UncleBeer and I need a vacation. We’re considering a river cruise, something like what Viking River Cruises offers. The only cruise I’ve ever been on was an eastern Mediterranean one about 10 year ago. In my experience, the upside of the cruise going to lots and lots of places in a short period of time, and waking up in a new place without the hassle of packing up. It was a good way to get a taste of things, but not do anything in depth, and opportunities to absorb the local culture were more limited than staying at a hotel. Low stress, but also structured and less freedom to do what you want than in a more conventional vacation. Also the cruise I was on before was a good way to go places I might not have otherwise, like Israel and Turkey.
So who’s gone on a river cruise? What did you like and what didn’t you like? What cruise line did you go on?
We’re not committed to Europe as a destination. South America would be an option. Anyplace would be an option.
I went on a Nile cruise and pretty much cant fault it.
On the practicalities the service was truly excellent,the food likewise(No stomach bugs either)the cabin huge and the wide windows bottom ledge was just above the water level so the views were spectacular.
You visit some pretty incredible temples but NOT the pyramids,my cruise started at Luxor which is south of them and you get the chance to go into some of the towns you visit.
My only slight nitpick with it was that while cruising down the river the sights were wonderful but I am not one of those people who can lie around the pool for hours doing nothing.
My three best friends from high school and I went on a Danube cruise last October. We had an awesome time. We went on this cruise. Here’s my impressions:
We were warned that, at 36-38, we would be the youngest people on the boat, and this was true. But the four of us bring our own fun, so we weren’t too worried about that. The people who dined at 6 and never left the boat – and there were a lot of them – didn’t bug us because we were happy to do our own thing. Sample question: “Are you ladies travel agents or school teachers?” :rolleyes:
Many of our (older) fellow passengers were prone to a certain amount of bellyaching – the food was better on this boat, we had a better cabin on that boat, how come the bus can’t drop us right in front of the attraction, instead of 2 blocks away? To the four of us, three novice cruisers, everything was awesome: great boat, great food, great people. Again, we were there to have fun with each other, so a lot of the complaining, be it caused by age or caused by wealth, rolled right of us – when we weren’t making fun of it.
We felt completely free to take off and do our own thing; we’re none of us much for trooping around behind a guy with an umbrella or seeing the sights out of the window of a bus. (Though that was always an option.) We always made a point to know when we had to be back to the boat so we didn’t get left behind, but beyond that, sometimes we did the group thing and sometimes we didn’t.
It was an expensive trip, no question. But I really liked having one room, where we could unpack and stay. The accommodations were first-class, the food was delicious, and the staff were great. It’s hard to beat sipping a glass of wine on the deck while the sun goes down and the Danube floats by. And for me, because I’m not as disciplined saving as I should be, it was worth it to have to pay for the whole thing (well, most of it) well in advance. Then I only had to come up with spending money at the time of the trip (and tips, and that’s not a small item). And frankly I’m no longer interested in the hostel-and-backpack version of travel.
I quite literally do not have a single bad thing to say about our trip. I had a completely fabulous time from start to finish. I really can’t recommend it highly enough if you can afford it and if you like travelling in comfort. Some people don’t; they think it’s too distant from the locales and inauthentic. Maybe so, but damn we had fun.
I cant remember the company,I’m a Brit and organised it through a travel agency.
But there must be quite a few lines doing it as there were loads of Nile cruise ships there.
I dont know if I got lucky with the quality of service with the ship I was on but I would expect that they were pretty much all on the same standard.
The cruise itself lasted a week I think and many of the other tourists either spent a week in Cairo seeing the pyramids etc or having a beach holiday on the Red sea coast.
Oh by the way the age range was from the mid twenties up to mid fifties I would say,there weren’t any kids as I expect that ancient Egyptian temples wouldn’t be their cup of tea.
That was my experience when I was on the Mediterranean cruise. I was about 34 at the time, and was the youngest adult there. There were a few kids, so I wasn’t technically the youngest.
They go up the Ohio, too. A couple of them stop at my quaint little river town each summer. It’s nice to see all the people get off at the levee and tour the historic district.
We have done cruses on the Danube and the Rhone. Both were great fun. Good food, plenty of reasonably priced drink and amiable people. The boats held about 100 passengers and there was plenty of opportunity to get off the boat and do organized or independent sightseeing, eating and drinking. There are some potential difficulties that the boat can’t do much about – for instance, because of high water on the Danube the boat could not get under the bridge at Passau. We had to lay over at Regensburg for a couple days and go out by bus. Believe me, three days in Regensburg is enough to see everything several times.
We have also done a couple canal cruses on hotel barges. A little spendy, but a delight. One barge took eight passengers and the other 12. Superb food and drink (both included in the price), large comfortable cabins, crew that was eager to please. Got to see and do things that we would never seen or done otherwise. Opportunity for an early morning balloon flight of a couple hours. We made out arrangements for the barges through an outfit outside Boston that caters to mature US and Canadian couples.
If it weren’t for the value of the Euro (and the general demise of the Yankee Dollar) we’d do it again in a heartbeat.
One cruise on my wish-list is the one from Moscow to St Petersburg. It takes just over a week with many side visits on the way. One problem, it costs well over £2,000.
I once saw a travel program about this sort of thing in England but you rent a small ‘house boat’ and drive it yourself. You sometimes have to have one person hop off, run up the road and raise a drawbridge and then they run and hop back on the boat. (small bridges) You stop at small towns for meals.
They are not drawbridges, they are locks. As you can see from these pictures, you sometimes get several of them in quick succession :- Bingley Five-Rise
I went on a Danube cruise similar to the 8 day Viking cruise and a Nile cruise. Nile crusie was cheaper and more enjoyable. Your age will be a factor in your enjoyment. River cruises are geared to the older more sedentary traveler. River cruises have a lot of down time, cruising along the river watching the scenery go by. If you are traveling with friends you may enjoy that. I found that time passed slowly as I like to be more active.
I think for the price you could get more bang for your buck by doing a land trip in Europe and concentrating on a particular area. You could do a ‘beer brewery’ tour in the Czech Republic, the land of great beers (pilsners). Decide on your interest and what you want to see and do a trip that is suited to you not something packaged for others.
If you are set on a river cruise look at Egypt or the Amazon or China. Your dollar will go farther and the area is a little more difficult than treaveling in Europe. But if you prefer Europe a I think you should do research on your own get a railpass or rent a car and have fun. But remember the Euro is $1.57 and gas is almost $9.00 a gallon but careful planning can still get you a good vacation. I know what i am talking about. I leave Sunday for my 41st vacation in Europe. I have traveled in Europe almost every year since 1969.
Heh, I’m pretty sure this information is not really what you are looking for, but I’ve done two river cruises. The first one was down the Yangtzee doing the 3 Gorges. It cost all of $42 for a 4 night 3 day cruise. This was in 2001, before they started flooding the valley. Obviously, this was a completely Chinese cruise. The toilet was a large room where the sewage was washed untreated into the Yangtzee. Food was included in the price, but it was very difficult in trying to figure out what was on the menu as no one spoke English. The food deteriorated as the trip wore on, it was pretty much vegetables and bones at the end of the trip. It was, however, excellent.
The other trip was up the Amazon. This one cost $26, including food. You had to buy your own hammock and hang it up. It started in Manaus, and I felt like Klaus Kinski in Fitzcarraldo. This was also awesome, I saw bunches of river dolphins, both pink and gray. I bailed in some town because I wanted to do a jungle stay, failed that, and then flew to Iquitos due to the fact that it takes friggin’ forever to cruise upstream on the Amazon. Plus, I hate to say, but for about 2000 miles, everything on the Amazon looks EXACTLY the same.
By the way, it’s pretty expensive to get to Manaus or Chongqing, so I think the $26/$42 is fairly nominal compared to the airfare.
