Silversea, Seabourn, Crystal Fan...Which River Line?

Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal on the ocean and also prefer Relais and Chateau type boutique hotels. Very interested in a Bordeaux or Burgundy cruise next Spring. What cruise line would be the equivalent?

Crystal now has River cruises. Start there. Tauck also has same level of service.

Hi Gourmet Gal, and welcome to the River Cruise boards. Our host Jazzbeau has a sticky thread above that has an answer to your question. The thread is entitled, "New to River Cruising? Start Here" and there is a link to download a "comprehensive guide" that will answer your question. It lists some of the major lines and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotel chains that offer a similar level of service, so you can have a rough idea of what it's like to cruise with them.

Tauck gets high marks here; we haven't tried them. They are compared to Crystal. As Got2Cruise mentioned, Crystal themselves is venturing into the River Cruise market; they did not make it into the above-mentioned guide.

I would add to Got2Cruise's advice and have you look at Uniworld. They compare favorably to Silversea in the guide, and in our personal experience with both lines. You can see from my signature below that we've been on a lot of SS cruises, and our experience has been that we really like Uniworld.

We did the Rhone itinerary last year and I wrote a full review; the link is in my signature. That might give you an idea of what a week on Uniworld is like.

Based on recommendations from several ardent fans on CC and some friends who we've spoken to, I'd throw AMA into the mix.

There are some differences between the lines which may or may not be important to you. Read some of the other threads on this board which offer comparisons between lines to get a feel for which line might be best for you.

Given that you prefer Relais & Chateau type boutique hotels, I will second the recommendation for Uniworld. The decor - unique on each ship - on Uniworld ships (we've been on 4) reminds me very much of the type you might find in European Relais & Chateau hotels. It isn't how I decorate my house but we very much enjoyed it and, of course, the excellent service and cuisine on Uniworld.

Thanks for the replies. Crystal is not cruising in France next year so that is out. We are particularly interested in Bordeaux as we've been all over the rest of France and would like to explore this area after the cruise and add on some time in the Rioja wine region of Spain. Any comments related specifically to the Bordeaux cruise offered by Uniworld, Ama and what about Scenic? I get the impression they are pretty equivalent to Uniworld. Tauck does not cruise Bordeaux.

BTW, we are very comfortable driving in France and we are also considering just staying in a couple of hotels and touring Bordeaux by land. Is that a better way to go in this particular region of France? The cruises don't seem to really cover all that much territory.

Hello Gourmet Gal,

as regards your thought of doing Bordeaux and the area on a land trip: I would second the idea from what people have written here on CC. While a river cruise is I am sure a great idea, from all the coach trips and the amount of kilometres covered on water ratio I would not really do this itinerary as a first river cruise. If you have got the time I would perhaps do Bordeaux on land and then take the car to Lyon to do a river cruise on the Rhone. I have not been to either river regions on a ship but very much enjoyed the Rhone area some years ago on a land trip. I am not sure if you will get gourmet wines on a cruise although I am sure Uniworld have done their best to get a great package together. Could you be better off buying tours in the area on the internet to DIY? Perhaps, but the cruise might be equal... Difficult choice, somewhat. Going to Spain, what a great idea. I would suggest trying CroisiEurope in Spain but the company will not match your level of comfort I fear. That company appears to be the only one offering Spanish rivers on river cruises to English-speaking customers.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Silversea, Seabourn and Crystal on the ocean and also prefer Relais and Chateau type boutique hotels. Very interested in a Bordeaux or Burgundy cruise next Spring. What cruise line would be the equivalent?

Scenic in my estimation and I'll be writing a review.

2 years ago, I did an Azamara cruise from Southampton to Lisbon that went to Bordeaux for 3 days. It also visited many other towns on rivers. Nantes, Rouen, St. Jean de Luz and Bayonne, Bilbao, POrto, and Lisbon. It was terrific. It was better than any riverboat cruise. Look into small ocean cruises that sail along the coast of France.

Thanks for the replies. I've done ocean cruises and as nice as they are I was interested in the small river boats for a change. I have sailed Uniworld once and enjoyed it. I like the small size of the boats and crowds. Cruises are also more relaxing than driving so we will probably end up combining the two. Still wondering where Scenic fits into the hierarchy of river cruiselines.

Still wondering where Scenic fits into the hierarchy of river cruiselines.

Scenic like Tauck who are seldom mentioned on these boards are truly all-inclusive. The other lines are not. The only difference for me is the number of passengers on board vessels of the same dimensions. Scenic cater for 169 passengers whilst the new Tauck boats cater for 130 passengers. I appreciated the passenger/crew ratio on Tauck.

Hello Gourmet Gal,

 

as regards your thought of doing Bordeaux and the area on a land trip: I would second the idea from what people have written here on CC. While a river cruise is I am sure a great idea, from all the coach trips and the amount of kilometres covered on water ratio I would not really do this itinerary as a first river cruise. If you have got the time I would perhaps do Bordeaux on land and then take the car to Lyon to do a river cruise on the Rhone.

 

Having recently done Bordeaux with Scenic, and having experienced two Rhone cruises, I concur.

Bordeaux itself is lovely but the other docking ports not so much. There are quite a few longish bus rides as mentioned.

The Rhone OTOH is perfect for a river cruise. Great ports, overnight stays where you can get into the towns and enjoy the evening culture, and really lovely ports in general. Not to mention the great wines in this region.:D

Thanks for the replies. I've done ocean cruises and as nice as they are I was interested in the small river boats for a change. I have sailed Uniworld once and enjoyed it. I like the small size of the boats and crowds. Cruises are also more relaxing than driving so we will probably end up combining the two. Still wondering where Scenic fits into the hierarchy of river cruiselines.

We liked Scenic and preferred the service style, personality of staff and crew to that of Uniworld, as well as the modern decor (not a fan of the Marie Antoinette design of the Uniworld ships in France). Scenic offered luxury with a level of warmth and approachability that we did not find on Uniworld, which was much more formal in their approach to service. And we loved sailing with so many Aussies - tons of fun!

We also really enjoyed the Scenic SunLounge, much more than the French balcony we had on the SS Catherine.

We gave the edge to Uniworld for food quality and variety, as well as the wine choices that were included, the variety of excursions offered, and the onboard fitness facility and instructor (nice to start the morning with a yoga class and a workout, for me at least).

Thanks for the helpful replies. As mentioned, we've already seen so much of France. Bordeaux area is pretty much the last frontier for us so I have no interest in Rhone river. I think we will just fly to Bordeaux and explore on our own then drive to Spain and explore the Basque country.

Thanks for the helpful replies. As mentioned, we've already seen so much of France. Bordeaux area is pretty much the last frontier for us so I have no interest in Rhone river. I think we will just fly to Bordeaux and explore on our own then drive to Spain and explore the Basque country.

I think a barge trip on the Garonne or Dordogne rivers would be perfect. Just search the internet for Bordeaux barge trips. Fantastic relaxing way to see the countryside.

Fits the boutique and luxury requirements. Take some friends and charter the entire barge. Nothing like it for a special holiday.

Thanks. Yes, we did that on the Canal du Midi. Great fun.

Fits the boutique and luxury requirements. Take some friends and charter the entire barge. Nothing like it for a special holiday.

That would be the only way I would do a barge trip. No way I want to be stuck with smokers/stranger for the week on such a small vessel. And for me, I suspect the menu options would be too limited.

Agreed. When you charter a boat on the ocean or canal the menu is customized to your preferences.

Gourmet Gal

We spent a week several years ago in the Bordeaux and Dordogne regions and it was a great way to see that area, especially if you want to visit wineries and the wonderful local markets in the area. There is no cruise that will do it justice!

I like your idea of combining Bordeaux with the Basque country. We just spent a week in San Sebastian in late May. Hired a great tour company for 4 days of tours in the Basque regions of France and Spain. Check out Basque Tours. They are fabulous! They will let you design your own tours or you can take pre set ones. Their guides are outstanding! You can do this area on your own, but they just show you things you would never find on your own. We had visited San Sebastian on a cruise previously and did a pintxos walk , so we were familiar with the food scene there. We just winged the food part there and concentrated on the outlying areas of the Basque country. They also do pintxos walks if you are interested.

Wishing you the best on planning your trip! Let me know if I can help.

Whatnot, just getting back around to this thread after some travels. Thanks for your comments. I will definitely look into Basque Tours. Sounds wonderful. I just booked an apartment in San Sebastian and a villa near Cadillac so it's time to start planning the details!

Promise you can not go wrong with Basque Tours! Tell Jon Galdos, the owner, that LuAnn from North Carolina referred you (I get nothing out of it but we corresponded for weeks getting my tours just like I wanted them). Don't directly book tours from the website, send an email and say you want to put together your own thing. You can pick and choose from his set tours. For instance, we wanted to go to the La Rioja region but we also wanted to go to Pamploma, so he put together a long day where we were able to do both. Worked out great!

Have a great trip!

Thanks!