Need Help Picking a River Cruise Line!

[CHUCKSAUNT]

My Husband and I are thinking about taking a river cruise this summer. I've been looking into the different lines and boats. I would so appreciate some help with finding a great line to go on. We have travelled on Oceania before and love the ship and service. We would like a top notch river cruise line to travel with. Is Uniworld a good line? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much.

[hybrn8]

River trips are very different than ocean cruises - more like floating hotels! That said, I think you'd be well advised to find a ship which has hotel like beds vs those fold up sofa things. Also, you want to be above the water line so your view is from a higher perspective. Cabins on the lowest decks (decks are often split level if that makes any sense) are often so low that you can feel like you're in the water! Finally, try to get a cabin which has a sliding glass window - fresh air is so nice! We liked Viking because it is run for Americans and there are no smokers allowed indoors. Friends of ours like Uniworld. Just be sure to compare apples and apples!

[Druke I]

We did the Danube, Budapest to Constanza, last August on Grand Circle's Adagio, and were quiet satisfied.

 

That said, it certainly did not meet Oceania Cruise Line's standards, but we knew that going into it, and were not disappointed.

 

The beds were the type hybrn advises against, but we thought they were comfortable.

[TexasTwo]

The advice from hybrn8 is good. River cruises are very different from Ocean Cruises. We have travelled with Oceania and Vantage. Loved them both. We are destination oriented. Our suggestion would be to pick what you want to see then look at itinerary and timing. Viking, Uniworld, Vantage, Grand Circle are all good.

[Placerville]

We went from Amsterdam to Budapest last summer on "Avalon Cruise Line". The ships of the 3 major cruise lines (Viking, Uniworld, and Avalon) are all the same. We chose Avalon because they advertised "english speaking" and were the newest. We were quite happy, but it was humorous. 40% of the passengers were Australian; 40% were New Zealanders and 20% were Americans and Canadians. Well, the New Zealanders and Australians disliked each other, which made for a lot of humor.

[dougnewmanatsea]

I've only been on Uniworld so far, but it was superb. See here for my review. I recommend it very highly.

[MSEm]

To find the best river cruise line I suggest you do the following:

1. Choose the area (country or countries) and destinations. Find the river cruises that offer an itinerary you want.

2. Look at the cabin lay outs of the river vessels doing the itinerary. Look for pictures or the cabin interios. Look for a vessel that has hotel sytle beds not day beds or pull down pullman beds.

 

Avalon has all ( mostly all) new river vessels, Viking is refurbishing vessels. Tauck has 2 river vessels.

 

We really enjoyed our Viking River China cruise tour. Viking did a great job.

Think of the river vessel as your floating hotel.

 

Good luck,

MSEm

[Ginni]

I didn't see any reference to Smartours River Cruises. Does or has anyone done a cruise with them? We are looking at booking the MS Kronstad from St. Petersburg to Mos in late Aug to early Sept. 2008.

[KTSunny]

We did the Danube, Budapest to Constanza, last August on Grand Circle's Adagio, and were quiet satisfied.

 

That said, it certainly did not meet Oceania Cruise Line's standards, but we knew that going into it, and were not disappointed.

 

The beds were the type hybrn advises against, but we thought they were comfortable.

 

We are doing a "last minute" cruise May 14 from Amsterdam to Vienna on Grand Circle - glad to hear the beds are comfortable - bed configuration was a turn off at first - but got a great deal! Am wondering - is wine with dinner included? Also - did you need electric converters/transformers - or did they supply? One more ? - were there laundry facilities?:confused: Thanks so much! :D

[MMDown Under]

Avalon is advertised widely in Australia, hence the large number of Australian/NZ on board.

 

Australians and New Zealanders don't dislike each other - quite the contrary. Look under Australian thread - Australian humour for an insight.

[Palmetto Lady]

We are doing a "last minute" cruise May 14 from Amsterdam to Vienna on Grand Circle - glad to hear the beds are comfortable - bed configuration was a turn off at first - but got a great deal! Am wondering - is wine with dinner included? Also - did you need electric converters/transformers - or did they supply? One more ? - were there laundry facilities?:confused: Thanks so much! :D

We have been on four GCT river cruises and have been completely satisfied. We did not have a problem with the beds. House wine is included with dinner. You need to supply your own converter and plug. They provide laundry service for a fee but no dry cleaning. There is no self service laundry.

We chose another tour company this year because GCT does not travel the Elbe.

[kuldalai]

Australians and New Zealanders really get on quite well together. What you observe is our weird Aussie sense of humour where both Nationalities are taking the micky out of each other. The Aussies constantly stir the Kiwis regarding their weird accent and pronunciations (we Aussies should talk about weird accents !) , and that they are not as up to date as Aussies. All a bit of a rivalry thing and the Kiwis give us plenty back don't worry. If Aussies were so unpopular with New Zealanders then so many of them would not have crossed the pond and settled in Aus .

[TravelMark]

For the english speaking market there are basically three major players:

 

Uniworld(In the market the longest)

Viking River Cruises

Avalon Waterways(owned/partnered with Globus Tours)

 

As mentioned in other posts, Avalon has the youngest fleet and is associated with a First Class tour company(Globus) who certainly knows how to choose tour guides that speak english.

 

There's also a newcomer to the market, AMA Waterways who advertises as a high-end experience.

 

Any of the lines mentioned above should provide a great experience.

 

None of the river cruises are what you'd call cheap when compared to the normal BIG ship experience. Tipping in Europe is also more expensive($20-$25/day per person). That can equate to $700+ in tips for a two week cruise for two.

 

We have back-to-back cruises(Tulip Time/Rhine) booked for spring 2011 on Avalon. Will be our 14th & 15th respectively but first river cruises.

 

 

Would be interested to get past passenger's descriptions/opinions of the dining menus.

[teh303]

Just returned from 15 day Treasures of the Rhine with Viking, ended up being 19 days with the volcano delay, It was great and viking really took good care of us, no additional cost for the extra 4 days that they kept us on board and feed us. Outstanding service.

[Bowie MeMe]

We just chose Uniworld for our tulips and windmills cruise in 2011. The deciding factor were reviews here on CC and the tours included in the fare (full day Burges with canal trip and canal trip and R Museum in Amsterdam)

We used Viking before for the Elbe River and it was nice but thought I would go with a little newer boat. Single supplement was also higher on Viking (for our cousin who is our travelmate). Since then found the single supplement changed from 2010 --special deal of lower single supplement.

 

Enjoy choosing. By the way to get to Uniworld's web site is sometimes difficult. If you google it -- it is almost impossible to get past the Vacations To Go :mad: blocks and you end up on this discounter's site. Put www.uniworld.com and it comes on the river cruise company's site.

[RJG1011]

We are about to book Uniworld for Tulips in late March (unfortunately we cannot go any later due to personal and business obligations). We are considering cat 2 or 3 on River Queen. Do you happen to know the difference other than almost $200pp? What made you choose Uniworld over others like Viking, Vantage, AMA or Avalon?

[pacmom]

Look at the layout of the boat on the web site. Sometimes it is just the location of the cabin--i.e.deck and palce on the deck. It can also meam the size of the window. We like midships and usually take a lower deck. We don't spend a lot of time in the cabin--lounge and sundeck offer better viewing while boat is moving. Pat

[happy cruzer]

So between the lines, which include the excusions??

 

Do they vary differently in included meals and wine? Seating for meals?

 

what do most do about airfare, do the lines offer any air deals?

[LHT28]

I know this is an old thread but since someone already brought it forward ;)

 

we are looking at Scenic river cruises

I checked some of the other lines & they all seem to be in the same ballpark $$ wise

Scenic includes gratuities, excursions & wine/beer & sodas with lunch & dinner where the others only include it with dinner

These are the only differences I could find

 

If someone knows what other lines include excursions & gratuities I would be interested.

Looking at Amsterdam/Budapest route

 

Thanks

Lyn

[maroon23]

I have been on two Avalon cruises---Burgundy/Provence and the Romantic Rhine. We enjoyed both of them. At dinner there is always a standing order if you do not care for the menu---usually grilled chicken breast, salmon or Caesar salad. There is no charge for wine at dinner. The food was very good with multiple courses. At lunch, there is a carving station plus buffet. Breakfast is a buffet but you can order also. The Welcome

Dinner included seven courses consisting of "salade composee", beef consomme or smoked salmon, scampis, orange sorbet, veal loin or pike pearch or vegetable gratin and dessert of creme brulee or rhubarb ragout or cheese plate or sliced fruits. So you can see that there is lots of choices!!

[franski]

Tauck includes excursions and gratuities -but are generally priced a bit higher.

[BPCruiser]

We just completed our 1st River Cuise with Avalon Wateways in early October 2010 on the Affinity (Paris, Vineyards and Windmills). It was a great experience and would highly recommend Avalon. Food and Service was wonderful and the vineyards were lush as it was Harvest time on the Mosele River and the scenery was beautiful. We were steered to Avalon by a friend who had cruised with Avalon and was also very pleased. Ships are new and very clean. Complimentary wine and beer with Dinner, soda with Lunch or Dinner and complimentary bottled water in room daily. English speaking guides. We are a couple in our mid 50's-60 and have enjoyed big ship cruising in the past but cannot wait to cruise again on the smaller river cruise, just hard to decide which rivers would be our next choice! Very friendly and cozy atmosphere on ship. Cruise Director was European,very helpful and most friendly.:)

[Talisker92]

For the english speaking market there are basically three major players:

 

Uniworld(In the market the longest)

Viking River Cruises

Avalon Waterways(owned/partnered with Globus Tours)

 

I disagree-What about AMA and Vantage??

Go to the river cruise section of CC for more info

[STUR]

We are about to book Uniworld for Tulips in late March (unfortunately we cannot go any later due to personal and business obligations). We are considering cat 2 or 3 on River Queen. Do you happen to know the difference other than almost $200pp? What made you choose Uniworld over others like Viking, Vantage, AMA or Avalon?

We did tuilps & wind mills this past April on Uniworld River Duchss Antwerd to Amsterdam This was our First River Boat Cruise and was all first class Every one on the boat got to know each other The food was the best They went out of there way to please every one

If we where to cruise again we would only pick Uniworld

 

Injoy your up comming trip

 

STUR DAYTON,OHIO

[imagolfer]

My Husband and I are thinking about taking a river cruise this summer. I've been looking into the different lines and boats. I would so appreciate some help with finding a great line to go on. We have travelled on Oceania before and love the ship and service. We would like a top notch river cruise line to travel with. Is Uniworld a good line? Any suggestions?

Thanks so much.

I just completed my first river cruise and I chose Uniworld.........my best travel decision ever. I cannot wait to book another on Uniworld. Passau to Budapest Nov.13 was the venue. I cannot think of anything I'd change..........I had a beautiful room, lower level,

great queen size bed with wonderful bedding,daily trips included with options for more.

Food was great but staff made the trip.