Avalon vs Tauck, AMA vs Viking

[smalltowner]

I've been researching river cruises for August/September that include the Moselle River, which I think will visit smaller cities than cruises that travel strictly on the Danube. I've come up with 4 that I think might suit us, and I'd appreciate comments from anyone who has experienced any of them.

 

1) Avalon's Rhine & Moselle on Affinity (Amsterdam to Basel, 14 days)

2) Tauck's Rhine & Moselle (Amsterdam to Basel, 13 days)

3) AMA's Europe's Rivers & Castles (Trier to Nuremberg, 7 days - cruise only, or with Paris at beginning and Prague at the end to make 12 days

4) Vikings' Vineyards & Vistas (Trier to Wurzburg, 7 days, or with Paris and Prague, like AMA above, called Cities of Light)- I did read Ruth's recent posting about that one

 

I have a few specific questions which I can't seem to find answers for on the websites. First, about Tauck. They don't seem to be on Cruise Compete's site. Do they only sell direct, and not through travel agents? Is there a way of getting a discounted price with them? I think they'd maybe be my first choice, and I know everything is included with them, but I like to get a bargain if I can. About Viking - do they have open seating for dinner? Do they have bicycles? They are the least expensive, since we'd probably go cruise-only and make up our own land tour before/after, but the cabin seems pretty small, and we'd really like the option of bikes, which is offered on Tauck and AMA, but not on Viking or Avalon, as far as I can make out (please, correct me if I'm wrong). Avalon's cabins are bigger than Tauck's but there is much that's not included with them, vs Tauck.

 

Any input from people on this forum would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gnome12]

There is also Uniworld's Legendary Rhine & Moselle, 13 days. Uniworld has bicycles, and there is an included excursion every day, although there are also optional excursions. I was on the River Queen last year, and although the cabins are a bit small, they were well designed. (I admit that I travelled solo, so I wasn't sharing with anyone else.)

Nomi

[Big Al B.]

Tauck will sell through TA's, but maybe not online ones. I'm not sure you will find Tauck discounted in many places. They are more expensive, but do things first class.

[caviargal]

We have only cruised with Avalon and the modern ships and large cabins were an important factor in our decision. For us, 120-140 sq ft would just be too small.

 

They did not offer bikes which would have been nice, though not on our particular itinerary.

 

We found it to be quite inclusive and spent very little extra, except for tips and drinks at the bar. We handle our own travel arrangements by choice and prefer to book our own hotels and make our own way to the boat.

 

We were next to one of the Tauck river boats in Wurzburg last year and both my husband and I commented on how luxurious it looked next to ours, which was very nice and brand new at the time. Tauck just looked fabulous but, for us, the premium is not worth it as the additional inclusions are not important to us.

 

AMA has a modern fleet like Avalon and offers a few things that Avalon does not and that we would enjoy including bicycles, in room free internet and movies, tables for two in the dining room, and an onboard masseuse. It all boils down to what is important to you.

[KCcruisin07]

We enjoyed AMA in May when we took the Danube Cruise. Service was very good, rooms spacious, and I loved the French balcony and the in room internet too. However, for me probably the highlight was the tours.

[abccruiser 2]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1224277 this is my review of AMA Heartland cruise. If you want small German towns, this is the cruise to be on. Next year I want to see bigger towns,so we are doing Budapest to Nuremberg on AMA again.

[smalltowner]

Thanks for all the input. ABC Cruiser, I was leaning towards the Heartland (Rivers and Castles) land and cruise itinerary with AMA before reading your review, and now I'm pretty sure that's what we'll go for. It sounds like it will be what we're looking for. What category cabin did you have?

[abccruiser 2]

We had cabin 308 (cat. A) next door to a junior suite.Being close to the entrance of the staircase, you do hear people going by your room in the morning. We preferred the top floor.