River Cruises

[CaptJacksFamily]

I am right there with you when talking about retirement and the desire to travel, like you we realized that there is a limited time that we will be able to or want to travel and we wanted to get out an explore. On another thread you mentioned river cruises; we have done two both on Crystal (who we highly recommend) both during Christmas for the Christmas markets. The first cruise was Amsterdam to Basil on the Rhine the other was a round trip out of Vienna. DM me if you would like more info on the trips we have done.

[erikthewise]

I've also spent a lot of time with fantasies of a European river cruise. Maybe someday.
But no interest whatsoever in retiring to Florida. I like winter, and hate hot humid summers! They're bad enough up north; I'm not about to make them worse.

[administrator]

Originally Posted by CaptJacksFamily

First and foremost thank you for the work that you have done to help Kim maintain this site as open and free place to discuss not only Disney but life in general (ok mostly Disney).

I am right there with you when talking about retirement and the desire to travel, like you we realized that there is a limited time that we will be able to or want to travel and we wanted to get out an explore. On another thread you mentioned river cruises; we have done two both on Crystal (who we highly recommend) both during Christmas for the Christmas markets. The first cruise was Amsterdam to Basil on the Rhine the other was a round trip out of Vienna. DM me if you would like more info on the trips we have done.

.

At some point, I will be PMing you to ask about the river cruises. I am dying to do one! And Tom, I thought you and Robin were, too.... At least, last time I talked to her, lol!

[tomandrobin]

Originally Posted by administrator

At some point, I will be PMing you to ask about the river cruises. I am dying to do one! And Tom, I thought you and Robin were, too.... At least, last time I talked to her, lol!

We are....Just can't wait for this crap to pass.

[brp]

Originally Posted by CaptJacksFamily

On another thread you mentioned river cruises; we have done two both on Crystal (who we highly recommend) both during Christmas for the Christmas markets. The first cruise was Amsterdam to Basil on the Rhine the other was a round trip out of Vienna. DM me if you would like more info on the trips we have done.

These are on our list, too. We've seen very interesting ads for Viking, but haven't looked into it much as yet, so Crystal sounds interesting as well. We're just waiting until retirement (circa two years) and now Covid...whichever happens latest

Cheers.

[CaptJacksFamily]

We are far from being cruising experts. Our first Crystal cruise we were going with friends that had already book and we were invited to join. That being said Crystal did fit in our desire to do cruises with the smallest number of people possible. Crystal boats are the same size as the Viking boats but Crystal has 100 guest on board and Viking as about 200. We do have friends that have dome viking cruises and enjoyed them very much. I do believe that the Crystal experience is a higher level than Viking but you will pay for it. I guess it is similar to if you stay at the GFV or SSR, both are nice but you will certainly pay more for the GFV.

A couple of things to think about when you're starting the planing process for a river cruise:

• There are less entertainment opportunities than a big boat. They do have some lounge acts but no stage shows, movies or casinos. Most alcohol and food is included but Crystal does offer a high end tasting dinner that is an extra cost.
  
• Since most boats repeat the same trip in opposite directions think about which way you want to go. If you are going with the current the boat will spend less time cruising and more time at the stops. If the boat is going up stream more time is spent on the boat. We really enjoyed watching the world go by so we look for the up river direction.
• River cruises can run into issues with water level and your cruise could turn into a bus trip. If this is an issue for you do research on the river you will be on to find the times of year when this will be less issues.
  Some of the places along the river you tie up are not very picturest, we prefer cabins that look onto the river not shore.
• You will pass through several locks in which the boats may tie up side by side. If you are going to take a nap remember to close the shades. On one of our cruses a couple were napping pretty close to in the **** and well lets just say our boat found it very humorous.

A cruise this year on the Mosel River was one of our COVID casualties, but Crystal offered a pretty good deal to move it to a 2021 cruise, we selected a late spring trip on the Rhine. We have also booked a Crystal Small boat (65 people) ocean cruise that starts in Italy and ends in the Greek Isle. Once again they offered repeat customers a pretty good price on all cruising so we jumped on it. So now we're crossing our fingers that we can travel again by late spring.

[kzrooster]

I’m fully enjoying the river cruise talk.
We discussed taking one at great lengths a couple years ago. We had zeroed in on the Rhine, either Amsterdam to Basil, or in the reverse direction. An Adventures By Disney cruise was in our crosshairs...... I don’t want to have to plan or worry over any of it. Long story short, my 88 year old FIL and his wife, along with her 4 siblings and spouses took the cruise we were interested in. They went with Viking. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
There is a group of Mouseowners who travel, vacation, get together often, who were planning one for this past April. (We’ve been with them often, great group.....love them!) They were going with Viking, not ABD.

Now it appears I need to investigate Crystal.

One thing I really wanted to see, but haven’t found an acceptable cruise which covers it, is The Gutenberg Museum. Between the Bible, and thanks to Spaceship Earth, the moveable printing press........

[Brian5581]

Definitely hope to do a river cruise at some point in the near future. Preferably timed with the Christmas markets.

[reblzmom]

Originally Posted by kzrooster

I’m fully enjoying the river cruise talk.
We discussed taking one at great lengths a couple years ago. We had zeroed in on the Rhine, either Amsterdam to Basil, or in the reverse direction. An Adventures By Disney cruise was in our crosshairs...... I don’t want to have to plan or worry over any of it. Long story short, my 88 year old FIL and his wife, along with her 4 siblings and spouses took the cruise we were interested in. They went with Viking. Thoroughly enjoyed it.
There is a group of Mouseowners who travel, vacation, get together often, who were planning one for this past April. (We’ve been with them often, great group.....love them!) They were going with Viking, not ABD.

Now it appears I need to investigate Crystal.

One thing I really wanted to see, but haven’t found an acceptable cruise which covers it, is The Gutenberg Museum. Between the Bible, and thanks to Spaceship Earth, the moveable printing press........

Basel to Amsterdam now rescheduled.....just sayin.....

[carolina_yankee]

I didn't realize about the differences in the port times based on which way the river flows. That's good to know for planning.

My two concerns about river cruises are:

• River levels - good friends had their dream river cruise turn into a bus tour.
• Is a river cruise really as good as just flying, renting a car, and touring on your own? Especially for the cost involved?

I think the second is my biggest concern. I love cruising, so it would be a wonderful experience. I think the best way to deal with that would be to take a two week trip - one week for the cruise and one week for whatever else that interests me.

Of course, this is the biggest problem I have with all tours - I tend to be self-sufficient and have interests that aren't always fully aligned with the tours. It's hard to let go and let somebody else do the work!

It's probably why I love Caribbean cruises with many sea days or ports of call that are just about scenery and a beach - very easy to figure things out and not have a fear of FOMO!

Yes, I have double FOMO. I have a fear I'll have a fear of missing out.

Dirk