european river cruise

[otto2]

What is the best european river cruise  company?  Is is AMA  UNIWORLD  VIKING or other?  I am interested in a wine tour.

Thank you

Edited June 19, 2021 by otto2

[Host Kat]

15 minutes ago, otto2 said:

What is the best european river cruise  company?  Is is AMA  UNIWORLD  VIKING or other?  I am interested in a wine tour.

Thank you

 

@otto2

 

Howdy and welcome back to the boards!!  I see it has been awhile since you have posted.

 

Thank you for your new thread on the Ask a Cruise Question forum. 👍  It is the forum for general questions regarding cruising. However, your thread was off-topic there since your topic concerns a specific type of cruise. 

 

To help you out, I have moved your thread to the River Cruising  forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have sailed European river cruises frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum. L👀k for titles of interest. You will probably find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that will be of interest to you.

 

I sincerely hope this will be helpful and glad to have you back aboard Cruise Critic! 

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat  

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

Welcome to the River Cruising forum!  You will find a lot of helpful information in the 'Sticky' threads at the top of the forum.  As to your specific question, you will get a lot of different opinions!  Every one of the major river cruise lines has its fans here, because most people who try river cruising love it and tend to be loyal to their first river cruise line.

 

So, here is my opinion on the 'best' European river cruise lines:  AMA, Crystal, Scenic, Tauck, Uniworld [in alphabetical order]

 

Also a warning about 'wine cruises':  itineraries like Bordeaux and the Douro are usually all about wine, but when a cruise is advertised as a 'wine theme' cruise that often only means that a winery representative [usually from the US West Coast] is on board showcasing that winery's products in various wine tastings and lectures.  I know that AMA does a lot of 'wine theme' cruises, and that's how they do them.

[notamermaid]

In 2019 I had a closer look at the AmaWaterways wine cruises and came to the same conclusion as jazzbeau.

 

You may find it is the same with other lines - or not. I remember comments of people on CC that they found the wine selection on Viking not being that great and they critized a lack of local wines. This may or may not be the case now. I cannot comment at all on best and a preference will depend on many factors. Also, the region may determine if a "wine tour" is a success in the passengers' eyes. Douro? Bordeaux region? Rhine? There are many places with different types of wine.

 

I do not mean to steer you away from your choice of three lines and I know nothing about Emerald, but this is a wine tour cruise that I regard as well created. Landscape and good choice of vineyards and entertainment: https://www.emeraldcruises.com/tours/wines-of-the-moselle-cruise/12912

 

notamermaid

 

[pete_coach]

We have only done one River Cruise and were on a Budapest to Amsterdam cruise with Scenic.

We have done many ocean cruises and several all inclusive resorts but, nothing has been as all inclusive as the Scenic cruise. When they say you never need your wallet or pay any extra, they really mean it. The only money we needed was for souvenirs. Even the mini bar in the cabin is free. Oh and, laundry is free too.

 

All excursions (and several offered every day and some evenings) included all meals and drinks. All excursions were guided by local knowledgeable guides. Evening entertainment was also free.

 

Yes, the upfront was a bit higher but when you consider there are no additional costs, it is actually cheaper.

I highly recommend Scenic

Edited June 22, 2021 by pete_coach

[Wings55]

On 6/19/2021 at 12:24 PM, otto2 said:

What is the best european river cruise  company?  Is is AMA  UNIWORLD  VIKING or other?  I am interested in a wine tour.

Thank you

I was getting ready to add comments about our Scenic cruise (Budapest - Amsterdam) before I read pete_coach's reply. No need for me to add to his review. Scenic 'blew us away' with the service, food, drinks, excursions.. Everything was wonderful and as he stated, no need for your wallet, EVER!

Oh, they had a great selection of local wines chosen from the areas we toured. 

I will add we've done a few Uniworld cruises and they were almost as impressive as Scenic. This fall we are hoping to try Ama for the first time. They have a big challenge ahead of them to match Uniworld or Scenic. No matter who you choose, I'm sure you'll have a marvelous vacation. 

[Coral]

I disagree that the first company is often what people become loyal to their first line. I did not and my friends have not either.

 

There are some great books out there on river cruises - I recommend you check them out.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Berlitz-River-Cruising-Europe-Cruise/dp/1785730606/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=river+cruise+berlitz&qid=1624669159&sr=8-1

 

https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-River-Cruising-Handbook-formula/dp/1983943231/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=ralph+grizzle&qid=1624669214&sr=8-1 

[Ka Honu]

On 6/25/2021 at 7:56 AM, Wings55 said:

... Scenic cruise (Budapest - Amsterdam) ... Scenic 'blew us away' with the service, food, drinks, excursions.. Everything was wonderful ...

On the other hand some good friends (and frequent travel companions) of ours lived through an absolute horror story on the same cruise (Amsterdam - Budapest) 4 years ago. Water level problems seemed to take Scenic totally by surprise and their responses were totally inadequate (in terms of rerouting passengers, tour continuity, etc.). This is not to say they haven't sorted all that stuff out by now but just shows that even the best can have bad cruises.

 

We were on Tauck at roughly the same time and itinerary (opposite direction) and found it (as ALWAYS on Tauck) to be the best trip ever. They bussed us across the "gap" and put us on an identical boat (trading with their southbound trip) to continue the journey with an absolute minimum of drama and disruption.

 

As others have noted, Tauck prices are somewhat higher but we've never had a bad trip (land or river) with them. They tend to run fewer passengers per (same length or slightly smaller) boat as the others and include absolutely everything (except laundry), even giving you coins for the pay toilets ashore and cash for your lunch if not served aboard or as part of a tour. We've enjoyed AMA & Uniworld but Tauck far outshines either of them by providing consistent excellence every time. 

 

Jus' sayin'...

Edited June 27, 2021 by Ka Honu

[Canal archive]

Ka Hong did you mean 2017 yes we did almost have a challenge with the river levels and we survived. Did you read the small print? We’ve done eight cruises with Scenic and any anomalies have been sorted out to our complete satisfaction. I’m sorry to say the only problem we have had that has been difficult to deal with has been with a certain nationality of passenger. CA

[Wings55]

Sad to say every experience may not turn out to be a home run. Sometimes mistakes happen and it's a shame if a company doesn't or can't resolve some issues. 

We sailed with Scenic in '16 when water levels were high and didn't face the challenges of the following year. I can't speak for every company or every situation; I can only speak directly to my experiences and as stated they have all been marvelous. 

Good luck to the OP to find the cruise line that best fits their needs and their definition of "best cruise line".

Paul