Crystal cruises

[braumeister]

We took our first European river cruise last year on Viking (Paris to Prague) and enjoyed it so much we booked another one for this year (Rhine Getaway).

Just received a very interesting brochure from Crystal and I'm considering one of their trips for next year. I like the way they make them all-inclusive so you don't have to worry about tips, etc. and I really like the huge variety of shore excursions, most of them free.

Has anyone used Crystal for a river cruise?

 

[audreyh1]

Loved Strasbourg. Do you start there?

OK I see - Basel or Amsterdam.

Strasbourg is a bigger city, although not at all huge by French standards, but the old historical section was lovely.

We spent a week in the surrounding Alsace region and thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

[braumeister]

Yes, we're going Amsterdam to Basel. Looking forward to Strasbourg, never been there.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, we're going Amsterdam to Basel. Looking forward to Strasbourg, never been there.

La Petit France section of Strasbourg is really neat.

And depending on your fancy, you can enjoy fine French cuisine, or the traditional Alsace German-style food served in giant portions.

Of course Amsterdam is great too, and I know it well. Can't say much about the cuisine unless you go for ethnic fare, but the sightseeing, museums, canals, walking, etc. are all great. And everyone speaks amazing English.

 

[braumeister]

And everyone speaks amazing English.

Lucky break! My English is at least passable, so I should survive. My Dutch is execrable.

 

[Sunset]

We just used Viking for the 14 day Budapest <-> Amsterdam cruise.
It included free air and (gratuities or alcohol or credit), we took the gratuities.
They include free beer/wine with lunch and dinner.

I had been following it over the years and the free air was the kicker for me.

Now of course I'm interested in other company river cruises as well.

 

[Hopeful]

We just used Viking for the 14 day Budapest <-> Amsterdam cruise.
It included free air and (gratuities or alcohol or credit), we took the gratuities.
They include free beer/wine with lunch and dinner.

I had been following it over the years and the free air was the kicker for me.

Now of course I'm interested in other company river cruises as well.

Their itineraries always have intrigued my wife. I have always been worried about the age group of a Viking cruise. What are your thought on a late 40s early 50s couple taking a Viking cruise?

 

[braumeister]

Their itineraries always have intrigued my wife. I have always been worried about the age group of a Viking cruise. What are your thought on a late 40s early 50s couple taking a Viking cruise?

On our Viking trip last year there were at least as many under 60 as over. Including some 20s and 30s. A pretty diverse crowd these days as river cruising has become more popular.

 

[Hopeful]

On our Viking trip last year there were at least as many under 60 as over. Including some 20s and 30s. A pretty diverse crowd these days as river cruising has become more popular.

Thanks! That is good to know. Maybe I will look into them after all.

 

[Nemo2]

Chronological age does not necessarily coincide with stereotypical perceptions.

 

[athena53]

Chronological age does not necessarily coincide with stereotypical perceptions.

I agree. I've been on 3 cruises with UnCruise Adventures (small ships, unpretentious, very focused on nature and activities such as hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc.). It's mostly 50 and older because they're expensive and you have to be pretty well-established to fork over the money, but we had a lot in common- outdoors people, active, curious, interested more in nature than shopping. That applied to the 20-somethings as well as the wonderful 82-year old lady who participated in everything except that she was unsteady on a stand-up paddleboard.

I'm sure you'll find the same thing on the river cruises- a lot of interests in common regardless of age because of the types of people who are drawn to this mode of travel.

 

[Sunset]

Their itineraries always have intrigued my wife. I have always been worried about the age group of a Viking cruise. What are your thought on a late 40s early 50s couple taking a Viking cruise?

There were some under 60 folks on the river cruise, but honestly it's not a dating cruise, so we didn't care about age.
Everyone was pretty keen on the tours and just being a tourist.
Some folks commented on the cruise, how we were very active, as we would hike up to some castle after the walking tour (if we could make it back to the boat before it left).

The cruise split off what they called the gentle group (handicapped, not mobile) folks into a separate group so that these people could enjoy touring without some of the more difficult walking parts.

The important thing to realize is there is no casino and pretty limited nightly entertainment, but we were getting up at 6:30 am each morning, so we didn't mind as supper was often 7pm.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Just looked at Uncruise and super expensive. I could take a lot of regular cruises for the price of one with them.

 

[audreyh1]

Just looked at Uncruise and super expensive. I could take a lot of regular cruises for the price of one with them.

Yes, but some of us wouldn't consider going on the other "regular" cruises at all.

 

[kcowan]

I agree. I've been on 3 cruises with UnCruise Adventures (small ships, unpretentious, very focused on nature and activities such as hiking, kayaking, snorkeling, etc.). It's mostly 50 and older because they're expensive and you have to be pretty well-established to fork over the money, but we had a lot in common- outdoors people, active, curious, interested more in nature than shopping. That applied to the 20-somethings as well as the wonderful 82-year old lady who participated in everything except that she was unsteady on a stand-up paddleboard.

I'm sure you'll find the same thing on the river cruises- a lot of interests in common regardless of age because of the types of people who are drawn to this mode of travel.

On our VBT Moselle biking/barge cruise, there were several in the 70s. Youngest was mid-40s, except for the son of a couple who was 30.

 

[athena53]

Just looked at Uncruise and super expensive. I could take a lot of regular cruises for the price of one with them.

Yes, it is. Part of it is that it truly is all-inclusive other than a gratuity (which is NOT automatically added to your bill). The other is that the crew are mostly Americans (and some of the ships are flagged in the US) and many of the crew have advanced degrees in such fields as marine biology. They don't come as cheap as people from developing countries on ships flagged in Whooziwhatsistan. Food is high-quality and locally-sourced when possible. Excursions are nature-based, not tanzanite-shopping expeditions, and sea otters don't give kickbacks to the cruise line. I happily pay for that experience- even with the higher cost of being a single traveler.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now- but I already put down a deposit on my 4th cruise with them!

 

[RockyMtn]

We took a Uniglobe River Cruise a couple of years ago. All inclusive and nice boats. Probably a bit more expensive than Viking and Avalon but worth it in my mind. Had a ball!

Book through Costco and if Executive member get a couple extra days in a hotel on the front or back end and some ship gift shop credit!!!

 

[braumeister]

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now- but I already put down a deposit on my 4th cruise with them!

Well put.
We've done two Lindblad expeditions the same way. First was the Alaska inside passage with an extension to Denali. Then a second this year to Galapagos.

Both were completely awesome and exceeded our expectations in every way. Having National Geographic trained photographers and very experienced naturalists on board -- you can hardly put a price on that. And with the small ships you just about get to know all the other passengers by the end of the trip even when it's not much over a week.

Similar situation when we chose a fantastic outfit for a week long rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. The boatmen (and women) were so knowledgeable about the geology, wildlife, history and folklore they were able to keep up a running commentary the whole time. We enjoyed it so much we went back and did it again about five years later.

Nothing against the "normal" cruises on big ships if you like that sort of thing, but we tried it once a long time ago and said "Never again!"

 

[Teacher Terry]

When we take cruises the excursions are picked by us so we also choose nature based ones. I would never spend all that $ for a trip and then shop. Yes some people just get off the cruise ship and walk into town to shop. We always find interesting people to hang out with and love the nightlife on a big ship. We are big fans of music and shows. I had never priced one of the others so had no idea how expensive they were.

 

[audreyh1]

Yes, it is. Part of it is that it truly is all-inclusive other than a gratuity (which is NOT automatically added to your bill). The other is that the crew are mostly Americans (and some of the ships are flagged in the US) and many of the crew have advanced degrees in such fields as marine biology. They don't come as cheap as people from developing countries on ships flagged in Whooziwhatsistan. Food is high-quality and locally-sourced when possible. Excursions are nature-based, not tanzanite-shopping expeditions, and sea otters don't give kickbacks to the cruise line. I happily pay for that experience- even with the higher cost of being a single traveler.

OK, I'll get off my soapbox now- but I already put down a deposit on my 4th cruise with them!

The biggest cost reason would be it's a small ship with a very low passenger count.

 

[athena53]

I would never spend all that $ for a trip and then shop. Yes some people just get off the cruise ship and walk into town to shop.

My BIL once told me they came home from a trip to the Caribbean with $14,000 worth of tanzanite jewelry. My sister is a doctor but it still boggles my mind. I've never spent more than $1,000 on jewelry on a trip and that was India, where the value was mostly in the 22k gold, which is far easier to assess than gemstones.

 

[Hopeful]

I remember being on a cruise in Tahiti 15 years ago, and several of the passengers were complaining at dinner about the lack of shopping. seriously though, I guess it is whatever you enjoy doing with your free time.

 

[Nemo2]

Nothing against the "normal" cruises on big ships if you like that sort of thing, but we tried it once a long time ago and said "Never again!"

Other than our recent jaunt, which was taken primarily for the Norwegian ports, we took one 'cruise-cruise', Med/Adriatic, in 2015, on the relatively smallish (47,000 GT) French operated MV Horizon...it was great......BUT...couldn't envision going on one of those, (to us), horrendous 'nothing-but-Caribbean' cruises.

In fact there's a cheap Spanish ship going from Santo Domingo to Lisbon next Spring; there are people we know, and would love to see again, scheduled to travel on it, and we'd like to see the vessel, but it stops at all those 'same-old-same-old' ports.....Pass!

 

[audreyh1]

I remember being on a cruise in Tahiti 15 years ago, and several of the passengers were complaining at dinner about the lack of shopping. seriously though, I guess it is whatever you enjoy doing with your free time.

OK - this is one place I would go shopping. The hunt for the black pearls!!!

 

[audreyh1]

It's not just price, it's value.

There is no way I'm getting DH on a big cruise ship. We both hate crowds. Don't care about nightlife shows, onboard activities, pools, theme dining, non-stop eating or drinking, or crowded ports of call. Small ship cruising is the only way to go for us.

And then there are the destinations. Many locations we prefer to do on our own, but serious nature/adventure stuff we like having expert guides and the logistics handled and will happily go with small groups. Especially as other attendees tend to be die-hard nature folks too.

So, given our constraints, you are left with the more expensive options. No problem as our budget has room for one a year which is the most we would do along with all our other travel.