What You Need To Know BEFORE Considering River Cruising!
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- Опубликовано: 16 июн 2024
- I am often asked about river cruising and find many people do not fully understand what it is and is not, and this are the 6 things that I have come to appreciate about river cruising around the world that people need to know before they consider one
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ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 105 cruises I have done to date.
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00:00 Start
00:10 when river cruises work best
03:12 getting an overview
07:48 how busy are the rivers
10:56 surprising choices on river cruises
12:40 river cruise passengers
We’ve done one land/river cruise on Avalon Waterways on the Danube river. We loved, loved, loved our experience! We started out on land in Prague and were able to stay there for a couple days and get some wonderful insights into the area. Then they bused us through the lovely Czech country side down to Bavaria to get on the ship going down the Danube to Budapest. I agree with Gary. It is a more scheduled and can be busy because you have no down days like on sea ships. We did have a couple half days where we cruise down the Danube and saw all the beautiful sites, castles, vineyards and ancient buildings. We were able to see and experience areas, as our included tours tend to be in the morning until around lunchtime. You could choose to take the bus back to the ship or stay on land. We got good information of things to do in town and good maps. We frequently stayed in town and just enjoy the local life, tried and some of the food and wandering through the town. Avalon did offer extra tours that have an extra cost. We were careful not to overdo it, because then you’d have a very packed schedule. We spent one full day in the mountains in Austria, because of course you have to see the mountains in Austria. And partial day at the Schoenbrunn palace in Vienna, Very much worth the extra money. We loved meeting, interesting people from all over. We did have a room below the water level with the high windows. It worked well for us because of cost, and the other rooms on top, sometimes had limited privacy because of the view from on land or another ship next to you. Avalon waterways, had a special group called the “gentle walkers “that did a lot of accommodations for people with canes, walkers, and wheelchairs. They had extra assistance, they rode in special vans. They are able to use elevators and found the tours to meet their mobility needs. We had the absolute best activities, Director, that I’m sure helped make our experience great. If you do go on the river cruise, make sure you have great sturdy and comfortable shoes to walk on a lot of cobblestone in Europe. Thank you Gary for all your information.
When I was younger my husband and I traveled all over Italy by train. It took a lot of research on my part but we had a great time. Now many years later my husband is disabled and can no longer travel. He can walk but not very far and is no longer interested in traveling to foreign countries. I'm not as quick as I once was myself.
My brother became a widower recently and wants to travel. We are looking forward to a Viking Danube river cruise this summer.. It's nice to have Viking do all of the work and we can just enjoy the time. Different types of travel for different needs in life.
River cruising sounds like a guided tour substituting trains and most buses/ hotels w a ship.
You are “spot on” my friend. We’ve done Germany to Bucharest on the Danube (2015, 2017), Russia (2019), Egypt (2022) for the exact reasons you describe and we were delighted by our time with Viking. We do miss the self-exploration during the cruise so we generally extend for a few days on our own at the embarkation and disembarkation spots. The social aspect is a little wearying for us. Finally, we’ve booked the Rhine (a route we know well from other, self-guided travel) cruise for 2025, just because we loved floating through Europe! Thank you for your terrific videos and sage guidance.
I recently was on a Viking river cruise after being injured in an accident , with several months of recuperation and surgery. While I was physically fine, my stamina was not back to where it had been. I went on the cruise knowing I might be staying on board for some of the ports to rest. It turned out the Viking river cruise has gentle traveler options for the included excursions which are slower paced.
It was perfect for me. (And I will say, in one port, my gentle traveler group actually saw and learned about more sites than my friends, who were in a group that had a guide enamored of one church and didn't see anything else.)
when i finally go on a river cruise, it will most likely be for christmas markets. i fully plan on picking and choosing whether or not i go on the excursions or just going off to the markets or explore. i will let the activities director know, make sure i'm back on time. but i'll be traveling alone and if i'm paying that much for a room, i'm going to do what i want. use it as a floating hotel. i'm typically not a group activity person and i don't care for tours in general due to being a slow walker and not hearing as well if i'm in the back. this was a very helpful video!
Please then research river cruises well. Many offer slower tours for the folk, like me, that have mobility issues. These tours would also know the routes that would have less or no awkward walkways. The tours are included, so you would lose out by not taking them. We have cruised with Uniworld and Emerald Waterways and both are fabulous. Good wishes.
As @chriswilliams6568 says, most cruise lines offer a leisurely/gentle group, at least for the included tours. This is certainly the case on Viking river cruises in Europe. You will have an audio system that allows you to hear the guide clearly, though the earpieces Viking provide only fit your left ear and aren't very comfortable (you can use your own so long as it has a 3.5mm plug).
If you have mobility problems, it is worth talking to the cruise director about the format of each tour. Many tours involve a coach ride away from the ship and a coach return to the ship. If you do not take these tours, then you might be a long way from the main sites and even a long way from public transport. In Vienna, for example, the river cruise dock is about a 700m walk from the U-Bahn. It is often possible to bypass part of the tour and get yourself to the coach collection point, but make sure you let the guide know so that they are not surprised when you disappear from the party.
You will be happy you went on your own. I’ve been on four and learned not to go on Viking’s excursions. Churches and more churches. Not fun!
@@chriswilliams6568 thank you! Lol I don't have mobility issues. Just have short legs and am fat 😁. I'm built like a hobbit.
@@reginacruz2900 that's part of it for me. I want the Christmas stuff, not the church stuff. Lol I really just want to hit the Christmas markets and find cafes. Maybe the excursion for the German chocolate cake and the cuckoo clock. But that's about it. I'm happy to look at castles but don't feel the need to go exploring them.
River cruising is an excellent way to see the highlights of different areas if you’re not an experienced traveler. Once you realize traveling through Europe by train, plane or car is really not much more difficult than going from say Texas to NYC, it becomes less daunting. We do love the fact river cruising is at a much more relaxed pace and the smaller ships can be much easier to explore from.
I love your independent opinions (since you rarely take "paid for" cruises). You also have a great ability to discuss the potential downsides of a cruise while making it clear it may not be for you, but that some people might enjoy, say, having the cruise line handle everything for them.
I can see taking a river cruise initially just to get into overseas travel, like learning to ride a bike using training wheels.
Thanks for confirming what I’ve thought that river cruising not for me. I have two sisters in Europe so I can visit them and self-tour via Eurail.
I had no idea about having another ship in port to impede your view. I love shows so ocean cruises better for me. Plus I might not be able to keep up with early morning tours every day.
I have done three river tours with Tauck as a solo traveler. I will be doing my fourth in October. I have been pleasantly surprised at how welcoming people are to me. I have always had an opportunity to hang and dine with others if I choose. I also have time alone if I choose. Tauck has a solo program with no solo supplements on the lower level cabins but it takes planning in advance. Also tauck is truly all inclusive. No bill at the end of the trip. Includes all transfers drinks gratuities excursions and more. I really love the focus on destinations and the Danube was my favorite.
Will have to look into Tauck. Friends just did the Rhine with them and loved it.
Solo traveler/vacationer myself,am planning my first river cruise for may😀 is there one you’d recommend for solo travelers?
@tinahuttner7280 I am on a Tauck cruise on the Rhone right now, and we just started in Paris midweek. Like I said. This is my fourth Tauck tour. My favorite was called Blue Danube. This one is Savoring France.
A really good in-depth review and assessment of the pros and cons of rover cruising. I’ve done a couple as a single traveller - which incidentally I enjoyed - and had little problem mixing with others which may be down to the rive- tour operator that does attract a greater number of people who are single. One advantage I think river cruises has over ocean cruising is that in most cases you generally dock closer to the city centre you are visiting (walking ashore to get a coffee or just to meander is often much easier). But, I do agree ocean and river cruising are markedly different. Thanks for another top review! Ken
In light of what you said in the video, my spouse and I will pick River cruise in areas where safety is a major issue, like Egypt. In Europe, we enjoy going in on our own on land trips. We learn just enough vocabulary of the local language to get by and off we go.
I lived in Germany for a couple of years due to the military, plus I had visited London later on in life. My wife had never been to Europe, so I thought a river cruise would be a great way to introduce her to a lot of Europe in a relatively short amount of time. It was the right choice for us being in our very early 60's. We cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest, spending a couple of extra days in Amsterdam and it was completely stress free. I would like to do another river cruise in Europe, but I think I would like to do a more freestyle tour next. Nothing too planned. Just using car, trains and buses to get around with no real schedule.
Excellent video Gary, really highlights a lot of factors we may not always think about.😊👍
I absolutely love this channel! ♥️
Very helpful video Gary, I'd heard a lot of it at different times from different people - nice to get confirmation of some things.
Just got back from a Viking Rhine Getaway cruise and this list is spot on! Great advice and observations about the difference of river versus ocean especially. We loved ours, and after seeing the Nile footage in this one, I think that may be next 🙂
I recently booked a Danube cruise thru Gate 1. They have solo cabins which makes it much cheaper
My daughter and I did a Gate 1 Christmas Markets cruise last December and loved it. This November we have booked a 2-week river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam with Viking so it should be interesting to compare the two companies. If Gate 1 offered a 2-week River cruise, we would have booked with them again.
@joandobrijevic7572 sounds great. I am doing their 15 day trip starting in Berlin next May. I haven't seen Berlin since the wall came down. Really looking forward to it.
@@francesgill8621 enjoy. It will be amazing I’m sure, esp at that time of year when there will be lots of daylight hours!
I will definitely try a river cruise. I have a few destinations in mind. Your channel is the best for river cruise information.
Would love to go on a river cruise someday! Thank you for sharing Gary!
Excellent tips.. and i agree,river cruises is less stressful with more benefits.. I❤that
The Douro in Portugal is the least intense river cruise. Went on Emerald and never docked next to another ship. Very pleasant.
The Elbe is also very quiet.
I would add a further advantage of river cruising is that the ship is docked right in the city centre meaning it is just a short walk to Porto, Vienna, Budapest, Lyon etc whereas ocean cruises have you docked in ports that can be miles from anywhere. Personally I've enjoyed both and am looking forward to my Med Cruise on QE in October and a Nile cruise next May
Your voice is very calming and relaxing to listen to.. great job!
Totally agree! We found the Eastern European leg of the Danube, Bucharest to Budapest, an especially good way to see places we probably wouldn't otherwise go. (Bulgaria, Serbia)
Very good coverage of what it is like on a river cruise. You always present a balanced review in your videos. Especially liked your realistic coverage of what it is like solo on a river cruise. They can be very cliquey and if you are an introvert --head to the sun deck for solitude. I did that on the Nile cruise and the lounge is pretty empty early in morning and after 9pm. . I found the best thing is that you do dock in the centre of the cities/towns so you don't need to take a bus to go on excursions although there were a couple that were extra charge to go further afield for the day. (European cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest 15 days) Most days on our cruise the mornings were a group---back for lunch and then afternoon at leisure. On my Nile cruise I took a risk and went with a local cruise company and it was really good with an excellent guide and 14 people per group. I stayed extra nights in Luxor which was really a good thing to do and before my cruise of 3 nights 4 days I did an independent Cairo tour booked with a local company with private tour guide for 3 days with 2 days at leisure. Late October a good time to go to Egypt. I know you did an excellent video also on what I call the "secret" nobody from the company's want to talk about that and that is water levels and what happens when too high or too low. I was lucky to not have a very expensive river cruise turn into a bus tour . If the ship can't get under the bridge---bus tour. If the water levels too low---bus tour. Think packing up and changing ships over the spot not navigable. .
We have done four river cruises, all on Uniworld. Egypt in December 2019, Netherlands/France in September 2022, and Netherlands/Belgium in April 2023. There was no instance of multiple boats side by side. In one instance, there was a boat docked next to our boat. We were at the pier. I would certainly avoid rivers in the June-August timeframe. At our age, 81 and 80, we are done with large ships.
River cruises would be a nightmare for me in that I am an introvert that prefers to be anonymous and relax with my wine and my book. We are actually doing the Christmas Markets on our own, via land, in December. As 40 year olds the Christmas Market cruises seemed restrictive restrictive, and we prefer setting our own schedule, and moving about as we see fit. We thought about it, but I am an extreme introvert and I like more freedom of choice when it comes to dining. I love Ocean cruising but river cruising is not right for us in this season of our life. 🤷🏻♀️
Avid cruisers since the American restart we had a Bucket List trip back to Germany.
We chose a 15 day river cruise, Amsterdam to Budapest with a few days added at each end. ALL of it handlers by Avalon, Globus community.
We LOVED it since we cruise for relaxation. The river cruises added (included) different activity levels of exploration and some unique cultural offerings.
Our next River Cruise will be in the US, discovering some (for us) less reachable places.
Thank you for introducing us to this option to us on your well informative channel. ❤️✌️
Once again a really excellent overview that is fair and non-biased. I find your reviews educational even for us as experienced world travelers.
We loved our (western) Danube Cruise last summer, but returned to "ocean" this summer and we expect our next few to also be Ocean for one simple reason and that would be the itineraries available. Only a few rivers appeal to us having also already done a Rhine. We do hope/plan to do an eastern Danube and perhaps one or two American rivers, but overall there are many more sea ports that interest us.
Right now, I am loving meticulously planning my adventures in Europe to go visit my pals who live there. However, if I ever decide I'm tired of planning, I'm DEFINITELY booking a river cruise. The handholding aspect and city-packed itinerary sounds great to me, an anxious traveler who only speaks English.
Did a Viking River Cruise in Egypt, Nile, excellent trip.
We did a river cruise on the Mississippi. The passing scenery is amazing.
Sounds wonderful. Was it as organised as the tours shown in this video with tours every day and early starts ?
@@gilbydog7350 not every shore excursion was included. We did a lot of exploring on our own. But just watching the passing scenery was relaxing.
We have our first river cruise next summer from the swiss alps to Paris and we have Olympic tickets at the end.
Just back from a great trip - transatlantic cruise from NYC to London with stops in Ponta Delgada, A chance to tour Utah Beach memorial in Normandy and then a sprint through Paris. From Southampton we had some time to play in London. Flew to Prague to visit for 4 days, train to Budapest for another 3 days before boarding our river cruise back to Amsterdam. So good mixing independent travel and river travel.
We cruised both times on European river cruises, in October, and so saw very few other cruise ships. So it must depend on when one travels as to how many other ships one can see. This also meant that we only had to traverse one other ship, once, to reboard.
I found this super helpful, thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
So nuch liked this video river suggestion & highlights.
I've been considering a river cruise. Thanks for the insights.
I am not a cruiser, but I have sent links to your videos to my friends who are. They all say that you are spot on with your analysis. The only river cruise that I was on was when my buddy and I took an exclusive guided tour of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel. We had a 3 night cruise from Aswan to Luxor. This was right after the crackdown on the Arab Spring and folks weren't traveling to Egypt. We had the country and the river to ourselves. There were few cruise boats operating. Most were "wet docked" along the river. I think our ship had only 20 passengers. The tour was fantastic. We saw so much and we had the guides exclusively to ourselves. The price also included all air transportation within Egypt and between Egypt and Jordan. Two weeks. Fantastic time. Glad that I did it.
I did a Danube river cruise in April and it was fantastic. I loved it. The only downside was when another ship berthed next to us as I had a French and outside balcony. Booked another one straight away on the Rhone
All excellent points. We noticed the good and the bad on our 23 day Bucharest to Amsterdam cruise with Viking. There wasn’t quite enough freedom for our liking but we will still do Egypt and Mekong at some point in the future.
Great video. Very insightful for those who have never done River Cruising. What travel agents do you recommend for Cruising?
Thank you for the information on river cruises. Now I know that I just want to do the ocean cruises
After watching your videos, we are totally changing our plans for Egypt. Booking Marriot in Cairo and Hilton in Luxor. We will do days trips through the hotels. I need good sleep to survive.
Gary: We're going on a Viking River cruise this fall (Paris to Zurich).
This video pretty much sums up what you've been saying in your prior "river cruising" postings....the details are taking care of for you.
I personally prefer a curated, adult, organized, less-stressed adventure.
With that privilege, of course it's going to cost you.
In previous visits to Europe, I've learned one painful thing...BRING COMFORTABLE WALKING SHOES!!! (and don't be cheap about it!)
I have done that cruise - it was my favourite of the eight that I have done with Viking. The Zermatt and Geneva extension was the highlight for me and, I think, for most who took it. There is a wonderful contrast between the quieter Moselle and the busier Rhine.
Take comfortable walking shoes for definite - there is quite a bit of walking over terrain that isn't always that friendly.
Paris to Zurich is on my list for 2024. About six years ago, I did the Viking cruise from Lyon to Avignon with bookends in Paris and Nice. Loved it. I did get church/cathedral fatigue and wished that we had had more private time to explore each stop. The flip side is that Viking took care of everything and that was a relief. Enjoy your trip!!
We are also doing Paris to Zurich cruise on Viking but early December to see Christmas Markets (looking forward to the Lindt Chocolate factory tour). Have previously done the Danube on Avalon for Christmas Markets and loved it. You are absolutely right about good walking shoes (in our case boots). Tours are about 90 minutes and are a lot of walking. The plus about this is that we didn’t gain any weight despite eating all the fabulous food on board!
@@lvredgrl5201 I went past the Lindt factory on the Lake Zürich cruise but did not visit. However, those fellow travellers from my cruise who went on that excursion enjoyed it. I hope you have a great trip.
We went to the Rhine but it was a long time on board . We didn't go on the guided walks but on our own. Boring long in between. Not many wanted to talk to us while on board. Friends were together. Rhine in flames was a disappointment with only a few fireworks. Holland weekend was better diamond factory,camel evening cruise ,kocenoff gardens palace.
I LOVE river cruises. I’m a historian so I LOVE learning about the history and culture in places I wouldn’t normally go to. I went on my first one when I was in my twenties. I thought I’d be too young or bored. Nope, so many things to do and so many excursions, all I wanted to do when we got back was to eat and go to bed. The Elbe is my favourite
When I ocean cruise, a balcony is a must. On a river cruise, below the waterline window room is fine. You spend no waking time in your room and the stacking in ports eliminates any benefit of a full window or balcony room.
We're on a waiting list for a Seine river cruise in August-September, but there the excursions were not included, but an optional add-on - at a lower price than if you bought them later/individually. Maybe something to look for when ordering - look for river cruise companies that have it as a separate item, so those that don't want to walk around a lot can just spend their time on their own.
I took a land-based group tour to Egypt (which included a few days on a Nile cruise), and I loved it--and I'm a female solo traveler!!!
I live in Ruse, Bulgaria 🇧🇬 Thanks for sharing
I would hesitate to go on a European river cruise for the reasons you have raised. I would definitely go on a Nile cruise if I ever go to Egypt. If I did decide to do the Rhine cruise, I would only go on one if I could feel reasonably confident that the river would actually have water running through it while I was on the cruise. I have heard horror stories about rivers running so dry that the passengers must be moved along the river route by bus! Thank you for the video!
If you want to avoid rivers with lots of boats on them, take US/Canadian river cruises or Great Lakes cruises.
I have taken a Mississippi River cruise on the American Queen Steamboat. She is a true steamboat with a rear paddlewheel. You can visit the engine room if you can walk up & down 1 flight of stairs. She does have elevators to all the passenger decks. She even has a small pool for swimming.
She carries over 400 passengers. Buses used for shore excursions can accommodate wheelchair & walker users. In most ports buses make a circuit and you can chose which places you get off to see. It's also possible to walk from place to place as well. Most ports are small towns but some are small cities and some are large cities. It depends on the itinerary.
The ship also has several golf cart type vehicles which they use to transport less mobile passengers to the top of high levees.
She has a few accessible cabins and even more solo cabins (Both inside and outside.)
She has a large theater with nightly shows. There are smaller venues with 1, 2, or 3 entertainers through out the evening. There are also enrichment lectures in various venues.
These cruises are expensive but are totally worth saving up for.
There are quieter options in Europe, also. The Rhine and especially the Danube get extremely busy; Budapest, in particular, can feel rather swamped with all the river cruise ships. However, the Moselle and Elbe are much quieter in my experience; I also understand that the Main and Douro are quieter.
The access issues with European river cruises are primarily a function of where you are going than anything else. Many of the port stops are in large historic towns and cities, where the centres contain lots of cobbled streets and were not built with modern accessibility standards in mind. It is also the case that the ships have to be smaller than those on the Mississippi to fit under the bridges and through the locks; most carry just under 200 passengers, though the ships on some rivers are smaller still (Viking's Elbe ships carry less than 100 passengers). Dedicating large amounts of the available deck space to adapted cabins is pointless if the rest of the package is not accessible. The cruise lines could order accessible coaches, but these can only carry a single passenger in a wheelchair at a cost of typically four seats. The coaches can take walkers, scooters and wheelchairs in the lockers under the seating so long as the passenger takes equipment that is lightweight enough to lift easily.
There are also issues with ships rafting at the docks, as Gary points out in the video. If you are rafted with a ship of a different cruise line between you and the bank, you might have to go up and over the top, then down through the ship between the bank.
My feeling - based on personal experience of European river cruises as a mobility-impaired person - is that those who can walk 50 metres/yards slowly, can tackle some stairs, travel with folding mobility equipment and are prepared to show some flexibility when there are elements of a tour they cannot tackle will fare well. Anyone whose mobility is more restricted than that should probably avoid European river cruises.
In August & September 2015, I travelled by car in southern Germany, German Switzerland and Austria. My travel ended with 6 days in Vienna. One day, I had lunch in Viennese café. I engaged a discussion with two American women in table beside my table. They were on a Viking river cruise, with two days in Vienna. They had breakfast in the boat. They took a bus to bring them down town Vienna and they were returning to the boat for supper. Form there point of view, two days 09:00 to 17:00 was enough for a Vienna visit!
My six full days, were not enough for me. What these two women missed by returning to their boat for supper, is the Vienna night life and the typical restaurant ( restaurant where I was the only tourist).
If you travel plan is based on a bucket list (two days 9:00 to 17:00 is enough for Vienna), then riverboat cruise are for you!
Do the river cruise check your bags when you get to the boat
We love river boat cruising, but our last one just wore me out. Made us re-evaluate how we do cruising in the future.
Having now been on two river cruises, the shared dining was a daily low point that consistently drained the joy from each day’s excursion in a beautiful location. I wouldn’t mind the shared dining so much if it weren’t twice every day (shared breakfast was avoidable) and weren’t so loud and noisy. This year’s price increase for the drinks package seemed to have helped with the worst of the alcohol-fueled loudness but I am yet to have the “serene” on-board experience advertised.
I agree, shared dining twice a day sounds extremely draining.
Thank you for the overview. I have thought about taking a river cruise. Other than Vietnam, I think I will probaably stick with Road Scholar and their "small group" programs. I find arriving early or staying late gives me the chance to acclimate and setup a local tour.
Gate I has solo cabins on their Monarch river cruiseships. I'm doing a Danube cruise with them next May.
River cruising is still on my bucket list to determine if they're for me - I think I'm going to try a European cruise next summer at some point - time to bite the bullet!
I rarely hear Tauck mentioned but they regularly have no solo supplements for the cabins at the water line. We did a Christmas market cruise a few years ago & didn't care about the view because it was cold & we were rarely inside our cabin.
When I had a water line cabin once I hated the noise of all the plumbing in the ceiling, it kept me awake at night! Never again, top deck always for me now.
A river cruise in Cambodia and Vietnam would be great, also the Nile. I loved my Danube cruise-I did learn the boats were stacked up together and you had to walk through several boats to get to mine. I skipped some of the afternoon excursions - walked around Bratislava and Prague by myself, but I enjoyed our port talks and local entertainers who came on board. Rhine cruise is coming up on Viking in September, and Avalon through 8 countries in 19 days from Prague (including 2 nights hotel there) to Bucharest in 2024. Too many places, not enough money or time!
Yes too many places and not enough money! Where is that lottery win we all need :-) I like the sound of those trips you have lined up
It's time to change river cruising, whereby their ships dock longer at destinations, so that passengers can thoroughly enjoy and explore an area, without fear of sticking to a strict itinerary. Otherwise, a person sees more online than they do on a cruise. I'd prefer to visit half the destinations, whereby I actually get to see them, rather than just a glimpse at the major tourist attractions.
Right on the money! Thanks for this invaluable, honest summary of river cruising. I wonder how far the top end daily rates actually give you more than a mid or basic priced river cruise? Thanks, Gary.
I've found you very much get what you pay for. Better food, better wines, better guides on the tours, cleaner ship, etc.
Thanks!
I loved river cruising. I don’t think I can look at cruises the same way after doing one.
Thanks as always Gary. We are never doing a river cruise and you solidified that. Thank you sir!
Your thoughts on river cruises are spot on. We find the river trips are a LOT more "work". While I like river trips, I love ocean; the best being transatlantic in a Jr. suite on a small ship.
Think so much for yours informations
Vers, vers intéressant
I think Ama is closer to Oceania in quality so the cost per night would be closer
Thanks for your great videos
We have taken 3 Christmas Market river cruises and 2 ocean cruises. The river cruises are fun! Everyone is friendly and I like meeting different people over dinner. I found on the ocean cruises we never met the same people twice, and everyone else seemed to be in family or friends' groups which we could never be part of. And I hated the sea days - I am not sporty and until the team trivia happened there was not a lot for me to do. There are no sea days on the river! We had plenty of free time to go round the Christmas markets ourselves, and to go to lovely museums - eg the glass museum in Passau and the MAK in Vienna, as well as enjoying group tours to Prague castle, Melk abbey, and Heidelberg castle. You are taken to a different place each day, and don't have to drive, hooray! I accept that river cruises are not for young families, but I am not that, so much prefer them.
What line did you use for the Christmas Market cruises?
@@MissNCGirl We used Avalon - very good, Amadeus - ok, but they insisted on choosing our dinner companions in a fixed table - not so good, and Tauck - really excellent. I would be happy to use Avalon and Tauck again, and am considering Amawaterways, Scenic and Uniworld. The only reason I don't include Viking - though I would try their ocean cruises. and also they are the only line to do a Seine Christmas Market cruise, which I would also try, is that 190 people on the Rhine / Danube on a ship the same size as Tauck's 140 people is too crowded!
@@hilaryleighter2313 Finding the right cruise line for you is vital. Personally, I don't find the Viking Longships to be crowded - the ships do not give any space over to a second restaurant, there are no onboard fitness facilities, the bar is in the lounge and there is plenty of space on the sun deck (not that this is much use for a Christmas Markets cruise, however!). I find the cabins are big enough and the public areas don't feel too crowded, though I typically do not cruise at Christmas and I have a balcony cabin, so if the weather is good enough to sit outside then there is always the sun deck or my private balcony. However, if you are someone who always wants to eat at a table for two (which is only possible on the small number of tables in the Aquavit Terrace), who wants fitness facilities or who wants spacious public areas, then you are going to hate Viking's river ships.
Will you ever report on an American river cruise?
However, if you do not want to be on the tightly controlled excursions, you can certainly choose to go off on your own if there are things you want to see.
I'd be curious on your opinion of bike/barge trips...
Emma Cruises has made some videos on bike/barge in the last 18 months.
Thank you. Are there any issues with pirates and security when the ships are parked so close together? It looks like someone could jump from boat to boat!
My experience with Viking is that the ship's staff take careful notice of who is getting on and off the ship. If they are concerned about unauthorised people accessing the boat, then they can lock the door and require people to use their key card to get onto the ship.
When rafted with other ships, it works much more on an honour system. I have never known any issues with people from other ships - generally speaking, people just want to get to their own ship. As always, you should take security precautions similar to those you would take in a hotel.
One of the disadvantages of a river cruise is that I view the cruise ship itself as part of my destination. So since a river cruise boat has very limited activities and food, I only go on river cruise to ports where there is no ocean cruise alternative.
We were scheduled to go on a river cruise of the douro in portugal, but the company vantage travel declared bankruptcy and then defrauded customers by keeping their money. I have done four river cruises and I am very disheartened at their dishonesty. My next river cruise is going to be with a m a waterways. We love river cruises.
Investigating our first river cruise and favor Avalon, but am a bit concerned at the gratuity charge at the end that sounds like a balloon mortgage. Is a travel agent able to navigate this, so that we are able to truly assess the cost of a cruise? Thany you. Your videos are helpful.
I would like to experience a river cruise where the excursions are a la carte and not all inclusive . We have done one river cruise on Viking and it was wonderful but somewhat exhausting since there was an excursion every day. You felt you had to go go go every day in order to get your money’s worth. Ideally a cruise for us would be one where you had excursions offered but you paid only if you took them. The wife has some mobility issues and we prefer to sightsee from the ship unless there is an excursion that piques our interest. If anyone has suggestions, please let us know.
Many of the river cruise lines are all-inclusive. Viking's main competitors (Avalon, AmaWaterways, Emerald, Tauck, and Uniworld) all bundle excursions into your fare.
Emma Cruises has cruised the European Rivers with TUI, who run budget-orientated river cruises. TUI charge for all excursions, but normally give you a certain amount of excursion credit as part of your fare.
Croisi Europe allows you to book excursions "a la carte" or as a package.
These two lines are at the cheaper end of the market - I would not expect Viking standards of comfort and catering. Another option, which I know less about, is A-ROSA - they also do not appear to bundle excursions.
I can’r see doing a Rhine cruise. You spend at most 2 days in the interesting part
It depends what you mean by "the interesting part". If you are talking about the most scenic section of the river, the middle Rhine between Rüdesheim and Koblenz is cruised in 3-4 hours. However, there is plenty of interest in the typical port shops in my opinion - Amsterdam, Cologne, Koblenz and Strasbourg are all interesting cities and feature on almost all Rhine cruises.
If you find folks that are compatible to eat with, River cruising can be the best of all choices. It’s a little like Vegas, roll the dice and you win or lose.
Gary, what is the alternative to river cruising? It doesn't sound like much fun, especially if you have traveled internatinally before. It sounds like a very glamorous bus tour with meals and a bed. I can see going on a Nile cruise for the very reasons you mentioned.
I think your characterisation of river cruising is accurate - it is rather like a bus tour, though at least your hotel moves with you rather than you having to move to new accommodation every night, also it is more luxurious and normally full-board (on Viking, you get three included meals a day unless you have a hotel stay, which will be bed and breakfast only). If the itinerary suits you, then the river cruise can be an excellent option, but if you want flexibility then it going to be an expensive exercise in frustration because the ship's movements are planned around the included programme. In particular, the ship can leave the dock after passengers have departed on an excursion, then stop later to rendezvous with the excursion coaches - in this scenario, you either stay on board or take the excursion; you cannot stay in the port and return to the ship at your leisure unless you are prepared to pay for a very expensive taxi ride or take a train to catch the ship up in the next port.
The alternatives would be to book a European city break (probably more for those of us who live a short-haul flight away than if you are flying long-haul) or to put your own package together. Getting around in Western Europe is easy by rail and there are also long-distance bus options (though these are usually much slower and don't save that much). Booking your own hotels and rail tickets allows you to create a holiday that is bespoke for your requirements. The drawbacks are that you have to do the planning, also you will likely not fit as much in as on a river cruise.
To give an example of the benefits of a DIY approach, there was an all-day excursion to Salzburg on a recent Viking river cruise I took, which was far from cheap. However, as the excursion went from Passau, those who went spent more time on a coach getting to and from Salzburg than they did in Salzburg, also they missed out on Passau entirely (which was, in my opinion, the best day of the included programme). If I wanted to see Salzburg, I would either visit on a DIY break or before/after a river cruise, rather than taking an expensive day excursion to see very little.
for example is it better to go by River cruise Elbe or Bus Coach or Train to Hamburg Dresden Prague; Danube or Bus Vienna Budapest; Main Cologne Würzburg Nürnberg; Rhône Saone Lyon Arles Avignon Nîmes; Rhine Amsterdam Hague Basel Bern ; Land only Leipzig Madrid Milano Florence Rome Paris ; Guadalquivir Cordoba Granada Sevilla or bus?
A river cruise itinerary is a good way of seeing a lot, but only if the itinerary fits your needs. However, if you want to keep departing from the included programme, the river cruise will likely be an expensive exercise in frustration. A river cruise is rather similar to a bus tour, only more luxurious and your hotel keeps moving with you rather than you checking into new accommodation at every stop.
A particular port might be listed in the itinerary for a particular day, but that doesn't mean the ship stays there all day. One example is found on Viking's Romantic Danube if you start in Budapest. Day 2 (the first full day) is listed as Budapest, but once those taking the excursions have got off the ship, the ship departs towards Vienna, making a brief stop (typically but not always in Visegrad; as this is regarded as a 'technical stop' rather than a published one, the arrangements can change at short notice depending on the decisions of the captain and cruise director based on timing and river conditions) to allow those taking the included tour to board the ship. This means that you either have to take a Viking-arranged tour or stay on board; you cannot visit Budapest under your own arrangements that morning unless you are prepared to take a very expensive taxi back to the ship at the technical stop or get the train to Vienna to reboard the ship when it arrives the following morning.
With Viking and many of its river cruise competitors, your fare includes tours in every port. If you are happy to take most of those tours then the value is perhaps there - but if not, you will be paying a lot for optional tours or your own arrangements on top of the cruise fare.
My most recent cruise was Viking's Elegant Elbe from Prague to Berlin. This is amongst the river cruises that have included hotel stays at either end: two nights in Prague at the beginning and two nights in Berlin at the end (which we arranged to extend to a four-night stay in Berlin through Viking at extra cost). In outline, this worked out as:
Day 1: arrive, transfer from the airport to check into Prague hotel.
Day 2: included morning and early afternoon tour of Prague - or own arrangements if you wished.
Day 3: mid-morning transfer to the ship at Decin; arriving late afternoon - this was a pure transfer with no stops on the way.
Day 4: the ship sails for Bad Schandau in the morning, an included tour of The Bastei, then a scenic cruise in the afternoon through Saxon Switzerland towards Dresden, arriving in Dresden in the late afternoon.
Day 5: Dresden - included tour in the morning, the ship sails for Meissen in the late evening.
Day 6: Meissen - an included tour of the pottery in the morning, then the ship sets sail in the afternoon for Torgau. There is an included evening tour in Torgau, where the ship is docked overnight.
Day 7: Wittenberg - the ship sails early in the morning, arriving in Wittenberg for what I recall as an afternoon tour.
Day 8: leave the ship after breakfast for a compulsory excursion to Potsdam (as it acts as the transfer to Berlin). You make a lunch stop, then visit two of the Potsdam palaces before entering Berlin over the Bridge of Spies to check in at the Berlin hotel.
Day 9: Berlin - there is an included tour of Berlin, otherwise your own arrangements.
Day 10: unless you are extending, check out of the Berlin hotel and transfer to Berlin airport for your flight home.
I haven't attempted to cover the optional excursions. There is more night-time cruising on other itineraries - especially the Danube and the Rhine - to maximise the time spent in port during the day; this Elbe cruise travels a relatively short length of the river. However, I hope this example underlines that your freedom to make your own arrangements on the cruise part of the itinerary is fairly limited. On this itinerary, there was the evening of Day 4 and the afternoon/early evening of Day 5 in Dresden for your own arrangements, also the possibility of lingering a little in Wittenberg on Day 7 (though if you weren't careful, you'd land up paying for a taxi back to the ship, as the dock is not in the city centre).
I loved Elegant Elbe - I hadn't been to any of the places before, so I was ready to embrace the included itinerary and felt it gave me a good flavour of the places I visited, albeit briefly. There was more flexibility in Prague and Berlin; we chose to drop Viking's included tour in Prague and make our own arrangements there as we felt (correctly, as it turned out) that Viking's included tour was too demanding for us. We were not bothered by Viking's optional tours during our Berlin extension - instead, we visited the Reichstag and took a cruise of the Spree and the canals.
Question: so pricing is always listed assuming two persons - so a 9 day European river cruise advertised as $4900 is $4900 per person, a couple sharing a room pays $9800?
Much bigger fan of European river cruises as ocean cruises are drinking-centric, built almost exclusively around booze-fueled activities (I've ocean cruised primarily on Celebrity and higher-end lines), and as a non-drinker, those activities are of little interest. I also get to spend infinitely more time in more of the local communities we are visiting as we spend much more time in port. They are also MUCH quieter than the big ocean ships. I also LOVE that my river cruises ALWAYS have a dining table for just my wife and I (none of that sharing of tables like on the ocean cruises - HATE that). They also always have at least two dining areas (we river cruise mostly on Avalon). No real interest in ocean cruising anymore. River cruising is our jam to see the sites in Europe.
Your comments about dining tables for two and multiple dining areas are specific to the cruise line(s) that you have chosen. The restaurant on a typical Viking river cruise ship is all tables of six and above. You do have the option to go and eat in the terrace area, where there are tables for two, but this is subject to available capacity and certain elements of the meals are not available in the terrace.
This is a very good overview...I don't think river cruising would be good fit for me at all! Much too inflexible, and I also wouldn't like being crammed up against other barges. Even though you are on the water, it really looks like a totally different experience from being on the ocean all around.
Question - do you have muster drills on river cruises? If so, is it done via app or in person? Specifically on Viking River Cruises. Also since you are traveling close to land, is it not necessary to put your phone in airplane mode?
Viking river cruise muster drills are mandatory and in person. It does not take long at all, because the ship is compact and there are relatively few passengers - usually, the whole thing is over in 20 minutes.
You have to watch a short safety video when you first get on the ship. The muster drill is the usual format - wait for the long beep of the general alarm (people have been grumbled at for leaving their cabins before the long beep!), leave your cabin with your lifejacket on, then check in at your muster station on the sun deck. If the weather is not good then you are sometimes redirected to an equivalent location in the lounge (the muster stations are all above the lounge).
It is up to you whether you want to set your phone to airplane mode. You can use the mobile networks whenever there is coverage for a network you can roam onto, which is a fair proportion of the time, especially if you are by the windows. However, you should decide whether or not to leave roaming enabled depending on the cost of roaming. My British mobile contract allows me to roam free of charge for a holiday; the only thing is that my data is limited to 25GB per billing month whereas it is unlimited in the UK. One thing to be aware of is that you might cruise in locations where one bank is in one country and one bank is in another country, which can run up a hefty bill if you leave your phone in automatic network selection. This is a particular issue on the eastern Danube when you are near or in Serbia; unlike the surrounding countries, Serbia is not in the EU so tends to attract premium roaming prices. When I was there, I could roam in Serbia cheaply, but the cruise director recommended that people turned roaming off when we were near Serbia just in case.
Viking river Wi-Fi up to early 2023 uses a very slow satellite service, though they are supposed to be equipping the fleet with Starlink terminals (I was told that the ship I was on back in April had some of the Starlink equipment on board but there was no date to complete the installation and make it available to passengers). The Wi-Fi is included, but it is no good for more than a bit of e-mail and instant messenger in my experience - even mostly text-based web browsing such as checking the news can be a challenge. The non-Starlink Wi-Fi is certainly not usable for any sort of audio or video streaming. I wait until I have mobile coverage for any calls or heavy data use. Viking's river Wi-Fi is limited to one device per passenger.
@@DavidWood2 Thanks for such a detailed answer.
Ganges Irrawaddy India Burma; Amazon? Compare resorts and ocean cruising; bus train tours vs river cruising
I've been on 6 river cruises with 5 different companies and every single ship had some suites and a wider variety of cabins than Gary claims. Even the Viking ships Gary was on have suites. So I think Gary's statements about the cabins are a mis-representation. Admittedly there aren't many suites on each ship, but they do exist.
hi can you bring Portable Blender, Blender for Shakes and Smoothies, 20 Oz Rechargeable USB Personal Blender, Mini Blender with 6 Blades to a cruise i have seen many videos of dos and don.t but have not seen about this product, pls help
You talk of price. The Mediterranean cruise may be less per day, but when you add the extras like tips, drinks and excursions will probably be more expensive
How has low water levels along major European rivers affected the river cruising industry?
Doesn't Viking give you the afternoon on your own?
Generally, you get part of the day where there are few scheduled activities, but it is not necessarily the afternoon. For example, if you do Rhine Getaway heading upstream (Amsterdam to Basel), then most of the excursions are in the morning. If you do Rhine Getaway heading downstream (Basel to Amsterdam), then most of the excursions are in the afternoon.
You do not always get free time in the ports - often the ship cruises onwards once the excursions have returned. Indeed, sometimes the ship cruises onward once the excursions have left and docks later in the day to allow those who were on the excursion to get back on the ship.
I have been on 4 river cruises in Europe. Unless you just do their excursions, it’s not any different than ocean for safety, etc. We found Viking excursions rather boring and exhausting at the same time.
I have been on 15 river boat cruises and my wife 22 all on Viking and 95% of them have been awesome. People all ways ask which was the best and i always say all but one. On that one the river was low and we had a shitty cruise director. The crew is what makes your cruise good or bad especially the cruise director. Viking is great when you can find the specials. I checked on other cruise lines but they are way too much money for the same cruise. Viking has dibs on all the best docks on these rivers this i know. the tour guides can make or break ones day and Viking all ways pays for the best.
❤️🇨🇦☀️🌺
Loire river cruising?
They exist - Croisi Europe is one operator on the Loire.
This just doesn’t sound fun.
I’ll stick to aft balconies on the ocean !
I would never take kids on a river cruise and Viking doesn't even allow them.