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I would like to thank all of you who replied to the River Cruise post, but my husband and I have discussed it with our extended family members who will (of course) be in Austria for the wedding. We're going to rent a car and tour around for appx. 10 days then take a Mediterranean cruise on an ocean line to the Greek islands.

Gretchendz, I totally understand their position and yes I agree 100%, I would be upfront with them, however the two I spoke with both said prior to doing the research, there is a charge. I think the charge is incorporated in the final cost if we go with them but if not then we lose the $200. In response to your other post, I don't know what line that was, they never said.

Marazul, the link you sent me shows last year and looks like years past although I'm just looking at last year right now. Oh my goodness I was surprised, I thought those temps were going to be a lot hotter. Oh what the heck, it's doable - we're going!!!! LOL!!! Thanks so much Marazul for the link!

Thanks for your response CruiserBruce. I asked to use last year as a guide because our globe is getting hotter, and I read what has happened last year will become the norm. I noticed here at home (Calgary Alberta), our temperatures last 2 summers in a row have reached 35c and our summers are getting longer! I was thinking the actual data was from years past and not necessarily represents what we are facing today. But as the other person said, we are dying to go, so we should just go! Thanks so much for your response!

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me. We are trying to zero in on the best possible cruise for mid August of 2023. My niece is getting married on Aug. 5th in Vienna Austria, we plan on touring the region for about a week then head off on a cruise somewhere. With the summer's rising heat in Europe (thinking of last year), we were thinking maybe doing the north. Is there anyone who was there last August? What was the weather like? I looked online and it looks like it rains a lot there in August? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you in advance!

My niece is getting married in Vienna, Austria on Aug. 5th of next summer. We were thinking of taking a cruise the following week (mid Aug). We always wanted to see the Greek Islands but also understand how hot it can get in Greece. Does anyone know if the Greek islands, ie Mykonos, Santorini, etc. gets really hot, example above 35c/95f? Was anyone there last year to use that as a guide? Thanks for your help!

Jazzbeau Oops my bad, when I said France I meant specifically Paris.

Thanks Gretchendz I'll take a look at Riviera. I already spoke with 2 TA who specializes in river and ocean cruises and one of the two gave me the cheapest rate out of all lines they book for, quoting me the cheapest room for Aug. for a 7 day cruise was $3699CDN. Does this sound about right?

CPT, yes that is correct, but I was thinking of wanting to see Germany, Switzerland, France, etc. But I do realize that there are no river cruises that stops at all these 3 countries on one route.

Ahhh thanks for that piece of info. I just assumed that all ports were in the heart of the city. Ok good to know!! If we do decide on a river cruise, I'll have to ask where each port drops you off. Gosh, I would definitely not like to be dropped off in an industrial area, although I'm sure they have buses that take you out of there and back to the boat.

Yes Notamermaid, so many things to consider. We have no problem flying or taking a train to Paris, Budapest, etc. Wherever the cruise starts at and making sure our departure flight is from the city where we end up. I suppose if it finished in Vienna, that would be easier for a round trip ticket. And definitely not MS Mozart, we want to look for the more budget friendly river cruises. And who knows we just may end up on an ocean cruise if the river cruise is just too much money. Some of the European cruises have a port every day except for one day. That works for me too. The only problem is they don't drop you off right in the city the way river cruises do - or at least that was my understanding. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

No worries 🙂

Roz, the wedding will be in Vienna, and we'll be touring around Vienna for a few days while we are there for the wedding. However, our cruise does not have to start in Vienna, it can start anywhere that has a route of interest to us. We'll either take a train or fly depending on where the embarkation port is. Since we'll be in Vienna and my niece's finance's family (who are Austrians) will be showing us around - we may even bunk with them while in Vienna- not sure yet, but we'll want a river cruise that does not include Vienna - it could be a starting or ending port, but we would have already seen the highlights while there for the wedding.

Thank you so much for this extra piece of advice! But I don't see 7 days. We can only take up to 2.5 wks for vacation and that also includes flight time, plus we'll be with the family and wedding party for 3 days, and then the touring around begins, so 14 - 16days will not be doable. Although I love the idea of overnight stops.

Exactly!!! That's what I love!! I'll find a travel agent who specializes in river cruises. What would be great is if we found one that did a late departure in a port or two. If not then oh well, that's not a deal breaker.

Ahh good to know Miss G! Yes that's the feel I'm getting now, as long as we stick with the active tours during the day, we won't have the energy and will just want to drop into bed that night. I'm starting to think it's like a skiing holiday. You spend the day skiing and by the end of supper you just want to either settle in and watch a movie or just go to bed. No energy to go out!! I've been comparing it to an ocean cruise to the Caribbean.

When you say train travel - what do you mean? Taking a train to the next destination, checking into a hotel for a few days, check out and back on a train to the next city? No thank you. We only have 2.5 wks and I don't want to waste any days on travel to next destination. I prefer the captain to take us while we sleep.

Thanks notamermaid - If we are out in the evening doing things, then no I definitely won't miss the entertainment. We'll get back and settle in to bed. However, if we are active, you're right we may not miss it. We've done ocean cruises to the Caribbean but mostly we'll be on the beach or it's a sea day, so we're still ready to go that evening. I need to speak with a travel agent who specializes in river cruises.

Thanks Got2Cruise! Yes, I love that idea of a floating hotel - really that's the ocean cruises also. But thanks for the recommendation. We like the idea of bike and hike tours. We are still active and young at heart. Last month when we were in Niagara Falls, we went go carting LOL!! It was a lot of fun!!

TMLAalum - Thanks for your response. We actually considered that, but he can only take appx. 2.5wks for vacation and I don't want to waste days checking out - traveling to next city - checking in to next hotel. We're still young at heart and adventurous but by next summer I'll be 58yrs and my husband 60's and we love the comfort of settling in and seeing many places which is why we love cruising. My parents also want to join us and next summer they'll both be 87yrs and she really wants to do a cruise with us, which is another reason we didn't pursue hotel jumping idea. So, if we don't do a river cruise then we'll look at an ocean cruise. The only thing is (correct me if I'm wrong) a river cruise drops you off right in the heart of the cities we would like to explore, and the ocean liners don't. For example, NCL will have Paris on their itinerary, but the dock is in Le Havre and it's a 3yr journey to Paris - no thank you!! This is why we're looking at river cruises.

Roz, thanks for your input. Actually, thinking if we're up early every morning, going to bed early would probably be a good idea LOL!! But just curious, can you ever have the option to sleep in?

Thanks so much for your response JerseyGem - Lynn:) I'll take a peak at the articles when I have time. I run my own business which leaves me little time to research this type of travel. Actually, I was just thinking it may be worth-while finding a travel agent who has experience with river cruises.

Hello Canal Archive, Calgary says hi back LOL!! Thanks for your response. My parents go to the casino, the theatre to see live shows, karaoke, etc. I'm not sure what she was expecting as it was her first river cruise. On our ocean cruises we always do the above, but not the casino. You said there's usually a host to keep you entertained. What takes place? What's the type of entertainment?

Hello We are new to river cruising, but we've done several ocean cruises in the past. We are going to be in Vienna, Austria next summer (Aug. 5th) for my nieces wedding and after the wedding we were thinking of doing a river cruise. My husband and I have never been to Europe before, so I'm thinking the best way to see the European countries is by River Cruise. We also want to do a Mediterranean cruise (Italy/Greece) but thinking it'll be too hot there at that time of year, so we plan on putting that on hold for another year. My parents did a river cruise a few years ago. They are seasoned ocean line cruisers but wanted to try a river cruise. She said it was fine, but they were bored at night. I noticed that some of the river cruises offer bike and hiking excursions during the day which would be fun but wondering if there are any river cruises that offer entertainment or fun things to do at night ie., trivia, karaoke, movie under the stars, etc.? Also, another option, do they stay overnight in ports or at least late departures? I read that if the rivers are not high enough, they bus you to the next port. Is that true? If so, what are the odds that would happen in Aug.? Thanks for any help anyone can offer 🙂

Ahhh Ok .......mmm......I was thinking it was as hot as Vegas in July. So how hot can Greece get? When was the last time you were in Greece in August?