Will you book a river cruise for 2019?

[Bake apple]

23 minutes ago, Shmoo here said:

We've already booked a river cruise in June next year.

 

Personally, whether the cruise remains "all cruise", or has some bus trips as part of it, I'm fine.  I'm still on vacation, and seeing lots of interesting things that I don't usually see.

 

 

I like that approach. As the kids say to us "no worries, it's all good Mom"!

[laverendrye]

On 11/22/2018 at 2:53 PM, Bake apple said:

Very well stated and a most thoughful reply. In fact, we have discussed the $$ value and created a somewhat fun/serious spread sheet to see how it would compare. There is a old saying that sufficient research will eventually support your theory and that is where we are now. LOL. It is always the siren call of not having to pack and unpack, teasty dinner is ready and the wine is poured,  bedroom tidy etc. Still, you make good points nedeed. Thank you and safe travels. (Are you in the area of Ontario currently in the deep freeze? We had wind chill of -27C last night).

Thanks, Bake Apple.   I agree that the prospect of not having to pack and unpack or to search out a new place to eat every night are among the joys of river cruising, although staying in one place for several weeks can have the same result even if it means doing some home cooking.  I think what will attract me to future river cruises are those which travel rivers where independent travel is much more difficult--this is why I am looking at the Nile, or the upper Amazon in Peru and Ecuador, or eventually the Irrawaddy if the political situation improves. Good luck with your choice.

 

(Yes we were in the deep freeze [-25C windchill that night and the lowest temp on record yesterday morning], but we are coming out of it with rain and 5C by Sunday!  I really don't like Novembers here.)

Edited November 23, 2018 by laverendrye

[dogs4fun]

On 11/22/2018 at 12:15 PM, laverendrye said:

As well, I’m looking more to stay in one place for several weeks rather than visiting a new town every day, crowded with visitors from the ever-increasing number of cruise ships which have saturated the market. 

 

 

This pretty much sums up my thoughts.

[capriccio]

On a spring 2018 Amsterdam to Basel Uniworld cruise (before water level issues) DB and SIL booked a Budapest to Bucharest cruise for next May.  Then in October we are all taking a New Orleans to Memphis Mississippi River cruise.  It will be our first experience with a US river cruise.  DB and SIL cruised the Great Lakes in 2017.

[Peregrina651]

On 11/22/2018 at 10:08 AM, SteveU said:

We're considering another cruise in the next year or two, but have the same water level concerns. Would trip insurance with "cancel for any reason" be a solution? I'm thinking we could watch the water levels and if it looks too risky pull the plug and move on.  Does anyone know of it's possible with insurance to cancel only the cruise (covered by insurance) and still use your airline tickets for a land trip?

 

Only if you have bought your own airline tickets. Viking does flights only in conjunction with a cruise so if you cancel, you are canceling the whole package.

[lackcreativity]

On 11/23/2018 at 11:58 AM, Shmoo here said:

We've already booked a river cruise in June next year.

 

Personally, whether the cruise remains "all cruise", or has some bus trips as part of it, I'm fine.  I'm still on vacation, and seeing lots of interesting things that I don't usually see.

 

 

We may be in the minority, but I agree with you. Our first travel experiences were bus tours, and we really enjoyed them. They got a little tiring as we got older, so we have switched to river and ocean cruises. However, if our 2019 land/river cruise from Paris to Zurich with Viking has some unexpected bus portions, we will still enjoy the trip.

[franski]

 

We have booked Peru with the Amazon for next March with Avalon - really looking forward to it.  We are traveling with friends, and going in a few days early to see Arequipa and the Colca Canyon.  This is considered a river cruise due to it's 4 day/3 night sailing on the Amazon, but most of the time is on land. 

 

This will be our 14th river cruise - and as we have sailed the majority of Europe that is currently available by river, I am not sure if we will go back.  We now have a pretty hefty travel credit with Avalon as our Bucharest to Budapest cruise was cancelled last month - but am unsure of when (if ever) we will use it.  Unfortunately, it can't be applied to our Peru trip as the credit is for new bookings only.   I have decided to wait until we are back next April, and see if there are any new itineraries for 2020.  Avalon does change things up on a fairly regular basis. 

 

I have ruled out Vietnam/Cambodia due to the long travel times to get there (and back) - and have no interest in India.  Perhaps Egypt in 2020 (maybe with Uniworld) since they are now sailing that itinerary again.  Now that I am retired, I can always do a "last minute" if the price (and river levels) are right...

 

Fran

Edited November 26, 2018 by franski

[sharkster77]

Given that most river cruises have to be booked WAY in advance, many of us already have booked.

 

Every year's weather is different, so we are hoping for the best---we are booked with Viking, who seem to have the ship-swap down pat as a decent solution when possible.

 

As I mentioned in another post, right now it seems that other carriers (AMA, Vantage, for example) are incurring the wrath of passengers normally reserved for Viking.  I am reading fewer complaints about how Viking is handling this difficult fall as compared to other cruise lines.  Interesting, since some here hold their noses, i.e, " I would NEVER cruise with Viking,  XXXX cruise line is SO much better".

[pully8]

We have done several European river cruises over about 10 years.

We have enjoyed the experience and have included extended independent pre and post stays in a variety of places.

We prefer our own pace with land trips, dislike being herded and value a quality comfortable trip.

We have found the cruise operators do the on board part well, but not always the transfer/hotel part, so we avoid if we can. Unfortunately with water level issues it means the risk of being managed off ship is present.

With the increasing unreliability of water levels, and failure to inform or update for whatever reason, we would be mindful of that when we next select a trip.

Mystery trips need to be priced accordingly. We would avoid booking too far in advance. 

[pully8]

35 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

Given that most river cruises have to be booked WAY in advance, many of us already have booked.

 

Every year's weather is different, so we are hoping for the best---we are booked with Viking, who seem to have the ship-swap down pat as a decent solution when possible.

 

As I mentioned in another post, right now it seems that other carriers (AMA, Vantage, for example) are incurring the wrath of passengers normally reserved for Viking.  I am reading fewer complaints about how Viking is handling this difficult fall as compared to other cruise lines.  Interesting, since some here hold their noses, i.e, " I would NEVER cruise with Viking,  XXXX cruise line is SO much better".

Their ocean cruise experience looks appealing we would consider that.

[philw1776]

Booked for the Seine mid July.  

[KathyK13]

Just booked Avalon's Canals Vineyards and Castles for June 2019 to celebrate our 35th anniversary.  Very excited! 

[Iamthesea]

Looking into the Rhine for late September 2019.  I too would be interested to know if "cancel for any reason insurance" would cover us if we canceled a week out because of low levels.

[skinnylegs]

Seine - Paris/Normandy on Uniworld the last week of August

[caripoo]

We have a Rhine booked with Crystal in October

[nancyevans]

Booked Scenic from Basel to Amsterdam for December 2019.