Cruising options for our first visit over the pond

[JetMech]

We're considering a trip to Europe and looking for others thoughts. We have cruised in the Caribbean and Alaska before. Also we Houseboat on Lake Powell in the US quite a bit so we're accustomed to handling big boats by ourselves.

 

The three options we are considering since we have never toured in Europe are the following:

 

1. A cruise on a large ship through the Mediterranean, Italy, Greece etc...

 

2. Take a canal cruise on Viking or a similar company

 

3. Rent a longboat and tour the canals of the UK or France with a couple of other couples.

 

We are pretty independent travellers and enjoy doing things that the locals enjoy. That said we do enjoy doing some of the excursions that the cruise lines offer when it involves some adventure.

 

I know each choice is very unique in what it offers but I'm interested in what others have experienced especially if you have done more than one option above. Please share any companies or destinations that you feel would be the highlight of our trip.

 

TIA,

 

Robert

[callyuk]

Hi,

As, of course you are aware, the options you mention are very different.

We have done all three and enjoyed, and still do, all of them. If cruising on inland waterways, apart from the Nile, Britain is our favourite.

Personal opinion (and call me biased) here, but we used to own a narrow boat, which we used mainly in North West England and Wales. As the canals were built for the transportation of goods from Industrial regions they are now mainly a rural and Industrial heritage experience that can't be beaten if you enjoy countryside, quiet and travelling slowly; you tend to pass through towns that are interesting but not earth shattering. You have to be willing to decide on your own route and itinerary, and negotiate locks (my muscles always grow during time on a canal!). Although I love places like Chester and the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (Wales), and there is plenty to see, most places are quite low key and you don't tend to get sightseeing that is comparable to the big highlights of the UK and Europe.

We also love cruise ships, and all they have to offer, but it's a bit like comparing a cycling and camping holiday to a guided tour staying in luxury hotels.

I'm sure whatever you decide you'll have a great time!

[JetMech]

CallyUK,

 

I appreciate your reply to my questions. Understandably the choices are very diverse. The longboat would be very similar to our houseboating adventures although I've never had to negotiate locks on Lake Powell.

 

The longboat would be very fun if we were to have maybe one or two other couples with us who have either done the longboat tours before or know the area. We really enjoy when friends join us on our houseboat for a week on the lake. Cooking and touring together brings the friendship closer (hopefully) :D.

 

The river cruises would be a totally new experience for us and not sure what to expect in that case. The ads do seem to be very luxurious and similar to a high end cruise line. The ports or destinations would likely be more low key and intimate than the mega cruise ships.

 

Mega cruise ships are the other thing we know and a cruise on one of these would be something we are very familiar with aside from the ports and cultures.

 

We're just looking to hear from others about their experiences and maybe recommendations for routes or itineraries.

 

Have a great day,

 

Robert

[fliss59]

If you go for a traditional cruise then you may want to think about a Baltic cruise. We've been twice and loved it. Places to go are Stockholm, Copenhagen, Tallin, St Petersburg, Helsinki, Zeebrugge, Oslo etc spending on the cruise. We're going to the Norwegian fjords on a couple of weeks and really looking forward to that.

Enjoy whatever you decide

[Stejan]

As Cally suggested these are three very different types of holiday, to date we have only done large cruises ourselves, although we have also looked at some of the European river cruises that Viking offer and like the fact that they carry much smaller numbers of passengers, but potentially offering the same level of service as a large cruise ship.

If you have never been to Europe before maybe you should initially do a larger more mainstream cruise, choosing one that stops in a number of different countries like you suggested re Italy and Greece, as this would give you an initial taster for a variety of different locations, which may then tempt you back for future visits to Europe.

We have not yet done a Med cruise ourselves, even though we live in the UK. We did Alaska, the Caribbean and also the Baltic which was fabulous with the stop over in St Petersburgh, although we have also done a number of city breaks in Europe, so a cruise which stops in say Rome or Venice would allow you to see some great European cities and then onto maybe the Greek islands for some slower pace sun and relaxation.

[insidecabin]

Big ship

 

If doing the Med look at open jaw and tagging on city stays at each end.

 

There are some good

Barcelona<->Venice

Rome<->Venice

 

There are others using different cities at each end.

 

Can be hot and crowded summer

 

A round UK, fly into London, jump ship in Le Havre and leave via Paris.

a good intro to the UK Ireland with a pre cruise you could research the canals.

 

Baltic as mentioned.

 

What about a flotilla in the greek islands or down the Adriatic if you want to do some boating..

[john watson]

3. Rent a Longboat and travel the canals of UK idea.

 

We tend to call canal boats "Narrowboats" in the UK - Longboats are associated more with the Vikings. This should help any searches you make on the internet. A lesser known feature of this type of cruising is that you can also rent Narrowboats which are crewed called "Hotelboats" on various options. Canal boats are typically powered by diesel or coal and when you get to tunnels you might need to "leg it" through the tunnel. Some companies have electric motors too which is handy in areas where there are tunnels. Flights of locks can be a bit irritating but you can also cruise the Norfolk Broads where there are no locks. A company does horse drawn narrowboats with staying in hotels each night. Canal cruising in the UK is a bit special!

 

Regards John

[JetMech]

Fliss59, Thanks for the Baltic suggestion. Just starting our research into the area and knowing what others suggest is quite helpful.

 

Stejan, I appreciate your comments. The idea of a mainstream cruise and hitting many different ports is a good idea. We did that a lot in the Caribbean and went back later to several of the countries for an extended stay. Maybe you could share some of your suggested ports in the Baltic too.

 

InsideCabin, I like your idea of openjaw trips. We've done that before and you get a chance to see another destination. Also sometimes if it is a repositioning cruise you get better pricing or upgrades. I hadn't considered a flotilla but that would be amazing. Especially if joined by another couple or two.

 

John Watson, Thank you for your words on canal cruising. That is something I would enjoy doing but I would really like to do it with someone familiar with the country and or narrowboats and the canal system. Maybe after a mainstream cruise we can venture into the canals of the UK. I would want a narrowboat with accomodations aboard rather than staying in hotels. I'm sure we could navigate the canals ourselves but with others would make the trip more enjoyable. Also is there times of the year to avoid, either due to bad weather or overcrowding?

 

Thanks everyone and happy cruising.

 

Still open to suggestions from others

[insidecabin]

canal planning, no expert, but I would start with these.

 

https://www.waterways.org.uk/

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk

 

Then the various companies that offer boat hire.

 

Look at availability for this year to see how far ahead you ned to plan for future years.

 

Some routes will be inheritly more interesting than others.

[JetMech]

Insidecabin thanks for the info. I'll be doing some research. Maybe I'll find someone familiar with canals and narrowboats that wants to learn about houseboating in the US and we can exchange suggestions ;)

[john watson]

 

John Watson, Thank you for your words on canal cruising. That is something I would enjoy doing but I would really like to do it with someone familiar with the country and or narrowboats and the canal system. Maybe after a mainstream cruise we can venture into the canals of the UK. I would want a narrowboat with accomodations aboard rather than staying in hotels. I'm sure we could navigate the canals ourselves but with others would make the trip more enjoyable. Also is there times of the year to avoid, either due to bad weather or overcrowding?

 

If you go down the "Hotelboats" route you get a crewed narrowboat, with sleeping on board in the cabins and the crew do the steering, navigation, locks and cooking. You sleep onboard and do nothing you do not want to do but you can learn the ropes from the crew if you want. Various companies do this set up, normally a resident husband and wife who permanently live on the boat accepting passengers to pay for the lifestyle. They normally have a fixed itinerary on a huge canal ring with set dates to start/finish at different locations on the tour. Certain sections sell out sooner because they are on a more interesting part of the circuit. Some boats you can book the whole boat or bigger boats have other passengers just like on a cruise ship. June to September is supposedly best time of year in Uk with the best of that being July/August. Weather is not reliable in UK but we do not have hurricanes etc.

 

Regards John

Edited May 10, 2015 by john watson

[Stejan]

Sorry for the delay in further replying. We greatly enjoyed many of the various ports on our Baltic cruise, Tallin and Stockholm were very good, as was Copenhagen although I had been there several times already with work. The ultimate port however was St Petersburgh and we were docked for two days and maximized the number of sites to visit by organizing a two day excursion package with Alla Tours, rather than using the cruise line trips. This smaller group tour in a minibus was excellent and ensured we saw all of the key attractions.

We are now thinking of taking a Mediterranean trip ourselves late summer/ autumn and like the idea of seeing the eastern end of the med, maybe starting in Venice or Rome and sailing around the Greek island, Croatia and Turkey.

[JetMech]

John,

We're thinking of sticking with a mainline this year. I think we may go to London this summer for a long weekend and look into narrowboat companies for a future trip, maybe do a day trip or overnight on a narrowboat to get a feel for it.

 

Stejan,

Thanks for all the great ideas. We enjoy doing our own thing aside from the cruise line offerings. Some of our best trips have been when fellow cruise critic members got involved on the roll calls and put together trips for small groups. Maybe we could get together with others on CC and get something going. I'm hoping to retire this year and want to do several trips exploring Europe.

Thanks,

Robert

[Stejan]

Robert I'm also looking to retire shortly so will hopefully be enjoying more cruises going forward. It would be good to join a roll call on CC, I will have to try and finish reviewing potential cruises and post a response!

[JetMech]

Stejan, I have a product that may be useful on narrowboats so I'm thinking about a trip to the UK this summer to meet with a few manufacturers. Maybe we could meet up and discuss possible cruises.

[Stejan]

Robert if you are in the UK then let me know when you plan to visit, where in the UK would you be going, maybe drop me an email on stejan75@gmail.com.