Choosing a Cruise Line?

Planning our first river cruise (Germany/France?). It is very important that we choose a cruise line that we feel comfortable with. I read some of the CC information on the various cruise lines to get a feel for what the cruise lines are like. I liked the hotel comparisons. The info suggested than Viking and Avalon would be Marriott/Hyatt class which seems like a good match for us. Do you agree? Any other cruise lines that we should consider in this category? We are active mid 60's. Thanks...

I would also read the reviews for the lines/ships you are interested in to get a feel for the day to day.

I have not (and will not) sail with Viking for a host of reasons. I have cruised with Avalon several times and feel that the comparison to a Marriott is accurate. The ships are clean, contemporary and comfortable. They are organized and deal well with high/low water issues.

Avalon is not my personal preference, having experienced other lines that are a much better fit for our tastes and travel style.

AMA continues to be our first choice overall. We are active and enjoy their excellent staff, service, extensive excursion options, food and overall onboard ambiance more than any other line we have cruised with. We also enjoy Uniworld and had fun on our Scenic cruise.

I would take a look at Emerald as well. IMO, very similar to Avalon but more inclusive and they do purposefully market and appeal to a younger demographic. We were bored on Avalon and found a lack of active excursions and entertainment that appealed to us.

Our only experience is with Uniworld. We have had the good fortune to experience two wonderful cruises with them, the first from Amsterdam to Budapest, and last year one from Paris to Normandy (and almost back to Paris - flooding interfered).

Both trips were wonderful - the food was very good, the staff was most helpful, our fellow passengers were interesting and provided excellent company.

This summer we will again be traveling with Uniworld - Basel to Amsterdam. Obviously we have been very pleased with our experiences. The staff has proved to be exceptional at handling the inevitable "issues" that occur when traveling at Mother Nature's mercy.

I cruised with AMA back in April and it was fabulous:).....food, service,

excursions, everything was outstanding. I can't give you a comparison

since that was my only River Cruise but I would definitely recommend

them:)

Thanks so much for your feedback. AMA and Uniworld sound very upscale (4 Seasons) according to the CC Guide. Avalon and Emerald sound more like our style.

I've only been on one river cruise - Uniworld - but liked it so much I have another one booked with them. One of the things I liked was that everything I needed was included in the fare.

Roz

Thanks so much for your feedback. AMA and Uniworld sound very upscale (4 Seasons) according to the CC Guide. Avalon and Emerald sound more like our style.

Don't know what you think is off-putting about "upscale." We have sailed AMA and there is no need to pack dress clothes, nor does the onboard decor seem stuffy or overdone. But AMA does include excellent food and wine (free-flowing at lunch and dinner), and all the shore excursion choices on both our cruises were included in the fare. Since AMA includes a fast-walker's group every day and many bicycle excursions, it doesn't matter what the average age is -- you will be accommodated at whatever age/agility level you are.

Like Host Jazzbeau, I too wondered about the term "upscale". On my Uniworld cruise, I found the other passengers to be just like the people I meet in my ordinary life. They tended to be middle class individuals who put a high premium on travel and budget their money accordingly. I may have sailed on Uniworld, but stayed at the Sofitel pre-cruise in Budapest rather than the Four Seasons.

Roz

I agree with the previous posters.....I remember my cruisemates being

quite friendly:D.....it was a casual atmosphere with excellent food and

service. I will take that kind of environment every time:).....Oh,

I have never stayed at the 4 Seasons so cannot give any kind of

comparison or comment on them.

Thanks so much for your feedback. AMA and Uniworld sound very upscale (4 Seasons) according to the CC Guide. Avalon and Emerald sound more like our style.

I've been on both Avalon and AMA. You will have a good experience on either. Met great down to earth folks on both lines.

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thank you so much for all the information on this post.

We have done a lot of cruises but never a river cruise. At first, we were looking at Viking, but then we had friends who did Avalon. I never heard of AMA or Emerald so now I am considering them.

I am good at doing my own booking but now I am considering using a local/semi local travel agent. I am just going to be concerned they are bias towards one line.

Our main desire is to see/visit castles and the experience in 2018. I see that many tours for 2018 aren't available yet.

We are about 50 years old

Thank you for your thoughtful comments. Having never been on a river cruise, we were initially concerned that certain cruise lines might attract a "snobby" clientele. Based on your posts, this should not be a concern, so one less thing we need to worry about. Now we can start thinking about which cruise would be best for us. One thing that we will be looking for is that we like to run and safe running routes would be great. I assume that the ship concierge/CD can be helpful in providing advice/routes?

thank you so much for all the information on this post.

 

We have done a lot of cruises but never a river cruise. At first, we were looking at Viking, but then we had friends who did Avalon. I never heard of AMA or Emerald so now I am considering them.

 

I am good at doing my own booking but now I am considering using a local/semi local travel agent. I am just going to be concerned they are bias towards one line.

 

Our main desire is to see/visit castles and the experience in 2018. I see that many tours for 2018 aren't available yet.

 

We are about 50 years old

AMA was highly recommended to me by 2 different people and I would

highly recommend them to you. And they do have their 2018 itineraries

already posted. *and no, I am not a Travel Agent....;)

We took our first river cruise last year on Scenic and loved it, have booked another for the fall of this year. Excursions were excellent and all included, we are active as well. The fellow passengers were friendly and lots of fun as Scenic attracts many Aussies since they are based in Australia.

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go with the best...Scenic.

I wouldnt go with anyone else..we loved our Amsterdam to Budapest cruise so much so we have booked with Scenic again to cruise on the Scenic Eclipse Nov 2018

go with the best...Scenic.

 

I wouldnt go with anyone else..we loved our Amsterdam to Budapest cruise so much so we have booked with Scenic again to cruise on the Scenic Eclipse Nov 2018

Have you been on other lines to actually compare? I always find that helpful personally.

We have cruised with 4 lines so far, 14 river cruises, and enjoyed Scenic but it was not the best overall for us. AMA, then Uniworld and then Scenic, with Avalon a remote 4th.

YMMV

We have cruised with all of the mainstream companies - Uniworld, AMA, Avalon, Viking, Scenic and Emerald. As you can tell, we are not brand loyal.

We look at itinerary, then date, then price. Always on the look out for a good deal.

I would travel with any of them again - given the right circumstances. You will find than many people travel once - and book the next with the same company (if they had a good experience) or another company (if their initial experience wasn't so positive). Occasionally someone will decide that river cruising isn't their "cup of tea".

We have found that the cruise director play a big part in the overall experience - and you can't control that. Nor can you control the chef and his kitchen staff. You also can't control the demographics on your sailing.

If you like luxury - with lots of inclusions - then Scenic or Uniworld might be a good choice. If decor is important - take a look at all of the pictures of the boats. I will warn you that Uniworld can appear a bit "over the top" - but isn't quite at "frou frou" when you see it in person.

If you want to book something quite far out (time wise), Viking will ask for full-payment quite early. Most others will want full payment around 90 days out.

If you want to be active - look for a line that includes bikes. Many will offer a gentle walker's group if slower/more relaxed is your choice.

Emerald offers a pool, and a cinema. Scenic has Portobello's --> an alternate dining experience (no extra charge).

All will offer wine/beer with dinner (and often with lunch). Some offer "open bar". All will let you bring your own wine/beer on board but ask that you don't drink it in the lounge.

When we started river cruising, we found we were often the youngest on board (mid-50's). Not as much anymore since the experience has caught on.

See if you can identify what is important to you - and then do your research. If you have specific questions, no shortage of opinions here!!:D

Fran

My wife and I have taken one cruise with Uniworld and will be leaving for our second in a couple of months. The service, amenities and food were outstanding. Uniworld is all inclusive including all tips aboard ship and for the daily shore excursions. All beverages both alcoholic and non-alcoholic are included any time of day or night.

Planning our first river cruise (Germany/France?). It is very important that we choose a cruise line that we feel comfortable with. I read some of the CC information on the various cruise lines to get a feel for what the cruise lines are like. I liked the hotel comparisons. The info suggested than Viking and Avalon would be Marriott/Hyatt class which seems like a good match for us. Do you agree? Any other cruise lines that we should consider in this category? We are active mid 60's. Thanks...

I first became interested in river cruising in 2010 when I received a brochure in the mail from Viking.

Instead of just booking with Viking, I did a lot of research and compared prices, hotels, tours, and what was involved in the cruises.

I picked Vantage and have done 3 Vantage and 1 with AMA. AMA was cheaper in 2012 when we did them. They are great, but now priced about 25% over Vantage and others.

Still, I compare before I book. I still consider Viking, but I don't like having to pay a year ahead of time.

My understanding (stickies above) is that dinner (excluding Chef's Table) on most ships is open/free seating. True?

So, if you arrive at or close to the scheduled seating time, do they seat you randomly with others, or do you just wander around looking for tablemates that look the most...friendly?

What happens if you are, god forbid, a half hour late?

Any cruise lines that you particularly like as to how they manage the dinner seating?

Thanks!!!

We also have done two with Uniworld and another coming up. My "comparison" is different from what others have noticed.

To us, the premium of Uniworld comes to size. I have noted the size of excursion groups. We would assemble dock side in groups of 8 or 10 or 12 guests per guide. We would see Viking and their groups would be 18 or 20 or more. This makes a big difference to me in many ways.

I am sure this is related to the number of guests per ship (it seems that Viking has 40% or more additional passengers per ship) I can only imagine this translates to a difference in service on board as well.

If course, this is reflected in price as well.

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My understanding (stickies above) is that dinner (excluding Chef's Table) on most ships is open/free seating. True?

 

So, if you arrive at or close to the scheduled seating time, do they seat you randomly with others, or do you just wander around looking for tablemates that look the most...friendly?

 

What happens if you are, god forbid, a half hour late?

 

Any cruise lines that you particularly like as to how they manage the dinner seating?

 

Thanks!!!

The cruises that we have been on there is no concierge to seat you. You find seats were there are vacancies. Usually, after the first day or so, people tend to go back to the same table.

We were never late for a meal, but I never saw the dining room close. Breakfast and lunch were buffets so people would come at different times.

Prices for river cruises vary considerably depending on the cruise line.

Also, prices for cabins vary quite a lot. We always stay in the cheapest cabin. Just moving from the cheapest cabin on the lowest deck to a cabin a deck higher can amount to a $1000 or more price increase per couple. We don't spend a lot of time in our cabin, since river cruises are rather small by number, you get to know many people on the boat and socialize in the lounge.

Some people will pay that premium, even though the cabin a deck higher is the same size, or even want a suite for even more $$$.

Also, on Vantage and AMA, our tour groups were in the 25-30 range, but we had headphones so we didn't miss anything the guide said. Worked find for us.

We have sailed on Uniworld twice with our third coming up in June. I thought I would bring even another view to the "upscale" discussion.

I certainly agree with all the points others have made in regards to tours sizes, friendliness of guests and so forth.

For me it is the environment that has been created to if at all possible to never say no. For example, many excursions due to proper transportation planning require that you let Uniworld know a night or two before which of the excursions since multiple are offered that you plan on attending so they can be prepared. One particular excursion there were a few couples who changed their mind at the last minute and just showed up at the buses.(which I though was really presumptuous). But the cruise director didn't bat an eye and ordered another bus from a local vendor and carried 4 people on it.

On another cruise we booked a tour on embarkation evening in Budapest on our own not realizing that there was a mandatory safety meeting at that time. I mentioned it to the captain and he said don't worry about it and provided a meeting for just my wife and myself the next day.(They also brought food to our suite since we were going to miss dinner.

So for me I'm willing to spend a little extra for this type of service, exceptional food, and the all inclusive nature of Uniworld.(Or comparable "upscale" such as Tauck, Crystal, Scenic, AMA, etc...)

I know its been mentioned before but we also love the fact of having bicycles for free time and planned excursions, scheduled hikes with trek sticks provided, on a few of their ships pools, etc... We are in our mid 50's and like to stay active.

We love river cruising and think we would enjoy almost all of the major lines but to us it is worth a little extra to move it from enjoying to trip of a lifetime status.

Good luck with your planning

For the biking, I assume you are on your own. Do they provide maps, routes so you see the most scenery, and don't get lost? I ask because we run and it's nice to know where we are going.