theoretically possible on Viking according to the 2008 brochure.

[mconthehighseas]

If you back to back you can go further than that. The Black sea to Amsterdam is theoretically possible on Viking according to the 2008 brochure.

I think you can do this on Globus as well.

Deilmann has their least upscale ship on the part of the Danube that goes to the Black Sea, so we took Globus instead for our Budapest to Bucharest cruise.

[Shorex]

Hebridean International Cruises is another luxury line that operates river and river/sea combinations. Our friend, who has over 40 cruises on Crystal, also loves Hebridean. Just Google the name for more info.

[Paolosmom]

and are used to ships like Silverseas and Crystal. I know the suites are very much smaller on the river cruises, but I would like to have the best experience possible. Also, we would like to cover a long distance, i.e. 20 days or more. Which of the companies offers the most upscale experience. Cost is not a factor. Comfort and the quality of the ships and service are a factor. I would very much appreciate any help you could give me.

 

Having just completed a Viking River Cruise, I would strongly suggest staying away from Viking. You will be very disappointed with the entire product from this company.

I would suggest you look at the new Premicon, also Deilmann. We had an opportunity to dine on an Amadeus Waterways ship and it was much improved over Viking.

River cruising is delightful as the stops can be most interesting and varied. Have a wonderful time.

[coasters]

I suppose it depends on where you go...we were thrilled with the facilities, services and quality of tours on our Viking River Cruise April 07 - China Cultural Delights. The ship was new and beautiful, the hotels were all 5 star. Food, transportation arrangements, selected venues and group size was very good. The knowledge and personal attention of our program manager was outstanding. All in all, an excellent value.

So pleased were we with them, that we just booked another package with Viking River Cruises for their 2009 "Footsteps of the Cossacks".

Most CC seem to praise Viking as do we.

 

Thanks

Diane & Jerry

[mconthehighseas]

From what I've read, Viking is THE way to go in China. However, I think they have plenty of competition on the Danube and other European rivers, not counting the Volga.

 

Caroldoll, I recommend you get some brochures so you can see what is available, and you can look at which places you would like to see. You have lots of recommendations here, and I would look at the some of the lines that were listed as average, since everyone's opinion is different.

 

When we did our Danube cruise, we specifically asked for ships that went to the Black Sea. Our TA sent us brochures for Dielmann, Avalon (which is a subsidiary of Globus; so is Brendan, I believe) and Viking. Avalon was best for us, due to ship accommodations, ports of call and excursions, and we were happy with our choice. We are not as happy with their Netherlands itineraries, so I am looking into other companies for when travel there.

 

Happy planning!!

[Caroldoll]

appreciated. I too believe you should look at itinerary and I guess 21 days, Amsterdam to Budapest or whatever that is would be fine for me as you see Salzberg and Vienna too. That new one, Scenic Tours looks good. I wonder if anyone has been on it. I guess September is the best month. I am looking forward to trying this. Thank you all and any more opinions are sincerely appreciated.

[sanny]

Hi Caroldoll

 

My husband and I are booked on the Scenic Tours 21 day Paris to Prague & Jewels of Europe river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest - departing Paris on 20 March 09. This is our first trip to Europe and our first river cruise. I have researched quite thoroughly the different tour operators and ships and I believe that Scenic, though a little more expensive, offers the best value. (I might be biased being Australian!) Anyway, their costs appear to be fully inclusive - there's no extra charges for 'optional tours' or tipping etc. so you know what you're up for before you go. It's a pity that they're so 'new' and there's not much information out there about them. Good luck and I hope you find the right cruise for you.

 

sanny

[MartiniWabbit]

we are doing the 21 day Budapest to Paris and added extra day at the beginning and 5 more days at the end making the whole trip over a month long. My TA recommended Amadeus and so far I have been reading good things about it on other posts. We are leaving end of Oct 08. While it might be cool, we are looking forward to it. Everything is inclusive with the package, tips/gratuities are extra, wine is provided at N/C with dinner but you have to buy other alcoholic drinks. This will be our first river cruise. Luckily we were about to use air miles for our flights so will be flying 1st class.

[Wineart]

There's a brand new upscale river cruise company called Jewel River Cruises. The cabins look wonderful, so you may want to check them out.