European River Cruises

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

We've all seen the commercials on TV from Viking, Avalon, etc.   Have any of you taken one of these cruises?  

My wife would like to take one of these, but I'm not sold on it yet.  

[mdmost 43001]

Interested as well. Wife wants to do this for our 20th anniversary in a few years. Specifically, the Rhine River cruise. She had a friend who went and said it was mostly old people but it was enjoyable. 

Edited January 12, 2019 by mdmost

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

Interested as well. Wife wants to do this for our 20th anniversary in a few years. Specifically, the Rhein River cruise. She had a friend who went and said it was mostly old people but it was enjoyable. 

I have no problem with the old folks since according to my kids, I’m old at 46. Lol. Most of those old ones are the travel types whom are pretty fit for their age and would put people much younger to shame. I’m also at that stage now where I rather be with folks closer to that age on a boat vs a bunch of screaming kids on conventional Caribbean cruise. Get off my lawn!! Lol.

[Telegraph_it 3357]

I was just over in Switzerland for Christmas/New Year and the wife, and I took a train to a few towns on the Rhein. First, the river is gorgeous, water is very clear, and you can see all the way down to the bottom. The towns were all done up for Christmas but from the few locals we talked to springtime is a big time for them. Easter festivals are a big deal, and there is a lot of activity as tourists come and go via river and train or whatever.

I could see a cruise being a lot of fun. Below is a picture I took over the river near Stein am Rhein.

 

 

 

 

[3adays 454]

I had a buddy recently do one of these cruises and he’d said you have to consider the water levels of rivers. If they’re low you’ll be getting off one ship and on to another in order to continue your journey. That involves getting bused from ship to ship. 

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

I had a buddy recently do one of these cruises and he’d said you have to consider the water levels of rivers. If they’re low you’ll be getting off one ship and on to another in order to continue your journey. That involves getting bused from ship to ship. 

Which would make sense to try to do one in the Spring when the rivers are flowing well with snow melt.

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Europe had a really dry 2018 and getting bused between ships was common this year.

Beware at late 40s you may be the youngest couple on the boat if you're not on one of the 'family' designated cruises.

Everyone I know that has done one has been mostly happy with the experience; age of fellow cruisers and water level related busing the top complaints.

Go read up at cruisecritic.com

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

15 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Europe had a really dry 2018 and getting bused between ships was common this year.

Beware at late 40s you may be the youngest couple on the boat if you're not on one of the 'family' designated cruises.

Everyone I know that has done one has been mostly happy with the experience; age of fellow cruisers and water level related busing the top complaints.

Go read up at cruisecritic.com

I read some stuff on cruise critic as suggested.

Some of the Asian river cruises like the ones that operate in Vietnam have my interest.   Those do appear to attract a younger crowd vs the Euro cruises for some reason.  Maybe it's the overall environment where Vietnam is kind  of a happening place and moving at a fast pace vs the more reserved and centuries old villages in Europe?  

Really the age of the passengers is secondary to me on these cruises which allow you to see a lot vs the Caribbean cruises which spend a lot of time at sea.  We are halfway at being empty nesters ourselves which means our kids will not be taking major  vacations with us as they used too.  As much as I loved traveling with our kids and have memories galore that I will forever cherish,   I've been kind of looking forward to the empty nest days for my wife and I to do more travel because we didn't get to do a whole lot of travel on our own as a young couple before kids because of cash flow. 

 

[6th Street 6401]

Very popular among retirees, Asians, and retired Asians.

[52-80 19158]

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

[dingleberryswitzer 2724]

On 1/12/2019 at 10:15 AM, Nueces River Rat said:

     

You guys  are slipping:  user name checks out.

[Spankytoes 1739]

If you're under 60, then know that you will be the youngest there. Exceptions are unmarried females with their mom doing a "girl's trip". 

For the amount of $ they charge, I would never do it. It's cheaper to travel to any place you want to see, in First Class, and just do a river cruise there. You can easily do London, Paris, the Rhine, the Danube, etc. A cruise would be hell on Earth for me though, so I'm biased. 

[texasdago 7573]

I have zero interest in regular cruises... zero... but European river cruises intrigue me since you're always close to scenery, getting on/off easy and the food is apparently excellent.  That said, yes, I'm not feeling like I'm in the correct age bracket yet.  Maybe sooner or later but not there, yet.

[Baboontyme 2812]

I'd be interested in a Swingers cruise. Where only I am allowed to swing, and only with hot chicks. Has anyone ever been on one of those. 

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

On 1/15/2019 at 8:55 AM, Spankytoes said:

If you're under 60, then know that you will be the youngest there. Exceptions are unmarried females with their mom doing a "girl's trip". 

For the amount of $ they charge, I would never do it. It's cheaper to travel to any place you want to see, in First Class, and just do a river cruise there. You can easily do London, Paris, the Rhine, the Danube, etc. A cruise would be hell on Earth for me though, so I'm biased. 

I'm not big on the Caribbean Cruise type thing, but I'll go if I get outvoted.  I don't like them for the simple reason you are "at sea" on most of the trip and I have my fill after a day on the water.  The rest of the family likes them for the simple reason it's pretty much turnkey.

Now the  ocean cruises that operate in the Mediterranean, South America, and Asia have more appeal to me since you have less days at sea and are able to take in more of the sights thanks to them being in port much longer and even overnight in some locations.  Plus it might be a quick and easy way for my wife and I to familarize ourselves with some of these destinations for a later land only trip down the road.  Once we become empty nesters and if my current business venture takes off, we plan on doing a ton of international travel.  

I think we will go ahead and try one of these river cruises.  Really the age of the fellow passengers won't bother me that much.  I'm used to being with an older crowd anyhow for the simple fact I'm a Gen X type born in 72 who was adopted by WWII generation parents when I was born where as most of the other kids  I grew up with were born from   pre or during Vietnam era parents.  So when it came to family gatherings or group vacations  with other familes, it was always slanted more towards an older crowd and if their grand children were not with them, I might have been the youngest person around.    Sure I'd prefer now to be with people around my own age group, but for 7 to 14 days if I have to be in presence of some of the older folks which in most cases will be retired or almost retired baby boomers or these river cruises, so be it.  And because many of them have $$$ and are still active in their profession, who the heck knows who we might meet which could be a nice business connection.

Edited January 16, 2019 by Nueces River Rat

[Nueces River Rat 5538]

On 1/13/2019 at 3:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

Pretty much something like this.   If we go, I'd like to also take in Prague as well as add on.

 

[MAROON 445]

http://www.canalcruisinginfrance.com/barge_size.htm

 

this seems like it could be a good time.  Hotel barges in Provence, Burgundy, Bordeaux, etc.

[Bernard 879]

The commercials look awesome, but I'd rather not spend so much of my vacation stuck on a boat with a bunch of other tourists. I'm sure there are lots of scenic views, but I'm sure there's lots of just chugging upriver though random countryside. I absolutely don't want to each all or even most of my meals on a boat in a room full of tourists. There are also real risks of not even being able to get up or down the river. Mother Nature doesn't always comply. In that case, they just stick you on a bus and drive you the pre-planned sites they've determined you want to see.

Bernard

[Jimbaround 975]

20 minutes ago, MAROON said:

http://www.canalcruisinginfrance.com/barge_size.htm

 

this seems like it could be a good time.  Hotel barges in Provence, Burgundy, Bordeaux, etc.

As a family we rented this one:  http://www.canalcruisinginfrance.com/barging/phenicien.htm

It was pretty bad ass, but you could probably walk faster than the boat travels.  Good food and a nice open bar for 7 days did not suck.

[texasdago 7573]

This is an alternative and its in Europe - https://www.amsterdamrentaboat.com/ 

[utee94 15823]

11 minutes ago, texasdago said:

This is an alternative and its in Europe - https://www.amsterdamrentaboat.com/ 

Looks like that's just the kind of cruise for @Baboontyme 

 

[texasdago 7573]

11 minutes ago, utee94 said:

Looks like that's just the kind of cruise for @Baboontyme 

 

I can confirm that its worth it, especially when you end up in the smaller canals and a tourist yells at you in some eastern European language after you plow into the side of one of the long tour boats.

[MirrOlure 14774]

No first-hand experience, but I have heard rave reviews from folks that use Tauk Cruiselines.....and these are people who I trust to give accurate reports.

[smwhorn 482]

Bumping this one.

Any intel from anyone on a European River Cruise?  We did the Danube just before Covid and it was great.  Looking for something to do in the French wine regions (or something other than the Danube).

[Chopper 17235]

5 hours ago, smwhorn said:

Bumping this one.

Any intel from anyone on a European River Cruise?  We did the Danube just before Covid and it was great.  Looking for something to do in the French wine regions (or something other than the Danube).

I want to do one of these

https://www.abercrombiekent.com/cruises/european-canal-barge-cruises/luxury-european-canal-barge-cruises

but they also offer small boat cruises https://www.abercrombiekent.com/cruises/connections-european-river-cruise-journeys/luxury-european-river-cruises

[Zepol87 9186]

Parents are doing on France late August. I’ll try to get more details to share 

[pch 1259]

On 1/13/2019 at 11:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

We just returned from this cruise (our first river cruise and first time with Viking).  Truly impressive/outstanding service from beginning to end on Viking.  Enjoyed Vienna, Salzburg, and Budapest. We had received information for twenty years from Viking and always said someday-now it will likely be where to next based on the wonderful experience we shared with our friends and the crew of Viking Atla.

[4th&Five 41551]

Wife and I have talked about it but don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of geriatrics. What were the demographics on board?

[pch 1259]

Just now, 4th&Five said:

Wife and I have talked about it but don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of geriatrics. What were the demographics on board?

I'd say the median age was 60 on our trip, with low end being 40 and high end 80+. It's definitely an older crowd.

 

[52-80 19158]

On 1/13/2019 at 10:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

a few years later my friends are taking this trip and meeting me at the end of it.  they must've lurked on this board.

[SurlyORama 164]

Getting ready to depart for Amsterdam later today. Doing an 8-day Rhine cruise on Scenic. Input from 3 separate couples is that it's wonderful, so fingers crossed.

[SurlyORama 164]

Followup, we really enjoyed it. MUCH better than an ocean cruise in our opinions. 

We are mid-late 50's, and were in the younger half of passengers. Although, there were a few younger than us, with the youngest couple in their 30's. That was never an issue at all. We found a few couples that we enjoyed spending time with, eating meals with, etc.

Food was great, drinks were good (if not great), and all inclusive. We have booked a Christmas Market cruise (Danube river, Budapest-Munich) with them in December 2024.

Edited April 24 by SurlyORama

[Sam Lin 3559]

My mom and family friends (no pics of any of them) absolutely love river cruises and only do those now. For them, it's better then taking a normal tour because no flying or bus time (and no security or luggage bullshit with flying), and the overnight hotel time is the boat sailing between destinations, plus you keep the same room the entire trip so you don't need to pack and 'move hotels.' So, more relaxed, and better use of total time. Plus the transit times have lots of boat activities (and food), vs being stuck in a bus or plane.