Which river cruise company provides a Seabourn like experience

[MarciAnn]

Forgive me if I am a it off topic here.   I have done many Seabourn cruises but never a river cruise.  We are now considering one on the Seine but have really little to no knowledge about river cruises.   if any Seabourn cruiser has done river cruising can you recommend a river cruise line that would provide an equally satisfying experience?  Thanks so much.  

[Mrs. Claypool]

Tauck or Uniworld would be my first suggestions.  
 

We have always been impressed with their facilities, itineraries, cuisine and service. 

[robertmartha]

We love Seabourn and have sailed once on AMA and are sailing next week on Emerald. AMA was great but it was not Seabourn..and I doubt Emerald will be either. I was reading about Riverside - they purchased the 3 Crystal river ships which were always positively reviewed (in terms of the ships themselves). Maybe check them out ?

[DTtravelers]

I second Mrs. Claypool on Uniworld. 

 

We did Budapest to Amsterdam on the River Queen in 2017 and loved every minute of.  It was very much like Seabourn.  If the river is neither too high or too low, the sun is out, and you are on the top deck watching the amazing scenery go by with a dark beer...  doesn't get much better than that.

 

Your question made me go back and look at all our photos!  So thanks for asking your question!! 

[torst]

Several years ago I asked the same question, using as a comparison Silversea on which we had travelled a number times.  I was told there were no river cruise equivalents but that Tauck would come closest.  We did a Danube cruise with Tauck and while the experience was different the service and care was very fine. 

[Basfla]

Scenic was top notch in every way and several of the staff had come from Seabourn and other high end travel companies.

[Vineyard View]

We sailed Amsterdam-Budapest on Viking. The ship was lovely, the food just okay. I would look around the next time. Our TA recommended Uniworld, Tauck, and Scenic. Friend sailed on AMA and felt it was a bump up from Viking. 
I would recommend that if possible rivers are higher at certain times (Spring) than others, so greater chance of sailing through all the locks. I also recommend a Balcony on top floor as the view through the locks is more interesting. 
DTTravelers…..thank you for bringing up a similar memory! Cheers to that! It was a great experience. 

[Capri73]

We just booked Scenic our travel agent highly recommended it.We had a lot of problems with Taulk.They were great pre covid and went downhill after in our opinion.

[MarciAnn]

Thank you all.  Tauck was booked for the destinations and season we wanted to go before I posted here.  I was looking at Scenic but read mixed reviews on service.  Glad Basfla had a good experience.  I look forward to continuing to  read your suggestions. 

[English Tim]

These are two totally different products, but if you’re thinking about service, then I am sure that they all offer similar standards. We have never known bad service, from carnival to Seabourn.
 

River cruising can be a personalised experience, with very little entertainment, but based on a sort of house party.

[CruisingAlong4Now]

We felt as well-cosseted sailing with Tauck on the Blue Danube as with sailing on Seabourn.

[Capri73]

Sometimes I do not like to comment because of backlash.I am very happy you enjoyed Taulk not sure if you ever traveled with them precovid.Precovid I would give them a 10 after a 2.In our opinion it was one of the worse trips we have ever taken.The person asked a question and I think she or he should hear good and bad and then make their own decision.

They put us in the wrong  hotel and never picked us up.Charged for an xtra day and refused to refund, almost all buffets.We were given menus on a bus 2or 3 days in advance to tell them what we might want to eat if they were not offering the buffet.This was Italy no reason not to have good food.The wine was below par, only offered a cheap chardonnay.

We all have difference tastes and this for us was a joke for what we paid.Pre covid I could write the complete opposite.

[Northern Bear]

On 6/20/2024 at 7:28 AM, Basfla said:

Scenic was top notch in every way and several of the staff had come from Seabourn and other high end travel companies.

Came here to say this. Everything included even excursions and e-bikes. The only thing we paid for was a bit of laundry. $40 bill at the end of a 15 day cruise. Doing my first Seabourn next week, we'll see how it compares.

[Capri73]

.

5 minutes ago, Northern Bear said:

Came here to say this. Everything included even excursions and e-bikes. The only thing we paid for was a bit of laundry. $40 bill at the end of a 15 day cruise. Doing my first Seabourn next week, we'll see how it compares.

 

Edited June 21 by Capri73
wrote a new one

[Capri73]

1 minute ago, Capri73 said:

We leave for SB in 2 weeks.

 

Sorry my answer posted above yours.We will be on SB in 2 weeks.I hope you enjoy your trip.

[Sir PMP]

AMA and Avalon.

[diebroke]

We have done AMA Waterways - Good; Uniworld - Better; and Tauck - Best.

Comparing Tauck to Seabourn, I would say suites are much smaller, ship's tours are better, quality of wine equal, service equal, food worse. Tauck tried to offer high end meals. They just didn't pull it off.

As had been said previously, river cruises & ocean cruises are 2 very different experiences.

[BasandSyb]

Agree they are two very different experiences.

it depends on so many things including route.

 

We did Viking Elbe River (Berlin to Prague) in March. We dislike Viking Ocean. Small purpose built ship for this river. Excellent food, staff, organisation. That said, the crew has worked together since 2015 and is very tight. Nothing was a problem. Better than Seabourn. The experience I expect to be very different on their other river ships.

 

Scenic Gem in April (Paris - Honfleur - battlefields - Paris). Most of the staff were new, minimal training, struggling with English. Service was haphazard and at times strange. Food - just ok, nothing remarkable, seemed a cost cutting menu of dishes and cuts of meat. We were very surprised. The only highlight of the trip for us was an independent contractor tour guide who joined the group for several days walks and tours. He was exceptional. Otherwise, not impressed with Scenic for the price.

The rooms are always going to be small with less storage. Which is difficult if you are linking the river cruise to a longer holiday.

 

We were never interested in river cruising and considered the Danube to be a bus trip on water. These two we did for specific reasons. We would possibly do the Douro or Moselle but the company would depend on reviews.

[seabourn_noob]

I took a Crystal Danube cruise that was very close to a Seabourn experience. (With due allowances for the differences between river travel and ocean travel.). Those boats are now with the new company Riverside, so I can't say what the service will be.