We just Returned from a 9-day Cruise and were somewhat disappointed.

[SecondAttempt]

Cruises have never appealed to me for the most part but there are a few places on my bucket list that will likely involve a cruise including the Galapagos, Antarctica, and Alaska. But I find this thread very helpful in helping me narrow down what kind of experience would be best for us.

I basically live in a cruise port (Kona Hawaii) and I almost pity the people who come here on a cruise. They miss the town entirely. They only think they have experienced Hawaii.

That said, I have taken bus tours in European cities and found them great ways to efficiently explore so I'm not 100% opposed to social vacationing. Personally I would not be opposed to kids, casinos, or obese people but this thread at least provides some guidance for what each line attracts. I think I would be just as disappointed on a cruise with a bunch of hoity-toity rich people as I would on a cruise with a bunch of low class "white trash" to be completely honest.

I have friends that I otherwise get along great with who are avid cruisers!

 

[Badger]

Been on both Viking River and Ocean cruises. Didn’t love the River (Rhine) cruise. Have very much liked the Ocean cruises. About 950 passengers. None of the casino/water slide foolishness. More mature (read: older/over 55) clientele.

What did you not like about the Viking Rhine River cruise? We are thinking about booking one.

 

[friar1610]

We didn’t think things were as well and smoothly run as on the Ocean cruises. The staff seemed less attentive and there were a few glitches with the shore excursions (e.g., miscommunications about departure times, etc). This may have been a result of their still being in the process of returning to normal operations post-COVID and not having gotten the crew back up to speed. (We did, however, pay “up to speed” fares). It also seemed, at times, a bit crowded. I believe Viking carries about 190 passengers on European River cruises whereas most of the competition carries fewer - forget the exact numbers (maybe 175?) Obviously, the larger Ocean ships have more amenities due to having much more real estate to work with and I completely understand that. So maybe the well was partially poisoned by previous outstanding experiences on the Ocean side of Viking.

We had been on two previous non-Viking river cruises: Uniworld (Russia) and Amadeus (Danube). These were a while ago and some of the specific memories are starting to fade, but I recall them both being very good. I might give Viking River another try if there was a destination they were going that I wanted to see. But I would not automatically seek out Viking River as I’d previously been inclined to. (I would for Ocean.)

PM me if you have any specific follow up questions.

 

[OldConch]

Cruises have never appealed to me for the most part but there are a few places on my bucket list that will likely involve a cruise including the Galapagos, Antarctica, and Alaska. But I find this thread very helpful in helping me narrow down what kind of experience would be best for us.

I basically live in a cruise port (Kona Hawaii) and I almost pity the people who come here on a cruise. They miss the town entirely. They only think they have experienced Hawaii.

That said, I have taken bus tours in European cities and found them great ways to efficiently explore so I'm not 100% opposed to social vacationing. Personally I would not be opposed to kids, casinos, or obese people but this thread at least provides some guidance for what each line attracts. I think I would be just as disappointed on a cruise with a bunch of hoity-toity rich people as I would on a cruise with a bunch of low class "white trash" to be completely honest.

I have friends that I otherwise get along great with who are avid cruisers!

We spent a week on the Grand Queen Beatriz in the Galapagos booked through Intrepid Travel. Absolutely fantastic. Our guide was born and raised in the islands and there were only 16 passengers on the boat. The snorkeling and on land wildlife viewing were outstanding.

Spent a week on the 76 passenger Wilderness Discoverer shortly after pandemic lockdowns were lifted and once we left Juneau never docked at another port. Nights were spent anchored up in a protected lee or cove or motoring towards Glacier Bay. Daily activities included snorkeling, bushwhacking, hiking, kayaking, paddleboarding, or exploring in one of the zodiacs. UnCruise Adventures operates several of these smaller ships and we did another amazing week in the Sea of Cortez out of La Paz.

These cruises aren't listed on websites like VacationsToGo.
Starting to think about Antarctica for 2026. We don't normally book luxury travel but met people on a recent tour that used Seabourn and they loved it. I've heard good things about Viking to Antarctica as well.

 

[timbervest]

Just retuned from a Viking river cruise in France. It was excellent (175 people), great organization, range of excursions or do it on your own, and met some very nice fellow cruisers. Food and service was perfect, staff friendly and efficient, and the accommodations comfortable. Definitely an easy going cruise. My only complaint is that we probably tried to cram too much activity in and did not leave enough "down time" for just relaxing. Will definitely consider another river cruise with them -- not really interested in the 1000s passenger mega-hotel ocean cruise. YMMV.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Anyone Tried "repositioning" Cruises?

 

[Teacher Terry]

Anyone Tried "repositioning" Cruises?

Yes I did one that left Boston in October to go to the Caribbean. It was a 13 day cruise on royal Caribbean that had 8 sea days. They had so many ship activities that we didn’t get bored.

The food in the dining room was great and there weren’t many kids. We also enjoyed using the pools, hot tubs and reading on deck. They had a gym as well as a deck just for walking or running.

 

[Sunset]

Anyone Tried "repositioning" Cruises?

We did a Trans-Atlantic cruise on Carnival Horizon, from Barcelona to NY.
After about 5 days at sea, we were ready to get our feet on land. It was a very large ship , so there was lots to do during the sea days.
Most amazing to me was there was a day or two where the ocean was so calm, a person could have gone canoeing in the middle of the Atlantic (except the ship didn't off that as a option )

 

[TheWizard]

Just retuned from a Viking river cruise in France. It was excellent (175 people), great organization, range of excursions or do it on your own, and met some very nice fellow cruisers. Food and service was perfect, staff friendly and efficient, and the accommodations comfortable. Definitely an easy going cruise. My only complaint is that we probably tried to cram too much activity in and did not leave enough "down time" for just relaxing. Will definitely consider another river cruise with them -- not really interested in the 1000s passenger mega-hotel ocean cruise. YMMV.

We just did one as well, in mid May, the Rhone river. It was our first river cruise and was quite excellent, so I booked another one for May 2025, from Basel to Nuremberg.

I was curious how Ama Waterways compares with Viking so I googled that: Ama is a bit more upscale in a few ways.
So I'm thinking of trying Ama in 2026...

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

For river cruises I'd give high marks to Uniworld. Premium all-inclusive, great shore excursions.
An offbeat river cruise is the River Main. Our cruise ended with a short stretch on the Rhine to Frankfurt. TBH the Rhine seemed like a tourist cattle call with boats moored three deep at the docks. The Main is more off the beaten path -- it goes through Franconia, which is a wine region that is largely unknown to North Americans. Ports include Nuremberg, Wurzburg, Bamberg and Miltenburg, cities with picturesque old towns and notable histories. Engineers might enjoy the Danube-Main Canal, which is built so highway traffic can pass under it.