Rhone cruise - which cruise line?

My husband and I are planning our first river cruise for our 10th anniversary, which is in June 2016. We are interested in cruises in France, particularly Rhone river cruises through Provence and Burgundy. We have also considered Bordeaux cruises, but to me it seems there are fewer stops on those and the water levels can affect the cruises more. If anyone has taken both of these cruises and prefers one over the other, I would love to hear from you.

We are trying to decide which cruise line to take. I have researched several, and our top choices seem to be Uniworld or AMA Waterways. We have also looked into Viking and Avalon, but I am thinking those are less likely.

Our list of things that are most important to us is:

1. Food - We are foodies and love gourmet food with beautiful presentation. If we are going to Europe, we expect to have delicious and beautiful gourmet food even if on a cruise ship. This has almost ruled out Viking for me, as I have heard their food is not the best. I think Uniworld and AMA seem to have the best reviews for food.

2. Stateroom views/size - We want to be able to see the river sights from our room. That means we would prefer an actual balcony/veranda where we can sit outside with some wine and relax, but a French balcony would also be acceptable.

3. Unique excursions - I am interested in finding out from fellow cruisers if one line seems to have better or more unique excursions on this intinerary. Looking at the websites, the itineraries seem to be similar. We are very interested in unique food and wine experiences as well as beautiful architecture, so those types of excursions would be top for us.

4. Pre or post trip extension in Paris - We definitely want to spend some time in Paris while we are there. All of the lines seem to over this as either part of the itinerary or as an add on. However, the costs are all over the place. Uniworld quoted $1299 per person for a 2 night stay in Paris after the cruise, which seemed very expensive to me (compared with, for example, $950 per person for 3 nights there through Viking). Should I just plan this myself or through a travel agent to save money?

Lastly, we love the idea that the Uniworld cruise would be completely all-inclusive, including all alcohol and gratuities. However, I am wondering if the difference in cruise price (almost $2000 per person) makes it worth it or not. How much does the average couple spend on these types of things on a line that is not all-inclusive? We are not lushes but do enjoy wine and champagne, as well as the occasional cocktail, and I think we might want to have the freedom to have drinks outside of meal times. I just don't know if it justifies paying so much more. Money is not the most important thing to us but I want to be sure we are not just wasting money either.

Here are the ships we would be looking at, which might also affect our decision:

Uniworld - SS Catherine - I like that this ship is brand new, has open-air balconies on the Camargue Deck, and is beautifully appointed

AMA - AmaDagio - this ship is a bit older (2006) so I am worried a bit about that, plus all rooms only have French balconies

Viking - Buri/Hermod

Avalon - Afinnity/PoetryII

Thanks so much for any advice you can give. We are so excited to be taking our first river cruise and want to be sure to make the right decision!!

If you are considering Uniworld and AMA may I suggest you also have a look at Tauck. We cruised the Rhone with Tauck last August and although I might be perceived as a bit biased Tauck would tick all your "want" boxes except for the outside balcony. Scenic is the only line with outside balconies cruising the Rhone at present. We thought everything about the cruise was outstanding.

If you have any specific questions about Tauck please ask.

Rod

We loved our November Rhone cruise on AmaDagio and I posted a detailed review if you are interested. This ship does not have real balconies so will not meet that criteria.

We are cruising the Rhone with Uniworld in a few months. Much newer vessel but still no outdoor balconies. We are in a French balcony on this sailing.

This will be our first sailing with Uniworld. We would not cruise with Viking.

AMA is our go to line for river cruising and we have enjoyed our cruises with them. The food on some ships has been better than on others.

The crew on AmaDagio was second to none and we would happily cruise aboard her again. We enjoyed the ports and the excursions as well.

Be careful about wanting the outdoor balconies, these are much smaller then on an ocean cruise. The concept is great but they are cramped!!!! We had a balcony on our Nile cruise and it was pretty uncomfortable because you had to side ways or else your knees were touching the raining. We had a 'French Balcony' on our Danube cruise and we were so much happier with it, however our on Avalon's suites ships they have position the bed facing the window so you can lie on the bed with the patio door open and your room becomes the balcony.

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My wife and I will be on a Rhone-Saone Uniworld cruise on the SS Catherine this summer. It will be our third cruise on the line, which obviously means we've been completely satisfied so far.

Be aware that Uniworld's standard rooms are quite small; smaller than the competition AFAIK. See the following for a comparison of typical stateroom sizes: http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/abcs-of-river-cruising/staterooms-river-cruisers-vs-cruise-ships/ For this reason my DW and I have elected to spend extra to get suites, all three trips. I'd live with the smaller room; she will not. :rolleyes:

Food on Uniworld is, from what I can tell, the best of the bunch. Ours so far has been outstanding, by any measure.

Thanks to everyone for your advice. I checked out Tauck and I really like their itineraries and that they are all-inclusive so we are considering them now as well. I think it is now between Uniworld and Tauck. Some things I like better about Uniworld are the new ship with unique décor and the open air balconies on Category 1 staterooms (which are 192 square feet). Some things I like better about Tauck are that Paris is included in the tour and the unique excursions.

Those of you embarking on SS Catherine in the next few months, I would love to hear reviews after you get back!

Is there anyone that can directly compare Uniworld and Tauck?

I will be going on Bordeaux and Southern Rhone cruises end of March. mid July respectively, but we've been on 3 river cruises so far I can add a couple of points.

1) We have had balcony suites, french 'balcony' rooms and down at the water level rooms. Wouldn't now pay extra for a balcony.

The balcony is very small. If you sit there when the boat is moving you see only one side of the river, thus missing whatever is on the other side. When the boat is moored you'll either be on the land side, or river side -- but the rivers are crowded with cruise boats and it may well be that another boat is tied up next to yours, thus 6 inches from your balcony/french window is the other cabins balcony/french window. Put us off sitting on our balcony at such times.

Also, there were so many sightseeing trips, demonstrations and activities, we spent very little time in our room.

If you sit on the deck or cabin you can see both sides of the river.

2) Drinks package. I think you have to drink a considerable amount of spirits and cocktails to make such a package worthwhile. We are wine enthusiasts so have wine with meals. Going through winelands and visiting wineries we were buying local wines there and in towns and drinking them with lunches/dinners on board - there's no corkage charge. Other guests were also buying wines along the way and so bottles were being passed along tables and shared and discussed. Lots of fun.

And the supplied wines were quite acceptable.

and have done 11 others with all the main lines.We love all the details inc.in Scenic.Really the most inclusive of all, you ll pay NOTHING extra.All drinks,excursions(most charge for extra ones),pickup at airport(even if air done on own),tips(inc.bus and guides,etc.), you name it,its covered.

Look at the suites, we had a tub,butler,room service, balcony with glass cover for rain,or not. Just top of the line.

Food best on any so far.Seems more expensive but when we added all the perks,same as others.

My 2nd fav.is AMA. Tauck great but no balcony.Is a must for me,french balcony is better than window,but not much.Love to sit out there and watch world go by,even early am with coffee and robe on.

We did the Rhone with Avalon last year - and enjoyed it. We have also travelled with Uniworld, Scenic, AMA and Viking.

The Avalon itinerary includes a night in Monaco, and 2 nights in Paris. We went in a couple of days early and spent some time in Nice.

If you pick an itinerary that includes a night (or 2) in Paris, look at the travel plans. We were taken by train from Chalon-sur-Saone to Paris - although some companies do the transfer on a bus. That detail played a large role in our decision.

Also - take a look at the host hotel in Paris - if Paris is included. Our hotel wasn't in the best location for sightseeing - although there was a shuttle bus outside the hotel so our travel to the airport for the flight home was easy.

The location for the Paris hotel wasn't a huge issue for us as we have been to Paris before - but if you are extending there, I would think hotel location would be important.

We usually do our own pre/post arrangements - as we can do things quite a bit cheaper if we plan ourselves.

Hope this helps....

Fran

Thanks for the additional advice.

It is nice to hear that paying extra for a full balcony may not be worth it. Getting the French balcony vs the open balcony on Uniworld will save us $1000 and make the actual inside stateroom larger, so I may go with that. I am still considering Tauck and AMA. I looked into Scenic, but the prices were very high (over $9000 per person) so I think I eliminated that line unless I can find a deal.

Anyone that didn't use all-inclusive remember what you ended up paying in gratuities and extra alcohol?

We were on an AmaSonata Danube cruise last June. Gratuities were around $210 and liquor and bar tips were around $120. You can use your credit card to pay if you like. Of course it may vary based on what you drink. With wine and beer covered at lunch and dinner, it probably won't amount to much.