Which river cruiseline and why?

[Panda3]

Hello,

 

I'm planning my first river cruise for 2017. I've only done ocean liners to this point and I also grew up on lakes and rivers and we had our small boats.

 

I ordered brochurse from Viking, Uniworld, Crystal, AMA, Avalon, American Steamboat, and Pearl.

 

I immediately discarded American Steamboat and Pearl. They are just too expensive, I guess being in North America and I am more interested in Europe. Thought I would do my first one in the USA but again, too rich for my blook

 

The line I am being drawn towards is AMA. The staterooms look great and I love that there is a pool. They have bicycles also.

 

Would appreciate anyone's quick thoughts on any of these lines. Many of the itinteraries look the same so would like thoughts on public spaces of the ship and the quality of the tours/excursions.

 

My husband and I are both 45.

[garycarla]

You might want to check out this thread for that exact discussion.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2360234

[Lois R]

Hello,

 

I'm planning my first river cruise for 2017. I've only done ocean liners to this point and I also grew up on lakes and rivers and we had our small boats.

 

I ordered brochurse from Viking, Uniworld, Crystal, AMA, Avalon, American Steamboat, and Pearl.

 

I immediately discarded American Steamboat and Pearl. They are just too expensive, I guess being in North America and I am more interested in Europe. Thought I would do my first one in the USA but again, too rich for my blook

 

The line I am being drawn towards is AMA. The staterooms look great and I love that there is a pool. They have bicycles also.

 

Would appreciate anyone's quick thoughts on any of these lines. Many of the itinteraries look the same so would like thoughts on public spaces of the ship and the quality of the tours/excursions.

 

My husband and I are both 45.

 

Hi:)....I have been an Ocean Cruiser for the past 13 years and took

my first River Cruise in April on AMA. It was in my top 2 cruises ever:)

Food, service, excursions, everything was just outstanding.

Here is a link to my review if you want to take some time to read it.

(It is a little long)......I has such a wonderful time I booked another

one for next year:).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2344645

[Panda3]

Hi:)....I have been an Ocean Cruiser for the past 13 years and took

my first River Cruise in April on AMA. It was in my top 2 cruises ever:)

Food, service, excursions, everything was just outstanding.

Here is a link to my review if you want to take some time to read it.

(It is a little long)......I has such a wonderful time I booked another

one for next year:).

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2344645

 

Oh Wow Lois. Thank you so much! and to garycarla also

[pbnjrockette]

I think you will find that most people are pretty loyal to the lines that they have traveled most with... Do your research, compare itineraries, read reviews but be aware that people tend to more vocal when negative than positive! Don't rule out Vantage or Grand Circle just because they don't use travel agents. You will love river cruising!

[Panda3]

I think you will find that most people are pretty loyal to the lines that they have traveled most with... Do your research, compare itineraries, read reviews but be aware that people tend to more vocal when negative than positive! Don't rule out Vantage or Grand Circle just because they don't use travel agents. You will love river cruising!

 

Ahh...Vantage and Grand Circle are two that aren't on my radar - Thanks..will check them out!

[Shorex]

I think you will find that most people are pretty loyal to the lines that they have traveled most with... You will love river cruising!

 

Very true on both points. We have loved AMA both in Europe and Asia, however we will be trying Crystal next year. With 25+ Crystal cruises, finding the same level of service and attention to detail on a river yacht will be amazing. IMO, Crystal will raise the stakes when it comes to luxury cruising on the rivers. At the same time, every river cruise line has its devotees, with very good reasons.

[Lois R]

Very true on both points. We have loved AMA both in Europe and Asia, however we will be trying Crystal next year. With 25+ Crystal cruises, finding the same level of service and attention to detail on a river yacht will be amazing. IMO, Crystal will raise the stakes when it comes to luxury cruising on the rivers. At the same time, every river cruise line has its devotees, with very good reasons.

 

Sounds like you are accustomed to 6 star luxury cruising. Many of us of have

never or will never be able to step up to that category. (From what I have

read about Crystal).

 

AMA gave me a top of line the experience:)....I loved everything about it.:D

But of course my top of the line and yours is probably very different.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Lois R

[Capt_BJ]

when we were pricing

 

Some included all booze, some didn't

 

we don't drink much

 

you can see what the lines that DON'T include all booze charge as an add on ... and compare that total to an ALL IN .....

 

When we did this, the answer was obvious .....

 

but you should do your own math

[TrulyBlonde]

Very true on both points. We have loved AMA both in Europe and Asia, however we will be trying Crystal next year. With 25+ Crystal cruises, finding the same level of service and attention to detail on a river yacht will be amazing. IMO, Crystal will raise the stakes when it comes to luxury cruising on the rivers. At the same time, every river cruise line has its devotees, with very good reasons.

 

Yes, I agree and hope Crystal raises the bar. I did cancel my Crystal river cruise on the Danube and chose Tauck instead. There were many reports on the Crystal board relating to shore excursions etc. and hope they iron out the issues. Size of cabins is an issue for us with river cruises, as most are extremely small. On Tauck we have a large suite and that is a comfort for us on a river cruise. We prefer ocean cruising but this is a nice way to see the Danube and a few lovely cities we have not been to. Prague and Budapest are included in this itinerary and that also helped us in our decision making. Looking forward to the Crystal reviews and hope they do well.

[wishIweretravelling]

You might also want to look at Scenic. In the past it has mostly served the Australian market, but now it is trying to market in the U.S. I did a cost/benefit of it and several of the lines you cited (as well as Crystal), and found Scenic to provide the best deal for the things we value. But a word of warning--their U.S. website is truly awful. To get a clearer idea of their offerings (but not pricing), look at their Aussie site (scenic.com.au). Unfortunately, you have to use the U.S. site for the U.S. pricing.

 

But that being said, my TA did my booking, and got a better rate than what was on the website.

[Panda3]

Thank you everyone, I just realized there is also great info in this forum under the stickies. I don't know why I never look at the stickies I thought they were for really large threads but the ones here are short, concise and verrrrrry helpful. I appreciate CC and everyone's insite.