Starboard or Portside? does it matter

1st time river cruiser here again: When ocean cruising we always book a portside room. Does it matter with the river cruises? I would imagine you could always go topside...but we are paying for a balcony, so we would love to be able to sit there and enjoy the sites. All opinions are recommended......also, what is up with this "pump" that folks complain about,running at nite & making noise? We will be booking the Rinda...what do you feel is a nice Cat D room? thanks everyone:)

On our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise not sure it really matters because you never know if you will be rafted...boats seem to turn "upstream into the current" when they dock. Can't really remember which side of the river most ports were on...it varies. We were on the port side in a french balcony and felt that consistently we had a better view than those on the starboard side.

Just good luck I think...not planned.

We were so lucky in Budapest although rafted our side was open to the river to enjoy the twinkling lights of the chain bridge and Buda side of the city!

1st time river cruiser here again: When ocean cruising we always book a portside room. Does it matter with the river cruises? I would imagine you could always go topside...but we are paying for a balcony' date=' so we would love to be able to sit there and enjoy the sites. All opinions are recommended......also, what is up with this "pump" that folks complain about,running at nite & making noise? We will be booking the Rinda...what do you feel is a nice Cat D room? thanks everyone:)[/quote']

 

Good Morning gg from Aurora OH! :D Hydrokitty here and it makes no difference on a river cruise which side of the ship you're on because you will have scenery on both sides. When you're rafted it depends on where you are in the "sandwich". You could be first and have the dock on one side and another ship on the other, or you could be in the middle with boats on both sides or you could be last and have scenic river views on one side and boat on the other. Important thing to remember is your company has absolutely no say in this, the harbor master will tell captain where he'll dock and it pretty much depends on who's leaving when! We travel on Vantage and have not used anyone else for river cruising, so I can only say I don't know what people are referring to about a pump running at night and making noise. We also stay on the upper deck (A category) with a french balcony (Vantage doesn't have traditional balcony) because I tend to get claustrophobic. Most river cruises have french balconies because of the locks. A real balcony takes up too much space and it comes from your room. French balcony gives you (me) feeling of space that I need but you cannot sit on it, as you probably know already.

As with modern ocean cruising, it makes little difference. They'll dock on either side, depending on the port, traffic, etc. ("Port" nowadays means "left", nothing more.) You really need to look at the itinerary, much like an ocean cruise along a coast, like, say, South America, and determine which side will have the better views when you plan to be in your cabin while sailing. Worst case, you go up one or two decks to the Sky Deck and take in the view 360 from there! When docked, as others have mentioned, it's a toss-up whether you'll even have a view. Once again - Sky Deck!

thanks for all the opinions....we are booked....and it is what it is....and saying that...I am sure it will be fabulous!!

Went to sleep the first night - looking at the lovely scenery across the river at sunset. Woke in the morning and opened the drapes to see solid green. It was another ship docked right next to us. It's all part of the experience.

cb

Went to sleep the first night - looking at the lovely scenery across the river at sunset. Woke in the morning and opened the drapes to see solid green. It was another ship docked right next to us. It's all part of the experience.

 

cb

When that happens I wait till after breakfast, then open the drapes and sit by the french balcony reading and drinking coffee. Invariably the people in the boat rafted to ours will check out their window and I'll wave to them! Most of the time they wave back, so I'll open the balcony door, They'll open their door and we start conversing. Before you know it they're making tea and I'm opening a box of cookies I bought in town(Nile). They were from London and headed South, we had lived in London and headed North. It was great talking about what we'd seen and what awaited us. In Russia it was a little more complicated. We shared wine and tried several languages before we discovered we both spoke French!! Rafting can range from annoying to exciting, but first you have to smile! (and make sure you're both fully clothed) :D

Love your attitude! Will try that on our next river cruise!

When that happens I wait till after breakfast, then open the drapes and sit by the french balcony reading and drinking coffee.

It sounds wonderful. I am really considering a river cruise, after reading all the wonderful rviews on here. Thanks for sharing,:)