New to River cruising

[BigWI]

My wife is retiring in June, and has wanted to go on a European river cruise so I plan on taking her as a retirement present (to us both).

 

A couple simple questions.

 

1) Being the typical American, we only speak English, will that be a problem on board the ship? How much of a problem on excursions?

 

2) Last cruise we went on was with Princess. We felt the food was mediocre at best. Recommendations for lines know for their food?

 

3) While I know it is subjective, anyone know of a list ranking river cruise lines?

 

TIA:)

[Roz]

Let me preface my remarks by saying I've only done one river cruise, and that was on Uniworld. Had an excellent experience and booked another one with them for later this year.

 

If you go with a line that caters to the English-speaking market, you'll have no problems. Viking, Uniworld, AMA, Tauck, Avalon, Emerald, Vantage (and there are others) have English speaking staff. All of the tour guides on the included Uniworld tours spoke excellent English.

 

I found the food on Uniworld to be above average to excellent. I was amazed what they were able to produce out of a small kitchen.

 

A bit more about the language issue. Prior to my 2015 river cruise, it had been 30 yrs. since I'd been to Europe. The amt. of English that's spoken now and the number of signs in English blew me away. It's all a function of the Eurozone. I was concerned about navigating Budapest, as their language is Uralic and very difficult. Not to worry, it wasn't a problem at all. Besides English, I have fairly good fluency in French, average in Russian, and limited proficiency in German. All those languages helped, but had I only known English, I would have been fine.

 

Enjoy your cruise whichever line you choose. River cruising is a great way to see Europe - I'm sold on it.

 

Roz

[ewizabeff]

I really recommend you read through all the links in the New to RIVER CRUISING??? START HERE!!! thread that our wonderful forum host has put together. It will be the fastest way to get most of your questions answered.

[franski]

My wife is retiring in June, and has wanted to go on a European river cruise so I plan on taking her as a retirement present (to us both).

 

A couple simple questions.

 

1) Being the typical American, we only speak English, will that be a problem on board the ship? How much of a problem on excursions?

 

2) Last cruise we went on was with Princess. We felt the food was mediocre at best. Recommendations for lines know for their food?

 

3) While I know it is subjective, anyone know of a list ranking river cruise lines?

 

TIA:)

 

We have never had any significant issues in Europe. We have found that if you learn to say "Hello" or "Good Morning" in the local language at the start of any conversation, people will usually go out of their way to try to converse with you.

 

The food is quite subjective... you are truly at the mercy of the chef and his crew, and you have no control over that. Do you like local cuisine? Or, do you prefer a more traditional North American menu? My husband felt our last river cruise wasn't as good for food - but he was hoping for more local cuisine. (We sailed the Rhine...) I was happy with the food - and happy with the local dishes that we did get (although, I would have liked to see it a bit more...). It would be hard to pick one line over another for food.

 

There isn't all day food as on a big ship... Breakfast is a buffet, lunch may be buffet or combined buffet/menu - dinner is usually a 4 course affair (soup, appetizer, main & dessert) with a choice of meat, fish or vegetarian. There is usually a "fall back" choice of chicken or steak if you don't like the options. There is a high-end coffee machine in the lounge - and there is usually a plate of cookies there - but if you like to "graze" then you will need to bring some snacks on board. Unless you book with Scenic, as they have a small cafe in the lounge where you can get some food all day.

 

Ranking is again subjective. Some are higher end than others --> Scenic, Uniworld & Tauck are entirely all inclusive. If a balcony is important to you - then look closely at the boats. Some have "real" balconies... some are "french balconies" (think sliding door with bars so you don't fall out). Emerald has an indoor pool - and a cinema (the floor covers the pool at night to become the cinema....)

 

If the little luxuries are important, and you wish to save a bit of money - look for travel outside of the peak times.

 

We are embarking on #12 in about 3 months - and #13 later this year. We have traveled with most of the main players - as we look for itinerary, then dates then price. We also travel lowest category cabin - as this helps us travel more often.

 

River cruising is a great way to travel. Enjoy!!

 

Fran

[Host Jazzbeau]

Food reports are notoriously subjective. You will find reviews here that praise the food on most of the river cruise lines, but it's hard to tell what type of food most reviewers prefer at home. The only "objective" opinion I know of is the Berlitz guide to River Cruising, which states that “AmaWaterways spends considerably more on high-quality food ingredients and wine, and on hotel crew service training than any other river cruise company. The company is also known to offer the highest levels of customer care and friendliness in the river cruise industry.” That fits with my experience on two wonderful cruises with AMA -- but I haven't cruised on other river lines so I can't compare that to the rave reviews for food on Uniworld etc. [Crystal may -- probably will -- take the honors once Berlitz has a chance to review their new river operation, but at the moment it's only one ship which is limited by its size to one part of the Danube.]

[Military Guy]

As a previous poster mentioned, a few words like good morning, good day, thank you, etc will get you a long way. Couple that with a smile and respect and you will be golden. PS: English has been mandatory in German schools for 15+ years (I have family there).

[BigWI]

Thank you everyone , I appreciate the advice

 

I had planned on trying to learn enough to say hello and ask if they speak English. I'm afraid much more than that would be a stretch for me.

 

Yes I know much of what I asked is subjective, but I am looking for informed opinions like yours.

[JohnKen3]

About 80-95% of passengers on a river cruise are Americans who only know how to speak English.

 

Uniworld, Crystal and most other cruise lines have policies where all crew, even sailing crew, speak English to each other. You have to remember that there is no european language. So crew members may be from Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Germany, etc. On my cruise, we even had an Australian working on a UK passport so he was classed as British. Everyone speaks English to each other, officially.

 

Uniworld is owned by an American family. Crystal is also has American management and has operational direction from the US.

 

All tours are in English only. Even European passengers have to use English-speaking tour guides. Never came across a German or French excursion group yet. All guides speak English proficiently. Some have stronger accents than others. Some are very entertaining while others can drone on.

 

Just to flag that dinner on Crystal River cruises is truly excellent - I posted lots of food pictures on my blog.

http://johnken3.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/dinner-on-board-crystal-mozart.html

 

Passengers have typically sailed on Seaboard, Crystal and Silversea for ocean cruises. All drinks, including spirits, are complementary at all times during the cruise (i.e. not just meal times). There is only a charge for really high-end wines and spirits.

Edited February 7, 2017 by JohnKen3

[BigWI]

Thank you John, I appreciate your comments and the link to your Blog. Those pictures made me hungry.:cool:

[Trekker954]

We cruised with Ama for the Christmas market season. All passengers, to my surprise, were Americans and lived in the states. 100% All staff we had interaction with spoke English.

[Hydrokitty]

My wife is retiring in June, and has wanted to go on a European river cruise so I plan on taking her as a retirement present (to us both).

 

A couple simple questions.

 

1) Being the typical American, we only speak English, will that be a problem on board the ship? How much of a problem on excursions?

 

2) Last cruise we went on was with Princess. We felt the food was mediocre at best. Recommendations for lines know for their food?

 

3) While I know it is subjective, anyone know of a list ranking river cruise lines?

 

TIA:)

 

You've gotten some really good advice so far but I couldn't resist a fellow Packer fan! We've done 8 cruises with Vantage and were more than satisfied with the ship, the food, ports and guides as well as the staff on board the ship.

 

I have the Berlitz guide and found it enormously helpful. I also bought either Fodor's or Frommer's Guides to the country(ies) we were visiting so we had some idea of what to look for.

 

As for language don't worry about it. Languages are my thing and the suggestion that you learn some basic phrases in local languages is really valuable. Of course learn Good morning, please and thank you...but don't forget things like: where is the rest room, bus stop, boat dock... etc. IME if you try to use their language they will go out of their way to help you. It's a sign of respect. Your guides will all use English and they speak it very well as a rule.

 

Go Packers....next year. :D

Edited February 13, 2017 by Hydrokitty

[chlives60]

We have been on 4 River Cruises (all Viking for us) and also tour on our own in Europe and never really found an issue with English. One the boat, everyone speaks English as at least Viking is geared to the American traveler. But learning a few words like good morning/thank you in the native language helps. Most Germans speak English (we only found once when we asked an elderly couple at a tram station which one to get on, they went over to a younger man and he answered us and explained that older Germans may not know English so ask a younger person if you can). In France, the people don't think they speak English well and are often afraid to offer help that's when a few words of French helps break the ice. That said, we have never really found language too much of an issue in Europe. Tour guides are English speaking and while some may have a heavy accent, you can understand them. On Viking you get an ear piece and speaker so that the guide talks into the speaker and you can hear clearly from the ear piece. All the staff on board the boat is very helpful with any questions you may have.

[Got2Cruise]

Try AMA. AMA is still in the moderate price category, but the food has been rated above average and you also get the opportunity to eat a dinner at the chefs table. We tried AMA and found the food, Tours and service all very good.

 

Plan to budget some funds for meals in some of the places you visit. If you stay pre and post cruise you'll have the time to dine at fine restaurants.

 

I've been on three different river itineraries and language was never a problem. The only small issue is currency exchange but that is easily dealt with and there are many suggestions here on CC.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BigWI]

Gone a couple of days and get some more great advise.

 

Thank you all.

 

HydroKitty GO PACKERS :)