Thinking about first time River Cruise and have questions.

[caviargal]

 

I read advice posted above that you may want to pick a shorter cruise your first time out. For us that was not a consideration. It's expensive to fly to Europe from Seattle. But, it costs no more in air fare to go two weeks rather than one.

 

Our first river cruise was 5 nights and we were in Europe for 2 weeks. That was a great first cruise experience for us. 6 cruises later, we would never do more than 7 nights on the river as we enjoy the mix of independent travel with our time on the river. It really depends on the type of traveler you are.

[SeaTheWorldBySea]

It really depends on the type of traveler you are.

 

Agree! Fortunately we have accepted the fact that it would only be frustrating if we expected champagne and caviar. We are perfectly happy on our beer and burger budget.

 

I do wish we were a bit more adventurous and had the courage to rent a car and do more independent travel outside Canada and the U.S. We may do that in Germany and surrounding countries if we feel a need to return after our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. Really can not find the courage to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

[jpalbny]

Agree! Fortunately we have accepted the fact that it would only be frustrating if we expected champagne and caviar. We are perfectly happy on our beer and burger budget.

 

I do wish we were a bit more adventurous and had the courage to rent a car and do more independent travel outside Canada and the U.S. We may do that in Germany and surrounding countries if we feel a need to return after our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. Really can not find the courage to drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

 

If you like beer and burgers (well, maybe bratwurst) and the corresponding budget, you are going to have a fantastic time in Germany! We really enjoyed the food, and we were very pleasantly surprised by the relatively cheap prices when dining out. You could easily have lunch for under €20, and even with appetizers, wine, and dessert it was difficult to spend €100 on a nice dinner for two; we often dined for far less. You can get a great dinner in any small town by just going to the local Gasthaus, or if in Munich, go to a biergarten. Very budget friendly!

 

As for the independent travel, don't push it... It will come! We started out with cruise ship tours and have gradually become more independent. start somewhere easy in Europe - out in the countryside. Get a GPS, which will greatly decrease your fear of getting lost, and allow you to concentrate on driving (this helped tremendously when driving on the wrong side of the road). Start with a one-day rental from a local airport (out of the city, and easy to drive from/to), and tour the nearby countryside for a day. Once you've gotten your feet wet, you may well like it so much that you'll want to travel that way more often.

 

Have found very few differences between driving in Western Europe and the US. The big cities can be different in that there are some smaller streets, and there are subtle differences in how the toll roads work. It's an adventure - as long as you can consider getting there to be part of the fun, doing independent travel outside the US is really a blast, and obviously allows you to have more control over your own itinerary.

 

PS - for moving around within major European cities, we almost always use public transportation. We are adventurous, but not silly! We rent cars when we're ready to get out, and will often take public transport to an airport to pick up the car rather than rent in center city and spend time fighting traffic to exit.

[CaroleSS]

We have run the gambit of ocean cruises, river cruises, AI resorts, escorted tours and independent tours (we actually RENTED a long boat in Wales and drove it ourselves!!). We find that part of our decision rests in the LOCATION of our vacation. While I would never do an independent tour of <say> Nepal, I might consider an escorted tour. A lot depends upon our familiarity of the locals, terrain and language too.

 

Each of us has our comfort levels; some are very independent, some like the convenience of having someone else take care of all the details. Neither is wrong....as long as you're having fun.....who cares what kind of tour it is!!

[caviargal]

We make use of the frequently excellent public transport system in Europe when we travel. Train service is convenient and fast in many countries and we prefer not to rent a car at all. We base in a few places and then day trip from those when we travel so as not to be moving around too much.

 

DH and I are both very comfortable with independent travel and for us, that is our preference.

[travel guy]

Watch out for Grand Circle. They are a budget line that won't work for some people. Do you want a cabin with an actual bed? Or a cabin with 2 couches that fold out into single beds? The latter is common on a budget line like Grand Circle.

[MarkBearSF]

We make use of the frequently excellent public transport system in Europe when we travel. Train service is convenient and fast in many countries and we prefer not to rent a car at all. We base in a few places and then day trip from those when we travel so as not to be moving around too much.

 

DH and I are both very comfortable with independent travel and for us, that is our preference.

 

Agreed. Not only is European train travel (generally) very convenient - the trip is a highlight of the vacation for us. Especially the high speed trains. We also spring for first class with more comfortable seats, power and meals.

 

Personally, I'm a crappy driver in the US and I'd never consider driving in Paris, Rome ...or Boston. These days, it's easy to be "independent" in Europe however you like to travel.