River cruise lines that do NOT include alcohol?

[caviargal]

You have never been on a river cruise. I have been on four and have never seen a drunk let a loan a bot full of drunks.

 

 

Never saw anyone drunk on 6 river cruises. Our group of friends has closed down the bar a few times though :)

Edited August 9, 2013 by caviargal

[Donray]

I will answer the factual questions and not the opinions.

 

1) Yes I have been on more than one river cruise and more than one Ocean cruise.

2) Avalon have an in room minibar

 

I will not respond to the rest and not enter any other correspondence on my comments.

 

So Avalon has nothing but drunks on board?

 

Was that the river cruise you were on that was full of drunks?

[Hydrokitty]

Never saw anyone drunk on 6 river cruises. Our group of friends has closed down the bar a few times though :)

 

Good times!!:D we never got drunk or saw anyone worse than a little tipsy either and I've been on 5 river cruises and counting. I do wonder why they start serving alcohol so early in the morning though. Same as on the big ships We were on Celebrity Infinity in April and it seemed like the bar closed at 4 a.m. and reopened at 9 a.m.! Drinks aren't free on big ships either, although we did get wine with dinner every night.

[franski]

Our group of friends has closed down the bar a few times though :)

 

Not as hard to do on a river cruise when they seem to want to close the lounge by midnight!!! Have run up to get a cup of tea close to midnight on a few occassons - and they are already vacuuming by then....

 

It will be interesting to see if thing stay open a bit longer on our upcoming cruise - given that the bar is "open"....

 

Fran

Edited August 9, 2013 by franski

[Got2Cruise]

Not as hard to do on a river cruise when they seem to want to close the lounge by midnight!!! Have run up to get a cup of tea close to midnight on a few occassons - and they are already vacuuming by then....

 

It will be interesting to see if thing stay open a bit longer on our upcoming cruise - given that the bar is "open"....

 

Fran

Fran, this is so funny, but true. But one thing about River Cruises, is that you have to get up early the next morning for the tour. No sea days. One night I didn't drink at all because I knew we had to get up early and then be out for ten hours the next day.:)

[franski]

Fran, this is so funny, but true. But one thing about River Cruises, is that you have to get up early the next morning for the tour. No sea days. One night I didn't drink at all because I knew we had to get up early and then be out for ten hours the next day.:)

 

We actually have a "sea day" on day 2 of our upcoming cruise... quite looking forward to sleeping in, reading, eating, drinking.... I figure that might be the only "down time" until we have our 2 days in Nuremberg post cruise!!

 

Fran

[caviargal]

Not as hard to do on a river cruise when they seem to want to close the lounge by midnight!!! Have run up to get a cup of tea close to midnight on a few occassons - and they are already vacuuming by then....

 

 

That the was case on Avalon but on our two AMA cruises, there were several nights the bar was hopping and we were out dancing well past midnight - and so were a lot of other passengers. We had some great nights aboard. :)

[Hydrokitty]

Not as hard to do on a river cruise when they seem to want to close the lounge by midnight!!! Have run up to get a cup of tea close to midnight on a few occassons - and they are already vacuuming by then....

 

It will be interesting to see if thing stay open a bit longer on our upcoming cruise - given that the bar is "open"....

 

Fran

 

Vantage keeps the bar open "until the last guest leaves"., which is probably not much later than midnight!.

[AttilaTheFun]

I have been on Uniworld, so trust me, I know what a quality river cruise line is like. I was simply asking if there were any cruise lines I was missing in my research that don't include alcohol in the pricing. I don't care how cheap the river cruise companies buy their beer/wine for, it's STILL factored into the price, whether you believe it or not. My parents simply don't like the taste of alcohol, so if they're not going to use that feature of the cruise. Similarly, I would never recommend that they do a luxury line like Seabourn or Crystal because alcohol is similarly incorporate into the pricing.

 

This thread feels like it's quickly getting off-topic and into in-fighting, so thanks to those of you that offered suggestions.

[atlasali]

I don't think you would be condemning your parents, if you choose Vantage. I put a great deal of thought into making our decision. I made a spreadsheet and compared about 8 different companies. We chose Vantage; this is why:

 

1--I like wine...but I am picky as to the flavor. I wanted to choose my own--not just select "the red or the white" the cruise line offers at meals. I'd rather drink bottles of wine which I buy in town.

 

2--Beer is not that important to us. Loved the Kolsch we tried in Cologne, and the microbrew we had at a lunch in Rastatt. But we seldom drink beer with meals at home.

 

3--Itinerary - This was important. I wanted as much time on the ship as possible. Vantage provided a 14-night, on the riverboat, Rhine and Mosel itinerary. Some 10-night itineraries meant only 7-nights on the riverboat with the other 3 in a hotel.

 

4--And Vantage cost less. I assumed that was due to not providing the expense of alcohol to all the passengers at meals twice a day.

 

I have not been on any "luxury" riverboats...this was my first riverboat. But I do not think that that I was on a "steerage class" cruise. The ship was brand new and beautiful. The cabin was spacious. The only amenities that appeared to be missing were: 1--a hot tub and 2--a beauty salon. I have no need of a beauty salon. Admittedly, I would have enjoyed a hot tub. The River Venture has a capacity of 134 passengers, a smaller, more intimate riverboat.

 

The service on the River Venture ranked among the best we have experienced on any vacation: we arrived independently, the person who carried my luggage onboard was the Captain; after two days, the sous chef who cooked omelets remembered my special order; the girl at the reception desk made a thoughtful and very perceptive inquiry, based upon just seeing me pass by; while I was sitting in the lounge, the Executive Chef stopped to chat and to say that, if I ever had a question or concern about the food to ask for him, and he would personally take care of it. Due to the flooding in Europe, we had to leave the River Venture and go to a 4-star Hilton hotel for 3 nights. The food, the service, and the facilities at the hotel were no where near as wonderful as on the riverboat. We were all thrilled to get to re-board the River Venture (our home) for the last 2-nights of our itinerary.

 

Good luck to you making this decision. And I hope your parents have a wonderful trip whatever you choose. Since Europe just experienced a "500-year flood", they should hopefully have better weather.

[AttilaTheFun]

I don't think you would be condemning your parents, if you choose Vantage. I put a great deal of thought into making our decision. I made a spreadsheet and compared about 8 different companies. We chose Vantage; this is why:

 

1--I like wine...but I am picky as to the flavor. I wanted to choose my own--not just select "the red or the white" the cruise line offers at meals. I'd rather drink bottles of wine which I buy in town.

 

2--Beer is not that important to us. Loved the Kolsch we tried in Cologne, and the microbrew we had at a lunch in Rastatt. But we seldom drink beer with meals at home.

 

3--Itinerary - This was important. I wanted as much time on the ship as possible. Vantage provided a 14-night, on the riverboat, Rhine and Mosel itinerary. Some 10-night itineraries meant only 7-nights on the riverboat with the other 3 in a hotel.

 

4--And Vantage cost less. I assumed that was due to not providing the expense of alcohol to all the passengers at meals twice a day.

 

I have not been on any "luxury" riverboats...this was my first riverboat. But I do not think that that I was on a "steerage class" cruise. The ship was brand new and beautiful. The cabin was spacious. The only amenities that appeared to be missing were: 1--a hot tub and 2--a beauty salon. I have no need of a beauty salon. Admittedly, I would have enjoyed a hot tub. The River Venture has a capacity of 134 passengers, a smaller, more intimate riverboat.

 

The service on the River Venture ranked among the best we have experienced on any vacation: we arrived independently, the person who carried my luggage onboard was the Captain; after two days, the sous chef who cooked omelets remembered my special order; the girl at the reception desk made a thoughtful and very perceptive inquiry, based upon just seeing me pass by; while I was sitting in the lounge, the Executive Chef stopped to chat and to say that, if I ever had a question or concern about the food to ask for him, and he would personally take care of it. Due to the flooding in Europe, we had to leave the River Venture and go to a 4-star Hilton hotel for 3 nights. The food, the service, and the facilities at the hotel were no where near as wonderful as on the riverboat. We were all thrilled to get to re-board the River Venture (our home) for the last 2-nights of our itinerary.

 

Good luck to you making this decision. And I hope your parents have a wonderful trip whatever you choose. Since Europe just experienced a "500-year flood", they should hopefully have better weather.

 

Thank you - this was incredibly helpful. I am glad to hear that Vantage was a nice experience and not some horror story, like others have implied, simply because they don't include beer/wine with the meal, which gets a big :rolleyes: from me...

[pacmom]

Would also recommend Vantage. We took a Christms mrket cruise with them and realy enjiyed it. At that time-2008-the beds on the lower deck were daybeds, so we opted for the main deck. Crew was very attentive,food satisfctory, tours very good. This ws one of 17 river cruises on various lines. If it is a first cruise with Vantage, I had read some place on CC that they will let you use a TA. Good luck, you are a thoughtful son or daughter. Pat

Edited August 11, 2013 by pacmom

[tulok]

I have been on Uniworld, so trust me, I know what a quality river cruise line is like. I was simply asking if there were any cruise lines I was missing in my research that don't include alcohol in the pricing. I don't care how cheap the river cruise companies buy their beer/wine for, it's STILL factored into the price, whether you believe it or not. My parents simply don't like the taste of alcohol, so if they're not going to use that feature of the cruise. Similarly, I would never recommend that they do a luxury line like Seabourn or Crystal because alcohol is similarly incorporate into the pricing.

 

This thread feels like it's quickly getting off-topic and into in-fighting, so thanks to those of you that offered suggestions.

 

Well said! I like to comparison shop as well. The worst thing about these boards are the $$$ judging.

[sjde]

I too have never seen anyone drunk on a river cruise and I've been on two AMA and one Grand Circle.

 

Grand Circle is one of the least expensive and they do include 2 glasses at dinner. I think they are lower because for one, they don't sell through travel agents and two, they have only twin beds. They are the beds that pull down from the wall-is that what a day bed is? We thought they were very roomy and comfortable.

[traveling is cool]

Hi retiredand happy,

We are interested in booking the m s Mozart this sept through legendary journeys....they are NOT very CLEAR on what's included or NOT included.

I'd love to know the actually price of a beverage pkg/ alcohol or not alcohol included..and prices for some of the excursions..can't see how many of those are included either...

Many many thanks...

dtravelbug@gmail.com

Ps...hope you had a GREAT time☺️

Dianne

[rljan]

Vantage has never included beer or wine with meals except at the Captain's welcome and farewell dinners, although it is available for purchase at any time and it is not included in the cost of the trip. We usually buy a bottle on the first night and they keep it for us for the rest of the trip. Most lines do seem to be including wine with dinner every night though.

 

This is not completely accurate. We sailed on the Vantage River Discovery II, last fall, in Southern France. Complimentary wine was served at every dinner. Complimentary cocktails were served before the welcome and Captain's dinners.

[nana541]

When I was booking and talking to Vantage this was also the info I was given.

 

 

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[H2Otstr]

We were also served wine every evening on our small cruise ship journey with Vantage.

[nana541]

What about Grand Circle???

 

 

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[Talisker92]

Dear Atlasali,

Thank you for that nice writeup on Vantage. We have done 3 river cruises with them and have been very happy. The food was good, the personnel were nice, our cabin was great, and i would recommend them. I feel you get the most" bang for the buck" with Vantage.

[CPT Trips]

I've been doing some research for my parents about river cruises and would like to compare lines that do NOT include alcohol in the cost of the cruise. My parents don't drink at all, so I feel that it would be a waste for them to go on a cruise line that includes wine/beer at meals.

 

So far, I've found Grand Circle and Vantage don't normally include alcoholic beverages in the price. Are there any others I'm missing?

 

Your research is off. GCT has served wine at least since 2003 and more recently beer too with dinners. In 2015 they will serve beer and wine with lunch and dinner.

[Hydrokitty]

This is not completely accurate. We sailed on the Vantage River Discovery II, last fall, in Southern France. Complimentary wine was served at every dinner. Complimentary cocktails were served before the welcome and Captain's dinners.

 

Up until this year, Vantage did not include complimentary wine with dinner, except for the welcome and farewell dinners. This year they include complimentary wine on some cruises, like the one you were on, but not on all for instance we went on Gateway to the Black Sea this summer and wine was not included except for those two dinners. I haven't sailed on Discovery II yet, it's one of the new ships and it's possible that beverages are complimentary on it. In seven Vantage cruises, I've never seen complimentary cocktails, even at the welcome and Captain's dinners.

[sjde]

So Vantage and GCT are often compared with each other but it seems like GCT has a more liberal alcohol policy.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Maybe it's time to go back to the OP's original idea, which was that since his parents don't drink it might be possible to save money by finding a cruise line that doesn't include alcohol.

 

The clear trend in river cruising is to become more inclusive, and wine and beer with meals seems to be a basic amenity of almost all cruise lines. So OP needs to clarify whether the goal is to find the least expensive cruise (regardless of quality, or at the minimally acceptable quality level), or to find the best value at the expected quality level.

 

As an example, my wife doesn't drink at all. AMA's included wine and beer are a waste for her. But she enjoys AMA's cuisine, the very wide range of included tours [and, possibly relevant to OP, always having a slow walkers group as well as normal and often "fast"], and the overall level of service [as has been proven many times lately when high- or low-water caused problems]. We wouldn't view it as good value to give all that up just to save a little by not paying for the wine she doesn't drink.

[nana541]

Ok I'm confused, the OP started this thread in August of 2013. I imagine he got his answers long long ago!

 

 

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