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Trying to decide whether to book Crystal River Cruise Budapest to Vienna


Chloesmom1
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We have only been on a couple ocean cruises and have never done a river cruise but in looking at options for my 50th birthday next year I've become very intrigued with river cruises. We've been to Europe a couple times but have done it on our own and have never been to Austria, Germany, or Hungary, though Budapest has always been on my list of places I would love to go.

 

Anyhow, we would book a standard cabin since we hope to not be in our cabin much and that way we can use the money we would spend on the cabin to extend the trip and explore more of the city. The cruise we are looking at is in April on the Mozart. We have considered a Christmas Market cruise but while the markets look beautiful, we aren't big shoppers and think we'd be more likely to be able to bike and or hike in April than late November. The cruise in November would be on the Mahler.

 

Thoughts? Most of the reviews and other information I've found make it sound like the facilities and food are very good. Will we miss out on things that we may experience if we choose Uniworld instead? Or some other line? Also, I know we can't mention travel agents or companies, but is it better to book through an agent vs doing it ourselves?

 

Any feedback or insights would be greatly appreciated as we are pretty clueless when it comes to cruises in general and especially river cruises.

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We have only been on a couple ocean cruises and have never done a river cruise but in looking at options for my 50th birthday next year I've become very intrigued with river cruises. We've been to Europe a couple times but have done it on our own and have never been to Austria, Germany, or Hungary, though Budapest has always been on my list of places I would love to go.

 

Anyhow, we would book a standard cabin since we hope to not be in our cabin much and that way we can use the money we would spend on the cabin to extend the trip and explore more of the city. The cruise we are looking at is in April on the Mozart. We have considered a Christmas Market cruise but while the markets look beautiful, we aren't big shoppers and think we'd be more likely to be able to bike and or hike in April than late November. The cruise in November would be on the Mahler.

 

Thoughts? Most of the reviews and other information I've found make it sound like the facilities and food are very good. Will we miss out on things that we may experience if we choose Uniworld instead? Or some other line? Also, I know we can't mention travel agents or companies, but is it better to book through an agent vs doing it ourselves?

 

Any feedback or insights would be greatly appreciated as we are pretty clueless when it comes to cruises in general and especially river cruises.

 

I'm a Crystal fan (over 30 cruises) and have been on the Mozart twice. It is everything one comes to expect from Crystal and more. Because there are so few people on the boat, the food is even better than the ocean ships. The Mozart has been refurbished to the highest quality. The crew is outstanding. I have a back to back booked for next year on the Bach - Amsterdam to Basel and Basel back to Amsterdam. The boat is smaller and narrower so that it "fits" through the locks on the Rhine. I'm sure it will feel a little different than the Mozart, but I am expecting another fabulous Crystal experience.

 

I always book through a travel agent. Always get on board credit from my agent. Although just about everything is included on the river cruises, you can find ways to use the OBC. There are a few excursions with extra charges, I had a wonderful massage and there are top quality wines that come with an extra charge.

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Texas Tillie,

 

Thank you so much!! I think we're going to do it. I sent a "friend request" so I can hopefully ask you a couple other questions if you don't mind. Though I'm not sure if this site works like TA where you can message people.

 

Again, thanks!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Stephanie

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Texas Tillie,

 

Thank you so much!! I think we're going to do it. I sent a "friend request" so I can hopefully ask you a couple other questions if you don't mind. Though I'm not sure if this site works like TA where you can message people.

 

Again, thanks!! I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Stephanie

 

Don't think this site has "friends", at least I'm not aware and have been around here for about 9 years!! Ask away here as there might be others with similar questions.

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We did a Crystal Mahler river cruise last fall and thoroughly enjoyed it. In fact, we were overwhelmed by the service, the food, the excursions and the boat itself. I highly recommend the Mahler. Make sure you get the regular cabin and not the "petite suite," which is too small for comfort. The regular suite is perfect with a king bed, a walk-in closet, a gorgeous bathroom with over-sized shower, and a useful panoramic window-balcony.

 

Here is my review: https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=595670

Edited by skybluewaters
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We have only been on a couple ocean cruises and have never done a river cruise but in looking at options for my 50th birthday next year I've become very intrigued with river cruises. We've been to Europe a couple times but have done it on our own and have never been to Austria, Germany, or Hungary, though Budapest has always been on my list of places I would love to go.

 

Anyhow, we would book a standard cabin since we hope to not be in our cabin much and that way we can use the money we would spend on the cabin to extend the trip and explore more of the city. The cruise we are looking at is in April on the Mozart. We have considered a Christmas Market cruise but while the markets look beautiful, we aren't big shoppers and think we'd be more likely to be able to bike and or hike in April than late November. The cruise in November would be on the Mahler.

 

Thoughts? Most of the reviews and other information I've found make it sound like the facilities and food are very good. Will we miss out on things that we may experience if we choose Uniworld instead? Or some other line? Also, I know we can't mention travel agents or companies, but is it better to book through an agent vs doing it ourselves?

 

Any feedback or insights would be greatly appreciated as we are pretty clueless when it comes to cruises in general and especially river cruises.

 

We are booked on Budapest to Vienna cruise on Mozart departing Budapest on April 13. Also, I am turning 50 soon after this cruise. We have been on a few Crystal cruises, mainly on Crystal Symphony and Serenity, and one cruise last year on Crystal Esprit. I'm hoping that the onboard quality will be as good as what we experienced on Crystal Esprit, or perhaps better (???).

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We are doing Crystal Debussy Rhine....we are totally ready for the all inclusive....We finally are doing them on ocean cruises, and after a couple of Viking, going to try Crystal. Pretty sure the product will be great...Viking is wonderful, but wondering when they are going to go all inclusive....You will love Budapest and Vienna....ENJOY!!

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We have only been on a couple ocean cruises and have never done a river cruise but in looking at options for my 50th birthday next year I've become very intrigued with river cruises. We've been to Europe a couple times but have done it on our own and have never been to Austria, Germany, or Hungary, though Budapest has always been on my list of places I would love to go.

 

Anyhow, we would book a standard cabin since we hope to not be in our cabin much and that way we can use the money we would spend on the cabin to extend the trip and explore more of the city. The cruise we are looking at is in April on the Mozart. We have considered a Christmas Market cruise but while the markets look beautiful, we aren't big shoppers and think we'd be more likely to be able to bike and or hike in April than late November. The cruise in November would be on the Mahler.

 

Thoughts? Most of the reviews and other information I've found make it sound like the facilities and food are very good. Will we miss out on things that we may experience if we choose Uniworld instead? Or some other line? Also, I know we can't mention travel agents or companies, but is it better to book through an agent vs doing it ourselves?

 

Any feedback or insights would be greatly appreciated as we are pretty clueless when it comes to cruises in general and especially river cruises.

 

If Budapest is a must see place on your wish list on this river cruise you are currently contemplating, suggest you start the cruise from Budapest instead of Vienna because with river cruising there's no guarantee you'll arrive at the final port since the voyage is highly dependent on river traffic, water level and lock delays. Our last Crystal river cruise was supposed to arrive Frankfurt but due to lock problems on the French side and congested river traffic, we missed several ports including the last disembarkation port, Frankfurt. Crystal had to make last minute arrangements to bus all the passengers to Frankfurt airport as well as picking up passengers at Frankfurt airport to bus them to the boat docked in another town.

 

If you want to be pampered, Crystal river cruising is doing an excellent job since staff treats you truly like VIPs. Their free included excursions were top notch, much better than the free ones offered on Viking river cruises. However, we feel the food or meals on the Crystal river boat was decent but nothing to write home about. Nothing really stood out. Sure the food ingredients used were excellent but the cooking was just OK. Crystal offers buffets for morning and lunch and menu service for dinner. For us we got tired of their breakfast and lunch buffets after just 3 days since there was hardly any variations. In fact we feel the Viking river boats provide better food. Naturally food preference is highly subjective. Crystal river boats do provide an optional dining at Michelin star restaurants at most ports as well as their own Vintage Room wine dinner. We never participated at any of the Michelin star restaurants mainly because we don't want to dress up with suits, ties, jackets, formal dresses, .... whereas Crystal Vintage room dining is quite informal. Hope this is helpful. Good luck.

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Thank you again for all of your comments. I spent the last couple weeks pouring over reviews and blogs and travel sites and we booked the Crystal cruise from Budapest to Vienna. YYW, thank you so much for reminding me about the potential itinerary issues; we start in Budapest so even if something goes terribly wrong we'll fly into that airport and see it before the cruise. Psoque, we'll be on the same sailing and I look forward to meeting you!!

 

I've read everything Crystal I can find, but if you happen to have any advice on how to prepare or other Crystal specifics, please let me know!

Stephanie

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Thank you again for all of your comments. I spent the last couple weeks pouring over reviews and blogs and travel sites and we booked the Crystal cruise from Budapest to Vienna. YYW, thank you so much for reminding me about the potential itinerary issues; we start in Budapest so even if something goes terribly wrong we'll fly into that airport and see it before the cruise. Psoque, we'll be on the same sailing and I look forward to meeting you!!

 

I've read everything Crystal I can find, but if you happen to have any advice on how to prepare or other Crystal specifics, please let me know!

Stephanie

 

Stephanie, if you are a biker, you'll enjoy Crystal's "eBikes" which are provided free at each port and very well organized with a tour guide up front and a Crystal rep behind the pack. Communication is by the wireless headset. Naturally there are a number of excursion selections to choose from. Since you have been to Europe, you already know this since many streets are paved with these old cobble stones which make walking quite challenging so be sure to wear very comfortable walking shoes.

 

Crystal passengers on river cruises tend to be a bit more dressy in the evening than other river cruiselines. We've found a good 30+% are dressed up like going to a country club but less dressy than formal nights on an ocean ship. In the day time, you can wear just about anything but in the evening, Crystal recommends long pants, collared shirts, ... to dine in their main dining room. If you don't want to dress up, you can always eat in their casual Bistro.

 

Since Crystal river cruises are inclusive of everything and since there's no gift shop on board, it's difficult to spend extra money on board especially if you have OBC (on board credit) from either Crystal or your travel agent. Yes, you can always pay extra for say a higher end wine that can range from a few hundred Euros to a few thousand. We use our OBC by signing up Crystal's Vintage room wine dinner pairing. If interested in this special wine dinner, you need to let the restaurant manager or sommelier know in advance since the minimum required is 8 up to 12 max. The food and wine pairing were excellent. Typically once a date has been set with the minimum required met, the chef will likely procure the required ingredients from the upcoming port, essentially farm to table fresh.

 

If I think of something else, I'll post it here.

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YWW,

Thank you so much for all of the tips. I really appreciate it! I have been reading about the ebikes and am really interested in going on at least one of those excursions. If you think of any other hints or tidbits of information I would love to hear them. Again, thanks, and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Stephanie

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  • 2 weeks later...
YWW,

Thank you so much for all of the tips. I really appreciate it! I have been reading about the ebikes and am really interested in going on at least one of those excursions. If you think of any other hints or tidbits of information I would love to hear them. Again, thanks, and I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Stephanie

 

Stephanie, hope you were able to take advantage of Crystal's "Book Now Savings" on selected sailings for 2018 and 2019 for your booked river cruise.

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