Are There River Cruise Lines That DON'T Have "Included" Shore Excursions?

[jimdee3636]

My wife and I have taken over twenty-five ocean cruises but never a river cruise. One thing that holds us back is that every river cruise line I've looked into includes a "free" shore excursion in every port. Of course, they're not really free, just built into the cruise fare. We hate organized excursions and tours. All we want to do in any port is to walk around and see things with our own eyes. Are there any river cruise lines that either don't offer excursions or make you pay for them?

 

Thanks for any information and suggestions you may have.

 

Jim

[Canal archive]

There are lines who offer excursions that a basically pay as you go as far as I know no line insists on you paying for excursions. Interesting question though.

[Haqdeluxe]

5 minutes ago, jimdee3636 said:

My wife and I have taken over twenty-five ocean cruises but never a river cruise. One thing that holds us back is that every river cruise line I've looked into includes a "free" shore excursion in every port. Of course, they're not really free, just built into the cruise fare. We hate organized excursions and tours. All we want to do in any port is to walk around and see things with our own eyes. Are there any river cruise lines that either don't offer excursions or make you pay for them?

 

Thanks for any information and suggestions you may have.

 

Jim

You might consider that it is a common practice for seasoned river cruisers to use the free excursion as simply a means to get into town. Not all dockings are actually in or even near the city center of the place being visited. An example on the Rhine is Strasbourg. There will be a bus ride involved to get into town.  Take the bus, let your tour guide know and then venture out on your own, making it back to the rally point to catch a ride back. I wouldn't factor in that the included excursions would add up to much of a savings if you could delete them or that they weren't offered for "free".

[3canucks]

You may want to look into Teeming River Cruises.  They may be one of the few that only provides a DIY app for your excursions in the base prices.  Pricing seems quite reasonable.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I don't know of any river cruise lines that market to US passengers that do not include shore excursions.  German river cruise lines tend to be a la carte, but you need to speak German.

 

This question is asked from time to time, and one important thing that is pointed out is that unlike ocean cruises,  the timing and docking location on river cruises is not known in detail much in advance [lock schedules affect timing, and the harbor master assigns the docking location at the last minute] – and even after docking the ship is often required to move or chooses to move [to pick up the shore excursions part way to the next port].

 

Take a look at the shore excursions that are offered by a line like AMA or Scenic – there are many choices and most are far enough away from the ship that you couldn't walk there.  The areas where the ships dock are either small towns or, increasingly, industrial ports where you aren't near anything interesting to see.

 

Finally, because almost all English-speaking river cruise lines are mostly-inclusive, the quality of the cruise is directly linked to the number of inclusions.  Scenic, Tauck and Uniworld are the most inclusive as well as the highest quality.  AMA is a notch below.  Most others are below that.

 

Take a look at the 'Sticky' threads at the top of this forum for information about what river cruises are like and how to choose the right river cruise line for you.  If you go thinking it will be like the ocean cruises you are used to, you will be surprised and probably disappointed.

[notamermaid]

Look towards the European lines, there are a couple that do not include long excursions in the basic product. You can buy the basic product and add excursions. You need to looked around a lot though to find a "sailing only" cruise. It is generally the case that excursions are included in the price even with European lines. But you do not need to go with an excursion of course.

13 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

I wouldn't factor in that the included excursions would add up to much of a savings if you could delete them or that they weren't offered for "free".

I tend to agree. The savings will not be substantial on an eight night river cruise that includes a walking tour for each port. Half day or even full day excursions are of course more expensive and that is were you could save money.

 

22 minutes ago, Haqdeluxe said:

You might consider that it is a common practice for seasoned river cruisers to use the free excursion as simply a means to get into town. Not all dockings are actually in or even near the city center of the place being visited.

Indeed.

 

The excursions are great for getting to know a place and if you go with a line that guarantees walking in small groups you may find this to your liking. It is not like on ocean cruises I have been told.

 

notamermaid

 

[jimdee3636]

Thanks to all who have responded.

@3canucksI just looked at Teeming's website and put myself on their mailing list. I had never heard of them before, so that was a very helpful tip.

@Host Jazzbeau I appreciate your detailed explanation of the various unique features of river cruising, and your opinion of which cruise operators are "the best of the best."

@HaqdeluxeThat's good to know about the docking locations. You get the sense from ads you see that you walk off a river ship and you're right in the center of town. Apparently not, at least not everywhere.

I'll start doing my homework. Thanks again to all.

 

Jim

[mskaufman]

Just because they are included doesn't mean you have to use them.  Like a previous poster said, some people use them just to get into town.  For example, in Vienna, we took the included excursion and let the guide know that we were dropping off.

[Host Jazzbeau]

48 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

Just because they are included doesn't mean you have to use them.  Like a previous poster said, some people use them just to get into town.  For example, in Vienna, we took the included excursion and let the guide know that we were dropping off.

Likewise just because they are 'group tours' doesn't mean they are boring.  I'm a planner, so before we ever set foot in a place I have internalized everything Rick Steves has to say about it – but we discovered on our river cruises that a local guide can add a whole 'nother dimension to what you have read or what you would find just ambling around on your own.  Some aren't so good – so then if you have done your research you can strike out on your own.  But many are really terrific!

 

I still can't get over the tour guide/actor that Scenic uses on their Seine cruises who shows up one day dressed as Richard the Lionheart to lead a small-group hike up to the ruins of his castle in Les Andelys, then the next day dressed as Rollo the Viking to lead another small-group around medieval Rouen [we had already done Joan of Arc on a previous trip], and on a third day dressed as a WWI doughboy to explain onboard what it was like fighting in the trenches.  This is the benefit of the upper-tier cruise lines that offer more than one option in every port – if you sign up for the more esoteric ones the group will be small and the experience will be special.

[braemar12]

Amadeus River Cruises do not have excursions included within the fare. They are offered as an optional extra.

[ddaniel337]

Riverside cruises which is going to start sailing soon and they have an options to book that do not include the usual inclusions on most river cruise companies.   They are using the former Crystal ship.