Please help with cruise selection

[SOOKIENY]

Been following this thread, as I have been looking into river cruises as well. Just curious as to the average age of the passengers on these cruises?

[usavvy2]

My husband & I are trying to decide on a European river cruise for July-August 2011 to celebrate our 40th anniversary. Our first choice is Amsterdam/Budapest (or vise versa), however we are more than willing to think about other itinararies. Please let us know which companies/itinararies you recommend. Many thanks for all suggestions!!:)

 

Been on Avalon Waterways 2x; first time on the Blue Danube Discovery b'c of a discount from being a past Globus customer (Train across Switzerland with Cosmos). That got us into the mix with 2 for 1 offers, etc. from Avalon being offered first to their preferred customers. The first trip was so good - itinerary (Budapest to Prague); inclusions; cruise director and so forth we found no reason to sway when another 2 for 1 offer was presented. Enjoyed the "sail" experience on the Sky Deck while watching the beautiful Wachau Valley pass us by and enjoyed the towns/cities visited along the route. Food is always a personal opinion but I found it to be good to very good depending on the night and entree on this first trip. Our first trip we came in a day early (jet lag recovery from the east coast to Budapest) and the cruise itself included a couple of days post sailing to Prague. I will say when we got off the ship in Nuremberg and were bussed to Prague I thought I made a big mistake - seemed anticlimatic. Was ready to be packed and on my way home. A little out of synch with no dinner bell (figuratively speaking) etc. But we quickly got into a routine once the long bus ride was over and we were settled into our hotel. So, I personally like the end of the cruise to be the end of the trip and any extended stays (w/or w/o the cruise line) to be on the front end but that's me.

 

hope this helps. Just in - the water's fine whatever you decide.

 

PS: re "average" age... for the Blue Danube, probably the youngest couple was in their mid 30s and the oldest in the 80s; everything in between. And lots of couples traveling together on that first cruise. For the Paris to Normandy trip, ages ranged from 2 teenagers (with their grandparents) to mid 80s. Didn't see any in their 20s or 30s - mostly 40s to 70s. Didn't see too many folks traveling with another couple on the Paris/Normandy curise.

 

Keep in mind any cruise is what YOU make it. Are you comfortable hanging out with folks who are NOT in the same generation as you? If so, it probably doesn't matter what the ages are but if you have problems with making friends in different generations then you might want to bring another couple your own age with you.