different types of rooms and questions about them

[Kiwi-gal]

Have been looking at different cruise lines and reading about different types of rooms.

 

I have always imagined a river cruise to have a balcony/large window to sit at drink wine and watch the beautiful scenery as you sail by.

 

However in saying that I been reading about  the following:

a few cruise boats being moored close together in port so if you are sitting outside or at your window you could be looking directly at another person on that cruise boat.

 

a few cruise reports where they have said they mostly sailed at night and woke up in the new port in the Morning. (is this the norm?)

 

That you aren't in your room long enough to enjoy the view.

 

So question is it worth it to get a room with a view or  save a lot of money and get a room with no view (just the little high up window).?

 

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated 🙂

 

There is a $5,712 New Zealand dollar difference in the price for the room with a no view and the next price up which has the 

• Wall-to-wall Panoramic Window measuring 11" - 50% larger than the industry standard
• Wall-to-wall Panoramic Window that opens to transform the living space into a large Open-Air Balcony.

 

That price could go towards the cost of flights. 

 

 

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, Kiwi-gal said:

Have been looking at different cruise lines and reading about different types of rooms.

 

I have always imagined a river cruise to have a balcony/large window to sit at drink wine and watch the beautiful scenery as you sail by.

 

However in saying that I been reading about  the following:

a few cruise boats being moored close together in port so if you are sitting outside or at your window you could be looking directly at another person on that cruise boat.

This is not uncommon as there are more and more river cruise boats without a commensurate increase in mooring places. 

 

a few cruise reports where they have said they mostly sailed at night and woke up in the new port in the Morning. (is this the norm?)

This is very much the norm in Europe, except on the Douro. Everywhere else daytime sailing is only in the most scenic areas, like the castles on the Rhine or the Wachau Valley on the Danube. And you will want to be on the top deck for these, or at least in a lounge where you can see both sides. 

 

That you aren't in your room long enough to enjoy the view.

That sort of depends on you. Just remember that because of the size of the ship you are always quite close to an area with a view. 

 

So question is it worth it to get a room with a view or  save a lot of money and get a room with no view (just the little high up window).?

Again, that depends on you. If you don’t mind having people around you while you enjoy the view from a lounge or the sundeck, stick to the small view. (For some people it depends on their height whether they can see anything out the high window.)

 

Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated 🙂

 

There is a $5,712 New Zealand dollar difference in the price for the room with a no view and the next price up which has the 

• Wall-to-wall Panoramic Window measuring 11" - 50% larger than the industry standard
• Wall-to-wall Panoramic Window that opens to transform the living space into a large Open-Air Balcony.

Again, while I enjoyed the Avalon panoramic window in Southeast Asia where there is no rafting and all sailing is done during the day (which I think is what you are referring to), remember that that view could be filled by the cabin on the boat rafted next to you.

 

That price could go towards the cost of flights. 

 

 

I put my responses within the quoted section above. 

[Canal archive]

I’ve never had a challenge with breasting up. Although on one memorable occasion early evening sat on our balcony we gently cruised to moor up next to another vessel so balcony to balcony we ended up sharing a glass of wine between us Brit to Aussie we nearly forgot to go for dinner. The idea was put forward that we ask to join each other for dinner and decided that maybe that was going a step too far for both cruise companies. We now wish we’d gone for it ! We did between us show off our cabins and discuss of course the different companies this was Scenic and AMA. Another memory for the bank.

[Nippy Sweetie]

We're currently on a Viking river cruise. We had an 'aquarium' cabin last week and hated it. Even when not double docked it was dark and cramped - felt claustrophobic. This week we're in a French balcony cabin and hoped for an improvement. No luck. It's still very tiny. So much space sacrificed to allow space for the true balcony cabins across the corridor. After longing for a decent window we're double docked again!!

All in all sufficiently disappointing that we won't be going with Viking again. I know people say their cabins are only for sleeping and changing in but, with such a crowded ship, we sometimes just need a quiet refuge.

I think Hagen has overdone the need to cram in the passengers. There aren't even enough seats in the lounge for everyone. Previous Viking cruises have been much more comfortable. 

Viking have lost us in the rush for profits. ☹️

Edited Monday at 09:15 AM by Nippy Sweetie

[Kristelle]

 

My experience on Scenic - September last year. 14 night cruise

 

there was a couple of times docked next to another boat but not very often - also this might not affect you each time depending which side of boat you are on, you may be on the outside not the next to the other boat side.

 

I am glad I opted for a balcony - the window is quite large. the balcony is small but large enough for 2 chairs and a little table for drinks, book etc

I enjoyed sitting out there sometimes i n the morning before breakfast or for a little while i n the afternoon before dinner - and the room, although small, did not feel claustrophobic with the large window.

 

We sailed sometimes during the day and sometimes at night - but  I enjoyed sitting out there whether we were moving or not.

IMO it is not just the scenery view, it is also the fresh air and watching the (still) world and sometimes chance to sit separate from your partner - he could be watching TV or something on his tablet , for example, while  I was reading outside

 

There are quite a few threads on here about pros and cons of balcony/french balcony rooms vs aquarium class - and people wit h opinions on both sides.

 

To me, it  was worth it.

 

[pontac]

6 hours ago, Kiwi-gal said:

Have been looking at different cruise lines and reading about different types of rooms.

 

I have always imagined a river cruise to have a balcony/large window to sit at drink wine and watch the beautiful scenery as you sail by.

 

Look sceptically at claims  the cruise lines make.

 

You might have  French Balcony - a floor to ceiling window which half slides open - but there might not be two seats in the cabin on which to sit. (French Balcony doesn't have a balcony outside , just a barrier so you can't fall out when open)

 

With a proper balcony it may be too cold or wet to sit outside. When a boat is moving there is a draught, so what time of year you go is important. I like Scenic's balconies which have a sliding top half which allows you to sit on the balcony sheltered from rain and cold.

6 hours ago, Kiwi-gal said:

few cruise boats being moored close together in port so if you are sitting outside or at your window you could be looking directly at another person on that cruise boat.

 

That's become common nowadays. That's called rafting on this board. But even without rafting one side of the boat will be facing the riverbank. You may be lucky and be at a pontoon a few feet from the bank, you may be right at the bank with people walking by, you might be facing a concrete wall.

6 hours ago, Kiwi-gal said:

few cruise reports where they have said they mostly sailed at night and woke up in the new port in the Morning. (is this the norm?)

 

Yes, it is common. Boats travel a large distance on most routes and have excursions during the day so to get from place to place they cruise at night. They arrange to sail during the day where the scenery is an attraction, such as the Middle Rhine, Wachau valley and Moselle. As has been said, there's no night sailing on the Douro, but the navigable part of the Douro is quite short, and most cruises cover it in 2 days there and two days back.

6 hours ago, Kiwi-gal said:

So question is it worth it to get a room with a view or  save a lot of money and get a room with no view (just the little high up window).?

 

Hard to say; only you know your budget. We have stayed  in those rooms (called Aquarium class on this board), French Balcony and proper balcony rooms. Mrs P is too short to see out of the Aquarium class window and insisted we do not book them in future. 

 

Many people spend all day when on boat in the lounge. Gregarious people make friends and chat with them.

[Daisi]

A suggestion. Go to YouTube and look at the various cabins - a lot of cruisers post "tours" of ships now online. Also, some of the lines have virtual tours of both the ships and cabins. That will give you an idea as to what they are like, especially the ones done by cruisers as they usually will have their "stuff" out so you can see the amount of space you get. Sitting outside (or in your cabin in a French balcony) is nice, however remember that when touring a scenic area, you want to see both sides of the river, so will want to be in the public viewing areas. 

 

We sail on Avalon, and yes, we choose the French balcony - we sail in the spring and enjoy the open window. There is a nice chair and a (for me) perfectly sized love seat where I can sit and stretch my legs out on, so we can both sit while waiting for time to go to breakfast, or a tour. We like the fresh air, if we were touring in a colder season, we probably would go for the lower fixed window cabins. I also enjoy the full sliding window, as being vertically challenged, I would probably have the "bar" of the top of the window right in my viewing line if we were to go with a line that has the drop window. 🙂

 

@Kiwi-gal, I see on another post that you are possibly looking at Viking. As @Nippy Sweetie says, for the upper level that has the balcony suites, the corridor is shifted off centre to accommodate the room taken from the cabin for the full balcony. Most ships are all the same width (AmaMagma being one exception) in order to fit into the locks. So those who pay extra for a balcony actually have space taken from their suite to allow for it.  Viking (as far as I know) is the only line to do this, and after all, if I am going to pay extra for a balcony, I don't want to have a smaller cabin because of it.

 

Edited Monday at 12:06 PM by Daisi

[Nippy Sweetie]

@Daisi the extra space for the outside balcony cabins is taken from the cabins across the corridor from them. The French balcony cabins are the ones who lose space. The corridor is off centre. OH, who likes to check these things, measured the balcony side of the ship at 7 metres in width and the poor French balcony side as only 5 metres. This explains the cramped feel of them. Not even a chair and the tiny bedside cabinets are only 7 ins across!

[Daisi]

6 minutes ago, Nippy Sweetie said:

@Daisi the extra space for the outside balcony cabins is taken from the cabins across the corridor from them. The French balcony cabins are the ones who lose space. The corridor is off centre. OH, who likes to check these things, measured the balcony side of the ship at 7 metres in width and the poor French balcony side as only 5 metres. This explains the cramped feel of them. Not even a chair and the tiny bedside cabinets are only 7 ins across!

 

Yes, that is what I said, they shifted the corridor to accommodate the loss of space for the more expensive full balcony.  I am not sure, as we've never sailed with Viking, but I've heard that the cabins on the lowest deck with the fixed window are actually larger than the French balconies.

[Nippy Sweetie]

They only appear larger on paper as the extra space is a deep ledge at the high window. Extra space to put stuff on but no extra floor space.

[Bill Y]

All good points raised, another observation. While the cabin requirement is a personal choice and requires compromises unless you always book the owners suite. River ship cabins are generally smaller than ocean ones as the size of the ships are normally the maximum size that the locks in the river/s they sail on will allow. However it appears that some operator cram more cabins in at the expense of public areas, Dining room, Bar and lounges giving a more crowded feeling, Viking has been mentioned as a culprit in this.

 

We have had ordinary (French balcony) cabins rather than aquarium class, for the time we spent in the cabin the latter would probably have done. For our last river cruise in 2023 on the Rhine/ Danube we decided to go for a French balcony as we were concerned that in inclement weather when we and most others would not wish to be outside in wet weather gear for prolonged periods resulting in the lounge area becoming rammed. As it happed it was drizzling during the Rhine gorge passage but we need not have worried there was ample seating with views for everyone in the bar and lounge areas. At has been said before when sailing though scenic areas you really need to be able to view both sides, being in the main bar or lounge is not as bad as it may sound as the width enables a view to both sides the same can be said of the dining room unlike a ocean cruise one that seats 500.

Edited Monday at 01:33 PM by Bill Y

[JordanF]

We have had aquarium class and French balconies.  All things being equal, the balcony cabins are better.  But all things are not equal.  When we sailed on Avalon, they wanted $1000 per person to get out of aquarium class.  We did not pay this, and our cabin and our cruise were excellent.  On the other hand, we upgraded to a French Balcony on a Gate 1 cruise because it was only $200 per person.  So, I apparently value a French balcony at somewhere between $400 and $2000 per cabin (I'm sure it's closer to the $400).  

 

It is nice to have the bigger, opening window.  I assume it would be even a bit nicer to to have a full balcony (we usually get those on ocean cruises).  But, most of the daylight hours are spent on tours or at meals, so the balcony is of limited use, and it is very easy to go out on deck.  So while the balcony rooms are nicer, they are not that much nicer.  I am pretty sure that whatever you choose the your trip will be great.

[pontac]

4 hours ago, Daisi said:

So those who pay extra for a balcony actually have space taken from their suite to allow for it.  Viking (as far as I know) is the only line to do this, and after all, if I am going to pay extra for a balcony, I don't want to have a smaller cabin because of it.

 

Veranda Suites - Viking use Veranda to clearly differentiate from French Balcony - are larger because they are two rooms. The bedroom has a FB and the sitting room has a veranda.

 

There are also Veranda cabins, one room with a veranda. That's 205 sq ft, the suite is 275 sq ft so there's more room in a suite.

 

So one can pay for a balcony and have more room than a FB (but less than a suite).

[Host Jazzbeau]

The sf numbers for Viking listed above are all on the small side compared to other river ships.  On AMA's current generation, the aquarium class cabins are 160sf (compared to Viking's stated 150sf which someone has measured as actually 135sf of floor space plus that storage ledge); French balconies are 155-170sf (compared to Viking's tiny 135sf – definitely below industry standard); and Veranda cabins are 210-235 (still larger than Viking's 205, even without shifting the hallway to make more room – an artifact of Viking's high passenger density).

[RobInMN]

And then there's the AmaMagna cabins.... 🙂 

We got upgraded to an SA. It was amazing!

[Kiwi-gal]

Thanks everyone for your useful information.

 

I am now doing research into Avalon waterways as they have a smaller number of people than Viking.

 

 

[gnome12]

1 hour ago, Kiwi-gal said:

Thanks everyone for your useful information.

 

I am now doing research into Avalon waterways as they have a smaller number of people than Viking.

 

 

Note that almost all of the lines have a smaller number of passengers on board than Viking. Avalon, is definitely not the only one.

[Canal archive]

Has anyone produced a research sheet on cabin numbers and sizes, and number of passengers? Note the majority of vessels cruising Europes great rivers are the same length and width this is determined by the size of the Locks which have to be used to make these beautiful rivers navigable. So the more passengers the smaller the cabins and or community areas. Whichever way you look at it 90+ passengers as opposed the 60+ passengers for instance must imply less area for the former to use. 
This could be along the lines of ‘The man in seat 61’ the train travel guide.

Edited Tuesday at 06:57 AM by Canal archive