Never been on a river cruise, how to decide which line to choose?

[SCHappilyRetired]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:38 AM, gam888 said:

We have been on many ocean cruises with various lines, but have never been on a river cruise before. We are particularly interested in visiting Budapest, Prague, Passau, Vienna. Trying to decide between a coach tour and a river cruise. We feel that a river cruise is more convenient because at least we don't have to pack and unpack every few days. We are from Canada, and we have to work out the logistics of getting to the cruise port a couple of days before the cruise. Since all these river cruises depart from small ports, we would have to fly into a major city in Europe, then either take a train or a regional flight to get to the port. We plan to spend about 7 to 9 days on the river cruise, and maybe stay in a hotel before and after for 2 couple of days. We would like to select a cruise line that is reasonable, not necessary luxurious, since we have a limited budget. Ideally, if there is a small lounge one can do a bit of dancing after dinner, would be a bonus. Could anyone please suggest which cruise line we should start to look at? We looked at some itineraries that sail on the Danube, we can recognize some of the town's names, but a lot of them we have no knowledge of. We are thinking of July and August. Is the water level on the Danube going to be a problem? Any information on the most scenic destinations,  cruise line suggestions, where are the most convenient towns to pick as a departure or ending points, would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

We have been on 6 rivers with AMA Waterways and would highly recommend them.  They never disappointed.

[gam888]

Thank you everyone for replying my post. There are a lot of valuable information for us to look through. Thanks again everyone!