overviews / generalizations about the "big" companies

I know the clichés about the big ocean cruise companies: CCL, RCL, NCL, X, HAL etc. but can anybody summarize the big players in River Cruises for me?

Viking vs. Avalon vs. Uniworld vs. the ones I have not even heard of.

I know the clichés & generalizations will have caveats but I am trying to get a feel if one line will be better for me then another. On "paper" from the brochures I have read on line & elsewhere I can't seem to get a sense of how they are different.

Which is your personal favorite & why?

Thanks in advance.

You'll find a lot of that information here, and in the discussion thread at the top of this forum for new river cruisers.

Yes, great info in the "stickies".

This downloadable CC guide (in the sticky above) has exactly the types of big-picture comparisons you are asking for (i.e. it compares each river cruise line to an ocean cruise line and to a hotel chain):

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_rid=99616845

This downloadable CC guide (in the sticky above) has exactly the types of big-picture comparisons you are asking for (i.e. it compares each river cruise line to an ocean cruise line and to a hotel chain):

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-g...t_rid=99616845

When I clicked on this I got "page not found" and the URL was truncated. When I went to the sticky, I went right to the page.

Trish

Having only sailed on my first River Cruise last July and two more booked I'm hardly an expert and the resources the other posters have recommended are valuable. There are various opinions as well. I will only share what I've discovered through my research.

It seems to me that many will classify lines either as luxury(which leans all inclusive or mostly all inclusive), Main line(which includes most excursions and food but generally doesn't include things such as tips, unlimited alcohol, etc...) or More budget oriented which may include a few excursions but not necessarily all.

Although the opinions will vary based on personal preference and experience from my own research I would categorize some of the lines in the following ways:

Luxury: Uniworld, Tauck, Scenic, and many would include AMA but not as inclusive as the other 3

Main Line: Viking, Avalon, many would put AMA here instead of Luxury

Budget: Grand Circle, many European owned lines that market in US

This is how I've perceived the lines. The truth is you can very well cruise any of the lines and have a wonderful experience. You have to determine what you want in a cruise then look at each line and decide. Like many I first was planning a Viking cruise because it was the only one that I had heard of. My TA recommended I look at Uniworld since the Ocean Cruises I was drawn to were with companies such as Regent and Seabourne. So I went with them and was so pleased I've booked two more with them. But I often say I loved the River Cruise experience so much that if I sailed with Viking I probably would have fallen in love with them because it would be what I know. I do like the all inclusive aspect of Uniworld. Also unlike some I like the boutique look of the Uniworld ships vs the more subdued look of others. So many choices. Hope this helps a little.

Another main line (your words) line is Vantage. Unfortunately with so many ships, Viking overpowers a lot of these boards.

We have done 4 river cruises with Vantage:

Xmas cruise on the Danube

Budapest to Amsterdam, Monte Carlo to Paris, and Moscow to St. Petersburg.

We have been happy with all of these cruises.

The trip stories and pictures are on our website

http://www.stevekathytravels.com

We are happy to answer any questions.

Talisker,

Thanks for adding that one for the OP. Too many to keep in my head.

Talisker,

Thanks for adding that one for the OP. Too many to keep in my head.

But you did very well with the ones you remembered. Thanks!

I'll try again with the River Cruising Introduction (and comparison) URL:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-guide/UltimateGuidetoRiverCruising.pdf?et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845

[i tested it this time, and it works]

 

Although the opinions will vary based on personal preference and experience from my own research I would categorize some of the lines in the following ways:

 

Luxury: Uniworld, Tauck, Scenic, and many would include AMA but not as inclusive as the other 3

 

Main Line: Viking, Avalon, many would put AMA here instead of Luxury

 

Budget: Grand Circle, many European owned lines that market in US

 

I would add a category between Luxury and Main line for AMA, and call it Premium.

AMA is not in same league as Viking and Avalon. And they are not all inclusive or as luxurious as Tauck, Scenic and Uniworld, nor are they as pricey. Our upcoming Uniworld cruise is significantly more money for the almost identical itinerary and cabin category (French balcony) as our recent AMA cruise. We are interested to see if we think the difference is worth it.

I found the guide comparing river cruise lines to hotels and ocean cruise lines to be spot on. We like Oceania when we take an ocean cruise and upscale, boutique hotels when we travel. AMA was likened to both and is our line of choice.

We also found the comparison of Avalon to Marriott and Norwegian accurate based on our experiences. We stay at Marriott when looking for a dependable, clean hotel for a couple of nights with amenities that are consistent across the brand. We do not cruise with Norwegian though as it is light years from the experience we enjoy.

I've only taken one cruise, that was a last minute booking at a great price with Viking, Amsterdam to Budapest. My wife and 2 adult-ish daughters loved it, more so than we imagined. We lived in Europe for a few years, so it was more than just being overseas. Gliding along narrow stretches of river, you wouldn't think a 400+ foot boat could go through. I filmed video where you hear birds chirping in the background, the boat is so quiet. A great experience.

Viking's crew was also great, very friendly and accommodating. Food and wine were OK; they were reaching with some dishes and some dishes were bland (and that can vary from chef to chef on the same line). For an appetizer, you get one tiny shrimp and a dish filled to the top w/ cocktail sauce. How about a little less fancy tied up bamboo sprouts for the presentation, and some more shrimp to go with all the sauce?

So I was eager to book a second cruise. After reading tons of reviews, we picked Vantage. I liked that on the lower Danube route your spend 10 days on the boat; most lines it's 7 days on the boat and 3 days in a hotel.

I also liked the 10% pay in advance discount if you pay 12 mth in advance.

Overall, Vantage looked like a better bargain versus Viking.

What I hate about VIKING is all the mailings you will get from them. At least several items a week, some of them the full size catalogs on glossy, higher quality paper. The same brochures, over and over. Notices of this deal and that deal.

VIKING, I know you read these boards- here's a deal, I will sail with you again, I had a good time.

Just give me a $500 credit, and you never have to mail me any more literature. I'm sure you'll save that much in paper and postage.

You know where I live, just drop me one last line! :D

I have never travelled on Viking or Vantage. I get almost as much mail from them as I do from GCT!

OMG! Thank you all. That stickie was perfect. Sorry I missed it before I asked.

[Smacks own hand for bad net-iquette] . :o

Another main line (your words) line is Vantage. Unfortunately with so many ships, Viking overpowers a lot of these boards.

We have done 4 river cruises with Vantage:

Xmas cruise on the Danube

Budapest to Amsterdam, Monte Carlo to Paris, and Moscow to St. Petersburg.

We have been happy with all of these cruises.

The trip stories and pictures are on our website

www.stevekathytravels.com

We are happy to answer any questions.

Ditto,

Vantage is great. Their Program Managers are superb. Also, you get five star hotels.

Further, I always compare Viking and AMA when I book or do research and Vantage always beats them in price.

We have the Douro river in Portugal booked for our next river cruise.

Ditto,

Vantage is great. Their Program Managers are superb. Also, you get five star hotels.

Further, I always compare Viking and AMA when I book or do research and Vantage always beats them in price.

 

We have the Douro river in Portugal booked for our next river cruise.

Another satisfied Vantage customer here. We've done 6 so far and have 2 booked for this spring and summer and one for next year already. Can't wait to hear about Douro, I've been thinkiing about it on and off for over a year, my problem is the Alhambra, this cruise doesn't go near it and I desperately want to see it! So I'm looking at a Celebrity cruise too. :D

Another satisfied Vantage customer here. We've done 6 so far and have 2 booked for this spring and summer and one for next year already. Can't wait to hear about Douro, I've been thinkiing about it on and off for over a year, my problem is the Alhambra, this cruise doesn't go near it and I desperately want to see it! So I'm looking at a Celebrity cruise too. :D

Hydrokitty,

We would love for you to join us on the Douro cruise. We are booked for 15-25 May 2016.

We saw the Alhambra on an NCL cruise out of Barcelona that went to the Canary Islands, Morocco and Malaga (did the excursion to Grenada).

I did my first trip to Spain in 1984, went to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Seville, and Costa del Sol.

If you plan to see Grenada and the Alhambra, plan to going to Seville.

I was in Lisbon in 1985, but did not go to Porto.

We want to do a Bordeaux, France river cruise, but Vantage doesn't offer one.

It really comes down to personal choice and what you are most comfortable with. Before booking my first European River cruise I did a lot of research and got some help from this board. We choose the company based upon the ships decor/atmosphere as well as the cabin layout and I would not consider changing lines because we liked it so much. For example, I would love to try Uniworld however the heavily decorated ships would really bother me and I would not feel comfortable.

Most of the river boats have a similar design and follow the same route this is due to the size of the locks. However decor and passengers demographics differ greatly and this is what made our first trip memorable.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thanks to all the posters for the information. I read through the guide but did not see Vantage listed. How would you compare them to AMA?

Thank you.

Vicki

Thanks to all the posters for the information. I read through the guide but did not see Vantage listed. How would you compare them to AMA?

Thank you.

Vicki

We did Vantage Russia in 2011, China in 2012 and AMA's Rhone/Saone river cruise in SW France in 2012.

In some ways it is hard to compare China and Russia with a European Cruise, since the Russia and China trips included a lot of land travel (China only a four day river cruise). Vantage doesn't own the ships in Russia or China.

AMA is an up and coming river cruise line and its prices, were more competitive in 2012 than today. We compared AMA and Vantage pricing for a 2016 Douro Portugal river cruise and AMA's price for the seven day cruise only was equal to Vantage's 11 day cruise and land trip.

We did like AMA, they are a class act.

Still, we have always been fond of Vantage and the total package of river and land trip. It had super program managers that went out of their way to take care of us, including one on our tour in China that had to be hospitalized mid-tour. Further, they take care of many details like boarding passes, immigration forms, etc. facilitating your tour. I would say the tour guides on both lines were equally excellent.

It is hard to compare the food, since we were in Russia and China with Vantage, but we had good food, as we did with AMA.

Hydrokitty,

We would love for you to join us on the Douro cruise. We are booked for 15-25 May 2016.

 

We saw the Alhambra on an NCL cruise out of Barcelona that went to the Canary Islands, Morocco and Malaga (did the excursion to Grenada).

 

I did my first trip to Spain in 1984, went to Madrid, Segovia, Toledo, Seville, and Costa del Sol.

 

If you plan to see Grenada and the Alhambra, plan to going to Seville.

 

I was in Lisbon in 1985, but did not go to Porto.

 

We want to do a Bordeaux, France river cruise, but Vantage doesn't offer one.

Vantage seems to be adding more France cruises every year....I wouldn't be surprised to see on in next catalog. Thanks for the invite, we would love to join you to but already have Spring 2016 booked. Grandson graduating UNCCharlotte and we're spending a week in Gatlinburg with the family. But a question about Alhambra. I do have walking difficulties and I've done Russia, Ukraine, Black Sea, Egypt, etc. without too much trouble, how is the Alhambra? Biggest problem is prolonged walking and STANDING. I have a magellan combo cane/seat but it can be a little tricky on uneven surfaces like the deadly cobblestone. I value your opinion, what do you think?

Thanks to all the posters for the information. I read through the guide but did not see Vantage listed. How would you compare them to AMA?

 

Thank you.

 

Vicki

Can't compare but know that Vantage does not accept bookings by TA's

Vantage seems to be adding more France cruises every year....I wouldn't be surprised to see on in next catalog. Thanks for the invite, we would love to join you to but already have Spring 2016 booked. Grandson graduating UNCCharlotte and we're spending a week in Gatlinburg with the family. But a question about Alhambra. I do have walking difficulties and I've done Russia, Ukraine, Black Sea, Egypt, etc. without too much trouble, how is the Alhambra? Biggest problem is prolonged walking and STANDING. I have a magellan combo cane/seat but it can be a little tricky on uneven surfaces like the deadly cobblestone. I value your opinion, what do you think?

Hydrokitty,

There is a lot of walking at the Alhambra. Not a lot of places to sit and rest. I don't remember cobblestones, but we spent time inside and outside. There were some areas with paving tiles, but didn't think they were a problem.

Hydrokitty,

There is a lot of walking at the Alhambra. Not a lot of places to sit and rest. I don't remember cobblestones, but we spent time inside and outside. There were some areas with paving tiles, but didn't think they were a problem.

I'm going to do a "virtual tour" on line and then I'll decide. Thanks for the input.

Can't compare but know that Vantage does not accept bookings by TA's

This is true, Vantage does not work with TA's. You need to contact them directly on line or by phone. But if you're a control freak, like me, this is not a bad thing! I have found all 6 of my Vantage trips, to date, to be well planned with excellent TM's and local guides who all speak impeccable English. The ships are very comfortable, although not as opulent as others I've seen, and the food on board ranges from really really good to wonderful. Shore excursions are all included, wine and beer are included at dinner on some, not all, cruises and the few optional tours were well worth the money. Most surprising to me was the recent cost comparison I did between Vantage and Viking with the result that Vantage was substantially less than Viking.