Danube River - Avalon vs Amawaterways

Cruise Critic might be a better resource than the Forum. Good luck!

There are numerous YouTube videos comparing the various river cruise lines. I'd suggest doing a search there. Here's one for starters: https://youtu.be/QLpcDPN05wg?si=_oEkbcVMhcdGE7mw

We've done all the cruise lines. Tauck is our all time favorite as it's all inclusive and the food and tours and gifts and surprises are amazing. That said, they are about to price us out - but if you can afford Tauck - go with them.

We like both AMA & Avalon and usually base our choice on itinerary. They are pretty comparable. If i HAD to choose between the 2, I may give the edge to AMA, but you really won't go wrong with either one. Most people will steer you to Viking, but it has never been one of our top choices.

Our order of favorites is -
Tauck
Uniworld
Scenic
AMA = Avalon
Emerald
GrandCircle
Viking
Gate 1

Celebrity now has river cruises, but we have not tried them yet.

Just to confuse you further… I haven’t traveled with either of those, but we have done 2 river cruises with Tauck, and they are top notch. They are also top dollar, so if you are really watching your budget, they might not be your choice. Some of the things you get with them that many others don’t include: all tips for onboard personnel as well as local guides and drivers are taken care of; all alcoholic beverages are included, not just wine and beer and not just at lunch and dinner; most of their ships now carry about 104 passengers vs., for example, 190 on a comparable Viking ship; no additional charge for any shore excursions, including things like dinner at a castle.

Our first trip with them was a 14 day cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest. We literally could have done the whole thing without ever spending another dime aside from souvenirs. At places where the toilette wasn’t free, a guide was there with Euro coins to get us in. When lunch was off the ship and on our own one day, they gave us 20 Euros to cover it. This was in 2014 so I can’t swear they still do these things, but pretty much the upfront price, though higher, is going to cover almost everything.

May I add to the confusion? Both Danube River tours you mentioned begin in Budapest and end in Germany.....that is to say, the tours travel north or "upstream". Have you considered a Danube River experience that begins in Bucharest and ends in Budapest? Having "floated the Danube" from end to end, I found the lower portion.....from Hungary to Romania far more interesting.
Regarding Tauck......I found their prices prohibitive. They may offer an "all expenses included" format, but their price of admission is gigantic.

I did the Danube with Gate 1 and was quite pleased.

We sailed with AMA on Danube and really enjoyed it.

I have just come back from a Danube cruise with Riviera and couldn't fault it, and I'm picky! Itinerary was Budapest to Budapest, with various stops including Vienna.
Cabin (balcony) was good size, food was great, all staff were wonderful.
Couldn't recommend it higly enough.
There were one or two Americans, but mostly British.

We have done an AMAwaterways cruise some years ago and it was excellent. Haven't done Avalon.

I always compare 3 or 4 cruise lines for river cruises and Gate 1 Travel ALWAYS comes out the cheapest.
Also, our last river cruise on the Danube with Gate 1 was excellent. Also, after that cruise from Regensburg to Budapest we had a great six day bus tour of Romania.

COMPARE prices and what you get for the prices.

I don’t know a darn thing about river cruises which is why I love these posts, makes me read and look and learn and someday … maybe. I was commenting to a tourist here just the other day that when I walk the section of the river where all of the riverboats tie up that I am amazed by how many brands I have never heard of. At any given time there must be 6 different brands. Some of the ones I have never heard of look amazing and a from time to time I see some flying Ukrainian flags.

The Avalon trip has better stops in my mind. Well, the stops in Austria interest me. I’ve been to all of them and would again and wouldn’t mind doing it off a ship at all: https://images.globusfamily.com/Maps/Avalon/2027/WBNE.jpg The AMA Melodies cruise sounds better (that’s a pun) but the only stop that I would have any interest in is Vienna. I have been to Linz and Bratislava and Vienna and Vienna, sure, yes. The others … ehhh well, okay. https://www.amawaterways.com/eu/river-cruises/europe/danube/melodies-danube But Im not world traveler so ....

In either make it a two-week trip and start with a 3 or 4 nights in Prague, then spend 4 or 5 nights in Budapest. Before you pay for the extensions with the cruise companies check them yourself. I don’t know your dates but the best located 4 star in Budapest will run $150 to $250 depending on the date, when you book it and your taste; and you could do an equally well located nice 3 star for $100 and up. See how that compares to the extensions they sell. Prague might be a little pricier for the sort of hotel I would want.

Price is very important, since in my opinion all river cruise lines provide good service, tours and ships.
Comparing similar cruises from Regensburg to Budapest with one day in Prague prior to the cruise:
Tauck. 7,990 per person
Gate 1 Travel 3,849 per person
Grand Circle 13,899 for two persons, air fare included and two extra days on land.

Tried to get prices for Viking and AMAwaterways, but didn't want to give my email, name, etc.

I know Viking is always more expensive than Gate 1, since every time I have checked in the past 4 cruises they ranged from 15% to 45% higher than Gate 1.

You get what you pay for. Its like buying a car. If price was the determining factor we'd all be driving Nissan Versas. Nothing wrong with that if that's all you want or can afford. But a lot of people prioritize other things over price. Suggesting that they all provide the same levels of experience is just inaccurate. That's like trying to claim there's no difference between a Carnival cruise and one on Regent.

I can see exactly why price becomes a key factor on the river cruises. Honestly, their ships are all quite similar. Viking may have balconies, but because cabin size from hallway to the edge of the boat is pretty standardized (they all have to fit through the same locks) a balcony only takes away from the available square footage inside the cabin. That could be a plus for some and a minus for others. A few of the more "luxurious" ships may have a pool or hot tub. After these items, there isn't a great deal of difference on the actual ships themselves. Their passenger loads are fairly equivalent.

The ships pretty much follow the same itinerary, tie up at the same landings, and go on the same shore excursions. Anyone who tells you anything different has certainly had a far different experience than most of us. I found it interesting that the comparison about luxury vs. les luxury referred to ocean cruise lines and not river cruise lines. I think there is a reason why the distinction isn't as large on river cruises.

Small differences do occur in the amount of included beverages, included excursions, and onboard entertainment.

Some lines include airfare (the cost is built in) while others do not and you are free to make your own arrangements. Once again, each of these options will appeal to different types of travelers.

It is really worth continuing to do your research and finding what seems to be the best fit for you. I do encourage you to look at the actual cruise offerings and not the marketing hype. When it comes to strong, compelling marketing, no one beats Viking.

"You get what you pay for"

There is some truth to this, sometimes.
Yes, I can pay 4 times the airfare price and fly first class or a little less to fly Business class, rather than tourist, because I can then do more trips and see more places.

As for river cruise, we have take AMAwaterways, Gate 1 Travel and others and found them to be VERY similar in what we received for what we paid. For each, our boats were very similar, the dining was excellent, so was the entertainment and tour guides.

For our Gate 1 Tour of Egypt, that included a lengthy land portion, we stayed in 5 star hotels, had a university educated tour guide that was wonderful and everything was great. We didn't want to pay almost double to do Viking.

Our safari in Kenya and Tanzania with a local company was about 60% of what some of the high priced US or European travel firms offered and we had top hotels, a great guide and four of us had our own guide/driver in our own off-road vehicle with pop up top.

I am not saying that some river cruise lines might be a little better than Gate 1, but why pay double? I guess, if you are a multi-millionaire, it won't matter.

The ships pretty much follow the same itinerary,

No, not really. I vote for the Avalon stops (assuming that I looked up the right boats).

• Avalon: Nuremberg, Roth, Resensburg, Passau, Melk, Krems, Vienna, Budapest
• AMA: Vishofen, Passau, Linz, Weissenkirchen, Vienna Bratislava, Budapest

All the talk above is about amenities on the ships, and quality of ships … and of course, cost. Excellent to know but no talk of the stops and that tends to make me think that the onboard experience is more important than the destinations for many of those that do this sort of thing often. That’s okay too. Surprised me a bit but I guess it shouldn’t have because I am one of those that has traveled to a city for a particular hotel experience. Again, the forum is a great learning experience.

You get what you pay for ...

The better term is: "You get what you pay for, or less"

Another company, not mentioned above is TUI. They are a German company, but the cruises are entirely Eng!ish Language. It is an extension of the Marella brand for Ocean Cruises
They can certainly be booked from the US, although you may need an agent to do so.
They are at the budget end of the market, which is no bad thing.

Thank everyone for your feedback and tips. I love the honest and quick feedback. I did additional research as suggested and went with Avalon for itinerary. Thanks again!

Avalon for itinerary: wise decision.

Gary Bembridge on u-tube has an evaluation of river cruise companies that I found informative. We took an Emerald Cruise on the Danube River. The extras included were e-bikes at no extra costs, all gratuities and some alternate shore excursions. Some excursions were free and a few had an extra fee. We priced the river cruises through Vacations to Go. After taking a river cruise we found that the tight schedules for everything was not to our taste….but many people really like having all decisions made for the trip. Most of the cruising time is done at night, so seeing the scenery is limited. The noise level at dinner is loud since everyone eats at the same time at that meal. The river cruise was much more tightly scheduled than a bus tour.