One persons way of deciding on a cruise.

We did, when we were leaving Nuremberg in a blizzard and were on the road for almost 9 hours - often at a dead stand still - in an undersized vehicle. Without the snow it would have been tolerable.

 

This was the only negative private transfer experience we have had in the course of many trips. Next time we will use the DB bus.

 

The transfers provided by the cruise line were on the same highway of course and had the same delays, just more space to move around.

Yes, that is what I must have recalled. We have decided to stick with AMA's transfers.

Why has that got anything at all to do with what they write? I, like you, had a first post too. I started this thead for a reason and I found that caviargal lept in with her own agenda to take Tauck and me to task based on her own style of travel. It was painfully obvious that she never really read my OP because if she did she would have read that at the time of my exercise APT/AMA were more expensive than Tauck so her rantings were simply not true. I'm still amazed as to why you'd take a river cruise, at any price, just to ignore most of what you paid for just so you can show the world you like to be independant and do your own thing. Even though I wrote in my OP that this was a personal perspective and not to be used as a template it didn't stop caviargal from replying .. "I am glad that you found a cruise line that works for you. However, your way of choosing a river cruise is not the bible and there are actually people who choose a river cruise that have different priorities than you do." ..... that just shows me and others that all you really wanted was to hijack a thread with your priorities.

 

 

If you and others want to display your wealth in this manner then feel free to do so BUT please refrain from flaunting where your silver spoon is stuck in my threads and take you're anti-Tauck rants to another thread.

It is funny that you responded the way you did to my post when I clearly wasn't responding or referring to your post. Furthermore, I'm just wondering which of my posts in any way shape or form would lead you to believe I am anti-Tauck. I originally thought your first post was well thought out and could possibly help other first time cruisers in deciding which cruise line to pick. Now I'm just wondering why if someone disagrees with or questions your post you find it necessary to be discourteous to them . Could you be a shill for Tauck? The bottom line is these forums are a way for people to express there feelings and opinions on all issues of cruising, and a way for people to obtain all types of invaluable information. I do not believe we should be bashing or assaulting other cruisers in this forum just because they might have a different opinion or different cruising style. Lets just move on.

It is funny that you responded the way you did to my post when I clearly wasn't responding or referring to your post. Furthermore, I'm just wondering which of my posts in any way shape or form would lead you to believe I am anti-Tauck. I originally thought your first post was well thought out and could possibly help other first time cruisers in deciding which cruise line to pick. Now I'm just wondering why if someone disagrees with or questions your post you find it necessary to be discourteous to them . Could you be a shill for Tauck? The bottom line is these forums are a way for people to express there feelings and opinions on all issues of cruising, and a way for people to obtain all types of invaluable information. I do not believe we should be bashing or assaulting other cruisers in this forum just because they might have a different opinion or different cruising style. Lets just move on.

I have to apologise as except for the first two sentences which were directed to you I should have made a separate post to caviargal for the remainder of what I had to say. Again I apologise.

You had me for sometime when you referred to me a Shill as I had absolutely no idea what it meant. It's not a common word in Australia. I looked it up and I can assure you I'm no ones shill but I am passionate when someone hijacks a thread of mine to rewrite something that I did not say.

I'm sure I will be corrected if wrong but from reading Caviergals post I thought she was just giving another perspective on criteria to choose a cruise. I liked yours (OP)and Caviergals and probably take a bit from both. I like to read of other people's perspective and I guess it was in the same vein of the original topic of how we choose a cruise. Caviergals preference for more independent type of travel is well known ( as is the OP view of Trauk) I guess she and her partner still love much about river cruising but the group touring is not her cup of tea. ( I have to admit we went off on our own a couple of times as the pace was too slow and I really didn't need all that information- just wanted to wander. Other tours we enjoyed as an orientation and some were great)

Caviergal has given great tips and information and we have used her recommendations for private tours which were excellent. She also lets us know when her choices were not the best so we don't make the same mistake. I let her know to take the English headsets for the Budapest House of Terror, a tour she was looking forward to but we had found not as good due to the lack of English. We wish we had known about the headsets. To me CC is about sharing of information and I don't get a sense that caviargirl was being disrespectful of others preferences but was just sharing ideas.

Happy researching and cruising everyone. :)

I'm sure I will be corrected if wrong but from reading Caviergals post I thought she was just giving another perspective on criteria to choose a cruise.

That was exactly my intent, to point out to those that are researching a river cruise that is more than one way to choose and more than one way to travel. This is public forum where more than one POV can be expressed and the OP of any thread does not own that thread and should expect people to comment, and not to simply unilaterally agree.

The OP seems to believe that he owns his thread and that no one is allowed to comment that is not in agreement with his thought process, otherwise it is "hijacking" or anti-Tauck. I have commented many times that Tauck is a luxury product and that we have seen and admired their boats when in port. It is simply not a line we will be cruising with because of their inclusive pricing, which is great for some but not for those who prefer to (1) travel independent of a group, (2) prefer to choose their own hotels, excursions and transfers. Not everyone wants a package where every detail is chosen for you - and then others likely find that travel style very relaxing.

There are a number of occasions when this OP has attacked me for my travel style and preferences. We do enjoy many aspects of river cruising but the group excursions do not appeal to us. In 6 cruises we have had 30 or more included excursions I would estimate and we have taken about 20% of those, preferring most of the time to rely on personal research and in many cases, public transport to see what we choose to see. For important cities, we opt for a private guide.

This OP in his personal attacks makes assumptions that are untrue, apparently in his zeal to discredit me for whatever reason he has decided to target my opinions. He has been rude on multiple occasions when I have expressed a POV not in keeping with his and then states lies as truth as he knows nothing at all about me. We are not wealthy and we are careful with how we spend our money. His comments about "displaying my wealth" are laughable as I am always focused on value for my money. Last trip to Europe our hotels ranged from 65E -89E per night which is pretty standard for us. This year in Italy our hotels average 125E. We like to choose where we spend our money and choose not to spend it on any package - river cruise or other - that builds in a cost for features we will not use.

And to the OP, the airline we fly overseas most of the time, Delta, does NOT provide free drinks in coach, nor do many other USA based airline companies. Another erroneous assumption/generalization made by the OP and used as another attack point. One only gets those in business or coach, where they are "free" which actually means they are built into the price, just like "free" transfers.

Yes, that is what I must have recalled. We have decided to stick with AMA's transfers.

AMA actually used the DB bus (they chartered one) from Nuremberg to Prague last year. These are the same, very nice buses that are the public transport option one would get at the train station. Using AMA means no taxis in both directions (departure from boat to station and then again in Prague). And they have onboard restrooms, which would have been welcome during our 9 hour drive.

Have a great time on your AMA cruise. We are really looking forward to the AmaPrima at Christmas time and AMA has a fabulous promotion on that cruise.

And to the OP, the airline we fly overseas most of the time, Delta, does NOT provide free drinks in coach, nor do many other USA based airline companies. Another erroneous assumption/generalization made by the OP and used as another attack point. One only gets those in business or coach, where they are "free" which actually means they are built into the price, just like "free" transfers.

We just flew Delta (and partner Air France) r/t to Switzerland. On both Delta over and AF back, wine and beer were served free in economy class. :D

AMA actually used the DB bus (they chartered one) from Nuremberg to Prague last year. These are the same, very nice buses that are the public transport option one would get at the train station. Using AMA means no taxis in both directions (departure from boat to station and then again in Prague). And they have onboard restrooms, which would have been welcome during our 9 hour drive.

 

Have a great time on your AMA cruise. We are really looking forward to the AmaPrima at Christmas time and AMA has a fabulous promotion on that cruise.

Since we are staying at the same hotel (at a fraction of the cost), we will not need to taxi to meet up with the AMA group. It also means we will be making a stop at Regensburg during the day. Won't need to worry about schlepping our own luggage to the ship either!

Can't wait to hear more about AMAPrima!

We just flew Delta (and partner Air France) r/t to Switzerland. On both Delta over and AF back, wine and beer were served free in economy class. :D

 

Since we are staying at the same hotel (at a fraction of the cost), we will not need to taxi to meet up with the AMA group. It also means we will be making a stop at Regensburg during the day. Won't need to worry about schlepping our own luggage to the ship either!

Can't wait to hear more about AMAPrima!

Regensburg is lovely and we always enjoy spending time there.

Not sure if it was an AF Code Share but on our last two Delta international flights, alcoholic drinks were extra charge in Economy. We generally book Economy Comfort for the extra legroom and they do throw in drinks. When we fly AF code share flights, they do serve free drinks.

From their website:

Beverage Service

Nonalcoholic Beverages

The following complimentary nonalcoholic beverages1 are offered in all classes of service on all flights:

• Coca-Cola® Classic
  
• Diet Coke
  
• Coca-Cola Zero
  
• Sprite
  
• Fresca
  
• Bottled water
  
• Seagram's Club® Soda
  
• Seagram's Tonic Water
  
• Seagram's Dry Ginger Ale
  
• Milk
  
• Tea
  
• Seattle’s Best regular and decaffeinated coffee
  
• Starbucks® coffee (flights between JFK and LAX, SFO or SEA)
  
• Minute Maid® Orange Juice
  
• Minute Maid Cranberry Apple Cocktail
  
• Minute Maid Apple Juice
  
• Motts Tomato juice
  
• Mr. & Mrs. "T" Bloody Mary mix
  

1Nonalcoholic beverage selections are subject to change and availability. All items may not be available on all flights.

Alcoholic Beverages

A selection of complimentary beers, wines, spirits and cocktails are offered in the First Class cabin.

Oz,

I enjoyed reading about your criteria for deciding on a cruise. I think it is a great idea to make a spread sheet and compare the areas that are most important to you to decide on the best line for you.

Caviargal - what part of ..........."This is my exercise, living in Australia, on deciding on what cruise line we'd sail on in 2014. I want to stress that this is one persons perspective and is by no means meant to be a template for everyone. I just hope it helps."

...... don't you understand. Why did you decide to attack my reasoning? As you stated many times the CC contributors know your style of travel. Just because it differs to mine is no reason to leap into this thread to exercise your right to be different. All I ever wanted to do was give one persons perspective. There is nothing in my post that says this is the only way to go.

We live in two different parts of the world. Down here Tauck is NOT more expensive than AMA... Tauck in 2014 will be no more all-inclusive than AMA and yet you choose to use that company. Good for you. I understand they are very good. Just another point where you don't take into consideration that you live in a different part of the world if you fly from Australia on an international flight you get free alcholic beverages in economy class. I agree this is a public forum but I do take umbrage with your statement that I speak untruths and on numerous occasions I have attacked you for your travel style and preferences. I welcome you pointing these out to me and others on this forum. Before you continue further may I just ask you to research travel from Australia and perhaps you may find you make far more assumptions than you accuse me of.

I agree with Oxjohnno .... Caviargal hijacks many threads to tell us that AMA is the only river cruise line we should travel on. She constantly attacks those who disagree with her.

While AMA is a quality line, I have traveled with them once (out of a total of 14 river cruises) and found out it wasn't for me.

As has been stated many times before each river cruise line has its own unique clientele and we all chose what we like the best.

It's interesting that you did virtually the same exercise as we did in deciding which river cruise to choose. We also ended up with Tauck. After doing the spreadsheets, I found that just price or cabin size did not tell the whole story. So we sat down with our travel companions and read the day-by-day itinerary regarding what was included and what the tours really were. Tauck won easily.

I have cruised with Viking and found that they are constantly adding "extra" charges, that make it really non-inclusive. Even the daily tour guides and bus drivers have their hands out, and Viking did not make any effort to even try to be all-inclusive. I find that very annoying, unless I intentionally signed up for it because of other factors.

So I hope you have a lovely fall cruise on Tauck. We will be sailing in May, 2014, and looking forward to a wonderful trip. Happy travels! Linda

I have learned, from reading these comments, that it is not a good idea to share your ideas about the subject of a particular thread if they do not agree with those of the person who started and owns the thread. This is considered hijacking. :rolleyes:

From many previous posts by this OP we know that for him Tauck wins and other river cruise lines (especially Viking) lose. :cool: The method he used is a good suggestion but certainly not the only way.

It is probably best to start another thread where others can share thoughts about things they take into consideration when deciding which cruise line would work best for them.

I have learned, from reading these comments, that it is not a good idea to share your ideas about the subject of a particular thread if they do not agree with those of the person who started and owns the thread. This is considered hijacking. :rolleyes:

 

From many previous posts by this OP we know that for him Tauck wins and other river cruise lines (especially Viking) lose. :cool: The method he used is a good suggestion but certainly not the only way.

 

It is probably best to start another thread where others can share thoughts about things they take into consideration when deciding which cruise line would work best for them.

This thread was never opened to discuss the various ways people choose a river cruise line. It was simply an attempt to show readers how someone in Australia did their assessment before choosing a company to cruise with. I keep repeating that it was just one person's thoughts and NEVER intended to be a template.I'm still very confused why any poster would leap into this type of thread to put forward another way of choosing their particular line. It was not called for an not asked for so yes I think that type of poster is attemting to hijack the thread to impose their will.

If you had read my first post all the way through you should have noted that the decision to choose Tauck was only a very narrow one over both Scenic and APT/AMA and I gave my reasons why I chose Tauck. I have never advocated that everyone should cruise with Tauck and I've only ever commented on Vikings policies not on the onboard food and accommodation experiences as I've never travelled with them. Whilst you are quick to condem you have obviously failed to read on the many occassions when I have said that I don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" river cruise and people should always choose the line they feel is best for them.

I would welcome another thread being opened where you and others can discuss the way they choose a cruise company just so you stop sniping me.

ozjohnno, we also have used your system since 2000, and 17 river cruises later are still doing it.We all have our favorite lines and reasons for the choice. We are fortunate that we have these choices. Aussies don't seem to have the good deals we in the US have. especially with ocean or river cruises. We just returned from a trip on a brand new, for us, line and probably won't use them again. Safe travels. Pat

This thread was never opened to discuss the various ways people choose a river cruise line. It was simply an attempt to show readers how someone in Australia did their assessment before choosing a company to cruise with. I keep repeating that it was just one person's thoughts and NEVER intended to be a template.I'm still very confused why any poster would leap into this type of thread to put forward another way of choosing their particular line. It was not called for an not asked for so yes I think that type of poster is attemting to hijack the thread to impose their will.

 

If you had read my first post all the way through you should have noted that the decision to choose Tauck was only a very narrow one over both Scenic and APT/AMA and I gave my reasons why I chose Tauck. I have never advocated that everyone should cruise with Tauck and I've only ever commented on Vikings policies not on the onboard food and accommodation experiences as I've never travelled with them. Whilst you are quick to condem you have obviously failed to read on the many occassions when I have said that I don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" river cruise and people should always choose the line they feel is best for them.

 

I would welcome another thread being opened where you and others can discuss the way they choose a cruise company just so you stop sniping me.

I did read your first post all the way through. Sorry - I should have been more clear and said that for you, Tauck wins a narrow victory. I have also misread your many recommendations for Tauck - I thought you were advocating them. I did not appreciate the fact that you are qualified to comment on Vikings policies without travelling with them.

I am glad that you don't think there is such a thing as a "bad" river cruise. We will be doing our first next year. I do remember reading one of your comments to that effect, but missed the many other occasions - again I apologize.

I agree - we need a new thread!

I agree with Oz's approach to fully research all of the cruise lines, destinations, and options. Some people want a fully inclusive experience; nothing wrong with that. Others prefer to have some flexibility to do their own thing at times. Nothing wrong with that either. The point is to do the research to decide what works for you.

I agree with Oz's approach to fully research all of the cruise lines, destinations, and options. Some people want a fully inclusive experience; nothing wrong with that. Others prefer to have some flexibility to do their own thing at times. Nothing wrong with that either. The point is to do the research to decide what works for you.

Precisely. I really appreciate how John's post gives a great example of how to tease out the differences in exactly what's included in the prices and how to adjust for the components to compare apples to apples. As a result of his analysis and preferences, he found Tauck to be the best fit. Caviargirl did a similar breakdown and found AMA suits her well. Both have done the same thing, but reached different results based upon their preferences and pricing in their country. No bad choices and I'm sure both will enjoy their trips.

Thanks again for such a good example of breaking costs down to reach your decision.

Precisely. I really appreciate how John's post gives a great example of how to tease out the differences in exactly what's included in the prices and how to adjust for the components to compare apples to apples. As a result of his analysis and preferences, he found Tauck to be the best fit. Caviargirl did a similar breakdown and found AMA suits her well. Both have done the same thing, but reached different results based upon their preferences and pricing in their country. No bad choices and I'm sure both will enjoy their trips.

 

Thanks again for such a good example of breaking costs down to reach your decision.

Very well said.

Precisely. I really appreciate how John's post gives a great example of how to tease out the differences in exactly what's included in the prices and how to adjust for the components to compare apples to apples. As a result of his analysis and preferences, he found Tauck to be the best fit. Caviargirl did a similar breakdown and found AMA suits her well. Both have done the same thing, but reached different results based upon their preferences and pricing in their country. No bad choices and I'm sure both will enjoy their trips.

 

Thanks again for such a good example of breaking costs down to reach your decision.

Yes, well said. You are the voice of reason. I appreciated both views and the fact that I could find them both in one place. I was offended by the OP's attack on Caviargirl and her right to post her on topic opinion on any thread. I believe CC owns a thread - not an OP.

Yes, well said. You are the voice of reason. I appreciated both views and the fact that I could find them both in one place. I was offended by the OP's attack on Caviargirl and her right to post her on topic opinion on any thread. I believe CC owns a thread - not an OP.

Agreed. Both OP and Caviargal had valid points to make and both have an undeniable right to post them. If you don't agree with someone you don't have to respond.

Caviargal, well said, could not agree with you more. By the way did you notice the post was another "one post wonder".

copperski,

Everybody has to have a first post. What's your problem?

(post number 2 if counting)

Ozjohnno, this thread is very helpful.

It's unfortunate that it got derailed, but here's hoping it gets back on topic.

Ozjohnno I have been trying - from Australia - do the same as you for a 15 day Amsterdam to Budapest river trip - it would be my first European one

I am getting bogged down and wonder if you would e-mail me attaching your clever spread sheet where I could compare what you have found to what is shown on various web sites - experience often counts more Thank you Yvonne

Ozjohnno I have been trying - from Australia - do the same as you for a 15 day Amsterdam to Budapest river trip - it would be my first European one

 

I am getting bogged down and wonder if you would e-mail me attaching your clever spread sheet where I could compare what you have found to what is shown on various web sites - experience often counts more Thank you Yvonne

I am so sorry but after we made our choice and that took us around 3 - 4 weeks of research and posting to our spreadsheet we did save it for a while but it's no longer on our computer. It was a finicky exercise but it provided us with a pretty accurate, at the time, per Diem cost of all-inclusive river cruise companies. I'm sorry I didn't keep it but if you read this thread all the way through you'll read that my way of looking at things was very different to some others and the thread got way off track and I didn't think that many would use my methodology. Again sorry but don't give up it is an interesting exercise because you'll find that all-inclusive means different things to different companies.

Whatever company you finally choose I'm sure you'll have a great time. As one of our very good posters on these threads often says ... "River Cruising is addictive."

If I can provide you with anything else please drop me a line at rodmky@optusnet.com.au

Rod