Poll: What's important to you on a river cruise?

[Ozjohnno]

Yes, there is just something about a Uniworld cruise that others have not quite been able to duplicate. I really can't put it into words.

 

I have no doubt they are very good but I'd like to hear your comparison with a Tauck cruise who I think are outstanding.

[rbiller]

Sure, but you are going to have to wait. My cruise doesn't start until 10-13. I have heard good things about Tauck as well and I am anxious to see for myself.

[Canal archive]

As with the general concencise itenerary I have yet to find one I prefer to that of Scenic but when I run out of there routes and inclusions I will have to test the waters, metiforicaly. Scenic includes everything but any cruise or holiday will be ruined if the staff are not up to scratch and so far we have had exceptional staff. There are a couple of things that no one can legislate for, the weather, which you have to muddle through with and your fellow passengers, here we have been so lucky it's been wonderful the Canadians and Americans so friendly and well the Australians are something else great fun especially when at midnight waiting on the top deck for a late arrivals which increased their numbers on board to 1 more than the Canadians greeting them with a rendition of Australia Fair, not our the top just very good fun. River cruising is so addictive.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks, rbiller! I've done Tauck and it's lovely....

 

Hope you'll write a review for our community when you get back :)

 

Have a wonderful trip.

 

Carolyn

 

Tauck is going to be my fifth. I chose it for several reasons. First and foremost is because Tauck has about 6-8 single cabins on each cruise with no single supplement. Some of the other cruise lines waive the SS when they need to fill up the ship. Often this is during the off season and the weather is not as good.

 

The second reason I chose Tauck is because of the all inclusive feature. Uniworld is starting this in 2014 but Tauck has had it for a few years and have added the free drinks all day long this year probably to keep up with Uniworld.

 

I also chose it for the itinerary which starts in Amsterdam and ends in Basel. There are only a couple places on the cruise that I have already been to so most of it will be new. Also there are a few out of the ordinary inclusions such as dinner at a 1000 year old castle that I thought would be interesting.

 

Hope that answers your question. You can PM me if you have any other questions.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Fabulous!

 

Carolyn

 

As with the general concencise itenerary I have yet to find one I prefer to that of Scenic but when I run out of there routes and inclusions I will have to test the waters, metiforicaly. Scenic includes everything but any cruise or holiday will be ruined if the staff are not up to scratch and so far we have had exceptional staff. There are a couple of things that no one can legislate for, the weather, which you have to muddle through with and your fellow passengers, here we have been so lucky it's been wonderful the Canadians and Americans so friendly and well the Australians are something else great fun especially when at midnight waiting on the top deck for a late arrivals which increased their numbers on board to 1 more than the Canadians greeting them with a rendition of Australia Fair, not our the top just very good fun. River cruising is so addictive.

[ptiprof]

I agree with rbiller's list although I don't mind paying for gratuities or for alcohol since we don't drink that much. I would add a wonderfully comfortable bed. For food and excursions, both quality and choice are vital to us. On an Avalon cruise we took a number of years ago, the "Captain's Dinner" had only one set meal; the entree was duck. This didn't appeal to us at all so we stayed on shore and had a lovely meal in Bratislava, but if we hadn't been docked right in town, we would have been eating bread for dinner. We are booked on AMA this May from Rousse, Bulgaria to Budapest (cruise only). We chose them because of their excellent reputation but also because they offer many excursion choices including both location and activity level (slow, regular, and active walkers; bicycle; late risers).

[April29]

Tipping included.

[rbiller]

I don't object to the tipping, it's the inconvenience of always having to have some small bills or change on hand for the guides and drivers. I'm not a heavy drinker either but again it will be much more convenient to walk up to the bar and get a drink w/o signing for it. And I will probably still tip a few of my favorite crew members.

 

Please let us know how the AMA cruise goes. Uniworld's Eastern Europe cruise was my first with them only we went from Vienna to Bucharest. It was a great cruise only I prefer Western Europe although I really liked Bucharest.

[marco]

I always thought most folks who choose a river cruise do so because all of (or at least most of) the excursions are included. Seems the poll concurs.

Edited March 7, 2014 by marco

[rbiller]

Yes marco, there is an included excursion in each port, however there are usually some optional excursions available in the larger cities for those who are interested. Tauck claims that everything is included and no options are sold. I don't know what Uniworld will do under their new all inclusive pricing.

[CruiseGirlKS]

Itinerary is extremely important!

LuLu

~~~

 

x2....itinerary and options...

[roaming_kiwi58]

None of the considerations mentioned would stop us picking a particular river cruise.

Ports of Call/Itinerary would! Number 1 consideration is always itinerary, itinerary!

Number 2 would be availability dates, as our business restricts when we can travel.

[editor@cruisecritic]

Interesting point, Marco. We asked the question -- would you prefer to pay for tours and have a cheaper fare, or have them included -- about two years ago and actually the percentage of people who want the "free" tours was higher -- somewhere in the mid 90 percent range. We're seeing a small groundswell of cruise lines coming into the market (CroisiEurope, Emerald Waterways) that are unbundling inclusivity so they can charge less. We'll see how that goes :)

 

We're definitely keeping an eye on it.

 

Carolyn

 

I always thought most folks who choose a river cruise do so because all of (or at least most of) the excursions are included. Seems the poll concurs.

[editor@cruisecritic]

We've gotten a lot of comments on the fact that itinerary wasn't listed. I guess, IMHO, it was assumed that itineraries were a key factor. But clearly, we should have included it :)

 

Thanks, all, for the input.

 

Carolyn

 

ITINERARY, itinerary, itinerary… that's what drives our river cruising and actually all our vacations. Everything else is secondary.

[rbiller]

OK roaming, so itinerary is #1. So lets see, lousy food and small portions are ok as is rude and slow service from the staff. A small cramped cabin is ok with poor service from your steward. No free wine or beer with dinner is ok too. To me, the whole cruise experience is important. You can have a great time almost anywhere if your pampered and treated like royalty. Just my humble opinion.

[marco]

Pre and post extension options were not included. We have never done them. On a recent river cruise however, a post extension to a specific city was offered for 4 days. The price for that extension was only $200 less than a trip we took to that city for 9 days adn the price for that 9 day trip INCLUDED trans-Atlantic air. I think with all of the river cruise companies who we get brochures from (and we've sailed with 4 different companies) I think the pre and post city extensions are WAY overpriced.

[agelessgram]

We are taking our first river cruise on AMA this May (Amsterdam to Budapest) and we decided to try river cruising as we wanted a great itinerary and a trip that we did not have to plan our own shore excursions. On ocean cruises we always did private tours. We are hoping by it reputations AMA will have a great staff, food and bedding. Thus far our dealings with AMA have been outstanding.

Sue NJ

[Got2Cruise]

Pre and post extension options were not included. We have never done them. On a recent river cruise however, a post extension to a specific city was offered for 4 days. The price for that extension was only $200 less than a trip we took to that city for 9 days adn the price for that 9 day trip INCLUDED trans-Atlantic air. I think with all of the river cruise companies who we get brochures from (and we've sailed with 4 different companies) I think the pre and post city extensions are WAY overpriced.

 

I agree. Plus the accommodations always have to be in "large" convention type hotels. There are so many choices and people go with the cruise line's choice for convenience purposes without investigating. The Cruise lines make a business deal with which ever property and are in it for PROFIT for themselves. Same with airfare. But whatever works for people, that's great.

[Got2Cruise]

OK roaming, so itinerary is #1. So lets see, lousy food and small portions are ok as is rude and slow service from the staff. A small cramped cabin is ok with poor service from your steward. No free wine or beer with dinner is ok too. To me, the whole cruise experience is important. You can have a great time almost anywhere if your pampered and treated like royalty. Just my humble opinion.

 

Rbiller, I would rather go to some place wonderful on a river cruise and starve, or pay out of pocket for a drink, than go someplace I have no interest in seeing, and eat and drink well. We all travel for different reasons. At this point in my life it is to experience far away places.

 

Maybe at another stage in my life pampering would be more important. That is why research on CC is invaluable. Fortunately, there are alternatives between high-end, and low-end. Moderate is the way we roll now. :)

[alexandra cruiser]

so itinerary first(after 10 river cruises,don t want to repeat),then ship,,and ALL it entails.

Started at Viking,Avalon,then up to Uniworld,AMA,now trying Scenic.Since billed as 5 star and LOOKS GREAT.Oh, forgot Gate 1 (intentional it seems,least favorite one so far).

Many start at lower range lines,due to finances,then can progress upwords as situation becomes financially more stable.With us anyway.Also, the older I get,the more luxury I desire.So more perks,the better.:)

[jiminyC_fan]

Itinerary is number one. Size of staterooms is next.

 

Bottom, all inclusive (tips and booze) Pampering is not for us. Less pampering the better.

 

Staff, food, quality for your $$ is subjective so I don't take others reviews into consideration.

Edited March 9, 2014 by jiminyC_fan

[notamermaid]

Hello editor,

 

Thank you for the poll. Intriguing to learn about the mostly American and Australian market represented in this forum.

 

Interesting point, Marco. We asked the question -- would you prefer to pay for tours and have a cheaper fare, or have them included -- about two years ago and actually the percentage of people who want the "free" tours was higher -- somewhere in the mid 90 percent range. We're seeing a small groundswell of cruise lines coming into the market (CroisiEurope, Emerald Waterways) that are unbundling inclusivity so they can charge less. We'll see how that goes :)

 

We're definitely keeping an eye on it.

 

Carolyn

 

CroisiEurope and others are European companies only new to the US/Canada and other English-speaking countries. They are partly adapting their itineraries to that audiences, but have not the "inclusiveness-strategies" like the long-standing companies that market to the English-speaking world.

 

Arosa for example now has a new itinerary Amsterdam to Basel or vice versa, which follows the example of Viking and others, also stating in their catalogue that "this cruise will have a "multi-national clientele". Other than that they normally do round trips for Germans/Europeans for example Passau - Budapest - Passau.

 

The company I travelled with, Transocean based in Germany, does not market to Americans and has a very European, i.e. not inclusive drinks, tipping extra, many optional excursions; attitude towards their cruises.

 

Just to help clarify your comment. :)

 

notamermaid

Edited March 9, 2014 by notamermaid
Spelling

[editor@cruisecritic]

Thanks, notamermaid -- interesting insights. We're definitely keeping an eye on CroisiEurope.

 

There's an American company that's attempting to market North America-only cruises on a select couple of A'Rosa ships. I don't know how well it's going (they have made adjustments, for instance, dinner is an off-the-menu, rather than buffet, meal). I did a short cruise on A'Rosa a couple of years ago and absolutely adored the ships....

 

I'm particularly glad to read your comments as Cruise Critic has a strong audience in Europe, particularly Germany, and so I do hope our German members will feel free to jump in and discuss their cruises, as you've done.

 

Carolyn

 

Hello editor,

 

Thank you for the poll. Intriguing to learn about the mostly American and Australian market represented in this forum.

 

 

 

CroisiEurope and others are European companies only new to the US/Canada and other English-speaking countries. They are partly adapting their itineraries to that audiences, but have not the "inclusiveness-strategies" like the long-standing companies that market to the English-speaking world.

 

Arosa for example now has a new itinerary Amsterdam to Basel or vice versa, which follows the example of Viking and others, also stating in their catalogue that "this cruise will have a "multi-national clientele". Other than that they normally do round trips for Germans/Europeans for example Passau - Budapest - Passau.

 

The company I travelled with, Transocean based in Germany, does not market to Americans and has a very European, i.e. not inclusive drinks, tipping extra, many optional excursions; attitude towards their cruises.

 

Just to help clarify your comment. :)

 

notamermaid

[renachai]

An abundance of dining seating for two...the way it is now, they only have a few set up...the rest have to sit with strangers.

[editor@cruisecritic]

That's an awesome suggestion, Renachai. As much as I love river cruising, sometimes the forced sociability at dinner (only those times when you really just want to reconnect with your travel pal) is a bit much.

 

Carolyn

 

An abundance of dining seating for two...the way it is now, they only have a few set up...the rest have to sit with strangers.