3 River Cruise

[pna]

After several Caribbean cruises, my husband and I are trying to pick a cruise line to do the three rivers of Europe cruise. For years we have received brochures from Viking and weren't aware of other companies that did this itinerary. Having "read" around a little bit, I have discovered there are other lines that do this type cruise. Have seen some mediocre reviews of Viking? Anyone been on a three river cruise through Europe? Please give us input on other lines if you are familiar with them. We have never been to Europe do looking forward to a great experience. We realize the cabins will be very different than mega liners that we have been on. Space is not a big deal. View is important. Besides a great itineraray, good food would be a perk. Give us rookies to river cruising some input, so we can begin planning and pick a cruise line for this special trip.

[Paolosmom]

Stay away from Viking, but do take a look at the Amadagio ship. This belongs to Amadeus Waterway and is much nicer than Viking.

 

Do look at Deilman, the new Premicon looks great also

 

Good luck

[Paolosmom]

Stay away from Viking, but do take a look at the Amadagio ship. This belongs to Amadeus Waterway and is much nicer than Viking.

 

Do look at Deilman, the new Premicon looks great also

 

Good luck

[Carhut]

I did the Great Rivers with GCT (Grand Circle Travel). Here is a site with some of my pictures from that trip. Pictures speak louder than words. Take a look. http://picasaweb.google.com/Carhut/GreatRiversOfEurope

[webfoot]

Also look at Avalon ... they have one of the newest fleets of river boats ... nicely done.

[sailaway5]

I did the Great Rivers with GCT (Grand Circle Travel). Here is a site with some of my pictures from that trip. Pictures speak louder than words. Take a look. http://picasaweb.google.com/Carhut/GreatRiversOfEurope

 

Great pictures - thanks for sharing. We just booked (in 2009) with Uniworld from Vienna to Basel - which travels on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers..... Are those considered the Great Rivers? This is our first River cruise.

[Carhut]

Great pictures - thanks for sharing. We just booked (in 2009) with Uniworld from Vienna to Basel - which travels on the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers..... Are those considered the Great Rivers? This is our first River cruise.

 

Yes, those are the three rivers that were included in GCT's "Great Rivers".

You should love the trip you are going on.

Ours went from Vienna to Amsterdam.

[Betty/Avie]

From our brief experience, river cruises -- like all cruises -- are a matter of personal preference. We are going on our 3d Viking trip in Europe. Obviously, we think their cruises are excellent. We have looked at Amadeus and Avalon, and we might try them in the future. Peter Deilman are always ranked extremely high, but we tend to stay with the lines where the trips are designed for Americans.

 

Some lines provide wine/beer with dinners. Viking does not. However, the food on Viking is quite good, and the wine list is adequate. (We do supplement the ship's choices with wines/beer that we purchase at stops along the way.

 

As far as cabins are concerned, look at the layouts/brochures carefully. Some vessels have beds that can be joined to make a queen-sized bed. Some have windows that open, or sliding glass doors. Some windows do not open. Indeed, there can be no uniformity on the same vessel! Look carefully! (We found the beds on Viking to be very comfortable.)

 

I hope we haven't added to the confusion.

[Betty/Avie]

Stay away from Viking, but do take a look at the Amadagio ship. This belongs to Amadeus Waterway and is much nicer than Viking.

 

Do look at Deilman, the new Premicon looks great also

 

Good luck

 

The quote do not reflect our opinion of Viking! No, Viking (and most other river cruise lines) are not Regent, Crystal, Silverseas, etc. You are not going to get the same amenities, food, etc. on a river boat that will get on the luxury ocean liners. Eating on board is usually confined to a relatively small time window. And the passengers are usually older than on most ocean liners. That being said, the ability to explore the small towns along the rivers, and to have wonderful food in those towns, coupled with excellent local guides, make the trips well worth it. Each river cruise line has plusses and minuses -- compare them to see which fits your lifestype.

[Hambagahle]

We are confirmed Regent Seven Seas cruisers, and will be taking our sixth cruise in 4 years with them in May 2009. That said, we have also cruised on Viking (Danube, Passau/Passau) and Deilmann (Elbe). Of these last two river cruise companies there is no question in my mind that Deilmann is superior. The ship was in better condition, though our cabin did not have a real balcony where we could sit outside as the Viking Primadonna did. The food was a notch better. Yet we were delighted with Viking and actually found their tour guides to be marginally better than Deilmann's. Also the "alcohol" policy stated by Deilmann annoyed us. On Viking there was no problem about bringing a bottle of whiskey on board and the bartender was more than happy to provide ice for us each evening. Deilmann specifically states that no alcohol may be brought on board.

 

My personal take on the question of which company to choose on a river cruise is that you pick the itinerary, and then go with that company. For example, when choosing our Elbe cruise we went with Deilmann because they offered 2 full days in Dresden, a city we really wanted to see and because their boat left from Prague itself, rather than having the passengers bussed from a Prague hotel to the boat. We really enjoyed both cruises!

[tiggypooo]

I think that you should consider Uniworld. They have made many improvements in the last 3 years, since being bought by new owners.

They are really listening to their passengers and are doing what it takes to make them a real quality line, without a luxury price.

From what I understand, the owners have taken personal attention to choosing everything, from the linens to the wines served with dinner.

 

I just returned from my 2nd cruise with them and discovered lots of little changes from last year. Small changes that were really nice touches.

Things like, on the last day being provided with a copy of every menu from the entire trip, a small box of chocolate almonds to take away with us, a nice portrait of the entire crew and many other little things.

 

The food is good. Really geared towards a North American appetite.

Some would say that the service onboard isn't what a luxury large ship would be. They would be right as it's a different type of cruise, but I would dare you to find any crew that could have taken better care of my companion and myself. They just couldn't do enough.

 

I would agree with the previous poster to a point. Do choose your itinerary first and then look at the companies offering it, but spend the time making sure that whatever company you choose, will give you a good product.

 

Good luck.......

[micked10@earthlink.net]

I would agree with Tiggypoo's comments about Uniworld. The staff couldn't be better. We have been on 25 ocean Cruises and found the service on our past Uniworld trip--Apr. 13-25th every bit as comparable to Regent, Silver Seas and other 5 star lines. We love both types of cruises--each has their plusses and minues. We did comment upon returning home that Uniworld's trip was one of our best.

micked10

[sailaway5]

I think that you should consider Uniworld. They have made many improvements in the last 3 years, since being bought by new owners.

They are really listening to their passengers and are doing what it takes to make them a real quality line, without a luxury price.

From what I understand, the owners have taken personal attention to choosing everything, from the linens to the wines served with dinner.

 

I just returned from my 2nd cruise with them and discovered lots of little changes from last year. Small changes that were really nice touches.

Things like, on the last day being provided with a copy of every menu from the entire trip, a small box of chocolate almonds to take away with us, a nice portrait of the entire crew and many other little things.

 

The food is good. Really geared towards a North American appetite.

Some would say that the service onboard isn't what a luxury large ship would be. They would be right as it's a different type of cruise, but I would dare you to find any crew that could have taken better care of my companion and myself. They just couldn't do enough.

 

I would agree with the previous poster to a point. Do choose your itinerary first and then look at the companies offering it, but spend the time making sure that whatever company you choose, will give you a good product.

 

Good luck.......

 

Thanks for sharing your Uniworld experience as we recently booked next years (April 28) Vienna to Basel 16-day. It looked like an awesome itinerary. I have heard they now have bicycles for your use. Is that true?

[tiggypooo]

Hi sail...... They do have bicycles available on their ships. I just got off The Duchess and they had 6 onboard. Not alot of people are interested in using them, so they really don't really push the fact that they have them available.

Your cruise will be on The Countess, which is exactly the same ship as The Duchess.

I'm sure that you will love it as much as I loved mine. Any questions let me know at tiggypooo@yahoo.ca