Vote: Which is your favorite river cruise line?

[Ship's Wake]

Thanks:) but it looks like (from what I am seeing) they are all for this

year. I am looking for 2014:)

 

2014 in this link:

http://www.uniworld.com/solo-travelers

[pbnjrockette]

I'm curious to know what the criteria is for "budget" "premium" and "luxury". Cost of trip? Types of boats/accommodations? Food? Extras?

 

anyone?

[caviargal]

I'm curious to know what the criteria is for "budget" "premium" and "luxury". Cost of trip? Types of boats/accommodations? Food? Extras?

 

anyone?

 

IMO, all of the above. You get what you pay on a river cruise, or any cruise for that matter.

 

The budget lines (Vantage and GCT) generally sail older and more basic boats with small cabins, murphy beds, no elevators, etc.

 

The premium lines (AMA, Uniworld) have more luxurious ships, larger cabins with hotel bedding, nice linens, more inclusions and an upscale ambiance.

 

We choose to cruise with AMA these days (6 river cruises to date, two with AMA and 4 with Avalon) because they offer sophisticated ships, a warm and personable staff, great beds, nicely appointed cabins, very good cuisine and service and excellent attention to detail. They also offer active excursions, bike tours, culinary tours. And for us, being on the younger end of the passengers on each river cruise we have been on, AMA was the most fun in the evenings, with good entertainment, theme parties and dancing. We loved our evenings aboard.

 

Tauck is what I consider to be a luxury line. Their boats are beautiful from what we have seen on the rivers. They offer a lot of inclusions (transfers, gratuities, more excursions) but these are not things we are interested in. We would not choose to pay the premium for inclusions we would not use. We are not into group excursions, book our own pre and post stays and transfers and prefer to tip as we see fit.

 

As independent travelers looking for an upscale and fun river cruise experience, AMA delivers everything we look for.

[Lois R]

Hi Kim:)so you have cruised with Avalon too? And you must have liked

them as well? (since you went mulitple times?)

Just on my way to work but I have a cruise with AMA on hold (for a week). I need to look at Avalon as well.:).....

 

Thanks again for the help:)

[caviargal]

Hi Kim:)so you have cruised with Avalon too? And you must have liked

them as well? (since you went mulitple times?)

Just on my way to work but I have a cruise with AMA on hold (for a week). I need to look at Avalon as well.:).....

 

Thanks again for the help:)

 

We really enjoyed our first river cruise with Avalon, a 5 night Christmas market sailing. Then we did a back to back but were disappointed in the entertainment and tours. We took one more as I had a group already booked but that one was a real disappointment in terms of food, tours, service and entertainment. We were really not sure if we would do another river cruise but then decided to try AMA and have never looked back.

 

I have posted reviews on all of these if you want more details.

[H2Otstr]

 

 

We choose to cruise with AMA these days (6 river cruises to date, two with AMA and 4 with Avalon) because they offer sophisticated ships, a warm and personable staff, great beds, nicely appointed cabins, very good cuisine and service and excellent attention to detail. They also offer active excursions, bike tours, culinary tours. And for us, being on the younger end of the passengers on each river cruise we have been on, AMA was the most fun in the evenings, with good entertainment, theme parties and dancing. We loved our evenings aboard.

 

 

Caviargal, after reading your posts, I looked forward to these activities, but we didn't have them on our trip. Maybe it was because of the route we took ??? (Bucharest to Budapest).

 

We were supposed to have an "active walking" group ONE day, but it never happened. There were a couple times when there was a gentle walking group, but never a group for more active walkers.

 

There were two days that a bicycle tour took place. The people who went seemed to enjoy it, even the one day where they got rained on.

 

There were two evenings where we had folk dancing groups brought onboard, but never any kind of theme parties, etc. One evening we did have a European Quiz, some people cheated by looking for the answers on their iphones :D, but that was it.

 

I really believe that each river cruise is "special" and that not activities/events that happen on one cruise will necessarily happen on all cruises, even if cruising on the same cruise line.

[caviargal]

Caviargal, after reading your posts, I looked forward to these activities, but we didn't have them on our trip. Maybe it was because of the route we took ??? (Bucharest to Budapest).

 

We were supposed to have an "active walking" group ONE day, but it never happened. There were a couple times when there was a gentle walking group, but never a group for more active walkers.

 

There were two days that a bicycle tour took place. The people who went seemed to enjoy it, even the one day where they got rained on.

 

There were two evenings where we had folk dancing groups brought onboard, but never any kind of theme parties, etc. One evening we did have a European Quiz, some people cheated by looking for the answers on their iphones :D, but that was it.

 

I really believe that each river cruise is "special" and that not activities/events that happen on one cruise will necessarily happen on all cruises, even if cruising on the same cruise line.

 

On our November 2012 cruise between Budapest and Prague, we had a great piano player who also acted as a DJ each evening and the dance floor was hopping! One night they had a 60s party and the CD and cruise staff dressed up and it was a blast! The dancing went on well past midnight. We were out each night having a great time.

 

On our first AMA cruise in 2011, it was wine theme cruise. There were special events throughout the cruise. One night there was a duo that played contemporary music that was a lot of fun. Other nights were DJ and piano.

 

The active tours were not offered on our first AMA cruise but were last year and we enjoyed them as well as the two culinary tours we took. We often opt out of the included tours, as they are just too slow for us, but these were enjoyable.

 

I am sure that the CD as well as the itinerary makes a difference but we had a great time on both. We cannot wait to see what they have in store for us on Christmas and New Years Eve!

[Lois R]

Kim...what are your thoughts about Uniworld? I found something with them and am really, really happy with price and timing is good. It is in

the spring:).....(the one with AMA is for late 2014)......

From what I have been reading Uniworld and AMA seem to be on par

with one another?....would that be correct?

[caviargal]

Kim...what are your thoughts about Uniworld? I found something with them and am really, really happy with price and timing is good. It is in

the spring:).....(the one with AMA is for late 2014)......

From what I have been reading Uniworld and AMA seem to be on par

with one another?....would that be correct?

 

We have not tried them so no first hand experience but they are well regarded and if the price and date work best for you, then you should definitely consider it.

[Lois R]

We have not tried them so no first hand experience but they are well regarded and if the price and date work best for you, then you should definitely consider it.

 

Hi, now I found one on Avalon that looks good to me as well:eek:

So many choices..........

 

Have another question......are the floods this season out of the

ordinary?:confused:.....I really wanted to go in the spring of 2014 and

was just curious if this is not a good time to sail.

[pbnjrockette]

IMO, all of the above. You get what you pay on a river cruise, or any cruise for that matter.

 

The budget lines (Vantage and GCT) generally sail older and more basic boats with small cabins, murphy beds, no elevators, etc.

 

The premium lines (AMA, Uniworld) have more luxurious ships, larger cabins with hotel bedding, nice linens, more inclusions and an upscale ambiance.

 

 

We have traveled with Vantage several times but only on their own ships in Europe (China, Russia were not Vantage ships) we have NEVER encountered "Murphy" beds!!! They have several much newer ships and we will be sailing with them in 2014.

 

I will be checking out AMA and Uniworld for future trips as well.

 

Best thing about river cruising... I DON'T get seasick! :D

[caviargal]

Hi, now I found one on Avalon that looks good to me as well:eek:

So many choices..........

 

Have another question......are the floods this season out of the

ordinary?:confused:.....I really wanted to go in the spring of 2014 and

was just curious if this is not a good time to sail.

 

Hi again. I was going to email you but no longer have your email address. Do you still have mine? Happy to chat about this with you.

[Lois R]

Hi again. I was going to email you but no longer have your email address. Do you still have mine? Happy to chat about this with you.

 

Hi,:) nope, don't have yours either......

 

Here, click on this link....

 

lo1958@hotmail.com

 

Off to work....will look for it this evening:)....thanks!

[CruisinGert]

It's difficult to compare favorites if you don't also compare the size of the companies.

 

Viking: 57 ships

Uniworld: 18 ships

AMA: 17 ships

Tauck: 6 ships

[dongeddy]

My favorite is Kosher Cruises, competitively price, loyal to the customer and provides excellent service with great hospitality. Well I understand with so many cruise lines, it might be difficult for you to select from, and however, you should choose the one that offers the ideal voyage for your vacation.

[hiicap]

We've traveled with 4of the lines: GCT, AMA, Avalon, Viking, one with each company. We very seldom meet anyone who has not done all, or at least most trips with the company that runs that particular trip. I take that to mean that most are very similar to each other.

We will be going on our second trip with GCT in Sept., partially because their cruise last year was wonderful and the 'old', budget boat I thought was a lot nicer way to travel than than the new, much bigger ships that the orher lines have. Our ship last year was 120 passengers and this year is only 90 or so. The food, crew, and other constants were at least as good as any other. I couldn't see any reason to spend another $2000 plus to travel on a bigger ship. Also, GCT seems to have more days on the boat than most others (the way to go).

Bottom Line is to pick the exact route you want to go and take the company that goes there.

Whatever company you go with, you will have a great time.

[Host Jazzbeau]

It's difficult to compare favorites if you don't also compare the size of the companies.

 

Viking: 57 ships

Uniworld: 18 ships

AMA: 17 ships

Tauck: 6 ships

 

Thanks for doing the research on the number of ships per line.

 

The important point to me is that although Viking is in the lead at 36%, they have the overwhelming majority of ships. AMA, with only 17 ships, has nearly as many votes as Viking. In my mind, that makes AMA the big winner here.

[caviargal]

Thanks for doing the research on the number of ships per line.

 

The important point to me is that although Viking is in the lead at 36%, they have the overwhelming majority of ships. AMA, with only 17 ships, has nearly as many votes as Viking. In my mind, that makes AMA the big winner here.

 

Yes, I agree and noticed that as well. Very impressive showing for AMA.

[Rickmer Rickmers]

Thanks for doing the research on the number of ships per line.

 

The important point to me is that although Viking is in the lead at 36%, they have the overwhelming majority of ships. AMA, with only 17 ships, has nearly as many votes as Viking. In my mind, that makes AMA the big winner here.

 

Yes, I agree and noticed that as well. Very impressive showing for AMA.

 

[ccsearover]

2011 did the Danube on the Beatrice. All was Great.:)

[marco]

I did not vote in the survey as a category should have been: "Any of the lines as they are all outstanding". We have gone with VIking, GCT, and Vantage, all more then once. Friends who have gone with us have also gone on Avalon and Tauck and they agreed that those were of equal caliber as the others, so I could not choose one over the other as ALL were excellent in all regards.

[hiicap]

Marco, I agree 100 percent with you on cruise lines good or bad. All are good. The decider should always be where you want to go and do. Read ports and activities carefully as many ships stop in the same locations but approach the location from a different angle: for example a Paris to Normandy may differ in the importance of Normandy vs the emphasis put into the Monet and Van Gogh stops along the way. Also, look at the days on the boat vs time in a hotel with different lines. Cost, if important, can vary from line to line for the same route.

It's all good in the world of river cruising.

[caviargal]

Marco, I agree 100 percent with you on cruise lines good or bad. All are good. The decider should always be where you want to go and do.

It's all good in the world of river cruising.

 

I disagree.

 

A river cruise is not inexpensive. For us, the line matters as much as the itinerary. We know what we enjoy and what is important to us and would not choose to cruise with a line that does not appeal to us, no matter the itinerary. Too much time and money are invested in these trips to compromise.

 

For us, after 6 river cruises, the devil is in the details and we choose based on our own priorities.

[jeant]

Hey Encinitasgirl. We live in Point Loma and are taking Uniworld River Beatrice on Oct 13 on the Danube. It is our first time with Uniworld. Glad to see your post.

[hiicap]

I guess it depends why you go on a trip of any kind. I would certainly agree that they are not inexpensive. Our travel is based on here we would like to go and the chance to meet new people. Both are able to be fulfilled with the way that I included in my post. How we get there is secondary based on our experiences of traveling on 4 different lines.

Others, I realize, have other priorities. One of the lesser values we have is the 'luxury' provided by certain lines. Every one with we which we have traveled has worked for us as far as the 'luxury' part, thus I feel in using our criteria to select from all of the lines depending on the route and number of days as a priority.

Again, everyone should choose whatever works for them as I have said all along.

Bon Voyage!