Any river cruise line that would suit us?

I would love to try a river cruise, probably the Danube or Rhine.

However, our preference on ocean cruises is to eat dinner in the buffet, where we have a good choice of food, tables for two and less formality.

Are there any river cruise lines where we will not have to sit at bigger tables, and enjoy more relaxed dining?

Many thanks in advance!

We sailed on Crystal Debussy and found it to be casual in ambiance. Breakfast and lunch were buffets and dinner was from a menu. Seating was by any seats that you needed, so there is no problem if it is just you two. Food, btw, was excellent. There are no formal nights.

There are quite a few river boats out there and I think that many look like the same from a distance. Look on the boards fo rother info.

Have you cruised on the ocean before? If so, that would be a guide for advice

Based on your preferences you will not like AmaWaterways. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, but there are no tables for two, except for some booths which are actually designed for four. Also, you could do "light lunch" in the lounge, and sit alone there. Same food.

Dinner is open seating. Tables for four and six.

Hi, :) there are is a thread at the top of the forum that gives you some good details on different River Lines.

As for sitting by yourselves, that shouldn't be a problem. And river cruising in general is quite casual. Most people are off the boat during the day. So that is dress for comfort. Evenings are normally casual as well. Some lines are all inclusive, some not. The thread I mentioned earlier can give you more information.

Based on your preferences you will not like AmaWaterways. Breakfast and lunch are buffets, but there are no tables for two, except for some booths which are actually designed for four. Also, you could do "light lunch" in the lounge, and sit alone there. Same food.

 

Dinner is open seating. Tables for four and six.

Hi, you can order breakfast and lunch off the menu as well (at least you could on my AMA sailing).

And I also noticed the type of booth where 2 people can sit by themselves......you know a chair one side and

booth on the other (like a baguette). They could sit there without having other folks with them.

Been on the Crystal Mozart a couple of times. Many tables for two. It’s open dining so just wander on any time you wish and let the maitre d’ know you are after a table for two. You can chat with people at the table next or not. There are tables for two against a wall on one side and the walkway on the other side so you can completely avoid anyone else if you wish. No one is ever asked to share a table ever. You also have a choice of Blue, the Bistro or the Main Dining Room (called The Waterside). For dinner it’s The Waterside and many new nights, the Bistro is transformed into a contemporary style tapas restaurant. No sharing at the other dinning venues as well. It may be a bit pricey but all spirits are included all day if you wish. And all the speciality coffee and teas all day long. Some excursions are complementary and there are four coaches that follow the boat equipped with toilets and WiFi on the coaches.

Crystal is essentially an ocean cruise line that has brought the values and service on a luxury cruise line to the river. The Mozart is a double width boat so it feels closer to an ocean cruise ship. Warning, cabin sizes are still river boats size not ocean ship size.

That is so helpful, everyone. I shall check out the offerings, as it looks as if I could persuade my husband that we would have a good time.

We have done quite a few ocean cruises, but have stuck to cruise lines that offer flexible dining options. My husband does not do ‘formal’, although I am quite happy to put on my best frocks! We are more active tourists, and don’t do sunbathing holidays, so river cruises sound quite tempting.

That is so helpful, everyone. I shall check out the offerings, as it looks as if I could persuade my husband that we would have a good time.

We have done quite a few ocean cruises, but have stuck to cruise lines that offer flexible dining options. My husband does not do ‘formal’, although I am quite happy to put on my best frocks! We are more active tourists, and don’t do sunbathing holidays, so river cruises sound quite tempting.

what ocean cruise lines that you have been on and liked? As in ocean cruises, each river cruise has a different "personality"

You may want to look at A-rosa. All of their meals are buffet.

Robin

I would love to try a river cruise, probably the Danube or Rhine.

However, our preference on ocean cruises is to eat dinner in the buffet, where we have a good choice of food, tables for two and less formality.

Are there any river cruise lines where we will not have to sit at bigger tables, and enjoy more relaxed dining?

Many thanks in advance!

We have only been on one river cruise and have another booked for next year. Totally agree with the dinner issue. On ocean cruises we always eat in the buffet and do not like to share a table. My sister usually goes with us and so there are 3 of us. On AmaStella last year there were booths for 4 people, which worked out perfectly for us. The tables for 2 are about 6 inches away from each other and I think it would be a little uncomfortable to not carry on conversation with folks who sat next to you and wanted to talk. Not to sound unsociable, but making small talk every evening is just not our thing.

We are also early diners and found the 7pm dinner time to be a bit later than we would like to eat. We managed, of course, but also would have preferred more choices. I'm thinking this next cruise, if we have free time to roam around ports, we may try to eat a bigger "late" lunch before returning to the ship... then maybe have a few appetizers during the pre dinner time and just skip the regular dinner seating. Maybe even take a sandwich from lunch and leave in cabin refrigerator for later on?

Don't worry about dressing up. I didn't even take pants other than dark jeans and hoodies/sweaters/fleece. Only shoes I took were boots and sneakers and only wore the boots outside if it was really cold... sneakers on the ship.

Relax and enjoy... I don't really worry about what other people think about my clothing... to each their own!

We have just completed a river cruise with Travelmarvel. Breakfast was a buffet, lunch was either a light lunch in the main lounge area, or in the dining room you had a choice of buffet and/or could order a main course off a menu.

Dinner was dining room, menu service only. There were two tables for two, but they always went quickly. We enjoyed sitting with different people, everyone was friendly and we had interesting conversations.

Dress was smart casual.

I would love to try a river cruise, probably the Danube or Rhine.

However, our preference on ocean cruises is to eat dinner in the buffet, where we have a good choice of food, tables for two and less formality.

Are there any river cruise lines where we will not have to sit at bigger tables, and enjoy more relaxed dining?

Many thanks in advance!

If you love buffets and "privacy", you should consider Crystal river cruises since they offer buffets for breakfast and lunch with majority of the tables in the main dining room table for two. There are no big tables in the MDR except maybe 3 or possibly 4 round tables for 4 or 6 people. If you don't like any of these options, Crystal offers 24 hr room service. Crystal's 4 "long" river boats only carry about 95 passengers (145 for the Crystal Mozart) so you'll virtually never run into a big crowd on the ship.

Vantage river cruises offer a dinner buffet on the back deck of the ship. There are seats for about 50 people but the times we have eaten there it was never full. We much prefer to eat there because it is so much quieter than the main dining room  and you get done eating so much quicker. I hate spending 2 hrs eating....waiting for each course to be delivered and served. 

The food is usually the same as what is being served in the dining room....just buffet style. 

Dinner is severed at 7 PM in a dinning room from a menu on almost ALL river cruise lines.  Tables of 2 are very rare.  

Everyone shows up between 7 and 7:15. 

All are causal.  No shorts or jeans usually.  You would be odd if showing up that way.