Danube Cabin Selection Question

Is there any advantage to being on the port or starboard during sailing or docking? I read one review that said the ships dock next to a busy roadway in both Vienna and Budapest. Is there any consistency as to which side is against the dock, or is it entirely left up to chance or captain's choice?

We started in Passau, and ended in Budapest on our cruise. Our cabin was on the port side of the boat. In Vienna we faced the docking area, which was very quiet. The road was not far away, but the dock was in a secluded area. The buses pull down to this area to load and unload passengers for the excursions.

As for Budapest, we faced away from the dock, and although the road next to the dock is busy, the docking area is down quite a ways from the road. We heard no noise from the road. In Budapest we were the first boat away from the dock, and we had two other boats next to us.

How it's decided where and in what position the boats are docked, I don't know. Have a wonderful cruise! We loved our cruise. Can't wait to do another river cruise.

You really don't hear much road noise at night in most ports. Unlike the U.S. if people stay out at night they almost never drive if they consume alchohol so it really keeps the traffic low. During the day it is quite busy but then you are off the ship and in the cities. Like cruise ships we spent very little time in our cabin just to shower and sleep and we all slept like babies. Have a wonderful time and take lots of pictures, it is amazing.

The ships berth on either side of the river so we found it didnt matter which side you were on. Sometimes we were docked beside another ship as well. When the ship was sailing a large proportion of the passengers were in the lounge, front deck or the sky deck, where they had a view of the whole river. We didnt notice any street noise, we were docked beside a major road in both Vienna and Budapest. What we did notice was that the port side cabins got very hot of an afternoon, we did travel in summer and from Budapest to Amsterdam. We were on the starboard side and our room was alot cooler, friends we met were commenting on this a few times.

Enjoy your planning and cruising, we loved our first river cruise, Deb

It really doesn't matter. Docking can vary from port to starboard from cruise to cruise. Never had much of an issue with noise but it was interesting waking up in the morning, opening the curtain and being 2 feet from someone face to face on a boat tied next to you.

Agree with everthing said already. If sailing during the summer, take the side that does not get the afternoon sun to keep the room cooler. Doesn't matter in the cooler months. Personally, I take the lowest category and spend all my waking hours in the lounge or off the ship. I find balconies a waste of money, but that's just a personal preference. With the increase in ships plying the rivers, likely you will be docked beside another ship so will not have any kind of view except into your neighbour's cabin.

I appreciate all of the input. Never even considered the impact of the sun. It appears that our route is mainly west to east (Vilshofen to Budapest) and considering that the ship's docking orientation is unknown from port to port, I'm going to stop over-thinking this. :)