European River Cruising

[Love2Travel]

Hi Everyone...

I was wondering if anyone out there has ever investigated or better yet taken a European River Cruise? We are thinking of this option for a future trip. Have looked into a few cruise lines that offer this type of cruising but was wondering if any one had a personal experiences to pass on. It looks like a great way to see the interior of Europe. The only down side for us would be the small ships with few amenities. I would miss the pool and whirlpools... a few ships offer these but not many and of course the scale would be much smaller.

Thanks for any input.....

Gail and Paul

[TheSkipper]

We did the Uniworld River Duchess last year from Amsterdam to Vienna. 15 days in all. Fantastic trip which we enjoyed very, very, much.

Food was great, entertainment was very good and the people we met were wonderful.

Best part was that you tied up down town everywhere and all shore excursions are included in you booking price. Uniworld divided us into three groups, so we got a lot of personal attention. Saw other cruise lines where everyone tailed along in one group and had to wear headphones to even hear the tour guide.

It is an entirely different experience that aboard a huge cruise ship and we were a little hesitant about how we would like it. We need not have worrried we loved it.

Would go back in a minute.

[Spikesgirl]

This is a little off topic, but not really. We did a Viking River cruise down the Yangtze and were very pleased with the service htat was offered, the fact that the price was inculsive of the excursions and the effort that was made by the crew to make it as much like a 'cruise' experience as possible. It was a great way to see the country.

We're now contemplating one down the Nile. Have to see how that turns out.

Charlie

[Love2Travel]

Thanks Skipper for your input. glad to hear you were not disappointed. That makes me feel great. i had not looked into the Uniworld line...now I have another to bookmark . i was surprised to see many lines include airfare as well as excursions. And thanks for the heads up regarding headphones instead of small groups. i had read about the headphones.

i am so pleased.... but overwhelmed to look at all the choices. i need to read more about Europe to make some decisions about where we would want to go.

What time of year did you go?

Gail

[Love2Travel]

Charlie... thanks for your reply as well. I had been looking at Viking. glad to hear you would recommend them. If you decide to go down the Nile, i would highly suggest the add on to Petra Jordon if it is offered. We were there Oct 2007- it is amazing !!!!

Gail

[Spikesgirl]

Gail 0 thanks for the suggestion. I'd never even thought of it, although I did have to recreate part of Petra for a show we did many years ago, so that's bad on me.

We were a little concenred about the whole cruise expereince, but they were faithful right down to the march of the Baked Alaskas. I did like the fact that every night was casual and that the food was served family style, so that you could pick and choose. The fuuniest part was on the last full day of crusing, they had hanburgers and fries and they could keep those pans full. All the Americans were just going crazy after a month of Chinese food!

We did enjoy our time with them and I hope that you'll have an equally enjoyable trip no matter whom you choose.

Charlie

[TheSkipper]

Hi Gail and Paul,

I did a LOT of research before we made our Uniworld decision, in fact they were not in the running until I went to a local presentation at a travel agency. The thing that impressed me most was that they had "real" beds, not sofas that converted into beds at night. The bed linens were the greatest, monagramed and beautiful. Their cabins were small but state of the art with flat screen TV, etc. and plenty of storage. The bathroom had a nice separate shower. The food was fantastic and hard to believe when you saw the size of their kitchen.

In Europe you normally tie up in town two or three abreast and have to walk over and through the more inboard vessels which gives a good look at other river cruise boats and I saw none better appointed than ours, in fact, most were "less than". For example, coffee was served in French Coffee Presses on our ship and in plastic thermal pitchers on others which we tied up next to.

We did the air included thing and were promptly met in Amsterdam and bused to the ship. Upon arrival the entire crew including the Captain was outside to assist with the luggage. The Captain did actually bring one of our bags to our cabin. Now, that's service.

[JohnG]

Uniworld also caters to the American market, unlike some of the other river cruise lines. Another you might look into is Avalon Waterways, which is a subsidiary of Globus/Cosmo. It has some of the newest of the river vessels.

[Mebert]

JohnG,

Thanks for suggesting Uniworld Cruises. I checked out their very interesting website. I was interested in the Normandy and Paris river cruise but it's really pricey for me at the time I would like to go in August.

The spring seems like a real bargain for 9 days and it includes airfare. I going to explore that one day when I get my duckets in order.

[zebra]

Hey Gail... the only "downside" I've heard is that in periods on little or no rain (droughts) and the rivers run very low, they have been known to redirect the cruise or worse yet cancel. I also knew someone many years ago that went on one after flooding rain and they couldn't proceed with their cruise because there boats could not fit under the low bridges. Not to scare you - I'm sure these things only happen like 5% (if that) of the time.

We would also love to do a River cruise - especially in Europe!!! Say Hi to Paul from us!!