Too Young to River Cruise?

[Oklahoma Dreaming]

My husband and I were thinking of taking a River Cruise either with Viking or Uniworld, and we would be bringing our 6 adult children (3 children & their spouses) - ages 25-30. Would they be surrounded by their "grandparents" or do younger people take River Cruises? We are wanting to travel from Basel to Amsterdam.

Also, do you HAVE to do the tours or can you just get off the vessel and stroll around the villages/cities that they dock?

Would really appreciate some feed back!

[Talisker92]

In general, river cruises attract a more mature group. That being said, it is a matter of attitude rather than age. I am sure your children will be happy on the cruise.

You do not have to go on the tours, but it is a good starting point for orientation. I would suggest you also look at Vantage for that cruise. We have taken a number of trip with them and have been pleased.

We cruised from Budapest to Amsterdam a few years ago, and that story and pictures are on our website.

We are happy to answer any questions

[editor@cruisecritic]

You are very cool parents to be taking your kids on a river cruise :) -- I would probably go either with a Viking Longship (more contemporary ambience) or Uniworld's SS Antoinette, which has a cinema, indoor pool and lovely spa, and its fab top-deck Leopard nightclub.

 

You don't have to do the tours. They're included in your fare and a lot of people, understandably, feel they need to do 'em, but in some ports I find I'd rather just explore on my own. On the Rhine, those would include Strasbourg, Rudesheim, Cologne, among others.

 

One difference that may matter to your brood: Uniworld has bikes on the ship that you can take out in port (and the Rhine has terrific paths along the river that run through villages and cities, and are flat, so cycling is really fun). Viking does not.

 

On both ships there are onboard concierges who can organize special trips (say to a spa or something else) if you want to try something other than what's offered.

 

I think you will have a blast. Hope you go for it. Let us know --

 

Carolyn

 

Carolyn Spencer Brown

Editor in Chief

Cruise Critic

 

My husband and I were thinking of taking a River Cruise either with Viking or Uniworld, and we would be bringing our 6 adult children (3 children & their spouses) - ages 25-30. Would they be surrounded by their "grandparents" or do younger people take River Cruises? We are wanting to travel from Basel to Amsterdam.

Also, do you HAVE to do the tours or can you just get off the vessel and stroll around the villages/cities that they dock?

Would really appreciate some feed back!

[id est]

We had folks in their 30's on our Viking Rhine Christmas cruise. I believe they had a great time. Cold weather attracts younger people. :)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Yes they would , I think the average age is 75 ..

[lilybob]

I am researching different lines and found Arosa mentioned as they are now marketing to NA. They are geared to a slightly younger demographic and offer a variety of tour activities. Perhaps if anyone has cruised them they will share their experience.

 

http://www.arosacruises.com/

[Oklahoma Dreaming]

Thank you so much for the info. I think they would love a river cruise, I know my husband and I would. We took them all on a Mediterranean RCCL- mega ship last summer and they had a blast so this idea is the completely opposite experience and I think they would love it just as much, as long as they have each other to hang with. (they are great, fun kids) From what I have read the Uniworld line sounds a little more contemporary so I will look into that one. I wish the Uniworld website would give you detailed info for each day like Viking does.

Thank you again.

[Riversedge]

I think they would have a wonderful time. Go for it! The average age on our cruise was about 55 but there were a few younger people and they looked like they were having fun.

 

Keep in mind that sometimes you can't just hop off the ship and see the city. Some ports require you to take a bus to get into the town. The bus ride may be an hour long but the sights out the window were worth it. Even if they decided to take the offered tour they don't have to stick with it. They can let their guide know that they are leaving the tour. After the tours there was always time to see the area on their own.

 

I think it's nice that your family wants to go together. It's a trip you will always remember for a lifetime.

 

Do keep in mind that there won't be entertainment on a river cruise similar to what you're used to with the big cruise ships. The entertainment is more likely to be a local group they bring onboard. If they were going to be bored at all, I would expect it to be in the evenings.

[acwmom]

Thank you so much for the info. I think they would love a river cruise, I know my husband and I would. We took them all on a Mediterranean RCCL- mega ship last summer and they had a blast so this idea is the completely opposite experience and I think they would love it just as much, as long as they have each other to hang with. (they are great, fun kids) From what I have read the Uniworld line sounds a little more contemporary so I will look into that one. I wish the Uniworld website would give you detailed info for each day like Viking does.

Thank you again.

 

Uniworld does provide this, if you go to their website and click on the "Before you go" tab, then click on "cruise companion", it lists all of the cruises. If you are looking at the "Castles on the Rhine" cruise, the day to day info starts on page 27.

[RachelG]

Hi, from another Tulsan.

When I started reading the first post, I thought you were going to ask about taking a really young child or infant.

 

Your adult children will have a great time. On our AMA cruise, there was a family with adult children. They will be the minority of course, but the great thing about river cruising is that you are at the dock most nights. So they can go out on the town if they want. My sons, 22 and 27, are mad we are not taking them on our upcoming Danube cruise!

[caviargal]

This is my opinion after 6 river cruises as one of the younger guests on 4 of these.

 

The demographic and energy on our two AMA cruises was markedly differently from our first 4 with another line. Entertainment after dinner was lively and fun and we were out dancing til the wee hours. On our other cruises, the nightly entertainment was mostly a snoozefest.

 

Tours on AMA were more varied and the bike tours appealed to the more active guests. They also offer Active Tours which is what we chose and the pace was alot more to our liking.

 

The staff and personality of our AMA cruises was also less formal and more warm and energetic.

 

I would recommend paying attention to the details in the itinerary and choosing one that include late stays in port or overnight stays. We enjoy getting out and about so this really appealed to.

 

We also avoid long periods of sailing during the day as we enjoy spending our time in port.

 

IMO and IME, not all lines are created equal and we choose AMA because we prefer the energy, entertainment and demographic we have experienced on our two wonderful cruises with them.

[ewizabeff]

I'm 30 and my husband is 36, and we will soon be booking our first river cruise for September 2014. We'll be traveling with my parents (who will be 61 & 74 by then). We knew we wanted to go to Europe, but we also know that my dad has trouble walking long distances, and we didn't want them to have to drag their stuff to a train station every few days when we switch cities. I think on the river cruise my husband and I will be able to hang out together when we want, and split up when we want to do something more active. We're not interested in an all-night party (when we travel we're often back in our hotel room by 8pm) so I think we'll be fine.

[steamboats]

You won´t find many young people or children on river cruises. But if you don´t mind then go for it! My first river cruise was at the age of 28. My DD first cruise was at the age of 18 months. I never had a problem with "older people" being my travel mates. I usually found it very interesting to hear their stories and experiences.

 

You don´t have to take the included tours but take them as they are... you´ve paid for them. In most ports you can just walk off the ship and explore the towns on your own. Usually - next to the included tour - you do have some free time on your own anyway.

 

steamboats

[AttilaTheFun]

I recently got back from a cruise with my sister - we are both in our 20s and were way under the average passenger age, which I estimate to be in the 60s. There was one couple celebrating their honeymoon and they were maybe early 30s and everyone else was 50+.

 

However, this didn't bother us and we still met some great people. Most people were very friendly, although I think some passengers ignored us or were just unfriendly in general. Their loss!

 

I would check with your children if they feel comfortable in an environment with mostly "older adults." Even if you find the youngest-skewing river cruise line, it will still not be filled with "young" people, that's just the way it is.

 

I personally feel that a river cruise would be a great vacation for a grown-up family and while we were cruising, I kept thinking of how much my parents would enjoy the trip. We had a great time, but just temper your expectations that it's very different from an ocean cruise. Nights were pretty dead and there were almost no onboard activities to speak of. Meals were fairly regimented times, although food was available at most hours of the day. The included tours also make one feel very much like a tourist - following a guide holding a paddle sign and with an earpiece on. I was a bit embarrassed at first, but the tours were so well-done and we saw/learned things that we would never have if we did the ports on our own. Just some considerations coming from a younger generation of river cruiser.

[pixiegirl-loves-travel]

My daughter and I took a Russian river cruise together last summer. I'm in my 40's and K was 20. We had such a wonderful time! We made new friends and built up a lifetime of memories in that one trip. (It was the 1st time overseas for both of us as well as our first cruise of any sort) While most of our fellow cruisers were 60+, neither of us cared. We were actually surprised for find that our table mates were in their upper 20's and there were a few other couples in their 30's, 40's and 50's. Not that it mattered. All of the people we met were lovely and even though river cruises don't offer the varied amenities and activities of a large cruise ship- we were never bored. So if your adult children like to travel and have new experiences, they will love it!

 

Have a great family trip! :D

[mckendus]

Thank you so much for the info. I think they would love a river cruise, I know my husband and I would. We took them all on a Mediterranean RCCL- mega ship last summer and they had a blast so this idea is the completely opposite experience and I think they would love it just as much, as long as they have each other to hang with. (they are great, fun kids) From what I have read the Uniworld line sounds a little more contemporary so I will look into that one. I wish the Uniworld website would give you detailed info for each day like Viking does.

Thank you again.

 

On our recent cruise with AMAWaterways on the Amacello there was a girl just turning 31 with her mother who was celebrating her 60th birthday. The daughter was the youngest passenger onboard, but mingled great with all of us "mature" folks and we enjoyed her. With having a group in the same age bracket it'll be fabulous! Also, AMAWaterways has bikes on every ship so give them a look.

[BarbaraM]

Did you check out scenic? The kids might like the all inclusive part of it. What fun a river cruise with your adult children!!!

[CleoV]

I would hardly call 25-30 year olds "children." If they're potty trained and have good table manners, they'll be just fine on a river cruise.

 

We were by far the youngest on our Danube cruise and Mississippi River cruise, and found the people who were 20-30 years older than us were up earlier, stayed up later, and were better traveled than we were. No wimps in our groups!

 

There were a couple of 20-somethings on our cruise too, who we got to know quite well, and they had a fantastic time. If your 'children' are friendly and willing to hear creaky old people tell them fantastic stories about their travels, they'll fit right in. If they think old people have nothing interesting to offer, leave them home and go yourselves. You'll have a fantastic time.

 

You don't have to take the tours if you don't want to, but we find you make such good friends on river cruises (far more so than on ocean cruises) that you might want to hang out with them on excursions anyway.

[lahlah57]

Went on a couple of Viking cruises and the youngest people on there were in their mid 40's.

Unlike the bigger ships no activities for younger folks but they are in their 20's. Hopefully they will not expect others in their age group to be on board and they may be the only ones. If they are there for experiencing the tours and the "elderly":p then this trip is for them. Almost everyone onboard are young at heart and are excited to travel.

[newfirsttimer]

I would pick a line that has bicycles available with decor that is not over the top. AMA and Scenic are wonderful choices and as the OP stated, with all drinks included with Scenic, maybe the younger generation would enjoy this without an unknown added expense on check out day.

[LHT28]

We had several 30 somethings & a couple of 80 somethings on our Scenic cruise

others were far from "one foot in grave" types that people think of when they think river cruises

 

Everyone got along just fine

[williamsanderson]

It is absolutely fine to take your children along with you for cruise journey. After all they are adult children! They will enjoy the Cruise Trip for sure, especially coz they are with their spouses and they ain't be alone. If they have are photography obsessed, then there would be no room for boredom!