Best luxury Danube river cruise????

Hello all,

I have researched the following lines for a 2012 trip, but have become confused with which one would be best for us...Avalon, Uniworld, Ama, Scenic or River Cloud 11.

The itinerary is important, but we also have a great interest in food and wine!

River Cloud 11 intrigues me, but I have had difficulty in finding many comments or reviews on-line.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much!

K.C.

I guess it is how you define luxury ;)

we have not done the river cruise yet but when researching they all seem to be very similar

Some differences were what was included, bed configurations,(pull down or full size)

The food all seemed very similar in the reviews i read (but it is subjective)

Hope you find one that suits your needs/wants

Lyn

11 more months to go for our cruise :(

KC - I've only been on one river cruise so far (with Avalon). It was wonderful! I've read similar comments on this board about Uniworld, AMA, Viking, Scenic and others. You're correct about River Cloud 11. I've never heard of them until your post. Their website does look intriguing and maybe worth a little more research.

It seems they may have a doctor on board and provide some very unusual medical services (dialysis) for a cruise ship for those that require it. They also have specials for those with mobility issues. Interesting.

As far as food and drink, we were happy with Avalon although some have suggested the food is comprable to Cracker Barrell. I thought it was much better than that and in some cases it was outstanding. The wine was good too and we were treated like royalty while on board. No complaints.

Many will contend that Tauck is the BEST for river cruises. I've never been on a Tauck ship so it just may be. You can throw that name onto your spreadsheet too. Good luck in selecting. And have a great trip next year. Perhaps we will see on the Danube.

We, as well, have only been on one river cruise, on Avalon, and loved it. Booked another one for next year. We loved the bed.....so comfortable, the stateroom was large and we really enjoyed our French balcony. We thought the food was excellent, as well as the included wines and beer with dinner. Our cruise director was wonderful.....so personable and knowledgeable, a great lecturer. Her name was Barbara Bocz. Our itinerary from Budapest to Prague was just what we wanted. It was hard to choose for our first cruise, I as well did a lot of research. We got a good deal on it, and I'm really glad it ended up being Avalon! Your finalists were ours on our sheet as well, but I'd never heard of the River Cloud.

It seems they may have a doctor on board and provide some very unusual medical services (dialysis) for a cruise ship for those that require it. They also have specials for those with mobility issues. Interesting.

 

Just curious where you saw about the dialysis?

I have a friends that would like to do a river cruise but needs dialysis

It is not usually marketed to North Americans, I believe they cater more to the German market

Cabins are tiny, though. Standard is 118 sq. ft. You can go large with a Junior Suite at 150 sq. ft. The bathroom is 2 sq. m. I might be claustrophobic.

Next to the Premicon Queen the River Cloud II is the most luxurious river cruise ship in Europe. Both ships are marketed on the German market mainly but are open to other countries too of course.

Anyway the Premicon Queen will be implemented into TUI River Cruises and be renamed TUI Queen. That also means that the level of service will be downgraded. So she´s out of the luxury segement.

All other companies you´ve mentioned I´d say are "mass market" river cruise companies. Scenic and Tauck are a little bit more upscale than the others. But that´s it.

You will find larger cabins on the "mass market" ships than on the River Cloud II. But I don´t define luxury by the cabin size. Luxury is much more than that. Fine gourmet dining and excellent service are much more important when you speak about luxury.

steamboats

IMHO...it would be Tauck for many, many reasons!

The cruise we took from BUD to AMS was outstanding. The service, the tours, the food...on and on.

Also, don't be turned off by pricing...Tauck is ALL INCLUSIVE, including tips. Other cruise lines charge for tours, etc. and by the time your done, you may as well have paid for a more luxurious cruise line.

To me the concern for the passenger is utmost and, as I have mentioned before in other posts, the handling of adversity, e.g., in our case, low water levels during our cruise, is an additional aspect whic needs to be considered.

During our cruise, there were low water levels which disrupted the river cruises and some other cruise lines cancelled their cruises outright and left their passengers stranded, or turned them in to bus tours. Tauck was able to switch us to their identical boat at one of our stops with a minimum of inconvenience to their passengers and we continued and concluded our cruise as promised.

We are sold on Tauck!

Did the cruise and would defintely do it again...we are doing another Tauck cruise for the Christmas Markets later this year.

LHT28 - I saw it on the website:

http://eurorivercruises.com/fleet/Special%20Accomodations.html

Hope it helps.

Next to the Premicon Queen the River Cloud II is the most luxurious river cruise ship in Europe. Both ships are marketed on the German market mainly but are open to other countries too of course.

 

Anyway the Premicon Queen will be implemented into TUI River Cruises and be renamed TUI Queen. That also means that the level of service will be downgraded. So she´s out of the luxury segement.

 

All other companies you´ve mentioned I´d say are "mass market" river cruise companies. Scenic and Tauck are a little bit more upscale than the others. But that´s it.

 

You will find larger cabins on the "mass market" ships than on the River Cloud II. But I don´t define luxury by the cabin size. Luxury is much more than that. Fine gourmet dining and excellent service are much more important when you speak about luxury.

 

steamboats

Thanks for the update.

Sorry to hear about the down grading of the PC. Can always count on you, Steamboats, to keep us informed about the boats in Europe. Pat

LHT28 - I saw it on the website:

 

Thanks

That is why I could not find it on the River Cloud

The dialysis cruises are on the Mozart

I will pass on the info to them

Also, don't be turned off by pricing...Tauck is ALL INCLUSIVE, including tips. Other cruise lines charge for tours, etc. and by the time your done, you may as well have paid for a more luxurious cruise line.

 

.

Scenic tours is all inclusive, only drinks are extra except sodas, beer & wine with lunch & dinner are included

Lyn

wanted to try the new ship AMAcello with2 balconies in cabin and 2 restaurants to choose from...passed on Tauck,,do to more expensive,,as said tips and excursions,,inc..but smaller cabins,only french balcony,and we do most ports on own,so why pay for exc.if you dont use them??have been on 8 river cruises,,with most of large companies,,,lots of check but AMA was also recommened on Silversea threads,,when asked for "luxury" river cruise,,so will give it a try in June...Ps..booked in May and only 6 of the cabins I wanted were available..wow.;)

I would recommend looking at Vantage. Their prices are all inclusive of air, transfers, and shore excursions. We have done a Xmas cruise on the Danube in 2007 and a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam in 2010.

Stories and pictures of both cruises are on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

Thank you so much to all who have responded to my question re luxury river cruises....

Re comments re Avalon, we noticed they are offering a "wine theme" cruise, but our TA has not been able to get more info for us about it from Avalon.

I will check into Tauck and Vantage as recommended, thank you!

To "Steamboats".... if you could possibly comment further on River Cloud 11 we would be most appreciative... any further information would be very helpful to us.

To get an idea of our tastes, our favourite cruise was on Paul Gauguin; we really like the Windstar line; did not like Oceania at all; and are not impressed with Holland America in any way.

Thanks again to everyone....would love to hear more!

K.C.

I've never been on the Paul Gaugain, Windstar and Oceania are way above my price point, Holland America is in it, but we did not like Holland America, so you should probably discount my recommendation of Avalon, we loved it, but it seems that your tastes are well above mine.

To get an idea of our tastes, our favourite cruise was on Paul Gauguin; we really like the Windstar line; did not like Oceania at all; and are not impressed with Holland America in any way.

 

K.C.

Maybe Tauck or GCT would be good for you

It all depends on what you are looking for in a cruise

Upscale or basic?

To "Steamboats".... if you could possibly comment further on River Cloud 11 we would be most appreciative... any further information would be very helpful to us.

I haven´t cruised with them but they do have an excellent reputation here in Germany. Check out their website.

It´s definitely an upscale and 5 star service. But as usual in Germany you won´t have the shore tours included. And you have to be aware that you might not have any English speaking travel companions or only a few as the line is mainly catering to German passengers. But they do have an English speaking tour guide onboard (according to their brochure).

steamboats

We just sailed on the Avalon Panorama. It was not luxurious...it was very nice. We didn't need anymore creature comforts than the ship offered. We spent most of our time exploring the ports and sleeping. The only time you'll spend on the ship is when its sailing, you're eating or sleeping.

These cruises are very expensive so I can't understand why you would spend more when its not needed. The best parts of the river cruises are the villages you visit and the people you meet on board.

A note to "Stretchcruz".... just wanted you to know that I have "champagne taste, but it is on a beer budget"! For example, the Oceania cruise was 2 for 1, with free airfare. That said, we occasionally splurge for a special occasion, like an anniversary.

I noticed you agreed that you also were not a fan of Holland America, so we do have something in common! And I am still waiting to hear back from Avalon, so it is definitely in the running.

Thank you so much for your comments!

K.C.

Please remember that Oceania's "2 for 1" is their marketing gimmick. The free airfare is not truly free, since they will give you an allowance if you don't take their flights. I've been on Oceania several times, and I like their product, but their "2 for 1" pricing is their standard pricing, and is not any type of a sale or special price. As with everything, you have to compare pricing and decide if it's truly a good deal for the cruise you're interested in.

K.C......I guess I just assumed with all those luxury cruises that price was not an object!!

You should also check out Uniworld as they offer "Boutique Cruises". However, we have not cruised w/ them so cannot verify what they offer.

http://www.uniworld.com/Destinations/Europe

If you have cruised Paul Gaughin, etc., then you may not find river cruises all that luxurious. As noted in the above post, river cruising is all about the ports, itineraries, etc. River cruising is "magical" in my opinion in that you will see so many wonderful ports, cities, etc. that you do not see on ocean cruises. We have been on many ocean cruises and many European cruises and river cruising has become our favorite. You do not need luxury on a river cruise (just my opinion). It's all about the personal touches received from the personnel onboard, your dining companions, etc. We liked sitting at a different table for dinner each night and meeting so many nice people.

You will find on a river cruise that you will hardly be in your cabin (at least we weren't). Port days are very busy and you will come back on the ship w/ many interesting experiences and be totally exhausted also. That is what river cruising is about. However, if finding something luxurious is what you really want, then just compare all the more upscale cruise lines and make your decision.

Good luck.

Mary