Looking for River Cruise Info

We are ocean cruisers who are considering trying a river cruise but I really don't know much about this style of cruising, except that some love it and some don't. Can someone explain the differences between ocean and river cruising, what kind of amenities are on board a river ship and what are some companies that would be good to go with. We are picky travellers, like good food, maybe spa and casino facilities and port talks or seminars.

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We are ocean cruisers who are considering trying a river cruise but I really don't know much about this style of cruising, except that some love it and some don't. Can someone explain the differences between ocean and river cruising, what kind of amenities are on board a river ship and what are some companies that would be good to go with. We are picky travellers, like good food, maybe spa and casino facilities and port talks or seminars.

You need to know that the river boats are teeny tiny compared to the mega ocean liners. There is no room for a casino, and there are no spas. There is a beauty shop, tiny on board, and a tiny workout room with a couple machines. Also since the ship is small the galley and bar is small also. The galley can't possibly prepare an extensive selection, there really isn't the space to hold everything that is needed.

A major difference would be number of passengers 160 vs 3200! This is a tiny boat, not even a ship, very small and intimate. Now Broadway Shows, Casino or numerous other activities found on an average cruise ship. If you go to Youtube and search Viking, AMA, Uniworld, Avalon, you will actually find videos that show ship tours, some professional and some posted by passengers. Also get on the websites of the companies listed above and have brochures sent, these will normally show your the boats, cabins and itineraries. I love to be able to hold, touch and feel the brochures, for me it's easier than using the computer. Though the computer is a good place to start.

Have a great time researching!

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Start with the Sticky at the top of this forum "New to River Cruising? Start Here!"

Then come back and ask detailed questions once you have a general idea of what river cruising is all about.

Note: it is clear from this forum that river cruising is NOT for everyone. Most of those here love it -- even to the point of dropping ocean cruises -- or at least mixing both into their vacation plans. But some people fight it all the way: don't want the included walking tours, only want a table for 2, want a balcony cabin so they can do the Greta Garbo -- and then come back and report they hated it. The best thing about river cruising is the slow pace and the chance to get to know your fellow passengers.

Thank you for all replies. I have searched this forum and the links kindly provided and now I feel a bit scared to river cruise! It seems like there is a lot that can go wrong and a lot of controversy and dissatisfaction about stuff like water levels (not something that can be controlled) and service. We save for 2 or 3 years for our vacations and although we have patience for glitches, we really want to be reasonably assured of a great experience because our trips are so hard earned. I guess we'll stick to ocean and land vacations. River cruising is a romantic notion though.

Things can go wrong on any vacation. Last year there were more ocean disasters than river!

You should be able to glean from this forum that some of the river lines acted very professionally in times of distress, and their passengers uniformly felt that their vacation was worth the time and expense despite the difficulties. Stay away from the lines that did not earn this customer satisfaction, buy insurance from a third party -- and your anxiety level should go way down.

As an example of non-cruise vacation problems, I'm looking into an African safari. The Great Migration in the Serengeti has a well-established time frame and lodges in various areas show when the migration is expected at their location -- but now they are adding a warning that due to climate change the patterns have been less reliable.

Imagine planning a trip to Africa around seeing hordes of wildebeest fording the crocodile-infested river [travel brochures do heap on the hyperbole, don't they? :o] only to arrive and discover that either the parade has already passed or isn't in sight yet? Pretty much on the same level as your river cruise turning into a bus tour.

What to do? Well, Disney World is very predictable -- it just isn't real. Reality is ... unpredictable.

Thank you for all replies. I have searched this forum and the links kindly provided and now I feel a bit scared to river cruise! It seems like there is a lot that can go wrong and a lot of controversy and dissatisfaction about stuff like water levels (not something that can be controlled) and service. We save for 2 or 3 years for our vacations and although we have patience for glitches, we really want to be reasonably assured of a great experience because our trips are so hard earned. I guess we'll stick to ocean and land vacations. River cruising is a romantic notion though.

Cleobella.... Just do your Rivercruise in May or Sept/Oct and you won't have issues!!!

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Cleobella.... Just do your Rivercruise in May or Sept/Oct and you won't have issues!!!

Or pick the right river! You will not have any low water problems on the Rhone or in the St. Petersburg-Moscow cruises.

You can get into troubles on the Danube, Rhine and now in Bordeaux (not a river, but a tidal estuary).

There are no guaranteed months of the year to not have high or low water conditions. Yes some months have less risk than others, but none are guaranteed.

My suggestions are:

Get travel insurance that will allow you to cancel for any reason. It will be expensive, but, if you identify conditions that will ruin your trip prior to departure, you can cancel without losing the entire payment, just your insurance premium. You can then schedule a different date

Pick a company that has a reputation communicating well with their travelers and treating them well when things do happen to go wrong.

Keep a close eye on forums such as this, as your date approaches to see if problems are occurring on the river that you plan to cruise, so that you can use the insurance if needed.

Don't pick the largest most luxurious ships, as the are generally higher above water causing problems getting under bridges in high water conditions and deeper, requiring more water to float the ship under low water conditions. Smaller passenger capacities are a good guideline to find the smaller ships, before checking the details such as height above water line and draft. Older ships are also likely to be somewhat smaller. Remember that events that occur at a distance can affect your conditions on the river. Rain or lack of rain in the Alps will affect rivers throughout Europe, as can an early or late snow melt.

Remember that the major rivers of Europe, such as the Rhine and the Danube are major highways for freight, and are critical to the countries economies, but the barges are generally shallow draft and low allowing them to normally operate under both low and high water conditions.

Despite these warnings, far more cruises occur without these problems than with. We have taken 6 river cruises and never encountered a problem that has disrupted a trip.

Cruises that we have taken, all with Grand Circle are:

October, 2002 Nile, Egypt

May 2003 Danube, Germany, Austria, Slovakia & Hungary

September 2004, Svir & Volga, Russia

April 2007, Yangtze, China

October 2009, Rhine, Main & Danube, The Netherlands, Germany & Austria

March 2012, Seine, France

River cruising is a wonderful way to visit a country. You generally get a chance to visit small town in a much more personal way than with other modes of travel. You eat well, don't have to pack and unpack and get to know your fellow travelers.

Don't let fear of something going wrong keep you from the experience, but do your homework to minimize the risk of something going wrong.

A couple of useful web sites to use in planning are http://www.rivercruiseinfo.com and http://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ .

For what it's worth, you can find a number of videos of Grand Circle trips here . . . http://www.gct.com/gallery?f=r%21Europe.t%21river%2Bcruise&videokey=%7Bba755481-dda7-4398-9f45-3c38200781ac%7D&icid=global%3Avideogallery%3Aeuropeancruises%3Afeatured%3Asge

Thanks all. Very good points so I will continue to research the river cruise option. I am getting the sense that Avalon, Tauck and now Grand Circle are good companies I think, but will pay attention to boat size. We prefer travel in the spring and fall so that might help with water levels.

Thanks all. Very good points so I will continue to research the river cruise option. I am getting the sense that Avalon, Tauck and now Grand Circle are good companies I think, but will pay attention to boat size. We prefer travel in the spring and fall so that might help with water levels.

Don't overlook AMA and Uniworld!

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Thanks all. Very good points so I will continue to research the river cruise option. I am getting the sense that Avalon, Tauck and now Grand Circle are good companies I think, but will pay attention to boat size. We prefer travel in the spring and fall so that might help with water levels.

Make sure you check this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2039802

There is a lot of difference between cruise lines and this could help.

Be sure to check Vantage as well. Their ships are newer and their customer service has been excellent (during last years flooding they cancelled trips and gave refunds rather than turn Rivercruises into bus trips). We are preparing for our 10th tour with them and have never had a bad experience.

(As with Grand Circle, they do not use TAs but rather book by phone or online.)

Also if you do decide to go with ANY of the mentioned companies, check with a CC'ers who has traveled with them. Often you can get a discount for being referred.

Rivercruising IS addicting!!!