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European River Cruises


Nueces River Rat

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Interested as well. Wife wants to do this for our 20th anniversary in a few years. Specifically, the Rhein River cruise. She had a friend who went and said it was mostly old people but it was enjoyable. 


I have no problem with the old folks since according to my kids, I’m old at 46. Lol. Most of those old ones are the travel types whom are pretty fit for their age and would put people much younger to shame. I’m also at that stage now where I rather be with folks closer to that age on a boat vs a bunch of screaming kids on conventional Caribbean cruise. Get off my lawn!! Lol.
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I was just over in Switzerland for Christmas/New Year and the wife, and I took a train to a few towns on the Rhein. First, the river is gorgeous, water is very clear, and you can see all the way down to the bottom. The towns were all done up for Christmas but from the few locals we talked to springtime is a big time for them. Easter festivals are a big deal, and there is a lot of activity as tourists come and go via river and train or whatever.

I could see a cruise being a lot of fun. Below is a picture I took over the river near Stein am Rhein.

IMG-0062.jpg

 

 

 

 

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I had a buddy recently do one of these cruises and he’d said you have to consider the water levels of rivers. If they’re low you’ll be getting off one ship and on to another in order to continue your journey. That involves getting bused from ship to ship. 

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I had a buddy recently do one of these cruises and he’d said you have to consider the water levels of rivers. If they’re low you’ll be getting off one ship and on to another in order to continue your journey. That involves getting bused from ship to ship. 

Which would make sense to try to do one in the Spring when the rivers are flowing well with snow melt.

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Europe had a really dry 2018 and getting bused between ships was common this year.

Beware at late 40s you may be the youngest couple on the boat if you're not on one of the 'family' designated cruises.

Everyone I know that has done one has been mostly happy with the experience; age of fellow cruisers and water level related busing the top complaints.

Go read up at cruisecritic.com

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15 hours ago, ShaggyBevo RIP said:

Europe had a really dry 2018 and getting bused between ships was common this year.

Beware at late 40s you may be the youngest couple on the boat if you're not on one of the 'family' designated cruises.

Everyone I know that has done one has been mostly happy with the experience; age of fellow cruisers and water level related busing the top complaints.

Go read up at cruisecritic.com

I read some stuff on cruise critic as suggested.

Some of the Asian river cruises like the ones that operate in Vietnam have my interest.   Those do appear to attract a younger crowd vs the Euro cruises for some reason.  Maybe it's the overall environment where Vietnam is kind  of a happening place and moving at a fast pace vs the more reserved and centuries old villages in Europe?  

Really the age of the passengers is secondary to me on these cruises which allow you to see a lot vs the Caribbean cruises which spend a lot of time at sea.  We are halfway at being empty nesters ourselves which means our kids will not be taking major  vacations with us as they used too.  As much as I loved traveling with our kids and have memories galore that I will forever cherish,   I've been kind of looking forward to the empty nest days for my wife and I to do more travel because we didn't get to do a whole lot of travel on our own as a young couple before kids because of cash flow. 

 

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Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

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If you're under 60, then know that you will be the youngest there. Exceptions are unmarried females with their mom doing a "girl's trip". 

For the amount of $ they charge, I would never do it. It's cheaper to travel to any place you want to see, in First Class, and just do a river cruise there. You can easily do London, Paris, the Rhine, the Danube, etc. A cruise would be hell on Earth for me though, so I'm biased. 

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I have zero interest in regular cruises... zero... but European river cruises intrigue me since you're always close to scenery, getting on/off easy and the food is apparently excellent.  That said, yes, I'm not feeling like I'm in the correct age bracket yet.  Maybe sooner or later but not there, yet.

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On 1/15/2019 at 8:55 AM, Spankytoes said:

If you're under 60, then know that you will be the youngest there. Exceptions are unmarried females with their mom doing a "girl's trip". 

For the amount of $ they charge, I would never do it. It's cheaper to travel to any place you want to see, in First Class, and just do a river cruise there. You can easily do London, Paris, the Rhine, the Danube, etc. A cruise would be hell on Earth for me though, so I'm biased. 

I'm not big on the Caribbean Cruise type thing, but I'll go if I get outvoted.  I don't like them for the simple reason you are "at sea" on most of the trip and I have my fill after a day on the water.  The rest of the family likes them for the simple reason it's pretty much turnkey.

Now the  ocean cruises that operate in the Mediterranean, South America, and Asia have more appeal to me since you have less days at sea and are able to take in more of the sights thanks to them being in port much longer and even overnight in some locations.  Plus it might be a quick and easy way for my wife and I to familarize ourselves with some of these destinations for a later land only trip down the road.  Once we become empty nesters and if my current business venture takes off, we plan on doing a ton of international travel.  

I think we will go ahead and try one of these river cruises.  Really the age of the fellow passengers won't bother me that much.  I'm used to being with an older crowd anyhow for the simple fact I'm a Gen X type born in 72 who was adopted by WWII generation parents when I was born where as most of the other kids  I grew up with were born from   pre or during Vietnam era parents.  So when it came to family gatherings or group vacations  with other familes, it was always slanted more towards an older crowd and if their grand children were not with them, I might have been the youngest person around.    Sure I'd prefer now to be with people around my own age group, but for 7 to 14 days if I have to be in presence of some of the older folks which in most cases will be retired or almost retired baby boomers or these river cruises, so be it.  And because many of them have $$$ and are still active in their profession, who the heck knows who we might meet which could be a nice business connection.

Edited by Nueces River Rat
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On 1/13/2019 at 3:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

Pretty much something like this.   If we go, I'd like to also take in Prague as well as add on.

 

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The commercials look awesome, but I'd rather not spend so much of my vacation stuck on a boat with a bunch of other tourists. I'm sure there are lots of scenic views, but I'm sure there's lots of just chugging upriver though random countryside. I absolutely don't want to each all or even most of my meals on a boat in a room full of tourists. There are also real risks of not even being able to get up or down the river. Mother Nature doesn't always comply. In that case, they just stick you on a bus and drive you the pre-planned sites they've determined you want to see.

Bernard

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20 minutes ago, MAROON said:

http://www.canalcruisinginfrance.com/barge_size.htm

 

this seems like it could be a good time.  Hotel barges in Provence, Burgundy, Bordeaux, etc.

As a family we rented this one:  http://www.canalcruisinginfrance.com/barging/phenicien.htm

It was pretty bad ass, but you could probably walk faster than the boat travels.  Good food and a nice open bar for 7 days did not suck.

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  • 4 years later...
5 hours ago, smwhorn said:

Bumping this one.

Any intel from anyone on a European River Cruise?  We did the Danube just before Covid and it was great.  Looking for something to do in the French wine regions (or something other than the Danube).

I want to do one of these

https://www.abercrombiekent.com/cruises/european-canal-barge-cruises/luxury-european-canal-barge-cruises

but they also offer small boat cruises https://www.abercrombiekent.com/cruises/connections-european-river-cruise-journeys/luxury-european-river-cruises

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/13/2019 at 11:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

We just returned from this cruise (our first river cruise and first time with Viking).  Truly impressive/outstanding service from beginning to end on Viking.  Enjoyed Vienna, Salzburg, and Budapest. We had received information for twenty years from Viking and always said someday-now it will likely be where to next based on the wonderful experience we shared with our friends and the crew of Viking Atla.

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Just now, 4th&Five said:

Wife and I have talked about it but don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of geriatrics. What were the demographics on board?

I'd say the median age was 60 on our trip, with low end being 40 and high end 80+. It's definitely an older crowd.

 

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On 1/13/2019 at 10:20 PM, 52-80 said:

Never taken one, im not a boat/cruise person.  What kind of experience is she looking for, though?  The Wachau valley is really really nice, and this one cruise goes by it.  Budapest by water is also very pretty.

https://www.vikingrivercruises.co.uk/cruise-destinations/europe/danube-waltz/2020-budapest-passau/index.html

 

a few years later my friends are taking this trip and meeting me at the end of it.  they must've lurked on this board.

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  • 2 months later...

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