What line/itinerary to choose?

[nikitty]

 

Hello!

I need advice on two cruises we are trying to decide upon.  My mom and I normally sail with Celebrity when do cruises.  She is a senior and has issues with mobility.  She requires a wheelchair for embarkation (and when we fly) but on board she uses a cane.

 

We have a reservation for the 14 night Scandinavia & Russia sailing from Southampton on June 30th.  Our last few experiences have been a little disappointing so we were considering a river cruise with Avalon.  The cruise we have reserved is the 8 day Blue Danube Discovery on July 2nd. 

 

Would love to hear people's thoughts on both these cruises and their experiences if they are able to compare.  We haven't been on a ton of cruises (under 10 in total) so I'm sure there are things we haven't taken into account when considering both these tours.

 

On the one hand, we know that a river cruise is very luxurious and is supposed to be a "bucket list" vacation.  It is rather short though and we are on the top floor, which I heard can be louder.  It's also more regimented as there isn't any flexibility when it comes to meals and tours.  The Celebrity cruise is almost twice as long but there won't be anywhere near such pampering.  However, the pace is quite a bit more leisurely.

 

I know this is an apples to oranges type of question but I just wanted to hear about other people's experiences with Avalon (we have never been) and for Celebrity - this particular itinerary.

 

Here are the itineraries:

 

Avalon:

Day 1 Budapest (Embarkation): onboard welcome reception
Day 2 Budapest–Vienna: cruising
Day 3 Vienna: guided sightseeing
Day 4 Dürnstein–Wachau Valley–Melk:

Day 5 Passau: guided walk
Day 6 Regensburg: guided walk; enjoy a snack at the Historische Wurstküche; beer tasting on board
Day 7 Nuremberg: choice of guided sightseeing, or Nuremberg Rally Grounds tour
Day 8 Nuremberg (Disembarkation)

 

 

Celebrity Silhouette:

 

1    Southampton        
2    Bruges (Zeebrugge)        
3    At Sea        
4    Copenhagen        
5    At Sea        
6    Stockholm        
7    Visby, Gotland. Sweden        
8    Tallinn        
9-10    St. Petersburg - Overnight onboard        
11    At Sea        
12    Berlin (Warnemunde)        
13-14    At Sea - 2 days        
15    Southampton

 

 

Edited March 13, 2019 by nikitty

[CruiserBruce]

Have not done a river cruise, but have toured much of the area covered by your proposed river cruise on land.

 

In the big picture, I think you would see more, and get more enjoyment out of the Baltic cruise. It might be a bit more of a strain on your Mom, though. Guess that would depend on how much she feels she "needs"to do.

 

You can look at other cruise lines for the Baltic- many cruise there. Not sure what you are finding wanting in Celebrity.

[dogs4fun]

2 hours ago, nikitty said:

 

Hello!

I need advice on two cruises we are trying to decide upon.  My mom and I normally sail with Celebrity when do cruises.  She is a senior and has issues with mobility.  She requires a wheelchair for embarkation (and when we fly) but on board she uses a cane.

 

We have a reservation for the 14 night Scandinavia & Russia sailing from Southampton on June 30th.  Our last few experiences have been a little disappointing so we were considering a river cruise with Avalon.  The cruise we have reserved is the 8 day Blue Danube Discovery on July 2nd. 

 

Would love to hear people's thoughts on both these cruises and their experiences if they are able to compare.  We haven't been on a ton of cruises (under 10 in total) so I'm sure there are things we haven't taken into account when considering both these tours.

 

On the one hand, we know that a river cruise is very luxurious and is supposed to be a "bucket list" vacation.  It is rather short though and we are on the top floor, which I heard can be louder.  It's also more regimented as there isn't any flexibility when it comes to meals and tours.  The Celebrity cruise is almost twice as long but there won't be anywhere near such pampering.  However, the pace is quite a bit more leisurely.

 

I know this is an apples to oranges type of question but I just wanted to hear about other people's experiences with Avalon (we have never been) and for Celebrity - this particular itinerary.

 

Here are the itineraries:

 

Avalon:

Day 1 Budapest (Embarkation): onboard welcome reception
Day 2 Budapest–Vienna: cruising
Day 3 Vienna: guided sightseeing
Day 4 Dürnstein–Wachau Valley–Melk:

Day 5 Passau: guided walk
Day 6 Regensburg: guided walk; enjoy a snack at the Historische Wurstküche; beer tasting on board
Day 7 Nuremberg: choice of guided sightseeing, or Nuremberg Rally Grounds tour
Day 8 Nuremberg (Disembarkation)

 

 

Celebrity Silhouette:

 

1    Southampton        
2    Bruges (Zeebrugge)        
3    At Sea        
4    Copenhagen        
5    At Sea        
6    Stockholm        
7    Visby, Gotland. Sweden        
8    Tallinn        
9-10    St. Petersburg - Overnight onboard        
11    At Sea        
12    Berlin (Warnemunde)        
13-14    At Sea - 2 days        
15    Southampton

 

 

We have enjoyed both ocean and river cruises. We completed our Danube river cruise this past November - visited most of the same places on your itinerary and ended in Budapest. We have also completed two Baltic cruises and I have visited Russia multiple times (flew into Pulkovo).

River cruises are very different from ocean cruises - there are less than 150 persons on river cruises, thousands on the ocean cruises. River cruises offer meals at set times - there are no buffets from which to grab a snack - no other eating venues. River cruises include a tour in each city visited - these are usually walking tours (I would consider this in view of you mother's mobility issues). There are no shows on the river cruises - entertainment is very scant. 

If it were my choice, I would choose the Baltic itinerary as I think you and your mom might have a more enjoyable experience on one of the big ocean ships. However, the river cruises do cater to each guest as there are so few of us onboard.

Whatever your choice, hope you have a great cruise.

[hallasm]

I have done both river and ocean cruises - I have also done Norwegian Fjords and Baltic cruises with my 90+ mother in law - for the same reasons as mentioned in posts above I’ll suggest the Ocean cruise rather then River Cruise.

The Baltic cruise is nice and my mother in law did well - only organized tours in St. Petersburg - other ports  DIY tours. But Norwegian Fjords is my favorite. Also a lot to see from the ship - nice sceneries when sailing through the Fjords.

[nikitty]

20 hours ago, hallasm said:

I have done both river and ocean cruises - I have also done Norwegian Fjords and Baltic cruises with my 90+ mother in law - for the same reasons as mentioned in posts above I’ll suggest the Ocean cruise rather then River Cruise.

The Baltic cruise is nice and my mother in law did well - only organized tours in St. Petersburg - other ports  DIY tours. But Norwegian Fjords is my favorite. Also a lot to see from the ship - nice sceneries when sailing through the Fjords.

 

Thank you for this!  I think what would help is to see some videos people have taken from their rooms (on deck, etc) from this sailing, to give us an idea what the sceneries are like. 

 

Is there a good place to find those videos/photos/reviews in the forum?  I'm not great at navigating the threads. 

 

 

[nikitty]

On 3/13/2019 at 5:14 PM, dogs4fun said:

We have enjoyed both ocean and river cruises. We completed our Danube river cruise this past November - visited most of the same places on your itinerary and ended in Budapest. We have also completed two Baltic cruises and I have visited Russia multiple times (flew into Pulkovo).

River cruises are very different from ocean cruises - there are less than 150 persons on river cruises, thousands on the ocean cruises. River cruises offer meals at set times - there are no buffets from which to grab a snack - no other eating venues. River cruises include a tour in each city visited - these are usually walking tours (I would consider this in view of you mother's mobility issues). There are no shows on the river cruises - entertainment is very scant. 

If it were my choice, I would choose the Baltic itinerary as I think you and your mom might have a more enjoyable experience on one of the big ocean ships. However, the river cruises do cater to each guest as there are so few of us onboard.

Whatever your choice, hope you have a great cruise.

 

Thank you!  We are going back and forth because there are pros and cons to both.

I am trying to find videos of people on Avalon enjoying their cruise from their room and the same of Celebrity passengers sailing the fjords.  I am having difficulty finding either.  LOL.  I think if I sent both to my mom it would help her make a decision as ultimately she is the boss and whatever she says goes. 

 

[gnome12]

4 minutes ago, nikitty said:

 

Thank you!  We are going back and forth because there are pros and cons to both.

I am trying to find videos of people on Avalon enjoying their cruise from their room and the same of Celebrity passengers sailing the fjords.  I am having difficulty finding either.  LOL.  I think if I sent both to my mom it would help her make a decision as ultimately she is the boss and whatever she says goes. 

 

Despite the fact that Avalon has a panoramic room, that isn't where you would be going through any scenic cruising area. You would either be on the sundeck (only accessible by stairs and not by elevator; might not be open if the area also has low bridges) or in the panoramic lounge because you would want to see both sides. That said, there is very little daytime cruising on a river cruise; generally you are on an excursion or on your own. Cruising usually occurs overnight (or during dinner).

 

River cruises are not really very accessible for people with mobility issues; sometimes you are rafted to another ship (tied up side by side) and you have to climb up to the sundeck. cross over to another sundeck that might not be at exactly the same height, climb down from the sundeck (again no elevator to sundeck level) and exit the other ship. Embarkation and disembarkation is by a narrow gangway; depending on water levels it could be fairly steep.

[nikitty]

5 hours ago, gnome12 said:

River cruises are not really very accessible for people with mobility issues; sometimes you are rafted to another ship (tied up side by side) and you have to climb up to the sundeck. cross over to another sundeck that might not be at exactly the same height, climb down from the sundeck (again no elevator to sundeck level) and exit the other ship. Embarkation and disembarkation is by a narrow gangway; depending on water levels it could be fairly steep.

 

Wow!!!  Thank you so much for that information.  I think someone else mentioned something about mobility issues but I think I misread it and believed river cruises were better for people with these issues as this line catered to a more senior crowd.

 

The scenarios you mentioned involving stair climbing and steep ramps is definitely something that would be VERY challenging for my mom.  Thank you so much for clarifying! 

 

 

[gnome12]

4 hours ago, nikitty said:

 

Wow!!!  Thank you so much for that information.  I think someone else mentioned something about mobility issues but I think I misread it and believed river cruises were better for people with these issues as this line catered to a more senior crowd.

 

The scenarios you mentioned involving stair climbing and steep ramps is definitely something that would be VERY challenging for my mom.  Thank you so much for clarifying! 

 

 

There should be a fair bit more information on the River Cruising forums. Sorry I can’t think about a good search term, but browse the thread titles and you should find the most recent ones.

[dogs4fun]

12 hours ago, gnome12 said:

Despite the fact that Avalon has a panoramic room, that isn't where you would be going through any scenic cruising area. You would either be on the sundeck (only accessible by stairs and not by elevator; might not be open if the area also has low bridges) or in the panoramic lounge because you would want to see both sides. That said, there is very little daytime cruising on a river cruise; generally you are on an excursion or on your own. Cruising usually occurs overnight (or during dinner).

 

River cruises are not really very accessible for people with mobility issues; sometimes you are rafted to another ship (tied up side by side) and you have to climb up to the sundeck. cross over to another sundeck that might not be at exactly the same height, climb down from the sundeck (again no elevator to sundeck level) and exit the other ship. Embarkation and disembarkation is by a narrow gangway; depending on water levels it could be fairly steep.

Yes, docking may be an issue considering your mother's mobility limitations. Most tours are walking tours & any panorama you wish to see cannot be seen from your stateroom.

River cruise forum here:  

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/115-river-cruising/

[hallasm]

12 hours ago, nikitty said:

 

Thank you for this!  I think what would help is to see some videos people have taken from their rooms (on deck, etc) from this sailing, to give us an idea what the sceneries are like. 

 

Is there a good place to find those videos/photos/reviews in the forum?  I'm not great at navigating the threads. 

 

 

Here are few of my videos from River Cruise and Norwegian Fjords - footage from ships - More cruise videos at my YouTube channel

 

 

 

 

[edinburgher]

Some good advice in the above posts.

 

We only did one river cruise, a 14 night one, and a small number of times we "rafted" with not one but two other river boats. Quite an effort if you are on #3 and need to cross not one but two others on temporary makeshift type walkways on different levels.

 

Re ocean cruising.

There is also the question of space for storage of the wheelchair as my understanding is that they they must not be left in corridors.

And whether or not crew assistance is given for gangway use, or is there an alternative crew access area for wheelchairs.

 

And if your mother cannot manage steps without a chair, would she be able to get in or out a tender boat if one is used? We have seen different types of tenders, some would be easier than others.

 

Three suggestions.

 

You might want to ask on the disabled boards, and/or on the Celebrity Board if your itinerary is with them:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/114-disabled-cruise-travel/

 

And read this article which gives info on mobility issues with different lines.

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=1959

 

And before booking anything, contact the cruise line and ask about the varies issues you might have.