River Cruises vs. Ocean Cruises

[CruiseCritic0123]

Can someone tell me the main differences between river cruises and ocean cruises? I would also love recommendations for great river cruise lines!

 

Thanks! :)

[LHT28]

besides the obvious ??

 

River cruises are usually more inclusive & more $$

less passengers of course

 

what are your specific concerns?

Edited February 1, 2016 by LHT28

[capriccio]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

Check out cruise critic's River Cruising Board - especially the introductory post on river cruising: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233868.

 

Ships are much, much smaller (we were on a Uniworld Budapest to Amsterdam cruise last summer that had 90 passengers and 40 crew), the distance sailed daily is usually relatively (compared to ocean cruising) short, excursions are included, and entertainment is basic compared to ocean cruising. We had a wonderful time and are doing a Grand France cruise (the Seine and the Rhone) in less than 4 months.

Edited February 1, 2016 by capriccio

[Keith1010]

Yes, do check out the River Cruise Board.

 

We are now booked on some river cruises after many ocean cruises.

 

Based on all I have ready it's is a lot different but looks terrific to me.

 

Keith

[cb at sea]

Totally different "feel"....River cruises are really about the places you go much more than the ship.

[Roz]

Took my first river cruise last November - loved it! It's all about the destination, as the ships, though comfortable, don't have much in the way of amenities or entertainment. The ship docks right in the main area of town, which is right where you want to be. Although our Uniworld ship could hold over 100 passengers, we only had 86. Service was impeccable. It was truly all inclusive for me - food, beverages (including alcohol), tips, and shorex. The only charge on my acct. was for Hungarian stamps I purchased from the front desk to mail postcards from Budapest.

 

Roz

[SuiteTraveler]

River cruises usually have only 200 passengers or less. They are very luxury driven type cruises and extremely port intensive. We went on the Uniworld SS Antoinette and it was AWESOME! So here are the differences:

 

We flew into Amsterdam a day ahead and stayed at Hotel Okura. They have a Michelin star sushi restaurant, Yamazato, where we have the Omakase. Thank goodness this restaurant is not in our home town because we would be there all the time and it's very expensive. Since we flew in early, we made our own way via taxi to the ship. It was easy to find and there was a crew member standing on the shore who took our luggage and directed us to walk through the Viking River Cruise ship to the SS Antoinette. So we got to see the lobby of the Viking ship which is very modern and honestly, rather worn and nowhere near as plush and lovely as the marble lobby with crystal chandelier of the SS Antoinette. Once onboard, we checked in at the reception desk. We were then directed to the main salon where snacks and drinks were set up as the cabins were being prepared. After a while, we were told that lunch was now available in the dining room and off we went to have some lunch. After lunch, our bags were outside our cabin and we unpacked. There was an embarkation talk around 5pm in the salon and everyone was supposed to be there, so we went and they explained how the cruise worked, told us about the additional tours (which we then purchased after this embarkation talk) and then it was off to dinner. Everyone eats dinner together at the same time every night. Breakfast and lunch is a little looser, but you have to plan so that you can be on the busses at the right time. So you might eat a bit earlier or later, but still everyone who wants to go on the tours goes to the buses at the same time. After dinner there was some musical entertainment in the lounge and we met some more of our fellow passengers. The next morning, the tours would begin.

 

Each afternoon, there would be a talk about the tours the next day in the salon and we would go to these as they were extremely informative and worthwhile.

 

WIFI: very good in the Salon, just OK in our stateroom which was a Junior Suite closest to the Salon. Not so good in most other cabins according to our fellow passengers. The simple solution was to take your device to the Salon.

 

Staterooms: very tiny compared to ocean going ships. We had a Junior Suite which was pretty small, but the regular staterooms were even smaller with almost all of the floor space taken up by the bed. Our bathroom had 2 sinks a shower and toilet. Our suite had 3 TV's - a small one at the foot of the bed and one large one in the living area and another in the solarium/balcony. We had butler service. They did stuff like bring us wine and appetizers each evening, offered us some fancy soaps (1 each) at the start of the cruise and they also bought us a cuckoo clock towards the end of the cruise. The regular staterooms had much smaller bathrooms, more similar to what you would find on any mass market cruise line in inside through balcony cabins - 1 sink, small shower, toilet in a tiny room. One thing most river cruise ships have are rooms for single travelers. We did get to see the one Royal suite on the ship. It had a nice size living room and separate bedroom, but I preferred the decor of our suite - ours was the one with the brown and cream toile and the leopard chairs. We also got to see a category 2 which was lovely and looks just like the photos. I do wonder what the category 4-5's bathroom is like as it is a different arrangement - smaller than categories 1-2-3.

 

Often, these river cruise ships dock side by side so that you must walk from your ship through another ship in order to get to land and vice versa upon your return. I would say that these cruises are not for those with a walker or scooter or wheelchair as you must be able to step across large gaps between the ships and on some, climb up and down ladders. I believe the SS Antoinette was one of the few that actually even had elevators (2), which almost no one used - we took the stairs at all times.

 

Food: Totally AWESOME! Locally sourced ingredients and recipes appropriate for where you are cruising. There is a menu with several choices, always a vegetarian choice, beef and something else such as fish or poultry. Breakfast and lunch are buffets with plenty of options for everyone. Around 4pm they serve afternoon tea in the salon. Dinner is table service and the food is purchased by the chef along the river, so it is actually from the areas in which you are cruising and the recipes go with the area in which you are cruising. So we had French food in France and German food in Germany. The Uniworld Sommelier has specifically selected different red and white wines to pair with each night's dinner and offered on an all you can drink basis throughout the meal. The wine was really flowing at our table and the waiters figured out pretty quickly to keep bottles nearby for all of us as our table of 6 would go through probably 6 bottles per night. Basically, you kind of establish a table of dining companions on the first night and after that, you usually eat with the same people throughout the cruise. They do a specialty dinner for suite guests one night and repeat it as an extra pay meal later in the week for anyone else who want to go. During the most castle intensive part of the cruise they held a German Wurstfest. We slept in a bit that morning and the Wurstfest started around 10 or 11 so we had brunch with that and it was great! Outside of dinner, if you went to the bar (there were 2 onboard) you would pay extra for your drinks. We don't drink that much, so that was not an issue. I believe we racked up all of $20 for extra drinks during the week. If you google Uniworld Menus, you can see a PDF showing how the menus vary by ship and where you are cruising. They also have some other food items so that, if, for instance you are a meat and potatoes person who does not want to try French cuisine, you can have a simple grilled steak and baked potato. If you are intimidated by the pronunciation of the non-English names of menu items, don't be - you can simply say, "I'd like the trout" or whatever it is you want. I don't think anyone at our table (except me - since I have studied multiple foreign languages) could pronounce the French or German names of most of our meals, so we all just ordered by the English words for what it was we wanted. The waitstaff certainly didn't care how we ordered.

 

Tours: All but 3 tours are included. So basically there are tours every single day - 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon or an all day tour, except the castle intensive cruising day. We actually paid to take the 3 additional tours which were a tour of a castle (I wouldn't do that one again as it was just a typical castle that took an 80 step staircase to reach - it was interesting but I've seen a lot of castles and this was not really much different from any of the other ones), a tour to a winery - Schloss Vollrads - really great, and a tour to the Black Forest - our FAVORITE! Anyway, having taken all of those, I would have skipped the tour of the castle and spent that time resting onboard the cruise ship - maybe tried the pool or gone to the movie theater. The tours are divided into 2 groups: Regular and "Gentle". The "Gentle" tours are for those who have mobility issues and don't want to walk as much. We walked a ton on the regular tours and I was very worn out after the cruise but it was completely worth it.

 

So here's what happens on a typical river cruise day. You get up in the morning, shower and get dressed, go to breakfast. Then you go back to your cabin for a small amount of time until the buses arrive. Then you go get on your bus and the bus takes you to wherever you are touring. You do a lot of walking wearing headsets where you can hear your tour guide and walk along. The tour lasts all morning and then you get back on the bus and go back to the ship for lunch. By this time, the cabin stewardesses will have your room made up. A buffet lunch is served onboard the ship. The Captain is usually present - you know what's really good based on what he is eating, but the food is always good and there is a lot of variety. After lunch there is another tour - usually one you have paid extra for. So off you go to the buses again and you get back around 5pm. There may be entertainment in the salon. Dinner is at 7pm. It is great and the waiters are very enthusiastic. The chef comes by most nights. After dinner, the onboard combo is playing music and there is dancing in the salon or you might hang out in your room or elsewhere on the ship. The alternative scenario is when there is an all day tour. In that case, Uniworld gives you enough money to buy lunch where you are going.

 

Entertainment: At certain ports entertainers are brought onboard. We had an opera singer at one port who was out of this world great! There was also a husband and wife combo onboard.

 

The SS Antoinette also had a movie theater (we never went to) and a swimming pool (we never used - no time.) There is a tiny gym and spa with 1 or 2 treatment rooms, but we were on tours all the time and never really had a chance to use them. There was a tiny shop onboard, which we also never went to.

 

The day we cruised the castles, it was overcast, misty with some light rain. We sat up on the deck and took photos. It was so atmospheric and magical! Even though I think most people think about cruising these castles on a sunny day, I like what happened with the weather that day as it made for some really remarkable photos. All the other days of our cruise were sunny and mild. That afternoon, there was a Black Forest Cake demonstration as well. It was probably 30 minutes and it was a lot of fun. I was really glad I went.

 

The day I loved best of all on that cruise was the day we went to the Black Forest. Talk about gorgeous and we went to a Cuckoo Clock shop that was also wonderful. Others on our cruise were buying up very expensive Cuckoo Clocks - some bought elaborate and large clocks that cost thousands and I mean they bought several - one for each of their adult children! Our home is Mediterranean, so we didn't buy a Cuckoo Clock, but I must say they were very interesting to look at and I enjoyed watching others select and buy them. The shop gave us some Kirsch and also some Black Forest Cake. After the clocks we went to a park with real Black Forest homes with thatched roofs and various other buildings which was also very interesting and smelled just like Black Forest Ham - and you learn that these folks in the Black Forest had fireplaces but had not figured out that they should have a chimney to draw the smoke out. (Not sure how they missed that memo as most indigenous people had figured that out hundreds if not thousands of years before.) Consequently their homes were full of smoke which is how Black Forest Ham came about and even today, the houses still smell just like Black Forest Ham. There were many traditional buildings and homes in the park along with some shops and restaurants. What I enjoyed most of all about that day was the incredible beauty of the Black Forest. It really is a very magical place.

 

I also really enjoyed the day in Alsace - we went to a tiny and enchanting French village, Ribeauville, that had many shops and restaurants.

http://www.tourisme-alsace.com/en/229001751-Ribeauville-one-of-the-oldest-medieval-town-in-Alsace.html

The people in Ribeauville were so very nice and friendly to tourists. It was just a lovely day. Along the way to Ribeauville, we could see huge stork nests on top of the platforms many have on their homes and many parental storks with their young.

 

There was also a wonderful day in Cologne where we saw the Shrine of the Three Kings (I had had no idea there was such a thing prior to going to Cologne, so that was an interesting surprise that the Catholic Church somehow has this relic) in the Cologne Cathedral and then I bought some Eau de Cologne and had Kolsch beer - the ONLY beer I've ever liked - served in tall thin glasses.

 

Each day of the river cruise brought new delights and magical experiences. The cabins on SS Antoinette were lovely, decorated in a classic style and it seemed very suitable for the area in which we were cruising. The crew onboard were more like family and they got to know the names of the passengers quickly and in fact, the handsome Captain and beautiful and elegant Hotel Director were a married couple and many of the other crew members were onboard with their spouses as well. Even the passengers become like a big family and look out for each other.

 

The age range on our cruise was 28 to 93. The 93 year old was a Brit named Phillip who had made his fortune in the fashion industry - he had lovely bespoke 3 piece suits and custom made shoes. What a nice man. We met him on the night of the specialty dinner for suite guests and enjoyed many conversations with him. For 93, he was amazingly active and he was a wonderful conversationalist. Of course, even the gentle tours might be a bit much for a 93 year old, and I believe he chose to stay onboard and enjoy the ship rather than tour much of the time. The average age on the river cruise was probably 60 - 65.

 

In terms of attire, it was mostly resort casual with 2 dress up nights that were more about a sparkly top than a ballgown. Men generally wore collared shirts, trousers and on the dress up nights, a suit and tie.

 

Finally, there is no feeling of motion on a river cruise. I doubt anyone would ever need motion sickness medication. We did pass through some locks and that was very interesting. We opened our balcony and sat there and watched as the Captain steered the ship into locks - only a few feet from our balcony - we could literally have reached out touched the sides of the locks, but knew not to do that.

 

At the end of the cruise, tips are left in a communal container and shared amongst the entire crew. It was such a great cruise and the service so personal that it was easy to be very generous in tipping.

 

Would I go on another Uniworld cruise? ABSOLUTELY! I highly recommend this company.

Edited February 1, 2016 by SuiteTraveler