French balcony vs veranda

[pontac]

18 hours ago, ddaley822 said:

We are huge balcony sitters on ocean cruises so we will see how much we actually get to use it on the Rhine.

 

🤩 Between meals and sightseeing there isn't much cabin time! Enjoy your cruise, I'm sure you will.

[CielBleu]

We chose Avalon for many reasons and loved the cabin with the huge sliding glass opening French balcony.  The only thing I will mention as a negative is when you open up the panoramic window, the air conditioning automatically turns off.  We sailed end of August and did not find this to be very bad, but I can see where if you're cruising in maybe July or earlier in August, it might be somewhat of a problem.  The mornings and evenings were fine, but if you decide to skip an excursion and are in your room during the afternoon, it could get hot in the room.  That said, we wouldn't hesitate to take Avalon again and there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy a glass of wine and beautiful views on both sides of the riverbank.  I hope you aren't making your decision solely on the veranda aspect.  There are a lot more advantages to both Ama and Avalon than there are to Viking.  If it's only between Ama and Viking, I'd definitely choose Ama.

[cruisin from florida]

8 hours ago, CielBleu said:

We chose Avalon for many reasons and loved the cabin with the huge sliding glass opening French balcony.  The only thing I will mention as a negative is when you open up the panoramic window, the air conditioning automatically turns off.  We sailed end of August and did not find this to be very bad, but I can see where if you're cruising in maybe July or earlier in August, it might be somewhat of a problem.  The mornings and evenings were fine, but if you decide to skip an excursion and are in your room during the afternoon, it could get hot in the room.  That said, we wouldn't hesitate to take Avalon again and there are plenty of places to sit and enjoy a glass of wine and beautiful views on both sides of the riverbank.  I hope you aren't making your decision solely on the veranda aspect.  There are a lot more advantages to both Ama and Avalon than there are to Viking.  If it's only between Ama and Viking, I'd definitely choose Ama.

Ok, I'll hijack my own thread..😁

Why Ama over Viking? They seem very similar on the surface. One reason we're leaning towards Viking is that their air deals allow deviations/extensions for $100 pp.

[Host Jazzbeau]

27 minutes ago, cruisin from florida said:

Ok, I'll hijack my own thread..😁

Why Ama over Viking? They seem very similar on the surface. One reason we're leaning towards Viking is that their air deals allow deviations/extensions for $100 pp.

I'll second the recommendation, and explain.  It's about quality.  Viking's ships have the highest number of passengers crammed into the same size hull; AMA has more room per passengers in every area (public, and cabin sizes).  AMA spends more on food per passenger than Viking [according to the Berlitz River Cruising guide].  AMA has more choices of shore excursions and they are all included [I couldn't believe the recent thread about a Colmar tour on Viking costing $159 per person – that tour is free on AMA], and the groups are smaller.

 

One other thought: all pre- and post-extensions on all cruise lines are pricey, but with AMA at least the same Cruise Director accompanies you throughout so you have a high level of service and continuity. 

[cruisin from florida]

5 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'll second the recommendation, and explain.  It's about quality.  Viking's ships have the highest number of passengers crammed into the same size hull; AMA has more room per passengers in every area (public, and cabin sizes).  AMA spends more on food per passenger than Viking [according to the Berlitz River Cruising guide].  AMA has more choices of shore excursions and they are all included [I couldn't believe the recent thread about a Colmar tour on Viking costing $159 per person – that tour is free on AMA], and the groups are smaller.

 

One other thought: all pre- and post-extensions on all cruise lines are pricey, but with AMA at least the same Cruise Director accompanies you throughout so you have a high level of service and continuity. 

This is very helpful! Thank you!

[*Miss G*]

To add to @Host Jazzbeau’s information, when I was researching which cruise line would suit us best, Viking kept popping up as having the poorest record for being moored when the river levels dropped as they had the deepest draught.  Essentially, the ship would become a hotel room and passengers were bussed to different destinations or to a different ship to continue on.

 

Although I haven’t sailed with AMA, we did walk through the AMALUCIA at one of our ports.  The interior was beautiful and their staff were lovely. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

52 minutes ago, *Miss G* said:

To add to @Host Jazzbeau’s information, when I was researching which cruise line would suit us best, Viking kept popping up as having the poorest record for being moored when the river levels dropped as they had the deepest draught.  Essentially, the ship would become a hotel room and passengers were bussed to different destinations or to a different ship to continue on.

 

Although I haven’t sailed with AMA, we did walk through the AMALUCIA at one of our ports.  The interior was beautiful and their staff were lovely. 

The draft issue is true, but Viking does make up for it with smoothly-orchestrated ship swaps – made possible because they have so many ships that there's always another identical ship on the other side of the blockage.  Still, AMA is one of the lines that keeps sailing the longest through low water – and avoiding a swap is even better.

 

I also like the AMA décor, although that is obviously subjective.  It is what I call 'understated luxury', a very happy medium between Viking's cold Norse and Uniworld's over-the-top French ancien régime.  But décor is lower on my list – I'm not thrilled with Scenic's mirrors-everywhere décor, but they are still my favorite river line.

[WanderingTravels]

4 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I'll second the recommendation, and explain.  It's about quality.  Viking's ships have the highest number of passengers crammed into the same size hull; AMA has more room per passengers in every area (public, and cabin sizes).  AMA spends more on food per passenger than Viking [according to the Berlitz River Cruising guide].  AMA has more choices of shore excursions and they are all included [I couldn't believe the recent thread about a Colmar tour on Viking costing $159 per person – that tour is free on AMA], and the groups are smaller.

 

One other thought: all pre- and post-extensions on all cruise lines are pricey, but with AMA at least the same Cruise Director accompanies you throughout so you have a high level of service and continuity. 

But when you factor in their air deals isn’t Viking substantially less than AMA?

[Host Jazzbeau]

28 minutes ago, WanderingTravels said:

But when you factor in their air deals isn’t Viking substantially less than AMA?

Probably, but "you get what you pay for."

[Daisi]

14 hours ago, cruisin from florida said:

Ok, I'll hijack my own thread..😁

Why Ama over Viking? They seem very similar on the surface. One reason we're leaning towards Viking is that their air deals allow deviations/extensions for $100 pp.

 

Trying to understand the air deviation/extension charge. Is that for when Viking sends you your flights if you wish to change them you have to pay? Avalon allows you to choose your flights (they offer a selection, but you just have to easily check what is available) at no extra charge. The only extra charge I paid for was upgrading our seats from economy to premium economy. Also, my TA and I went online to see what flights were available, and even though they weren't on the Avalon site, Avalon still booked them for us at their rate.

[cruisin from florida]

1 minute ago, Daisi said:

 

Trying to understand the air deviation/extension charge. Is that for when Viking sends you your flights if you wish to change them you have to pay? Avalon allows you to choose your flights (they offer a selection, but you just have to easily check what is available) at no extra charge. The only extra charge I paid for was upgrading our seats from economy to premium economy. Also, my TA and I went online to see what flights were available, and even though they weren't on the Avalon site, Avalon still booked them for us at their rate.

According to their rep, Viking let's you fly in and out of one of 25 cities up to a total of 30 days pre- or post-cruise, for an added charge of $100 pp. I haven't used this service, so someone may have better information. We're planning to make our river cruise part of a wider European trip, so this option was of interest to us.

[Daisi]

Ok, our first cruise with Avalon, we did our own pre & post cruise, but they still booked our tickets at no charge. We didn't get transfers, but that was no problem, as the hotel we stayed at had a free shuttle, so only had to get a short ride by taxi to the train station in Basel.

[pontac]

I'll speak up for Viking.

 

Else where Jazzbeau has rated Scenic higher then Ama

 

I haven't cruised with Ama but I've cruised with Viking and Scenic and overall I rate Viking better then Scenic. The same sized cabin is better designed, the bathroom floor is heated and there's a nightlight.

 

A fully booked Viking boat may have more passengers, but there's plenty of space and the Viking boat is light and airy.

 

As Jazzbeau says, decor is a personal preference but when he says Viking's is "cold Norse" note that he has not taken a Viking river cruise. Clean, liight and airy is what I call it.

[ddaley822]

16 hours ago, cruisin from florida said:

Why Ama over Viking?

The main reason I chose AMA over Viking (and that has yet to be mentioned) is that the final payment schedule is absolutely wild. Yes, they had a super low deposit of $25pp instead of $400pp but the ENTIRE cruise needed to be paid off around 30 days after deposit. At least with AMA I have till 3 months before the cruise to scrape together my $10k. Viking wants all that money 12+ months before sailing! What!! 

I do prefer the clean Viking (Scandinavian) interior design to AMA but the all-included excursions and normal cruise payment schedule were the main draws for me. 

[CielBleu]

19 hours ago, cruisin from florida said:

Ok, I'll hijack my own thread..😁

Why Ama over Viking? They seem very similar on the surface. One reason we're leaning towards Viking is that their air deals allow deviations/extensions for $100 pp.

I understand what you're saying regarding "they seem very similar on the surface."  I know Viking has great marketing, but when you delve deeper into the river cruise lines, there are things that come out that aren't obvious at first glance.  To me, Viking has the worst payment policy out there.  Most lines require a reasonable deposit, and then final payment is due 90 days before sailing.  Viking almost always requires full payment way before that 90 days, sometimes even a year or more before sailing.  Also, Viking puts around 190 passengers on the same-sized ship that Ama, Avalon, and many others put approximately 160 passengers on.  Viking has some rooms that are decent sized rooms in general, but their French balcony rooms are some of the smallest in the industry (I realize you're not interested in a French balcony, but I'm just mentioning that because that's one place Viking uses to make room for those 30 extra passengers.)  

 

Now, Ama is going to offer you more excursions to choose from with no extra cost, whereas Viking includes one excursion a day, and it usually is a simple walking tour.  Most people feel like there's a better selection of wines to choose from each day/evening and better food on Ama than Viking.  Also, many people feel a need to purchase the extra drink package from Viking but no need to do so on a line like Ama.  I believe Ama also has bicycles on board, a fitness room, and a small pool.  Viking has neither.  Some people may want those recreational features, while it might not be important to others.  To be fair, Viking has heated bathroom floors, whereas I'm not sure any of the others do.

 

You asked, "When you factor in air deals, isn't Viking substantially less than Ama?"  Might be; might not be.  We prefer doing our own air arrangements instead of leaving it up to a cruise or tour company.  I'm going to give you one example.  Friends of ours took a Viking cruise last year.  They thought it sounded like such a good deal.  They paid $150 extra for Viking Plus, then the deviation fees, plus an upgrade for Comfort Plus seats.  At some point, Viking changed them to another airline with economy seats and didn't even send them a notification about it.  Meanwhile, my husband and I were going to Europe two days after them and purchased a step up in seating category and only paid about $300 more per person.  So it wasn't a huge difference, and we got better service and were able to sleep! 

 

I guess a lot just depends on what is important to you.  I apologize for the length, but I try to be as thorough as possible.

[franski]

I have found that there are often more similarities than differences...  One of the biggest factors we have found is the Cruise Manager.  They have the potential to make or break a cruise experience IMHO.  The very best Cruise Manager we have ever had was on Scenic.  The worst was also on Scenic.  You have no control on that. 

 

The devil is in the details... look closely at what is offered.  I have travelled a number of times with Viking and have been quite pleased.  I was VERY impressed with the way the crew handled a medical emergency of a passenger when I was last sailing with them.  The issue with Viking from my perspective is the full-payment date.  You could be asked to pay in full more than a year away. That doesn't work for me. 

 

We like Avalon - it is (or at least has been in the past) a bit more relaxed environment... Which suits us.  That being said, we have booked AMA for next cruise as we get 3 nights before and after the cruise - with inclusions included on the pre/post trips that are optionals with other lines.. (Believe me, I looked into all of the lines at great depth...)  Also, Avalon seems to have a price point that works for us.

 

Fran 

[Canal archive]

As many of you will know I have only ever cruised with Scenic but and this is a big but I have read a lot about other cruisers experiences with other lines on cruise critic and for example River Cruise Advisor. In the U.K. we are lucky to have vastly different payment requirements (not often it’s this way round) so payment way up front is not required. Regardless of what anyone says on  similar length vessel more passengers means the space has to be found somewhere. Like Franski I can only admire how Viking coped with my dearest friends DH when he fell ill on board I will be forever grateful to them. I know Scenic has had a few knocks and Viking has many more vessels but they sport the ubiquitous blue tarpaulin in many instances. I agree a night light in the heads oops bathroom is a really good idea but heated floors what a breading ground for unmentionable germs. I also agree about  the Viking decor but all it is, is what everyone expects from a Scandinavian company so very Scandie. I’ve decided to troll through the other companies websites to get a better idea of their decor I’ve seen a couple first hand when breasted up and walking through but then you don’t get the full effect. On our recent Seine cruise we had a Viking vessel moored outside of us as we were on the top deck enjoying my DH’s birthday bottle of Champagne the returning Viking passengers had to walk over the top deck to get back to their vessel we talked to several of them and I suppose it’s up to the CD but many had no idea or how to cope with the situation.

Im sure that each of us could compare several companies vessels and the design their favourite but still each would be different.

Happy cruising whoever you decide to go with.

[Kristal Blade]

I’m now on my Capella cruise with the sliding down window “verandah”. I think at this time of year, even though we are in warm weather and blue skies, this option is good. But I did love my AmaStella full balcony. If I was on a cruise between maybe May-September I would go for a proper balcony.

[Doh15]

I was very impressed with the full sliding door/window on the Ama french balcony. Would have no problem booking that again.