Booked our First ever river cruise!

[Steelers0854]

We are really excited, we just booked our first ever River cruise after doing 20 or so ocean cruises.  Too bad its 2 years away! Lol. We are going on the Viking Ingvi on an 8 day trip on the Danube on a Christmas Market itinerary.  This one goes from Passat to Budapest and we are going to do a pre cruise portion in Prague.  We couldn’t be more cited about it as this is a bucket list item for us.  The River Cruise section of the board has been great with helpful tips and info.  We booked this cruise with our very experienced TA who actually did this same itinerary last year and she said she loved it.

[TMLAalum]

Enjoy!

 

[moodyb1]

We also booked our first river cruises for next April and May. The first is the Tulips one round-trip out of Amsterdam on Ama, followed by one from Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine on Uniworld. 

We have done over 50 ocean cruises, mostly on Princess, so we hope we enjoy the river cruise experience. 

 

Arlene 

[Got2Cruise]

You’ll be hooked and wonder what took you so long. 

[Gretchendz]

On 10/23/2022 at 9:46 PM, moodyb1 said:

We also booked our first river cruises for next April and May. The first is the Tulips one round-trip out of Amsterdam on Ama, followed by one from Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine on Uniworld. 

We have done over 50 ocean cruises, mostly on Princess, so we hope we enjoy the river cruise experience. 

 

Arlene 

 

I've sailed many time on Princess and just did my first river cruise on AMA--you will love it.  Obviously, smaller and more intimate. Service impeccable. Great excursions.  Don't expect entertainment (other than a good lounge performer most nights) --the journey is the entertainment!

[Coral]

I really liked my river cruise on the Danube for the Christmas Markets in 2018.

 

I hope you like your cruise also! These ships are a different beast but a good surprise.

Edited November 2, 2022 by Coral

[Canal archive]

And your fellow guests not so many but easier to relax with, enjoy!

[indyfranks]

We are also doing our first river cruise on AMA at the beginning of December (also a Christmas Markets cruise) after many, many ocean cruises.  We're definitely looking forward to trying something new.

[CCJack]

Steelers0854.... we went on a very similar Viking trip a couple years ago.   3 nights in Prague, then cruise from Nuremburg to Budapest.   We did stop at Passau however.   It was a great trip.   Prague was a great pre cruise stay, we stayed at the Hilton which was the Viking hotel, I am not sure if it still is.      Budapest is really beautiful from the river at night with all the buildings lit up.  There were 20 some locks along the Danube we had to go through,, some people are bored with those things, but I found them really interesting.  (a few of those may have been between Nuremberg and Passau however.)  Our evening entertainment (along with everyone else) was sitting on the top deck after dinner watching the river bank  pass by.   However, you will have darkness after dinner (we went in July), so likely you will be in the lounge after dinner, and maybe they will have some entertainment.  

 

Have a great trip.... 

 

[lynncarol]

On 11/2/2022 at 4:26 AM, Canal archive said:

And your fellow guests not so many but easier to relax with, enjoy!

Sometimes that is not so.. In 2010 we were on a Netherlands river cruise out of  Amsterdam.  On this particular cruise, there were over eighty folks of Dutch heritage from one state and they were not happy with the current president at the time. Dinner conversations focused on their vitriolic opinions until I announced that I thought he was a great president.  There followed a shocked silence by the other guests and after that, my husband and I found that most of them didn't want us to sit with them anymore.  Had we been on a larger ship, we could have found others who shared our views, or at least weren't so vocal about theirs. 

[Canal archive]

How in- Netherlander like, must have been really not nice for you.

[lynncarol]

20 hours ago, Canal archive said:

How in- Netherlander like, must have been really not nice for you.

It was very uncomfortable at meal times, for sure.  That was the second of 4 river cruises we have taken and the only one where we didn't feel welcome and make  many new friends.

Ps....I have some Dutch blood in me too, so I know this type of behavior is not the norm. But this particular group all belonged to a Dutch heritage club in their state and obviously shared similar political opinions.

[Steelers0854]

On 11/3/2022 at 8:06 PM, CCJack said:

Steelers0854.... we went on a very similar Viking trip a couple years ago.   3 nights in Prague, then cruise from Nuremburg to Budapest.   We did stop at Passau however.   It was a great trip.   Prague was a great pre cruise stay, we stayed at the Hilton which was the Viking hotel, I am not sure if it still is.      Budapest is really beautiful from the river at night with all the buildings lit up.  There were 20 some locks along the Danube we had to go through,, some people are bored with those things, but I found them really interesting.  (a few of those may have been between Nuremberg and Passau however.)  Our evening entertainment (along with everyone else) was sitting on the top deck after dinner watching the river bank  pass by.   However, you will have darkness after dinner (we went in July), so likely you will be in the lounge after dinner, and maybe they will have some entertainment.  

 

Have a great trip.... 

 

 

This is great to hear, thanks for sharing with us!

[CPT Trips]

Cruising, of whatever type, can be less enjoyable when there is an affinity group that makes up a significant proportion of the passengers. Folks that have political views and/or religious in common have a tendency to be considerably more vocal about their beliefs than a group which is, for the most part, just meeting each other for the first time. 

[Coral]

On 10/24/2022 at 2:46 AM, moodyb1 said:

We also booked our first river cruises for next April and May. The first is the Tulips one round-trip out of Amsterdam on Ama, followed by one from Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine on Uniworld. 

We have done over 50 ocean cruises, mostly on Princess, so we hope we enjoy the river cruise experience. 

 

Arlene 

Congrats!

[sharkster77]

A few folks have indicated in this thread that they have booked their first river cruise after 20+, 50+ ocean cruises.  I would suggest to them that they read as much of these boards as possible, so they are not disappointed because river cruises are a completely different animal as compared to ocean cruises.  No climbing walls, water slides, big evening shows, or sea days, for a start.  Ocean cruises are about the ship; river cruises are about the ports.

 

Somebody posted here a few years ago and lambasted river cruises because he couldn't get a shrimp cocktail and t-bone steak for dinner every night.  Somebody who clearly did not do his homework.

Edited November 6, 2022 by sharkster77

[Lois R]

On 10/23/2022 at 9:46 PM, moodyb1 said:

We also booked our first river cruises for next April and May. The first is the Tulips one round-trip out of Amsterdam on Ama, followed by one from Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine on Uniworld. 

We have done over 50 ocean cruises, mostly on Princess, so we hope we enjoy the river cruise experience. 

 

Arlene 

Good morning, TulipTime on AMA was my first river cruise back in 2016 and I loved it🙂 hope you will too.

[CCJack]

22 hours ago, CPT Trips said:

Cruising, of whatever type, can be less enjoyable when there is an affinity group that makes up a significant proportion of the passengers. Folks that have political views and/or religious in common have a tendency to be considerably more vocal about their beliefs than a group which is, for the most part, just meeting each other for the first time. 

For sure...... River cruising especially since the boats are small and and a medium sized group can overrun the boat.    When my wife and I  booked a Viking River Cruise, we booked well in advance.   A few weeks later our TA called and said that Viking informed our TA that we were the first cabin booked, and they then booked every other cabin on the boat to a single group.  So we would be the only ones not part of the group.   We cancelled and moved to a less desirable date for us.   I have mixed feelings about how Viking handled this.   I am very glad they told us, that is for sure.   However, I think if a group wants a whole river boat, than Viking should only offer a boat that has no reservations yet, or keep some trips unpublished, only for groups.  I do not know what the group was but it would not have been fun for us.  Viking offered us nothing in terms of OBC or upgrade or anything like that.    

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, CCJack said:

I have mixed feelings about how Viking handled this.   I am very glad they told us, that is for sure.   However, I think if a group wants a whole river boat, than Viking should only offer a boat that has no reservations yet, or keep some trips unpublished, only for groups.  I do not know what the group was but it would not have been fun for us.  Viking offered us nothing in terms of OBC or upgrade or anything like that.    

Nobody (ocean or river) does what you suggest re offering only empty ships or keeping trips back in the hope of charters.  Charters are a big business and a guaranteed profit on that sailing with no marketing expense to the cruise line, so sailings are 'cancelled' on a regular basis in favor of charters.  The more likely scenario would have been that Viking gave the group the entire ship and forced you to move or cancel.

 

IMO they should have offered you some accommodation [sometimes the charter contract includes this cost] – but if the group had been slightly smaller they might well have kept quiet about it.  Two-thirds of the ship as a group would still have had a major negative impact on your cruise...

[Coral]

15 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

A few folks have indicated in this thread that they have booked their first river cruise after 20+, 50+ ocean cruises.  I would suggest to them that they read as much of these boards as possible, so they are not disappointed because river cruises are a completely different animal as compared to ocean cruises.  No climbing walls, water slides, big evening shows, or sea days, for a start.  Ocean cruises are about the ship; river cruises are about the ports.

 

While I agree with you that they are 2 different beasts and people should know the difference. Most of my ocean cruises are about ports and not about the ship. Though it has been a long time since I have cruised to the Caribbean.

[sharkster77]

9 hours ago, Coral said:

While I agree with you that they are 2 different beasts and people should know the difference. Most of my ocean cruises are about ports and not about the ship. Though it has been a long time since I have cruised to the Caribbean.

I was referring mainly to the amenities available on an ocean liner, vs. a river ship.

[Host Jazzbeau]

There's also the issue that ocean ships generally know where they are docking well in advance, while river port spots aren't assigned until the last minute and the ship often moves even in the course of its stay.  And that the timing for river ports is always vague because lock schedules affect the ship's progress.  Veteran ocean cruisers who want to plan their own excursions are shocked that this is difficult/dangerous/impossible on a river cruise.

[CPT Trips]

2 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Veteran ocean cruisers who want to plan their own excursions are shocked that this is difficult/dangerous/impossible on a river cruise.

In my experience that description is a overly dire and pessimistic unless you are talking an independent full day group tour that has an early morning departure. Numerous posters have reported rather extensive DIY tours using a driver or mass transit. And DIY independent city touring is a breeze. 
Granted, arrival times are an estimate but the Captain knows whether the ship will move mooring location and when it will depart. 

[Got2Cruise]

6 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There's also the issue that ocean ships generally know where they are docking well in advance, while river port spots aren't assigned until the last minute and the ship often moves even in the course of its stay.  And that the timing for river ports is always vague because lock schedules affect the ship's progress.  Veteran ocean cruisers who want to plan their own excursions are shocked that this is difficult/dangerous/impossible on a river cruise.

Since the excursions are included in the River Cruise fare, most RC don’t find it necessary to book their own excursions. 
 

 

[Steelers0854]

On 11/6/2022 at 8:16 AM, sharkster77 said:

A few folks have indicated in this thread that they have booked their first river cruise after 20+, 50+ ocean cruises.  I would suggest to them that they read as much of these boards as possible, so they are not disappointed because river cruises are a completely different animal as compared to ocean cruises.  No climbing walls, water slides, big evening shows, or sea days, for a start.  Ocean cruises are about the ship; river cruises are about the ports.

 

Somebody posted here a few years ago and lambasted river cruises because he couldn't get a shrimp cocktail and t-bone steak for dinner every night.  Somebody who clearly did not do his homework.

 

Oh this sounds wonderful!  Don’t get me wrong, we do enjoy a variety of ships and activities on the ocean side, but this small ship feel, thats focused on ports and is a leisurely stroll down the river just sounds like such a wonderful journey.  I just wish it wasnt 2 years away!  Thanks for sharing your experience, it’s why we love these boards and this community.