New to River Cruising: Good for 25th Anniversary Get Away?

We'll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year and we are thinking of an 8 day cruise (with maybe a pre or post stay of a couple of days). We are in our early 50s, foodies, enjoy art/culture, nature, moderately active (walks, hikes, bikes). Looking for something romantic & really special. Thinking about Burgundy & Provence. Looking at Uniworld, Viking, Avalon right now. Are there any destinations aside from this one I should be considering? Any other cruise lines I should be considering? (Budget is not an issue.)

Look into Amawaterways. They have excellent reviews, a specialty dining option at the Chefs Table, plus a biking and hiking option at every stop.

Look into Amawaterways. They have excellent reviews, a specialty dining option at the Chefs Table, plus a biking and hiking option at every stop.

Thanks so much! I will take a look!

I would also look at Crystal. We have been on 5 river cruises, and will actually be celebrating our 25th next spring on a Viking Ocean cruise. We have sailed Uniworld (4 times) and Avalon once. Our preference is Uniworld, for its inclusiveness. Our next cruise may well be on Crystal, as it is also all inclusive, but has a higher staff:pax ratio, and fewer passengers on board.

I would look at the Danube. It has been our favorite with regard to scenery. Also a lot of opportunity for hiking and biking.

Congrats, enjoy, and happy planning!

Robin

I would also look at Crystal. We have been on 5 river cruises, and will actually be celebrating our 25th next spring on a Viking Ocean cruise. We have sailed Uniworld (4 times) and Avalon once. Our preference is Uniworld, for its inclusiveness. Our next cruise may well be on Crystal, as it is also all inclusive, but has a higher staff:pax ratio, and fewer passengers on board.

 

I would look at the Danube. It has been our favorite with regard to scenery. Also a lot of opportunity for hiking and biking.

 

Congrats, enjoy, and happy planning!

 

Robin

Robin, Congrats to you too! I will look into the Danube itineraries and also at Crystal. Thanks for your suggestions!

Have done Rhine, Rhone, and Danube on Uniworld. If you want more details about the stops, scenery, Uniworld onboard experience, etc - I did trip reports on all of the cruises.

The destinations are all a lot of fun and it would be hard to go wrong on any of them. They would all make very nice anniversary celebrations and really you can decide based on what countries you want to visit.

The only problem is that now I need to find a different destination for our 25th in 2020... Even though I would go back to any of those three rivers in a heartbeat.

Have done Rhine, Rhone, and Danube on Uniworld. If you want more details about the stops, scenery, Uniworld onboard experience, etc - I did trip reports on all of the cruises.

 

The destinations are all a lot of fun and it would be hard to go wrong on any of them. They would all make very nice anniversary celebrations and really you can decide based on what countries you want to visit.

 

The only problem is that now I need to find a different destination for our 25th in 2020... Even though I would go back to any of those three rivers in a heartbeat.

Wow you are certainly well-traveled. Scenic-wise would you say that one of those rivers stood out as most stunning? And would you say that one of the Uniworld ships was a particular favorite? Thanks for taking the time to reply to my post!

Have done Rhine, Rhone, and Danube on Uniworld. If you want more details about the stops, scenery, Uniworld onboard experience, etc - I did trip reports on all of the cruises.

 

The destinations are all a lot of fun and it would be hard to go wrong on any of them. They would all make very nice anniversary celebrations and really you can decide based on what countries you want to visit.

 

The only problem is that now I need to find a different destination for our 25th in 2020... Even though I would go back to any of those three rivers in a heartbeat.

How would I access your trip reports? We are doing our first Rhine cruise on Viking Sept 2019. Looking for any info :) We have done numerous ocean cruises but are river cruising virgins :halo:

thanks in advance!

bag

bafinegan: Links to all of my trip reports are listed in my signature. Expand the signature if you can't see them then they should be easy to find.

pinkmomagain: In terms of scenery, it's hard to beat the Rhine Gorge and the castles, but that's only a small part of the Rhine. The Danube is really pretty too. The Rhone is least famous for its scenery but we saw a lot of beautiful spots there too. So, I'm not going to tell you that one is better than another. If you look at pictures, you may find that one stands out to you as being more scenic than another. That is the opinion which will matter the most.

In terms of ships, we did SS Antoinette and SS Catherine on Rhine and Rhone, respectively. They are a notch up from the "regular" River Beatrice which we took on the Danube in 2016. My opinion of River Beatrice is outdated though, because she has since been remodeled into SS Beatrice (SS stands for Super Ship, which is a step up from their regular vessels).

Bottom line, don't worry about which one other people think is "best." You will have a great cruise on any of these rivers, and FOMO will only make you worry needlessly that you made the "wrong" choice. I'd base my decision much more on what cruise has the itinerary and tours that sound most interesting.

I go into a lot of detail about the tours which Uniworld offers. Robin also has done some blogs about her river cruises too, as have a number of other posters. So search for those trip reports and you should have a really good idea of what Uniworld (and other lines) have to offer.

I really need to add my trip reports to my signature. I did blogs on my Danube (Avalon), Rhine (Uniworld SS Antoinette) and Seine Uniworld SS Joie De Vivre)

If you and your husband golf, the Paris Normandy Uniworld cruise has a golf excursion to Etretat....a definite highlight for my husband.

All of the rivers have their own highlights, as JP mentioned. We also did the Uniworld Italy cruise, which round-trips out of Venice.

Lots of choices!

Robin

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We'll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year and we are thinking of an 8 day cruise (with maybe a pre or post stay of a couple of days). We are in our early 50s, foodies, enjoy art/culture, nature, moderately active (walks, hikes, bikes). Looking for something romantic & really special. Thinking about Burgundy & Provence. Looking at Uniworld, Viking, Avalon right now. Are there any destinations aside from this one I should be considering? Any other cruise lines I should be considering? (Budget is not an issue.)

You really want to knock his socks off, try China if you have never been before.

For lots of information about itineraries and river cruise lines, check out the Stickies that I put at the top of this forum. Also, see if your public library has the Berlitz guide River Cruising in Europe. Many river cruise lines will check off the boxes that you mention, but as foodies you'll be interested that Berlitz rates AmaWaterways tops for food.

Hi -

We have travelled all the main lines - except Crystal (new to river cruising) and Tauck (a bit pricey - as price is a consideration for us..)

I would suggest you also look at Scenic. They offer an all-inclusive package as well. And, their all-inclusive is truly all-inclusive --> no optionals to purchase as it is all free choice. They have bikes on most (if not all) of their boats, so you can do some biking along the way if you wish to.

We love Uniworld - as they truly have an eye for detail. We travelled with them (x3) before they went all inclusive. Their décor is a bit over the top for some - but it doesn't bother us. The reason we haven't booked with them again is the price (by travelling lowest category, we can travel more often... river cruise #14 coming up in 3 weeks....)

As far as itinerary goes... there are pros and cons for almost all itineraries. Is there something you really wish to see? Are you looking forward to spending time cruising - and looking at the sites along the river? Or, is it the land portion (visiting the towns/cities) that is most interesting to you?

Budapest is one of our favourite cities in Europe - so any cruise that starts or ends there is high on our radar. When we did the south of France (Rhone/Saone) - we went into Nice a few days early. I understand the lure of the French Riviera after spending some time there.... Of course, Paris is so wonderful - spending some extra time there before or after a cruise is worth considering. And, a cruise on the Seine gets you an opportunity to see Monet's gardens at Giverny.

If looking at scenery while cruising is a draw - then the Rhine is good. But, it is contingent on good weather. Our 1st cruise on the Rhine was for the Christmas markets - and it was snowing so hard when we cruised by the castles that we couldn't see anything... Had to go back again (the weather was much better in September).

Whatever you choose - enjoy!!

Fran

We'll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year and we are thinking of an 8 day cruise (with maybe a pre or post stay of a couple of days). We are in our early 50s, foodies, enjoy art/culture, nature, moderately active (walks, hikes, bikes). Looking for something romantic & really special. Thinking about Burgundy & Provence. Looking at Uniworld, Viking, Avalon right now. Are there any destinations aside from this one I should be considering? Any other cruise lines I should be considering? (Budget is not an issue.)

We celebrated our 40th anniversary on Uniworld. We signed up for a dinner on the top deck on our anniversary night as we sailed away from Budapest at sunset. The tables were group tables but when we told them it was our anniversary, they set aside a table for two for us and made it a special evening. I was really impressed with how family like the staff was.

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Everyone else has given you good advice on the Cruise portion; the only thing I can add is that you can easily do the pre and post stays on your own. The cost will be much less, probably half as much as the cruise lines would charge.

The transportation issue to and from airport isn't that hard to figure out. You could get an extra special hotel for your 25th and still come out ahead.

Some great advice above, JP with this gem:

"Bottom line, don't worry about which one other people think is "best." You will have a great cruise on any of these rivers, and FOMO will only make you worry needlessly that you made the "wrong" choice. I'd base my decision much more on what cruise has the itinerary and tours that sound most interesting."

Enjoy, and congrats on 25!

We did Paris and Provence with Grand Circle last year and the trip was absolutely fantastic. Here is a link to my review on CC along with some pictures. The food was great, the crew was great and we just loved it. The ship is older, but very charming, and the small group onboard (45 max) was a real plus.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=574782

P.S. We are celebrating our 40th this month and are going to Cuba on the Oceania Sirena in Nov. to celebrate.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to weigh-in. I'm taking all into consideration. We've also been looking at barge cruises too (Belmond, French Country Waterways, and A&K) -- which is confusing us even more, lol. Anyone have experience with barge cruising?

We took a barge trip in the Alsace area with French Country Waterways, several years ago. We loved it. There were only 11 people on the barge. The food and the whole experience was outstanding. They had bikes, so you could bike to the next lock or in to neighboring villages if you wanted to. The cabins are quite small if that matters to you.The only draw back is the cost is quite a bit more than a river cruise since there are so few passengers.

We'll be celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary next year and we are thinking of an 8 day cruise (with maybe a pre or post stay of a couple of days). We are in our early 50s, foodies, enjoy art/culture, nature, moderately active (walks, hikes, bikes). Looking for something romantic & really special. Thinking about Burgundy & Provence. Looking at Uniworld, Viking, Avalon right now. Are there any destinations aside from this one I should be considering? Any other cruise lines I should be considering? (Budget is not an issue.)

Uniworld is wonderful! Great itineraries, excellent service, and just lovely ships. There are so many choices of cruises! France is great and if that is what you want, go for it! I am personally in to more exotic locations (lived and worked in Europe), but that is me. Do some "slow travel" before or after the trip--find a place to stay (maybe rent an apartment for a week) and really enjoy that particular town or village--go to the markets, sit and sip coffee at a sidewalk cafe, enjoy the village, and interact with locals. So much better sometimes than rushing to get an itinerary done!!!!!!!!!!! Enjoy!:)

We have done two Amawaterways cruises: one in the Bordeaux region and one on the Rhine, Main and Moselle rivers. We are cruising the Rhine in October. My husband bikes every day and I usually take an active city walking tour. The food is excellent and now that they have happy hour drinks, we spend almost nothing on board except tips. We have met so many fun people on Amawaterways cruises and enjoy dining with our new friends throughout the week. It's like being in college without the tests! Another aspect of Amawaterways is the informality of the dress code. I usually pack for an 8 day trip in a 20 inch carryon and a tote bag. My preference for rooms is on the middle deck in the middle. The lower deck was OK, but I felt a little claustrophobic. The upper deck sometimes is noisy when joggers use the track. We always book our own pre cruise hotel rooms by ourselves and use trains/Uber to get to the ports. We find going 2-3 days before the cruise gets you over the jet lag.