New to River Cruising. Lots of Questions!

[Rellyrooly]

The Seine is an unusual river cruise itinerary because the river is actually very short -- so there isn't much cruising. You might want to consider a Moselle cruise as these often start from Paris with a train or bus ride to Luxembourg, then cruise down the Moselle and up the Rhine (including the famous Rhine Castles stretch) and end in Basel. If you have more than a week, you can easily do a pre-cruise stay (either with the cruise line or DIY) in Paris, and post-cruise in Lucerne and Zurich. Here's an example:

https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2018/rhine-moselle-splendors

 

You have really given me a lot to think about. Perhaps the Paris to Normandy itinerary isn't the one we should go with. I do want to spend some time actually cruising and seeing some castles as well. Why take a cruise to a place that should be done by land really? I will check out some of the other itineraries.

[Cyber Kat]

You have really given me a lot to think about. Perhaps the Paris to Normandy itinerary isn't the one we should go with. I do want to spend some time actually cruising and seeing some castles as well. Why take a cruise to a place that should be done by land really? I will check out some of the other itineraries.

 

We really enjoyed our Rhine Getaway with Viking. It's the only one we've done so far - we have the Grand European Tour booked with Viking for next year - so I don't have any comparisons for you.

 

While I keep an eye on pricing, we don't choose cruises or vacations by price. Mostly we choose what we want, then ask "Can we afford it?" ala Suze Ormand :) We chose the Rhine because most start or end in Amsterdam and we LOVE Amsterdam - and my husband is of Dutch heritage. His father was from Rotterdam.

 

We chose Viking because of the stop at Kinderdijk - none of the other lines I looked at when we were planning had that as a stop. We also chose Viking because I fell in love with the long ships. When you are used to sailing on ocean ships with 2500-3000 or more people 190 - was fantastic. I know other lines have smaller ships that hold less, but we were fine with the 190. The ship NEVER felt crowded and the only time we had a line was on the German Buffet night and there were 10-12 people ahead of me. I'm cool with that.

 

We did not choose Viking because of their ads or their brochures ;p The ads did get us thinking more seriously about river cruising. The brochures helped us pick the river itinerary we wanted for our first. Oddly enough the greatest influence in our decision to choose Viking was a review of the Rhine Getaway here on Cruise Critic - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2085470

 

We loved the ship. We loved sailing with Viking. Loved the food - the cookies at the coffee station are scrumptious! We loved the ports. And we had a phenomenal trip.

 

We are sailing with Viking Ocean in March and as I mentioned above, we are doing the Grand European Tour (Budapest to Amsterdam) in the fall.

 

Good luck with your decision and enjoy whichever cruise you pick. I don't think you can go wrong.

[terry&mike]

You have really given me a lot to think about. Perhaps the Paris to Normandy itinerary isn't the one we should go with. I do want to spend some time actually cruising and seeing some castles as well. Why take a cruise to a place that should be done by land really? I will check out some of the other itineraries.

The Rhine sailings are great for this (Rhine Getaway, Castles on the Rhine, etc), lots of sailing, scenery, and castles, plus stops in charming small towns along the way.

[Rellyrooly]

While I keep an eye on pricing, we don't choose cruises or vacations by price. Mostly we choose what we want, then ask "Can we afford it?" ala Suze Ormand :) We chose the Rhine because most start or end in Amsterdam and we LOVE Amsterdam - and my husband is of Dutch heritage. His father was from Rotterdam.

 

Thank you. I am really only concerned about the price because since there are two couples traveling, we will have two budgets to work with and they might not be the same. I want my friends to join us so I want to keep their budget in mind. Also, we really want to add some land time pre or post so that will cut into the budget we have for the cruise a bit. I love the idea of the Rhine but I've been to Amsterdam and while it is lovely and pretty, I don't necessarily feel the need to go back there. My husband traveled there extensively for work. I definitely wasn't a fan of the food lol.

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[Host Jazzbeau]

...We also chose Viking because I fell in love with the long ships. When you are used to sailing on ocean ships with 2500-3000 or more people 190 - was fantastic. I know other lines have smaller ships that hold less, but we were fine with the 190. The ship NEVER felt crowded and the only time we had a line was on the German Buffet night and there were 10-12 people ahead of me. I'm cool with that.

 

Actually, the ships on other lines are the same size and hold fewer passengers, so the cabins can be larger and the public spaces less crowded. Viking calls them 'longships' but they are the same 135m as all other recent river ships for the rivers that can handle that size. [French river ships are shorter, and Douro shorter yet based on lock size.]

[sharkster77]

Rellyrooly--

If you cruise the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam, you won't really be visiting Amsterdam at all--that will be "head to the airport to go home" day.

[gnome12]

My tulip time cruise from Antwerp to Amsterdam on Uniworld (in 2010 so probably changed by now) ended with 2 nights on board in Amsterdam; the first day was a full day in Amsterdam and the second was a trip to Keukenhof.

 

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[terry&mike]

Thank you. I am really only concerned about the price because since there are two couples traveling, we will have two budgets to work with and they might not be the same. I want my friends to join us so I want to keep their budget in mind. Also, we really want to add some land time pre or post so that will cut into the budget we have for the cruise a bit. I love the idea of the Rhine but I've been to Amsterdam and while it is lovely and pretty, I don't necessarily feel the need to go back there. My husband traveled there extensively for work. I definitely wasn't a fan of the food lol.

 

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If you sail Viking Basel to Amsterdam, you don't actually spend any time there unless you choose to extend your trip there, you wake up there and go to the airport, which allows you to take advantage of the great air routing out of AMS. Also, you can manipulate the Viking air and do a deviation, allowing you to fly in or out of other cities, this will allow you to easily extend on either end and visit the European cities that interest you.

[Cyber Kat]

Actually, the ships on other lines are the same size and hold fewer passengers, so the cabins can be larger and the public spaces less crowded. Viking calls them 'longships' but they are the same 135m as all other recent river ships for the rivers that can handle that size. [French river ships are shorter, and Douro shorter yet based on lock size.]

 

 

 

I’ve heard this, but I’m speaking of my personal experience and opinion. I was perfectly fine with the number of people on the ship and our cabin was lovely. We had no issues with the size whatsoever. The public spaces never felt crowded at all.

 

 

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[Cyber Kat]

If you sail Viking Basel to Amsterdam, you don't actually spend any time there unless you choose to extend your trip there, you wake up there and go to the airport, which allows you to take advantage of the great air routing out of AMS. Also, you can manipulate the Viking air and do a deviation, allowing you to fly in or out of other cities, this will allow you to easily extend on either end and visit the European cities that interest you.

 

 

 

We did a pre cruise stay in Amsterdam. As I said, we love it there and if anyone cares [emoji12] we found the food delicious.

 

We also did a post cruise stay in Lucerne. It’s gorgeous. The scenery was breathtaking (and the food was wonderful there too [emoji16]). If I had known we probably would have spent a bit more time in Switzerland. I have it on my wish list to go back. But if you are at all budget conscious, Switzerland will bust it wide open!

 

We also liked Germany and the Alsace region of France. It’s almost it’s own country. If I were to go back and do a land vacation, I’d probably follow the Rhine with maybe a detour into Northern Italy. It’s gorgeous there as well.

 

As I said before, I wish the OP good luck with their decision, and I wish everyone a bon voyage!

 

 

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