wake

What ship and itinerary? We did the Danube with Uniworld (River Beatrice) in April 2016 and loved it. Your itinerary may be similar to ours. I did a review if you want a sneak preview. I am terribly biased, of course, but I think you'll have a great time.

 

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I appreciate all of the help, it looks like we will be sailing the Danube with Uniworld! Our agent ha sit reserved just pending the deposit.

We are very excited. I definitely appreciate the help in the thread.

I was excited to see this as well! Does anyone know on which ship the beautiful exercise room shown in the ad is located? We have done two European Amawaterways cruises and were disappointed in the small size of the exercise facility.

If you want active hiking options on a river cruise, look at the AMA cruises with Backroads [choose "Walking & Hiking" filter]:

https://www.backroads.com/award-winning-tours/cruises

As an example of what Mark T. has mentioned about Viking prices, and their 2 for 1 pricing.....

 

I'm not sure which rivers you are looking at, but a March 21 sailing on the Rhone, with Viking, for their standard E cabin, is $2699/person. On Uniworld, sailing on March 18, their price, on a Category 4, is $2427.50. I have added in port charges to Uniworld's price, so there is an apples to apples comparison.

 

Uniworld includes drinks throughout the day, including alcohol, and gratuities, in their price. They also provide transfers to/from the airport, if you travel the same day. Viking, OTOH, has attractive airfare.

 

Of course, the decor is opposite ends of the spectrum. At home, we have more the Viking look, but, for a week, I can live like a princess on Uniworld:D

 

Robin

It definitely is overwhelming having so many choices. I'm slowly working my way through it, this site has been a huge resource between the articles and forums.

It would be unusual to find that Viking were significantly cheaper than other similar options, so do make sure that you have understood the '2 for 1' deal properly, it does not mean you only pay for one person and get the other free, it just means they are discounting a price that nobody ever really pays and still showing the per person cost...

My suggestion is pick a river cruise line for the itinerary and the ship itself and don't worry about the ages of the other passengers. You will be among the youngest on board, based on age, but so what. You may get asked where about your parents, but it will most likely be in a conversational way, not meant in a demeaning or negative way. Most people on a river cruise are interested in the sites you will see and the experiences that go with it. And most may be older in age but I can assure you that they are generally very young at heart. As far as travel agents, we have not used one, so can't help you there.

I think you are right, I just wanted to make sure it was going to be a "what are they doing here" kinda thing.

On Viking river you will likely be the only couple in your demographic. I've been on a couple Viking river cruises with couples in their 20s. They looked as if they were having a great time. But if this makes you uncomfortable, Viking would not be a good choice with their older demographic.

No I don't think it would make us uncomfortable at all, I just didn't want us to be the odd thumbs. We both are more than happy to socialize with whoever, we both run in older circles at work anyway.

In my early research the cruise that matches my criteria for the best price is a Viking 2 for 1 deal. It is significantly cheaper than other similar options, so that would leave us the ability to tack on some great trips before or after the cruise.

Thanks for all the help guys!

My wife and I have decided to do something different for our fifth anniversary, are we are starting to zero in on a European river cruise. I have read most of the articles pinned at the top of the this forum, but we are still searching for some answers.

One of our primary concerns is our age, being 30. We have no problem enjoying the company of people from all age groups, but we would prefer not to be the only people on the boat who aren't twice our age. I can just envision fielding the question, "are your parents here too?".

With this in mind I started to look at the more active cruise lines; AMA and Emerald. My only concern there is most of those seem to focus around cycling. While my wife enjoys and leisurely ride, I don't think long cycling tours will be her thing. I was very excited to learn of U by Uniworld, we fall well within their target age range and that would of course solve the above problem. However I am afraid it may be too "millennial" for us. The pictures look right out of a bad car ad. We are definitely looking more to experience the history and culture than we are looking to party. I'm not sure a silent disco is going to be our thing, although the minimalist decor, craft beer and coffee bar are right up our alley. It makes me very nervous that they are brand new, with no reviews to read before booking, although them being part of Uniworld eases my mind somewhat.

So all of that to say, in your experience are my fears of being in the extreme minority age wise unfounded? Are there certain lines that might negate that? Are the higher end offerings going to be an older crowd while the more affordable options might have more of a variety?

My other question involves travel agents. I've gathered that we aren't permitted to discuss specific agents. In trying to research river cruise agents, I have discovered that the majority of the reviews I've found didn't involved river cruises. The agent would call themselves a specialist, but their reviews would be from trips to Disney, Mexico and DR. Is this normal, or am I looking in all the wrong places? Have people typically received great deals from using agents, or is the primary bonus the inside advice?