First Time River Cruiser Needs Help

[YoungRestlessOne]

Hello, everyone. I'm really hoping to get some advice, recommendations, and feedback from the expert cruisers in this forum. I have a 40th birthday coming up in 2013, and I've always wanted to take a river cruise. My husband has said that where we go and what type of trip we take for my 40th is my decision. We have done 5 ocean cruises but never a river cruise. We have friends who recently did a Rhine River Avalon river cruise and raved about what a wonderful time they had. They added a couple of days post cruise to see Paris on their own.

 

My questions are numerous, so please bear with me. I have been reading this forum and gathering as much research as I can, but I still am feeling so overwhelmed. River cruising seems like such a different beast than ocean cruising and a lot more difficult to get a handle on exactly what is the best option for us. One thing I am concerned about with a river cruise is that we are a gay male couple. We've never felt the slightest bit uncomfortable on ocean cruises, but a couple of people have said they heard that river cruising can be quite hostile toward gay couples because of the smaller crowds and usually older demographic aboard the river vessels.

 

I've heard specifically that Tauck and Viking are both homophobic, anti-gay companies, so I've eliminated them from my consideration list. I'm still trying to ascertain the differences among Avalon, Uniworld, Scenic, and Vantage.

 

My main questions are: 1) What is the best time to do a European river cruise? 2) What is the best length for a first timer? 3) Which itinerary is the best for a first-time river cruise? 4) What river cruise line would we feel the most comfortable on? I realize that answers to these questions can be very subjective, but at this point I'm trying to gather any and all opinions that can help us make up our minds whether a river cruise is the way to go for my 40th birthday celebration, and if it is, which trip is the "right" one for us. We are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination; therefore, we can only afford to go to Europe every 5 to 6 years and we save for months for these kinds of vacations. So we want to make sure we're making the right decision. I thank all of you in advance for your help!

[shoshona2]

Hi,

 

I'm going on my 18th Tauck Tour in February and I don't know where you got your information that Tauck is an anti-gay company. That has not been true in any of our experiences.

 

Sheila

[franski]

Hi -

 

I do agree with Sheila re: information on culture of homophobia --> not sure where you heard that from. My experiences with 3 different lines (Uniworld, AMA and Scenic) have shown DH and I that overall the staff and guests on river boats are very well travelled, and willing to share their travel knowledge and experiences. No overt cultural clashes.

 

Of course, you always run the risk of meeting "ignorant" people in your travels, but that isn't reserved for river cruise lines.

 

My first question would be are you comfortable travelling on a boat where you may be the youngest couple? We are mid-50's - and are usually among the youngest on board. Not an issue for us, as we enjoy "people" --> age difference doesn't seem to register with us. Now, if you asked our children, they would say it is because WE are old... :D

 

For a 1st time river cruise, my suggestion would be to do a 7 night cruise. If you have more time (and money), then you can add days on before and/or after your cruise.

 

For itinerary, there are many who feel that somewhere along the Danube is a great way to start. We did the Seine 1st - and were very happy with our choice.

 

My suggestion would be to try to pick one (or 2) "must see" stops - and work from there.

 

For time of cruise - my personal preference is September. You are past the summer crowds - with a good chance of warm weather. May might be another option --> perhaps others can weigh in on that.

 

If cost will be a factor - you might want to consider booking lowest category cabin. However, if it is for a significant birthday, you might want to "splurge" on a balcony or a suite.

 

You will get lots of suggestions here...

 

Have fun planning!!

 

Fran

[stretchcruz]

Our first river cruise was on Avalon last Oct/Nov. We went from Budapest to Prague, spent 2 nights in Budapest at the beginning. 7 night river cruise, then 3 nights in Prague at the end. In my opinion, magnificent!! We LOVED it, and the ports/tours, etc were just wonderful. As far as being the youngest onboard, we had a few honeymooners in their 20s, some other 20s traveling with parents, etc, many folks in their 40s, 50s, and lots beyond. There were several groups of single women in their 40s/50s. My husband and I are 56 and 65 and we were right in that range. We really don't look at age at all when traveling, we look at common interests and ability to laugh! One thing to remember is that on river cruises most folks are very mobile as there are stairs to climb and streets to walk. As far as being gay, who cares? We would have welcomed you at our dinner table and on our tours. We have many gay friends and you are no different than heterosexual couples, as far as we are concerned. I frankly don't remember if there were any gay couples on our cruise as we ate dinner with the same 2 other couples every night. We met on the first night and clicked, but had they been gay and not heterosexual it would not have mattered to us. I recommend you look into the Danube cruises, we just so loved ours!! Our next cruise is the end of April/May Amsterdam down the Rhine, then a train to Paris, but I guarantee it will be really hard to beat the Danube. We gave up our vacations this year to save money to do the river cruise again as we loved it so much.

[id4elizabeth]

We've only traveled on Viking, but can tell you there were at least 3 gay male couples on our boat from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam/Antwerp. There were several female couples as well, but not sure about their situation. There didn't seem to be any hostility towards anyone on the ship, and the table mates of all were as heartily filled as any other tables at dinner. All participated in the tours and none of the gay couples seemed to be isolated. As others have suggested, the demographics of river cruising is older than 40, so you might be with the younger crowd. However, also, as stated, almost everyone is pretty fit - you have to be to do these port intensive cruises. So even though we might be older, we're pretty with it.

 

As far as time of year, we enjoy travelling in May - to avoid the crowds and to enjoy the cooler weather. We did the Rhine in May, but should have done it the other way, Belgium to Switzerland. We started in Switzerland, and it was a bit chilly there.

 

Our first river cruise was 14 days and it went by in a flash. If you can afford it, I'm biased towards the longer cruises - once you've paid the airfare to get there, why not stay a while?

 

Hope that helps.

[Ozjohnno]

I too have no idea where you got the idea that Tauck were homophobic. On our cruise with Tauck last September my wife and I had a great time with a male couple on board. They were just so friendly - taking part in every activity and were outstanding dinner companions. No-one gave a damn as to their sexuality and I'm sure no-one on any other Tauck cruise would either. I just hope you change your mind and give Tauck a go. There is no better river cruise company in my opinion.

[Yggdrasil98]

I am really surprised that you feel that homophobia might be an issue on any of the river cruise companies. :( I haven't used Tauck, but haven't heard anything either.

 

I would expect the more common question of "Is 40 years old too young?" LOL! I'm just over 50 and often one of the youngest on river cruises.

 

It's a totally different experience to big ships, just totally! It's quieter, more intimate and you get to know people, or at least their faces if you aren't the mixing type (I'm not, I don't go for big friendships when I travel).

 

I personally go for my hit list, I say what city/place do I want to see the most, ensure it's on my cruise itinerary and go from there.

[4774Papa]

We did a Vantage Russian River cruise in August and spent a lot of time with a gay couple. Not a problem as far as we could see.

 

As for your other questions:

 

Best time of the year may depend on your personal comfort. We like warm weather. Russia was nice in August, but starting to get a little cool. If you go in the peak Summer in Southern Europe, it may be too hot for you. Not for us.

 

You might save on airfare by cruising in May or September.

 

Length of cruise is a factor of time and money. Our Russian cruise was a week long with a longer land portion. River cruises run from about a week to two or three weeks. If you spend the bucks to fly to Europe, it may pay to go for a longer cruise. However, if you are concerned about it, you could take a one week river cruise and combine it with a land portion.

 

The itinerary may depend on your taste. We love to soak up the historical and cultural sites and try to absorb something from the local people. Vantage has a great program for that with home hosted meals and meetings with local students, etc.

 

Be aware that River cruises don't have the flashy entertainment with big productions. However, you are generally on a boat with about 150 passengers and are able to get to know many of them. The key benefit of a river cruise is that you are visiting places in the interior of Europe rather than just an ocean or Med port. You are exposed to more of the country or countries you are visiting. I like just sitting on the deck with a beer and watching the countryside going by.

[paul929207]

All of the river cruise companies love to send out brochures. Just go to their website and request them. However, be aware that you will get lots of mail from all of them.

 

You should also be aware that the river cruises usually include some/most/all excursions in the cost.

[YoungRestlessOne]

Thanks to all of you who have responded with advice. I so appreciate it. I am also heartened to hear that rumors of homophobia on certain lines seem to be just that: rumor. I will give Tauck a look. We don't need the big production numbers and casinos and all the other 24/7 entertainment that the ocean cruises offer. We usually cruise mainly to see the ports, and it's the itinerary that drives our decision whether to take a certain cruise. We tend to be on the go a lot on our cruises, always taking at least one excursion per day. We rarely stay on the ship for the ship's sake.

 

I understand that excursions are included with the river cruise itineraries, which seems like a big bonus. Is there usually just one excursion to choose from, or do you have a selection? If you decide you want to splinter off from the group and go at a faster pace, I assume that would be okay?

 

The number of choices is simply mind-boggling. If anyone has developed a system for sorting out all the options for all the different lines, I would sure like to have some insight on that. So many of the itineraries sound wonderful, I'm not sure where to start. Does anyone have a favorite cruise/itinerary that you would say stands head and shoulders above the rest. It sounds like the Danube is a favorite for some. I have been to Paris, but my husband has not. Neither of us has been to Amsterdam, so that appeals to us. We have also been to Prague once and loved it. Never been anywhere in Switzerland or Austria. We've been to Eastern Germany (Berlin, Wittenberg, Dresden) but nowhere else in Germany. It's a shame they don't do river cruises to Italy because I would love to go back there someday.

[YoungRestlessOne]

Our first river cruise was on Avalon last Oct/Nov. We went from Budapest to Prague, spent 2 nights in Budapest at the beginning. 7 night river cruise, then 3 nights in Prague at the end. In my opinion, magnificent!! We LOVED it, and the ports/tours, etc were just wonderful. As far as being the youngest onboard, we had a few honeymooners in their 20s, some other 20s traveling with parents, etc, many folks in their 40s, 50s, and lots beyond. There were several groups of single women in their 40s/50s. My husband and I are 56 and 65 and we were right in that range. We really don't look at age at all when traveling, we look at common interests and ability to laugh! One thing to remember is that on river cruises most folks are very mobile as there are stairs to climb and streets to walk. As far as being gay, who cares? We would have welcomed you at our dinner table and on our tours. We have many gay friends and you are no different than heterosexual couples, as far as we are concerned. I frankly don't remember if there were any gay couples on our cruise as we ate dinner with the same 2 other couples every night. We met on the first night and clicked, but had they been gay and not heterosexual it would not have mattered to us. I recommend you look into the Danube cruises, we just so loved ours!! Our next cruise is the end of April/May Amsterdam down the Rhine, then a train to Paris, but I guarantee it will be really hard to beat the Danube. We gave up our vacations this year to save money to do the river cruise again as we loved it so much.

 

Stretchcruz, I would love to hear about your Rhine cruise from Amsterdam ending in Paris on your own when you get back. That is the itinerary that our friends did and thought was magnificent. I would be interested to see if you have the same impression.

[webfoot]

We have had gay couples on at least 3 of our cruises and I never heard anything negative from any of the other passengers. I am like Stretchcruz and have not only gay friends but a gay brother.

 

Hope that whichever cruise line and itinerary that you take will be a wonderful choice!

[4774Papa]

Thanks to all of you who have responded with advice. I so appreciate it. I am also heartened to hear that rumors of homophobia on certain lines seem to be just that: rumor. I will give Tauck a look. We don't need the big production numbers and casinos and all the other 24/7 entertainment that the ocean cruises offer. We usually cruise mainly to see the ports, and it's the itinerary that drives our decision whether to take a certain cruise. We tend to be on the go a lot on our cruises, always taking at least one excursion per day. We rarely stay on the ship for the ship's sake.

 

I understand that excursions are included with the river cruise itineraries, which seems like a big bonus. Is there usually just one excursion to choose from, or do you have a selection? If you decide you want to splinter off from the group and go at a faster pace, I assume that would be okay?

 

The number of choices is simply mind-boggling. If anyone has developed a system for sorting out all the options for all the different lines, I would sure like to have some insight on that. So many of the itineraries sound wonderful, I'm not sure where to start. Does anyone have a favorite cruise/itinerary that you would say stands head and shoulders above the rest. It sounds like the Danube is a favorite for some. I have been to Paris, but my husband has not. Neither of us has been to Amsterdam, so that appeals to us. We have also been to Prague once and loved it. Never been anywhere in Switzerland or Austria. We've been to Eastern Germany (Berlin, Wittenberg, Dresden) but nowhere else in Germany. It's a shame they don't do river cruises to Italy because I would love to go back there someday.

Most river cruises only have one inclusive excursion for all its passengers, but sometimes they offer optional tours, like in Russia, we had optional tours for the ballet and folkshow as well as other tours. You can go your own way, but generally don't need to do that.

 

On the pace of the tours, our Vantage tour included many people in their 70s and some with canes. We did fairly well in moving along.

 

On selecting your cruise. I lived in Germany from 87-91 and did all the places that you listed by land.

 

Most of the river cruises are in central Europe on the Rhine, Danube or Elbe, but there are two in France worth considering on the Seine and Rhone. My favorite country in Europe is Italy, but I am an Ancient History buff and Italy is filled with so much history.

 

Switzerland and Austria have fantastic mountain scenery, but Switzerland is about the most expensive country in Europe, outside of Scandinavia. Germany is full of wonderful places to see, but the gems are in Bavaria, which river cruises don't do much justice.

 

A lot of river cruises rave about taking the cruise from Amsterdam all the way to the Black Sea. It is usually broken up into two cruises.

 

Also, a river cruise that includes Prague, Vienna and Budapest would be a good one.

[paul929207]

We sailed from the Black Sea to Amsterdam with Uniworld in 2003. It was two cruises with the middle start/end being Budapest.

 

In 2010, we sailed from Moscow to St. Petersburg with Grand Circle.

 

Both were great. I guess there were 4 or 5 optional tours on each trip. All the rest were included.

 

Also, most of these companies offer a tre-trip and a post-trip. Both are optional.