Trying to deide on a river cruise??

[azkolachi]

My husband and i are thinking of a river cruise. One of the Ports that we want to see is Prague. Not sure of what cruise line: Uniworld, Ama , Viking or Grand Circle. :)

Thanks,

[franski]

Hi - Welcome to Cruise Critic!!

 

First of all, you should be aware that Prague is not a "port" on a river cruise, the same way that Vienna and/or Budapest are. Prague is a long bus ride (4 or 5 hours) from either Nuremberg or Passau (on the Danube River). You can get Prague as part of a Danube river cruise - either as part of the package, or as an add-on.

 

The recommendation re: which line is so subjective.... I am sure most will offer an "opinion" - but without knowing what is important to you, it is hard to make any suggestions.

 

Fran

[sippican]

My husband and i are thinking of a river cruise. One of the Ports that we want to see is Prague. Not sure of what cruise line: Uniworld, Ama , Viking or Grand Circle. :)

Thanks,

 

It is confusing regarding Prague as it is listed as a river cruise destination by many lines. Many of the itineraries start or end in Prague (which, as the previous poster noted, is a distance from the port of embarkation or debarkation).

We are beginning our AMA trip in Prague. We are not doing the pre-cruise in Prague through the cruise line. We found it much more economical to DIY, booking our own hotels and private guide, Be aware that you may be able to use the ship's transfers to get to or from Prague. We are paying AMA to go from Prague to Vilshofen on embarkation day.

Back to your question and welcome to the boards. If you take a look down the forum at many of the threads, you will find some helpful information on choosing the right cruise. It really is a personal choice of matching the line your personal tastes, wants, needs and budget. You are wise in starting with the most important part - the itinerary. I made a spreadsheet of various lines listing the things that were important to us as I was a bit overwhelmed with the choices.

Good luck with your planning.

[alexandra cruiser]

Check out this...http://www.cruisecritic.com/river for more info.

also look under ports for info on Prague.

Many lines do this,such as AMA.Viking,uniworld,etc.

I did the AMA one and loved it.BUt do check out the different lines.Look at videos on you tube,read member reviews,etc.

Find out what s best for you.Many people have one favorite line,I ve been on all the major ones and ea.has good and bad points.None are ever PERFECT,but still great.Try one ,if not for you,try another.

[CPT Trips]

If cost is part of your decision making, be sure to compare apples to apples. While a lot of tours are included in the fare, there are likely to be extra cost tours you also want to do. Factor those costs in. If one of the lines you are considering includes tips, drinks etc., then you also should add them in to the others.

 

Also, when you go to a line's website, look at the reviews they include for the specific cruise you want. I only believe the reviews if I can find negatives included.

 

I can't compare the lines you listed as I have only cruised with GCT. Look at Vantage too.

[jaxon41]

Since I have only done AMA, how can I compare? We did the Prague to Budapest and were very pleased. 3 days in Prague at the Prague Hilton and then a bus ride to Vilshoven to get on the ship. Everything was well done. I specifically wanted this line because you can take a bicycle out and explore on your own if you wish, and there were a couple of times for group bike tours. We would see other ships in port -- Viking looked very nice, too.

[Hydrokitty]

Welcome to CC! as Franski said choosing a line is very subjective. What's luxury to one is barely tolerable to another and vice versa! Most of the CC posters tend towards Viking and/or AMA. We like Vantage and are leaving on our 6th trip with them in 3 weeks. We've opted for the pre-trip extension to Prague and Bratislava and are staying at the Hilton Prague Old Town and a Marriott I think in Bratislava. Our cruise is from Budapest to the Black Sea. Reasons for liking Vantage: It actually goes to Constanta and the Black Sea, others we looked at go from Budapest to Bucharest (not on the Black Sea); Vantage includes most shore excursions in the tour price and only offers two optional excursions; Vantage does not deal with travel agents, which is either a deal maker or a deal breaker depending on how you feel about using a TA. I am a control freak and prefer to make arrangements directly with the company, but a good TA can be a joy! Vantage has free wine with dinner all the time on some trips and at the welcome and farewell dinners on all trips. Check out all the companies, compare itineraries, prices and what's included. I think no matter which one of the big companies you pick, you will be satisfied.

[cbb]

Something we did worked out very well for us. We traveled with Avalon but what I'm about to describe could work with any cruise line.

 

We took an "independent" tour with Monogram, which is a sister company to Avalon (all under the Globus umbrella) from Budapest, to Vienna, then on to Prague and back to Budapest where we boarded our Avalon ship.

 

Monogram rep met us at the airport and got us situated in the Budapest hotel that was part of the package. We had breakfast each morning as well as a morning city tour (all included) and then were independent the next 2 1/2 days. There is a rep in the hotel lobby that can guide you to all sorts of things or you can purchase optionals.

 

We were then escorted to the train, seated, and on to Vienna where we were met by a rep and the whole thing was replayed at the next 2 towns. (tour=10 days)

 

We loved the fact that we were independent most of the time but the hotel and breakfast was taken care of as well as getting us onto and off the train.

 

Upon arrival back in Budapest we simply took our bags to the "Avalon hotel" where they arrived in our cabin later. You could hire a cab to take you and luggage to your port, or if traveling lightly, use the metro.

 

Excellent way to see those 3 cities DIY and also left us the opportunity to take some optionals from Vienna and Prague that we might not have had the time to do if we were only traveling in the area by ship.

 

You wouldn't have to take the 10 day package. There are some which are just 1 city or 2. Most of the major cities in Europe have packages.

 

Monogram packages are excellent. http://monograms.com/Booking/Monograms/Product.aspx?trip=4DVQ

[va2pa]

We went to Prague on Viking's Elegant Elbe cruise. We started in Berlin (in the Hilton Berlin) and caught the ship in Magdeburg (with a stop in Potsdam first). Cruised the Elbe through Eastern Germany into the Czech Republic and ended the cruise portion in Melnik which is less than 20 miles from Prague (short bus ride). Stayed at the Prague Hilton and extended an extra 2 nights. Prague is such a beautiful city that even 3 days there wasn't enough time to see everything.

 

We picked this cruise specifically because we had wanted to visit Prague, which was fabulous, but we enjoyed the cruise itself tremendously too. The scenery was gorgeous and the history was amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip!

[Lphs35]

We have only cruised with Uniworld but highly recommend it. While it may appear to be a little more expensive, they offer far more. ALL GRATUITIES both land and ship are included. If you arrive and depart on cruise days transfers are also included. While most lines include wine beer and soft drinks at lunch and dinner, with Uniworld they offer wine beer soft drinks and hard liquor unlimited from 9 am til the last person leaves the lounge at night.

Uniworld also offers all those little touches you didn't even know you wanted. On our Rhine cruise there were not only blankets on the sun deck, but hot water bottles inside them to keep them warm. Or the filled metal water bottles every time you leave the ship.

We are now signed up for our third Uniworld cruise. Can't wait!

Diane

 

 

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