Continental Waterways VS Viking River Cruise

[gregcleo]

My brother (46) and I (42) are thinking about going on a River Cruise in Europe. Can anyone give us any ideas? Which line would you recommend? What is the average age on a river cruise? We are looking at either Continental Waterways or Viking River Cruise in Sept or October. THANKS IN ADVANCE!!! Greg

[goeurope]

Based on my experience on a VIKING BURGUNDY cruise last fall, I'd guess that 80% of the passengers are in their 60s to 80s and most of the rest are in their 50s. I don't think age is a big issue, though, at least not on a river cruise where activities revolve around sightseeing. My 16-year-old son was along with me (his 50-something dad) on the VIKING BURGUNDY, and he enjoyed the socializing at dinner even more than I did.

 

The most obvious difference between Viking River Cruises and Continental Waterways is the size of the ships. Viking's ships typically carry more than 100 passengers, while the Continental Waterways riverboats hold 30-50, with the hotel barges used on some routes being even smaller. The Continental Waterways experience would appear to be more intimate, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on your fellow passengers. :-)

[gregcleo]

Thanks for the info!!! It looks like we will probably now be going on Viking River Cruises on the first week of Oct. I think it would be better w/ 100 people or so...

THANKS!!!

Greg

[goeurope]

If it helps, I've written a 192-page illustrated report on a VIKING BURGUNDY river cruise in France during October, 2003. It's at:

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/cruising/viking-burgundy.htm

[gregcleo]

Durant,

Thanks!

That was a great article! I would like to take my mother on a French River Cruise. My mother has a hard time walking. How hard were the walking tours?

Thanks again,

Greg

[goeurope]

Most of the walking tours were quite easy.

 

Viennes is a little harder, because parts of the town are hilly and the Roman Theatre requires climbing, but your mother could take the alternative rubber-tired "tourist train" tour instead.

 

Les Baux requires an uphill walk from the bus-parking area into the town, but it isn't a terribly long walk, and there's enough free time so that your mother could take her time walking into the center of the village (where most of the sights are) and walking back down to the bus.

 

Viviers is the only town where your mother might have to skip the sights, because the sights basically consist of the town itself (a semi-abandoned stone village built on steep hills above the river). But Viviers is a short stop, with time for only about an hour of sightseeing before dinner and an optional (but free) walking tour late at night.

 

On the whole, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a river cruise for someone who's a slow walker. Here's why:

 

1) Most of the cities and towns are fairly small (even Lyon is a lot more compact than, say, Barcelona or Lisbon).

 

2) River vessels normally tie up in the center of town, which makes it easy for someone with a cane or walker to get off and go for a stroll or to reach the bus. (There are no steep gangway to negotiate, as there can be in an ocean port.)

 

3) On Viking and several other river-cruise lines, excursions are included in the price, so slow walkers won't have to pay through the nose for the privilege of seeing sights in every port.

 

By the way (and this is a bit off-topic), there's a new book called "Rick Steves' EASY ACCESS EUROPE" that may be of interest to mobility-impaired readers of this board. It doesn't cover many destinations, but it provides a lot of detail on the ones that it does cover. The Rick Steves Web site has a description of the book at:

 

http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=12&id=247

 

And I've reviewed Rick Steves' EASY ACCESS EUROPE at:

 

http://europeforvisitors.com/europe/articles/rick-steves-easy-access-europe.htm

[gregcleo]

Well... We decided to go on the Chardonnay from Continental Water Ways. (Atleast we find out on Monday.)

We got a good price so we are going to give it a try?

Thanks

Greg