Lots of Questions on River Cruising from a Prospective First-Timer...

I am starting to research options for a 2013 summer vacation. Since we have covered most of Western and Northern Europe and well as most of the Mediterranean ports on both cruises and "land trips", I figure that most of what we haven't visited is inland and to the East...and seems to be most accessible and most conveniently covered by River Cruises--places such as Prague, Vienna, Budapest, etc.

I have been on 30+ big ship type cruises, but never on a river cruise...

So, I have a number of questions...

I know that with mass marketed big ship lines, there are many similarities between lines, but also some important differences in terms of demographics, level of luxury, age groups, etc. For example, Carnival or NCL cater to, and trying not to offend anyone here, a sort of a lower-end crowd whereas a line like Celebrity or Oceania aims at something a bit more upscale and there are lines like a Seabourne or Silverseas that aim toward the very high end of the market. Is the same true with River Cruise companies? On the big ships, we feel the most comfortable on a Celebrity or Oceania...is there a comparable niche with River Cruises? Are any of these cruise lines considered better or worse than the others? I have seen various lines advertised--Viking, AMA, Uniworld, Avalon...are there others?

On the larger cruise ships, there are certain cruise lines which are "American" and English-speaking...and others that cater to people from other countries, other languages...Does the same thing exist with River Cruises where there may be certain lines that will cater more toward my language and culture? (I had a colleague who took a cruise on a German cruise line--where EVERYTHING was in German--a language he didn't speak...You can only imagine how that went!).

We are in our 50s and one fear is that on River Cruises, we may find ourselves among the younger folks onboard...I don't know if this is true, just a hunch...and we really have no problem with enjoying the company of people older than us, but, for the greatest comfort, it's always nice to find a lot of people in our same relative age group. What is the approximate age group on these cruise lines...and is there a difference between different lines?

If I read some of the websites I've seen correctly, some, if not all, of these River Cruise lines INCLUDE excursions in the ports. How all-encompassing are these excursions? Full Day...or do they last a short time, then open up for "free time"? Do they put you on buses to take you places or are they primarily walking tours? Is it the whole ship or do they break up into smaller groups? How many? Are they completely standard...or are there options? How do these differ among the different River Cruise lines?

Do these ships provide any entertainment at night onboard the ship? What differences among the different lines?

What is included onboard in the way of meals, drinks, alcohol, etc.? What is "extra"? Any differences between the lines?

Since the river cruises often start and end in some harder to reach places, it sounds like it is of benefit to coordinate the entire package through the cruise line...to include transfers to and from the ship and all. How is each cruise line in handling these logistical items? What if one wanted to arrive a couple of days early...Say, if one had a River Cruise starting in Passau, but wanted to spend a couple of nights in Munich before heading to the ship, how would that be accommodated? Or would I be on my own to get to the ship? Or to deal with my own airfare since I would not be coming in on their "start date"?

Let's say I was looking for a "longer" Eastern European River Cruise--something in the 12-20 day range, is there one that anyone would recommend? We have a limited time window of around June 15 through August 4 due to my wife's school district calendar.

Thank you for any help or advice.

I know you'll receive lots of replies to your questions as everyone has an opinion and it seems a favorite river cruise line. At the risk of sounding snippy which is not my intention, all of your questions are answered on this board in previous postings. If you'll just read through some of the earlier postings, you'll find out everything you need to know. More details than you ever dreamed! Just from our limited cruise experience, river cruising only, at your age of 55, you will not be the youngest ones. Read the different cruise lines' website and compare prices and inclusions. Good luck and have fun!

Hi, BruinSteve, and welcome to the river cruise forum. I know you from your posts on the ocean cruise forums.

We are your age and are active travelers. Before river cruising I had extensive experience with ocean cruises on many lines. It has been about 4 years since my last ocean cruise as the ships are just too big, with too many kids, too many extra charges and not something we enjoy any longer. That being said, if my budget allowed Regent and similar we would still enjoy one every now and then as that is to date the best cruise I have ever taken.:)

My experience is limited to two lines, AMA and Avalon, and a total of 5 cruises. I would compare both Avalon and AMA to Princess and Celebrity in terms of overall quality. Tauck is more luxurious and more inclusive; we have not cruised with them, as we prefer to be independent in booking our pre and post travel, our air, our transfers and have no interest in more included excursions.

IME, AMA had a significantly younger demographic that we very much enjoyed. Even the cruise staff was young, which gave the experience a different personality. The entertainment was more varied and the options in port were as well. AMA has bikes aboard which they offer both for guest use and also as guided tours of varying lengths. These were very popular with younger guests.

We also found that the itinerary really matters but it took us a couple of cruises to really figure that out as river cruise lines do not post very detailed itineraries. We learned the hard way that some stops were very brief, just to drop off passengers on specific tours, for example, and then back to the boat for extensive day time cruising to the next port. This is our least favorite part of a river cruise.

We now know to look for extended port times and overnight stays wherever possible so that we can maximize our time in ports. This is personal preference and we met many who loved the down time on the rivers, where they could just read and relax. That is not something we go to Europe to do so it was not a positive for us.

Our AMA cruise was the best for us so far. It was a wine themed cruised so had the CEO of a well known California vineyard hosting and lots of added activities planned for us. It also attracted other like minded folks which was a big plus and there was a nice mix of ages with as many 50 and under as 60 and over. For us, a theme cruise is the way to go as we know it will be focused on something we enjoy. It also provided great added value.

We found the food an AmaDante to be excellent, the best we have had to date, and the attention to detail superb. There were regional dishes offered daily and a fabulous cheese board which was a highlight in the dining room.

We were with a group of friends, several who had river cruised before and a few who had not, and we all agreed it was a great experience and that AMA suited our ages and tastes very well. Enough so that we as a group booked again this year, on their newest ship, the AmaCerto.

Both AMA and Avalon include wines with dinner as well as beer. The wine served on our wine cruise was really outstanding and the wine pairing dinners a lot of fun.

Entertainment on our AMA cruise was also the best we experienced. We had live entertainment every evening and stayed out dancing til 1am on two nights, a first for us on a river cruise. One night a really excellent jazz combo kept the crowd on the dance floor til late and another night we had a DJ who was a lot of fun. On previous cruises, entertainment was limited to the in house piano player or local acts that were more representative of the area. We preferred the more lively entertainment on AMA.

The included excursions on these lines are generally walking tours of 90 minutes or so, with the guess broken into groups. We give these a miss most of the time, preferring to go off on our own at our own pace. We did participate when entry to something of interest (castle, palace, etc) was included. AMA offered some included excursions that were fun, like a walk through the town center after dinner one evening and a visit to a wine cellar.

English was the official language as both lines cater to English speaking guests. There are lines like A Rosa which market to a European clientele but I have never seen them marketed here.

Our first river cruise was a 5 night voyage which was a great intro. We did one in 2010 that was 11 nights and that was too much for us and we would not do so again. 7 nights is our preference with pre and post cruise time spent in places of interest. Last year we flew into Luxembourg and spent a couple of days there before our AMA cruise, then took the public bus to Remich to board. We debarked in Amsterdam and headed to Brugges for 4 nights at the end, which we really enjoyed. This year we are cruising Budapest to Prague, with 3 night pre in Budapest on our own and three nights post in Prague.

Good luck with your research.

Caviargal - Just curious as to how you were able to determine the time in the ports and which had overnights? My wife and I are in our early 50's and on the limited ocean cruises we have taken liked the overnights since it gave us the opportunity to explore more and have a dinner off the ship.

Steve, I have also enjoyed your posts over the years in various forums. I'm doing the same kind of research, for 2013, and at times my head literally spins. I'm trying to keep a spreadsheet of itineraries, lines, bottom-line prices, then I will start comparing details of the itinerary, excursions, inclusions, cabin sizes, etc. It's still quite a daunting task, and does take quite a bit of research.

I've decided on an 8-day, 7-night, probably on AMA, but perhaps on Uniworld, or even Avalon. Budapest to Nuremberg is the most likely itinerary, although Paris - Normandy is also in the running, as it Basel - Amsterdam.

I excluded Viking from the list for various reasons, one of which is that I was told by a TA that I would have to pay in full for a 2013 fall cruise more than a year in advance--this does not sit well with me. (It may have been a special promo or something, perhaps that's not always their policy.)

I've been told not to book air through the river cruise lines, though I will ask for quotes I guess just to see. I may choose the Paris trip just for ease of travel, not sure. Not cheap business class upgrades possible, which is a factor for me, I hate flying coach but can't afford full Business.

I've also decided to roll my own pre- and post-cruise extensions, since they seem very over-priced to me, like ocean cruiselines--I can do much better on hotels in Prague and/or Budapest and choose the length I want to stay. I believe transfers from Prague on your own are manageable.

Friends of ours are doing Amsterdam to Budapest this fall, on Tauck. This is the high-priced spread, everything included. Too long, and too expensive, for me.

Having cruised on Celebrity, Oceania and Princess, I'd guess we are pretty much in your ballpark. A little older, but active. DH picked out an Avalon 11 day cruise from Amsterdam to Vienna for our first river cruise. (We added a couple days pre and post cruise in each of Ams and Vienna too. ) The demographics on our boat were mixed. At 60, there were some younger and more older than us.

We enjoyed our itinerary very much and have a German land trip planned for this fall to cover even more territory and spend more time in our favorite spots. I think itinerary is really important on your first river trip. I agree that a 7 dayer would have been better for a first cruise. It's so different from ocean cruising that if you don't enjoy it, it could get too long. But we loved our route and the views ( castles,vineyards, little towns) were wonderful.

We liked that there was an included overview type tour in almost every stop that didn't just hit one particular spot. (castle, garden etc) Those specialty tours could be purchased for the afternoons. A couple we did, but actually enjoyed more the time in the towns on our own. We like to explore and find little spots that "hit" us. We often would head back to an interesting tavern or market that we passed on our included town tour and would enjoy lunch or just take in the atmosphere.

Food on our boat was excellent and the wines were great...I love German wines to begin with and having it free flowing was definitely a plus. ;)

When ocean ship cruising, I prefer tables for two for quality time together with dh. However except for a very few river boats, those are not available. So you will share tables with others every night. Your choice where and with whom you want to sit. Open seating. We met some very fun and nice people but really would have enjoyed some alone time too. That was minus for me , but some would consider it a plus. It gets pretty loud during dinner.

Entertainment on our ship was minimal and we found that a minus. Other than joining some drinkers in the lounge, on most eveings there wasn't much of anything else to do. A few local performers was it. A pianist a couple nights. Guess that's why they stretch dinner serving over several hours. It really becomes the event of the night. But know that you are going pretty strong from morning till dinner...if you wish. And knowing there really aren't any days that you'll want to sleep in like on a sea day on Celebrity, you will tend to go to bed maybe a bit earlier.;)

We will do another river cruise next year. Just for the change. But I think we both prefer the ocean cruising to touch upon some coastal cities and land vacations when we want to get "into" a country. Just gives us more flexiblity and time where we want to be.

Try river cruising and come on back and let us hear what you think. There are some really beautiful and modern river boats out there now compared to just a few years ago. We have friends that swear by Uniworld. I think they are comparable to Avalon, from what I hear.

Oh, and I would rec that you book your own hotels pre and post. You can handpick where you'd like to stay and you will pay much less than what the line will charge. But if you aren't into researching and just don't have the time, the company will plan everything for you. It's a matter of what you want to do.

 

When ocean ship cruising, I prefer tables for two for quality time together with dh. However except for a very few river boats, those are not available. So you will share tables with others every night. Your choice where and with whom you want to sit. Open seating. We met some very fun and nice people but really would have enjoyed some alone time too. That was minus for me , but some would consider it a plus. It gets pretty loud during dinner.

Good point about tables for 2. We missed those on our first river cruises and were pleased to see a good number of them on AmaDante. We also enjoy the choice of dining alone or with others.

<Just curious as to how you were able to determine the time in the ports and which had overnights?<

Have a good look at the detailed day to day itineraries. It will show when you have overnight stays and then you have to read carefully to figure out how to determine how to determine the approx. length of stay in other ports. Pay attention to comments like "relax and enjoy the scenery as we cruise to...arriving after lunch". This generally means an extended sail. Sometimes you have to read between the lines.:)

We did our first river cruise on Viking last year; We liked the concept - small ship, semi luxe, upscale passengers and good food; We found the average age over 60 on Viking; We were turned off by two things: One of the excursions was over an hour away by bus and we were dropped off at a Cuckoo Clock store on the Black Forest; There were NO photo stops whatsoever, - just held captive at a clock store with a Black Forest Cake Bakery at the same building. The river level was low and we felt that they had plans in place for busing us to the next port on embarking but only told passengers the night we had to pack.

We like the concept - just not the execution on Viking; We have gone on several Tauck Tours and our friends (also in Calabasas) just went on Tauck's Prague to Budapest and raved about it. They have the same travel standards we do. Other friends who have traveled with us have been happy with AMA; We are booked on Tauck's Prague to Budapest later this year;

(PS - I am a Bruin too - grew up in the Cheviot Hills area and am the same age bracket - Hami High Alum too)

We are going on our first river cruise this summer after having been on maybe 15 cruises. I, too am worried about there not being enough to do. We are going on AmA's new bost that goes in the water in May. Our trip starts in Budapest and ends in Prague. The trip starts on July 4th but we are doing Budapest on our own before and ends in Praguie. We were taking their extension until I did the math and realized that even by staying inthe same hotel I could save close to $500. We usually travel with other coupkes but are doing this trip on our ow. Will this be a problem? We would like to do a few private excursions with other people, but Cruise Critic people have not caught on to river boat boards yet or am I looking in the wrong place. Any help would be appreciated.

Hi, BruinSteve, and welcome to the river cruise forum. I know you from your posts on the ocean cruise forums.

 

We are your age and are active travelers. Before river cruising I had extensive experience with ocean cruises on many lines. It has been about 4 years since my last ocean cruise as the ships are just too big, with too many kids, too many extra charges and not something we enjoy any longer. That being said, if my budget allowed Regent and similar we would still enjoy one every now and then as that is to date the best cruise I have ever taken.:)

 

My experience is limited to two lines, AMA and Avalon, and a total of 5 cruises. I would compare both Avalon and AMA to Princess and Celebrity in terms of overall quality. Tauck is more luxurious and more inclusive; we have not cruised with them, as we prefer to be independent in booking our pre and post travel, our air, our transfers and have no interest in more included excursions.

 

IME, AMA had a significantly younger demographic that we very much enjoyed. Even the cruise staff was young, which gave the experience a different personality. The entertainment was more varied and the options in port were as well. AMA has bikes aboard which they offer both for guest use and also as guided tours of varying lengths. These were very popular with younger guests.

 

We also found that the itinerary really matters but it took us a couple of cruises to really figure that out as river cruise lines do not post very detailed itineraries. We learned the hard way that some stops were very brief, just to drop off passengers on specific tours, for example, and then back to the boat for extensive day time cruising to the next port. This is our least favorite part of a river cruise.

 

We now know to look for extended port times and overnight stays wherever possible so that we can maximize our time in ports. This is personal preference and we met many who loved the down time on the rivers, where they could just read and relax. That is not something we go to Europe to do so it was not a positive for us.

 

Our AMA cruise was the best for us so far. It was a wine themed cruised so had the CEO of a well known California vineyard hosting and lots of added activities planned for us. It also attracted other like minded folks which was a big plus and there was a nice mix of ages with as many 50 and under as 60 and over. For us, a theme cruise is the way to go as we know it will be focused on something we enjoy. It also provided great added value.

 

We found the food an AmaDante to be excellent, the best we have had to date, and the attention to detail superb. There were regional dishes offered daily and a fabulous cheese board which was a highlight in the dining room.

 

We were with a group of friends, several who had river cruised before and a few who had not, and we all agreed it was a great experience and that AMA suited our ages and tastes very well. Enough so that we as a group booked again this year, on their newest ship, the AmaCerto.

 

Both AMA and Avalon include wines with dinner as well as beer. The wine served on our wine cruise was really outstanding and the wine pairing dinners a lot of fun.

 

Entertainment on our AMA cruise was also the best we experienced. We had live entertainment every evening and stayed out dancing til 1am on two nights, a first for us on a river cruise. One night a really excellent jazz combo kept the crowd on the dance floor til late and another night we had a DJ who was a lot of fun. On previous cruises, entertainment was limited to the in house piano player or local acts that were more representative of the area. We preferred the more lively entertainment on AMA.

 

The included excursions on these lines are generally walking tours of 90 minutes or so, with the guess broken into groups. We give these a miss most of the time, preferring to go off on our own at our own pace. We did participate when entry to something of interest (castle, palace, etc) was included. AMA offered some included excursions that were fun, like a walk through the town center after dinner one evening and a visit to a wine cellar.

 

English was the official language as both lines cater to English speaking guests. There are lines like A Rosa which market to a European clientele but I have never seen them marketed here.

 

 

Our first river cruise was a 5 night voyage which was a great intro. We did one in 2010 that was 11 nights and that was too much for us and we would not do so again. 7 nights is our preference with pre and post cruise time spent in places of interest. Last year we flew into Luxembourg and spent a couple of days there before our AMA cruise, then took the public bus to Remich to board. We debarked in Amsterdam and headed to Brugges for 4 nights at the end, which we really enjoyed. This year we are cruising Budapest to Prague, with 3 night pre in Budapest on our own and three nights post in Prague.

 

Good luck with your research.

Steve, go to the Preismans.com and read the very extensive and beautiful trip reports done by Mike. They went on AMA. We went on one last fall and will be going again in Sept or 2013. We were treated like royalty. You will have a great time.

My husband and I did Budapest for 5 days precruise on our own and the same number of days in Prague at the end of our trip. Most people there spoke very good English and we had no problems. We used the subway extensively in BUD but walked pretty much everywhere in Prague. The whole area is beautiful. In BUD be sure to take the evening boat tour on the Danube. It was great. We have been to China, Egypt, Italy, the UK etc. and this was our favorite trip.

We are going on our first river cruise this summer after having been on maybe 15 cruises. I, too am worried about there not being enough to do. We are going on AmA's new bost that goes in the water in May. Our trip starts in Budapest and ends in Prague. The trip starts on July 4th but we are doing Budapest on our own before and ends in Praguie. We were taking their extension until I did the math and realized that even by staying inthe same hotel I could save close to $500. We usually travel with other coupkes but are doing this trip on our ow. Will this be a problem? We would like to do a few private excursions with other people, but Cruise Critic people have not caught on to river boat boards yet or am I looking in the wrong place. Any help would be appreciated.

Not sure I understand your question. What have we not caught up with and will what be a problem?

We sometimes opt for a private guide and have one booked in both Budapest and Prague. We are on the same boat and itinerary as you. And we booked our own hotels in both cities as we always do. We will take a taxi to the boat in Budapest for departure and then take the express bus to Prague at the end for 19E per person.

I excluded Viking from the list for various reasons, one of which is that I was told by a TA that I would have to pay in full for a 2013 fall cruise more than a year in advance--this does not sit well with me.

Yeah...That one sort of gets me too...I sort of like the itinerary for Viking's July 4, 2013 Budapest to Bucharest, adding days on at both ends...

Figure a Category D "French Balcony" is shown at $3756 pp, add in 3 extra nights in Bucharest for $699 pp and 3 extra nights in Prague for $699 pp (prices don't sound too bad, especially considering everything is coordinated by the line) and $1595 pp for round trip air from Los Angeles...and that comes to $6,749 pp...For two, it's $13,498 all included for a 17 night trip...then I read the small print "FULLY PAY BY May 31, 2012"...

It is hard for me to picture shelling out $13,498 that's almost FOURTEEN MONTHS in the future!!!

I usually book my "big ship" cruises that far in advance...and a deposit of around $900 holds it until 60 or 75 days out!

Of course, I seem to always get constant brochures and advertising from Viking where they are offering great deals on their cruises right down to the end...So, it is hard for me to think there is ANY advantage to booking early with these guys.

I don't see that AMA offeres any kind of similar itinerary...and it is hard to determine from their website what sort of airfare deals they might offer...

Avalon appears to have a possibly more interesting itinerary that goes from Prague to Bucharest with almost twice as long on the ship itself that could be had for $15,744.00 (air "guaranty", two extra nights in Bucharest, transfers, paid gratuities) for an 18 night trip...No one on here has written much on Avalon as of yet...and I'm not sure what to make of them...they do seem to have longer cruises though...

(PS - I am a Bruin too - grew up in the Cheviot Hills area and am the same age bracket - Hami High Alum too)

Ahhh...and a neighbor now...I hope you didn't get caught in that freeway closure mess on the 101 like I did this morning! I've got lots of family in TO (they call it Westlake, but we really know it's TO)...

And I had an uncle that lived in Cheviot--on Cavendish--for many years...and lots of cousins who went to Hami...back in the 60s...

I, myself, grew up in the Palisades (right next to the Getty Villa) anmd went to Pali High...Class of '71...UCLA Class of '75...

Good point about tables for 2. We missed those on our first river cruises and were pleased to see a good number of them on AmaDante. We also enjoy the choice of dining alone or with others.

 

.:)

Glad to hear the tables for two are more than just a couple. We are definitely making that a priority along with the itinerary on our next river cruise. Especially on the longer than a week cruise, I find it "tiring" to make small talk every night. DH loves to meet new people and learn from them about their homes, work etc. But I find spending breakfast and lunch with folks is plenty for me. ;) I like my dinners as "date nights" with DH. We DID search out little out of the way places for lunches at our stops, when the itinerary allowed. That allowed us that time.

Glad to hear the tables for two are more than just a couple. We are definitely making that a priority along with the itinerary on our next river cruise. Especially on the longer than a week cruise, I find it "tiring" to make small talk every night. DH loves to meet new people and learn from them about their homes, work etc. But I find spending breakfast and lunch with folks is plenty for me. ;) I like my dinners as "date nights" with DH. We DID search out little out of the way places for lunches at our stops, when the itinerary allowed. That allowed us that time.

I agree. DH and I both have demanding careers and when we travel as a couple, we really treasure our time together, including a nice dinner where we can just enjoy each other's company.

It is indeed "work" sometimes to make small talk with strangers and while we are up for it sometimes, we want the option.

Bruinsteve, If Viking doesn't do it for you, and I agree for more reasons than the prepayment, look at the Tauck Budapest to Bucharest, they are at the same level as your ocean cruises to say the least.

On the Avalon Imagery there is ONE, repeat, ONE "table for 2" in the entire dining room. All other tables sat 4,6, & 8 people. It is on the starboard side just as you enter through the doorway into the dining room. I selfishly made sure that I was at that door 15 minutes before it opened each night for 14 days in order to make sure my Dad and I had that table. Not that we were necessarily looking for an "intimate" dining experience but for the simple reason that the dining room was so crowded, and the tables/chairs were so close together, and the noise level was so loud that we (both with limited/failing hearing) would not have been able to hear or understand a thing anyone around us was saying; even someone sitting right next to us. Polite/genteel/quiet conversation would have been impossible and my ears would have been ringing (more so than they usually do!) for the rest of the night. I suspect that some of our fellow diners thought we were just trying to be "snooty". I assure them that this wasn't the case and we made sure to have many conversations with other cruisers throughout the day....just not at dinnertime. Regards to all.

I am following this thread and another one with great interest as this too is our first river cruise. We cruised on Oceania two years ago and loved the small ship experience.

Following all these threads I have somewhat lowered my expectations of our upcoming Avalon experience on the Danube.

Royalgirl - "Following all these threads I have somewhat lowered my expectations of our upcoming Avalon experience on the Danube."

Why?

steve,

I also contribute to Oceania threads and have river cruised only with Avalon. We like them very much and enjoy their itineraries. One of the things we love about A is that many Australians and Kiwis cruise with them and we end up having dinner most nights with those folks who are wonderful travel mates.

We have used Monograms, a Globus product, which affords us extra time in ports before or after we cruise. For example, we took the Budapest to Amsterdam cruise but flew into Budapest a week early and hooked up with our Monogram people. We saw Budapest for 3 days, were escorted to the train for Vienna were there for 3 days and then were escorted to the train for Prague for another 3 days then taken back to the train for Budapest and went to the Avalon hotel for our meet-up and on to the ship. Monogram provides the hotels and breakfast, a city tour and then you are independent until time to meet the train. We loved it.

Most of the Avalon passengers we have been with have been your/our age and are independent travelers. The included city tours are nice and affords you the opportunity of striking off and doing your own thing.

The very best thing about river cruising is that, in most cases, you are right in town center and can walk into town whenever the mood strikes. There have been some times my husband goes one way and I the other and we meet up at a pre-determined time and place for a snack.

You may bring any alcohol you purchase back on board and the Aussies laughed about how they "clinked" when coming back for dinner.

My advice is to come to Europe as soon as her school is over. Europe is no fun in August. Writing as a former teacher, I think she may appreciate relaxing as soon as her school year is over and June is a lovely time to visit the river towns. Also August is prep time for teachers and she may not enjoy travel that month as she will be anxious to return home.

As an O cruiser only, I rec'd Avalon highly. c

We had planned to book the Celebrity Black Sea for the fall of 2013, once aboard the Silhouette in May; however, DH is not thrilled with the itinerary. :(

So, he suggested trying a river cruise for 2013.

Wow, there are so MANY CHOICES!:eek: I'm starting my research and following your responses.:)

Carolyn

Mrsbits,

Try the Oceania itinerary for Black Sea. If your husband is into WWII history and world history he should like their itinerary. We're signed up for the Sept 2013 trip and will see Crimean War site, Yalta, Churchill & Stalin places as well as Instanbul so it should be a cool trip. They've got a nice deal going for 2013.

For those of you just beginning to river cruise, you really shouldn't try and compare the experience with what you're used to on ocean cruising.

Don't place too much regard on what other people have to say about food on river cruises. What one eats and how it tastes is very personal. For some folks food is really important but for us, we go to see the places and food is incidental.

Royalgirl, since we sail only Oceania we are very pleased with Avalon.

Steve, I did an AMA Waterways cruise from Prague to Paris last fall. I booked my own air, I stayed at the same hotel as AMA was using (at half the cost) and used the AMA Paris stay. The cruise was 7 days. AMA I agree would be in the Oceania category (I've not done Regent or other very high end lines). Avg age about mid 60's with more over than under. I am booked on Scenic Tours, Amsterdam to Budapest this year (Australian co. marketing to US and Canadian customers for the past couple of years) which is all inclusive of gratuities and wine at lunch & dinner. This is a 14 day cruise and I am hoping that I won't get bored after 7 days. I'm thinking they are in the 'Princess' category although I have not yet experienced the quality. River cruising is not for everyone, some love it, some hate it. I happened to love it and that's why I went from 7 to 14 days in length. Last year we did the side trip to Heidelberg which was about 90 mins each way on a big bus which included a bus tour of the city sites and then a drop off at the Castle for about an hour, then a drop off in the market/shop area for another 2 hours. Most of the towns where the boat docks include a 1 1/2 hr. walking tour and then free time. If it is a large place, like Nuremberg, then a bus tour of the sites is included as well as time for shopping. AMA food and service was excellent and I am hoping that Scenic will be just as good.

Mrsbits,

Try the Oceania itinerary for Black Sea. If your husband is into WWII history and world history he should like their itinerary. We're signed up for the Sept 2013 trip and will see Crimean War site, Yalta, Churchill & Stalin places as well as Instanbul so it should be a cool trip. They've got a nice deal going for 2013.

Thanks for the info. I'll take a look at it! Meanwhile, I should be concentrating on our Italy/Croatia cruise.