River vs. Ocean Crusing

[HamOp]

We have done five HAL cruises on the Veendam, Noordam, and Rotterdam and enjoyed all of them.

 

This May we are doing a Viking River Cruise from Paris for 7 days.

 

My questions are, if you've done both river and ocean, how do you think they compare? Which did you like better, or is it an apples vs. oranges thing?

 

Any insight as to what we should expect would be helpfull.

 

Thanks

[Hows the Serenity]

Hi,

We did a Scenic river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam last year. It was expensive, but well worth the cost as everything was included except laundry and spa treatments.

We have also done a Silverseas and a Carnival cruise (we are doing a 24 day HAL Med cruise in May), and I do think it is like comparing apples and oranges.

The river cruising offers wonderful scenery close up, cycling the river pathways whilst you boat continues to cruise, great excursions that are often straight off the boat, no tendering (just having to walk through other boats when multiples are tied together), great food (sourced locally), enrichment that comes onto the boat at different stops, small cruise numbers.........and many more too numerous to mention.

But ocean cruising offers much more in entertainment and onboard activities as they have the room to do this opposed to the river boats which have restricted space. Our ocean cruises offer many different dining venues, compared to river cruising which usually only has a couple (and they are often just portioned off the main dining salons).

They are both different, but both offer wonderful opportunities for cruising to different parts of the world accessible by only one type.

Try the river cruise, it is different, but an up close and personal version of our much loved ocean cruises.

Chris

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Lizzie68]

On a river cruise, all (or most) of the cruising is done at night. It really is apples and oranges. My personal preference is for an ocean cruise, but likely everyone should try a river cruise at least once. It's very different.

[Alberta Quilter]

It is apples and oranges. River cruising is much more structured, IMO, than an ocean cruise. First off, there are NO sea days to chill in between port days. Every day on a river cruise is a port day! Then there is the size - 200 pax vs ~2000 on an ocean cruise.

 

I was just on Viking's France's Finest in Nov/15. On both cruises, we were up and ready for the included tours at 8 am. The tours typically lasted until noonish. Back to the ship for lunch. The afternoon might consist of free time, while sailing, or there could be optional tours. One does not have to do the included tour or any optional tours but they were very interesting and very much worth any extra expense, at least the ones I was on.

 

There is a daily briefing in the lounge every evening at 6 pm, followed by dinner at 7 pm. Dinner lasts until 9 pm. It was at this point, I had consumed so much wine with dinner that I staggered off to our cabin and to bed to be ready for the following day.

 

There was at least one evening where we arrived at a particular port during dinner. At 9 pm, after dinner, there was an evening walk for about an hour/hour and a half. This was on the southern portion of our cruises.

 

River cruising is not, IMO, for the mobility impaired. There were people with canes, including my DM, and one with a walking cast. But no walkers or wheelchairs on our two river cruises. Many times, when we were docked, we were rafted to another boat. This sometimes meant that we had to climb a flight of stairs to the topmost deck (Sun Deck), walk across it and the other ship's Sun Deck, and go down the stairs on the other side. Easy enough for me to do but some found it challenging and would have been impossible for many with mobility issues. The elevator only went between the main deck and the upper deck. The bottom most deck and the Sun Deck were only accessible by stairs.

 

What is really nice about river cruising is docking close to the centre of the town rather than the working port with ocean cruising. One gets a much nicer impression of a place than at a working port.

 

That's all I can think of right now. If you have other questions, I'm happy to answer what I can. I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

[lcand1923]

Definitely an apples/oranges thing.

 

With a river cruise you are "up close and personal" to everything onshore. I found myself being much more active on the river cruise since I didn't want to miss anything. It was all RIGHT THERE! Speaking with the folks onboard who did a lot of river cruising, they said that this "don't want to miss anything" attitude disappears on the third river cruise.

 

There aren't many onboard activities since there really isn't that much time away from land. Your crew will probably be mostly Eastern European, so they won't be as open and friendly as the HAL crew. However, they will give you excellent service.

[pbnjrockette]

DEFINITELY an apples/oranges thing! I enjoy both but for very different reasons!

 

Have taken many river cruises and thoroughly enjoy them. Many but NOT all are up close and personal to the towns or cities you are cruising to as they are most often right along the riverbanks. You have the option to take the tours or explore on your own. When a town/city is not nearby it can be a long bus ride :( to an area to be explored.

 

Not all river travel is at night. We are taking a cruise on the Duoro in Portugal in the fall and the boat travels only during the daytime. Docking and touring is usually in the afternoon and most of the towns are not on the riverbank.

 

There is minimal entertainment on a river cruise and it tends to be of a 'cultural' nature of the cruising areas.

 

Riverboats are small with generally 120-180 passengers. Cabins are often slightly larger than the average regular cruise ship cabin. There are a few suites on each ship, some have balconies but often ships are tied up next to each other (rafting) and your balcony ends up right next to another ship!!

 

If you are interested in River cruising, check out the River Cruise board, compare the different lines and read the small print! It's a fun and different way to travel.

[KirkNC]

Great question, after many ocean cruises we are doing our first river cruise in May as well. It will be interesting, I am sure we will enjoy it.

[sansterre]

I prefer ocean cruising. We did the Danube River cruise recently and I found that I could not keep up with the group as they walked into town. They walked a fast pace so in most locations, I merely stayed on the boat, or sat at a bench near where the boat docked. In Vienna we took a bus tour, and also took the ships bikes for a short ride. For those who like walking tours, I think it is a wonderful way to explore the lovely small towns along the river.

[sammiedawg]

I agree this is an apples and oranges discussion.

We did Viking Grand European two years ago, we got a killer price booking three weeks out.

We enjoyed it but I haven't decided if I will do another one.

 

The biggest difference I noted is the regimentation on river cruises. Everyone assembles and leaves for excursions at the same time. Most people return at the same time but some opt to explore on their own or they have upgraded their tour. Everyone eats dinner at 7pm, no assigned seats. Everyone attends a daily briefing each evening before dinner.

Normally on ocean cruises we are independent travelers and come and go as we please. I missed the freedom.

 

River boats are much much smaller.

Fewer dining options on the river.

Food quality on Viking River was uneven, some dinners were excellent and some not so good. There is an always available menu that wasn't great. Accompaniments like baked potatoes may not be available. Lunch is a buffet and it is the same format every day, hot pasta station, soup, premade sandwiches and salad bar. There is also a small menu you can order from. They serve some food outdoors at the Aquavit terrace, a few times we had a better lunch outside, one day they had great kabobs, another day they grilled hamburgers American style.

There is a little bit of fruit available between meals, sometimes there will be cookies. There are a couple self serve coffee machines.

Breakfast is buffet, adequate. You make your own toast and waffles. There is an omelet station.

Beer wine soft drinks free with meals, we loved that.

Bottle water is free and readily available.

Free wifi and it actually worked.

 

River cruises have much less staff onboard but expected tips were higher than any ocean cruise line. You are expected to tip the program director, very odd IMO. We tipped the expected amounts but felt the amounts were high for the number of staff onboard.

 

Organization on Viking was excellent. Staff, tour guides very professional.

 

You may encounter problems with low or high water levels, we had low water levels in June and we switched to another river boat near Regensberg. Two groups of passengers switched boats at the same time, it sounds worse than it was.

 

The ports were mostly great, nice overview tours are included in your fare. You can upgrade or add extra tours for more money.

 

There isn't much security on River boats, you can board any boat you want to take a look at . I self toured four other lines.

 

I enjoyed it, for me once may be enough but I haven't decided whether we will do another.

 

To the OP, your Paris itinerary is the best one and you will enjoy it.

Edited March 19, 2016 by sammiedawg

[Roz]

After 20 ocean cruises, I took my first river cruise last November. Absolutely loved it! But as others have pointed out, it's a different experience.

 

Just like on an ocean cruise, you unpack and pack once. There are a lot of expenses paid upfront, but even more so on a river cruise depending on what line you choose. I went with Uniworld and the only expense on my acct. at the end was some postcard stamps I purchased from the front desk. Tips, shore excursions, and alcohol were included. The food and service were excellent with a more personal touch.

 

At least on the Danube, you dock right next to the city you're visiting, so no time wasted in traveling long distances inland. As someone already pointed out, river cruises can be more physically demanding. There are fewer passengers which allows you to get to know your sailing mates. Evening entertainment is minimal, but after trouping around all day long, I wasn't much on staying up late.

 

I can't wait for my next ocean cruise, and I can't wait for my next river cruise. Both are ideal ways to travel, IMO.

 

Roz

[lahlah57]

Apples and tomatoes I would say, and I love both but they both have different purposes.

Ocean is a bit more leisurely and river is regimented. The tours move fast and it is a group activity. The meals are at a certain time and that is that. No room service. The river cruise is about covering alot of land over a short period of time. Viking was a spectacular river company for europe and china for us. I would almost say surreal

Do not need to mention ocean cause we all know about that;)

[TiogaCruiser]

SammieDawg- did they provide a listing of what tips were expected prior to sailing, or at some point during the cruise?

[Hows the Serenity]

On Scenic we were not expected to tip anyone. All tips were included in the cost of the cruise. We tipped staff we felt really looked after us........but you did not have to.

 

 

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[pbnjrockette]

Different River cruise line handle tips differently---several are all inclusive. Others have a 'suggested' amount in the literature that is sent to you. We mostly travel with Vantage (a mid-range company that does not use outside TA's-- book online or by phone) and have found the 'suggested' amounts reasonable. Recently they have started charging a set amount to your account for the crew but you can easily change it upward or downward. It is true that the staff is MUCH smaller on a RiverCruise (we have rarely gotten to know our stateroom 'cleaners' rather than actual stewards) but have found the dining room staff and crew to be extremely friendly and helpful.

[melodyesch]

I agree with others that river vs. ocean are different animals. DH and I have done about 10 ocean cruises and one Viking river cruise. We love them both.

 

One of the differences is that Ocean cruises go where we would normally not travel independently. A couple of people we met on our river cruise mentioned that they could have rented a car and toured the river ports independently in half the time. Well, yes you could. You could have looked at a map ahead and of time to know that. But it's more about the experience. We loved it. And we have traveled independently also in France.

 

Here is a thread I did on our Viking Paris to Normandy river cruise in 2013. It's pretty detailed and might help you. Have a great trip.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1854895

 

Melody

[agabbymama]

As another poster mentioned, river cruise boats are not as large as ocean cruise ships, and because of the smaller size NO WALKERS OR SCOOTERS ARE ALLOWED. I was getting ready to schedule a river cruise until I was informed of this regulation. If you have any mobility issues, a river cruise isn't for you.

[sammiedawg]

SammieDawg- did they provide a listing of what tips were expected prior to sailing, or at some point during the cruise?

 

I don't remember when we were told the expected amounts. I probably read it on cruise critic prior.

On the last day everyone is supposed to go to the front desk to settle their account, we were not asked for a credit card on day 1. The front desk asked if I want to tip and how much, I told them to add the expected amount.

I believe the amount for the program director was two euros per person per day. I believe the expected tip for the crew was 16 euros per person per day. The Viking staff to passenger ratio was 4.5 to 1.

The expected tip for tour guides was five euros per person but most of us handed out five dollar bills.

This was two years ago.

 

Viking sends an excellent pre cruise booklet that was very accurate, a day by day account of where you will be, included tours, optional tours or upgraded tours, etc.

Viking has an onboard concierge who assisted anyone interested in self touring.

 

Viking longboard are all brand new within the last few years, I loved the Scandinavian decor.

 

I'm now following Viking oceans and hope to sail with them in the next year or two. They had a rough start with lots of technical and mechanical issues but we've gotten good feedback from a couple travelers that I trust, opinion wise. I don't trust opinions on food from very many people.

The ocean vessels are getting good marks for food are they are visually gorgeous.

Needless to say Viking sends literature to our mailbox nonstop.

Edited March 19, 2016 by sammiedawg

[sammiedawg]

I have a typo in my recent post about Viking staff to passenger ratio.

It should be 1 staff member to 4.5 passengers.

[Roz]

Prior to my river cruise, I had been to Europe one other time, and it was a group bus trip. I loved it and had a great time, but schlepping a suitcase in and out of a bus and living out of a suitcase is very tedious. A lot of time during the day was spent driving from one town to another. Reminded me of that old movie "If It's Tuesday This Must Be Belgium".

 

As far as doing it independently, that's fine, but requires a lot of advance planning. I travel a lot solo, and appreciate being with a group of like minded travelers. I liked cruising by night and waking up to a new town each morning. If someone is a die hard independent traveler than yes, they could save a lot of time just driving themselves and not bothering with a cruise at all.

 

Another thing that impressed me was how Uniworld really make an effort to prepared locally sourced dishes from the places we were visiting.

 

Roz

[Alberta Quilter]

For the Paris to Normandy cruise, one could drive from Paris to Normandy in a few hours rather than it taking 5 days to cruise there and back. That's because of all the bends in the Seine and the locks that the boat has to go through. So, yes, it takes much less time to drive it yourself. There's no one way that is best for all. I know that I would never have gone to Auvers sur Oise and seen what a gem that was if it wasn't for travelling with Viking while the Monet Foundation in Giverny was closed. Sure, there were trade-offs like not seeing any more of Bayeux than the tapestry (which was wonderful) or more of Normandy but we saw and experienced quite a bit that we may not have done on our own. I do intend to go back to France at some point but I'm happy with what we did on this trip that I don't need to go back.

 

With respect to the tips, the Viking information indicates the recommended rates for tips. I believe it was 2 Euros a day for the Program Director and 12 Euros a day for the staff. They had to be paid in cash at the end of the cruise. In a way, I would have preferred it done like HAL does it where it is booked to your onboard account. However, since the CAD tanked over the past couple of years, we paid in cash with leftover Euros from a previous trip that were purchased when the exchange rate was much better.

Edited March 19, 2016 by Alberta Quilter

[dakrewser]

We've done ocean, river, and barge cruising and each has its pluses and minuses. A river boat cabin is smaller than most ship cabins (and a barge cabin is even smaller).

Less choice of food, less choice of entertainment on the river - but much more "scenic" cruising. The number of pax is vastly different (2000 - 200 - 20) and the interaction among them is inversely proportional.

We like them all, for different reasons.

[HamOp]

Thanks everyone for such great information. It really helped a lot.

 

A special thank you to melodyeschfor the great and detailed review of the Paris to Normandy trip. That's the same one we are doing in May.

 

Can always count on the Cruise Critic members to come through with good information. Thanks again, all.

 

HapOP