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River Cruise Lines Don't Like Talking About These Issues
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Jan 28, 2025
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. ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 95 cruises I have done to date. Become a Channel Member and get member-only videos, Livestreams, ebooks and more: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs ————————————————- * Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS ————————————————————— * Become a Channel Member and get perks: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join * Become a Patron on Patreon and get perks: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers * Make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=V9STJGYSEMGLJ * Buy my book “Cruise Traveler’s Handbook: USA Amazon https://amzn.to/2YVFmG4 and https://amzn.to/3tzIxBn UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3oXbzYc and https://amzn.to/3qawqIQ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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0:00
i've been on several european river
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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
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want to talk about 14 under discussed
0:16
and really important things that anyone
0:18
thinking about european river cruising
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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
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months between april through to october
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although most lines also offer christmas
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market cruises on the rhine and the
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danube in december most river cruise
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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
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cruises and they often sell out because
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they're concentrated into just those few
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months so planning and booking far ahead
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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
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issue is not something mentioned by the
1:06
lines up front but it is buried down in
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the fine print it causes itinerary
1:11
disruptions and many changes and is
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probably the main disappointment that
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travelers experience with european river
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cruising and that is
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water levels
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water levels are river
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arch enemy poor winter snows and low
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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
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cruises don't cover a lot of ground
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unlike ocean cruises many days you'll
1:50
only be moving 20 to 40 miles so the
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river cruise lines can moor up and bus
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guests on the various different
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excursions for that day on my last
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viking river cruise for example water
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levels were so low we could not get past
2:04
vienna and had some more there along
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with dozens of other boats and we
2:08
couldn't sell any further towards
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budapest on across the europe lua cruz
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we had to stay moored halfway along the
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route and we were bust each day to the
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different places we were scheduled to
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visit
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in some years people have actually even
2:23
been moved to a different ship further
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down the river to bypass low water
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levels one thing that struck me when i
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first went on a river cruise is how the
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ships all look the same and how similar
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and limited the facilities were inside
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now this is something that people use to
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ocean cruising can be a little bit
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thrown by the ships are basically all
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the same because they basically have to
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be there's a length a width and a height
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required to travel under the bridges
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through the locks and maneuver the
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twists and turns of the rivers
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from the outside
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all river cruising ships basically look
3:00
the same and they're largely the same
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layout inside two because space is
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limited the real differences are
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actually in the decor
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river cruise ships generally have three
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decks with the sun deck on the top
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then they have a main lounge area with a
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bar which is the main meeting point for
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talks
3:20
events and socializing they have a main
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dining room that can seat everyone at
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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
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then at the rear of the ships different
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lines have different facilities unique
3:37
to them so for example especially a
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dining restaurant on ammo waterways an
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indoor pool on emerald an informal
3:45
dining area on viking or in fact another
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lounge on avalon there are usually
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cabins on all three decks two decks are
3:53
above the waterline with large floor to
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seating windows and there's one set of
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cabins usually mostly below the
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waterline with small windows close to
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the ceiling area
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ocean cruise passengers are often
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surprised by the limited dining options
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that they're more used to on bigger
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ships meals are mostly in the main
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dining room at a set time for everyone
4:15
with some casual options like buffet in
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the lounge for lunch and dinner but not
4:20
always on every single line few lines
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offer room service for me the main issue
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has actually been that the only dinner
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option on many lines is a set dining
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time in the restaurant with three to
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four courses which can take time not all
4:35
lines are like that but many are another
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similarity that is not really
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highlighted is that the places you call
4:42
on will be the same
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no matter which river cruise line that
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you choose
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that's simply because along these rivers
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there are only so many places of
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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
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at least one excursion at every stop
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within the fair more on that later
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now these excursions tend to be more
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historical and you'll see many many
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cathedrals museums and you'll go on a
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lot of walking tours of towns now
5:16
knowing all this means that when i
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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
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active bike and hiking excursions
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particularly things like
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avalon waterways amber waterways lines
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like that one thing not shown in the ads
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and so it's something that throws many
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first-timers on river cruises is that
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the ships often dock alongside and
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parallel to each other sometimes three
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or four deep you can find especially on
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the busy rhine and danube that your ship
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will have other ships moored right up
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close on either side boxing you in so
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even if you've booked a premium floor to
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ceiling window cabin you may find
6:00
another ship's cabin just a few feet
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away from you and you're looking
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straight into that cabin and it can
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actually get pretty dark this also means
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that to get onto land you have to climb
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up and over the adjoining ships sun deck
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or walk through the adjoining reception
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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
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it's a good little insight there
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although of course the lines are up
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front about the fares what is worth
6:35
talking about is how expensive european
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river cruising is and if they're
6:39
actually good value it's much more
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costly than ocean cruising if you're
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more used to those prices for example a
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seven night ryan cruise in july next
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year in the lowest grade cabin those
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partly below the waterline and cruise
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only so no airfares will set you back
6:55
from four thousand dollars for a couple
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on a value line across europe to seven
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thousand nine hundred dollars per couple
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on an ultra luxury line like uniworld
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that's between 580 us dollars and 1 100
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use dollars per couple per day in the
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cheapest cabin on those ships the river
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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
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so much is that every river cruise line
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has a different definition of what
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all-inclusive means all include
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accommodation meals and and wi-fi but
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then some include drinks at meals and
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the bar while others only include beer
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wine and soft drinks at lunch and dinner
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some include gratuities like apt scenic
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tarc and uniworld but others like viking
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avalon amartes amadeus across europe
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don't most include as i mentioned
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earlier one or more excursions at each
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stop but two increasingly offer lower
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value fares some lines across europe
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chewie river cruises don't you buy those
8:00
as extras so when comparing and choosing
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make sure you check what is and is not
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included in those all-inclusive fares
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although it's called cruising
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what it's not really spoken about is
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that in my view the experience is not
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like ocean cruising but it's much much
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closer to escorted touring where the bus
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whisking you around the region and the
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various hotels that you would normally
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stay in are replaced by the river ship
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itself so if you're used to ocean
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cruising or a more informal way of
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traveling then river cruising can be a
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bit of a surprise i don't think this is
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actually highlighted enough it
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absolutely reminds me much more of the
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format and the experience that i've had
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on escorted bus tours i've been on
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places like florida tanzania and so on
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when ocean cruising i do have much more
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flexibility i can get up when i want
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time when i want do as little or as much
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of the daily program as i want there is
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no
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set rhythm like there is on ocean
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cruising in river cruising some days the
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ship may visit two different places some
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days it may move to a different place
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while you're out on tour and pick you up
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further down the river some nights will
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be spent more overnight in a town some
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won't so although the rhythm's very
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different this is though
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a much more structured vacation
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and as i said much more similar to an
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escorted tour approach this usually
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means an earlier start with everyone
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invited to be up for breakfast together
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then you all head off on the morning
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excursion you'll come back often for
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lunch at a set time and then you head
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out on the afternoon excursion together
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there will be a briefing for example
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every night before dinner about the next
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day in the lounge laying out the program
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you normally have dinner at a set time
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you might then have straight after that
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some local entertainment you'll be
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sitting at dinner together now of course
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you can opt out and you can self explore
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you can eat in town however bear in mind
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the fares as we saw are pretty steep and
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all of the stuff is included in that so
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it's something to consider as if you all
9:57
wanted to go and explore much more that
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you've paid for many of the stuff
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already personally i find them
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fascinating and most guests in my
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experience do but i found the river
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cruise lines for some reason tend to
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downplay them but on many of the
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european rivers like the danube with 18
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the rhinos 10 is that you are going to
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be going through
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a number of locks i find them
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fascinating i really enjoy being out
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watching going through them they can be
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slightly weird though if you're in your
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cabin
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when you do because you suddenly have a
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solid concrete wall up against your
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window it can throw you a little bit if
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you're sleeping however and you're going
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through locks there is some noise and
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bumping as you go through them on that
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topic i do find river cruise ships a
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little bit noisier than ocean cruising
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from people walking about and talking
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much more there they're smaller ships
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there's less ambient noise of the ocean
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to kind of mask a lot of sound and they
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do tend to be a little bit noisier
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overall so i actually just take earplugs
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with me after one trip where i actually
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was woken up every night by the people
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in the room next door snoring and
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another cruise with the television next
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door so i find earplugs is a pretty good
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idea river cruise lines tend to talk
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much less about who currently goes on
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river cruises and are much happier
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talking about how they want to attract
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younger and more families in practice
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both from the cost
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and the nature of the experience i
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mostly find older travelers on my river
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cruises like me i guess people in their
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50s 60s 70s and even above in the summer
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school holiday periods on some cruise
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lines there are increasing amounts of
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multi-generational families appearing in
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lines are trying to cater more for those
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with more activities and features for
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kids in that school holiday peak period
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by the way it's also not great for solar
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travelers as most lines charge double
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occupancy for solos some do offer
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earlier and later in the season solar
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deals and there is more talk of solar
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cabins coming but very few ships have
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them another thing which is not talked
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about much is that river cruising is not
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ideal in my view anyway for people with
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accessibility issues particularly if
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you're in a wheelchair
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many river cruise ships don't have
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dedicated accessibility cabins or even
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elevators also in those small historical
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towns along the routes there are often
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steep ramps to board the ships and
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there's many many cobbled streets
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also remember
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that issue when ships adopt
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next to each other requiring you going
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up and across
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neighboring sun decks to get onto land
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i've not come across many travelers on
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my river cruises who do have mobility
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issues so really check carefully with
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the cruise line before booking one it's
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also worth noting that you should be
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relatively active and fit to get the
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most from european river cruising as
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it's really focused on walking tours
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there's cobblestones your up and down
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stairs for example now though cruise
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lines usually do offer a gentle walking
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option you will see and experience less
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in in my view if you're interested in
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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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