Looking for a new cruise line. Your help please.

[mozfoz]

2 hours ago, UDChE89 said:

I’m glad I’m not the only one that was marginal on Uniworld’s food.  I felt I had better meals on my Viva cruise than on Uniworld.

Though I have only sailed Unworld, with no other ship to compare, I too feel the food was very disappointing. Yes, I did not go hungry, and yes I did go back  for a second sailing, but the food is what makes me looking for a different line. Everybody says how great the food is, I was afraid to say otherwise.

[Pompein]

Two  on AMA and looking for a different line because we felt the food at dinner was subpar. breakfast and lunch were good to very good.  I know it is subjective but we were a group of six and it got to be laughable with the fish names and the cheap cuts of beef. One cruise was before Covid. Afterwards, I wrote a detailed letter to management about our experience. The owner wrote back saying that most guests think the food is wonderful. I’ve been reading reviews and most guests agree with us! Looking at Seine cruises Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck and Riverside in hopes the food will be better.

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, Pompein said:

Two  on AMA and looking for a different line because we felt the food at dinner was subpar. breakfast and lunch were good to very good.  I know it is subjective but we were a group of six and it got to be laughable with the fish names and the cheap cuts of beef. One cruise was before Covid. Afterwards, I wrote a detailed letter to management about our experience. The owner wrote back saying that most guests think the food is wonderful. I’ve been reading reviews and most guests agree with us! Looking at Seine cruises Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck and Riverside in hopes the food will be better.

In 2022 we did a B2B AMA Tulip Time then Scenic Seine.  We had done AMA several times pre-Covid and loved it – but that Scenic cruise blew away both the current AMA product (lesser than our pre-Covid experiences) and even our memories of the earlier ones.  We have since done Scenic on the Douro and it was equally good.

[franski]

On 2/6/2024 at 2:00 PM, Pompein said:

Two  on AMA and looking for a different line because we felt the food at dinner was subpar. breakfast and lunch were good to very good.  I know it is subjective but we were a group of six and it got to be laughable with the fish names and the cheap cuts of beef. One cruise was before Covid. Afterwards, I wrote a detailed letter to management about our experience. The owner wrote back saying that most guests think the food is wonderful. I’ve been reading reviews and most guests agree with us! Looking at Seine cruises Scenic, Uniworld, Tauck and Riverside in hopes the food will be better.

Unfortunately, one thing you have no control over is the kitchen.  The chef often brings his own crew - and they play to their strengths. One cruise we were on had nothing for dessert that wasn't ice cream or pudding based - so obviously there was no pastry chef on board!!

 

The food on our one & only AMA cruise to date was ok - but nothing to write home about. I am not holding out any hope for our cruise in May - but I don't book it for the food. The best food we have had was on our trip to Russia.  I had prepared my DH with the warning that it might not be up to what we had experienced in Europe (as per the caveat on the Uniworld website) but it was absolutely amazing. The Elba with Viking was also memorable - as was the Seine with Uniworld (our 1st cruise). On our Scenic cruise in 2022, it was very memorable for the fact that the kitchen went over and above to address my food intolerances. Even baked a dairy free birthday cake for me!  Even if the food isn't "the best", I have found that the staff often make the experience memorable.

 

Fran

[Canal archive]

We’ve had several Scenic birthday cakes over the years one evening in L’mour we sat with another couple and two at the table, DH and the opposite lady both had birthdays. The restaurant manager arranged for one cake that evening and another the next evening.

[JPH814]

On 1/28/2024 at 3:43 PM, CDNPolar said:

I am probably going to meet some resistance and pushback from this comment, but I think that a river cruise is a river cruise is a river cruise.

 

They all do the same excursions in every port.  The cruise lines rarely design or curate a new excursion, they are all out of the box in each city and country fun by excursion tour companies.

 

For us it is about level of service from the crew and food on the ship.

 

I love the "ABC" statement - never heard it said that way before...  I would recommend that you book your excursions through Viator or a company like that as you can often choose something that is not offered by the cruise line and if it is, it is generally cheaper.

 

As for entertainment, most of the river lines are going to bring on local entertainment or it is the crew themselves.

 

We love Viking, but I cannot say that they are any better or different than Uniworld frankly.  Viking are not going to love reading that comment, but we love Viking for very specific reasons.

I will state one way I noticed a difference among cruise lines:  yes, the excursions might often be the same. But I saw in multiple ports that the Uniworld would have one guide for 12 or 15 people while the other cruise lines would have 20 to 25 guests in group with one guide.  This makes a huge difference to me.

 

Let me give you an example of Uniworld Service:  We were in Holland on a  Uniworld Cruise and my daughter was in Amsterdam for a work trip.  We asked is she could join us on our trip to Keukenhof.  No problem. She took the train to meet us.  After the excursion, we asked if she could go back on the ship with us that was traveling that afternoon to Amsterdam.  No Problem. The staff suggested she stay on board for dinner.  No charge.  They treated her like a valued guest.  

 

I will be honest - we have never done a river cruise on any line other than Uniworld. Service has been wonderful.  Food great.  Love the unlimited drinks at lunch, dinner, before dinner, after dinner -  even breakfast (Champagne and bloody marys) .  I doubt we will ever change.

Edited February 24 by JPH814

[Host Jazzbeau]

On 2/24/2024 at 4:08 PM, JPH814 said:

I will state one way I noticed a difference among cruise lines:  yes, the excursions might often be the same. But I saw in multiple ports that the Uniworld would have one guide for 12 or 15 people while the other cruise lines would have 20 to 25 guests in group with one guide.  This makes a huge difference to me.

 

Let me give you an example of Uniworld Service:  We were in Holland on a  Uniworld Cruise and my daughter was in Amsterdam for a work trip.  We asked is she could join us on our trip to Keukenhof.  No problem. She took the train to meet us.  After the excursion, we asked if she could go back on the ship with us that was traveling that afternoon to Amsterdam.  No Problem. The staff suggested she stay on board for dinner.  No charge.  They treated her like a valued guest.  

 

I will be honest - we have never done a river cruise on any line other than Uniworld. Service has been wonderful.  Food great.  Love the unlimited drinks at lunch, dinner, before dinner, after dinner -  even breakfast (Champagne and bloody marys) .  I doubt we will ever change.

I agree.  If you compare the brochures, all river cruise lines look markedly alike.  But the devil is in the details, and the better lines provide higher quality across the board.  Food is better (more is spent on ingredients per passenger, according to the Berlitz guide); excursions have fewer guests per guide; more excursion choices (especially valuable if you have already visited are area before); more space on board per guest (check the number of cabins – 135m ships may have between 130 and 190 passengers depending on cruise line!).  This is all beyond the obvious that more things are included – I'm talking about the quality of the things.

[Canal archive]

One of the reasons I’ve been able to double up on cruises with Scenic is that they change, swap or add tours year to year.

[CDNPolar]

14 hours ago, JPH814 said:

I will state one way I noticed a difference among cruise lines:  yes, the excursions might often be the same. But I saw in multiple ports that the Uniworld would have one guide for 12 or 15 people while the other cruise lines would have 20 to 25 guests in group with one guide.  This makes a huge difference to me.

 

 

We have only been on one Uniworld cruise and we were 25 people every day on excursion with only one guide.  

[BlairsvilleCruiseGirl]

6 hours ago, Canal archive said:

One of the reasons I’ve been able to double up on cruises with Scenic is that they change, swap or add tours year to year.

We're taking our first river cruise (have only ever done ocean) with Scenic next year - 10 day Danube in Depth from Budapest to Nuremberg.  We liked how they have multiple choices for included tours, some more active than others.  Are they usually small or large groups per guide?  There's not a lot about Scenic in CC so any info you have I would greatly appreciate!  

[Daisi]

One thing I love about Avalon, we've been on tours with 5-6 people, and I think our max was about 13-15. Even the free offers for Cesky Krumlov that we were given because of missing other tours due to water issues only had about 10 in them - 3 groups, but only 10 or so per group.

 

I also like that we get food that is "local" to where we are sailing, even the BBQ's are with local food, not hamburgers & hotdogs.

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 hours ago, BlairsvilleCruiseGirl said:

We're taking our first river cruise (have only ever done ocean) with Scenic next year - 10 day Danube in Depth from Budapest to Nuremberg.  We liked how they have multiple choices for included tours, some more active than others.  Are they usually small or large groups per guide?  There's not a lot about Scenic in CC so any info you have I would greatly appreciate!  

The more unusual the tour choice, the smaller the group.  When we did the Les Andelys hike up to Richard the Lionheart's castle ruins [led by King Richard himself in full armor!] we had a small group of hardy souls.  If there is lots of interest they do put on more buses and more guides.  You will never see as many guests following an umbrella that doesn't say Viking...

[Canal archive]

The groups are never large but we’ve been the only couple in the past so a car a guide and a trainee guide and us a super day. They also usually have three different walking groups as I take far to many photographs I always join the gentle walking group.

[franski]

On 2/25/2024 at 1:58 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

The more unusual the tour choice, the smaller the group.  When we did the Les Andelys hike up to Richard the Lionheart's castle ruins [led by King Richard himself in full armor!] we had a small group of hardy souls.  If there is lots of interest they do put on more buses and more guides.  You will never see as many guests following an umbrella that doesn't say Viking...

Funny you should mention Les Andelys... We asked our cruise director about the hike up to Chateau Gaillard - and was told it was a gentle 15 minute walk.  So - we chose that excursion. We made the hike - and it was worth it - but there was nothing gentle about that hike!!

 

Fran

Edited March 2 by franski

[Host Jazzbeau]

Just now, franski said:

Funny you should mention Les Andelys... We asked our cruise director about the hike up to Chateau Gaillard - and was told it was a gentle 15 minute walk.  So - we chose that excursion. We made the hike - and it was worth it - but there was nothing gentle about the walk!!

 

Fran

Just be glad you didn't have to do it wearing armor!

 

 

[Canal archive]

He was just about the best tour guide I’ve ever encountered and when he did his WW1 talk on board it was one the most moving I’ve ever had the privilege to be part of.

 

Not a good photo but this is how he arrived on board.

Edited March 2 by Canal archive
Spelling.

[bookbabe]

11 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Just be glad you didn't have to do it wearing armor!

 

 

Is that you?  If so, SCA or other group?

[Host Jazzbeau]

37 minutes ago, bookbabe said:

Is that you?  If so, SCA or other group?

No, that's Ben Baillie, a historian/tour guide who works for Scenic.  He was also Rollo the Viking for tours in Rouen, and a WWI Doughboy for a presentation onboard.  Doing those things 'in character' really added to the impact of the tours.  But climbing the hill to Richard's castle in Les Andelys wearing chain mail and wearing or carrying that helmet – that was hard work!

[CPT Trips]

On 3/1/2024 at 9:55 PM, franski said:

Funny you should mention Les Andelys... We asked our cruise director about the hike up to Chateau Gaillard - and was told it was a gentle 15 minute walk.  So - we chose that excursion. We made the hike - and it was worth it - but there was nothing gentle about that hike!!

 

Fran

It was a considerable elevation gain from the river (just visible in background) up to the Chateau. 

 

[Canal archive]

Richard the Lionhart is revered in the history of England and I’ll ask the question ‘why’ he hardly set foot in the country but left his mark across swathes of Europe. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

11 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Richard the Lionhart is revered in the history of England and I’ll ask the question ‘why’ he hardly set foot in the country but left his mark across swathes of Europe. 

That should appeal to the anti-royalists:  a king who stays away!

[Canal archive]

Not getting into that one! 🤣