Recommend a river cruise line for us please

Bigger isn't always better. The Viking longships are larger and deeper than other riverboats and get stranded in low water more easily.

 

Yep I can attest to that! Last Sept during very low water levels the Viking boats were tied up and going no where in the Danube. Passengers bussed! While my lovely Avalon boat sailed right by and never was held up, sailing into The port of Budapest while all but a Scenic boat tied up 3 hrs out of town.

 

The deep draft on the Longships us a hug design flaw many other boats don't have.

Bigger isn't always better. The Viking longships are larger and deeper than other riverboats and get stranded in low water more easily.

 

Certainly understand that. My point wasn't that the boats are bigger, but that Viking has so many ships that even though they couldn't navigate the low water (and many other lines couldn't either), they had ships going in opposite directions, so they could just do a ship swap with two sets of passengers and continue the cruise with minimal disruption when other lines were stuck.

 

FuelScience

I'm not hearing much about Tauck. Worth looking at? Some of the reviews make it sound like the on-shore tours is where Tauck is good.

My main concern with the 15 day cruise is that I may be one of the younger people onboard at 46 (47 at the time of the cruise). :confused:

 

 

 

You are going to be one of the youngest no matter which cruiseline you choose. River cruising skews a much older demographic than ocean cruises.

I'm not hearing much about Tauck. Worth looking at? Some of the reviews make it sound like the on-shore tours is where Tauck is good.

 

Tauck is excellent, but expensive. It is probably the Mercedes-Benz of river cruising.

These are some of the things that are important to us:

• Good guides is probably my #1 must have.
  
• Quality of the food. Not every meal needs to be 6* but I want the food to be fresh and of good quality.
  
• Alcohol is not as important as neither of us are big drinkers. My mom does like her coffee.
  
• Looking at either french balcony or balcony cabins.
  
• Would like to have more than one included tour available at stops.
  
• Would prefer a relaxed, down to earth atmosphere.
  

 

If good guides is your #1 must have, you may want to include Grand Circle Travel in the pool of cruise lines you explore. We took our first river cruise in November 2015 on GCT (Basel to Antwerp on the Rhine & Mosel), choosing them specifically because of all the good things we heard about their tours. Our program director was our guide on all of the tours - except where local regulations mandated a local guide such as Trier and Luxembourg. And he was excellent. We appreciated the depth of his knowledge and his ability to focus on what might be of interest to us. He could develop themes from one stop to the next.

 

Some (older) friends of ours have been traveling with Grand Circle Travel for several years now and have always had a great experience with them. Some younger friends (in their 50s) went on GCTs river cruise in Burgundy and Provence to the Cote d'Azur, and they loved it. If you want to consider GCT, there are several people on Cruise Critic (like CPT Trips) who would be happy to answer your questions.

 

Glad you are taking time to explore all of your options. We looked at several other cruise lines before booking. I made a spread sheet focusing on the ports. And I read tons of reviews. AMA was another option high on our list. Hope you enjoy the process, the anticipation and your cruise!

I'm not hearing much about Tauck. Worth looking at? Some of the reviews make it sound like the on-shore tours is where Tauck is good.

 

IMO Tauck excels in all departments and we found that if you do a simple spread-sheet you'll find that Tauck is not as expensive as others. They are truly all-inclusive and for me their passenger to crew ratio is the best on the rivers.

I appreciate the plug. :p. There are also others here that can give good perspective on GCT.

 

I think that GCT's model with the same Progran Director daily is the gold standard. Because there are several PD's on each ship, you can tap their combined knowledge when you want something specific. On every trip, they have worked well as a team.

IMO Tauck excels in all departments and we found that if you do a simple spread-sheet you'll find that Tauck is not as expensive as others. They are truly all-inclusive and for me their passenger to crew ratio is the best on the rivers.

 

Here's a link to a spreadsheet I posted recently comparing Amsterdam-Budapest cruises. Prices haven't been updated recently, but when I made this sheet, Tauck was significantly more expensive ($200/person/day) more than Viking. At this time Viking had free air, and I estimated $1,500 per person for air on Tauck.

 

FuelScience

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fYHFDjU3uYZ2iMM8zfk4TxQzJPWo1xMIPDgvB4fc3hM/edit?usp=sharing

Here's a link to a spreadsheet I posted recently comparing Amsterdam-Budapest cruises. Prices haven't been updated recently, but when I made this sheet, Tauck was significantly more expensive ($200/person/day) more than Viking. At this time Viking had free air, and I estimated $1,500 per person for air on Tauck.

 

FuelScience

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fYHFDjU3uYZ2iMM8zfk4TxQzJPWo1xMIPDgvB4fc3hM/edit?usp=sharing

 

When I have researched Viking, they have never offered free air. Was that a special promo or what?

• 
  

When I have researched Viking, they have never offered free air. Was that a special promo or what?

 

Yes, it was a promo. I think that it's still valid through June.

 

George

Only line I would not consider is Viking....too many negatives regarding customer service when there's a problem...We've done 8 trips with Vantage, including Amsterdam to Budapest and Budapest to the Black Sea (Bucharest) and have been very satisfied with the tour guides, food, cabin and excursions. We originally chose Vantage because they included all shore excursions with only 1 or 2 optional tours (all of which were worth paying extra for). They now include wine with dinner (not sure about lunch) and their customer service (not to be confused with corporate) is outstanding. But they do not book with TA's, so if you don't feel comfortable dealing with the cruise line directly, I would recommend any of the others mentioned (except Viking)

 

Not really sure why you would not recommend Viking since you have NEVER sailed with them. Are you only saying this because of something you have read on the boards by people you don't really know? We have sailed 2 times, & on our 3rd on July 1st. We have only had VERY good experience on board, & our TA (who is a close friend) has had no problems getting things we need or want from them (including 5 month extension of final payment). Sometimes, people that complain that is ALL they know to do, and don't realize that honey works better than vinegar when it comes to getting customer service. I would not discourage someone from checking out a company if I have never used them before. Have a greast day y'all!

Not really sure why you would not recommend Viking since you have NEVER sailed with them. Are you only saying this because of something you have read on the boards by people you don't really know? We have sailed 2 times, & on our 3rd on July 1st. We have only had VERY good experience on board, & our TA (who is a close friend) has had no problems getting things we need or want from them (including 5 month extension of final payment). Sometimes, people that complain that is ALL they know to do, and don't realize that honey works better than vinegar when it comes to getting customer service. I would not discourage someone from checking out a company if I have never used them before. Have a greast day y'all!

 

Really because I ditto every word Hydrokitty says. Every word and then some!

Not really sure why you would not recommend Viking since you have NEVER sailed with them. Are you only saying this because of something you have read on the boards by people you don't really know? We have sailed 2 times, & on our 3rd on July 1st. We have only had VERY good experience on board, & our TA (who is a close friend) has had no problems getting things we need or want from them (including 5 month extension of final payment). Sometimes, people that complain that is ALL they know to do, and don't realize that honey works better than vinegar when it comes to getting customer service. I would not discourage someone from checking out a company if I have never used them before. Have a greast day y'all!

 

To answer your question: Yes, I would not recommend Viking, nor would I choose them, because there have been too many people who have had bad experiences with them....some of them very bad....I didn't say everybody complained, and I'm glad you, along with many others, have had a wonderful experience on your 2 cruises. OP asked who we would recommend and who we would not recommend, in other words she asked for our opinion and I gave her mine. You don't have to agree with it but you have to respect it.

Here's a link to a spreadsheet I posted recently comparing Amsterdam-Budapest cruises. Prices haven't been updated recently, but when I made this sheet, Tauck was significantly more expensive ($200/person/day) more than Viking. At this time Viking had free air, and I estimated $1,500 per person for air on Tauck.

 

FuelScience

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fYHFDjU3uYZ2iMM8zfk4TxQzJPWo1xMIPDgvB4fc3hM/edit?usp=sharing

 

As I live in Australia it is not as easy to factor in the cost of air as it differs considerably from fares available in your part of the world. When I did my spreadsheet years back I tried to factor in all the "optional" costs and gratuities that might be charged by companies like Viking and I can assure you that the difference in per diem between all cruise lines was very little with two lines actually being more expensive than Tauck at the time.

 

I prefer an all-inclusive cost when I do a river cruise and a "do you want fries with that" company is not something I would consider.

As I live in Australia it is not as easy to factor in the cost of air as it differs considerably from fares available in your part of the world. When I did my spreadsheet years back I tried to factor in all the "optional" costs and gratuities that might be charged by companies like Viking and I can assure you that the difference in per diem between all cruise lines was very little with two lines actually being more expensive than Tauck at the time.

 

I prefer an all-inclusive cost when I do a river cruise and a "do you want fries with that" company is not something I would consider.

 

I do like the idea of an all-inclusive cost. The only drawback for me is that I'm likely paying for something that we wouldn't use very much as we are not big drinkers.

 

Assuming I can find a bit of time this week, I'm going to try to do a spreadsheet of my own to see how the costs compare before we make our final decision.

To answer your question: Yes, I would not recommend Viking, nor would I choose them, because there have been too many people who have had bad experiences with them....some of them very bad....I didn't say everybody complained, and I'm glad you, along with many others, have had a wonderful experience on your 2 cruises. OP asked who we would recommend and who we would not recommend, in other words she asked for our opinion and I gave her mine. You don't have to agree with it but you have to respect it.

 

Hydrokitty,

I would not recommend Viking. They treated many cruisers in a terrible way a couple of years ago when flooding was a problem with rivers in central Europe.

 

Many people got bus tours instead of a cruise. I remember reading on cc about all the angry Viking and a couple of other cruise lines. The really good cruise lines cancelled their cruises. Viking didn't do that in many cases.

 

Second, Viking requires payment many months in advance. That is not for me.

 

My son took a Viking cruise with several of his friends. He said it was very nice. I don't doubt that Viking has a good product. However, there is more than just providing a good product. Especially when you can book for less dollars with an equally good or even better product.

Hydrokitty,

I would not recommend Viking. They treated many cruisers in a terrible way a couple of years ago when flooding was a problem with rivers in central Europe.

 

Many people got bus tours instead of a cruise. I remember reading on cc about all the angry Viking and a couple of other cruise lines. The really good cruise lines cancelled their cruises. Viking didn't do that in many cases.

 

Second, Viking requires payment many months in advance. That is not for me.

 

My son took a Viking cruise with several of his friends. He said it was very nice. I don't doubt that Viking has a good product. However, there is more than just providing a good product. Especially when you can book for less dollars with an equally good or even better product.

 

Yup, those are the people I was referring to...you don't always have to try something yourself to give second thoughts to trying it at all or recommending it to someone else. If I go to a restaurant and find the service lacking I'm going to mention that when someone asks me what I think.

GrannyLala, I'm with you, it amazes me how posters can say they'd never travel with xyz and they've not been on that particular cruise line, tour company, etc.

 

We've done cruises with Uniworld, Avalon, GCT and quite a few with Viking, personally they've never let us down. Sure, every trip hasn't been perfect but nothing worth complaining about, you can choose to go with the flow, bad play on words :) or be miserable. If a cruise line doesn't appeal to you for whatever reason then don't use them but how can you complain when you've not cruised with them? I enjoy this forum for insight but no one will make a decision for me.

If you like all inclusive but not pay for items that you do not use, you ought to consider Emerald, a new cruise line, which is a subsiderary of Scenic. The ships are new, cabins big, has a pool, bicycles ,& includes gratuities, transfers and beverages at lunch and dinner + tours in each port. Prices are fair and you don't have to pay a year in advance.

If you like all inclusive but not pay for items that you do not use, you ought to consider Emerald, a new cruise line, which is a subsiderary of Scenic. The ships are new, cabins big, has a pool, bicycles ,& includes gratuities, transfers and beverages at lunch and dinner + tours in each port. Prices are fair and you don't have to pay a year in advance.

 

I had ordered an Emerald brochure last week so it's definitely a line I'm considering. Both Emerald and Scenic have Christmas market sailings between Amsterdam and Budapest, so they are near the top of my list as I'm thinking the markets might be something that my mom would really enjoy.

Not really sure why you would not recommend Viking since you have NEVER sailed with them. Are you only saying this because of something you have read on the boards by people you don't really know? We have sailed 2 times, & on our 3rd on July 1st. We have only had VERY good experience on board, & our TA (who is a close friend) has had no problems getting things we need or want from them (including 5 month extension of final payment). Sometimes, people that complain that is ALL they know to do, and don't realize that honey works better than vinegar when it comes to getting customer service. I would not discourage someone from checking out a company if I have never used them before. Have a greast day y'all!

I make it a point to throw out extreme reviews (whether terrible or wonderful) and attempt to see what happened to most of the people, most of the time. I have sailed Viking twice when no other company offered a comparable cruise, with quite decent experiences. BUT there are dozens of complaints about Viking's customer service (or lack thereof) when they have had water issues preventing sailing, at a time when either other lines were sailing, or seemed to be treating their customers far better. Couple that with Viking's less than transparent handling of where their new longboats would NOT be docking in Paris (they were finally shamed into to be somewhat more forthcoming). Add in the shoddy way they treated two separate CruiseCritic members who were shrapneled by exploding showers on their new Ocean ship. Top it off with their ridiculous payment policies. I don't have to have ever driven a Pinto to reach a conclusion that their gas tank design was flawed, and I don't have to have personally suffered at the hands of a company if they have an inordinate number of complaints to put them well down my list of potential cruise companies.

 

Thom

BUT there are dozens of complaints about Viking's customer service (or lack thereof) when they have had water issues preventing sailing, at a time when either other lines were sailing, or seemed to be treating their customers far better. Couple that with Viking's less than transparent handling of where their new longboats would NOT be docking in Paris (they were finally shamed into to be somewhat more forthcoming). Add in the shoddy way they treated two separate CruiseCritic members who were shrapneled by exploding showers on their new Ocean ship. Top it off with their ridiculous payment policies. I don't have to have ever driven a Pinto to reach a conclusion that their gas tank design was flawed, and I don't have to have personally suffered at the hands of a company if they have an inordinate number of complaints to put them well down my list of potential cruise companies.

 

Thom

 

Excellent post and I agree! River cruising is too significant an investment in time and money to take chances on a line that does not inspire confidence nor provide the overall level of quality and inclusions we prefer.

Edited June 13, 2016 by caviargal

I make it a point to throw out extreme reviews (whether terrible or wonderful) and attempt to see what happened to most of the people, most of the time. I have sailed Viking twice when no other company offered a comparable cruise, with quite decent experiences. BUT there are dozens of complaints about Viking's customer service (or lack thereof) when they have had water issues preventing sailing, at a time when either other lines were sailing, or seemed to be treating their customers far better. Couple that with Viking's less than transparent handling of where their new longboats would NOT be docking in Paris (they were finally shamed into to be somewhat more forthcoming). Add in the shoddy way they treated two separate CruiseCritic members who were shrapneled by exploding showers on their new Ocean ship. Top it off with their ridiculous payment policies. I don't have to have ever driven a Pinto to reach a conclusion that their gas tank design was flawed, and I don't have to have personally suffered at the hands of a company if they have an inordinate number of complaints to put them well down my list of potential cruise companies.

 

Thom

 

Perfect perfect perfect! And once again I say never!

We did Avalon Tapestry 11 last summer and absolutely loved it; it was our first river cruise after about 16 ocean cruises on Celebrity, Holland; Princess...this summer we are doing Uniworld...people have said it is more formal...can someone tell me where it is more formal? I am not planning on packing a dress or my DH a sports jacket...Avalon we were fine in slacks and collared shirt for him and slacks and tops for me...thank you.