First river cruise - Danube or Rhine?

My husband and I are thinking of a river cruise for fall of 2016. Eight days is probably all we have time for, plus hotel stays at either or both ends to extend the trip.

We are in our early 60's and enjoy beautiful scenery and interesting cities. We especially like European travel as a way to immerse ourselves in new cultures, food, etc. and we like meeting new people.

I think I've narrowed down the trips to 8 day voyages on either the Danube - Nurmberg to Budapest - or the Rhine - Amsterdam to Basel.

Anyone out there with clear preferences? We haven't been to Eastern Europe, or Germany, Austria, Hungary or Switzerland. Our last Euro trip was a Celebrity Eastern Med cruise 1 1/2 years ago, and it was great, (and we've been to France, Italy, and Belgium several times..) I've always been attracted to the idea of a smaller more intimate river cruise and could use some advice.

Thanks, Judy

While you're waiting for responses from our knowledgable river cruisers, look at the Sticky at the top of this forum for new-comers. It has a lot of information, especially about choosing the river cruise line that best suits your tastes and needs.

I did the Rhine as my first river cruise and loved it [you can check out my review of that cruise in my signature], but DW and I have less interest in Eastern Europe [river cruise number two will be the Rhone, and then the Douro] so I won't try to compare the itineraries for you.

We did longer (both distance and duration) trips that included both rivers. Vienna to Amsterdam, so we only were on the upper Danube and Antwerp to Basel including the Mosel, as far as Trier. The scenery and cities/towns on the Rhein were great. That said, the Canal and Upper Danube was equally enjoyable.

Guess that really did not help, but from my perspective, you are in a win - win.

Hello judebarsto,

I agree with CPT Trips about the win - win. :)

My problem: I live on the Rhine! So I was thrilled when the opportunity arose to have a cruise on the Danube. Vienna is a very interesting city (though not in my top five in Europe) and I loved Budapest!

I know neither Amsterdam nor Basel, but from cruisers here so far I have heard nothing really negative about either city.

Both itineraries you have mentioned are great for first-timers IMO.

For food lovers I would perhaps tend more towards to the Rhine - Alsace/France - but for a more different feel from western culture go for the Danube, here I mean mostly language.

Perhaps there is a special interest you have not mentioned yet, like ornithology or trains (the railway museum in Nuremberg) or ...

Have a look at tripadvisor, i.e. the pages for the respective towns or the towns' own tourist pages, perhaps.

CPT Trips also mentioned the Moselle: I think the trip offered by a company I cannot remember the name of :o that takes you from Nuremberg to Luxembourg or from Basel to Trier is a nice alternative.

When on the Rhine, I would go for a company that offers a stop in Mainz rather than Rüdesheim, but that is just my preference because of my interest in printing.

Having thought about it while writing, what sticks out most in my mind is the evening coach tour of Budapest. :) Just amazing. And those bath houses ... http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/400

As regards scenery nothing I have seen on both rivers so far beats the Rhine gorge with all those castles. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1066

On the Danube you will be in Germany, Austria, Slowakia and Hungary whereas on the Rhine you will be in Switzerland, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Although both cruises take you through Germany, both experiences of German culture are entirely different. ;) For variation of river scenery the Rhine is the place to go I think.

Please not that on the Danube cruise you start with the Canal and join the Danube at Kelheim and on the Rhine you start on the Rhine and navigate off it in the Netherlands to get to Amsterdam (a mix of canal and river stretches, I believe).

These are the similarities and differences I can think of.

Not an easy choice, indeed.

notamermaid

In reference to Notameraids post, we were on a Avalon Basel to Amsterdam itinerary and had the pleasure of visiting both Mainz and Rudesheim, Germany.

We have our first river cruise booked for this summer--the Rhine and Moselle. A lot of the recommendations on the board for a first cruise suggested the Rhine so that made me initially check out that itinerary. Because of some great sale prices I recently looked at a Danube cruise to see if we wanted to attempt to switch our cruise, but based on the ports I decided I was still more interested in a Rhine cruise. I'd read through the itineraries and see if any of the ports sound more interesting to you on one cruise versus another.

It also helped that we have friends living in Germany and they love Strasbourg and Colmar, which are on the Rhine cruise. Plus now we get to meet up with them!

I can't tell you which cruise itinerary is better for your first trip, but I will tell you that DH and I will be doing our first river cruise and have chosen the Amsterdam/Basel itinerary. What was important for us, like you, we preferred a shorter (7-8 day) cruise, and we really wanted to see Amsterdam. It was also important that we end up somewhere that's a short train ride from Northern Italy (i.e. Basel), so we could spend a few days there prior to returning home to Virginia. We are booked for Sept. 2016 on Emerald Waterways.

I have a hard time imagining there is any bad itinerary...

We are in our early 60's and enjoy beautiful scenery and interesting cities.

Judy,

We've cruised both routes and as said before, you won't be disappointed regardless of which route you chose. Just realize you may become addicted to river cruising and decide to continue on for your next trip. :)

If you think you'd prefer cities over smaller towns or cities, you may prefer the Danube. Most of these cruises will stop at Vienna and Budapest, maybe with an optional trip (by bus) in to Salzburg. With the exception of Cologne, the stops on the Rhine were smaller cities. They still had beautiful churches and buildings.. and in the smaller cities or towns you tend to dock walking distance to town.

The scenery is sensational on both routes, but I'd give a slight edge to the Rhine/Main. We haven't been on the lower part of the Rhine (from Basel) but Strasbourg would add a bigger city, although I don't think you dock in town. We started our Rhine/Main cruise in Cologne, mainly because we heard the river north of Cologne was more industrial and not as scenic.

Hello beesKate,

Quote: "We started our Rhine/Main cruise in Cologne, mainly because we heard the river north of Cologne was more industrial and not as scenic."

Thank you for mentioning that. There are a few cruises available that start or end in Cologne.

It is partly what I ment with variation: the Rhine - more so than the Danube I believe - has everything from wildly romantic rocks to Roman antiquities to large industrial stretches. North of Düsseldorf the Rhine enters the "plains" as I like to call them. ;) I live further South, you see. The landscape gets flatter and you have Duisburg with the largest inland river harbour in Germany.

After that, unfortunately, river cruise ships pass by Xanthen and Nijmegen but (with very few exceptions) do not stop. Both towns are old, in the best sense. Pity.

As beesKate has mentioned, on the Danube, the stops tend to be the bigger places. Most of the 8-day-cruises I have seen offered to Europeans also stop in Bratislava, so on that trip you encounter three European capitals.

Another idea: on google Earth follow the course of both rivers and look at the changing photos that pop-up. Having said that, I am not sure whether the ship will sail along the Nederrhijn or the Waal in the Netherlands.

notamermaid

The variation in scenery on the Rhine cruises is why I think it's more enjoyable in the direction from Amsterdam to Basel. On our cruise we started with a nice tour of Amsterdam (bus and canal) while the boat sailed through the industrial canal out of Amsterdam. We rejoined the boat as it was about to move into the Rhine, and were just getting used to river cruising as we went past the least interested stuff. By the next day we were into a scenic area, and it just kept getting better as we sailed toward Basel.

I can't tell you which cruise itinerary is better for your first trip' date=' but I will tell you that DH and I will be doing our first river cruise and have chosen the Amsterdam/Basel itinerary. What was important for us, like you, we preferred a shorter (7-8 day) cruise, and we really wanted to see Amsterdam. It was also important that we end up somewhere that's a short train ride from Northern Italy (i.e. Basel), so we could spend a few days there prior to returning home to Virginia. We are booked for Sept. 2016 on Emerald Waterways.

 

I have a hard time imagining there is any bad itinerary...[/quote']

 

Hi Carlydawg,

 

I'm pretty sure that we will be going on Emerald as well! The boats look so nice and the price is right.

But I think the Danube will be a better fit for us: really interested in Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest, and we already spent some time in Amsterdam about 3 years ago.

DH did mention wanting to see some castles, though. Are there any on the Danube?

This is exciting!

Hi Carlydawg,

 

I'm pretty sure that we will be going on Emerald as well! The boats look so nice and the price is right.

But I think the Danube will be a better fit for us: really interested in Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest, and we already spent some time in Amsterdam about 3 years ago.

DH did mention wanting to see some castles, though. Are there any on the Danube?

This is exciting!

I have no doubt the Danube itinerary will be very nice as well. I spent considerable time in Vienna many years ago when I lived in Italy, so it wasn't a priority in terms of places to see, though I've yet to see to Budapest and Bratislava! Everyone keeps saying that once you do your first river cruise, you're hooked, so I'm sure there will be a second river cruise in our future and perhaps we'll venture onto the Danube!

Can't answer the question about Castles on the Danube. I know there are castles all over Europe, so my guess is you'll likely float by one or two.

Should you change your mind on itinerary, look into Emerald's Sept 3, 2016 sailing and we could be shipmates! :)

I vote Danube. We have done both in the past 12 months and the Rhine to me was either too industrial or touristy. The cities and towns on the Danube are active and vibrant places that we found interesting. Does not mean you will agree this is just our experience and opinion.

There were 3 "throw away" days on my recent Rhine cruise. Rudesheim is a complete tourist trap. Boppard is simply a staging area for the following days Castle cruise day and Cologne is absent any and all charm (the Cathedral is stunning however). Also the trip between AMS and Cologne was about as interesting as driving the down the Jersey Pike through Newark.

It is just my opinion but we spent far too much time staring at container terminals and factories gliding down the Rhine. The Danube was less industrial and our sail away from Budapest could have appeared on a commercial.

After reading what others posted, some additional thoughts.

Mainz over Rudesheim hands down. In addition to the printing history, Mainz has Roman ruins and a really good Roman Ship Museum. There is also a nice walking area to take when returning to where the ship docks as well as a riverside Biergarten along the way.

Boppard is a real town, not a touristy are like Rudesheim. There is a chairlift out of town to an easy trail over to Vierseenblick, a picturesque view point of the Rhein. Also a train through the forest over the mountain to another small village. Folks that traveled with us enjoyed that.

The direction from Amsterdam to Basel definitely has views that improve as your cruise goes on.

Some lines dock in Strasbourg just an easy walk from the terminus of a tram line into the city center.

I absolutely enjoyed Koln . . . Hardly a throwaway. But we did climb the steeple, hit a museum and venture across the river.

IIRC the bulk of our lower, industrial, Rhein was at night.

Oops

We thought Rudesheim was a highlight! AMA took us to a vineyard where the owner gave us a tour and tasting. Then after dinner they took us back to Siegried's Mechanical Instrument Museum, which was a hoot. Touristy?--I guess, but in a Route 66 kind of way.

We thought Rudesheim was a highlight! AMA took us to a vineyard where the owner gave us a tour and tasting. Then after dinner they took us back to Siegried's Mechanical Instrument Museum, which was a hoot. Touristy?--I guess, but in a Route 66 kind of way.

I'm with you, Rudesheim was one of our favorite stops! It was a little touristy, but hey, we're tourists!!! :D

You can't go wrong with either Danube or Rhine, although I'm partial to Danube since that was our first river cruise and Budapest is in the top 3 of my favorite European cities. Amsterdam was nice...but Budapest....I keep going there and never get enough!

Now I have a question for OP, Judy: I just booked Southern Caribbean on the Eclipse.....anything I should know? I've sailed with Celebrity before but not on this class. Does it have a snack bar/restaurant where they serve only healthy food, like egg white omelets for b-fast and salads for lunch? They do on Infinity and I checked ship deck by deck and couldn't find one, but then one on Infinity isn't on the deck plan either.

Touristy?--I guess, but in a Route 66 kind of way

I am genuinely glad you enjoyed it. A few people on our boat really like and I am happy they did. I just looked around and it reminded me of Epcot. I might be a cynic however :)

Even to a fellow cynic, most of the food in Rudesheim is way superior to Epcot's Biergarten :rolleyes:

I'm with you, Rudesheim was one of our favorite stops! It was a little touristy, but hey, we're tourists!!! :D

 

You can't go wrong with either Danube or Rhine, although I'm partial to Danube since that was our first river cruise and Budapest is in the top 3 of my favorite European cities. Amsterdam was nice...but Budapest....I keep going there and never get enough!

 

Now I have a question for OP, Judy: I just booked Southern Caribbean on the Eclipse.....anything I should know? I've sailed with Celebrity before but not on this class. Does it have a snack bar/restaurant where they serve only healthy food, like egg white omelets for b-fast and salads for lunch? They do on Infinity and I checked ship deck by deck and couldn't find one, but then one on Infinity isn't on the deck plan either.

Hi, hydro kitty,

As I recall, the aquaspa café on the eclipse serves lighter and healthier breakfasts and lunches. Not sure about egg white omelettes! But I think the egg station at the buffet might do eggbeaters type omelettes.

Hope this helps,

Judy

Hi, hydro kitty,

 

As I recall, the aquaspa café on the eclipse serves lighter and healthier breakfasts and lunches. Not sure about egg white omelettes! But I think the egg station at the buffet might do eggbeaters type omelettes.

Hope this helps,

Judy

Thanks Judy, that's just what I wanted to know!!! I think on Infinity it was called Aquaspa too. It was located in a little corner just outside the Spa and we ate b-fast and lunch there every day we were on board.

HK (also a Judy)

Now I have a question for OP, Judy: I just booked Southern Caribbean on the Eclipse.....anything I should know? I've sailed with Celebrity before but not on this class. Does it have a snack bar/restaurant where they serve only healthy food, like egg white omelets for b-fast and salads for lunch? They do on Infinity and I checked ship deck by deck and couldn't find one, but then one on Infinity isn't on the deck plan either.

I just sailed the Eclipse 14-day Souther Caribbean itinerary. Loved everything about the ship -- except breakfast. Sorry, I wasn't looking for healthy options, quite the opposite. It was very hard to find fresh eggs in the buffet (first time I've seen Eggs Benedict pre-cooked and then assembled while you wait). But the buffet is broken up into separate stations and one is just for salads, so you can definitely eat healthy then.

I just sailed the Eclipse 14-day Souther Caribbean itinerary. Loved everything about the ship -- except breakfast. Sorry, I wasn't looking for healthy options, quite the opposite. It was very hard to find fresh eggs in the buffet (first time I've seen Eggs Benedict pre-cooked and then assembled while you wait). But the buffet is broken up into separate stations and one is just for salads, so you can definitely eat healthy then.

Thanks Jazzbeau....I can't believe that about the eggs. When we're on the Celebrity we tend to eat healthy for b-fast and lunch so we can gorge without guilt at dinner!! :D I've been spending most of the day looking up each port to see what's there and what we want to see and should we purchase ship excursions, which can sometimes be a little over-priced. Only thing I'm having real difficulty finding is how far the ship docks from the "city center". It's times like this that I most miss Border's and their extensive travel section complete with plastic maps of all the major cities.

Thanks Jazzbeau....I can't believe that about the eggs. When we're on the Celebrity we tend to eat healthy for b-fast and lunch so we can gorge without guilt at dinner!! :D I've been spending most of the day looking up each port to see what's there and what we want to see and should we purchase ship excursions, which can sometimes be a little over-priced. Only thing I'm having real difficulty finding is how far the ship docks from the "city center". It's times like this that I most miss Border's and their extensive travel section complete with plastic maps of all the major cities.

First: Caribbean islands are like lager beer -- some people debate the finer points, but they all taste the same to me ;)

Second: the islands are all about tourism, so they have all built a "tourist downtown" right at the port. If you want to shop at Diamonds International etc., you don't have to walk more than 100 yds.

Third: the downtowns are where the local people live and work, so they may have a little history but not likely to have much shopping or really much of interest -- note that Caribbean history is limited by successive wars of occupation wiping out the previous colonial forts, popular uprisings wiping out the colonial oppression legacies, tropical rot wiping out all signs of development, and hurricanes wiping out everything in their path, so there really isn't much to see especially compared to the European cities that are the focus of this forum

Upshot: Celebrity Eclipse is a wonderful ship and can be enjoyed just for itself, but the itineraries it visits in the Caribbean don't really add that much to the cruise (IMHO, or did I just get up on the wrong side of the bed today ;))

First: Caribbean islands are like lager beer -- some people debate the finer points, but they all taste the same to me ;)

 

Second: the islands are all about tourism, so they have all built a "tourist downtown" right at the port. If you want to shop at Diamonds International etc., you don't have to walk more than 100 yds.

 

Third: the downtowns are where the local people live and work, so they may have a little history but not likely to have much shopping or really much of interest -- note that Caribbean history is limited by successive wars of occupation wiping out the previous colonial forts, popular uprisings wiping out the colonial oppression legacies, tropical rot wiping out all signs of development, and hurricanes wiping out everything in their path, so there really isn't much to see especially compared to the European cities that are the focus of this forum

 

Upshot: Celebrity Eclipse is a wonderful ship and can be enjoyed just for itself, but the itineraries it visits in the Caribbean don't really add that much to the cruise (IMHO, or did I just get up on the wrong side of the bed today ;))

LOL!!!! Did you do any of the beach excursions? I read the descriptions and they sounded wonderful.....then I read the reviews and found umbrellas are $3 and beach lounge chairs are the aluminum frames with plastic straps that we buy at K-Mart! It's nice to have someone who just took this trip and whose brain I can pick.