Has anyone been on a river cruise.

[BathingBeauty]

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?

We did the Nile in 2010 and Danube in 2019. They were both fantastic.

I’m going on the rhine with riviera in October from Switzerland and down through Germany . Also on Oscar Wilde. Getting excited now.

I take it Viking are the 'gold standard' of this type of cruise? Are there other decent companies?

Quite a few. I believe Emerald and Scenic are well thought of.

I did the Douro on a cheaper line.

Pros: Gorgeous gorgeous scenery, very soothing to sit and watch it go by. Interesting excursions. Food was very good. While expensive, everything was included (this will vary) so it felt value for money.

Cons: Very hot (we went in July). Cabins minute and beds not very comfortable (the more you pay the better from this pov). Noisy at night.

I would do another one but too expensive if you're single.

I'm a hobbyist Egyptologist and woul love to do this but I've heard horror stories about vendors being aggressive. I remember being hassled in Tunisia and the vendor wouldn't stop trying to sell us that. He only stopped when he mentioned it could be a gift for my mother, i burst into tears and told him she was dead ( the truth) before he left.

We did a Nile cruise, from Luxor to the Aswan Damn and back. The street vendors are told not to harass tourists as they leave the boat, and for the most part they don't. If you stop to admire something they are selling, then the hassle starts, but we were able to walk past without any problems.
I find Turkey worse than Egypt for hassling vendors.

How accessible are the facilities on the ships, are there lifts?
My mother went on a cruise last year on a huge ship and found it was a lot of walking from the cabin to the restaurants etc, and is wondering if a river cruise would be better.

Have done two with Viking Danube and Rhine. I seriously would live on one of their boats. Scandinavian style (I hate the 'noisy' decor of most ocean liners), excellent food, good wine included at dinner, excursions included, open top deck for relaxing. You do share tables. One to Norwegian fjords, beautiful, standard ship but smaller and def not a party type boat, you pay for excursions. One the Nile not as nice a boat but just fantastic access to so many wonderful sites and they moore as near as possible. One a standard cruise around the current troubled area with passage via Suez Canal, saw Petra, Jerusalem. Finally Italy and Croatia, again standard boat. We sound as though we love cruising but actually don't. We use them to see places that would otherwise take a lot of travelling, expense and time and as we are both getting on are past the age of a backpacking type break. The boat is just transport, we do not really join in with all the entertainment etc but always meet pleasant people

Viking are great with small ships, they do have a lift usually near the reception or library if you look at the deck plan, she could get a cabin that end, they are also only 2 or 3 stories high but you need to be able to embark on your own and can't always use the wheelchair in public spaces and dont supply walking aids. Bigger cruise ships are better equipped for mobility needs.

Thank you @HappyHamsters

Viking have an online brochure and also a brochure you can order to look through. Read the small print at the back about accessibility

My Dbro and SiL, both fit and in their 60s, went on one not long ago and Dbro said afterwards, OMG, never again - the average age was about 83.5 and everywhere he went on board there was someone tottering along with a Zimmer frame in his way.

Granted, he will have exaggerated just a bit! But they def. won’t be doing another.

Friends had issue with river level - it was too low and they had to transfer to a coach and use hotels by night. Other friends had issue with the water level being too high!! - boat wouldn’t fit under bridges

this has always put me off going, though I love the idea

I’d like to do one. I’ve done the Hurtigruten through the fjords of Norway and down the coast and it was glorious.

Viking have the biggest fleet, but they, like many other lines, will have a majority of US guests on board and as such the experience is slightly more tailored to this market.

Riviera Travel are the leading UK operator and the vast majority of guests on board are from the U.K. as well. The standard of ships are equivalent to Viking, and there's small differences that cater more to the preferences of British guests.

River cruising is not a cheap holiday generally, but it does have the benefit of being pretty much "all in" - inclusions vary by line, but most premium and up will include flights, transfers, accommodation, full board, drinks and excursions every day. It's a great way to explore Europe without having to keep moving hotels and sailing down the rivers watching the world go by is extremely relaxing.

On the ultra luxury end you've got cruise lines like Uniworld and Scenic, and if you're after something a bit more cheap and cheerful then you've got TUI - there's less included and the ships certainly aren't to the same standard as the likes of Viking or Riviera, but you'll still see the same places so a good option if you want to try it out on more of a budget.

OP you mentioned luxury train travel in Canada, it's very expensive! I've travelled several times on Amtrak in the states, hiring a roomette. It's very inexpensive and includes all meals- you can watch North by Northwest to get the idea.

Anyway, each time it's been a wonderful way to relax.

Youtube is a good place to look for videos on this. Tui is fairly highly regarded cheap and cheerful provider.

This is an interesting one.

Look at Emma Cruises on YouTube- she's been on a few and went on one around Christmas- Germany I think? She's something of an expert on cruises.

Some Aussie of ours had the same issue a few years ago. Drought had made the Rhine (IIRC) unnavigable in places - they kept having to do sections by coach and weren’t at all happy about it, esp. as one of them had a dodgy hip and found sitting for any length of time very uncomfortable. It was supposed to be the highlight of their final trip to Europe, too.

Last year I went on my first river cruises. I went on the Mekong river from Cambodia to Vietnam and the river Rhine and travelled from Germany to Amsterdam.
Both trips were with Scenic who I thoroughly recommend.

Would say viking / riviera are mid range.
Emerald are better
AMA /Scenic top range

My parents went on one after a recommendation from friends who raved about them. I think it was the Rhine. They had done a few Med cruises and transatlantic on the QM so not unfamiliar with them.
They hated it. They said it felt like most of the time it was sailing through vast industrial wastelands and container ports, very little of the beautiful scenery you see on the adverts. Their cabin was really tiny (pull down bed tiny) and right next to the engine room, despite paying extra for an upgraded room - too late once they were on board as no spare cabins.