danube river cruise

If you were planning a danube river cruise which cruise line would you choose...Amawaterways, crystal, viking or avalon? what is your experience? help me decide please.

First one we sailed on Crystal. Every thing was lovely. Next week we will try Uniworld. Hope it is as nice. We decided based on itinerary and availability. We do prefer all inclusive and look forward to some pampering.

thank you for sharing I appreciate it.. what River did you cruise? what cities did you visit? What river is next on your agenda

Start by going to the stickies at the top of the forum and read through the articles under "New to RIVER CRUISING??? START HERE!!!"

Dave,

I've done 2 rivers cruises, both on the Danube and both on Uniworld. The 1st one went from Budapest to Passau (8 days), and the 2nd one was Bucharest to Budapest (10 days). Uniworld is a class act, and both cruises were very enjoyable, although completely different from one another in terms of scenery, culture, history, etc.

Tell us a little more about yourself and what you're looking for, and we may be able to help you a bit more.

Roz

Dave,

Our first river cruise was on Uniworld, Castles of the Rhine, flying into Basel, Switzerland and ending the river cruise in Nuremberg, Germany. Good ship, great crew and service, very happy with the included tours, really enjoyed the food. Typically, a totally different experience from ocean cruising on a port intensive cruise. As noted below, we are returning to Uniworld for our next river cruise. Not sure why you would exclude Uniworld from your original list.

Dave

You need to check what each line offers and includes and decide whats important to you.

I've been on Danube with Viking, and am going again next month, they offered everthing I wanted at a good price, but I can't compare the experience with other lines because I've not been down the Danube with them.

Lines tweak their offerings year by year, some lines offer more than one tour down the same river, so the chances of finding a disinterested reply from someone who has recently taken a Danube trip with all the lines you are considering are slim.

There's a lot of info if you browse past posts that should give a feel for different lines. But only you know if you want (and want to pay for) 24 hour butler service, swimming pools, gourmet food, bicycles, fridge refilled with booze etc etc

We used Amawaterways for the Danube. The excursions, meals and service were all outstanding. There is also a dinner at the Chefs Table included.

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Action Dave

Have to agree with the previous posts- we took our first river cruise this past holiday season and the posts / threads at the top of this board offer a wealth of information for first timers! We sailed AMA on the Romantic Danube and absolutely loved it. Also agree you should look at uniworld depending on what is important to you in terms of the your expectations. I would sail on AMA again in heartbeat but uniworld would also be a strong contender after doing our first river cruise - more so because of what I have read from other posters and their experiences seem to be more in line with what we would want from our next river cruise - and there will hopefully be many, many more in our future!

Almost all river ships in Europe have the same dimensions, based on the common lock size. Since you ask about the Danube, there are two ships that break this pattern:

Crystal Mozart:

http://www.crystalcruises.com/river/river-guidebook/our-ships/crystal-mozart

and the new-for-2019 AmaMagna:

https://www.amawaterways.com/ships/amamagna-river-cruise-ship

They are double-width [the locks on their itineraries are unusually large] which allows both larger cabins and larger and more varied public spaces. Both are also top-quality river cruise lines. I would choose one of these for a Danube cruise.

thank you for sharing I appreciate it.. what River did you cruise? what cities did you visit? What river is next on your agenda

We did the Danube- Vienna to Vienna. North for a bit then as far south as Budapest. And next week we are going from Budapest to Bucharest, again the Danube. I don't remember all the cities - the "standard" ones. Most lines stop in the same places. I love the all inclusive lines- I don't want to have to think about tipping or that extra glass of champagne or planning the next stop. And for what it is worth- our first river cruise centered around Vienna because we were spending our anniversary there- and on Crystal because by the time we decided to do it no other top lines had space. We were very pleased with Crystal and don't think it could have been nicer. But we shall see- comparisons are nice.

We have completed 3 Uniworld cruises and have the 4th scheduled in December. I read quite a few reviews before booking the first, also looking at inclusions/exclusions. I love the quality product they offer hence will continue with them. Doing the locks was enjoyable hence more sailing and less busing. I rode a bike on the Danube trip while my spouse was pampered onboard with a massage. The only issue we had was we beat the ship by an hour and had to wait for the ship in a pub by the evening mooring. :D:D:D

Host Jazzbeau

Question on the new double wide ships referenced - we sailed the Danube this past holiday and went thru numerous locks - so what sections of the Danube (cities/ports) would these double wide ships visit?

Bob

We really enjoyed everything about Uniworld on our Danube cruise.

The cabins are pretty small, @151sf but surprisingly comfortable and well laid out.

Our next Uniworld cruises will have much larger cabins.

The AMA and Crystal ships do look lovely. I think the prices are comparable or slightly higher than Uniworld.

Don't be scared off by the decor. You hardly notice it and the service and inclusions more than make up for it.

Host Jazzbeau

 

Question on the new double wide ships referenced - we sailed the Danube this past holiday and went thru numerous locks - so what sections of the Danube (cities/ports) would these double wide ships visit?

 

Bob

Crystal sails roundtrip from Vienna, going as far west as Passau and as far east as Budapest. AMA sails one-way back and forth between Vilshofen [just west of Passau] and Budapest.

Crystal sails roundtrip from Vienna, going as far west as Passau and as far east as Budapest. AMA sails one-way back and forth between Vilshofen [just west of Passau] and Budapest.

Thank your for this detailed answer. I had been wondering how their wider river ships, itineraries, and the Danube got along together. No locks and busses.

Another thing to consider is if you want to extend your vacation pre and/or post cruise. Prague and Munich are a doable transfer to Passau or Vilshofen.

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Thank your for this detailed answer. I had been wondering how their wider river ships, itineraries, and the Danube got along together. No locks and busses.

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Agree with Gnome. No locks doesn't get around the issue of water levels. If they're too high or too low, buses may come into play.

Roz

One thing to note about the wider ships is that they are unique, so there is no chance of a ship swap to get around water level issues. Viking for sure, but also Emerald and Ama and I think Scenic have sister ships that can be swapped on a route.

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The itineraries I described above do not go into the area where low-water has been such a problem [Regensburg is well to the west of Vilshofen]. When Viking was doing all those ship swaps and bus tours, AMA kept sailing this route [on their regular river ships – I don't have any specs on the draft of these wider ships to know how they will be affected in the next low-water episode]

Updated to reflect information from notamermaid: there are locks in the area these wide ships sail, but these locks are larger than in other areas.