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I’ve been on several European river cruises, and I’ve had a good time, however I keep stumbling across things I don’t think are made crystal clear or as up-front as they should be to travellers like you and me.
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0:00
i've been on several european river
0:02
cruises and i've had a good time however
0:04
i keep stumbling across things i don't
0:07
think are made crystal clear or as
0:10
upfront as they should be to travelers
0:12
like you and me i'm gary bembridge and i
0:14
want to talk about 14 under discussed
0:16
and really important things that anyone
0:18
thinking about european river cruising
0:21
absolutely need to know
0:23
first you can only cruise european
0:25
rivers for a pretty small part of the
0:28
year as the season just runs for seven
0:30
months between april through to october
0:33
although most lines also offer christmas
0:34
market cruises on the rhine and the
0:36
danube in december most river cruise
0:39
ships are laid up for five months of the
0:42
year now this means that actually demand
0:45
is pretty high for european river
0:46
cruises and they often sell out because
0:48
they're concentrated into just those few
0:51
months so planning and booking far ahead
0:54
for european river cruising is a really
0:56
good idea late deals on river cruising
0:59
are much less frequent than for ocean
1:01
cruising also in my experience the next
1:04
issue is not something mentioned by the
1:06
lines up front but it is buried down in
1:08
the fine print it causes itinerary
1:11
disruptions and many changes and is
1:13
probably the main disappointment that
1:16
travelers experience with european river
1:18
cruising and that is
1:20
water levels
1:23
water levels are river
1:25
arch enemy poor winter snows and low
1:28
summer rains can make it impossible for
1:30
the boats to travel their full itinerary
1:33
too much and they can't pass under many
1:36
of the bridges along the way now there
1:38
are solutions that the lions do and can
1:40
put in place so be aware when booking
1:42
and be ready to be flexible river
1:45
cruises don't cover a lot of ground
1:48
unlike ocean cruises many days you'll
1:50
only be moving 20 to 40 miles so the
1:53
river cruise lines can moor up and bus
1:56
guests on the various different
1:57
excursions for that day on my last
2:00
viking river cruise for example water
2:02
levels were so low we could not get past
2:04
vienna and had some more there along
2:06
with dozens of other boats and we
2:08
couldn't sell any further towards
2:10
budapest on across the europe lua cruz
2:14
we had to stay moored halfway along the
2:16
route and we were bust each day to the
2:18
different places we were scheduled to
2:20
visit
2:21
in some years people have actually even
2:23
been moved to a different ship further
2:26
down the river to bypass low water
2:28
levels one thing that struck me when i
2:31
first went on a river cruise is how the
2:33
ships all look the same and how similar
2:35
and limited the facilities were inside
2:38
now this is something that people use to
2:40
ocean cruising can be a little bit
2:42
thrown by the ships are basically all
2:44
the same because they basically have to
2:47
be there's a length a width and a height
2:49
required to travel under the bridges
2:52
through the locks and maneuver the
2:54
twists and turns of the rivers
2:56
from the outside
2:58
all river cruising ships basically look
3:00
the same and they're largely the same
3:03
layout inside two because space is
3:05
limited the real differences are
3:07
actually in the decor
3:09
river cruise ships generally have three
3:11
decks with the sun deck on the top
3:14
then they have a main lounge area with a
3:17
bar which is the main meeting point for
3:19
talks
3:20
events and socializing they have a main
3:22
dining room that can seat everyone at
3:25
one time they have a reception atrium
3:27
with guest services sometimes a small
3:28
shop some will have a small fitness
3:30
center or massage room or hairdresser
3:33
then at the rear of the ships different
3:35
lines have different facilities unique
3:37
to them so for example especially a
3:40
dining restaurant on ammo waterways an
3:42
indoor pool on emerald an informal
3:45
dining area on viking or in fact another
3:47
lounge on avalon there are usually
3:50
cabins on all three decks two decks are
3:53
above the waterline with large floor to
3:56
seating windows and there's one set of
3:58
cabins usually mostly below the
4:00
waterline with small windows close to
4:02
the ceiling area
4:04
ocean cruise passengers are often
4:06
surprised by the limited dining options
4:08
that they're more used to on bigger
4:10
ships meals are mostly in the main
4:12
dining room at a set time for everyone
4:15
with some casual options like buffet in
4:17
the lounge for lunch and dinner but not
4:20
always on every single line few lines
4:23
offer room service for me the main issue
4:26
has actually been that the only dinner
4:28
option on many lines is a set dining
4:30
time in the restaurant with three to
4:32
four courses which can take time not all
4:35
lines are like that but many are another
4:37
similarity that is not really
4:39
highlighted is that the places you call
4:42
on will be the same
4:43
no matter which river cruise line that
4:46
you choose
4:47
that's simply because along these rivers
4:49
there are only so many places of
4:51
interest to call and sights to see
4:55
not only do they stop at the same places
4:58
but all lines usually offer the same
5:00
excursions most lines by the way include
5:03
at least one excursion at every stop
5:05
within the fair more on that later
5:07
now these excursions tend to be more
5:09
historical and you'll see many many
5:11
cathedrals museums and you'll go on a
5:13
lot of walking tours of towns now
5:16
knowing all this means that when i
5:17
personally am now choosing a line i look
5:20
really carefully at the excursions
5:21
because some lines are trying to break
5:23
away and offer more varied and more
5:25
active bike and hiking excursions
5:28
particularly things like
5:29
avalon waterways amber waterways lines
5:32
like that one thing not shown in the ads
5:35
and so it's something that throws many
5:37
first-timers on river cruises is that
5:39
the ships often dock alongside and
5:42
parallel to each other sometimes three
5:45
or four deep you can find especially on
5:47
the busy rhine and danube that your ship
5:50
will have other ships moored right up
5:52
close on either side boxing you in so
5:54
even if you've booked a premium floor to
5:57
ceiling window cabin you may find
6:00
another ship's cabin just a few feet
6:02
away from you and you're looking
6:03
straight into that cabin and it can
6:05
actually get pretty dark this also means
6:08
that to get onto land you have to climb
6:10
up and over the adjoining ships sun deck
6:13
or walk through the adjoining reception
6:15
areas if you have limited mobility this
6:18
can be pretty challenging so be aware
6:22
it's also
6:23
though a chance to peek inside other
6:25
river cruise line ships and see if you
6:27
prefer that particular one next time so
6:29
it's a good little insight there
6:31
although of course the lines are up
6:32
front about the fares what is worth
6:35
talking about is how expensive european
6:37
river cruising is and if they're
6:39
actually good value it's much more
6:42
costly than ocean cruising if you're
6:43
more used to those prices for example a
6:46
seven night ryan cruise in july next
6:48
year in the lowest grade cabin those
6:50
partly below the waterline and cruise
6:53
only so no airfares will set you back
6:55
from four thousand dollars for a couple
6:58
on a value line across europe to seven
7:00
thousand nine hundred dollars per couple
7:02
on an ultra luxury line like uniworld
7:04
that's between 580 us dollars and 1 100
7:08
use dollars per couple per day in the
7:10
cheapest cabin on those ships the river
7:12
cruise lines make much though of their
7:15
fares being all-inclusive and while my
7:17
onboard costs have been very limited on
7:19
all my trips what they don't talk about
7:21
so much is that every river cruise line
7:24
has a different definition of what
7:27
all-inclusive means all include
7:29
accommodation meals and and wi-fi but
7:32
then some include drinks at meals and
7:34
the bar while others only include beer
7:36
wine and soft drinks at lunch and dinner
7:39
some include gratuities like apt scenic
7:42
tarc and uniworld but others like viking
7:45
avalon amartes amadeus across europe
7:48
don't most include as i mentioned
7:51
earlier one or more excursions at each
7:53
stop but two increasingly offer lower
7:55
value fares some lines across europe
7:57
chewie river cruises don't you buy those
8:00
as extras so when comparing and choosing
8:03
make sure you check what is and is not
8:05
included in those all-inclusive fares
8:08
although it's called cruising
8:10
what it's not really spoken about is
8:12
that in my view the experience is not
8:14
like ocean cruising but it's much much
8:16
closer to escorted touring where the bus
8:18
whisking you around the region and the
8:20
various hotels that you would normally
8:21
stay in are replaced by the river ship
8:24
itself so if you're used to ocean
8:26
cruising or a more informal way of
8:29
traveling then river cruising can be a
8:32
bit of a surprise i don't think this is
8:34
actually highlighted enough it
8:36
absolutely reminds me much more of the
8:38
format and the experience that i've had
8:40
on escorted bus tours i've been on
8:42
places like florida tanzania and so on
8:45
when ocean cruising i do have much more
8:47
flexibility i can get up when i want
8:49
time when i want do as little or as much
8:51
of the daily program as i want there is
8:54
no
8:55
set rhythm like there is on ocean
8:57
cruising in river cruising some days the
8:59
ship may visit two different places some
9:01
days it may move to a different place
9:03
while you're out on tour and pick you up
9:05
further down the river some nights will
9:07
be spent more overnight in a town some
9:10
won't so although the rhythm's very
9:12
different this is though
9:14
a much more structured vacation
9:16
and as i said much more similar to an
9:19
escorted tour approach this usually
9:21
means an earlier start with everyone
9:23
invited to be up for breakfast together
9:24
then you all head off on the morning
9:26
excursion you'll come back often for
9:28
lunch at a set time and then you head
9:30
out on the afternoon excursion together
9:33
there will be a briefing for example
9:35
every night before dinner about the next
9:36
day in the lounge laying out the program
9:39
you normally have dinner at a set time
9:41
you might then have straight after that
9:43
some local entertainment you'll be
9:44
sitting at dinner together now of course
9:46
you can opt out and you can self explore
9:48
you can eat in town however bear in mind
9:50
the fares as we saw are pretty steep and
9:53
all of the stuff is included in that so
9:55
it's something to consider as if you all
9:57
wanted to go and explore much more that
9:59
you've paid for many of the stuff
10:00
already personally i find them
10:03
fascinating and most guests in my
10:05
experience do but i found the river
10:06
cruise lines for some reason tend to
10:08
downplay them but on many of the
10:10
european rivers like the danube with 18
10:13
the rhinos 10 is that you are going to
10:16
be going through
10:17
a number of locks i find them
10:19
fascinating i really enjoy being out
10:21
watching going through them they can be
10:24
slightly weird though if you're in your
10:25
cabin
10:26
when you do because you suddenly have a
10:28
solid concrete wall up against your
10:30
window it can throw you a little bit if
10:32
you're sleeping however and you're going
10:34
through locks there is some noise and
10:35
bumping as you go through them on that
10:37
topic i do find river cruise ships a
10:40
little bit noisier than ocean cruising
10:42
from people walking about and talking
10:44
much more there they're smaller ships
10:46
there's less ambient noise of the ocean
10:48
to kind of mask a lot of sound and they
10:50
do tend to be a little bit noisier
10:52
overall so i actually just take earplugs
10:54
with me after one trip where i actually
10:55
was woken up every night by the people
10:57
in the room next door snoring and
10:59
another cruise with the television next
11:01
door so i find earplugs is a pretty good
11:02
idea river cruise lines tend to talk
11:05
much less about who currently goes on
11:08
river cruises and are much happier
11:10
talking about how they want to attract
11:11
younger and more families in practice
11:14
both from the cost
11:16
and the nature of the experience i
11:18
mostly find older travelers on my river
11:20
cruises like me i guess people in their
11:22
50s 60s 70s and even above in the summer
11:26
school holiday periods on some cruise
11:27
lines there are increasing amounts of
11:30
multi-generational families appearing in
11:32
lines are trying to cater more for those
11:34
with more activities and features for
11:36
kids in that school holiday peak period
11:38
by the way it's also not great for solar
11:40
travelers as most lines charge double
11:42
occupancy for solos some do offer
11:45
earlier and later in the season solar
11:47
deals and there is more talk of solar
11:48
cabins coming but very few ships have
11:51
them another thing which is not talked
11:53
about much is that river cruising is not
11:55
ideal in my view anyway for people with
11:58
accessibility issues particularly if
12:00
you're in a wheelchair
12:02
many river cruise ships don't have
12:04
dedicated accessibility cabins or even
12:07
elevators also in those small historical
12:10
towns along the routes there are often
12:12
steep ramps to board the ships and
12:13
there's many many cobbled streets
12:16
also remember
12:17
that issue when ships adopt
12:20
next to each other requiring you going
12:22
up and across
12:24
neighboring sun decks to get onto land
12:26
i've not come across many travelers on
12:28
my river cruises who do have mobility
12:30
issues so really check carefully with
12:32
the cruise line before booking one it's
12:35
also worth noting that you should be
12:37
relatively active and fit to get the
12:39
most from european river cruising as
12:41
it's really focused on walking tours
12:43
there's cobblestones your up and down
12:45
stairs for example now though cruise
12:47
lines usually do offer a gentle walking
12:50
option you will see and experience less
12:52
in in my view if you're interested in
12:55
doing a european river cruise watch this
12:57
video where i talk about what i think
12:59
are the best lines and why starting with
13:02
my favorite see you over there
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