Best River Cruise Brand for active 50s??

[Fogfog]

We just got back from 2 weeks in the Baltics on Celebrity. Had a blast. Great mix of ages and very interesting people.

 

Asked several couples about river cruises and they all said NO because the age group on a river cruise is much older and often less mobile.

 

Is that correct?

 

We'd like a river cruise with active, well traveled, well read FUN people

 

Ideas?

[LoneStarCruisinCouple]

We just got back from 2 weeks in the Baltics on Celebrity. Had a blast. Great mix of ages and very interesting people.

 

Asked several couples about river cruises and they all said NO because the age group on a river cruise is much older and often less mobile.

 

Is that correct?

 

We'd like a river cruise with active, well traveled, well read FUN people

 

Ideas?

Fogfog,

Interesting name,

anyways for me to say one is better than the other would be a mistake as Lisa and I are getting ready to take our first.

I would say it is all a matter of personal taste and as to when and where it is that you may want to cruise to.

For us we had originally booked with Viking however when they were $10,000 more expensive than Scenic and wanted paid in full 16 months prior to our cruise we cancelled.

I chose Scenic for several reasons but one for sure is that they are an Australian Company and I have lived in Australia and when you said you are looking for Active and Fun folks well all I can say is the folks from Down Under certainly know how to enjoy life to the fullest.

In my opinion and it is an opinion I would venture in saying in reading and comparing that Tauck, AMA, Uniworld, and Scenic would be up towards the top of the list. Just a mater of when you want to travel and where it is that you want to go

and what it is that is important to you. Re what each cruise line has to offer.

We are fortunate to be booked into what I would say is one of if not the largest Suites currently offered on the river and that is what is called a Royal Panorama Suite. Yes all the way in the back of the ship but with 475 Sq Ft of space and a View that is so very hard to bet I would certainly recommend.

If you get a moment and go to a Website called Scenic.com.AU and over on the Left hand side go to where it says All inclusive and go down to where it says our 5 Star Ships and open. Next page go down to where it says All Inclusive Luxury yes that's right ALL INCLUSIVE there is a picture of a lady standing in front of one of the new ships called the Jasper and it is a 4 minute Video of not only our Cabin but it also will give you an idea as to what to expect.

You had made mention of active! Well I am 64 and I would say that when I get on that ship I become a young Whipper Snapper of about 29 and my wife becomes a Hot Chick of about 26. Could possibly be because of the drinks already in our hands but all in all yes I would say that River cruise do have a tendency as to have a more Mature lot of folks cruising as a little more expensive than that of Ocean cruises with the cost of Airfare and All.

Lisa and I are celebrating our 27 Wedding Anniversary and are doing a 15 day Jewels of Europe going from Amsterdam to Budapest with 3 Days in both cities. Booked into the Toren Hotel in Amsterdam and into the Four Seasons Gresham Palace hotel in Budapest.

Will maybe give you a little insight and all I can say is you shall never know until you at least try once..

Wishing you Smooth Sailings

Lisa and Gary

LoneStarCruisinCouple:):)

Edited August 9, 2015 by LoneStarCruisinCouple

[xpcdoojk]

River cruises are very mature crowds. We have done 1 so far and my wife and I were both 55 at the time. I surf 3 to 4 hours a day when we do a Royal Caribbean cruise, so I think I qualify as very active. My wife was a part time Zumba instructor before they got too big, and now is a fitbit nut, doing routinely 125,000 steps a week. On our cruise last fall on Avalon, there was one passenger younger than us. There was a guy who was a few months older than us and his partner another 10 years older. That said, Avalon did a gentle walker bus and the other two or three were people who were still mobile. So, you were not typically stuck with the really unable to walk at a reasonable pass. We do a split between land vacations and cruises. I find that a week on the river cruise with all of the tours is all of that that I can handle. So, we do a precruise post cruise on our own. After our cruise in November we will leave the Avalon group and rent a car, we are planning on going to Verdun (WWI) and then the Epernay or Reims to drink champagne, then drive south to view some chateaus, and other wine, then Versailles then Paris all on our own.

 

jc

[beesKate]

I wonder if the people who told you river cruises were for older people had ever been on a river cruise? We're going on our 3rd and just now are hitting our mid-fifties. Yes, we may skew towards the younger end of the demographic. However, we've met wonderful people on each of our cruises. We've discovered the people who take river cruises are interesting and active. The ship is small enough that you do get know your fellow travelers. You have an option of doing more active excursions -- but even the gentle walkers need to be able to get around on cobblestones, steps, etc.

If you enjoy eating fine food, drinking wonderful wines, laughing, making new friends, seeing Europe without worrying about where your next hotel is... then river cruising could be a good fit.

Edited August 9, 2015 by beesKate

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to the River Cruising forum!

 

I suggest you start by reading the sticky New to RIVER CRUISING??? at the top of this forum, especially the downloadable pdf:

http://pdf.cruisecritic.com/travel-guide/UltimateGuidetoRiverCruising.pdf?et_cid=1262487&et_rid=99616845

which discusses each cruise line and compares them to ocean cruise lines and hotels [this will give you a frame of reference]. The range among river cruise lines that market in the US is fairly small -- but there are differences from the bottom to the top, and the prices don't vary as much as it first appears because the more expensive lines include more things that cost extra on the "cheaper" lines. For information on choosing a river, read the sticky River Cruise Basics articles on Cruise Critic at the top of this forum. I also recommend the book Berlitz River Cruising in Europe by Douglas Ward, which may be found at your public library.

 

Some river cruise lines cater to a younger (or at least more active) clientele. Emerald is definitely focussed on younger, although reviews indicate they aren't necessarily attracting a different group of passengers yet. Look for ships that include a fleet of bikes, and that split the tours into fast-regular-slow groups.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau
fixed url

[Fogfog]

Thanks so much for the help and direction.

 

Are certain brands more "youthful".../active?

 

As with sea cruises--some are more for families with young children, some are better for adult groups.

The first X cruise we did had many on scooters however this recent trip on X was port heavy and also had a lot of families.

I did go to the enrichment lectures on the history of the peoples/ports/art etc. was excellent. And We did private tours in Berlin and St Petersburg for example--far nicer than those in large groups on buses/cues. and did Brugges, Tallin, Helsinki, Stockholm and Copehnhagen on our own

 

We think that a river cruise could be great--- we enjoy meeting new people, great foods/wines etc.

[xpcdoojk]

hardly any kids on any of these ships. They all are adult oriented.

 

jc

[Fogfog]

hardly any kids on any of these ships. They all are adult oriented.

 

jc

 

 

Yes. And we are looking for that---and for it to be a group of generally active, mobile, well read, fun loving, wine drinking, sunset toasting new friends.

[hiccups]

We are 50 and 51, and are probably the youngest couple on our cruise with Uniworld. There are several couples in their 50s, and lots of other active people. We have been doing the guided tours and then going out on our own. A few couples have skipped the tours and done their own thing.

 

Uniworld offers several "Go Active" tours that involve cycling, or longer walking/hiking tours. Today the wellness director took a group of us on a cycling ride. I've used the fitness room every day, and along with lots of other people, have walked laps on the sundeck after dinner. I think you can be as active (or inactive) as you like.

[janecambridge]

It is as active as you want it to be.All our stops on Emerald recently,Danube,could be a gentle tour or faster pace tour with the company or you go off and do what you like.

We are mid fifties and we used the bikes on board and cycled round Vienna.We used them at least twice more to enable us to get to the safe riverside swimming ares.Yes we swam in the Danube,a first for Emerald cruisers apparently.

The bikes enabled us to 'escape',get fit and enjoy the local scenery.

There was a walk track on the sundeck used by most people early morning and a gym. We also had a pool and although small it had a jet stream that enabled us to swim for ages against it.

There were quite a few people our age and over 70 too on board but age of others doesn't bother us.Some of the older folk were a lot fitter then some of the young..

Please don't let what the other passengers told you, put you off.You are as young as you feel and as fit as you want to be...

[Host Jazzbeau]

A point about the included shore excursions: they are very different from those on ocean cruises. First, you often dock right near the center of town so you can walk right in. Second, even though the river ships hold between ~130 to almost 200, all the lines break the group up into several tour groups so it's is never the mob scene you are familiar with. Third, most lines use a QuietVox or similar device that allows you to hear the guide even if you stray a block or two away (this is great for photographers -- and also great for everybody else because the photographers don't hold up the tour!). You may still decide you prefer a more DIY approach, but give the included tours a try.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Most posters on this forum have a favorite river cruise line, and since the cruises are almost uniformly good for most people it's usually their first line ["if it ain't broke ..."] In my case, that line is AMA. DW and I are active late-60s (we walked part of El Camino de Santiago last year) and found that the passengers were a mix but that AMA did a good job of accommodating all of us. There was always a slow-walkers group. We were looking forward to the fast-walkers group, but found that it wasn't necessary because the regular group moved along nicely. Each AMA ship has a fleet of bicycles and you can choose a bike-tour some days or you can always borrow a bike during the free time. The food was great (I see that you have traveled a range of ocean cruise lines -- our pdf compares AMA to Oceania and Four Seasons Hotels, so it would be closest to your experience on Regent), good wines were poured freely at lunch and dinner, and the Cruise Director was terrific. We're doing another AMA cruise next month and will post the review here when we get back.

 

But as another example, our pdf compares Celebrity to Scenic. Scenic is even more-inclusive than AMA and except for some customer-service issues in 2013 (which they seem to have learned from) they get rave reviews. It's an Australian company (the higher-end line from Emerald), so the earlier comment about fun-loving should also apply!

Edited August 10, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau

[Got2Cruise]

I've been told that Grand Circle Travel markets to seniors who are value conscious.

[H2Otstr]

I've been told that Grand Circle Travel markets to seniors who are value conscious.

 

Hmmmmmm, I think a lot of their marketing is past customers' referrals. We have traveled with them 7 times and we are not value conscious. I think they offer a nice product; have never had a bad trip with them and they offer a good incentive (credit) to travel with them again.

[papa B me]

My wife and I are both 51 years old and we took our first river cruise with Uniworld a year ago July. We have two more booked. Uniworld is the only line I've sailed on so it is the only one I can speak from experience on. But I have done a great deal of research on many of the most popular lines. My greatest fear on our first cruise was that we would be the youngest cruisers and would feel out of place. We were definitely on the younger side of the average but our fears were unfounded. We quickly made friends with 3 couples who were all in their 60's but full of energy and very well traveled. There were several couples younger then us with even one in their 30's on their honeymoon. No one seemed out of place. We found with Uniworld and their "active" excursions, bikes included, work out room, and indoor pool with current jets that we were really able to stay busy both physically and mentally with the great excursions. I do believe that when you choose itineraries with more challenging excursions and if you choose lines with the facilities that I mention above that the energy and activity level is a little higher regardless of average age. So with that criteria I would look at Uniworld, AMA, Scenic, and Tauck. But even with that said I think the river cruise experience is what you make of it and you may be fine with any of the lines as long as it fits your expectation for amenities, food, service, luxury(subjective) and inclusiveness. Ignore those voices on the ocean cruises since most likely they have never sailed a river cruise. Highly recommend you go for it.

[beesKate]

Although I didn't indicate it in my response above, we favor Uniworld. They have active options as well as the regular city tours. If you go to their website, under the "Before You Go" menu, look at several "Cruise Companion" booklets for routes you may be interested in. These are PDF booklets of day-by-day with more information than the daily summaries on the information pages.

[Hoyaheel]

My husband and I did our first river cruise in December at age 41 & 46. Because it was a Christmas markets cruise, there was more of an age mix (family groups - including ours as we traveled with 2 sets of parents :p) The cruise (on Avalon) was wonderful, but it confirmed my preconceived notion that river cruises aren't for me, at least not at this stage of life. Not because they are full of older people (they sort of are but I could not care less- we love Holland America and started sailing on that in our early 30s even though it was known as the old fogey line - I have friends of all ages and will talk to anyone at dinner). I don't like river cruises because they are more inclusive than other types of travel (including ocean cruises) and you pay for those inclusions. I'm an independent travel and prefer to make my own arrangements. And though I could easily skip any of the included tours, I'm too frugal to do so - I've paid for them, so.....

 

So unless we're doing another family trip (which I don't want to do, for various reasons :rolleyes:) it's unlikely I'll do another river cruise in the near future.

[Got2Cruise]

Hmmmmmm, I think a lot of their marketing is past customers' referrals. We have traveled with them 7 times and we are not value conscious. I think they offer a nice product; have never had a bad trip with them and they offer a good incentive (credit) to travel with them again.

 

 

I'm sure it's a very good company. I know my parents have taken both land and River tours. But, since the OP asked specific age related question I think she should be aware. An acquaintance told that there were several pax using walkers on her GCT cruise. On our Avalon cruise there were none. That is not to say a younger person wouldn't have an enjoyable time in GCT.

[caviargal]

We have taken ten so far with one more booked. We are on the younger side of river cruisers (especially when we started) and very active. And we are not the types to go to bed after dinner.

 

We have been on Avalon (4), AMA (5x) and Uniworld (1x). For us overall, AMA is the best fit for activities, excursions and entertainment. AMA offers a choice of active excursions including bike tours and we have always had FUN in the evenings.

 

We did enjoy Uniworld very much for overall quality but it was very quiet in the evenings and we would have enjoyed more entertainment and more options for active excursions.

 

We especially enjoy AMA's wine cruises as they attract a very social and fun crowd.

 

Re Hoyaheel's post above, river cruising is not for everyone. However, of the three lines we have cruised with, Avalon was our least favorite overall in all aspects and we likely would not have taken another had we not cruised with AMA and learned that lines can be very different even though much appears to be the same.

Edited August 10, 2015 by caviargal

[Lois R]

I am a regular cruiser on Celebrity and happen to be 57. I will be

taking my first River cruise in April and at that time I will be 58.

I want to try something new and a River Cruise has been on my list

for quite a few years. I am excited to be going:).....Am I in the best

shape? No. But I still plan on going and having a great time.:D I sail

solo and also enjoy meeting people.

I know this is not going to be anything like an oceanliner.......and

I look forward to it very much and I will be going to places I have

never visited before:).......should be all good:D

[janecambridge]

Yeh go for it Lois.

 

All the advice on which company to take,makes hardly any difference by the sound of it.We have all had a great time and all with different companies.

Unless you know the dynamics of the booking for your particular cruise,you have no idea if there will be no one with a stroller or 20 strollers on a large tour group.It makes no difference to us how many strollers or over 70s there are,fit or unfit 50 yr olds there.What OP should look for is the equipment and opportunities to get some decent exercise if you are fit..and walking distances in ports of call.

I think to the OP wants to now about mobility levels of other passengers and as I said,that is virtually impossible to predict.

[4774Papa]

Our river cruise line of preference is Vantage. Prior to booking a river cruise, I always compare the itineraries and prices of Viking, Vantage, AMA and sometimes Avalon or Uniworld.

 

Vantage always has the best deal, including five star hotels for the shore part of the tour. Our Vantage China trip was probably our best ever.

 

We do a lot of Celebrity and NCL ocean cruises, mostly 14 days. We find that the longer ocean cruises are similar to river cruises, with the average age somewhere in the 60s.

 

As for some of the old folks slowing you down. DW and I bike 30 miles every other day and in the winter walk 3.5 miles in 55 minutes. Most river cruise lines have a slow walking tour group, which we avoid.

 

Even though the average age is usually in the 60s, there are always some in their 30s or 40s.

[mouse84]

We haven't gone on our river cruise yet, but DH & I are in our mid-30s. When we booked on AMA Waterways, we were told that we're most likely going to be the youngest on the cruise. We're fine with that. Some of our favorite people to chat with are older - we learn so much from them. Looking forward to October!

[Hoyaheel]

Re Hoyaheel's post above, river cruising is not for everyone. However, of the three lines we have cruised with, Avalon was our least favorite overall in all aspects and we likely would not have taken another had we not cruised with AMA and learned that lines can be very different even though much appears to be the same.

 

While I completely agree with you, for me personally - the things I don't like about river cruising are industry wide, not line or ship related. Honestly I would strongly recommend Avalon to anyone who is considering a river cruise. And of course, I haven't been on other lines to compare - I only can address the reasons we chose what we did (price, itinerary, cabin size/shape & amenities like a fridge).

 

What I would not do is unequivocally recommend river cruising to everyone;) And it has nothing to do with how active or old you are.

[caviargal]

 

What I would not do is unequivocally recommend river cruising to everyone;) And it has nothing to do with how active or old you are.

 

I completely agree. It works really well for us when we are doing a family trip with my mom, as it makes it easier on both of us.

 

However, IMO, the devil is in the details and there can be quite a difference in overall experience between lines, even on the same itinerary. That has been my experience.