Uniworld Versus Tauck Versus AMA Waterways Versus Scenic

[StarTrkGeek]

My wife and I are planning a trip from Amsterdam to Budapest, and are undecided between Tauck, AMA Waterways, Scenic, and Uniworld. I understand that Tauck is more expensive because they are all-inclusive (there are no optional excursions, all are included, and tips are included).

 

However, what are the other differences (for example, food quality, variety, and taste; service; quality of the tours; number of people on each tour; quality of the beds/mattresses; as well as little extras thrown in)?

 

I know that most offer free table wine at dinner. What about free beer?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

Alan

[MSEm]

Tauck will have fewer cabins and therefore fewer guest than AMA and Uniword.

 

I also think that Scenic will have fewer cabins and guest that AMA and probably Uniworld

 

If there are fewer cabins, then the size of each cabin will be somewhat larger.

 

I would get brochures from each river company and compare the itinerary, cabin layout and size, number of total cabins on each company.

 

Good luck,

 

MSEm

[StarTrkGeek]

Tauck will have fewer cabins and therefore fewer guest than AMA and Uniword.

 

I also think that Scenic will have fewer cabins and guest that AMA and probably Uniworld

 

If there are fewer cabins, then the size of each cabin will be somewhat larger.

 

I would get brochures from each river company and compare the itinerary, cabin layout and size, number of total cabins on each company.

 

Good luck,

 

MSEm

I plan to get brochures, but I would especially like to hear from people who have actually sailed on these cruise lines.

[ddschur]

My wife and I had the same dilemma as you in trying to decide who we would like our first river cruise to be with.

 

After much research we decided on Tauck!:D

 

We have cruised with Crystal Cruises in the past (absolutely wonderful experience!) and have taken Tauck land tours and have been extremely pleased with the experience.

 

To us the experience is not just about "cabin size" but the customer service, the tours (inclusive with Tauck), the quality of the food, etc., etc...having checked this and other boards, Tauck remains very high on the list of people who have travelled with them!

 

My two cents!:cool:

[ddschur]

Oh, forgot to mention in my prior post, Scenic Tours seems to have had a lot of start-up problems.

 

On these boards a few months ago there were a large number of people who were posting about problems they were encountering in dealing with Scenic Tours customer service people.

 

They were not getting discounts applied as promised, concerns with information and documents...a whole raft of concerns by a large number of people.

 

Scenic may have turned the corner in getting these issues resolved...or they may not have, I dont know, but I am not willing to take the chance with a vacation I plan to enjoy!

[pacmom]

We have been on 7 river cruises with the following companies: Uniworld, Vantage and Viking. We felt they were all quite good. Uniworld has been our favorite so far. Their tour directors seemed to have more knowledge about ports above the tour knowledge. They knew where the closest ATM and internet cafes were located. Could also suggest restaurants and also Church services. The food on all was good, Uniworld and Viking better than Vantage. The cabins on Uniworld and Vantage were about the same size and offered the same amenities. The cabin on the Viking ship was very small. It was the Clara Schumann on the Elbe. All the cabins on that ship were the same size with pullman style beds. It was the only bad thing about that cruise.

 

Tours on all were very good. On the Elbe we had the same guide for more than one city. We found all the guides on all our trips to know the area we were in, and paced the tour very well. The only lines that sell to only US passengers are Vantage and Grand Circle. The others offer their cruises to English speaking people--have met folks from Canada, Paraguay, Canda, Australia. New Zealand, Scotland and England. The open seating at dinner makes for very interesting conversations. The ships are small enough to meet almost all on board by the end of the trip.

 

As to wine with dinner--very subjective. What some say is terrible is a decent table wine. If you don't like the "free" wine, there is always a cellar wine you can choose. If you don't finish, your

wine will be kept til the next time you want it. You can bring your own wine from the towns you visit. If you drink it in your cabin or on the sundeck, there is usually no corkage fee. If you bring it to the dining room, there will be a corkage fee.

 

Our next 2 cruises are with Viking, Antwerp to Basel in April, and with AMA on the Druro in Sept. We chose them over Uniworld because of itinerary. They spent 3 days in Amsterdam--been there twice. The Druro because they don't spend enough time in Lisbon. It takes a lot of comparison to find the cruise for you. Good luck. Pat

[StarTrkGeek]

My wife and I had the same dilemma as you in trying to decide who we would like our first river cruise to be with.

 

After much research we decided on Tauck!:D

 

We have cruised with Crystal Cruises in the past (absolutely wonderful experience!) and have taken Tauck land tours and have been extremely pleased with the experience.

 

To us the experience is not just about "cabin size" but the customer service, the tours (inclusive with Tauck), the quality of the food, etc., etc...having checked this and other boards, Tauck remains very high on the list of people who have travelled with them!

 

My two cents!:cool:

How did you like your cruise on Tauck? Any disappointments?

[StarTrkGeek]

We have been on 7 river cruises with the following companies: Uniworld, Vantage and Viking. We felt they were all quite good. Uniworld has been our favorite so far. Their tour directors seemed to have more knowledge about ports above the tour knowledge. They knew where the closest ATM and internet cafes were located. Could also suggest restaurants and also Church services. The food on all was good, Uniworld and Viking better than Vantage. The cabins on Uniworld and Vantage were about the same size and offered the same amenities. The cabin on the Viking ship was very small. It was the Clara Schumann on the Elbe. All the cabins on that ship were the same size with pullman style beds. It was the only bad thing about that cruise.

 

Tours on all were very good. On the Elbe we had the same guide for more than one city. We found all the guides on all our trips to know the area we were in, and paced the tour very well. The only lines that sell to only US passengers are Vantage and Grand Circle. The others offer their cruises to English speaking people--have met folks from Canada, Paraguay, Canda, Australia. New Zealand, Scotland and England. The open seating at dinner makes for very interesting conversations. The ships are small enough to meet almost all on board by the end of the trip.

 

As to wine with dinner--very subjective. What some say is terrible is a decent table wine. If you don't like the "free" wine, there is always a cellar wine you can choose. If you don't finish, your

wine will be kept til the next time you want it. You can bring your own wine from the towns you visit. If you drink it in your cabin or on the sundeck, there is usually no corkage fee. If you bring it to the dining room, there will be a corkage fee.

 

Our next 2 cruises are with Viking, Antwerp to Basel in April, and with AMA on the Druro in Sept. We chose them over Uniworld because of itinerary. They spent 3 days in Amsterdam--been there twice. The Druro because they don't spend enough time in Lisbon. It takes a lot of comparison to find the cruise for you. Good luck. Pat

Thanks Pat. I think we have narrowed our choices to Uniworld and Tauck. Do you know anything about Tauck?

Alan