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Are you a Marriott or Ritz-Carlton traveler?


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We've just published a guide, aimed at first-time river cruisers, that aims to help people find the river line that most matches their travel style (and budget) by comparing them to hotel chains and mainstream cruise lines. It's not meant to be a literal apples to apples comparison but we do hope it's helpful. And would love your suggestions for hotel and cruise line match-ups based on your own experiences....

 

The link is here: http://view.email.cruisecritic.com/?j=fe9115727366007572&m=fe911570736003797d&ls=fe201077736d0175741073&l=ff5913777d&s=fe4f1d79736502757111&jb=ff971272&ju=fe5e15727d66007e7212&et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845&r=0

 

Thanks.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

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This is a very comprehensive link and full of lots of very useful information. However, I was disappointed to see that VANTAGE is not mentioned at all among the river cruise companies. It has a large presence in the industry and there are many CC members who have traveled Vantage. It is similar to Grand Circle in that it does not use TA but books directly by phone or website, but it similar in quality to many of the other cruise lines. It should be listed.

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river cruise section,may help all the repeat questions conc.which line is best,etc??

Re.hotels,for the 5 star cruiselines,should provide 5 star hotels,right?

Have been on AMA,now Scenic,,never booked at a Ritz,,but Marriott or similar.

On Viking,Avalon,Uniworld,it was usually not either of above.BUt varies with city,and country,I m sure.;)

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The link has much very useful information. Having been on 14 river cruises myself it covers just about everything.

 

You did leave our the new region for river cruising - Bordeaux. I've booked a cruise for this area in 2015 and am looking forward to a region I have not traveled to.

Edited by rogerdawhip
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Hi, pbnjrockette. Great point about Vantage; we're going to update the piece this spring and it will be among a small handful of lines we're going to add.

 

Tell me, though: Which hotel chain would Vantage be, in your opinion? And which mainstream cruise line?

 

Thanks!

 

Carolyn

 

This is a very comprehensive link and full of lots of very useful information. However, I was disappointed to see that VANTAGE is not mentioned at all among the river cruise companies. It has a large presence in the industry and there are many CC members who have traveled Vantage. It is similar to Grand Circle in that it does not use TA but books directly by phone or website, but it similar in quality to many of the other cruise lines. It should be listed.
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Great point! We left it out because we just didn't have enough info as it's a new region for key lines. But the good news is, we have fun slideshow coming out (hopefully very soon) about going behind the scenes with Viking River to see how it put together its Bordeaux itinerary. As well, we're traveling to Bordeaux later this month for a Viking River event, so will have photos and a story on that. We're only onboard for two days so it will be a bit tough....

 

And we'll have an even more experiential story, again with lots of photos, in, I'd estimate June or so; I'm traveling on a regular length cruise in May to tackle that assignment.

 

It's not just Viking of course, but the cruise line has been super about helping us tell the story of Bordeaux.

 

And we'll plan to add the region to the piece you referenced when we update that later this spring.

 

Thanks for the input, rogerdawhip!

 

Carolyn

 

 

The link has much very useful information. Having been on 14 river cruises myself it covers just about everything.

 

You did leave our the new region for river cruising - Bordeaux. I've booked a cruise for this area in 2015 and am looking forward to a region I have not traveled to.

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This was a very informative guide and just the sort of comparisons I have been looking for. I was surprised that Uniworld was so highly rated in terms of luxury as many posters on this forum regard Tauck or Ama as the highest echelon. I like Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton accommodations but prefer small exclusive hotels even more. I had already selected Uniworld for my first river cruise and was pleasantly surprised how well they are aligned with my hotel preferences in your guide. I am also a Silversea fan so Uniworld should be a perfect fit for me.

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Glad it helped, seabreezer. Having cruised on all three, I consider all three luxury, just different styles of luxury, which is what we were hoping to get across! Funny, Uniworld was asking us why it wasn't Four Seasons and I was surprised that it thought it was :)

 

Carolyn

 

This was a very informative guide and just the sort of comparisons I have been looking for. I was surprised that Uniworld was so highly rated in terms of luxury as many posters on this forum regard Tauck or Ama as the highest echelon. I like Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton accommodations but prefer small exclusive hotels even more. I had already selected Uniworld for my first river cruise and was pleasantly surprised how well they are aligned with my hotel preferences in your guide. I am also a Silversea fan so Uniworld should be a perfect fit for me.
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Hi, pbnjrockette. Great point about Vantage; we're going to update the piece this spring and it will be among a small handful of lines we're going to add.

 

Tell me, though: Which hotel chain would Vantage be, in your opinion? And which mainstream cruise line?

 

Thanks!

 

Carolyn

 

Will be great to see it listed. As far as hotel chain....Vantage has always accommodated us with 4 star type Hilton, Sofitel , Hyatt and Marriott .... They are not "luxury" but far above "budget!!

 

Cruise line? HAL, NCL, RCCL?

Edited by pbnjrockette
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If everyone liked the same thing it would be a very boring world.

 

I looked at all the River Cruise companies before booking our cruises. I did not even consider Uniworld as I could not bear being confined to a 'small' floating hotel with such overpowering soft furnishings and decor.

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Your mention of GCT small ships really should include their Adriatic, Aegean and Med itineraries. They operate close to year round and are fantastic experiences. I realize this guide is river cruising, but a little more information is merited.

 

Overall, information on this market segment is almost non-existent on CC. I don't know who else, other than GCT is in this market segment with regularly scheduled cruises.

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We've just published a guide, aimed at first-time river cruisers, that aims to help people find the river line that most matches their travel style (and budget) by comparing them to hotel chains and mainstream cruise lines. It's not meant to be a literal apples to apples comparison but we do hope it's helpful. And would love your suggestions for hotel and cruise line match-ups based on your own experiences....

 

The link is here: http://view.email.cruisecritic.com/?j=fe9115727366007572&m=fe911570736003797d&ls=fe201077736d0175741073&l=ff5913777d&s=fe4f1d79736502757111&jb=ff971272&ju=fe5e15727d66007e7212&et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845&r=0

 

Thanks.

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

Had asked re a sticky,but I must go back to this thread to find info ea.time?

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Your mention of GCT small ships really should include their Adriatic, Aegean and Med itineraries. They operate close to year round and are fantastic experiences. I realize this guide is river cruising, but a little more information is merited.

 

Overall, information on this market segment is almost non-existent on CC. I don't know who else, other than GCT is in this market segment with regularly scheduled cruises.

 

We are taking a yacht cruise (I consider this a small ship) in May with Vantage. There is no place to "talk" about this type of travel. There are 20 rooms on the yacht.

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Yep, that's a small ship and you are right about no where to discuss them. What's the itinerary? We did Greece (Ionian Sea) and Dalmatian Coast (east side of Adriatic Sea) with GCT's 52 pax ship.

 

Just thinking out loud . . . "River and Small Ship Cruising" with a sub-head for "Small Ships." Of course it won't work if it's only us. Any other small ship cruisers out there.

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At Cruise Critic, we've got to find a better way to cover small ship cruising that isn't necessarily luxury.... We're going to work on it. Thanks for the insights --

 

Carolyn

 

Yep, that's a small ship and you are right about no where to discuss them. What's the itinerary? We did Greece (Ionian Sea) and Dalmatian Coast (east side of Adriatic Sea) with GCT's 52 pax ship.

 

Just thinking out loud . . . "River and Small Ship Cruising" with a sub-head for "Small Ships." Of course it won't work if it's only us. Any other small ship cruisers out there.

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We've just published a guide, aimed at first-time river cruisers, that aims to help people find the river line that most matches their travel style (and budget) by comparing them to hotel chains and mainstream cruise lines.

 

This was spot on IMO for AMA and Avalon, the two lines we have cruised with. We are Oceania fans and food and wine are high on our list - AMA is a great fit for our tastes. I find AMA compares well to The Luxury Collection hotels as well, since their decor is not standardized and each boat has a unique personality, similar to the resorts in the Luxury Collection. Very much of a boutique hotel feel, with warm and gracious service to match.

 

I also agree with how the other lines are categorized, based on what I have seen of them in port and read about them in my research.

 

Good job!

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At Cruise Critic, we've got to find a better way to cover small ship cruising that isn't necessarily luxury.... We're going to work on it. Thanks for the insights --

 

Carolyn

 

It certainly is a small niche, there will not be a lot of action. We do usually mention CC when we travel river or coastal cruises. Only one other couple said they ever post, and I have yet to see them here. Of course we are dealing with a sample size of about 500.

 

Thanks for listening.

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It certainly is a small niche, there will not be a lot of action. We do usually mention CC when we travel river or coastal cruises. Only one other couple said they ever post, and I have yet to see them here. Of course we are dealing with a sample size of about 500.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

I usually post a "live from" when I travel, but there will be no place for that this time.

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Thanks, Caviargal, your insights are always terrific!

 

Hadn't thought about The Luxury Collection, will check it out.

 

Carolyn

 

This was spot on IMO for AMA and Avalon, the two lines we have cruised with. We are Oceania fans and food and wine are high on our list - AMA is a great fit for our tastes. I find AMA compares well to The Luxury Collection hotels as well, since their decor is not standardized and each boat has a unique personality, similar to the resorts in the Luxury Collection. Very much of a boutique hotel feel, with warm and gracious service to match.

 

I also agree with how the other lines are categorized, based on what I have seen of them in port and read about them in my research.

 

Good job!

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