Anyone ever done a river cruise ?

[Charlotteowensdodgydad]

We are looking to do a European river cruise, possibly on the Elbe, either next year or year after.
The Elbe cruise starts in Potsdam and then stops in Dresden and Meissen. Like the idea of having more than one night in a city and being able to return to the boat to sleep. Some of the trips look good and a bit off the beaten track too and there’s the opportunity to stay in Berlin, Krakow or Budapest afterwards. We’re not bothered that some of the guests may be somewhat older (we are mid to late 50s in any case). Just wondered if anyone had been on one and what it was like ?

We did the Rhone last year. It was my first time and I loved it. Sightseeing every morning, sunbathing every afternoon. River boats aren’t too big. Entertainment some nights. What’s not to like?

Thanks for this Op.. watching with interest. we are thinking of this too but worried we might be tons younger than others...Does anyone know if
1-you are less likely to get seasick on a river cruise.
2- when the best times to book/ go are for Europe
3- best cruises to see fairytale castles etc?
4- are all the meals formal/ dressing up?

I love them, I've done c.15. There's a mixture of ages, but mostly 40+.
The excursions are usually included in the cost.
Some companies include tipping & a drinks package.
Do check what's included, it can increase the cost substantially.

Also, is it a UK company? If not, check that English will be spoken by the staff & guides (I'm assuming you are British).

1 I've never known anyone get seasick on a river cruise.
2 I don't think there's a best time.

3 Sounds like Germany !
4 No formality at all, wear what you like. Breakfast & lunch are generally buffets, within a time-frame. Dinner is usually a la carte, at a set time. Free seating is normal. Only time it wasn't for me, was a cruise with French, German & English speakers. We were allocated tables so we could talk to each other.

Take elasticated-waist trousers. Apart from BLD, there's often elevenses, afternoon tea, & pre-prandial canapes.

I did one on the Mekong river this March and am doing a European one in October. The one I did was incredible, we made so many friends and I loved being so close to the river and all the scenery.
I am 54.
I went with Scenic and wore my dresses from places like Next for dinner and felt absolutely fine.

I did this one with my grandparents because they wanted someone to come with them.

The actual tours/stops themselves etc were great but there was barely anyone under 60 on the boat and most people were over 75. The boats themselves are fairly small so you're always running into the same people so if anyone irritates you, you can't avoid them.

I wouldn't do one again to be honest but I am an introvert and to a large extent just felt peopled out

Thanks everyone.
@Meezer I’ve looked on cruisecritic for info about them and there’s lots of good info and reviews for Viking and Riviera. I understand that you need to chose your time carefully as there can be issues with water levels in the Summer.

We had a European once cancelled last year due to water levels, that was first week of September. Well it wasn’t actually cancelled Scenic would have bused us to different places and then we would join the ship halfway through so we switched the booking.
That was Nuremberg to Budapest.

I did the Douro and it was gorgeous and relaxing.

I believe the Elbe is one of the worst for river levels forcing you on to a coach instead.

We did a river Nile cruise. It was brilliant in every respect. I love the fact that you have your accommodation with you and it moves from place to place, without you having to think about it.

No, only sea cruises.without flying. Booked P&O for this autumn and came across a young woman on Facebook and YouTube, Emma Cruises...very informative. Has stuff re river cruises.

I haven’t but have had friends who have. Everyone enjoyed but some things you should know:

Long busy days. A lot of the cruising is done overnight and then the included tours start early in the morning and there are talks or events in the evenings, so it’s not especially relaxing. A friend described a day where they did tours morning and afternoon and then in the evening they had two courses of dinner, got off the boat for a classical music concert, and then back to the boat for dessert. She said it was great, but exhausting.

Mooring spots are busy, so the boats sometimes moor up abreast each other, so you have to walk through one or two other boats to get to shore. Not a problem, except you might get a shock when you open your curtains in the morning to find yourself looking into someone else’s cabin.

Navigating the Rhine is a problem when the water level is low in dry summers and you might have to do some of the promised route by bus.

However, everyone said the food, scenery & service were fab.

We've done Danube and Rhone cruises with AMAWaterways. Five-star accommodations and service but a really stodgy older American crowd. Excursions were nice but always felt rushed.

It is convenient to see several cities/towns without needing to pack/unpack/travel. Staff are exceptional.

Following as interested in doing one.

Will take a look at cruise critic. I spend more time on there than MN anyway!

I agree with the busy schedule thing and would add that because the boats are relatively small, if you don't do the tour or talk or whatever, there's not really anywhere for you to chill out other than your tiny cabin.

One day I just did my own thing at a stop just to get some time out from the group and do something at my own pace. As a healthy at that time 20 something, doing everything at the pace of a group of over 70s was tough. There were loads of elderly passengers who were very interesting to talk to but I really struggled with walking places at their pace all the time.

And YY to the early mornings.

We did a couple of Viking cruises with my mum and dad, on the Danube and on the Rhine. It’s quite a packed schedule if you go on all the excursions but also great fun, it’s a floating hotel and you visit so many interesting places.

Tip: if you go on one and decide to extend your stay in any of the cities at the start or finish point, it’s much cheaper to organise it yourself. We booked a few extra days in Budapest independently, another couple on the trip had done it through the company, huge price difference!

@sweepleall I’ve read that on some cruises that they split the group into slow and less slow or more active. Quite a few of the trips will warn how strenuous (or not) it is.
@Ellmau yes the Elbe is more prone to this I believe. Viking cruises (I think) has specially adapted boats which can deal with lower levels but some years there are issues. Funnily enough this year (or maybe last, it’s all merging into one ! ) levels in the Elbe were good in comparison to the Rhine and Danube.

They don't split the group arbitrarily but ours offered choice of regular, "gentle" and bicycle excursions every day.

That sounds good. The boat (Viking) that we were on did not.. everyone at the same speed.

We did a Nile cruise and I unexpectedly loved it, mostly I think because the boat wasn't busy and there were very few boats on the river, loads tied up. But the pace was lovely, as was not having to pack up every day, early starts a lot of the time.

We are mid 50s and would consider one in Asia, and will start to look at European ones post retirement.....

On the Nile. It was breathtaking and such a peaceful way to explore the landscape (instead of being constantly harassed for tips, like on land). The only problem, which got quite annoying, was all the women got lonely cos all the men spent several hours leaning on the edge of the boat taking photos. It was so weird 😂

My cruise offered a choice of three excursions each time we docked (so morning and afternoon). A couple of times everyone did the same excursion such as to a palace and we all got off one evening and went out which was fun.
We had one afternoon where we didn’t stop and that was nice and relaxing.
We also has a couple of performances on the top deck from a local youth drama group and a local dancing group which were amazing.
My ship has space for 72 passengers and there were 56 on my sailing which was wonderful. I’ve never met so many lovely people, I got so lucky and loved everyone’s can do attitude . Passengers were from the UK, Australia, America. I’m expecting my Rhine river cruise in
October to have more people from Europe.

I recently did a Rhine river cruise with Viking which was great fun. It was 90% Americans, and the average age was early 50s but I met lots of fascinating people (even the trump supporters!) and am still in touch with several.

it’s not cheap but we went all inclusive including alcohol and their alcohol is top quality (veuve cliquot champagne for instance)

the food was good, the boats immaculate, some excursions were hit and miss but I would happily go again. There’s lots of entertainment and the cabins are very well appointed. The crew were very friendly and our cruise director was hilarious. Viking we’re also great when loads of the passengers had their return flights cancelled, and helped everyone sourt it out.

we did have issues with low water levels, and there were times we were moored next to other boats as Viking has a lot of boats out and it’s hard to accommodate them all. It was all fine though and I thoroughly recommend it.