European River Cruise 2016

We are giving ourselves the treat of a River Cruise in 2016. I am looking for suggestions - if you could go on just 1 European river cruise - which would you choose?

Comments on both itineraries and cruise lines are appreciated :)

Thanks!!!

We're already booked for 2016, on our first. Amsterdam to Budapest on Tauck, 14 days. Obviously I have no idea if it's the best itinerary. We chose it because friends of ours were set on it, and really wanted to do Tauck.

I had previously looked at southern France as well, or just Vienna or Prague to Budapest. I've also heard that Amsterdam - Basel is a great itinerary.

There is a sticky at the top of this forum with lots of information to help you get started. Enjoy!

We love Vantage and their prices are great.

We lived in Germany for four years, so we haven't done any of the Rhein or Danube cruises, since we have been to all those places.

We did do a great Southern France cruise from Lyon to Arles on the Rhone, which was excellent.

We have booked the Douro rive of Portugal for May 2016.

As a first start, I would likely advise going with a cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest or Amsterdam to Basel.

For a first cruise I would book no more than 7 days. If you do not like the experience (and it is not for everyone) than you are at least not stuck for more than 7 days.

We are doing Amsterdam to Basel for the first time in one week. It visits some ports we are quite interested in and does not require a double flight connection in each direction, which we really try to avoid, especially when we are not adding nights to our trip.

We have done the Danube several times, the Rhone once (last month), the Rhine and Moselle combined, Tulips and Windmills, and the Main twice.

Our favorite was Budapest to Prague but that was really as much about the pre and post stays in both cities and the fabulous on board experience (AmaCerto) more than the actually ports. And it was Christmas market season and really lovely!

The best scenery was the Rhine and Moselle, which was stunning! Least appealing scenery was T&W but we really enjoyed the ports on that route. The Rhone was not a favorite. We enjoy the Danube at Christmastime for the markets and because it is easy to combine with pre and post in Germany and Austria, both destinations we totally enjoy.

Pay attention to the details of the itineraries and note the amount of sailing time, overnights, etc. We really enjoy being in port in the evenings and having limited daytime sailing as we prefer to maximize our time in the destinations we visit. Also, sailing through locks overnight was disruptive to sleeping for me, as I am not a heavy sleeper.

Our cruise next week will be #9 on the river and #5 with AMA. We enjoy the overall attention to detail and consistent quality AMA has provided on our cruises with them and look forward to more.

We are giving ourselves the treat of a River Cruise in 2016. I am looking for suggestions - if you could go on just 1 European river cruise - which would you choose?

 

Comments on both itineraries and cruise lines are appreciated :)

 

Thanks!!!

Hi,

DH & I are also planning for 2016. Right now the cruise that "looks best" to us is AMA Provence & Spain in Aug. 2016. AMA is known for its food, wine & customer service. The ports are interesting and even though we have been to Paris & Barcelona several times these are 2 of our favorite cities. Lots of planning and saving involved. I don not know where you are located but if you are in/around NYC Jan 24-24 is the NY Times Travel Show-we are attending and plan to do research there.

Carole

Happy Holidays

For most romantic scenery with castles, book a cruise on the Rhine.

Hi,

 

DH & I are also planning for 2016. Right now the cruise that "looks best" to us is AMA Provence & Spain in Aug. 2016. AMA is known for its food, wine & customer service. The ports are interesting and even though we have been to Paris & Barcelona several times these are 2 of our favorite cities. Lots of planning and saving involved. I don not know where you are located but if you are in/around NYC Jan 24-24 is the NY Times Travel Show-we are attending and plan to do research there.

Carole

Happy Holidays

The trip from Arles to Barcelona is a long bus ride, so AMA now offers an alternative shorter trip to Marseille at the end. From there you can get easy TGV to Paris to complete the loop.