River cruise with older kids and grandparents?

[NashEnquirer]

I've been thinking that a European river cruise (maybe 5 days, not during summer) would be a good holiday for us as a family group (2 x pre-teens, 2 x parents and 2 x 75-80yr grandparents).

I've never been on a cruise but I like the idea of boat travel (ideally we'd get to the start point without flying), and both my kids and my parents love a city break. My parents' mobility is a bit of a consideration now though, and I'm conscious that they don't have the energy to do full-blown exploring everywhere they go, so wondered if this kind of holiday might take the pressure off a bit.

Has anyone done this with a family group and would you recommend?

I looked into this years ago. At that time the only river cruise that really catered to / welcomed children was Uniworld which was extortionate. They also required an adult in each stateroom with a child so parents won’t be together.

Again aside from Uniworld the other river cruises had a rather elderly passenger base. Maybe there are wider options now, but think you’ll need to do your research.

We ended up on a sea. cruise - Celebrity line and it suited everyone.

Rive r cruises don’t generally have lifts and there is often quite a bit of up and down stairs to get off boats -particularly if you are the third one deep of other river cruise ships.

I enjoyed my tui one down the Danube. Thibk we were youngest on board at 46/52 but we enjoyed the easy access on and off boats into the cities. Food was fairly average but we stocked up at local Aldis for snacks and local drinks

My parents going river cruises and say mainly elderly people like them. With kids I’d just do a regular cruise, more for them to do on sea days.

Thanks everyone, lots to think about here. That's a good point re steps - my dad's poor knees don't appreciate going down too many steps! We're not too bothered about the elderly clientele - the kids are used to spending a lot of time with their grandparents, playing a lot of whist etc 😁

My parents friends reported amazing food on Viking (I think?) around the Netherlands but that could have been an exaggeration!

I haven’t done this but I did a similar holiday with my mum, with a company which also does river cruises. There was a multi-generational family there who had a great time - mainly older clientele (except me!).

The good thing about it was that you could opt in or out of the planned activities, so for example one day the teens went off for a day out on foot instead of a coach day trip.

We live in Utrecht which is sort of on the Rhine. We see viking bicycle tours in the city so there are definitely more active outings too

I think A-rosa do river cruises which include children.

It’s slightly amusing to see your assurance that your kids are fine with the older clientele. But will the non grandparent older clientele welcome your children?!!! 😄

Thanks all!

@EvelynBeatrice I should hope so - they're delightful 😁

Seriously though, what I mean is that my kids are old enough to behave sensibly and politely in environments that aren't actually aimed at kids, IYSWIM. Are you thinking that some of the older clientele might be put put to see kids there? We were in a Spanish hotel recently with 80% older guests and 20% families, and watching the scene every night was quite funny - it was essentially hundreds of doting grandparents fondly watching the few toddlers dancing along to the minidisco 🤣 probably not the case everywhere though!

I love a cruise but felt even I was too young for the river cruise I did and I’m in my 40s 😂

The boats are very small and whilst it’s great to get off the ship and explore places, time on the ship there was nothing to do. If you can find one that only travels over night and has rooms to suit your family it might be worth a look

I’m sure you’re right. If your kids are well behaved, the overwhelming likelihood is that they will be smiled upon and actually enhance the experience for other passengers. Personally, though yet to reach my granny years and with late teen/ early 20s kids now, I’d rather see ( though not necessarily hear, aside from giggles) kids enjoying themselves. However, until the other passengers see that they are well behaved , I expect there will be some dismay on the non family aimed cruise lines from older passengers who may not expect any children.