River Cruises?

My wife and I are considering a river cruise with Viking. However, we have never taken a river cruise and don't quite know what to expect. We would appreciate your comments and any thoughts about where we could do some research. I know the ships are smaller than the ocean liners but is life on the river ships similiar?

I am posting because I noticed that you have sailed several times with Celebrity. My family also has also done several Celebrity cruises, as well as other lines, in the Carribbean and then once to Europe. My husband and I are taking our first river cruise in October with GCT. I am thinking the experiences will be quite different but hopefully still very enjoyable. I am especially concerned about the food as that is always a big part of the vacation experience to me and other people's opinion on food is obviously very subjective. However, many repeat cruisers on GCT give the food high marks AND our cruise is on the Danube in a part of Europe where, for the most part, the cuisine is not my favorite. I am looking forward to the educational activities of the river cruise which I expect to be more my "cup of tea" than bingo or lavish stage productions. We have taken several independent European trips over the years but as I get older I want to unpack less and travel at a more leisurely pace than moving around by train every few days. So for those reasons we are going to try a river cruise; if we enjoy it, it will hopefully be the first of many.

River cruise ships are much smaller than the ships that go on the oceans and seas. Most hold 100 to 250 passengers. With a smaller ship, you generally have fewer choices. There may be two appetizers, one salad and 3 or 4 entrees. There is usually little entertainment on the ship. They may have local folk lore groups come n in different ports and perform. They will ofter give port talks in the evening after dinner.

The cruises are usually port intensive. You will be in port nearly every day.

Most river cruises include some shore excursions. Others are optional and at an additional cost. Usually in each port thiere is just one excursion available.

River cruises are great ways to see the inland areas not accessible from the big ships.

There is a review by Warringtonian a little further down these posts which you may find interesting. I would agree with what is said. It seems to me you will get more (ie: in room amenities, wine and beer with dinner, food) on other cruise lines such as Amadeus (which looks the best to me), Vantage or the new Premicon. I was on the Viking Sky which was nice but I won't take Viking again. To me they don't offer the same things as others but I will always do river cruising over ocean cruising any time.

You may wish to scan down the other posts (if you have not already done so) as they are very informative both pro and con on Viking.

Whichever you choose, do your homework (get brochures, check their website, make sure you know which boat you are on and does it have what you desire, ie: windows that open, etc, this website, websites, etc for the places you will visit). Once you have your desired itinerary and 2 or 3 choices, come back to cruise critic with the specific questions you have and then make a decision.

Enjoy!

Hi Beachgator. You've found one of the very best places to begin your research. CruiseCritic is my "go to" place for almost every cruise I take.After dozens of "big ship" cruises, I'll be taking my first riverboat cruise in three weeks, but from what I've been told by people who do it all the time, it's not at all like big-ship cruising. On Celebrity and others, the ship can be the destination all by itself. On the riverboats, you are very much involved in the places you are visiting. Your entertainment centers on your area of travel, whereas on the big ship, entertainment runs a very wide range. I have also discovered from talking to many, many former travelers that there are some subtle differences in the major riverboat companies. Take time to read the brochures to determine what features are included and what features are "extra". For example, we chose a company that includes wine with dinner - since wine is a major part of our lifestyle. Keep asking questions on this board and you'll be surprised at how much you will learn.

Beachgaitor -

I can only speak for European river cruises and the real "expert" on these boards is Steamboats...however here is my take on river cruising in Europe:

It is a wonderful way to really see places without rushing around in a frenectic way. You are "in port" - which means inthe centre of towns, normally - every day. You will have lots of time to either take excursions offered by the companies or to wander about on your own. (With the added plus that if you miss the boat you can always take the train to its next stop!!).

We have taken both Viking and Deilmann. Deilmann is better from a point of view of better furnishings, attractiveness of the boat and more courses at each meal. That said (and we are dedicated Regent Seven Seas cruisers on the high seas AND we are Europeans and live in Switzerland) we liked Viking a lot and really enjoyed our cruise with them. Viking also has the advantage for US customers that you can pre-pay your excursions and therefore are protected from the falling USD. (Which fell again today!) From a quality of guides and places to visit I could not put a pin between them.

If you want a lovely way to see lots of towns and countryside without the hassle of packing and checking in and checking out of hotels and taking trains and planes, then choose a river cruise!!

My wife and I are considering a river cruise with Viking. However, we have never taken a river cruise and don't quite know what to expect. We would appreciate your comments and any thoughts about where we could do some research. I know the ships are smaller than the ocean liners but is life on the river ships similiar?

We were on our first rivercruise June 2007 Amsterdam to Budapest on Amadeus Amadagio. She was less than a year old and absolutly beautiful. Held 148 people. That was nice as we really got to know everyone. We chose this ship due to its "newness" and the "french balconies". They are not balconies as we know them, just sliding glass doors with a railing but it was wonderful to sit with the door open and get the fresh air and hear the ripple of the river as the ship moved on.

If you didn't find something to eat you liked, you had a problem. Wine (white or red, your choice) was served each evening at dinner.

We were docked at a town almost everyday, sometimes 2 a day. After breakfast we got off for a 1 hour "free" orientation of the town and we were let loose on our own to do whatever we wanted. Liked that alot. Back on board for lunch, cruised alittle, off in afternoon same orientation. A couple nights we were at dock. One night we had a "free" wine tasting and music at a local tavern.

Entertainment... Piano player late afternoon. Nightly entertainment were "locally" brought on board. Depending what country we were in was the featured entertainment. A cultural enrichment for sure.

It is by no means the same as the larger cruise ships. Please do your research before booking. Know what lifestyle you want on the ship. We wanted a very laid back, casual 2 weeks and got it.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions!

Chesie

We cruised Amsterdam - Basel on Avalon Tapestry last September and whilst we enjoyed the cruise, there are some things to consider. Because the tours (either walking tours of the towns or buses out to special sites) are included this type of cruising is much more similar to a land based tour than to big ship cruising. This is an excellent way to visit places you probably would not go to otherwise because they are a little off the usual track. Because of the small size of the ship (we had about 150 passengers), there is only one dining room (only open for meals), one bar/lounge and the top deck - not a lot of places to escape to. If you are used to doing your own thing this is probably not the ideal cruising style. We had a "concert" one night where passengers were picked to take part in a "play" - not everyone's idea of enjoyment! (a bit like a school camp).

We met some great people and have kept in contact with a few of them but not sure if we would river cruise again as we tend to do things more individually.

Hope this helps.

Yo-

We just got back from a wonderful river cruise (our first) from Vienna to Bucharest on the m/s Kleine Prinz booked thru smarTours-

This is a very comfortable/casual way to cruise and explore the cities that we stopped at along the way - with most excursions included in the cruise fare. The food was good and wholesome but definitely not "Ocean Cruise Ship Gourmet"

All in all - we and many others felt that we got much more than we paid for and I would recommend this ship and style of cruise to anyone-eh!!!

(I have a review in this section "m/s Kleine Prinz Danube Cruise" if you are interested in an expanded look)

Happy Cruisin'

Mike

Thanks to all for the feedback. As I work my way around the CC message board, I'm finding a wealth of information. I'm of the opinion that if you enjoy cruising and you've never done a river cruise, you owe it to yourself to try it! I am going to check into some of the other river cruise lines other than Viking. Thanks.

Jeff, my husband and I just started researching River tours too. We started with Viking, but I'm thinking we're going to go with AMA. Keep us posted on what you decide. :)

My wife and I have done an ocean cruise on Princess, have another coming up on Royal, but are considering a river cruise for next year, probably somewhere in Europe. Any favorites?

We are thinking of taking a cruise next July/August. Been checking it out and was also wondering what is everyone's favorites. As I check out the brochures I want to go on everyone.

For the first time, is it better to do a shorter cruise to make sure you like it.

We are thinking of taking a cruise next July/August. Been checking it out and was also wondering what is everyone's favorites. As I check out the brochures I want to go on everyone.

 

For the first time, is it better to do a shorter cruise to make sure you like it.

Our first river cruise was a b2b from Constanta, Romania to Amsterdam. It was 21 days and we loved it.

To Diane and Foghorn:

I think that any combination of itineraries on the Rhine/Mian/Danube sysytem would be a very nice place for your first river cruise.

I don't really think that a shorter one is better for first timers, or for anyone for that matter.

It's so far to go from N. America for a short cruise and these days with the Euro so high, the more time you can spend on the ship, the less it will cost you to stay in town.

On my first cruise I was with Uniworld on River Duchess and went from Amsterdam to Vienna for 12 nights. It was wonderful.

I think that if I was to do my first time again knowing what I know now, I would be going from Budapest to Amsterdam for 14 nights.

My wife and I have done an ocean cruise on Princess, have another coming up on Royal, but are considering a river cruise for next year, probably somewhere in Europe. Any favorites?

We took Amadeus Amsterdam to Budapest with an extra pre cruise day in Amsterdam. It was perfect! Not too short or long. With the price of flights now I would think anything less than 2 weeks would not be cost effective, at least not for us. I takes us awhile to unwind.

We did alot of research and originally were only going to Vienna. Then we said "we are doing this once so let's go to Budapest". Very glad we did.

Funny, we will be on our first Princess cruise this fall!

GCT Budapest to the Black Sea was our favorite. Looking at Moscow to St Petersburg or Vienna to Budapest for September.

My favorite is always my next cruise, currently Amadeus' Christmas Wonderland Amsterdam to Trier, then Paris. I think you always find a way to do another, somehow. (I may start a thread to confirm this)

After doing a three week Globus Grand European land tour, we have cruised East and West from Budapest with Amadeus and also did a three week Cultural Delights tour of China with Viking.

Just doing ONE river cruise? Do China and include Guilin and Hong Kong while you are there since it is a long flight. It has been a year and we are still digesting it.

WIT