Grand Circle Tours-river cruising

[meredithmn]

I can't find any comments on this board about Grand Circle River Cruising Tours-at least during the last month. Has anyone taken one? If so, what did you like, dislike? They say on their website they are 'solo' friendly and since I don't have a travel companion that sounds good to me.

[KEN31VA]

I took a GC trip on the Rhine last year and Uniworld on the Rhone this year. Here is how I would compare the two:

Price: GC was less expensive especially when using their air

Food: Uniworld was better and the dinner room service much better

Cabin and bed: Better on Uniworld (GC uses fold-down beds)

Tours: Better on GC (they mostly used their own tour directors)

Entertainment: Better on GC

Overall experience: Seemed to have more fun on GC. Their tour directors were very personable and couldn't do enough for you.

[KEN31VA]

I should add that we are doing an Avalon trip on the Danube next year so I will have 3 to compare.

[1965]

We took a GCT from Vienna to Amsterdam 2 or 3 years ago. It's our only river cruise until next May, when we'll do a Gate 1 through Russia. We were very impressed with GCT, in all areas. They are very professional and organized. The cabin was clean, cozy, comfy. Certainly not luxurious, but we liked it just fine. We thought the food was quite good. The included guided tours were very well done with good guides every time. We didn't take any of the optionals, so can't speak about them. We, especially me, enjoyed the coffee/tea/cocoa station set up in the lobby. Our Gate 1 Russian riverboat won't have one of those. We would definately take GCT again.:)

[meredithmn]

This may be a good choice for me-I thought Viking was too luxurious-and the new longboats are even more luxurious looking. I am a Rick Steves' travel philosophy kind of gal and wasn't used to someone coming in to my room twice a day to clean my bathroom and empty the trash.

[amoba]

I took a GCT river cruise (Rhone and Soane) in France last Nov, 2011 and had a great time. Out of the 35 passengers, only a few were singles, including me, but it worked out fine. the boat was smaller than their usual river boats, I believe, but the rooms were the largest I've ever had on a cruise. Although there was so much rain, we couldn't travel for the first 3 days as the boat couldn't get under the bridges, the GCT staff did a great job bussing us to all the towns on the itinerary and maybe providing a little extra beer and wine at lunch. One problem I encountered was that the office staff in the US never noted the date I was leaving on my trip and so my final documents were never sent in time for me to receive them although I made over a dozen phone calls to GCT concerning this matter. this year I am scheduled for 2 more GCT river trips and I've already received my documents for both, so clearly it's possible for them to send them in time. Overall, I was very impressed with the cruise, boat, staff, food, and program. althuogh this slide show doesn't snow the boat, it shows the rivers, sights, and towns along the way if you have 3 minutes:

[beverlyjack]

We are big fans of Grand Circle River Cruises, haven taken 6 of them, The Nile from Aswan to Luxor, the Danube from Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest, Russian rivers from St. Petersburg to Moscow, the Yangtze from Chongqing to Wuhan, the Rhine, Main and Danube from Amsterdam to Vienna, and the Seine from Paris to Honfleur. I have written blog style trip reports on 2 of them, the Yangtze, http://jackthetravelingman-china.blogspot.com and the Seine, http://jackthetravelingman-seine.blogspot.com. I don't know why Grand Circle travelers don't use cruise critis more than they do, other than possibly that they use the forum on the GCT web site, http://www.gct.com/Community/Travel-Forum.aspx instead. We would be glad to answer any questions on any of these trips.

[tonyd285]

We have taken GCT cruises on the Danube, the Rhine and the Elbe (earlier this year) and enjoyed them very much. The cabins are rather plain but the ships themselves are nicely appointed, the food was quite good, and the staff was excellent. The guides were very knowledgable and the home visits in Germany on the Rhine and the Elbe were very pleasant and informative. The travelers, all Americans, tend to be older and well-traveled. We would recommend GCT as a high quality and relatively low-cost river cruise company.

[rogerdawhip]

I have been on eight (a ninth is booked for next July) GCT river cruises all as a solo. The number one reason I chose GCT is their single prices are so much lower than other companies. That being said, I have never had a bad trip. The ships are older than some other lines but they are all immaculate. The food is good (not great) and the crew/service is fantastic. If you want a newer ship and hotel style bed than GCT is not for you but I highly recommend them.

Roger

[Ken076]

I have been on eight (a ninth is booked for next July) GCT river cruises all as a solo. The number one reason I chose GCT is their single prices are so much lower than other companies. That being said, I have never had a bad trip. The ships are older than some other lines but they are all immaculate. The food is good (not great) and the crew/service is fantastic. If you want a newer ship and hotel style bed than GCT is not for you but I highly recommend them.

Roger

 

Have you had experience with GCT booked international flights? The large Cruiselines (Carnival, etc.) tned to use consolidators with very close connections and very late port arrival times - has this been a problem?

 

Can you give some insight into tipping aboard GCT cruises: how do most tip, who is normally tipped (individually?) and recommended tip amount(s)?

 

thanks,

ken

[beverlyjack]

Have you had experience with GCT booked international flights? The large Cruiselines (Carnival, etc.) tned to use consolidators with very close connections and very late port arrival times - has this been a problem?

 

Can you give some insight into tipping aboard GCT cruises: how do most tip, who is normally tipped (individually?) and recommended tip amount(s)?

 

thanks,

ken

 

On the 12 international trips we have taken with GCT, we have always taken the international air. The do their own booking directly with the airlines and, due to their volume, generally get fares that are difficult to beat. At times there will be tight connections, but they will work with you to get acceptable arrangements. Sometimes you may have to pay extra to customize the flights. It helps to do your homework as to what is available through http://matrix.itasoftware.com or other another airline search engine before calling them so that you know your options. On our most recent trip, to Paris, we flew non-stop, Boston to Paris, arriving on the first flight of the day.

 

As far as tipping is concerned, they publish guidelines for each trip. Generally, for a river cruise, there is a tip for your program director, who takes care of most of your touring needs, given directly to him or her, a pooled tip for all shipboard personnel, and tips for local guides, where used and bus drivers, by days using them. The program director will take care of most of your guiding, but some destinations require the use of local guides. For the tipping guidelines, go to http://www.gct.com and download the travel handbook. Some people think that the guidelines are exhorbitant, but we have found that they are realistic, given the level of service that you get. These are just guidelines and the tipping is really up to you. If some individual gives extraordinary service, you can always give them a trip directly, either in addition to the overall guidelines or by reducing the pooled tip.

[SargassoPirate]

We would be glad to answer any questions on any of these trips.

 

I've looked all over the GCT website and can't find anything about bringing your own wine on board at embarkation or at one of the ports. We love wine-related excursions and like to purchase a bottle of two from the local vineyards. What can we expect on GCT?

[beverlyjack]

Grand Circle does not restrict you bringing alcohol on board on any of the 6 river cruises that we have taken with them. You can consume it in your cabin. If you wish to consume wine brought aboard in public areas, lounge, dining room or sun deck, there is a corkage fee. As we have not done this, we do not know what the fee is. There is generally an ice bucket in the room, or disposable ice buckets at the ice machine in a public area.

 

I just checked the Travelers Handbook, available online, for the Seine trip. and here is the quote on the subject.

 

"Dining

 

You’ll enjoy fine cuisine and excellent views in your ship’s dining room, featuring a warm decor of dark woods, rich carpeting, floor-to-ceiling windows, and white-linen and china table settings. Your ship’s daily service includes a breakfast buffet, lunch, and a more formal dinner. Our professional chefs will create unique menus for you that feature regional specialties. Included with dinner are two complimentary drinks (choose from house wine, draft beer, or soft drink) per guest,

per dinner. In addition, a selection of other fine wines and beer is available for purchase. Passengers may also bring a bottle of their own favorite wine to dinner to enjoy at their table. Should you care to avail yourself of this service, there will be a corkage fee of approximately €10 (Euro) per bottle, charged to your passenger account.

 

Please note that if you bring your own alcohol aboard, it can only be consumed in the dining room as described above, or in your cabin. Consumption of alcohol purchased outside the ship is not permitted in the lounge or public areas. We also offer complimentary coffee and tea throughout the day, available at

meals and from the machine in the reception area."

 

We have never seen them restrict the number of glasses of wine with dinner, although we're sure that they would, if, in their judgement, you were drinkinking to excess.,

[H2Otstr]

We were just on GCT Russian River cruise. One man asked for a second glass of wine before the meal was served and he was told that he had to wait for dinner to get his second glass. This was the first time I have ever seen/heard GC tell anyone to wait, their limit was 2 glasses :eek:. Usually they have carafes, pour and you must tell them to stop. The bad part was that this man's wife wasn't drinking any wine, so she could have gotten her glass filled and just given it to him ;).

[Ken076]

beverlyjack - Thanks for the info on the International Flights and Tipping Guidelines!!! I somehow overlooked the downloadable Travel Guide, which covers A LOT of useful info. The suggested gratuities were about what I would have predicted and not too unreasonable. I'm researching the "Romance of the Rhine and Mosel" tour. Ken

[meredithmn]

BeverlyJack: thanks for all your great info-including on the camera you used. I love your blog on the Seine trip. I took a Rick Steves land tour called Heart of France that had a somewhat similar itinerary. Wasn't Normandy touching. My Dad had just died-he piloted a B17 on D Day-so the visit had special meaning for me.

[GiannaD]

We have just returned from a cruise on the Seine on the GCT Bizet.

 

The guidelines for the program managers and crew were clearly stated in the precruise materials as were the tipping suggestions for local guides and bus drivers. We felt that for the great service we received the guidelines were quite reasonable. Tips to the program managers, guides and drivers must be in cash and US Dollars or Euro were both acceptable. Tips for the crew can be charged on a credit card.

 

The corkage fee for consuming your own wine in the lounge was $10. The waiters in the dining room were more than happy to refill wine glasses. The stated limit was two glasses per person.

 

There were quite a few single female travelers on the cruise and the program managers had a gathering called Harriet's Club so the ladies could meet each other. I don't know if there were any single male travelers. I felt that the cruise was definitely single friendly.

 

I found the GCT air arrangements to be good and they include transfers. If anything our layovers were too long but that allowed for the delayed flight that we had from the US to Europe. We did have a late arrival but were able to travel from our hometown at much less than if we had taken an early flight from a more distant airport. We also were given assigned seats at the time of booking.

 

I will be glad to answer any other questions you may have.