Europe River Cruise info

This page on the Cruise Critic website lists several additional companies offering cruises on what the website ridiculously calls "Europe River." Google should get you all their websites. It's true that CC focuses mostly on ocean cruising but there's info there on river cruising as well. You might also google "Danube cruises," "Rhine cruises," and other rivers like the Seine and Rhone. Viking is the best known company, especially on this forum, since it advertises heavily in the US, including on the RS shows. But there are others, where you might have a better chance of meeting travelers from other countries.

We did a Danube cruise several years ago and had a good time, though we didn't think it was the best way for mobile travelers to see the places it went. Great cities like Budapest and Vienna deserve more than a day or two. While it was comfortable and easy, it also seemed more expensive than land travel would have been. We didn't have the problems others have reported with river water levels that sometimes convert parts of cruises into bus rides.

I found this site helpful: https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/comparisons/

He also has a book, which I have not read, but it might be useful.

I want to take a river cruise someday (also in my 40s) and I have narrowed down my two companies to AmaWaterways and Tauck.

We go on River cruises every year. We love Uniworld and Tauck the BEST. We've done most all the lines. PM me if you have more specific questions. If you are an AAA member - they are GREAT to work with on any line. Viking was OK, but not all inclusive and it was very Americanized as far as food and alcohol (which isn't always included like with Tauck and Uniworld)

When I have questions about cruises, I automatically go to VacationsToGo.com. They have the best computer system in the industry an sell more cruises than anyone. I may or may not buy the cruise from them. Most of our cruises in recent years have been repositioning cruises to Europe.

Go to the top right of their intro page and click on River Cruises. It'll take you to all the available river cruises.

We have never taken a river cruise due to the cost, however my sister took a cruse on Ama's newest ship to Budapest.

In addition to sources already mentioned, once I pick a river cruise that we will do, I research many river cruise companies.

I compare each cruise for quality, considering reputation and reviews, as well as prices PER DAY as well as what is included in the cruise.

Cruise lines like Tauck and Uniworld are excellent, but those lines are always priced significantly above what I can find with what I call the mainstream lines. These lines provide an excellent product for a more reasonable price.
I include AMA Waterways, Avalon, Viking, Vantage World Travel, Scenic and Emerald. Also, there are budget lines, of which the best is Gate 1. The budget lines provide a very good product, but slightly below the quality of the mainstream lines. Still, I know others that have done Gate 1 and love that company's product.

For example,
You might find this result with your research:

Smiliar length on the cruise with Tauck costing $5000. AMA $4000, Viking $3700, Vantage $3500 and Gate 1 at $2800.

We have done four river cruises and picked AMA once and Vantage World Travel three times. The AMA cruise was a little over what Viking and Vantage cost, but it was offered on more convenient dates. The other three cruises, I found Vantage and the lowest (didn't compare then with Gate 1) over Viking.

Another reason that Viking doesn't appeal to me as much is that they demand full payment a year in advance.

One thing that I always remember was a few years ago when many cruise lines doing river cruise in Central Europe had do cancel due to high water levels, not every line handled it very well. Check reviews, a couple of the high ranked companies did poorly making people take bus tours instead of cancelling.

Several of the cruising Youtubers have done videos on river cruising. Of the ones
i have watched, I think the one by Tips for Travellers is the best ( note the 2 l‘s in Travellers )

I’ve done three cruises with my mother on Grand Circle Travel: Vienna to Amsterdam, Budapest to the Black Sea, and Basel to Antwerp along the Rhine and Mosel. We found Grand Circle reasonably priced and with excellent itineraries and program directors and other staff. The one problem I personally encountered was that I prefer a more active itinerary; there was often a walking tour in the morning, and then mom wanted to go back to the boat for lunch and an afternoon nap. If I had been on my own, I probably would have stayed in town for lunch and museums or other sightseeing on my own. Most travelers on these cruises were in their 60s and up; the first trip I went on, my 15-year-old daughter was the youngest, but I in my mid-50s was the next youngest. This wasn’t a problem for me, but it’s something to be aware of. I’m sure that different cruise lines have different demographics.

Happy planning!

We had some friends that were on a Rhine cruise a couple of years ago and said they were on a bus more than the ship. The bus allowed more time in the towns, but there was the unpack-pack hassle and the meals were not as good.

Check out: https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com › water-levels

You do not mention budget level. But if u are looking for a well run tour company that does river cruises , I have had very good experiences with Gate One travel. Well priced , very good food but not gourmet, very clean cabins and ship, helpful and polite staff. It was not bare bones in anyway. We will be taking another cruise with them on the Danube in spring. Tulip cruise in 2019 was excellent.

We did an 8 day Uniworld Rhine cruise from Basel to Amsterdam 2 years ago in early November. Yes it wasn’t the cheapest option but was all inclusive - including excellent food, all alcohol (including spirits), a shore excursion every day, all tips - so you know in advance how much it will cost. Most days there was also an option for a paid excursion to somewhere like the Black Forest or the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ castle. On our trip there were quite a few friends travelling together. As the only two Australians on the cruise we liked the gentle encouragement to share a table for dinner and had a great time discussing fruit fly with two women from a Florida orange growing dynasty, arguing about whether South African or Australian wine was better with a mother and daughter from Johannesburg, and struggling to explain why Australia doesn’t have a Supreme Court with an attorney from California on her honeymoon. Friends have also highly recommended Tauck.

On our trip we travelled on the boat every day except in Cologne we had to catch a bus for half an hour to get back to the boat as the river was too low to dock at the scheduled wharf. The level of water in the Rhine seems to be getting more unpredictable and we did meet people who had to catch a bus all the way from Budapest to Vienna because of the river level.