Best River Cruise Line

River cruises are different than Bahamas cruises with all the faux glitz. Grub comes three times a day at set times because they have to make sure you get to see the sights. There's a schedule to keep rather than the need to entertain you between straw markets.

I've passed on Viking in favor of Gate 1 Travel and Grand Circle Travel (based on dates, I think, it's been a long time). Had one friend tell me since that they were disappointed with Viking, but it was more of a personal thing. Tour guides probably change, but all were okay.

Jeff, kind of an interesting question. You are booked on a Viking but now you are asking about the best cruise line? I would like to know that also. We are just back from a presentation for Uniworld River cruises. They "seemed" very impressive with great photos. Have you looked on Cruisecritic?

I've looked at several sites, but nowhere is there a comparison among the various lines. You can find ratings on the big ships (Princess, Holland, NCL), but not the river cruisers.

Frank, Uniworld is a great company to travel with! A couple of their river ships are brand new (or within a couple of years old). In my experience, Uniworld is big on tour guide excellence and I wouldn't hesitate to go with them.

Have done two Viking cruises. Both were lots of fun. The one on the Rhone/ Saone was excellent. Great guides, lots of alone time, and a very nice ship. Did another ont eh Danube and due to extremely high water, we were shuffled to two boats, and then bussed around Austria. Not really Vikings fault, however.

I though that the food was comparable with an ocean cruise ship like Holland America, but better than a Carnival or Royal Caribbean. It is true, there is no "anytime dining." That was not a problem for us as we tried to dine in town when we got the chance.

Jeff

We did a Rhine River Cruise with Uniworld in 2007. We had a wonderful time and were very happy with our choice. The food was excellent but you are correct, the meals are basically the only times to find food as opposed to larger cruise lines.

We traveled with our 2 daughters (18 &20 at the time) and they also enjoyed the trip even though there were not many others their age. The crew went out of their way to ensure our happiness (granted they're looking for a nice tip at the end of the cruise, but it's in a sealed envelopes so they don't know who gives and who doesn't or how much).

We would like to do another river cruise and I would certainly use Uniworld again.

See my post under "Viking cruise line?" for my thoughts. Neither Vantage nor Grand Circle deal with travel agents or cruise discounters; that's one reason their prices are lower. I've cruised twice with Vantage and Three times with Grand Circle. I enjoyed the food each time. The staff really aims to please and they do a good job. Breakfast is buffet style with a special each morning you can order and an omelet station. Lunch and dinner are usually table service, but a few buffets.
Let us know how you like Viking! Enjoy your trip. JKR

I've done 2 river trips with Grand Circle, and both were excellent: Vienna-Amsterdam and Budapest-Black Sea. Delicious food [as Jodi mentioned, breakfast is a lavish buffet; lunch and dinner are at set times] and very good program directors. Most of the onshore activities are included as part of the cost, but there were usually 4-6 optional tours one could purchase [for example, a day trip to Heidelberg]. Have a great trip and let us know how it went!

Jeff, did you go on your river cruise? Did you take Viking? What did you like and not like?

I think it's generally best to speak to a near-expert before you part with so much money. I've dealt with Cruise.co.uk before and they encourage you to talk about what you like/ don't like and what to expect on each cruise so if you're still in need of info you can check out these travel specialists for cruises and just talk to them without having to book. I did book, but that's irrelevant :p I've heard some very good things for Tauck but still enjoyed the Viking cruise; they offered what I wanted from a holiday. Edit: Added the river cruise url link! Doh.

Two thumbs up for Grand Circle Travel. We did the Rhine/Mosel River cruise, food was far better than just "good". We also did their Scandinavian tour. Can't imagine a better time for either.

Why do you think Stuart, who is posting for the first time, dug up a three year old question. Duh!

Hmm? It may be an old question but I can still give my two cents. I found them useful. /shrug

I don't know why this has become such a hot topic after three years, but in the interim, I've gone on 1 Viking Cruise on the Seine, 1 AMA Cruise on the Danube, and this summer, I'll be taking a Uniworld Cruise on the Rhine. The Viking cruise was a disaster for too many reasons to mention. In fairness, others who had previously cruised with Viking said this one was their worst experience and should be regarded as an anomaly.
The AMA cruise was wonderful, and we would use them again. The Uniworld cruise is being taken as a favor to our friends, but an almost identical trip on AMA was cheaper. We'll see if it is worth it.

Jeff,
My father and took a Uniworld cruise, Budapest to Amsterdam, in the fall of 2007. Loved it! Although two optional day trips were offered along the way, no one on our trip took advantage of them. Each stop, we had a guided tour of something in the town with plenty of free time to explore a bit, shop or eat locally if we wished. Our stateroom was lovely, the staff terrific. The choices of attractions that we were guided to was very nice and some of the places we visited on that trip are not offered by any other group or are listed as a pay-extra excursion. The food was ok, comparable to cruises on the big ships, with some meals that featured local foods being outstanding. I would definitely cruise with Uniworld again but it will be a while. Hubby and I headed over to Germany and surrounding countries for a month-long backpack trip, leaving in ten days. Just us, no guides, very loose schedule. Hope you have a great time.