Blue Danube River Cruise

I've not taken the cruise you're thinking of, but I did take a river cruise thru Russia 2 1/2 years ago and had such a wonderful time! I loved being on the little ship, and while it doesn't compare to a large cruise ship, the small ships are quaint and designed to let you make the most of the views you'll see and socialize with the new friends you'll meet. Even with my cheapest of the budget cruises experience, it was outstanding. My cruise was thru a Russian company, but it was identical in price and experience to a Gate1 cruise. (The ship I was on "contracted" with other companies, so there were several tour companies on the ship, including Gate1. We all did the exact same cruise and intermingled at times, but on included tours each tour company had their own bus and guide at our destination cities). I made friends with a woman on the Gate1 cruise, she had the same wonderful time I did, we just sat in different parts of the dining room for meals and didn't intermingle during group activities off of the ship). I had such a fantastic time- I have every intention in the world of taking a European River Cruise in the future. They can be costly, and the "optionals" can sometimes be a budget buster- especially the tipping. On the other hand, depending on the particular cruise and company they are all inclusive (to varying degrees) and I've not heard anybody complain after a river cruise, wishing they hadn't spent the money, or feeling like they didn't get their money's worth- and I've known many people who have done river cruises, both the budget cruises and the higher end cruises. Most of the companies offer the exact same cruise itinerary. The difference in costs usually comes down the luxury of the ships and the included vs. the optional. Research several of the companies and read the reviews. There are message boards specifically for cruising (cruisecritic dot com, I think) and they have a special section devoted to river cruises. That might help you decide.

I'm a bit confused - Prague is not on the Danube, so you can't do a boat cruise from Prague to Budapest. We did a cruise with Grand Circle Travel [highly recommend them] down the Danube from Budapest to the Black Sea, with a pre-trip extension of 3 days in Prague; that was a very good trip. Grand Circle has a trip that cruises from Budapest to Linz on the Danube, then a land transfer to Prague and 3 nights there; is that what you are thinking about?

We have been able to get on their e-mailing list and get notified of sales, which definitely helps bring the price down. Also, through early March Grand Circle is having some sort of early bird discount of "up to" $500 per person; not sure what that phrase "up to" really means but it probably depends on the level of cabin and length of trip.

We loved unpacking in our little cabin and having the boat carry us from place to place; the cabins are small but comfortable, and the food onboard was very tasty. We also enjoyed the staff and our fellow travelers. We have done a total of three tours with Grand Circle: Vienna to Amsterdam [2007], Budapest to the Black Sea [2008] and Rhine and Mosel [2012].

Feel free to PM me if you have other questions. Happy planning!

A couple of years ago we took a weeklong cruise from Budapest to Passau with Luftner Cruises (the ship was the Amadeus Diamond), and we enjoyed it a lot. Meals and wine/beer were included, as were tours of highlights of Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Durnstein, and Melk. We also paid for a day trip to Salzburg. Our cabin was on the bottom deck and the small window, high up, was just above the waterline, a little disconcerting at times but also fun to look out at water level. The food and service were excellent, and of course it was nice to sleep in the same bed for a week while visiting multiple places.

Much of the Danube is quite scenic, and we seemed to go through the less scenic parts at night. At some of the docks we were rafted out alongside other ships, so we had to walk through them to get to shore (or vice versa their people had to walk through us). The Vienna dock was actually some miles upstream, requiring a shuttle bus or tram ride into the center; the other docks were better located.

These cruises are expensive because the ships are small. We've done a lot of ocean cruises for a lot less $ per day, sharing a much bigger ship with 2000+ people. The Amadeus Diamond had about 100 passengers as I recall. We had fun and learned a lot about central Europe (our alumni tour, including a couple of lecturing professors, went on by bus to Prague and Krakow the second week). On balance, I don't think I'd do another river cruise in Europe because of the cost and because we don't really need the structure and service they provide. And, of course, not all the worthwhile places to visit are on big rivers! But as an introduction to Europe, especially to areas where you don't know the languages, cruising could be just the ticket. PM me if you want more info.