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Post by brp on Mar 4, 2024 17:47:31 GMT -5
I had not heard of Tauck. With a quick glance, they look quite a bit more expensive than some of the other lines. Comments I've read on CruiseCritic seem to indicate that they're a bit more upscale, so that may account for the price. but I was seeing like $2K/person more for similar trips/dates.
Cheers.
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Post by captjacksfamily on Mar 5, 2024 3:47:34 GMT -5
I guess my answer is yes and yes. It is hard it is to compare prices on cruises because it is next to impossible to compare the quality of the excursions and guides, with most travel companies we have used it seems to be you get what you pay for. We did a Tauck land tour that included London and Paris, ABD did pretty much the same tour and the prices were almost the same with Tauck being slightly cheaper after perks from Tauck (extra night on arrival) and our TA . We went with Tauck because we like the included stops a bit better than the ABD but it was a hard decision. Tauck also stays in pretty nice hotels. For the Paris part of our upcoming Paris/Rhone trip Tauck uses the InterContinental Paris le Grand which is pretty nice and is across the street from the Opera Garnier. We like it because it is not down in the ultra tourist area by the river and the tower yet it is a pretty easy walk if you want to go there. You also get nice rooms, not the ones stuck in the corner that the hotel they can't sell. We did a CIE tour of Ireland (we joined our daughter so we were traveling on her budget not ours,,,) and it was a wonderful trip because it was just as things were opening up after COVID and there was no-one at any of the attractions. The lodging, food, buses and guide (who was also the bus driver) used were a very obvious downgrade from what you get with Tauck. We have done four tours with Tauck and thought we got our moneys worth but then again maybe we have just gotten lucky...
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Post by brp on Mar 5, 2024 9:50:39 GMT -5
Thanks. We may do some land time on either/both ends, but we'll do that on our own rather than with the tour company as that's what we usually do in Europe, so that's not a factor. What you've written corroborates some of what I've read/seen about Tauck. It seems higher end, but something different than we're looking for.
Research so far has Avalon grabbing our interest, with Viking a close second. Viking focuses more on the area- art, architecture, history, food. The comment said it's for people who want to "think," and that's what we do in Europe- learn things in advance to prepare. But it tends to be more low key and walking tours. Avalon is somewhat more active and may focus a little less on these things. Also, they have morning yoga classes on deck 
Ama appears to have pools with walk-up bars and more of a party atmosphere. Definitely not what we went.
Still more research to do as at at least 5 months to booking.
Cheers. |
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Post by gncntry on Mar 6, 2024 12:20:01 GMT -5
We did a Viking cruise in 2023 and enjoyed it. Their price includes 1 excursion at each port. There are also add-on excursions and they tell you what activity level each is. We liked the no kids and no casino. River boats in general have fewer amenities (no pool, etc.) We are 62 and were not the youngest but in the younger group. The excursion size was about 15-20 people in each group and they gave you a headset for the duration of the cruise. It was very helpful. Many of the guides were local to the town we docked at which was very nice. We had some great guides. There was usually a program each day about the next day’s stop.
I will say that river cruises probably have more of a tendency to use buses a lot, at least the one we were on. Some days we would get on a bus for an hour or two to the next port, do the tour, and the ship would catch up to us.
We have another Viking Danube cruise scheduled for May 2025.
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Post by brp on Mar 6, 2024 16:42:52 GMT -5
We did a Viking cruise in 2023 and enjoyed it. Their price includes 1 excursion at each port. There are also add-on excursions and they tell you what activity level each is. We liked the no kids and no casino. River boats in general have fewer amenities (no pool, etc.) We are 62 and were not the youngest but in the younger group. The excursion size was about 15-20 people in each group and they gave you a headset for the duration of the cruise. It was very helpful. Many of the guides were local to the town we docked at which was very nice. We had some great guides. There was usually a program each day about the next day’s stop. I will say that river cruises probably have more of a tendency to use buses a lot, at least the one we were on. Some days we would get on a bus for an hour or two to the next port, do the tour, and the ship would catch up to us. We have another Viking Danube cruise scheduled for May 2025. Thanks. I contacted Viking and they had the same comments about the group size. The bus portion sounds less thrilling, but I know it's required to get further afield. Bike options (Avalon and others) seem like a nice possibility as well. The fewer amenities is a nice feature for us, but the yoga is a nice add for Avalon.
Cheers.
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Post by captjacksfamily on Mar 13, 2024 4:08:33 GMT -5
This is really not Disney-specific since a number of lines run river cruises. But I know that is a knowledgeable and trustworthy cohort, so a good place to discuss this.
We will be doing something similar (Croatia coast and not actually a river) in August and are looking at river cruises beyond that. We'll not book until after that one just to be sure we like it. But never to early to find out more.
Looking about, we're leaning toward Viking River Cruises, but Disney seem similar.
The cruise type we're looking at is like 190 people, so not huge.
One question I have off the bat is about shore excursions. Is it typically the case that these comprise a group of like 200 people and a guide or two with an umbrella, maybe headsets, traipsing through the streets of Europe?
We've seen these when traveling and they do not look like fun. Is this what things tend to be like, or are there other ways to do this that may be more self-guided (with admissions and such covered by the cruise) rather than a throng?
Of course, all river cruise comments/questions welcome.
Cheers.
Sorry for digging up an old thread but we were working on some vacation details and I was thinking about this thread. In my previous post I don't think I commented on the you using the Croatia trip as a basis to make a river cruise decision. You don't mention the size of ship you will be on or if it will be stopping at the same ports as the larger ships but I would caution against using a ocean cruise to make a decision about a river cruise. The two types of cruising couldn't be more different. If you are on even one of the smaller ocean ships if the are stopping in the normal port of calls they are still dumping Thousands of tourist into those areas. Even at a busy stop on the river the river boats are only putting a few hundred people out, we have found it much easy to get off the beaten path on the river boats than on the ocean boats we have been on. We have also found that the ocean boats seem to be more about life on the boat, there is a good chance you may find guest on board that never plan on leaving the boat vs the river boats are all about the excursions. Plus there is never any rough seas on the river, it is as smooth as it can be, you know you're moving but that is about it. Personally I am still to be convince that we are ocean cruisers but we love the river cruises. If you do end up taking a river cruise I would suggest getting a room from middle of the boat forward, some the the rear rooms can pick up noise and vibrations from the engines. I |
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Post by brp on Mar 13, 2024 8:45:27 GMT -5
This is really not Disney-specific since a number of lines run river cruises. But I know that is a knowledgeable and trustworthy cohort, so a good place to discuss this.
We will be doing something similar (Croatia coast and not actually a river) in August and are looking at river cruises beyond that. We'll not book until after that one just to be sure we like it. But never to early to find out more.
Looking about, we're leaning toward Viking River Cruises, but Disney seem similar.
The cruise type we're looking at is like 190 people, so not huge.
One question I have off the bat is about shore excursions. Is it typically the case that these comprise a group of like 200 people and a guide or two with an umbrella, maybe headsets, traipsing through the streets of Europe?
We've seen these when traveling and they do not look like fun. Is this what things tend to be like, or are there other ways to do this that may be more self-guided (with admissions and such covered by the cruise) rather than a throng?
Of course, all river cruise comments/questions welcome.
Cheers.
Sorry for digging up an old thread but we were working on some vacation details and I was thinking about this thread. In my previous post I don't think I commented on the you using the Croatia trip as a basis to make a river cruise decision. You don't mention the size of ship you will be on or if it will be stopping at the same ports as the larger ships but I would caution against using a ocean cruise to make a decision about a river cruise. The two types of cruising couldn't be more different. If you are on even one of the smaller ocean ships if the are stopping in the normal port of calls they are still dumping Thousands of tourist into those areas. Even at a busy stop on the river the river boats are only putting a few hundred people out, we have found it much easy to get off the beaten path on the river boats than on the ocean boats we have been on. We have also found that the ocean boats seem to be more about life on the boat, there is a good chance you may find guest on board that never plan on leaving the boat vs the river boats are all about the excursions. Plus there is never any rough seas on the river, it is as smooth as it can be, you know you're moving but that is about it. Personally I am still to be convince that we are ocean cruisers but we love the river cruises. If you do end up taking a river cruise I would suggest getting a room from middle of the boat forward, some the the rear rooms can pick up noise and vibrations from the engines. So, I recently learned that there are not ocean cruises for the Dalmation coast in Croatia. Small ports and the big ships don't fit. This is much more akin to a river cruise as we are in a port every day with very small groups. Our boat holds 38. This is not even a little about life on the boat as we use it as a night time floating hotel and not even all dinners are on the boat (they are with river cruises). So this is not quite the same either, but seems much closer to the river cruise than the ocean cruise. And even this will be more intimate than the vast majority of river cruises, so a fair model.
We found some YouTube videos from a TA named Beth Schulberg that were great. One compared Tauck, Avalon and Viking, Another on Croatia. Even though we typically do our own research and book on our own, we may work with her agency for our 2025 cruise for the details as she is very knowledgeable, and the videos are great. And she's only $300, and often has deals beyond what we can find, so may well pay for herself.
Cheers.
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Post by captjacksfamily on Mar 13, 2024 9:10:08 GMT -5
The Croatia trip sounds great, can you tell us who you are using?
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Post by brp on Mar 13, 2024 17:28:50 GMT -5
The Croatia trip sounds great, can you tell us who you are using? We are on a ship called M/S Avantura. Not sure if it's part of a cruise line as this was arranged by friends of my brother's family- folks that we know as well. Her 50th, and daughter's 21st. We are the whole ship.
I also saw a nice video from the Beth named above about a cruise line called Katarina with similar-size ships. Worth watching.
Cheers.
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Post by Kerri jo on Mar 19, 2024 8:54:12 GMT -5
We took our first Viking cruise last summer (Basel to Amsterdam) and absolutely loved it! I had the high bid on the cruise at a charity auction, having no awareness that we are NOT their age demographic, and having never cruised before. The initial appeal to us was the small number of guests, the convenience of the itinerary sandwiched between our European travels to other countries (we did our own airfare and pre- and post- extensions) and most of the things on the NO list. There were other couples close to our age, and several 20-somethings. We booked most of the add-on excursions, typically choosing the "demanding" to ensure we were going to move at a pace we were more accustomed to, and definitely booked "privileged access" when offered.
I am a super picky eater and the food was exceptional! We had a balcony on the third deck of the ship and sat outside twice the entire 8 days because we were so busy, but I would book this category again for the comfort and convenience of being near the very limited outdoor dining area and the quiet of the library. The low level with the "swan" windows would be too claustrophobic for me, and the second deck (the level for embark/disembark and main dining area) was more bustling and seemed to be preferred by the older crowd as they could avoid the stairs.
If you haven't decided yet, and want more info on Viking, let me know. We are planning additional cruises with Viking, including one with our kids who are over 18.
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Post by Eli's Nana on Jun 24, 2024 11:50:32 GMT -5
Just following up now that we’ve completed our first river cruise with Viking.
Similar to Kerri Jo, this was our first Viking river cruise, and we did not know firsthand what to expect. We took the Chateaux, Rivers and Wine cruise that goes from Bordeaux City and back to Bordeaux City with stops in Libourne, Saint Emilion, Bourg, Blaye, Medoc, Margaux, and Cadillac. This was part of our 45th wedding anniversary trip with the cruise sandwiched between our other European travels (again, similar to Kerri Jo). The other trips included 2 nights at a destination, then moving by train, bus, or plane to the next destination. I have to say it was nice to have our “hotel” travel with us this week. Since we always travel carry on only, it was a great opportunity to get some laundry done.
We had some friends tell us to be prepared to be the youngest on the boat (we both just turned 65, so that was surprising). Once on the boat we found that not to be true, for our cruise at least. There were a handful of folks who seemed older and a handful of 20 somethings. The rest of us were in our 40’s, 50’s, 60’s. We like history so we mostly signed up for the excursions that were town tours. All of our excursions except one involved stepping off the boat and meeting the local guide. Only one involved a bus ride, and that was through wine country to see the various chateaus, with a stop in the evening for dinner and wine at a chateau. These were all easy to medium level tours, with the medium requiring some amount of climbing. We added a couple of our own small group bicycle excursions with local vendors, not through Viking, They were really fun! It was easy to coordinate the non-Viking excursions into our itinerary.
We too chose a cabin on the 3rd level of the boat, but chose the French balcony version as some friends had advised we probably wouldn’t use the balcony much. The couple of times we did sit outside we went up to the top level sun deck when the boat was on the move. As Kerri Jo mentioned, the food was excellent. There were always many options and I was able to stay within my kidney diet without asking for anything special. We did throw them for a loop the first night when we each chose an appetizer salad and asked to split the main entree. It was like no one had ever asked that before. We found it was much simpler if we wanted to share an entree for one of us to order it then asked for an extra plate when the meal arrived. The service everywhere on the boat was exceptional, and everyone seemed to actually enjoy what they were doing. This made the trip even more pleasant.
Overall we very much enjoyed the cruise. The weather the beginning of June was perfect in Bordeaux, no rain and temps in the low to mid 80’s. There were really not any demanding excursions on this cruise, but the nature of this itinerary was about Bordeaux and wine. They did offer some e-bike excursions but they were sold out before we got the notice to book our excursions. This wasn’t really an issue because we scheduled our own bike tours. Regarding alcohol, mimosa’s and champagne were offered at breakfast, and multiple wines were offered for each lunch and dinner (all included). Viking also allows you to bring your own wine on board and drink it at meals with no corkage fees. We did this twice with no issues. There are multiple captain’s events where they offer complementary alcoholic beverages and appetizer’s in the lounge prior to dinner. The lounge also offered cocktails and wines for purchase every afternoon/evening or if you paid for the beverage package these drinks are unlimited, We didn’t think it was worth the money as we don’t drink enough to make it worthwhile.
Viking made everything so easy, if the itinerary is right we might do one again. It was a very nice trip!
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Post by brp on Jun 24, 2024 20:20:51 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. Based on everything we've read, I think we're leaning toward Avalon, but nice to hear such a positive review of Viking.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Jun 25, 2024 7:47:37 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. Based on everything we've read, I think we're leaning toward Avalon, but nice to hear such a positive review of Viking. Cheers. Choose where you want to go or see, than find the cruise line/tour company that meet your goals, provide the service level you want.....and the price you are willing to pay.
Avalon and Viking are rated the top two cruise lines. But don't overlook companies like Scenic, Tauck, Uniworld and AMA cruise lines.
Also recommended is booking with a tour company that will charter a River Cruise ship, like Adventures by Disney and Gate1.
We have yet to do a River Cruise, but they are high on our "to do" later list. I know that when looking at the different companies, don't just focus on the upfront cost. If you plan out your week and include food, drink, excursions, etc that each offer, you will find that the pricing is not that far off from each other.
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Post by brp on Jun 25, 2024 8:06:49 GMT -5
Thanks for the review. Based on everything we've read, I think we're leaning toward Avalon, but nice to hear such a positive review of Viking. Cheers. Choose where you want to go or see, than find the cruise line/tour company that meet your goals, provide the service level you want.....and the price you are willing to pay.
Avalon and Viking are rated the top two cruise lines. But don't overlook companies like Scenic, Tauck, Uniworld and AMA cruise lines.
Also recommended is booking with a tour company that will charter a River Cruise ship, like Adventures by Disney and Gate1.
We have yet to do a River Cruise, but they are high on our "to do" later list. I know that when looking at the different companies, don't just focus on the upfront cost. If you plan out your week and include food, drink, excursions, etc that each offer, you will find that the pricing is not that far off from each other.
We've done a good bit of research and looked very much at Tauck, Viking, Avalon, AMA and ABD. Tauck is higher end than we want. And both AMA and ABD (run by AMA in the cases we saw) had features we were not interested in. It is down to Viking and Avalon.
For starters, we are looking at Danube, and they all do them. Avalon seemed a bit better based on what we like to do. Your point about overall price is in line with what we found. Tauck was on the higher end, but they offer more than we would want, even factoring in what we'd pay for on other cruises. But not by much. The excursion offerings and on-board experience looked b better for Avalon (more choices) than Viking by a bit, as well as the room selection and options. ABD had very view adult-only offerings and, while Avalon does allow kids over 8, seems that that is very uncommon. A number of the AMA cruises had pools and what was described as a "party atmosphere" as well as things line dance floors in some cases. Not for us. But there are options for different tastes.
One Viking advantage is that they have a shitload of ships and cruise offerings.
We have found an agent that we will be working with who does a lot of these and can also help with details and deals.
Cheers.
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Post by tomandrobin on Jun 25, 2024 9:31:08 GMT -5
We've done a good bit of research and looked very much at Tauck, Viking, Avalon, AMA and ABD. Tauck is higher end than we want. And both AMA and ABD (run by AMA in the cases we saw) had features we were not interested in. It is down to Viking and Avalon.
For starters, we are looking at Danube, and they all do them. Avalon seemed a bit better based on what we like to do. Your point about overall price is in line with what we found. Tauck was on the higher end, but they offer more than we would want, even factoring in what we'd pay for on other cruises. But not by much. The excursion offerings and on-board experience looked b better for Avalon (more choices) than Viking by a bit, as well as the room selection and options. ABD had very view adult-only offerings and, while Avalon does allow kids over 8, seems that that is very uncommon. A number of the AMA cruises had pools and what was described as a "party atmosphere" as well as things line dance floors in some cases. Not for us. But there are options for different tastes.
One Viking advantage is that they have a shitload of ships and cruise offerings.
We have found an agent that we will be working with who does a lot of these and can also help with details and deals.
Cheers.
You are certainly on the right path, which comes as no surprise.
Good to find a TA and has extensive experience with river cruises. Robin does not book a lot of river cruises and when she does, they are usually either Disney (ABD) or Viking. I don't pimp her for those cruises because she tries to only likes to book travel to places that she has experienced or are past guests who know what they want and trust Robin to manage their trip.
For a river cruise, having a pool has never been a consideration. Its not the same type of cruising like a Caribbean Cruise.....those are more about leisure and not culture.
When we ever get around to doing a River Cruise, I want to cruise Eastern Europe with stops like Vienna and Budapest (for me), but it also has to have an excursion to Salzburg (for Robin).
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