JetMech

Stejan, I have a product that may be useful on narrowboats so I'm thinking about a trip to the UK this summer to meet with a few manufacturers. Maybe we could meet up and discuss possible cruises.

John,

We're thinking of sticking with a mainline this year. I think we may go to London this summer for a long weekend and look into narrowboat companies for a future trip, maybe do a day trip or overnight on a narrowboat to get a feel for it.

Stejan,

Thanks for all the great ideas. We enjoy doing our own thing aside from the cruise line offerings. Some of our best trips have been when fellow cruise critic members got involved on the roll calls and put together trips for small groups. Maybe we could get together with others on CC and get something going. I'm hoping to retire this year and want to do several trips exploring Europe.

Thanks,

Robert

Insidecabin thanks for the info. I'll be doing some research. Maybe I'll find someone familiar with canals and narrowboats that wants to learn about houseboating in the US and we can exchange suggestions ;)

Fliss59, Thanks for the Baltic suggestion. Just starting our research into the area and knowing what others suggest is quite helpful.

Stejan, I appreciate your comments. The idea of a mainstream cruise and hitting many different ports is a good idea. We did that a lot in the Caribbean and went back later to several of the countries for an extended stay. Maybe you could share some of your suggested ports in the Baltic too.

InsideCabin, I like your idea of openjaw trips. We've done that before and you get a chance to see another destination. Also sometimes if it is a repositioning cruise you get better pricing or upgrades. I hadn't considered a flotilla but that would be amazing. Especially if joined by another couple or two.

John Watson, Thank you for your words on canal cruising. That is something I would enjoy doing but I would really like to do it with someone familiar with the country and or narrowboats and the canal system. Maybe after a mainstream cruise we can venture into the canals of the UK. I would want a narrowboat with accomodations aboard rather than staying in hotels. I'm sure we could navigate the canals ourselves but with others would make the trip more enjoyable. Also is there times of the year to avoid, either due to bad weather or overcrowding?

Thanks everyone and happy cruising.

Still open to suggestions from others

CallyUK,

I appreciate your reply to my questions. Understandably the choices are very diverse. The longboat would be very similar to our houseboating adventures although I've never had to negotiate locks on Lake Powell.

The longboat would be very fun if we were to have maybe one or two other couples with us who have either done the longboat tours before or know the area. We really enjoy when friends join us on our houseboat for a week on the lake. Cooking and touring together brings the friendship closer (hopefully) :D.

The river cruises would be a totally new experience for us and not sure what to expect in that case. The ads do seem to be very luxurious and similar to a high end cruise line. The ports or destinations would likely be more low key and intimate than the mega cruise ships.

Mega cruise ships are the other thing we know and a cruise on one of these would be something we are very familiar with aside from the ports and cultures.

We're just looking to hear from others about their experiences and maybe recommendations for routes or itineraries.

Have a great day,

Robert

We're considering a trip to Europe and looking for others thoughts. We have cruised in the Caribbean and Alaska before. Also we Houseboat on Lake Powell in the US quite a bit so we're accustomed to handling big boats by ourselves.

The three options we are considering since we have never toured in Europe are the following:

1. A cruise on a large ship through the Mediterranean, Italy, Greece etc...

2. Take a canal cruise on Viking or a similar company

3. Rent a longboat and tour the canals of the UK or France with a couple of other couples.

We are pretty independent travellers and enjoy doing things that the locals enjoy. That said we do enjoy doing some of the excursions that the cruise lines offer when it involves some adventure.

I know each choice is very unique in what it offers but I'm interested in what others have experienced especially if you have done more than one option above. Please share any companies or destinations that you feel would be the highlight of our trip.

TIA,

Robert