European river cruise advice?

[braumeister]

You might skip the beer in favor of the Franconian wine

Bite your tongue!
With a username like mine, surely you can't be serious.

Actually, the Franconian beers are also unlike other Bavarian beers (but equally wonderful in their own way).

Our cruise will be on the Mosel, Rhine and Main rivers, so enough variety.

I'm extremely familiar with Munich, Bamberg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Garmisch, and a few others, so Germany is always a relaxed visit for me. This tour will provide a number of new cities I'm looking forward to.

 

[jjquantz]

Bite your tongue!
With a username like mine, surely you can't be serious.

Actually, the Franconian beers are also unlike other Bavarian beers (but equally wonderful in their own way).

Our cruise will be on the Mosel, Rhine and Main rivers, so enough variety.

I'm extremely familiar with Munich, Bamberg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Garmisch, and a few others, so Germany is always a relaxed visit for me. This tour will provide a number of new cities I'm looking forward to.

I would be interested in a report after you're back. This is one of the itineraries that we have some interest in for the future.

 

[Bamaman]

Our bike/barge trip ends near Koblenz. Now I have something other than cathedrals to look forward to. Thanks.

There's no better Spring afternoon than sitting at a table drinking incredible brew while watching tour boats on the water--whether it's on the Rhine River, the canals of Venice, Amsterdam or Copenhagen. They're some of the best memories of my life.

 

[braumeister]

I would be interested in a report after you're back. This is one of the itineraries that we have some interest in for the future.

Since this is our first river cruise, it's a very big deal. I'll be happy to give a report when we get back.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Bite your tongue!
With a username like mine, surely you can't be serious.

Actually, the Franconian beers are also unlike other Bavarian beers (but equally wonderful in their own way).

I enjoyed the rauchbier in Bamberg. Like a bacon-flavored dopplebock.

You've been to Prague, I see -- it was the starting point of our cruise and we also arranged to spend extra time there. One sight I insisted on to my DW was the ossuary at Sedlec. Amazing sight. The local tour guides combine it with a visit to the old Bohemian city of Kutna Hora. Have you been there?

 

[gerntz]

Neither of us have ever been to Paris, and we'll have two nights there at the start.

That's at least two too few unless you plan to go again for longer. We've been 4 nights once, 3 another time, & could go back for another 3. Just so much.

 

[braumeister]

You've been to Prague, I see -- it was the starting point of our cruise and we also arranged to spend extra time there. One sight I insisted on to my DW was the ossuary at Sedlec. Amazing sight. The local tour guides combine it with a visit to the old Bohemian city of Kutna Hora. Have you been there?

Not yet, but already on my list for next visit. The coolest place visited on my last visit was this amazing old library:
The World’s Most Beautiful Library Is In Prague, Czech Republic | Bored Panda

 

[Amethyst]

A tip-off is that the brochures, which come to our home by the dozens, contain only photos of gray-haired passengers.

Also, I don't know how old you are, but DW and I were, at 55 and 54, the youngest on the ship by a good margin. Way too many conversations included, "I have a son about your age."

 

[braumeister]

That's at least two too few unless you plan to go again for longer. We've been 4 nights once, 3 another time, & could go back for another 3. Just so much.

Good point, and we'll most likely be back another time. This trip is already long enough, and DW doesn't enjoy travel beyond about two weeks.

 

[Souschef]

River cruise

We have done a number of river cruises with Vantage, and like them.
We did a cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam, and enjoyed it. We have a trip story for that cruise. I have been told I cannot post the link for some reason. However, if you e-mail me, or PM me with your e-mail, I can send it to you.

 

[Rick_Head]

Did a Danube cruise from Bucharest to Budapest on Viking. Great trip.

 

[Sunset]

We did a Viking cruise. It was kind of like a bus tour, but without messing with daily packing, I would not expect many minutes where you can be on your own; they have included tours, scheduled meals, and scheduled transportation. That covers 80% or more of your time. You might find yourself outside of town (mooring location) and needing their transportation to get to a place where there is something to see. High or low river levels might make it a bus tour, and you've agreed to accept that in the fine print. I'm glad I went, but I'm not jonesing to book another. As to the cruising scenery, that was nice, but we found ourselves in dark slimy locks a good fraction of the time, and the top deck was closed mostly to get under bridges. That left the front deck, which could only hold 40 people.

Which cruise was this ?
Did you write up a report of your experience anywhere ?

I "think" I want to take a river cruise and have been looking at the Viking offerings. Somehow they got me on their list.

 

[Badger]

The other downside to river cruises are cost--with Viking 250% the fares of ocean cruises and Tauck river cruises that cost almost 5 times that of a regular ocean cruise. Add airfare and a river cruise is a seriously expensive vacation.

My wife and I would like to take a few river cruises but they are pricey compared to ocean cruises. However, the real killer of the deal is the high price of airfare since you fly in to one city and leave from another instead of round trip prices. We have been on a dozen ocean cruises but not taken those that did not originate and end at the same port for the same reason. Not being a round trip airfare often increased the cost by 50%+. Am I missing something here or do I just not know the secret?

Cheers!

 

[audreyh1]

My wife and I would like to take a few river cruises but they are pricey compared to ocean cruises. However, the real killer of the deal is the high price of airfare since you fly in to one city and leave from another instead of round trip prices. We have been on a dozen ocean cruises but not taken those that did not originate and end at the same port for the same reason. Not being a round trip airfare often increased the cost by 50%+. Am I missing something here or do I just not know the secret?

Cheers!

Yes, you missed something.

Flying into one city from the US, and returning from another usually costs about the same as a round trip ticket. So don't let that discourage you. It's sometimes referred to as "open jaw", and can be set up using "multi-city" on Google Flights.

 

[mpeirce]

My wife and I would like to take a few river cruises but they are pricey compared to ocean cruises. However, the real killer of the deal is the high price of airfare since you fly in to one city and leave from another instead of round trip prices. We have been on a dozen ocean cruises but not taken those that did not originate and end at the same port for the same reason. Not being a round trip airfare often increased the cost by 50%+. Am I missing something here or do I just not know the secret?

For our 14 night Viking river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest we paid $2990 for the airfare ($1495 each). Not a really cheap fare, but not outrageous either. This was flying from Pittsburgh to Amsterdam, then Budapest back to Pittsburgh. (fyi: price of the cruise was $10,175 for two).

Also FYI, we are going on a non-river cruise with Viking this late winter in the Mediterranean and are flying roundtrip from Columbus to Barcelona for $1580 ($790).

All air was booked thru Viking.

 

[Souschef]

River cruises

There are a number of reasons river cruises are more expensive. On ocean cruises there are many revenue points, such as casinos, shops, "art" sales, bingo, bars,etc.
Also the costs are spread out over 1500+ passengers, as opposed to 100 to 200.
But the small ship experience is great, you meet more of your fellow passengers. Also, there is a lot of free time, the excursions are normally a half day.

 

[Badger]

Yes, you missed something.

Flying into one city from the US, and returning from another usually costs about the same as a round trip ticket. So don't let that discourage you. It's sometimes referred to as "open jaw", and can be set up using "multi-city" on Google Flights.

Thanks for the information. I'll check Google Flights out and a few cruises too.

Cheers!

 

[audreyh1]

Thanks for the information. I'll check Google Flights out and a few cruises too.

Cheers!

We've done two of these recently. US to Amsterdam, return Munich to US. US to Paris, return Amsterdam to US. In both cases prices were the same as the US Amsterdam round trip would have been.

Google Flights is really good for pricing airfares. It can even show you how prices change over dates selected in the calendar view. Google doesn't book the flights for you, they just quote, then send you to the airline if you want to book.

 

[sengsational]

Which cruise was this ?
Did you write up a report of your experience anywhere ?

I "think" I want to take a river cruise and have been looking at the Viking offerings. Somehow they got me on their list.

I did actually write a review on cruise critic:

Reflections of an Ocean Cruiser - Viking River Review by sengsational - Cruise Critic

 

[sengsational]

Not being a round trip airfare often increased the cost by 50%+. Am I missing something here or do I just not know the secret?

I would not have gone on the river cruise except for that the airfare, booked by Viking, was included. I just got something in the mail from Viking that had airfare for $95 per person my city, and free airfare from big cities. Ask for "04D". All these were in April 2016. $375 to $450 per person per night. Seven, eight or nine night cruises available.

There are a number of reasons river cruises are more expensive.

Also, there are no minimum wage laws on the high seas, but the Viking staff on the southern France cruise were all getting French minimum wage or better. The ocean cruise I went on in Hawaii went to one non-US port to get around paying the US minimum wage.

 

[braumeister]

OP here again with the update.

Just got home from the "Cities of Light: Paris to Prague" cruise with Viking.

This was our first river cruise so we weren't sure what to expect. I would rate it "Met expectations -- barely" and even though it was enjoyable, I don't think we'll do another.

Due to high water, we didn't get on the Moselle at all, only the Rhine and Main rivers. I calculated that we spent over 24 hours on buses during the week of cruising, which was a real pain.

The ship itself and all the crew were wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time aboard. The shore excursions were good, but didn't include nearly enough free time in my view. That may be because of all the time spent on the bus.

It was interesting to meet a lot of folks on the cruise who have done many of these. One couple had made over a dozen river cruises, most with Viking and plan to do still more. So I'm clearly a minority. Just thought this thread should be closed with our impression.

 

[BigBob]

We did our first, the "Castles and Legends" tour from Austria to Budapest with Viking (got back less than 2 weeks ago). Agree with you on the overall. Barely. And "barely" with rating the crew. Lots of time on the bus as well, and determined that we are not the bus types (ages 53 and 55). We are also in the minority, and were a bit disappointed as everything we heard in advance about Viking was glowing. Maybe do a bike ride down the Danube next time instead. Thanks for your feedback - it confirms our thoughts as well.

 

[Meadbh]

Sorry to hear you both had an underwhelming experience. As I mentioned up thread, flooding can derail your river cruise and turn it into a bus tour. I have now had several friends report bad experiences with Viking.

 

[audreyh1]

OP here again with the update.

Just got home from the "Cities of Light: Paris to Prague" cruise with Viking.

This was our first river cruise so we weren't sure what to expect. I would rate it "Met expectations -- barely" and even though it was enjoyable, I don't think we'll do another.

Due to high water, we didn't get on the Moselle at all, only the Rhine and Main rivers. I calculated that we spent over 24 hours on buses during the week of cruising, which was a real pain.

The ship itself and all the crew were wonderful, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time aboard. The shore excursions were good, but didn't include nearly enough free time in my view. That may be because of all the time spent on the bus.

It was interesting to meet a lot of folks on the cruise who have done many of these. One couple had made over a dozen river cruises, most with Viking and plan to do still more. So I'm clearly a minority. Just thought this thread should be closed with our impression.

I appreciate the feedback. That's been one barrier for us - the shore excursion time. I remember reviewing the Viking Danube cruise and seeing that the time at Melk was too short, IMO, and I knew we wouldn't be satisfied with that. But then we tend to spend more time at sites than many folks, so doing things on our own is best.

 

[jjquantz]

Glad to hear the feedback. We did the Amsterdam to Budapest trip (2 weeks) and quickly learned to maximize our shore time by leaving the guided tours and setting out on our own. We were comfortable with this because I had (it turned out appropriate) confidence in my college German. We were able to cover a lot more ground and hit many sites that weren't on the tours. As others have said, high (or low) water that converts the experience into a bus tour has MAJOR negative consequences. We were lucky, we had great weather and no problems with water levels.

Immediately after we returned I wouldn't have rated the cruise any higher than you did. However, from a distance of almost two years, we are thinking that there could be another river cruise in our future, probably combined with a prolonged stay somewhere in Europe. Maybe a week long cruise and 2 or 3 weeks in a couple of cities.