River Cruise Excursion Sizes

I have a general question. On excursions included in the river cruises in Europe, are the passengers divided into smaller groups? What size group can we usually expect? We do not want to be shepherded in large groups. A walking tour with fifty people does not sound very appealing. What kind of buses are generally used? Full size or medium and mini? We avoid ship excursions on ocean cruises and want to be certain that is not what we get on a river cruise in Europe. Thanks for your insights.

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I can't comment on other companies but if you cruise with Tauck you'll find your shore excursion groups to be around 20 people per guide. With only around 115 people on board this makes the excursions feel very intimate and personal.

On GCT, figure give or take 40; they use large buses. When we were docked near other ships (Viking, Vantage and Avalon) their groups looked to be similar size.

If the line uses radio and headphone system, it allows the group to spread out and you don't need to hover near the guide to hear.

On Avalon Rhine cruise last year, most days tour groups would have been 18 to 24. Twice when on 40+ seater bus and group was split into 2 at the town or attraction.

I can't comment on other companies but if you cruise with Tauck you'll find your shore excursion groups to be around 20 people per guide. With only around 115 people on board this makes the excursions feel very intimate and personal.

Just to clarify - the Tauck buses held around 40 people and we used three of them throughout the cruise for excursions outside the area we berthed but when we got to where we were going we broke down into our small group of around 20 people. You chosse your group by selecting a coloured casino chip prior to getting off the boat.

Viking groups tend to be in the 30s and the use large buses. They also have a "gentle" group for people who need to walk slower - they see the same as the other groups but at a slower pace.

And just a FYI - you aren't required to take the excursions. Yes, they're included in your cruise cost (except optional ones) but you can leave the ship and do something on your own. Example: last year we stopped at Kinderdijk, Netherlands for a few hours mainly to see the windmills. As we left the ship there was a small gift shop that also rented bikes. A younger couple from our cruise chose to go for a bike ride using a map and advice the got at the ship's reception desk. Afterwards they said it was the best part of the cruise!

Also towards the end of the cruise I found some people are just tired and choose to skip an excursion in favor of ship "down" time!

So there are many possibilities!!

Uniworld tour groups tend to be about 20. As with almost all the ships, they use the receiver/ear piece so you don't need to cluster around the guide, but can wander a bit if something interests you. They do tend to use full size buses (when needed), but they aren't full and there are plenty of empty seats normally. For many tours you just walk off the ship and meet your guide.

The local guides are a wealth of information and can recommend local places.

There was close to 30 people on our Ama Budapest excursion today.

On our AMA Rhine cruise they always split the tour busload into two walking groups, so that was around 20 people. Choice of slow medium and fast walkers. Headsets. So although we are very happy to DIY on ocean cruises, we found the included walking tours very enjoyable and not like being in a herd at all. The local guides add so much because they live there!

I have a general question. On excursions included in the river cruises in Europe, are the passengers divided into smaller groups? What size group can we usually expect? We do not want to be shepherded in large groups. A walking tour with fifty people does not sound very appealing. What kind of buses are generally used? Full size or medium and mini? We avoid ship excursions on ocean cruises and want to be certain that is not what we get on a river cruise in Europe. Thanks for your insights.

 

 

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Hey there, Bill! I was "cruising" around CC and saw this post by you about river cruise excursions. How are you guys? Kathleen and I booked a Sept 2015 Prague to Budapest river cruise on AmaWaterways. We did the Tulip Time with them last year and loved it. Our excursions were usually about 10-12 people. Hi to Lisa!

Allyson (from the Reflection in June)

On Vantage we were broken up into 4 colored groups. Each group had their own bus. Unfortunately, Vantage now does not have a Tour Director for each bus. I hope they see the error of their ways.

We just returned from a Viking Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. As stated above we usually had 2 groups per bus. But our "leisurely" group always had between 6 and 10 people, none really "disabled", just a few canes and creaky knees. We saw everything the other groups saw except once we did not climb to see some rose garden.

Uniworld tour groups tend to be about 20. As with almost all the ships, they use the receiver/ear piece so you don't need to cluster around the guide, but can wander a bit if something interests you. They do tend to use full size buses (when needed), but they aren't full and there are plenty of empty seats normally. For many tours you just walk off the ship and meet your guide.

The local guides are a wealth of information and can recommend local places.

just to pi ggyback on this: Uniworld has multiple choices for many of the included tours as well as the slower walkers option so that reduces the size per group. They also provide free bicycles and nordic walking sticks for exploring in the ports. the guides we had were very good and protective of us: on one tour the guide chased away a couple of people who were crowding tour members because there had been a rash of pickpockets/thieves in the area. I am currently planning which options among the included tours my DW and I will be taking. This adds to my anticipatory pleasure. One option is for me to take one tour and my BW to do another so we can later share our experiences with each other :) In the past we have never gone on an optional tour but for our next cruise I just might go on the Belgian craft beer tour in Antwerp:rolleyes:

On Vantage we were broken up into 4 colored groups. Each group had their own bus. Unfortunately, Vantage now does not have a Tour Director for each bus. I hope they see the error of their ways.

I agree with you, but don't see it happening! Our last Vantage tour (June '14) we were split into 4 groups red, yellow, blue and green. Each group was between 35-40 with a local guide who was generally very well spoken in English and knowledgeable of the area. With the head phone system you could hear the guide from quite a good distance away. The buses were large coach buses with comfortable seating, tray tables and bathrooms. However, one of my complaints to Vantage was that bathrooms were locked most of the time and on several occasions the driver refused to unlock them so depending on your destination, be prepared to DEMAND the bathrooms be unlocked. I did not run into this problem in Northern or Western Europe, only in Eastern Europe and the most efficient demand was "clean the bathroom or clean the bus".....I know gross, but it works!

On Avalon Rhine cruise last year, most days tour groups would have been 18 to 24. Twice when on 40+ seater bus and group was split into 2 at the town or attraction.

That sounds about accurate. Most of the Avalon ships only carry about 128 passengers which, I would think, would help contribute to fewer people in the groups once at the tour site.

Currently on The Uniworld River Queen and the excursions have averaged 30. Far too many and very disappointing. Efforts to separate groups into fast and slow walkers have not been effective.

I realize that the tours may be included in your fees, so my suggestion may not fit. BUT....I, too, hate being in a large tour group. Using this GREAT web site, I was able to connect with two other couples (matching my requirements) and then we booked private tours at each location, again using the information gained from Cruise Critic. When you split the cost among three couples, it is not unreasonable. You might want to consider this minor cost increase, for the value you get.

I realize that the tours may be included in your fees, so my suggestion may not fit. BUT....I, too, hate being in a large tour group. Using this GREAT web site, I was able to connect with two other couples (matching my requirements) and then we booked private tours at each location, again using the information gained from Cruise Critic. When you split the cost among three couples, it is not unreasonable. You might want to consider this minor cost increase, for the value you get.

Private tours work wonderfully on Ocean Cruises but on River Cruises the port timing is at the mercy of the river, the locks, traffic, weather. So I can see that prearranged private tours would be a problem.... Some days or many days you are in two + ports and the timing of those visits can't really be planned on.

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Private tours work wonderfully on Ocean Cruises but on River Cruises the port timing is at the mercy of the river, the locks, traffic, weather. So I can see that prearranged private tours would be a problem.... Some days or many days you are in two + ports and the timing of those visits can't really be planned on.

 

 

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Nana541....

Thanks! This is one of the many things about River Cruising that I did NOT yet know! Actually, it makes me even more content that we selected French County Waterways (only 6 cabins on the boat) for our June 2015 cruise.

So glad I was able to share this bit of very important info :)

I really look forward to hearing about your trip so Please Please come back and share your experience after sailing! I have loved looking at FCW brochures and put them on my bucket list long before River cruusing got so popular. Are you booking the entire boat with friends or family?

Sounds delightful!

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So glad I was able to share this bit of very important info :)

 

I really look forward to hearing about your trip so Please Please come back and share your experience after sailing! I have loved looking at FCW brochures and put them on my bucket list long before River cruusing got so popular. Are you booking the entire boat with friends or family?

 

Sounds delightful!

 

 

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Booking entire boat????? NO! (1) I can not think of a single one of our friends who think my line of reasoning is sensible when it comes to accommodations and costs. (2) I look at it as just a little less to leave my kids......... (3) We have been married 54 years....who needs others?????:D

Well I don't think your crazy, but then my family often questions my sanity too! What a wonderful experience you have coming to you....

Congratulations on the 54 yrs, we are working on just 41 :)

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We are currently on the Scenic Jade - Budapest to Amsterdam. Our excursion today was to Cesky Krumlov and there was about 20 on our tour. Two full size buses went to Cesky Krumlov with about 20 on each bus.

Our guide was absolutely wonderful - easy to hear on the bus and we all had our 'Scenic Tailormade' devices for when we were walking around the town.

At no time have we had more than 25 (most times less) on any excursion except when almost everyone on the ship went to the concert at the Liechtenstein Palace.