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Original poster

Has anyone been on a river cruise.

47 replies

BathingBeauty · 29/08/2023 11:26

I’m sick in bed watching Tv and being bombarded with adverts for those river cruises.
I am scared of normal cruises and all that ocean but I am intrigued by those river cruises, as I love sitting on trips on boats watching the scenery and going to nice European towns. As DH gets older it seems very tempting.

Has anyone been on one, was it good?

OP posts:
Original poster
BathingBeauty · 29/08/2023 17:04

No one then 😂

OP posts:
DeeplyMovingExperience · 29/08/2023 17:05

No, but they look really nice!

murasaki · 29/08/2023 17:05

I've been on one down the Nile, but it was a much smaller boat than the ones you see for the Euro tours. Wonderful though. My parents went on one down the Danube and loved it. I keep eying up the fjords ones....

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PollyAmour · 29/08/2023 17:09

We did a Nile cruise for our 25th wedding anniversary and it was fantastic. Like a grown up school trip with an Egyptologist taking us to visit all the temples and palaces and teaching us about the mythology. The excursions were always early morning, sometimes very, very early morning, to keep out of the sunshine, and the afternoons were spent floating down the river, with a drink in hand, watching the almost biblical scenes on the banks. There was a swimming pool onboard and food and drink a-plenty. Lovely fellow passengers too.

I'm not sure Nile cruises are actually a thing anymore though.

I'd like to do a European river cruise but the price is off-putting.

Bluevelvetsofa · 29/08/2023 17:11

I’ve always wanted to go on one. Lots of money though.

We have neighbours who regularly do river cruises and love them. I like the idea of being able to see the countryside as you sail by.

murasaki · 29/08/2023 17:11

@PollyAmour sounds exactly like the one I went on. The sandstorm was quite something , but it was a great experience. We only had about 60 people on our small boat so it was really friendly.

murasaki · 29/08/2023 17:13

The cost is a bit much re the adverts now. My parents took me and my sister so I never asked the price.....

I also keep looking at the orient express and nearly fainting at the cost.

Fifireee · 29/08/2023 17:17

They look fab and not as claustrophobic as a cruise.

enchantedsquirrelwood · 29/08/2023 17:19

I've not been on one, but seen the boats on the Rhine. They look really small and all the tables in the dining area were very close together. I think you have to like strangers and socialising (and not be scared of catching covid and other lurgies!)

user1469770863 · 29/08/2023 17:22

Yes, this year, with Riviera, on the Danube. Ship was the Oscar Wilde. Absolutely wonderful. Could not fault the service, the food, the environment, the trips. Saving up for another one in 2-3 years time!

AllTheWatersTurnedToClouds · 29/08/2023 18:15

Dmum went on one with a friend in Portugal- they had a lovely time

caringcarer · 29/08/2023 19:07

My nephew and niece did one as part of their honeymoon. They did a week on a river cruise then a week going on trains around Europe. They enjoyed it and said the food was lovely. They are both very outgoing people who can talk to anyone.

upinaballoon · 29/08/2023 19:11

Just the one - also on the Nile. Very nice. Depending on prices, would consider others.

Sisterpita · 29/08/2023 19:24

I did a Danube Cruise, it’s very different to an ocean cruise. The boats are much smaller. The cabins were lovely, I had one on the upper deck with a French window. I would opt for this again.

The boats often berth in the centre of town but you can find they berth two or three side by side so you have to walk over to get ashore. I loved sailing along sitting at my French window.

The cruise I did had one main restaurant and you sat in groups of 4. They also had a small exclusive restaurant and everyone got to dine there once. The menu in the main dining room was three choices for starter, mains and desert. Far more limited than an ocean cruise but still a good choice.

Original poster
BathingBeauty · 29/08/2023 19:44

I actually looked on one of the websites but you had to get their flights, I don’t think I’d want to do that.
I actually realise I know people who did ones in Egypt but decades ago, it’s somewhere like the Danube I would like to do.
It’s that and a luxury train ride in Canada. I love looking at scenery.

OP posts:
MissAmbrosia · 29/08/2023 19:53

I'd love to do one - do see them a bit as old people holidays though. The boats look lovely.

Sisterpita · 29/08/2023 19:56

@BathingBeauty I’ve just done a 10 day Alaskan cruise followed by the Rocky Mountaineer. It is my best holiday so far. The weather was perfect, particularly in Glacier bay.

If you can do this, go for very end of July early August- that’s when the salmon run. I went 2 or 3 weeks too early.

Sisterpita · 29/08/2023 19:57

A Fjord cruise out of Southampton is great for scenery too.

Chersfrozenface · 29/08/2023 19:58

I'd love to do this but the cruises are expensive

Whenever I go on holiday I try to fit in as many trips on boats as possible. Like others I really enjoy floating along watching the scenery glide past.

Original poster
BathingBeauty · 29/08/2023 20:03

Wow @Sisterpita

we travelled a lot in our youth and would like to start again once DD flies the nest (she doesn’t travel well) but I think I can’t be arsed with the hours trying to find my way around and finding somewhere for dinner. I want someone to do it for me. Maybe that’s age!

OP posts:
Longlive · 29/08/2023 20:09

We did a Nile one on a Mississippi Steam Boat. It was fantastic. Woukd do it again if we could. This was in 2009 though.

Sisterpita · 29/08/2023 21:00

@BathingBeauty that is the beauty of cruising, the only decision is what to eat. 😂

amicissimma · 29/08/2023 21:52

I've done a couple in Europe. Once we took their flights, the other we opted out and took the train from UK.

I didn't really feel the other people were on top of me. They're there when you eat, as people are in a restaurant, providing a bit of atmosphere. You can chat if you wish; some people just eat quietly.

They only travel by day, so you glide past the scenery. It's lovely to stop in the evening, right in the centre of town, have dinner without having to find a restaurant and then just stroll off the boat (occasionally crossing a couple of others) and have a lovely evening wandering round your new location. Back to bed, maybe a cuppa, breakfast waiting when you wake up, and a proper tour in the morning.

Sarvanga38 · 02/09/2023 13:56

I take it Viking are the 'gold standard' of this type of cruise? Are there other decent companies? My husband keen to do one and I have it in mind for a milestone birthday in a few years.

Blimey, it's expensive though! We do actually spend a fair bit on holidays, but the cost of these somehow doesn't seem to tie in to a boat on a river in Europe in my head LOL.

@murasaki, I also look at the Orient Express and faint at the cost.😆

cariadlet · 02/09/2023 13:59

My PIL did a Scandinavian river cruise. Quite a few years ago now but they loved it.