First River Cruise: Best Itinerary? Best Ship?

[RockinJ]

I would like to know the best first river cruise? I like history, wine and beer tasting.

I have done some ocean cruising.

[Daisi]

Our board host Jazzbeau has set up some sticky threads at the top that will probably be very helpful. I would start off with this one called "New to River Cruising:" https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233868

 

There is also this one giving a general overview of Rivers & Areas https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2220727

 

Another helpful one explains what to expect on a River cruise, as they are very different from ocean cruises https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2526382

 

Most people will have their favourite lines, so your best bet is to look at the various sites to see the best itinerary dates, and pricing you are willing to pay. Some of the lines include some features that others don't (alcohol being primary) so you would really have to decide what is important to you. Also, you would have to look at what types of room you wish, and which level....sizes can vary a lot depending on the line chosen.

 

You can also search the board (the box on the right side) for various reviews on the cruises, most are well balanced reviews with lots of pics to help you see what to expect.

 

To me, a lot of the fun was in the planning, looking at what line would suit us best, and reading the reviews here from others who have already taken the cruise.

 

Have fun, and hopefully you will enjoy your first cruise...I hear they are addictive!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I would like to know the best first river cruise? I like history, wine and beer tasting.

I have done some ocean cruising.

 

Thanks Daisi – you're doing part of my job for me!

 

One thing that may not be mentioned in the Stickies: AmaWaterways has beer-theme cruises (in addition to the more-common wine-theme). The 3rd beer cruise sails on Oct. 11, 2018 on AMA's Europe’s Rivers & Castles itinerary (from Nuremburg to Luxembourg). Here is the AMA link for this cruise:

https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2018/europe-rivers-castles

Note that AMA's website doesn't mention the beer theme because that is a Travel Agent group on the cruise.

 

Other river cruise lines are also picking up on the beer-theme idea. To find out about the above cruise and similar ones on Avalon and CroisiEurope, google "beer themed river cruises"

Edited March 26, 2018 by Host Jazzbeau

[Roz]

There's no one "right" cruise line or itinerary. Several could probably fit what you're looking for, depending on your interests and budget.

 

For a first river cruise, I wouldn't take one that was too long. My first one was 8 days on the Danube from Budapest to Passau on Uniworld. There was a couple on the ship who were miserable. They were expecting lots of onboard entertainment and were very disappointed. Make sure you do your research and understand what you're signing up for.

 

Roz

[CPT Trips]

Jeez Jazzbeau! Seriously?

A short time ago you pulled several posts suggesting how folks could find a site that gets auto edited. A site that isn't a TA.

Now you post the search term to find a specific TA's url . . . that's just not right.

[Rebel54]

That's really such a personal choice. I can tell you why I chose Avalon and the cruise we ended up taking. First, it was my husbands first time to Europe and we had limited time to fit in a lot. I love Prague and wanted to share that with him and he wanted to see Paris. I loved how Avalon set up their cabins. The cabin is important to us because we LOVE to enjoy the peace and quiet of our own space. The cabin opens up to essentially make your cabin a balcony. The bed faces the outside so you can sit in your space on your nice comfy bed and enjoy the scenery. Avalon had an itinerary that started in Prague and ended in Paris so it was the perfect choice for us all around.

 

To make our experience even better we added a week in Prague at the start (rented an apartment through AirBnB) and almost an extra week in Pars to get in some extra sight seeing.

 

This is the cruise we took: https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/central-european-experience-westbound/wnr/

 

Avalon also offers beer and wine cruises: https://www.avalonwaterways.com/special-interest-river-cruises/

[Host Jazzbeau]

Jeez Jazzbeau! Seriously?

A short time ago you pulled several posts suggesting how folks could find a site that gets auto edited. A site that isn't a TA.

Now you post the search term to find a specific TA's url . . . that's just not right.

 

You are right, and [after slapping myself upside the head] I have edited the post to remove the specific hint and leave only the general one.

[Peregrina651]

I would like to know the best first river cruise? I like history, wine and beer tasting.

I have done some ocean cruising.

 

There is no one answer to your question.

 

Our first river cruise was with Viking in China. Folks say to start with a short trial cruise but we just jumped right in with a 17 day cruisetour (i.e. land and cruise combined). It was for us the most amazing introduction to river cruising and to China. We have since followed it up with two more river cruises, one on Dneiper River (sailing right through the town where my grandmother grew up) and another on the Danube from Budapest to Bucharest (talk about history).

 

IMHO, first decide what area you want to see.

[CPT Trips]

(y)(y)

[JerseyGem]

Our first river cruise with with Grand Circle Cruise Line. On their Great Rivers of Europe cruise we sailed from Vienna to Amsterdam. For us, this was the perfect region to sample wines, beers and to see so much history. We had a wonderful time and are now hooked on river (and small ship) cruising. We leave soon for our 11th trip with them.

[Roz]

I took my first river cruise accidentally. Before my mother passed away, she told me that if I inherited any of her money, she wanted me take some of it and use it for a trip I wouldn't ordinarily go on. Sadly, Mom died less than 3 months after our conversation.

 

Not long after, I ran into my TA in the grocery store. She had just come back from her first Uniworld cruise and raved about it. I'm more likely to buy something or do something if someone I know whose opinion I value and trust recommends it. So...long story short, that's how I ended up on the River Beatrice doing the same itinerary my TA did.

 

I took another Uniworld cruise last year and have my 3rd one booked for this fall.

 

Roz

[Lois R]

Hi, there are so many choices........I have only been on 1 River cruise and that was on AMA. I loved it:D and would recommend them. They were recommended to me by 2 different people and I was very happy with the entire experience....food, service,

excursions........it was all terrific:) and I sail solo and also felt very welcomed. It is very easy to meet other people........hope

you have fun, whatever cruise you choose:)

[stretchcruz]

We've done 3 Avalon cruises and really enjoyed them. We love the bed facing the floor to ceiling window that opens up so wide. We really liked the Danube the best...it was our first and our third, with the Rhine in the middle. We love Budapest and Prague, and rented apartments in both to bookend the cruise. The Rhine was fine, we stayed in Amsterdam prior, and took a train from Basel to Paris after where we rented an apartment. You just need to decide what you want to see...and I can't recommend Prague highly enough. The average stateroom on Avalon is very large....I think the smallest is 170 square feet or so, and that is aquarium class. Enjoy!!

[Peregrina651]

I would like to know the best first river cruise? I like history, wine and beer tasting.

I have done some ocean cruising.

 

I knew that we would get to the story-telling sooner or later. The best first river cruise is the one that has the story to go with it. May you find your story and your cruise!

[CILCIANRQTS]

Consider Amsterdam to Basel (or vice versa).

In addition to having the middle Rhine castles that everyone loves, you get the museums and canals of Amsterdam, real windmills, the city offerings of Cologne,perhaps the best castle you can tour, multiple medieval small cities that are wonderful to explore, and the Black Forest.

We're doing it for the second time this Fall!

No advice on cruise lines, as we've only used one and everyone tells us we absolutely must try A, B or C, which we will eventually.

[Hoyaheel]

I love Christmas Markets. My husband wanted to drink German beer. So that's how we ended up on an Avalon 11 day trip NUE-BSL in December a few years back. We took my parents & in-laws too. Everyone but me got sick. My husband loved the trip. I'm "meh" about river cruising in general because I prefer to DIY and not pay a high price to have everything done for me (eg "included" excursions - I've paid for them in the cruise fare, and I'm frugal, so I'll take advantage- but I'd rather just go off exploring on my own. Not saying you can't - you absolutely can - but then why pay someone for the tours?) Anyway, Avalon was lovely & the cabins, tours, food & staff were first rate. My husband keeps an eye out for a good deal on a river cruise because he knows he'll have to find a great price to get me to do it again right now;p

We both want to see the Rhine gorge but are contemplating a land trip....

[notamermaid]

Hoyaheel,

 

I can highly recommend a land trip to the area of the Rhine gorge, after all, you can always go on an excursion boat to see all the castles from the river. And the following day you can visit some, i.e. actually go inside. You could even stay in one, a couple have hotels in them. Just not around Christmas time when the boats hardly run.

 

To the OP: for history and wine the Bordeaux region is great. For beer culture and wine together the Rhine and Main rivers lend themselves. However, I like hostjazzbeau's suggestion of Luxembourg to Nuremberg. You get the odd regional beer on the Moselle and Rhine, but wine on the Moselle, Rhine and Main and head into "beer country" as you approach Bavaria, i.e. the Canal and the Danube. I am sure that AmaWaterways will have some regional specialities on the ship. Sorry, just realized it is the opposite direction, but that does not really matter with this itinerary. Apart from all the wine and beer you will experience old cities with lots of history, from Roman (they brought the wine and built many forts in the region, apart from villas (country houses), a few of which have been excavated and rebuilt; to WWII in Luxembourg if you visit the cemetery.

 

Really sounds a great itinerary.

 

notamermaid

[Splinter]

I did my first river cruise (after 22 ocean cruises) on AMA Waterways last May, and chose a 7 day Tulip season cruise in the Netherlands and Belgium. This was a bucket list trip that I used to celebrate my retirement. It was great, and now I am signed up for a Vantage 27 day cruise from Bucharest to Mainz (Frankfurt), summer of 2019. I found AMA Waterways superior in every way, and I was able to get a low single supplement (unlike on Viking). The Vantage cruise has single cabins with no single supplement too. One of the attractive things to me as a single cruiser on river cruises is that you can find no/low single supplement trips, and I like the smaller ships where you can meet everyone, join others for open seating dining, wine and beer included for dinner (and sometimes lunch) on most ships, and included shore excursions. On AMA I found the food to be excellent, customer service excellent, and we had great shore excursions. If you need casinos, climbing walls, bingo games, and "art" auctions on a cruise, river cruising will probably not be for you, but I am hooked!

[LFS517]

We love wine, and have enjoyed wine tastings on a few river cruises. I would recommend the Rhone. We did a Viking cruise with a pre-cruise excursion to Dijon. Loved every minute....lots of wine from Burgundy to Beaujolais to Chateauneuf-du-Pape. There is also some very interesting history from the Romans to WW2 throughout the area. Of course, we also enjoyed the wines of the Douro on our cruise in Portugal, and the Alsace and Rhine wines on our Rhine cruise. We will be on our 5th Viking cruise shortly on the Danube, looking forward to the wines of the Wachau Valley.

[TLCOhio]

I would like to know the best first river cruise? I like history, wine and beer tasting. I have done some ocean cruising.

 

Great that you like history, good beer and wine, etc. What's "best" can be highly personal and subjective. Many (and maybe you) think first of river cruising in Europe. Lots of options there. We have visited twenty-three different countries in Europe. Love those many interesting Europe options.

 

BUT, there are also good options to consider in Asia. We just got back from our first river boat sailing. It was for the Mekong River!! Very much enjoyed our three days in Bangkok before going to Vietnam. After the Mekong seven-day sailing, we super enjoyed Siem Reap (Angkor Wat, etc.), plus Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Hue/Danang, Hong Kong, etc. Lots of interesting history in these fascinating areas.

 

Well-pleased with Avalon, the ship, staff, food, tours, etc. On my live/blog, there are dozens of pictures and many details to document these fun adventures and travels. Lots of good beers in SE Asia. Happy on the live/blog to answer any and all questions, share more info/background, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

 

Here are just a few visuals samples from what we saw and did with Avalon while sailing along the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia. Many, many more photos and details on the full live/blog.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

 

 

 

We saw many temples, palaces, markets and samples of daily life/work, including at this below spectacular Royal structure in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.: