River Cruise Upgrade Rooms

We have just booked our first river cruise (Danube) for 2026.
We agonised over the choice of cabin.
The rear of the boat may be noisier because of the engine.
We do like to have a bit of space so that one of us can walk between the bed and the chair of the other sitting at the desk! Some cabins look a bit tight. And different ships and different companies have different specs.
The cruises are a minimum of 7 days, so it does matter to us that we are comfortable, so we shelled out!
This decision has been reinforced by a recent trip to Cornwall where our rooms were tiny!

We're about to go on our 7th river cruise, and have never had anything other than a standard room, by which I mean the most basic room ABOVE the water line. No regrets, and no desire to ever upgrade. When we're not on excursions or wandering around by ourselves, we tend to be up top or socializing in the lounge. Yes, the rooms are small, but we've managed and have saved a bundle over the years. I agree with the advice regarding the rear of the ship, we try to get a cabin more towards the front if possible. Also, since every river cruise line does this route, make sure you compare apples to apples when you pick your cruise line. For example, the one that does the most advertising (begins with a V) has several things that cost extra compared to some other lines, like tips and alcohol. Also, type of food differs on different lines, eg, native to the region or a general menu, although food tends to be good on any cruise line. I strongly recommend you go to Cruise Critic, which has reviews, articles comparing cruise lines, and other useful info. Also, there's a lot on Youtube for first time river cruisers.

Not sure which line you are planning on, but look at Google images of the different cabin types. Different strokes for different folks, but I just couldn't stay in a lower level cabin. Those windows are so high up, you need to be a basketball player to see out of them. And you have to expect a smaller square footage. Cabins are smaller than most US hotel rooms, full stop. But if cost is a serious limiting factor, and you can be happy spending most of your time either in the lounge or the top deck, then perhaps a standard cabin could work. And I'm afraid that river cruises are just a really expensive way to travel. There's no getting around it. But sometimes you just want to splurge out.

We've only done one cruise - Viking Amsterdam to Basel. Our experience was that the boat only cruised at night with one exception. It does that so that the boat will spend maximum daylight time at the ports for the excursions. Most of the Rhine is flat, or industrial, so not entirely scenic. The one exception was the middle Rhine Gorge - the part they show in the commercials with the castles and vineyards, etc. That was during the day and yes it was beautiful.

We had a veranda room. It was larger than any of the ocean cruises we've been on. If you want to see things you have to go to the top deck anyway. Often, we'd wake up in the middle of the night, open the curtains and be staring at a black concrete wall (the locks or dock) just inches away from our window.

Look at all the deck diagrams, and try not to be under the dining room.

I agree with CJean. I would not under any circumstance get a room mostly below the water line (what Viking calls the Main Deck).

Our experience is very similar to jcmdunc3's description. Rooms are small and not designed for a lot of hang time unless you are taking a nap. We are not big fans of balconies on either river or ocean cruises. We just don't spend that much time in our rooms. Now we friends who are exactly reversed. They love the balcony and order room service breakfast, often lunch, and think that is the only to go. We are boring. My preference is on the deck, under an umbrella, in the open air for my breakfast. For river cruises we always book standard room about the middle of the ship or more forward.

I suggest as general planning, heading to YouTube. There are a number of videos by Gary Bembridge, very well done, talks about the do's and don'ts and what to expect. "Adrian the Cruise and Travel Guy" also is pretty well known for his reviews. Cruise Critic would be the place to ask further questions.

Probably the biggest cautions for any first time cruiser, based on my research, is that river cruising is very different from an ocean cruise. Not only the obvious locale change, but the whole way the cruise operates. Experienced ocean cruisers are often left a bit disappointed, or at least have a bit of a culture shock. The other is that it is a very regimented tour. Basically much like a bus tour, just that your hotel is the boat...breakfast at a certain time, excursions on a schedule, lunch at a certain time, etc. This is not good or bad, but it is not just idle cruising. The advice to get not the cheapest room, but not the most expensive is in line with what I saw. While a big balcony might seem nice, while on the river, you are as likely to be up top, when moored for the night or day, you are as likely to have another boat a few feet away.

The other thing to get input on is risk of high or low water levels. It is now becoming a yearly issue to some degree. The Rhine was not deeply affected this year, The Danube had issues in May and June. The impact is that if water is too high or low, then your river cruise may turn into a bus tour. Some times of the year are more prone than others to water level issues, though there are never any guarantees.

My key point is not to be negative, just to say that knowing what to expect goes a long way towards not being disappointed. All the commercials promise nirvana on water, reality is different.

I would disagree a little bit with Paul's assessment. We had been on twelve ocean cruises around Europe before taking our first European river cruise. For us, it did not present any cultural shock or unhappy expectations from our ocean cruises. It is just a different way of handling the logistic. We did enjoy the more intimate aspect of 200 passengers and no assigned seating. And the happy hour at the bar was great. IMO, the river cruises are much more friendly. You have little choice since the spaces are so small. Breakfast was very causal and we rarely ate lunch on the ship so reduced times for meals was not significant and dinner time was typical of most cruises. You don't have the entertainment options available on cruise ships so after dinner entertainment is very limited.

High and low water can be a problem especially if you go early spring or late fall. The cruise lines are very experienced with dealing with water problems so it is not a major factor.