What is the most luxurious river cruise line?

[Blue Bryce]

Hi, we're getting our feet wet in regard to river cruising. We have travelled extensively and find that accommodations are important to us, so what are the most luxurious river cruise lines?

 

Thanks for advice!

[BJS]

Hi, we're getting our feet wet in regard to river cruising. We have travelled extensively and find that accommodations are important to us, so what are the most luxurious river cruise lines?

 

Thanks for advice!

 

What do you mean by "luxurious"?

 

Are you only talking about size of room? There are so many other things to consider when looking for a river cruise such as: type of beds, windows that open or not, deck to be on and location, size of bathroom, dining choices, quality of food, wine included with meals or not, all shore excursions included, exercise rooms, countries your fellow cruisers come from, smoking areas/nonsmoking, etc. Most important being itinerary and what is included. Price for what you are getting is also important to some.

 

I noticed this is your first post but assume you have read all the posts on this board. If you haven't there is a wealth of information that might help you decide what "the most luxurious river cruise line" is. You will find information about all of the above posted.

 

--

[Blue Bryce]

Sorry for my ignorance. I just found this website since we've decided to look into river cruises. And no, I have not read all the posts since there are other things I need to do even on weekends, which is why I am looking into a river cruise to begin with, so we can get away from non-stop stress and responsibilities. I simply asked for people's feedback as a means to jumpstart my research.

 

By luxurious, I mean everything, size of cabin, appointments (furnishings, bathroom, etc.), meals, wine, quality of cruise staff. From what we've seen re itineraries, they more or less hit the same spots in Europe. However, we are looking for a different way of experiencing Europe in a leisurely and secure way.

[Jswen]

Hi Blue,

We recently took our first river boat trip. We were on the MS Amadagio and we went through Brendan Tours. You are right about the trips seeming to travel the same routes and stop at many of the same towns.

Since I have only done one river trip I only know that the Amadagio was a beautiful boat and compared to lots of the pictures and from reading posts.... the rooms and especially the bathrooms were on the more luxerious side. I was very pleased with our room and the french balcony slider window that opened. The bathroom was a good size (for a cruise or a riverboat) and the amenitys were on the high end side. Our room was attended to several times a day with clean towels, turndown service (including the usual bit of chocolate on the pillow)

The food was very good, breakfast got a little boring but then I am not much of a breakfast person so probably not a good judge of it. Wine was included with dinner and each evening was from the region we were traveling through, most of the time it was quite good.

I hear that the Amadagio has a sister ship in the works for next season so that may be an option for you. It is a confusing call trying to find what fits you best, I know, it took us lots of reading and looking at River travel brochures and talking to our travel agent who recomended choosing the itinary first.

Good luck, Judy

[cactuslady]

After doing our research; reading the posts; perusing numerous brochures, web sites and travel magazines; and enjoying the food produced by a former Peter Deilmann chef (on Radisson/Regent), we decided on Peter Deilmann for our first river cruise. Will be on the Casanova in September to see if our high expectations are confirmed.

[Jswen]

Hi,

I did not mention that Ms Amadagio is one of the Amadeus Waterways boats. They have a good web site. http://www.amadeuswaterways.com

J

[newrivercruiser]

We are going on the Casanova on September 16th - our first river cruise. We are hoping, based on our research, that it will be "luxurious". One of our considerations was that we wanted to have non-North American cruisemates to better experience the European experience.

 

(cactuslady - are we on the same cruise??)

[ldove123]

Travelers looking for a more upscale experience may want to consider the River Cloud I or II, run by Sea Cloud company out of Hamberg. It is marketed as a 5-star experience and we thought it lived up to the marketing.

 

Also a very diverse group with a wide representation of Europeans, Australians and Americans. Very high crew to passenger ratio. Rooms on the lower level were relatively small but large rooms with huge windows -- no balconies -- were available on the top level. I did a quick review of our cruise in June in this forum.

[pacmom]

I would suggest that with little time to do your own research, that you find a good TA. They are worth there weight in gold. Yes, they miht not have the "great" web deals, but they are there in your presence when things go wrong. My husband and I are huge Uniworld fans, but when we go to Russia, we are looking at Avalon---brand new ship next season. Rooms are larger---some in Russia are not even 100sq.ft. You really need to look beyond the size of the shower and the rest of the bathroom fixtures. The size of the boat means a lot---some have 200 passengers, some about 125. We just returned from a cruise on the Rhone on a brand new boat belonging to Uniworld. One evening was spent at a Paul Bocuse facility at a seven course dinner. Another morning was spent learning how to taste chocolate at Valhrona. We also did the usual walking tours and wine tastings. While in Arles one couple took a private tour out to see the famous bulls and horses. River cruises are so relaxing--the water is very smooth, the boats are small enough that you haven't walked a mile to get to dinner. The newer boats have elevators, many have self-service launderettes. Some lines have open seating at all meals, which to me is a blessing---you can get to know people more easily. I have not heard of any lines that have so-so tours. From the reports anf personal experience, they employ great guides. Don't forget that TA.. People on these boards are a wealth of info, we just don't want to plan your trip for you----but will answer specific questions. Pat

[cactuslady]

We are going on the Casanova on September 16th - our first river cruise. We are hoping, based on our research, that it will be "luxurious". One of our considerations was that we wanted to have non-North American cruisemates to better experience the European experience.

 

(cactuslady - are we on the same cruise??)

Newrivercruiser -- Ach du lieber, we are boarding the Casanova on Sept. 23, so we will miss each other unless you are on for a second week. Will end at Oktoberfest in Munich on Sept. 30. Take good care of the ship for us. :)

[AWED23]

Hi, we're getting our feet wet in regard to river cruising. We have travelled extensively and find that accommodations are important to us, so what are the most luxurious river cruise lines?

 

Thanks for advice!

Ask an experienced travel agent about INTRAV....Everything they do is luxurious....I know from personal experience!!!!!!!!!!

[steamboats]

Blue Bryce,

 

I´d also say that Deilmann is the most luxurious river cruise line in Europe. Cabin sizes vary depending on the boat itself. Most river cruise ships do offer junior suites. Most river cruise ships range from 100 to 200 passengers. All river cruise ships offer hotel style beds (pulman beds only for triple occupancy). Cabin sizes do not differ much. Especially the US companies have lots of brand new boats where cabins get larger and larger. Most of the US companies are offering a very similar product (including the itineraries).

 

Deilmann is offering a first class service (read my review about our screwed up cruise on the MS Mozart, by the way the largest boat on the Danube River). Food is really outstanding with dinners up to nine courses. I think we had 10 cooks on our cruise. They also have a great wine selection. Deilmann is not focused on the US market but is a German company with international passengers. Dress code is a bit more formal than the usual all casual US river cruise lines. Deilmann is offering different itineraries and some are only offered by Deilmann (f.e. Dresden - Hamburg on the Elbe river).

 

Anyway, my all time advice for a river cruise: first choose the itinerary, then compare the companies offering the choosen itinerary!

 

steamboats

[newrivercruiser]

Newrivercruiser -- Ach du lieber, we are boarding the Casanova on Sept. 23, so we will miss each other unless you are on for a second week. Will end at Oktoberfest in Munich on Sept. 30. Take good care of the ship for us.

:)

We will be disembarking in Mainz on the 23rd - sorry we'll miss you! Wish we could stay for second week!

[pacmom]

The Amadagio and Amadeus are not he only boats with elevators. The River Royale, River Countess and River Duchess also have them. just about all the newrer ships for the American market will have a lift of some sort. Pat

[steamboats]

Anan,

 

You´re correct about Deilmann, no elevators there.

 

steamboats

[Carhut]

Pacmom you are right, sorry, my mistake. I missed the elevators on the River Royal (2006), River Countess (2003) and River Dutchess (2003) in the Uniworld fleet, because they do not list elivators in the ships amenities summary-- you find them indicated on the deckplan. The brand new Avalon ships Tranquility (2007), Imagery (2007) and Tapestry (2006) do not mention any elevators. No ship in the Viking fleet, cruising European waterways, seems to have elevators. I also could not find a ship in the Deilmann fleet with elevator and none in GCT's. If I missed an elevator --- please let me know. Thanks --- anan

 

You are wrong about GCT. I've been on the River Melody and the River Adagio and both had elevators as do their other ships.

[Heintje]

Without being discriminating, please be aware that under the American disability act, a cruisecompany is not allowed to refuse wheelchair bound guests to their ships. Most disabled guests are well aware that if there is no elevator, rivercruise ships are not suitable for them. If there is an elevator, a lot of disabled guests automatically assume that they can take that cruise, helped a lot by unscrupulous travelagents, who never took a rivercruise, but want to make a sale. These guests will be very disapointed to find out that except for the elevator there are NO facilities on the ship to accomodate them. relative narrow pasageways, no disabled cabins, great difficulties leaving the ship etc. Thios is for a lot of cruise companies the reason not to put elevators in their ships. It has nothing to do with luxury or money!

AVALON has among the newest and most luxurious rivercruise ships with cabins of 170sqf and large sliding balcony windows. Their junior suites are the finest in river cruising. Food is excellent, try that one as an alternative.

Heintje

[Blue Bryce]

Hi everyone!

First, thanks to all of you who took the time to share your "know how" about river cruises. You've given us a lot of food for thought and I know our travels will be all the better for your input!

 

You're the best!:) :) :)

[daju22]

Without being discriminating, please be aware that under the American disability act, a cruisecompany is not allowed to refuse wheelchair bound guests to their ships. Most disabled guests are well aware that if there is no elevator, rivercruise ships are not suitable for them. If there is an elevator, a lot of disabled guests automatically assume that they can take that cruise, helped a lot by unscrupulous travelagents, who never took a rivercruise, but want to make a sale. These guests will be very disapointed to find out that except for the elevator there are NO facilities on the ship to accomodate them. relative narrow pasageways, no disabled cabins, great difficulties leaving the ship etc. Thios is for a lot of cruise companies the reason not to put elevators in their ships. It has nothing to do with luxury or money!

AVALON has among the newest and most luxurious rivercruise ships with cabins of 170sqf and large sliding balcony windows. Their junior suites are the finest in river cruising. Food is excellent, try that one as an alternative.

Heintje

 

Hello Heintje or anyone with disabled experience or information,

 

My husband is disabled. His right side is affected by a stroke. He is slow, but mobile as he can climb steps with a railing and walk all around the house and other places. We usually travel with a mobility scooter(19 inches by 39 inches) and a folding wheelchair(which I have to push). I think that we could travel on a river cruise. What do you think?

 

I just can't find the answer to some questions about river cruising:

When river boats dock and you have to walk across several boats to get to shore, are there lots of stairs?

When you go ashore, do you have to participate in the tours or can you go on your own?

Might there be room in our cabin for the mobility scooter? I can take it apart to carry it places and my husband and I lift it into the car.

I'm sure the wheelchair will fit in the cabin and will take it if necessary.

 

Thank you for your thoughts and answers.

Judy

[steamboats]

Judy,

 

Some of the river cruise ships do feature a wheelchair accessible cabin which might be also spacey enough for a scooter. Not all river cruise ships do have an elevator and some have at least a stair lift to the sun deck.

 

Yes, in some cases river cruise ships dock side by side and if you´re in the outer one you have to cross over the other boat. Usually there are no stairs but ramps. There might be landings where you have to climb stairs too. The crew will help you of course.

 

No, you don´t have to go on the offered tours. But I won´t book with a cruise company which includes the shore tours when I know I can´t go on them anyway. Remember you pay for the included shore tours too. Most of the towns can be easily explored on your own as the landing is close to the downtown area. But... consider that many of the historic downtown areas do have uneven cobblestones which may cause problems even with a scooter.

 

Check the deck plans of river cruise ships (available on the websites), check if they have a wheelchair accessible cabin, call the cruise company about bringing a scooter (scooters are not very common in Europe). It can be done, but in Europe you need a lot of planning and research to find the best boat. I recently read a review of a group of wheelchair bound travellers on a river cruise. Obviously this boat was designed for wheelchair groups. Unfortunately the company operating this boat is bankrupt and I don´t know who bought the boat and what name it has now. This was a special group cruise organized by a specialized TA. As Heintje stated there are TAs who don´t have the slightest idea of river cruise ships and they sure will sell you the cruise. If you do your homework and find a boat which accomodates your needs you sure can have a great cruise.

 

steamboats

[daju22]

Hi Steamboats,

Thanks for your thoughts. I know that there are cobblestones and this may cause problems. I just wondered about the ramps and whether they had railings when crossing the boats.

 

I suppose we'll just have to look at all the available river cruises and boats to determine the best one. I read in another post that Viking is very good with disabled people. Will have to keep gathering information for the future. Right now we're packing for the Baltic cruise.

 

Thanks for all your help. Disabled people always have to do their homework!!:)

Judy

[steamboats]

Hi Judy,

 

When the boats are tied together they might have a different hight and usually ramps (short gangplanks) are used to cope with that. Sure those do have handrails.

 

I saw that Deilmann´s Dresden has one wheelchair accessible cabin. But this boat is only running on the Elbe river.

 

I haven´t seen any wheelchair accessible cabins on the Viking boats. And the Pride, Spirit, Europe and Neptune have split levels with stairs inbetween and no elevators. Only the Viking Danube and Schumann do not have those split levels.

 

Check all websites like Avalon, Amadeus, GCT, Uniworld, Vantage...

 

Have a great cruise!

 

steamboats

[Venturagirl]

Hi, daju22,

 

I think it was my posting you were refering to above, so I wanted to clarify.

 

The ramps from the ships to the landing do have railings. So if your DH can walk up or down a slope while holding to a railing, that might be okay. When the ships are docked side by side, you must be able to step up and over multiple thresholds in addition to walking on ramps.

 

However, my concern would be what Steamboats mentioned -- the landings. The towns along the Rhine are hilly. In at least two towns, to get to the main street from the river one must climb steep concrete stairs, and I don't remember if there were railings. We had no one in wheelchairs or scooters on our tour because they never would have chosen the Pride for lack of elevators. We had people with weight and bad hip issues who were helped up stairs to towns by traveling companions and crew, but there was no way around the stairs that I saw. Once in town, Viking provided taxis and vans if the main site to be visited was up a steep hill or a long walk from the ship. Viking paid for the vans; I don't know if they paid for the taxis or if the passengers footed that bill and Viking just offered to call the taxi. Also, I didn't see handicap access as we know it in the States at any of the churches or cathedrals.

 

I admire you for continuing to travel despite the extra research you must do beforehand. Have fun on your Baltic cruise!

[daju22]

Hi Judy,

 

When the boats are tied together they might have a different hight and usually ramps (short gangplanks) are used to cope with that. Sure those do have handrails.

 

I saw that Deilmann´s Dresden has one wheelchair accessible cabin. But this boat is only running on the Elbe river.

 

I haven´t seen any wheelchair accessible cabins on the Viking boats. And the Pride, Spirit, Europe and Neptune have split levels with stairs inbetween and no elevators. Only the Viking Danube and Schumann do not have those split levels.

 

Check all websites like Avalon, Amadeus, GCT, Uniworld, Vantage...

 

Have a great cruise!

 

steamboats

 

Thanks Steamboats,

We don't really need a wheelchair accessible cabin. My husband functions well at home and we have two stories with stairs and railings. He can step over threshholds and the bathtub to get into the shower. He's ok as long as he has a railing. He needs the scooter or wheelchair to keep up with everyone as he walks slowly. I will look at the Dresden though as I thought cruising the Elb would be great and we would love to see Berlin.

I appreciate the great information.

Thanks for your time.

Judy

[daju22]

Hi, daju22,

 

I think it was my posting you were refering to above, so I wanted to clarify.

 

The ramps from the ships to the landing do have railings. So if your DH can walk up or down a slope while holding to a railing, that might be okay. When the ships are docked side by side, you must be able to step up and over multiple thresholds in addition to walking on ramps.

 

However, my concern would be what Steamboats mentioned -- the landings. The towns along the Rhine are hilly. In at least two towns, to get to the main street from the river one must climb steep concrete stairs, and I don't remember if there were railings. We had no one in wheelchairs or scooters on our tour because they never would have chosen the Pride for lack of elevators. We had people with weight and bad hip issues who were helped up stairs to towns by traveling companions and crew, but there was no way around the stairs that I saw. Once in town, Viking provided taxis and vans if the main site to be visited was up a steep hill or a long walk from the ship. Viking paid for the vans; I don't know if they paid for the taxis or if the passengers footed that bill and Viking just offered to call the taxi. Also, I didn't see handicap access as we know it in the States at any of the churches or cathedrals.

 

I admire you for continuing to travel despite the extra research you must do beforehand. Have fun on your Baltic cruise!

 

Hi Venturagirl,

As I explained to Steamboats, my husband functions very well. I'll have to find out more about the steep steps into the towns. Still alot of homework to do.:) Keeps me out of trouble-like the kids!!

Sometimes, you just have to go and see. On our South America cruise, we just got off the ship and hoped for the best. It was great fun to see everything and be in a different environment. If he couldn't go into a certain building, I went and told him about it. He can get on and off rolling and pitching tenders in port with a little help from the crew-now that's doing something!!!

Thanks for telling me about the steep hills and sharing your knowledge!

Judy