European River Cruise

[saltydog]

I don;t do well unless I am planning a cruise. So next up is a European river cruise. Have any of you Crazies done one of these. I am checking different lines. Any thoughts on a particular line and what itineray would you suggest. I want to include Amsterdam in the trip. Appreciate any help with this. Thanks. .

[DebbieandJerry]

I have a friend who only travels in Europe by river cruises. She loves them. She says they get to stop at places that the big ships don't fit in. Rooms are smaller. Dining areas are much more intimate. No casinos, but plenty to do.

Most boats have a naturalist or a speaker who spend a lot of time telling you about the places you are going to visit.

She tends to travel with various alumni associations, even if she is not an alum. Says they put together the best plans.

[saltydog]

Thanks for the info. I think that is what we are going to do in 2014. I love the big ships but want to try something different. I like the idea of getting off the boat and being right in the town or city. Cheers

[DebbieandJerry]

I was reading a travel magazine in the dr's office yesterday and it had a host of river cruises that included from Amsterdam. My guess is that river cruising can be like the big ships in varying prices and itineraries.

[Jan115]

I would LOVE a river cruise but can't get the hubby to bite. I try to tell him it's a great way to cruise AND be up close and personal with the cities and places along the way. He likes all the things the big ships offer and thinks he'll be board. Guess I'm gonna have find someone else to go with.

[JohnG]

^{I have cruised southtern France on Uniworld from Arle to Chalon sur Saone, with stops in places like Avignon, Lyon, Hermitage, and more. My wife prefers red wine, so we sailed an itinerary in the heart of the French Rhone wines and ended up in the heart of Burgundy!. At the end we took a train to Paris for 2 days and stayed in the left bank. I sell lots of river cruises, too, and AMA Waterways is the leader, followed by Avalon and then Vicking. We were tied up right in town, had headsets to hear our guides on the free excursions included, and unlimited wine or beer with dinner. In Lyon we used the bikes onboard to ride around town after a tour. We enjoyed the daytime sailing along the rivers. I have e review of my Uniworld cruise posted here on CruiseCrazies reviews.}

Edited October 28, 2013 by JohnG

[WeCruiseToo]

So next up is a European river cruise. Have any of you Crazies done one of these. I am checking different lines. Any thoughts on a particular line and what itineray would you suggest. I want to include Amsterdam in the trip. Appreciate any help with this.

We’ve been on four European river cruises so far (with the fifth one just days away!) and we can’t recommend the experience highly enough! Here’s a link to our review of our first one:

http://www.cruisecrazies.com/cruise-reviews/browse-cruise-reviews/_/avalon-waterways/avalon-tapestry-april-2010-r498

I’ll try to get a couple more river cruise reviews posted (they need to be re-formatted to look good here).

Since you’re planning to visit Amsterdam you should consider springtime for the amazing fields of brightly colored tulips you sail past. Happy cruising!

[WeCruiseToo]

Rooms are smaller. Dining areas are much more intimate. No casinos, but plenty to do.

I’d have to look up the actual numbers, but I think our rooms on river cruises have been larger than most of the big ship cabins we’ve experienced.

[WeCruiseToo]

He likes all the things the big ships offer and thinks he'll be board.

On the big ships, we get those nifty daily newsletters listing everything you can do but sometimes we have no interest in doing any of those things (which is fine – sometimes it’s great to just lay on deck and relax).

In contrast on the river cruises, while there are fewer options, we find that we want to do absolutely everything that’s offered. And there’s no sea day “downtime” because there’s always something to see passing by just a few yards away on shore. We’ve never even come close to feeling bored on a river cruise!

[saltydog]

Wow. This is why I like this site so much. Good information from folks who have 'been there. done that'. Appreciate the replies. Will look into Avalon and Uniworld. Thanks again and hope you have a wonderful river cruise coming up.