Which European River Cruise for 1st timers????

[floatinrocks]

We are looking at a European River Cruise, we don't like wine, our interests are scenery, quaint villages, castles, Beer etc.

 

We've been looking at a 15 day Rhine River Cruise. I have read that 1st timers should do the Danube???? Would that be wise or is it more for wine lovers????

 

Any help would be soooo very much appreciated.

Thanks

[thunderbird56]

We've been looking at a 15 day Rhine River Cruise. I have read that 1st timers should do the Danube???? Would that be wise or is it more for wine lovers????

 

Thanks

Hi;

 

We are also first timers to river cruising. You might look at the Castles on the Rhine and Danube cruise offered by Vantage Travel. It is a 16 day trip (including flight time - 14 day river cruise) from Amsterdam to Budapest or vice versa. Their fares include roundtrip air and excursions. They don't include wine with meals. We are booked on the July 1st trip. They include air from most major cities in the U.S., but not Canada. You would have to get to Detroit, Boston, New york or wherever is most convenient. If you're interested you might look at their website at vantage travel (one word) dot com. I did a lot of research before we booked and I liked their itinerary, included features and final price. A word of caution, if you're looking for this summer you'll find that many of the trips are already sold out, not only on Vantage but on other popular lines. Since the boats are small they fill up fast, not like the giant ocean cruisers. Good luck. If you'd like more info we can get in touch directly by e-mail. I'm always glad to help.

 

Dennis

[H2Otstr]

The Rhine is a beuatiful river to cruise. We are going on our second Rhine cruise in March - going with Grand Circle. Lots of beautiful towns and lots of castles to see while on the river.

[franski]

We enjoyed our Danube cruise --> had a specific stop in mind when we chose that... Is there anything in particular that you are interested in??

 

I have been eying some of the itineraries on the Rhine - and I have to say they are might tempting... Now is the time to look - I believe that Uniworld has some good deals on travel (ie: companion flies for free) - and it is a good time to deal with them directly as our dollar is quite strong right now.

 

We are not wine lovers, and did not find the Danube particularly geared to wine (a good thing for us...). We have an interest in WWII history - so we found the Paris/Normandy itinerary very interesting, as well as all of the history on the Danube (Budapest to Prague).

 

Where in Ontario are you??

 

Fran

[tiggypooo]

Hi Private Eye...... Hi from South Central Ontario.

I'm in with Franski for Uniworld. I've done 2 with them and loved every moment.

[npphotog]

I happen to agree with Thunderbird 56 in regards with Vantage Deluxe Travel. We did the Amsterdam to Budapest then we did their China/Yangtze trip. Followed that up with the Aegean Odyssey on a 170ft yacht. This coming August we are doing the Vantage Eastern Europe & the Black Sea. Very pleased with Vantage.

What ever tour company you choose I would recommend the Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise. I would not recommend doing it in reverse because you don't have enough time in Rudesheim, Germany. That is one little village that is a "hoot" and you should spend as much time as possible. One important thing is to make sure you research every tour company and check each one as to the itinerary. Some companys include much more touring and others have too many options which really adds to the cost. I found that Vantage includes many but Grand Circle charges many as options. Vantage and Grand Circle are owned by brothers. At first look Grand Circle is a little cheaper but does not

include some of the stops. I have never been with Grand Circle and many on this board

have used them and are satisified. Willard

[kuldalai]

Simple (i) AMA Waterways (ii) Amsterdam to Budapest or vice-versa.

[pacmom]

Please don't get the OP too excited about Vantage. We sell only to US citizens. They and GCT are the only lines that discriminate in this manner. Even if you don't drink wine, you should be able to get beer instead. Have cruised with AMA, Cruise West, Uniworld, Vantage and Viking. Uniworld remains at the top of our list. Enjoy. Back in 2 weeks from Antartica and can answer more questions then. Pat

[floatinrocks]

Wow, thanks for all the input, gotta love the people on these boards.!!!!

 

We've pretty much decided on Uniworld and the Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary. We wanted to spend some time in amsterdam. I don't see any difference in the reverse order, you take a Gondola ride in Rudesheim (can't find the thingy for over the u) and it would give us more time in Amsterdam. DH can't take too much time off at once.

 

Really appreciate all the feedback.

Thanks a bunch from Windsor!!!!

[thunderbird56]

Please don't get the OP too excited about Vantage. We sell only to US citizens. They and GCT are the only lines that discriminate in this manner. Pat

 

Before I gave privateye my recommendation I called Vantage because I had also seen comments on this board that they only market to US. They confirmed that they sell to U.S. and Canada. Their air gateway cities are all U.S. but since privateye is in Windsor, they are just across the bridge from Detroit. No problem. Anyway, they seem to have picked the same route on Uniworld and I'm sure they will have a great time.

 

Dennis

[franski]

Hello to you in Windsor - from Whitby!!!

 

We haven't cruised above Nuremberg - but it looks amazing. You must try a sausage in the Wurstkuchen (? spelling) in Regensburg. "Six with kraut" is very popular (don't worry, the sausages are small..) - but we discovered that you can actually get the sausage on a bun to go. We bought some of the mustard that they sell (sweet mustard -- so good....) and wished we had bought more.

 

Budapest is very walkable - and the river boats dock close to the Chain bridge (can't remember if Uniworld's boats dock on the Buda or the Pest side - but it doesn't really make much difference...)

 

I am sure that you will really enjoy this itinerary.

[tiggypooo]

From Oshawa here.......

I will just mention a couple of pluses with sailing Budapest to Amsterdam, instead of the other way around.

A couple of the crew pointed these things out to me on my first Uniworld cruise.

Sailing south, if you hit some bad weather, it will generally follow you down the river.

It did happen to us that we had a really bad rain day and then the next 3 days the clouds just followed us down the river.

Another nice thing about south to north, is that some of the most spectacular scenery is in the north and it's nice to have that to look forward to.

[gocalfan]

We are looking at a European River Cruise, we don't like wine, our interests are scenery, quaint villages, castles, Beer etc.

 

We've been looking at a 15 day Rhine River Cruise. I have read that 1st timers should do the Danube???? Would that be wise or is it more for wine lovers????

 

Any help would be soooo very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

We have done the Rhine, Danube and Main cruise twice, once going south to north and the other north to south. We have also done the Christmas on the Danube twice both going north. Our favorite though is the Rhine and the Mosel cruise. Why? The towns are a bit more quaint and you can spend a lot more time on the top deck to really see the beautiful scenary go by like the gorge like settings of the vineyards and the castles. You have a lot of locks on the other cruises, not so many on this one. We purchased a small cooler and purchased riesling wine, meat, cheeses and olives along the way, sat back on the top deck each night to midnight and watched the world go by. Even sailing during the day, enjoy it on top of the ship. The Captain and staff also joined us each night.

[letsgo39]

I really must add The Mosel to my bucket list!

[webfoot]

The Mosel is awesome ... we loved it ... beautiful ... peaceful ... and we had wonderful wine ... I am hoping that the Seine and Rhone will also be awesome ... :)

[sueswny]

The Budapest to Nuremberg cruise (with a couple of days in Prague afterwards) is a good choice. And it's best to start in Budapest, saving Prague for last. I think most people really like this itineary. But Vienna to Amsterdam is also a good one. (So many great river cruises to choose from!)

[Kellie Poodle]

Wow, thanks for all the input, gotta love the people on these boards.!!!!

 

We've pretty much decided on Uniworld and the Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary. We wanted to spend some time in amsterdam. I don't see any difference in the reverse order, you take a Gondola ride in Rudesheim (can't find the thingy for over the u) and it would give us more time in Amsterdam. DH can't take too much time off at once.

 

Really appreciate all the feedback.

Thanks a bunch from Windsor!!!!

 

We did the Uniworld Budapest to Amsterdam in 2008. The gondola ride in Rudesheim was no big deal. It was so foggy that morning that we could hardly see anything, but the gondola just goes up the mountain above some vineyards to a park on top of the mountain where there is a huge statue that is very famous for Germans. You walk around while the guide tells you how proud they all are of their statue then you get back on the gondola and ride into town. The town is wonderful. There is a music box museum and a wine museum in a castle. You have to get the special coffee they have there. They set it on fire. It's delicious.

 

We had an extra day pre-cruise in Budapest and did some sightseeing on our own. Taking the Metro was pretty easy. Uniworld has a rep in the hotel who will help you out even if you are not taking their own pre-cruise sightseeing bus.

 

We also booked a hotel in Amsterdam and did some sightseeing on our own there after the cruise. The public transportation there is very easy with lots of trolleys.

 

Everything about that trip was first class and wonderful.

[pfarmmom]

Which Christmas market trip did you do? Did you have enough time in the markets? Which was your favorite.

Thanks Carol

[pfarmmom]

We have done the Rhine, Danube and Main cruise twice, once going south to north and the other north to south. We have also done the Christmas on the Danube twice both going north. Our favorite though is the Rhine and the Mosel cruise. Why? The towns are a bit more quaint and you can spend a lot more time on the top deck to really see the beautiful scenary go by like the gorge like settings of the vineyards and the castles. You have a lot of locks on the other cruises, not so many on this one. We purchased a small cooler and purchased riesling wine, meat, cheeses and olives along the way, sat back on the top deck each night to midnight and watched the world go by. Even sailing during the day, enjoy it on top of the ship. The Captain and staff also joined us each night.

Which Christmas market trip did you do? Did you have enough time in the markets? which was your favorite? Thanks Carol

[locktraveler]

Which Christmas market trip did you do? Did you have enough time in the markets? which was your favorite?quote]

We are doing Uniworld Vienna to Bucharet in April, Yes I know we might have high water. Anyone been on that portion?

[Karen Lynn]

I am doing Uniworld in May 2011..Basel to Nuremburg..

Will the waters be a problem?

Suggestions for pre and post stays???

 

Thanks!;)

[Hydrokitty]

We are looking at a European River Cruise, we don't like wine, our interests are scenery, quaint villages, castles, Beer etc.

 

We've been looking at a 15 day Rhine River Cruise. I have read that 1st timers should do the Danube???? Would that be wise or is it more for wine lovers????

 

Any help would be soooo very much appreciated.

Thanks

 

YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!! Our first trip was the same cruise with Vantage and it was wonderful. We do like wine, but dh does not like beer and both ere available with dinner (not included). there were a few nights were local beer was include and let me tell you the beer was outstanding. All of your interests will be more than met, you should have a wonderful time. I know we did and we're now approaching departure for our third river cruise with Vantage. :):)