Budapest to Prague or reverse direction?

[Kingofcool1947]

I have never taken a European river cruise, but would like to try one out.  

Am interested in finding an itinerary that includes Budapest and Prague.

Do you have a recommendation:

1. Itinerary?
2. Best month (and weather) without problems of low or high water levels.?Cruise line?
3. Cuisine?
4. Beer and wine included or ala carte?   I am an occasional drinker.
5. Cabin?    Veranda/Balcony, French Balcony, or Aquarium cabin?
6. Best direction?  Budapest to Prague?   Or reverse direction?

 

Thanks for your advice.

Edited June 12, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[Daisi]

Hi... first thing I would suggest is to look at the stickies that our host has posted... they will give you a good reference for differences between lines etc.  Most lines now include beer & wine with lunch & dinner, but some have all inclusive.  Just remember that if you are off boat touring all day, you may not have much of a bar bill as you will only have pre-dinner & after dinner to buy....and I know they will usually let you order another beer / wine at the end of dinner for the lounge.

 

Cabins are a personal choice, you don't spend lots of time in them, so if you can handle the smaller window that won't open you will be fine.  If you are looking at French Balconies (which I prefer as on Avalon, you can open the window almost the whole width of the room), watch out for Viking, as they offset the corridors to give the balcony rooms more space.  You won't really be on the balcony much, as there are 2 sides to the river, so if you want to see it all, the top deck is the place to be.  We enjoyed our room mostly early in the morning, or while waiting to go out, otherwise we were usually in the public areas.

 

Food is everyone's guess, we liked what we had on our Avalon Rhine cruise, but some people didn't want to try all the different foods.  What I really liked was if you wanted to try something new, no problem, if you didn't like it they would bring you a different meal.  It gave us the courage to try a lot of foods we wouldn't normally pay out for in a restaurant.  Most lines will have regional foods available, and a regular daily standard of more North American dishes...chicken, fish, steak.  

 

As for direction, I will be going Budapest to Prague, only because the tour I have chosen has 2 nights Budapest and 2 nights Prague...if I were to go the other way, I would loose one night in Budapest.

 

As to best month to go, it's usually from what I have seen best spring / fall...summer months can get hot, and if you are doing a lot of touring, it could be uncomfortable.  Be warned ahead that if there is flooding or drought, or lock problems, you may get bussed a bit, but that is part of river cruising and if you expect it, you will be ok.

 

I would suggest signing up for the mailing lists (you will get notice of sales), for the main lines.  Look carefully at pricing, as some of the all inclusive ones can work out cheaper than the non-inclusive ones due to the extra tours.  We go on everything we can, as we want to see it all.  You don't really have full days of sailing, most sailing is done at night, so time in port is great.

 

Have fun, and enjoy your planning.

 

[notamermaid]

Not much more to add to Daisi's  excellent introduction to river cruising for you.

 

 One tip from me. Get your bearings as regards the geography and see what you prefer. I explain: looking downstream you can either join the ship in Nuremberg as a standard port or Vilshofen as a relatively newer standard port. Either will entail a coach ride from Prague to get you there. Doing the reverse itinerary you have the coach ride at the end.

 

The good thing about starting in Vilshofen is that you can avoid the stretch prone to low water. This only works in low water situations, not very low. And only makes sense if you are planning to go in autumn. 

 

Have a look at the details of where the itinerary has its stops and if there are differences depending on direction. You might like to see Nuremberg or might be happy without it.

 

notamermaid

 

[Marjan1]

 

We start by looking at the itineraries offered by the various companies.  Though similar, there are differences.  

 

We chose a French balcony for fresh air and better views.  Also fewer steps to upper levels. 

 

We then look at ease of arrival and departure.  As we come from Australia, the long flights mean we did land touring as well as our river cruise.   We were travelling Prague to Amsterdam, and chose to travel in this direction as we were heading to the UK afterwards, and there were more options from Amsterdam. 

[caripoo]

We did a Viking...Started in Prague on our own....took train to Munich, on our own....then to Passau to board river boat.....Had a french balcony....the tours and food were fabulous....Whatever you choose make sure you end in Budapest....sailing into Budapest should not be missed....We are doing the Rhine on Crystal this fall. We decided NOT to be wedded to a particular line when it comes to river ships. I like the fact that Crystal is all inclusive, and we have moved to the top deck. One thing that we never change up is, we always do pre and post, and always on our own. And we never but insurance through the river cruise, and we book our own air....The fun is in the planning.  ENJOY!!

[lenetere]

We river cruised for the first time in May.  Went from Amsterdam to Budapest.  On that itinerary, due to locks and low bridges, you lose the use of the sun deck for several days.  If you choose a cabin with the expectation that you'll be up top, be sure you are aware how often the sun deck is down.

 

We went on Emerald, and our price included tips, port, beverages with meals, and airfare (not all categories).  I imagine you'll love whatever ship you're on, but be sure to check Emerald!

Edited June 13, 2019 by lenetere
add word.

[RNCheryl]

A few years ago, we might have looked at $$$ first.  Then planned our own stays pre and post cruise.  Now, however, we are planning a Danube cruise using convenience and service as our landmarks.

 

Looking at Tauck for early summer next year.  8 nights on the river.  Pre and post stays at great hotels in Prague and Budapest with sightseeing.

 

French balcony for views, fresh air.  So much included:  All transfers, all gratuities, including tour operators, all alcoholic beverages, great excursions.  Laundry service available.  Not sure yet which direction for the cruise; probably east to west so that the most horrendous air travel is at the beginning.  We are looking at a night perhaps in London prior to cruising to break up the jet lag.

 

That being said, we really enjoyed our Rhine Avalon cruise, super service, a very friendly group of passengers, etc.

 

Let us know your decision.

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, RNCheryl said:

Not sure yet which direction for the cruise; probably east to west so that the most horrendous air travel is at the beginning.  We are looking at a night perhaps in London prior to cruising to break up the jet lag.

 

I don't think that either Prague or Budapest is easier for flights. A lot of people seem to like the sail into Budapest.

[CPT Trips]

As previously mentioned visiting Prague on a river cruise means a coach transfer and likely a hotel stay. If a night or more hotel stay is involved, I would opt to end in Prague for the simple reason that you will know people traveling with you and can find dining companions.

 

The best time to see Budapest from the river is at night when it is all lit up. Look for an itinerary that has you overnight in Budapest and it is likely that you will do a nighttime river cruise.

[TrulyBlonde]

We took this cruise with Tauck a few years ago.  I researched and we decided to start in Prague. Arrived early and had 2 days to explore. We loved Prague and it is not a large city. Stayed at the Intercontinental and were able to walk and explore by foot. It is very easy to do on your own. 

 

Ending in Budapest was perfect for us and Tauck had us stay at the Four Seasons. It is an ideal location for touring Budapest. 

 

There was a thread somewhere on CC and it provided the reasons on why we started in Prague. Something about the rivers and flow. It helped me make our decision to start in Prague.

 

We took our cruise toward the end of April. Chilly...but we like it that way. Bring layers.

 

Tauck is all inclusive. We had some OBC from Amex which paid for laundry service because we were taking an ocean cruise after the river cruise and wanted everything fresh. Nothing owed in the end.

 

Cabins are quite small on a river cruise. We chose a larger suite because we had done the Rhine and Rhone prior and new what to expect with cabin size. It made it much more pleasant for us but not a necessity.  

 

Personally, I prefer ocean cruises but happy we did these 3 rivers and gives a great interior prospective vs always on the ocean.

 

 

Edited June 15, 2019 by TrulyBlonde
additions

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, TrulyBlonde said:

There was a thread somewhere on CC and it provided the reasons on why we started in Prague. Something about the rivers and flow. It helped me make our decision to start in Prague.

 

Prague to Budapest is downstream, which means the sailing is likely to be faster and there may be more time in ports.  It also gives both sides of the ship the chance at both views, since all river ships dock facing upstream (to let the current split at the bow) so you will be facing the opposite way when docked.

[JerryInIL]

Are there any significant differences in the passenger demographics (%Americans, age, dinner formality, etc) between the Danube cruise lines?  

[Host Jazzbeau]

Scenic, Emerald and APT are Australia-based, so there are a lot of Australians on their cruises. CroisiEurope is French, A-ROSA is German, and Riviera is British.  Most other lines that market to North Americans will be mainly US-Canada cruisers.

 

Age tends to be similar (except for Uniworld's offshoot 'U' which is aimed at millenials but doesn't seem to be attracting much of anybody).  Most river cruises are informal, although some reports imply that Uniworld and Crystal might be a little dressier.

 

The biggest difference will be the amount of space per passenger on the ships.  The standard size of river ships on the Danube, Main and Rhine (and many other European rivers) is 135m long – because this is the max size that fits in a lock.  Crystal has 106 passengers on that size, Viking has 190, most others cluster around 150.  It makes a difference.

 

I suggest you read the Berlitz guide River Cruising in Europe & the USA [may be available from your public library] for an in-depth discussion of every river, every cruise line, and every river ship!