River Cruises

This is not a good site for cruise info. You may be lucky if someone doesn't rip on you for thinking about a cruise. Check Fodors under cruises as there is a fairly current discussion about various river cruise line. If you don't find it, send me a PM and I will forward the address. Our next trip probably will be a river cruise. A very pleasant way to go.

I've recently booked a river cruise with Viking. It is their Christmas Market Tour which starts in Amsterdam and ends in Basel, Switzerland. Have never been to Amsterdam so will be spending a few days pre-cruise there. Viking offered a pre-vist for $499.00 per person, but we preferred to do it on our own. I've never taken a river cruise and am looking forward to the Christmas markets. We are pretty independent travelers so this is a departure for us. Our friends have taken a river cruise with Vantage and loved it. So far, I am pretty satisfied with Viking's customer service. We paid an extra $100.00 per person to custom book our flights as we are frequent flyers with United. All in all, it seems like a good deal monetarily.
Please go to cruise critic to look for reviews for both lines.

I believe there's a group of us here that have taken river cruises through various parts of Europe, so I enjoy seeing quiestions from interested river-cruisers. However, I have no experience with the cruise line mentioned by the OP so can't help there. I was dragged kicking onto my first river cruise, and was pleasantly surprised by it. Taken two since, and am planning a couple more itineraries andthen I will have exhausted the rivers of Europe (that interest me).

Linda, I have no idea why anyone would think someone will "rip on you" for asking a question about a river cruise in Europe. For some reason, some posters think this Helpline is only for certain styles of travel within Europe..........but surprise, there are many of us that not only travel with guided group tours (Rick's company, as well as other brands), travel independently, and also cruise (large ships, small boutique ships, and yes, even river cruises). The webmaster can correct me if I am wrong, but river cruise questions are spot on. While I have not heard of AmaWaterways, several people I know have taken multiple trips with Viking and were pleased. My only river cruise experience is with Tauck Tours, which was very nice (as is everything they do). Conte Nast did a feature on river cruises within the last year and gave reader ratings,so you might want to check out a copy at the local library. Seems Uniworld scored highest (among those rated....Tauck was not rated). While I enjoyed our river cruise, and for certain itineraries I might consider another, I far prefer the land-based journeys offered through Tauck and Rick Steves' company. But some of the fellow passengers who had been on multiple river cruises preferred the unpack-only-once convenience. I personally like the discovery/experience of different locally-owned and/or high-end hotels every 2-3 days, and I prefer to enjoy most meals at local restaurants vs. having most meals on the river ship. I also prefer traveling with a group of 20+ vs. 100+ people. River cruises seem to pull those on the higher end of mature. It is also not unusual for river ships to be lined up side-by-side in busy ports. So, your fabulous view of Amsterdam can quickly turn into a view of the room in the neighboring river ship the next morning. Not a big deal, but less than great.

Linda, as you explore choices, ask the various companies if all excursions are included, and carefully compare what those excursions include......where you will go with one company will often vary significantly from a similar itinerary with another company ..are you on a bus with 50 other people just driving by a site, or will be actually tour a place with a local guide? Will you have to strain to hear, or do they use the whisper technology/headsets? It makes a big difference. It is my understanding that some river cruise companies charge for some land excursions....so what is included/what is not?. All was included on Tauck, including all but maybe one lunch on land. For one venue (Floriade), they even handed us each a E20 bill to cover our choice of lunch at the exhibition. Another day we had a truly wonderful lunch at an ancient chateau, tasting special wines from the chateau's wine cellar.........and we were the only group there. They also timed visits to various popular tourist places so as to be first in, which avoided the crowds, and made for a more enjoyable, private experience. Not all river cruises are as well planned. Ask about gratuities....all gratuities were included on our river cruise......for everyone and absolutely none were expected from local guides, ship personnel or the tour directors....even hotel baggage handling was included. Also the first night hotel stay was included, as well as private transport from the airport to the hotel and then from the river ship to the airport......nice!!! I'm pretty frugal, but sometimes one winds up saving money in the long run by going with a higher-end company, and at the same time enjoying some fabulous, truly memorable experiences. You are smart to be asking questions and comparing brands.

Linda, I just Googled and found the Conde Nast article that rated river cruises (along with regular cruises). The first set of ratings are for regular cruise ships, the second for river cruises. You can click on each ship and read more. Generally Ama ships didn't score has well in this poll. http://www.cntraveler.com/cruises/polls/2012/top-100-cruise-ships-in-the-world You'll probably have to cut/paste the link into your browser, since it won't do a hotlink from this Helpline. This will save you a trip to the library :)

Thank everyone for your help. Margaret, you offered several good points to think about. We have been on the large cruise ships but we have not taken a river cruise. We are in our early 60's and do enjoy the large ships and the entertainment at night. We were concerned with the age groups on board a river cruise as someone mentioned. I will also checkout Fodor's site. Thank you!

We returned last week from Europe. We took our first ever cruise from Amsterdam to Basel with Uniworld - 'Castles along the Rhine'. It was an 8 day cruise, which I have to say, exceeded all my expectations. The level of service in all areas was beyond first class, as was the level of accommodation and meals. Everything including wines, beer soft drinks was included for lunch and dinner, as were all the guided tours of the various towns on route (Cologne, Koblenz, Ruddesheim including a visit to the winery Schloss Vollrads which was situated in a magnificent castle, Speyer, Gemmersheim, Strasbourg, Kayserberg, Riquewhir and Colmar. There were 'choice' tours which were extra to Heidelberg, Marksburg Castle and the Black Forest. Gratuities were not included. We decided what we wanted to give and not be guided by the ships' recommendations. As is the case when going on organised excursions, time is limited in a lot of places you visit. However, as the boat generally spent the best part of day in most places, you were free to explore at your own leisure. They also provided bikes for those inclined to strike out on their own.
For the rest of time in Europe (Switzeland) we did our usual independent traveller thing. Must say, I didn't mind someone else organising my days for me for 8 days for a change.

The reason someone might "rip on you" for discussing a river cruise is because this is one of those special topics that can generate a lot of strong opinions for whatever reason...similar to rail versus car or rail versus plane. If you watch the Burt Wolf series on PBS, he travels on AMA river boats. Go to burtwolf.com for info on his cruise lineup for 2012, which you can join and help support PBS...interesting short video. I believe RS now has a book about cruising...not sure if it just Med or if it includes river cruising, too.

I have most of RS's guides and always follow his good advice. I did not know RS has a book on cruising. I will have to look for it. I have seen BW's PBS shows and did not know about his use of AMA. A friend of mine recently told me about AMA, and I had never heard of this line. As I said before, I have never done the RC so this message board has given me some good information. Thank you!

After looking, I see RS's book is on cruising Med. as you thought.

I am not familiar with Ama. However, I highly recommend Grand Circle river cruises (similar to Viking) if you are of a certain age. Most of the travelers are in their 50's and above...We have been on three of these cruises & have planned two more for this year. Some older passengers have traveled with Grand Circle over 30 times! Food & service are excellent. Grand Circle program directors (guides) are on a par with those we encountered on our 7 Rick Steves tours. Although most Grand Circle customers are from the U.S., the captain & most of the crew are European. Caution: If you are younger than 55, you might feel out of place (or you might be treated like a celebrity by the older travelers).