River Cruise Wannabe with Questions

[Bev]

Hi

 

My husband, mom, friend and I are thinking of taking a river cruise in Europe in 2011 to celebrate a significant wedding anniversary. We have all taken many cruises on ocean-going vessels. A river cruise would be a big change for us.

 

Was switching to a river cruise a problem for any of you? What differences did you notice most? What should we know before we choose a river cruise and do you have any preferences to suggest as far as a good company to cruise with?

 

Thanks for all your help!

Bev

[tiggypooo]

Hi Bev:

I see you live in Markham. I'm in Oshawa.

I am one of those ones that thought that I could only love big ship cruising.

I certainly proved myself wrong.

There really is NO comparison. I always say a river cruise is more like a coach tour that you bring your bathroom with you.

It's wonderful that like a big ship cruise, there is no packing and unpacking for the whole trip.

It's also wonderful that like a coach tour, you're right in the midst of beautiful countryside and towns.

Walking off the ship is like walking off a coach. Very easy.

I loved the intimacy of the river cruise. There are so few people onboard, that it's very easy to socialize and make new friends.

I've sailed both of my cruises with Uniworld.

I found that they offer a great product for a fair price.

Fabulous attention to detail.

The same company that owns Trafalgar Tours, also owns Uniworld. You will get the same great level of service and quality.

If you have any questions or would like to see some pictures please email me at tiggypooo@yahoo.ca and I will try to answer whatever I can.

[npphotog]

Hi Bev - Been on two river cruises and will take another one next August. One thing is that there is no "big" nightly entertainment. They do bring on local entertainment for maybe 4 or 5 nights and the rest of the time they usually have a keyboard player for dancing. Breakfast's are usually buffet as is lunch. At dinner we had a choice of three entrees, a fish, meat or veggies. If the dinner menu doesn't suit they will make you a steak. Also with a max number of people (140 to 160) you get to meet many more folks. Also on a river cruise you get to see sights on both sides of the river. Been with Vantage for all of our river cruises and been very pleased. Willard

[rogerdawhip]

Prior to 1999 I had been on 15 large cruise ship trips. In 1999 I went on my first river cruise. Since then I have been on 9 more river cruises (for a total of 10) but only 1 more large ship cruise. Being a single traveler I find the river cuirses much more enjoyable. Only having 120-140 fellow passangers makes it much easier to make new friends. I enjoy the compactness of the ships and gettng to know all the crew including the captain. On more than one occasion I've had the captain buy me a beer in the lounge. These cruises are a little more expensive but I feel the value for the dollar is fantastic.

 

Every traveler on this board seems to ahve their own favorite river cruise line(including me). It is usually the first the chose and never changed. I favor GCT mainly becuase they are the lest expensive for isngle travleers. Read this board extensively and look at thre river cruise line websites. Pick an itinerary that interest you go from there.

[rogerdawhip]

Sorry about the typos my previous message. I proof read it too quick.

[franski]

Bev - Did Alaska with Princess, and while I loved it, felt that we really didn't use the entire boat. Made the switch to river cruising - and plan to continue this mode of travel for a few reasons:

 

1) Enjoyed the smaller boat --> didn't enjoy cruising on a ship where the passenger count is higher than the town where my mother lives.

 

2) Loved the fact that (at least on the tour we were on) - excursions were included with every stop. Felt quite "nickle & dimed" after paying for excursions in Alaska. And loved the fact that we moored so close to the centre of town when we cruised the river...

 

3) Loved the fact that there were no "formal nights" --> DH took a blazer, and I did have a skirt/blouse, but was so pleased that we didn't *have* to go formal for one or two nights on a 7 night cruise.

 

4) Hated the fact on the Alaskan cruise that gratuities were automatically added to my tab. We actually paid a bit more than the suggested amount on our river cruise as we were so pleased with the service - and didn't resent it, as it was my choice based on the service provided.

 

As rogerdawhip said, everyone has their own preferences. We went with Trafalgar(Uniworld) on their Paris/Normandy cruise last year - and just loved it. Would cruise with them again. We are leaving in less than 4 weeks for a cruise on AMA's Amalyra(Danube) - and will be better able to speak to any differences and/or similarities when we get back.

 

I am also from Ontario (live in Whitby) - so you should be aware that some companies (ie: GCT) only deal with US customers. Uniworld still deals through Trafalgar in Canada - and AMA deals with GLP Worldwide in Markham (at least in Ontario...) Note: I know that we are not to advertise for any company here on CC - but AMA directed my TA to GLP when she called to book our cruise, so don't consider this an advertisement...

[CPT Trips]

FIrst- I love tiggypooo's description: "I always say a river cruise is more like a coach tour that you bring your bathroom with you". That helps describe one of the major differences between ocean and river cruising- you're on an escorted tour with 100+ strangers who quickly become acquaintances (and several fast friends). Your Program Directors are your Hosts and will lead you on daily tours at each stop. No moving from hotel to hotel each day, etc.

 

We recommend GCT, but as someone else mentioned, they may not be available to Canadians.

 

I do recommend that you initially consider cruises on the Rhine, Mosel, Main and Danube because many companies offer a wide assortment of cruises in this area of Europe. You'll have more options for finding a company and a cruise that fit your interests and schedules. I'm not saying that cruising in France or Russia (or China) isn't wonderful- it justs seems IMHO that they are more limited in their offerings.

 

Have fun planning!

[rico567]

The OP evidently is describing Viking's Grand European Tour (what it's called on other lines, I don't know, but given the stops on the Rhine / Main / Danube route, I suspect it's not too different), which we took in '03. We had a great time all around. The choice of stops / excursions was good, the food was superb, and I have no criticisms about our Viking boat or its crew or staff.

 

As far as dealing with Viking's advertising and fine print......well, I suspect they're much like anybody else. They advertise the attractions, and minimize or just don't talk about the other things that might deter people:

 

1. Viking's recommended tip system is OK, and it allows you to scale the tips to reward those individuals who gave better service. But tips are NOT included, and by the time tips are given both aboard and ashore to guides, bus drivers, etc., it ends up being a significant expense.

 

2. Viking offers on-board beverage packages. The prices on these are a joke, unless you're a sponge or a lush.

 

3. Viking mentions, but pretty much in "fine print mode" that you're responsible for your own visas. This will not be a problem for you in Western Europe (you're cool on the Amsterdam-Budapest cruise, too), but after we had purchased our Viking cruise, and received the packet from Viking from their recommended visa agency, we discovered that visas for two to China were around $360. These cannot be had much cheaper from any other source, unless you happen to live close enough to the Chinese Embassy.

 

4. Paying by credit card MAY cause your credit card company to slap you with a "foreign service charge." Ours (MasterCard) did when we booked a China cruise with Viking for this FAll, and Viking knows that this happens sometimes, but didn't mention it when we purchased our tour. MasterCard hit us with a $264 charge, and was completely intransigent about removing it.....although I was told by the Viking travel agent that they will do it if you run a big enough balance. The good news was that Viking promptly and cheerfully cut us a check for that amount when I called them, so there's another very positive point for Viking.

 

As far as ocean cruising is concerned....I can only say we've never found anything to attract us to this type of vacation. We've talked a bit about the Ægean, the Galapagos or Antarctica, maybe the Baltic...things where a cruise ship provides a positive advantage getting from one place to another on land....but never done it. Nothing about not liking the ocean, I was in the Navy for four years and spent most of that time sailing throughout the world on a destroyer, and I like the sea, just don't care for it as a vacation concept.

[rogerdawhip]

It is to bad that GCT does not market to Canadians. They are missingout on a huge market. I had some Canadina friends that did a GCT cruise but they had to do all their correspondence through their travel companions in the US. They said it was quite a hassle.

[letsgo39]

It really is to bad and a big negative as far as I am concerned.We are lookin at GCT for next summer but I really enjoy meeting people from around the world. If I just wanted to spend time with Americans I would not travel to Europe!!LOL!:D We took an Avalon cruise 2 years ago and really enjoyed the company of people from England,Ireland,Canada,Australia and New Zealand and other Americans.. We became very good friends with a couple from Australia and still communicate with them by email.We hope to all travel together again someday but it will obviously not be on GCT. That might be enough to really make me book a different company.