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Has anyone combined a river cruise with a transatlantic ocean cruise?


DragonOfTheSeas

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We are veteran ocean cruisers. However, we are looking at taking a European river cruise. It looks like combining it with a transatlantic cruise back to FLL would be the best use of our travel $$ and we would get to see the most places.

We have done our research and narrowed it do a 7 or 8 day Rhine River cruise between Basel, Switzerland and Amsterdam. [if someone feels this is not a good cruise please let me know.] We like the itineraries that arrive in Amsterdam and spend the night there before disembarking or spend a day before embarking. This would give us Amsterdam time without needing to organize lodging and tours.

Transatlantic cruises are the most budget friendly cruises that there are. We have talked about taking one before. Last year the airfare was out of sight. I did a dummy booking and JFK to Basel is $634 pp, a flight from Amsterdam to Barcelona is $110pp, and Royal Caribbean TA from there to FLL starts at $749.

 

If you have done this is it just too much travel/commotion to be enjoyable? Would you do it again?Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Everyone has something good to say about the companies they have cruised with. We are looking at Viking, AMA and Avalon for this itinerary. Which would you choose and why?

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I think it sounds like a wonderful idea! In 2010 we took a 2 week Rhine/Moselle cruise, Amsterdam to Basel with Uniworld...maybe it was 10 days...I've forgotten! We didn't go a day early, but that would be easy to arrange. We've since cruised with Uniworld again and really enjoyed it.

We have a TA booked for 2014, Miami to Barcelona. Don't have the funds/time to combine 2 trips like you are suggesting, but would do it in a heart beat if I could.

 

River cruising is very relaxing, as I assume the TA will be...

please come back and tell us about it if you proceed! Enjoy!

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I think it sounds like a wonderful idea! In 2010 we took a 2 week Rhine/Moselle cruise, Amsterdam to Basel with Uniworld...maybe it was 10 days...I've forgotten! We didn't go a day early, but that would be easy to arrange. We've since cruised with Uniworld again and really enjoyed it.

We have a TA booked for 2014, Miami to Barcelona. Don't have the funds/time to combine 2 trips like you are suggesting, but would do it in a heart beat if I could.

 

River cruising is very relaxing, as I assume the TA will be...

please come back and tell us about it if you proceed! Enjoy!

 

We are looking at October 2013. Will let you know what we decide.:)

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We did something very similar last year. We flew into Barcelona and did a 12 day Mediterranean cruise, then flew from Barcelona to Paris for 4 days, then took a train to Trier, Germany and did a 7 day Viking river cruise. Then we took a train back to Paris to fly back home. We were gone for about a month.

 

We had a great time, but the train travel was very hectic for us. And we were on the river cruise in Nov and it was just too cold for us.

 

For fall 2013, we are again doing a combined Med and river cruise but starting a little earlier in Oct so hopefully the weather will be better. We will take Carnival Sunshine out of Barcelona and ending in Venice. We'll spend a few days visiting Venice and some towns like Padua, then fly from Venice to Basel and do a Viking Rhine cruise from Basel to Amsterdam, then fly home.

 

We've never done a transatlantic as we like getting off at the ports and not spending so much time on the ship. But if you like the ship time, then that would be a good option for you.

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Being from the West Coast, the flights to Europe are quite long for us. We have been combining trips to cut down on the flights (and the costs).

This year we are doing a Russian River cruise with Vantage then a Holy Land cruise with Princess.

Last year we spent a week in the Bernese Alps then did a river cruise through Burgundy.

In 2011 we cruised from Rome to London then spent a week in Cornwall and a week in London.

In 2010 we did a Vantage cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam, then flew to Copenhagen to do a Baltic cruise with Princess.

It takes a little bit of coordinating to put the trips together.

The problem with the TA cruises, is they are repositioning cruises at the beginning or end of a cruise season. Only Cunard makes regular TA crossings. Frankly, unless you are willing to pop for Grill Class, forget it.

Also, some cruises take 14 days from Basel to Amsterdam. By doing it in 7 or 8 days, you are missing out on many stops.

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Last year we did the river cruise on Nov. 10. In 2011, we did the Danube, also in Nov and it was also cold, but for some reason the cold really just got to me last year. Our river cruise this fall will be Oct. 25. I know Oct here in the northeast can be unpredictable - either a late season warm spell or an early cold spell. I just looked at the temps last Oct. 25 in Basel and it was 61 high and 44 low.

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Last year we did the river cruise on Nov. 10. In 2011, we did the Danube, also in Nov and it was also cold, but for some reason the cold really just got to me last year. Our river cruise this fall will be Oct. 25. I know Oct here in the northeast can be unpredictable - either a late season warm spell or an early cold spell. I just looked at the temps last Oct. 25 in Basel and it was 61 high and 44 low.

 

Thanks--I looked at the average temps for that time of the year and they do not look that cold. But, you are correct. You never know what weather will be.

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The problem with the TA cruises, is they are repositioning cruises at the beginning or end of a cruise season. Only Cunard makes regular TA crossings. Frankly, unless you are willing to pop for Grill Class, forget it.

Also, some cruises take 14 days from Basel to Amsterdam. By doing it in 7 or 8 days, you are missing out on many stops.

 

I realize the 7-8 day river cruise would not stop at all of the possible sites. However, this would be our first river cruise. Although everyone raves about them--we are not willing to take the longer cruise [they are pretty pricey] until we decide it is something we like.

 

I am not sure what you are telling me with the comment regarding Grill Class. Can you elaborate?

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We booked a TA in the Spring from Ft Lauderdale into the seaport serving Rome. We would have overnighted at a hotel very near Rome's airport and the next morning fly out to Basel, Switzerland. In Basel board a Uniworld vessel for a Moselle and Rhine cruise into Amsterdam and flying back to the US from there. Our local Travel Agent that we have used now for 30 plus trips made all the arrangements.

 

Unfortunately only a few, around 3 days if I remember correctly, we had to cancel because of a sudden medical issue. Fortunately we had very good trip cancellation policy and we were refunded in full minus naturally the cost of the insurance. Our local travel agent was a great help not only in arranging the b2b but also in assisting us in the trip cancellation refund claim process as well. A local travel agent is extremely important when you have a big travel problem. Something to consider as well.

 

Something else to think about in planning your trans Atlantic cruise. The weather in the Spring is better in both the Atlantic as well as warmer in Europe. Whereas, the Fall TA is in cool to cold European weather and the possible hurricane storms in the Atlantic in the Fall.

 

It is possible to do so go for it.

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We are flying to Amsterdam, arriving on Oct. 3. We'll spend a few days there and embark on the Viking Sun for the Oct. 6-13 cruise of the Rhine River, arriving in Basel, Switzerland. Couple of days in Basel and then on Oct. 16 fly to Barcelona for four nights.

 

We'll leave on Oct. 20 onboard the Norwegian Epic for its 13-day transatlantic cruise to Miami, arriving on Nov. 2.

 

We're were on the Epic this past December for a week and you DEFINITELY need more time than that for the Epic. We are really looking forward to the whole adventure.

 

Kathy

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I realize the 7-8 day river cruise would not stop at all of the possible sites. However, this would be our first river cruise. Although everyone raves about them--we are not willing to take the longer cruise [they are pretty pricey] until we decide it is something we like.

 

I am not sure what you are telling me with the comment regarding Grill Class. Can you elaborate?

Grill class is the top class on QM2 (cunard). I guess the person means if you go in one of the non grill class cabins you will not enjoy it so much. Have to say Grill classes are very expensive, you could easily go cheaper and still enjoy yourself. If you go for one of the enclosed balconys, you could even enjoy a balcony what ever time of yesr you do the transatlantic.

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Steamboatin: Your plan is very good. I have heard the spring is a better time to do this. [although I have read the river levels can be too high in the spring. ] However, we already have an ocean cruise scheduled for this spring.

 

Kathy: Your plan sounds more like what we would do. Although we are looking at a bout 1-2 weeks later we tend to sail Royal Caribbean and the TA we like leaves Barcelona on Oct 30. [We prefer the ports of call to be in Europe rather than thee Caribbean. We have done most of those already].

 

I looked up the Cunard sailings. Since they are true TA's with no stops we would not want that. We want to see as many places as possible.

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Having been on several of each, but not on the same trip, the biggest problem is luggage. Traditional ocean cruises have several dress up evenings, requiring a relatively large amount of luggage, where river cruises have limited luggage space and are relatively casual. You would have to compromise.

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Having been on several of each, but not on the same trip, the biggest problem is luggage. Traditional ocean cruises have several dress up evenings, requiring a relatively large amount of luggage, where river cruises have limited luggage space and are relatively casual. You would have to compromise.

 

 

I had thought of that. Not only the formal nights, but the bathing suits, cover up etc. We would not need those on the river [too cold at that time of year] But, some of the stops on the TA are in warmer climates.

 

You are correct. We would need to bring 1 sports coat, 2 shirts and ties for DH and I would go with Black pants and sparkly tops. My DH gives me grief about the # of pairs of black pants I own. I take them on my trips to save room. Shoes and accessories all mix and match= less luggage.

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If you look at the Member's Cunard reviews, the food in the MDR is average at best. The Grill class has its own dining room. The ship is a 2 class ship, and there are places you cannot go unless you are in Grill Class.

 

I do not like that. Suite guest on most cruise lines have a special lounge. But, there are not too many differences in the experiences. I would not like to feel as if I had booked steerage. That makes me think of the Statue of Liberty and huddled masses.:rolleyes:

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If you look at the Member's Cunard reviews, the food in the MDR is average at best. The Grill class has its own dining room. The ship is a 2 class ship, and there are places you cannot go unless you are in Grill Class.

 

Yes and no. Yes, they have their own dining rooms and a small lounge. Importantly, (at least in the past) they encourage off-menu ordering. So, yes - the dining experience can be significantly different. (However the food in the Britannia Dining Room is quite good, and is easily the equal of the best food in the main dining rooms on Celebrity or Princess)

 

Besides these private spaces, there is little separation. Interestingly enough, the biggest class separation these days is on the exact opposite end of the spectrum, the villa suites on NCL!

 

In any event - we were fortunate enough to get upgrades to Grill Class in the past and it was wonderful - but standard Britannia class is just fine for us, and we've enjoyed those trips immensely.

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We would need to bring 1 sports coat, 2 shirts and ties for DH and I would go with Black pants and sparkly tops. My DH gives me grief about the # of pairs of black pants I own. I take them on my trips to save room. Shoes and accessories all mix and match= less luggage.

 

We've solved similar problems (in our case land trips prior) by having a suitcase stuffed with clean cruise clothes delivered to the ship. Many lines have an arrangement with these providers and offer a discount (We've done it on Cunard and Crystal)

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We combined the two cruises just last October/November. We did the AmaWaterways Danube cruise on AmaLegro, from Budapest to Nürnberg, adding on the Ama pre- and post-cruise packages in Budapest and Prague. That was 15-27OCT (we visited friends in Budapest for 3 days before the Ama package began too.) A bit chilly, but gorgeous fall color. We did depart Prague in a snowstorm, however. Wonderful trip!

 

We combined this with a trans-Atlantic cruise, on RCI Mariner OTS from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Galveston. The destination was not what we wanted, but it was otherwise the right cruise at almost the right time. (Quite a few European and Canaries ports, only Nassau on this side.) We booked way early, so not everything was open for sail. At that time, there were two cruises departing the same day we finished at Prague...one from Southampton, the other from Barcelona. We didn't want to chance getting from one to the other on the same day. (I was in the airline business 30 years...I know better than to cut it close!) The very next T-A departure was the one we took, on 02NOV, so we had a week to trickle down from Prague to Rome. We used FQTV miles and went further...to Croatia and Montenegro. Dubrovnik was spectacular, and while we had a little rain, it was indeed warmer than Northern Europe. (Then flew Split-Rome one day early to catch the ship.)

 

Great trip, but a bit busy. With the time it takes to get from the remote top corner of California to Europe, and back from Texas, we were out just a day short of 6 weeks. That was a bit long, so the last few sea days, while finally relaxing, were a few days too long on the overall trip, and we were good and ready to be home.

 

So, don't limit yourselves to trying to get both cruises to connect at the same point (e.g. Amsterdam), when it's easy enough to get around Europe.

 

Baggage was tricky, as we had a huge baggage allowance on the trans-Atlantic flights and back from Houston, being in Business Class, but we were on coach awards within Europe, which did have a free limit of 1 piece up to 23kg. We would have shared a third bag if necessary, and paid the fee for it, which is worth not sweating out leaving home what may turn out to be something you need. And that probably would have been cheaper than if we had decided to rent glad-rags on the big ship. In our case, we had both winter wear and summer wear due to the variations in climates. But we did ok, wearing too much of our heaviest clothing on the local flights.

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If I had the time off of work I would definitely combine a TA with a river cruise. We loved our 17 day TA from Venice to Ft Lauderdale, weather was great (OK, it can vary!!). We also loved our river cruise in Oct from Budapest to Prague (OK, weather can vary!) We packed layers and jackets and did a little laundry in our room. For your TA if you pick Princess there are laundromats (luckily we are Elite and get free laundry). For our upcoming river cruise we are doing Amsterdam to Basel, taking a train to Paris. Got the Movenpick on Priceline for $85, and we are renting an apartment in Paris (with washer and dryer) for 4 nights after the river cruise. But, wow, I would definitely do a river and a TA....talk about the best of both worlds!!!!

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We combined the two cruises just last October/November. We did the AmaWaterways Danube cruise on AmaLegro, from Budapest to Nürnberg, . . We were looking at the Amsterdam--Basel Rhine route [either direction]

 

We combined this with a trans-Atlantic cruise, on RCI Mariner OTS from Rome (Civitavecchia) to Galveston. . . . I agree--we would like to end up in Miami or FLL.

 

Great trip, but a bit busy. With the time it takes to get from the remote top corner of California to Europe, and back from Texas, we were out just a day short of 6 weeks. That was a bit long, so the last few sea days, while finally relaxing, were a few days too long on the overall trip, and we were good and ready to be home. I am sure DH would not go with 6 weeks away. I am trying to make it work with 4.

 

.

 

 

Thank you, this gives me several things to think about.

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