River Cruise Companies in Europe - choices? Gate 1

No and it is hard to compare. We have been on two Viking river cruises and were very pleased.

We have been on multiple river cruises, but all have been with Viking, with which we have been very pleased. You state that the "ambiance of their cruises mesh with my style"; so, go with them. Enjoy your cruise!

~Darrel

We have River Cruised with Gate1, Viking, Uniworld, Tauck, AMA. You get what you pay for with Tour Companies.

We have been on tours with Rick Steves, Tauck, National Geo., Road Scholar, and BackRoads - all great, just VERY VERY different.

We have a friend who is a TA at AAA and we had her do a spreadsheet for us a couple years ago - she broke down Viking, Tauck, Avalon, AMA, Uniworld, Scenic for us. By the time it was all done - it was almost a 'wash' by the time you added in the excursions, tips, any alcohol you may want, etc. You really can't go wrong as you are in Europe and it will be great. It really depends on what type experience you want.

Our order of favorites are Tauck, Uniworld, AMA, Viking, Avalon, Gate1. Tauck and Uniworld are all inclusive - all top shelf unlimited 24/7 alcohol, all tips, all port charges, all meals, all excursions, history walking tours are paid upfront. The food and alcohol and tours in each town was much better on Tauck, with Uniworld a close second.

We especially love the Tauck Danube Christmas Market River Cruise. We have done 9 River Cruises and have 3 more booked.

We really like an all inclusive trip. But you will enJOY whatever you choose I'm sure.

We have been on Gate 1 cruises and have been very happy with everything. Dad had been on a cruise with another line doesn't remember which one and felt it compared favorably.
The ship is lovely and we enjoyed the food. Dad and I were just talking about this as we just booked Viking for an area Gate 1 doesn't have and we were wishing Gate 1 had it.
If you are concerned that you are going to feel like the ship and food are low end, it is not. Never felt like we were in a Motel 6 while the Viking ship next to us was a Hilton.
All things considered I would not hesitate to go woth Gate 1. One caveat...we were happy with just alcohol included with meals only and no alcohol package.

We’ve traveled with Scenic USA and they are excellent. As someone said, you get what you pay for.

We did a Rhine River cruise with Gate 1 last fall. For our purposes, it was fine. We don't want to dress up for meals, and we don't expect much entertainment. But what they offered was fun and interesting. And those that were more into nightly entertainment seemed very satisfied. The walking tours in each port were informative and, again, were all we needed as we also like to explore on our own. The staff/crew were very friendly and accommodating to any request. I was particularly happy when they resolved a problem we had with a very noisy air vent (rattling when the boat was moving which was mainly at night). They ended up putting us in a suite for the rest of the cruise at no extra cost.

Just want to comment on ' you get what you pay for'. I often hear that said when someone has taken the cheaper option and been unhappy.
So hard to compare and recommend because 1) different people place different importance on different things 2) my idea of nice might be different than yours.
Makes for interesting conversations. That said.,Dad and I ,who travel a lot, never felt that Gate 1 was cheap or less than a lovely high end experience. Everything was great.
I think that the pictures and info in their brochures are accurate . Dad and I felt the walking tours were informative but they are not what a Rhodes Scholar tour would present. We are going on another in October and then a Viking in April. Will let you know what I think.

Cruise Critic has a good review of Gate 1 and Viking so you can compare and contrast both lines. Reading the review I would choose Viking over Gate 1.1

I know a group of older women who only travel through Gate 1. they did a river cruise on the Seine and a land tour of Scandinavia this year and were happy with both. They are going to Slovenia and Croatia in September with Gate 1.

I watched a you tube review of this German river cruise company, Nicko River Cruises, and it was quite interesting. About 1/2 the price of the conventional river cruises. Both English and German are spoken on board.

This is a link to the video I watched
https://youtu.be/MlyC2Ey15a8

Prices and what the traveler gets may be a wash, but the traveler should look at what each company includes. For example, I enjoy a cocktail as much as anyone, or more, but we were glad we did not opt for the "silver spirits" package with Viking. We did have a credit from our travel agent and that was sufficient for the couple of beers or cocktails we had between meals for the entire trip. We would have never gotten our money's worth with the silver spirits, and the addition of 24/7 drinks, etc. on Tauck, now having been on a river cruise isn't that much of a draw for us.

@jules m - This is why I love Scenic. It is all inclusive - no tipping, no paying extra for excursions, all alcohol included except the most premium and I don’t know what that is because I am not a big drinker, free wi fi, guest laundry facilities. You may pay more up front for Scenic but the other cruise lines will get your money one way or another. Once we are on our trip with Scenic we don’t have to think about anything but enjoying ourselves.

Wow, I knew this was the place to ask my question. Thank you all for your insight and tips on comparing cruise companies. All inclusive is not a big draw for me. Looking at schedule and where each cruise line offers for the shore excursions in the cities I’m interested in, is way more important to me than what is included in the way of onboard entertainment and/or drink plans.

The decor of some cruise lines seems so dated to me. I like a more contemporary look and it seems like most of the ships Gate 1 uses fit that ambiance. I’m not a very big drinker; wine or beer or even NA drinks are what I gravitate to more often than not these days, although my potential traveling companion does like martinis and mixed drinks. So there is that. Maybe my cousin could add her own drink plan(?)

I would plan on spending 2-3 days on each end of the cruise to explore the particular city the cruise departs and arrives from. Thinking of Regensburg to Budapest or vice versa.

Some of the cruises offer booking airfare from certain hub cities and if booking through them, the airport transfers are included (or not). So, I’m also weighing the option of having the cruise line book my airfare versus doing it myself. I wonder if the cruise line will still book the airfare if I should start the cruise a couple of days after arrival in the country. A lot to think about.

This is very early stage planning. Looking at Spring or early summer 2024.

Linda- it certainly isn’t too early- many rooms are already booked on river cruises for next year. We book ours at least a year out to get the room category we want.

“it certainly isn’t too early- many rooms are already booked on river cruises for next year. We book ours at least a year out to get the room category we want”

Just echoing what ChinaLake67 said. We already booked a Viking cruise for 2024 and two for 2025. We like Viking and have done seven cruises with them so far (river, ocean, and expedition). They are running a special now with just $25 down to book.

Check out the reviews on Cruise Critic. Hope you enjoy your trip with whichever line you choose!

In regards to the air travel, given cruises and tours, of any brand, are a bit costly, I think it makes sense to arrive a few days prior to the start of the cruise. This protects you from any airline changes that would cost you time on your tour and also allows you time to get over any jet lag. If you book the air along with the cruise, or take the company's "free" or reduced airfare, you are at the mercy of the flights they pick for you. Viking makes you pay a "deviation" if you'd like to do something different from what they give you for the air travel. I also noted that folks on my cruise had some really awful itineraries, like having to leave the ship at 5am on the last day. So, I like to book my own air. Viking and likely the others will say they include all transfers. Most of the time, it is very easy to get to the ship from the airport given Europe's easy public transportation system, so the "included" transfers don't mean much to me, either. Now, if the deal with included air is so amazing, that's another story. I'd maybe take it and pay the deviation. Just some food for thought.

Yeah, I will probably book my airfare separate as I’m pretty good at tracking flight prices. Traveling from the West coast also presents dynamics to the trip as a whole.

I’ve also wondered about river height and the possibility of the cruise turning into a bus trip. Small survey here, who has had that happen to them and what time of year was it (if that even makes a difference)?

We had an excellent experience with a river cruise on AMAWaterways. We also have taken two with Viking, one was ok, the other terrible, so I am afraid to risk booking with Viking again.

As far as the rivers being low- it can happen anytime. We’ve had it happen to us in June, Sept., and Dec for the Xmas Market cruise. It’s impossible to predict - but they always have and are prepared for alternate plans. We were on a luxury motor coach- not a bus for a couple days and stayed in 5-star hotels - the itinerary didn’t change- we got lots of surprises along the way and a credit also. It has never ruined our trip.

We have had both situations in Oct -- high and low water. On the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise in late Sep we hit low water around the canal. We were told/asked to pack our bags and leave in the middle of the bed, boarded buses for the day and saw somethings that were not on the list because we were much further inland than the original plan. Had a lovely lunch in a German town, later visited a reconstructed village and finally arrived at a dock with our boat sitting there -- but the name of the boat had changed. The same staff greeted us, handed us our room keys, and our rooms had our luggage in the middle of the bed. Had dinner later and nothing changed. The boat from Budapest had hit the same low water spot so we just change boats -- very smooth, and saw something we would not have seen except for this situation.

The high water occurred around Lyon in southern France. About midweek the Captain warned us that he had concerns about one of the rivers we were scheduled to be on. There were severe thunderstorms occurring much further north and he was concerned that the raising river water would create problems with a very low bridge we had to go under Thursday night. We failed by a couple of inches. So the next day was all on buses but we saw the things that were scheduled to see but still a long day on a bus. The following day we cruised back to our home port and got off. The boat companies are very experienced with dealing with water situations. If it happens, it happens. There is little that anyone can do but adjust. Both were Viking cruses.

The only kind of cruise I have any interest in is a river cruise, so this and similar questions get my attention.

Alas, no company I've explored so far has any options for solo travelers beyond paying for 2 people, so it may not be possible for me. I'd gladly pay for one plus a single supplement like I do for RS tours, but that doesn't seem to be an option. Whine...☹️

LO -
That's another reason we love Tauck -- there is NO SINGLE SUPPLEMENT. We have a single friend who travels with us - she pays the same thing we do. Now, you have to book the Cat. 1 rooms, but, trust me - the rooms are great. Tauck is also ALL INCLUSIVE.

We've been on Gate 1, Viking, AMA, Avalon, Uniworld, and Tauck - Tauck is our favorite.

Lo, I have been exploring some of the links given above and also taking a deep dive into Gate 1 River cruises for a cabin with single occupancy and they do offer single cabins on the main deck in the back of the ship with a lookout window (no balcony or Juliet balcony). So, very basic but is possible to travel solo on their Danube river cruise with no additional charge for single.

Edit: my search link didn’t work but here is the main site

https://www.gate1travel.com

Thanks everyone who piped in for my question of river height and the impact it may have on the tour. Guess it is what it is. A river cruise still sounds good to me and I will forward my research onto my cousin.

Linda, we’ve done two Viking river cruises, Rhine (October) and Seine (December), no issues with water levels. We’re booked for the Nile in September 2025.

Lo, I've read that on occasion Viking offers options for single travelers but you’d need to call them to find out where/when. There's a guy on Cruise Critic who frequently travels with his partner and mother-in-law.

I just want to comment quickly on the Viking airfare deviation cost. Pre-Covid, we took a Viking river cruise as an extended family trip and wanted a few days on our own at the beginning. Viking's airfare cost was very reasonable and the deviation cost was really minimal. I no longer remember exactly how much the extra charge was for the earlier flights, but everyone in the family was surprised at how little we paid.

HK, I was told the Viking deviation was $50/person plus any price difference in fare. The bigger annoyance, was that I was told I had to pay for the deviation and then they would come back with options, so that I wouldn't know what I was getting prior to paying for it. This was at least 5 years ago, so things may have changed for the better or worse.