River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We are supposed to go on a River Cruise next year (never been on one) and I figured it would be the best way to see many places (in Europe) at once.

It's a week cruise - stopping at Prague, Austria, Germany and 2 other places.
Anyway, it's REALLY expensive and I want to make sure that the river cruise is the best way to do this.

Have any of you ever taken a RC? Do you think that would be better/or as expensive as booking Hotels throughout each country and taking a train to each one?

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Quite a few people I work with having taken European river cruises and really enjoyed them, they said they were very relaxing and made them feel very pampered. I think its quite a nice way of seeing parts of Europe that you wouldn't get on a cruise, and much more relaxing than trying to organize it yourself on the train.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We haven't been on a RC, but on a regular cruise. You just have to unpack only once rather than unpacking and packing every couple of days. It is very relaxing, but one word of advice, pack something with an elastic waistband.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

What time of year? Last month the rivers in those ares were in flood, lockgates were shut and some of the rivers were so high the cruise boats could not get under the bridges!

Other than that my parents went on several of this type of cruise and enjoyed them immensely.

Lizzy

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

I'd highly recommend a river cruise. We went on one, Amsterdam to Basel, a few years ago and it was excellent. There is the danger of very low or very high water conditions which can lead to your cruise being cancelled or radically altered (they convert part of the trip to motor coach, for instance.)

It is relatively expensive, but on the other hand, for those six days we spent very little money on other things since all meals and tours ashore were included. A couple of drinks in the bar were our only additional cost.. You could easily spend as much or more on trains and hotels and meals, and it would be harder work.

We plan to go on a Danube cruise, Budapest to Vienna etc., one of these days. We went with Avalon which is a German company I believe so the whole thing is planned and executed meticulously, like the invasion of Poland. Staff were Slovakian and the beer was Czech. What more could you want..

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

I'm doing the Vikng River Cruise this autumn from Amsterdam to Switzerland. Fully expect to have a wonderful, relaxing and enjoyable time. Like the fact that the fee includes all transfers, tours and drinks onboard the vessel. Makes the price very well worth it.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Oh, I know! I actually took a reg cruise 4 yrs ago and I really did NOT care for it at all. We only stopped in 3 places and were at sea for 4 days. I like the idea of the RC since it stops every day and there is something different to do each day.

Yes, this year has been really bad - they cancelled a ton of cruises in late May-June. Historically though, May and Sept are the best months to avoid this but it is Mother Nature so who knows.

Plus in doing my research I have found which cruise lines handle this issue the best as opposed to having people bussed from place to place (one of my biggest fears)



Lovely - thanks. That's the cruise I am looking into right now - Danube. I have narrowed it down to 2 companies - Tauck and AMA. Now I'll have to look into Avalon. Thnxs.

Ok, now I'm officially excited!!!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Is this your first?

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Mrs tonrob's parents live in a house overlooking the Rhein just near Koblenz. I've often sat on their balcony watching the many river cruises go by and hankered after going on one myself. That stretch of river is particularly beautiful, with castles and vineyards on either side and lots of pretty villages.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

My first "river" cruise. Have been on cruises before and have been to Europe several times including Germany (my home country), Austria and Switzerland.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Oh yes, that's a gorgeous area.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

What ! .....you pay for a holiday...........I almost spit my beer out :lol:

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

So I booked - OMG - what was I thinking?!?!? It so blimin expensive.

Luckily I have a year to save - it's for next Sept (May was already sold out!) and I was going to pick the Danube but tonrob made me change my mind with the above statement.

So the Rhine it is. And Koblenz is one of the stops. I'll wave to your in laws.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

You will not regret booking a river cruise, at all!

My hubby and I did the Danube from Budapest to Passau with Uniworld 2 years ago. It was a free cruise as I was a travel agent who also sold many with many different cruise lines.

The best holiday ever!

You board very quick and easy with no torturous security screening, unpack once and enjoy your week.
All morning excursions are included with many optional excursions in the afternoons.
There are bikes for hire on most ships and you have plenty of free time to enjoy each city/town.
We often left the group at the end of the morning tour and chose to walk back to the ship to enjoy the little markets with cheese and meat stalls.
You can take and drink your own alcohol onboard.
The food is exceptional.

We are hoping to enjoy our next river cruise through France or maybe the Rhine in a couple of years.

Have fun :)

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

That is the cruise I'm taking on Oct 4th ... Viking River Cruise's Rhine Cruise. We are spending an additional 3 days in Amsterdam before the cruise.

Will let you know about the trip on my return.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

The grape harvest might be happening at that time of year, and some of the small towns have festivals then. Enjoy. Lucky you. :thumbsup:

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Viking are a wonderful company. The ONLY downside to them is they don't serve local wine with dinner. They serve Californian wine. This isn't a major deal for most people though.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We did that when we did the Amsterdam to Basel cruise; we booked our own round trip flight to Amsterdam, then simply took a train from Basel to Amsterdam at the end of the cruise. We spent four nights in Amsterdam at the beginning and one at the end. I'm glad we booked our own flights, there was one couple on the cruise who booked a flight with the cruise company and their luggage never made it to Amsterdam in time, so I think at least one extra day at the beginning is a good idea to increase the chances of both you and your luggage getting to the cruise.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

WHAT????????????????? Now that is beyond belief. I don't like California wines. I want my Riesling.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Any places in particular that you would recommend for us to see/do over that 3 day landover in Amsterdam? I know I want to ride on the canal, see the Rembrant museum, not particularly interested in the Anne Frank attic rooms but will go if the rest of my group wants to.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

http://www.vikingrivercruises.com/ab...p/tipping.aspx

Scary!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

:lol: Sorry. You should have booked with me, I would have told you ;)

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We absolutely loved Amsterdam. We'd never been there before. The year we were there, all the major museums (Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and another one..) were closed long term for renovation. Also we decided we didn't want to see the Anne Frank house. By far the best thing we saw in Amsterdam was the old synagogue and the Jewish Museum. There is a complex of buildings with several synagogues, one of which is now the museum. All the treasures of the synagogue survived the war, because the Germans basically placed them all at the Rijksmuseum and the Rijksmuseum of course returned them all after the war. Anyway, the main synagogue there, the Portuguese Synagogue, is absolutely beautiful and still used by the community for services.

Mainly what we did there was walk, walk, walk .. and drink the occasional beer in pavement cafes overlooking canals. There were also a couple of very nice preserved town houses we visited, like National Trust, that were very worthwhile. I liked the place so much I started looking at the price of flats (quite reasonable, compared to London or Paris or Prague) but then I compulsively look at property options wherever we travel!!

You should enjoy Amsterdam; and the cruise of course!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

That sounds crazy. Tip each person twelve euros a day?? The river cruise we went on, Avalon was the company, they recommended you just placed a certain amount in an envelope which was collected on the last night, very easy. And I'm fairly sure the amount was about a hundred and fifty euros total, you didn't have to figure out how many people deserved a tip..

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Yeah the Avalon cruise, they served up unlimited local wines with dinner. Cheap wines, but very drinkable. Probably my prejudice, but I find California wines completely undrinkable ... and certainly not a good choice in Europe!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

There is a folk museum called Zaans Schanz, spelling might not be right. It is near Zaandam I think. We got a train then walked. It is a collection of different buildings that had/have functions, dairy, clog maker, different types of windmills, homes. It was very interesting.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Don't miss the Rembrandts in the Rijksmuseum -- they have the Night Watch and the Artist as the Apostle Paul, both of which blew me away when I saw them many moons ago. In fact I bought a poster of the self-portrait and had it on my wall until I moved to the US, at which point it went missing!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

I feel the same. I haven't cruised with Viking but I did sell a lot of them in my job.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

That's what we are doing too - actually we are going to London for 3 days (OH has never been there), Switzerland for 2 then Amsterdam for 2.

Have a great time!

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Wait, you're a TA??? I went through hell trying to find a good one. PM me your info - I can pass it on.

Regarding tips: I was told about 15 euro a day per person so about 210 euro's. Not bad actually.

I did a lot of research and most of the lines will have then included for 2014 - mine does not (ama). Fine though, got a better discount plus room when compared to the other lines.

I don't drink so the booze is wasted on me - OH will so he can make up for me.

Did you all pay for trip insurance? Ours is coming in at about $550.00 per person - that seems really high.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Since living in the US we haven't paid for any travel insurance. I figure we are self insured. We both have health insurance that covers us worldwide, all other expenses we can afford to lose if necessary; does that make sense?

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Yes, thank you. I believe our health insurance covers us worldwide too. That was my main concern.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

I have been a TA forever but in Canada I worked as a specialist cruise agent for 5 years and so booked a lot of river cruises. I am hoping to do the same thing here now that we are back in England so I will pass on my details when I have them :)

Yes a couple of companies are moving toward going all inclusive for 2014 which is great. If you do not really drink a lot, you may not get your moneys worth. It will also include tips and transfers though.

I always get travel insurance even though we are covered through hubbys work. You can never have enough good medical insurance and cancellation coverage if you have to cancel before the trip.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Would be happy to buy you a replacement while I am there NM.

Robin, we think alike in more than one way.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

You're not the sole TA on BE. Of long standing is our Cindy (to be found in the lounge) who is a USC based in Savanah, GA and married to a Brit. Hard time for TA's here in the US as most bookings are being done by individual's online.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

Good to know, thanks.

Yes, it's a very hard time for TA's right now. I have not used one since the days of the internet... however I was advised to go through a TA to try and get a discount (the lines do not offer discounts or price match).

Anyway, I was shocked by the lack of customer service since it is a hard time for them. It took me about 6 times to get someone to book with.

I already did all the research - knew which line I wanted, dates, room, everything - all they had to do was book it. 2 sent me quotes MORE than the cruise site. 4 didn't even call or email me back. It's like, really??? I'm ready to hand over a ton of bloody money!

Anyway, I finally found a company that offered an early booking discount as well as the agency discount.

So I have another question - cruise departs from Basel. They have an added land portion - 2 nights in a Hotel and then transfer to ship. Well I found the same Hotel they are offering for 40% cheaper. It's in Lucerne.

SO - do I book the same Hotel in Lucerne as cruise fellows and get transferred with the rest of them OR book in Basel and make our own way there?

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We, four, booked directly with Viking as they were having a 2 for 1 special and thus we paid only 1/2 price each for balconey suites. Also booked our own hotels for the 2 days in Amsterdam for before the cruise. Found a what looks like a lovely family owned and run hotel in an old building with great prices. The problem is that Viking will NOT take us from the airport to our hotel nor from our hotel to the ship because the land portion was not done through them.

PS I love Lucerne. We boated around part of the Lake and got off for a cable car ride to the top of one of the mountains for lunch.

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

And me. Although I don't actually work as a reservation agent, I work in the Finance department

I've just sent you a PM

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

We did that too - in Amsterdam we stayed at a place called the Hotel Aalders, very quaint old fashioned family run pension with very comfortable rooms and a fabulous breakfast, on a quiet street in a very nice area, all for about 120 euros a night while the hotel the cruise offered was more than twice the price and just a generic "international" type four star hotel. As it happened it was a relatively short walk from there to the cruise company's hotel, which is where we had to check in for the cruise and get transferred to the cruise. Flight and hotels, I'd rather book my own and let the cruise company do what they do best; run a river cruise.

For a flight, I prefer a non stop with reasonable timing; leave it up to the cruise company, and you'll probably end up with a three legged flight from hell that may send your luggage to Singapoe instead of Amsterdam..

Re: River Cruise OR tour Europe by train
 

I didn't think I was for one moment as there are hundreds of people on this site, at least one other is bound to be a TA.
A lot of travel agencies have struggled since the internet and many have closed down or merged with tour operators or each other to survive.
Working in an agency was great before the internet as our only competition was the other high street agents. Many people couldn't be bothered to shop around so booked where they were.

I am amazed agents offer crap service now with all the competition, especially if you know exactly what you would like to book, it makes it so easy and river cruises pay a lot of commission.

Rete, I would book the hotel independent if it is cheaper than Viking. Switzerland is very expensive though but travel by train is fantastic. Viking may still transfer you for a charge if it is the hotel they are using.

Viking's 2 for 1 deals are not all they seem. They significantly increase the brochure cost then slash it in half to make it look good. If you compare with Avalon for example, their brochure price is similar to Vikings 2 for 1 price.

Anyway, enjoy it will be fab! :)