jodorro Posted October 29, 2018 #1 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Hi there , I’m looking to organise a cruise /river cruise for my mother (in her 80s) and I in July/august. My mum loves marina & riviera for : great food and variety of restaurants size of penthouse rooms no formal dressing required use of executive lounge with penthouse Could anyone suggest any comparable cruise or river cruise lines that could be comparable re my above comments ? Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ?? Really appreciate any feedback. cheers jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GeezerCouple Posted October 29, 2018 #2 Share Posted October 29, 2018 14 minutes ago, jodorro said: Hi there , I’m looking to organise a cruise /river cruise for my mother (in her 80s) and I in July/august. My mum loves marina & riviera for : great food and variety of restaurants size of penthouse rooms no formal dressing required use of executive lounge with penthouse Could anyone suggest any comparable cruise or river cruise lines that could be comparable re my above comments ? Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ?? Really appreciate any feedback. cheers jo Your mother has been on Marina and/or Riviera, and knows she "loves" them? Is there something about them that you do not like, such that you are looking for something else? If so, what "different" are you seeking? GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 29, 2018 #3 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Most river cruise do not have large cabins some have butlers like Oceania Some river cruise lines are more inclusive than others Scenic & Uniworld come to mind I would look on the river cruise forum for comparisons If you are looking at Ocean cruises ..what are you looking for that would something that Oceania offers that your mother would like to have on another line?? if she likes Oceania why look elsewhere ..JMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted October 29, 2018 #4 Share Posted October 29, 2018 If you’re looking at River cruises look at Scenic or Avalon Either would be good. Crystal has also started a river cruise but not cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodorro Posted October 29, 2018 Author #5 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Hi Geezercouple , LHT28 & CruiseJunky, thanks so so much for your responses. Why we are thinking of maybe a river cruise (if comparable) to Oceania’s Marina & Riviera is because we want to escape some of Melb, Australia’s winter, hence July/August it is . My mum can’t deal with the heat so the Mediterranean cruises are out then & she doesn’t like too cold so Iceland is out . She’s already done the Ireland , uk , Scandinavia, Russian cruises a couple of times and hence we thought it would be nice to try a river cruise . I’ll check out scenic , uniworld , Avalon and crystal river cruises. thanks so much jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GeezerCouple Posted October 29, 2018 #6 Share Posted October 29, 2018 2 minutes ago, jodorro said: Hi Geezercouple , LHT28 & CruiseJunky, thanks so so much for your responses. Why we are thinking of maybe a river cruise (if comparable) to Oceania’s Marina & Riviera is because we want to escape some of Melb, Australia’s winter, hence July/August it is . My mum can’t deal with the heat so the Mediterranean cruises are out then & she doesn’t like too cold so Iceland is out . She’s already done the Ireland , uk , Scandinavia, Russian cruises a couple of times and hence we thought it would be nice to try a river cruise . I’ll check out scenic , uniworld , Avalon and crystal river cruises. thanks so much jo Ah. It wasn't clear (not to me, anyway) that you were restricting your question *only* to river cruises. That's different. GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 29, 2018 #7 Share Posted October 29, 2018 you will find July hot in some of the river cruise Countries we were in Budapest in June one year it was 33C Amsterdam 30C similar to the MED what about Norway it was not too warm there mid 20's this July but a few of the other ports were 30C this summer seems there was no escaping the heat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jancruz Posted October 29, 2018 #8 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Hi..The cruise line I suggest is AMA , great fod, service and ships.. Jancruz1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted October 29, 2018 #9 Share Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) River cruises have their advantages but they are a different animal from ocean cruises. I think both of you should be open and flexible because there is no river cruise comparable to Oceania that would fit your requirements save for no formal dress code. They do not have large cabins - in fact they are quite small; only 1 restaurant with a limited dinner menu (generally speaking, one of each dishes - meat, fish and vegetarian) and certainly no exec. lounge. That said, they are small ships, well organized excursions and visit places that ocean ships cannot. However, I can’t think of where you would have to river cruise in July/Aug to avoid the heat. Edited October 29, 2018 by Paulchili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paulchili Posted October 29, 2018 #10 Share Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) 43 minutes ago, jancruz1 said: Hi..The cruise line I suggest is AMA , great fod, service and ships.. Jancruz1 Jan - that is what I though based on our prior experiences.. However, this year we cruised on Viking & AMA B2B and this time Viking won hands down in all respects (to my great surprise). I guess it can vary from cruise to cruise. That said, neither came even close to Oceania - at least not for me. Edited October 29, 2018 by Paulchili Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo-b Posted October 29, 2018 #11 Share Posted October 29, 2018 3 hours ago, Paulchili said: River cruises have their advantages but they are a different animal from ocean cruises. I think both of you should be open and flexible because there is no river cruise comparable to Oceania that would fit your requirements save for no formal dress code. They do not have large cabins - in fact they are quite small; only 1 restaurant with a limited dinner menu (generally speaking, one of each dishes - meat, fish and vegetarian) and certainly no exec. lounge. That said, they are small ships, well organized excursions and visit places that ocean ships cannot. However, I can’t think of where you would have to river cruise in July/Aug to avoid the heat. I would agree with this we have just done our first Scenic Europe river cruise, food was fine but not O standard, Top level balcony cabin was very small, only one chair at the dressing table so cannot sit in the cabin. Balcony tiny. We were surprised that the level of agility had to be higher too, there is a lift but it doesn't go to the top deck . Also we spent usually only half a day in places and often dropped at one and picked up at another so no wandering off the ship for a coffee on your own. Most times town was a good 20/45 minutes walk away. (This could be because of low water levels on the Rhine to be fair) We wouldn't repeat but that is personal. And even in October it was warm. Inland it is likely to be hotter than the coast. I find Scandinavia worth repeating personally beautiful scenery and not too hot! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammiedawg Posted October 29, 2018 #12 Share Posted October 29, 2018 Viking river food was mostly average when we were on their Grand European trip a few years ago. On the first night one couple joked during dinner “ we know we are not on Oceania”. But a few dinners were excellent. Viking has higher passenger counts than their competitors. Less space per passenger. Overall their product is good but I would try something else if we go again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sitraveler Posted October 29, 2018 #13 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I've said it before, a river cruise is like a bus tour, except your hotel moves with you. Nothing like an Oceania cruise. If you want a cruise, take an ocean cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nauga146 Posted October 29, 2018 #14 Share Posted October 29, 2018 We decided to try a river cruise with Tauck. We were quit impressed. Yes the cabins are smaller - the ships are smaller. It's a totally different experience, be we found the service on Tauck stellar. We also considered AMA and Uniworld when we were shopping. It was the reputation for service as well as the itinerary that drew us to the trip we took. Realize that ocean cruising and river cruising are different, but both can be wonderful experiences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrulyBlonde Posted October 29, 2018 #15 Share Posted October 29, 2018 1 hour ago, sitraveler said: I've said it before, a river cruise is like a bus tour, except your hotel moves with you. Nothing like an Oceania cruise. If you want a cruise, take an ocean cruise. Perfectly stated. I have done 3 river cruises and won't be back. Tauck does an excellent job for a river cruise but nothing beats an ocean cruise in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare pinotlover Posted October 29, 2018 #16 Share Posted October 29, 2018 The quality of food on Uniworld matches or exceeds that of Oceania. Every dinner is predominately fresh local produce with dishes and wines of the the regions visited. One isn’t getting frozen food packed in for Day 6 or 7 of the cruise. Uniworld is all inclusive with no games such as drinks Packages or add on tips. Their included shore tours are far better than the ones offered by Oceania. Having utilized both Uniworld and Viking, I can say that the Uniworld experiences is so vastly better that comparing those two lines would be like comparing Oceania and Carnival. I highly recommend exploring Uniworld. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jodorro Posted October 29, 2018 Author #17 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I can’t thank you all enough for your comments. Uniworld could be a good option ! I’ll look into that further . It does sound like Oceania is certainly hard to beat ! cheers jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LHT28 Posted October 29, 2018 #18 Share Posted October 29, 2018 I think Crystal also have River cruises worth check out I guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ2002 Posted October 29, 2018 #19 Share Posted October 29, 2018 jodorro, the river cruises in Europe this year have had some challenges with water levels, so if you are not already familiar with this situation, you might want to read up on that so that you are aware of the potential issues. Who knows what the conditions will be like next year? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo-b Posted October 29, 2018 #20 Share Posted October 29, 2018 It is worth having a quick scan of the River Cruising thread also there is a lot of information about the different lines. . Particularly with recent low water issues in Europe on the Rhine and Danube different operators have handled the situation much better than others sometimes just because they have more ships (Viking) so it is easier for them to do ship swaps, but others just seem to be so much better at communication. I think it speaks volumes how a company deals with problems, also the service from HO is often very different from the impression you get onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sugarbird Posted October 29, 2018 #21 Share Posted October 29, 2018 We have been on Tauck and AMA river cruises in Europe--both were excellent!! Ama is noted for their food--also in Bertlz guide to river cruises--the top ten river cruise ships --all are AMA ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StanandJim Posted October 29, 2018 #22 Share Posted October 29, 2018 FWIW,my understanding of the original question in this thread was that it concerned Viking Ocean, not Viking River. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bitob Posted October 30, 2018 #23 Share Posted October 30, 2018 11 hours ago, portofinoitaly said: Perfectly stated. I have done 3 river cruises and won't be back. Tauck does an excellent job for a river cruise but nothing beats an ocean cruise in my opinion. Agree 100%. We will never take another river cruise BUT if we were to do so it would be on Tauck, They do a superb job -- if you enjoy river cruising. We learned that we do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare GeezerCouple Posted October 30, 2018 #24 Share Posted October 30, 2018 1 hour ago, StanandJim said: FWIW,my understanding of the original question in this thread was that it concerned Viking Ocean, not Viking River. Au contraire... OP asked about "...any comparable cruise or river cruise lines ..." to Oceania's Riviera and Marina, and gave a few specifics for comparisons (e.g., great food, space in PH, no formal dressing required...). That was "cruise or river cruise"... And in a subsequent post, OP again specifically mentioned thinking a river cruise might be nice. Indeed, OP's original mention of Viking was specifically for *river* cruising: " Someone mentioned Viking River cruises might be an option ??" GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KatieBelle Posted October 30, 2018 #25 Share Posted October 30, 2018 Another option might be an Alaska cruise. You might consider cruise lines other the Oceania if you mother prefers Marina & Riviera. Oceania typically sails the R ships in Alaska. If that is a deal breaker for you mother, other cruise lines might be a better option. Also, Alaska can be rather cool/cold even in July. Not sure what you happy medium would be for perfect sailing temperature. A second option would be a cruise of the Great Lakes. These are smaller ships and offer a different experience than river or ocean cruising. But the Great Lakes are beautiful and quite divergent. Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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