European River Boat Cruises
 

Have you taken a European River Boat Cruise this year? Comments...

Did you travel with Amadeus Waterways or Brennan? Comments......

Thanks!

Do a little research before you put any money down. Grand Circle and Vantage are owned by the same family and have some well recognized problems with customer service and reiability (search on 'problems with Grand Circle," etc., Viking gets pretty good marks I think, and Peter Deliman is excellent!. Pretty much, you get what you pay for...don't know about the two you mentioned...have you researched them?

We went on Avalon (book thru them or Globus, same-same) from AMS to BUD this spring. Wonderful trip. Avalon and Amadeus have the nicest, newest boats. I would recommend them. They book up very early. Viking or Uniworld would be next.

Spring for the higher decks with french balcony doors. I felt a bit bad for the folks in the "aquarium suites" as they become known. Our views were fabulous every day. Their windows were often under water with dead fish floating by. Yuk.

About GCT: there's a thread on the Europe site with posts from people who have been very happy with their GCT cruises.

Here is a link to that post.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34857196

After you have read what Underhill and Michellip report, search on "problems with" or "beware of GCt
for a more accurate view from both sides. The two posters above may have a slanted view.

The original poster asked the following question. Why would you bring up other cruise lines. And why answer if you didn't know anything about the cruise lines she was inquiring about.

Have you taken a European River Boat Cruise this year? Comments...

Did you travel with Amadeus Waterways or Brennan? Comments

Camdenman - An EXCELLENT point!
These tangents are getting tiresome!!

I have only been on one River Cruise, and it was a disaster, for many reasons, so it was my intention to say to original poster to do a little research, both positive and negative, before making a choice. And I would advise not to 'pay fully in advance', no matter what the enticement, as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get any money returned if you feel that it is justified.

samting,

My only "slanted view" is having been one one extremely good GCT cruise.

Where does YOUR slanted view come from? You clearly have a very large ax to grind.

Samting: This is your quote.

And I would advise not to 'pay fully in advance', no matter what the enticement, as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get any money returned if you feel that it is justified.


EVERY cruise requires payment in advance.

Mike: As you know, GCT has a policy of trying to entice travellers to pay not only a deposit, but the final payment at the same time; thus they have your money (see some of the other posters who had the fees changed, added to, increased, etc., AFTER they had paid up front to ostensibly SAVe money and lock in a fee). GCT is famous for adding fuel, surcharges, 'correcting mistakes' and quotes made over the phone, 'misprints' in the brochures, etc at the last moment. Please read some of the other posters, even on other boards, for a more balanced view. The negative side of this company, and any company of any size, is, fortunately, out there for consumers to see and, unfortunately, GCT has a LOT of negative. It pays to be aware. I don't mind paying a fair price for what I get, knowing ahead of time what that price is, but I hate being dinged at a later date, after you have paid the 'quoted' price, and so should you.

Samting: It seems like you might be the one with the slanted opinion. What river cruise lines were you on and what problems did you have? It seems to me that you only refer to other peoples problems.

I'vre been on Grand Circle last year (From Nice to Paris) and Viking this year (Normandy(le Havre) to Paris.

Even though the Viking was more expensive the GC was more inclusive in that the tour included land portions (Nice to the boat in Arles and Burgandy to Paris.

I enjoyed both and would recommend both.Neither had problems.

While I haven't been on Peter Deliman I understand that most of the guests are from Germany and while announcements are also made in English the major language spoken between guests is German.

My husband and I took a cruise on the Rhone in June. It was on the new River Royale by Uniworld. The cruise started in Lyon with stops in Chalon-sur-Saone, Beaune, Macon, Tain L'Hermitage, Tournon, Viviers, Avignon and ended in Arles. It was very luxourous and relaxing. We did a 3 day pre-tour in Paris and 3 day post in Nice. This was our 4th river cruise with 2 more booked for next year. It is such a great way to travel. Even on "sea" days you are never out of sight of Land. My only real advice is pick an itinerary and then compare cruise lines offering that trip. There are some that look cheap, but they are full of optinal tours. Pat

Last Sept. we did a Tauck World Discovery rivercruise, Amsterdam-Budapest and next month will do Black Sea-Budapest with the same company, all top-notch and great! I saw many other cruise boats, especially on the Rhine, they all looked terrific, all basically the same and I don't think you can miss on any of them...a wonderful experience.

Fodors,
Are you going to allow Samting & Michaellip to take over every post?

I for one am sick of reading their biased remarks.

Thank you.

suerich68: when you see a post that might upset you, just scroll on by.

i have been reading all the posts about river cruises. I beleive Samting is not to beleived. The following is a posting Samting made on August 11th regarding Vantage and GCT.Author: samting
Date: 08/11/2006, 01:23 pm
janeg: (not you, Mike). We have taken several GCT tours and cruises, with mixed results, two were disastors, so I speak from experience. However, lots of folks have been satisfied when there are no problems. However, most of their 'excursions' are 'optional' which means that you will spend lots more than you bargained for, and when all added up, it is not very cheap. Usually they throw in a 'city' tour, and maybe a tour to a 'factory' or 'jewelry' store where you can spend if you want too. (we were taken to a gem store and there was a 'shuttle' provided if you wanted to go in to town;otherwise, you were deposited at the 'gem' store). I think there may be a better value (if higher initial price)GCT spends lots on 'glitzy' brochures, we get several a week, and I am sure they are not free.

Samting then made the following post on 8-23-06
Author: samting
Date: 08/23/2006, 12:41 pm
I have only been on one River Cruise, and it was a disaster, for many reasons, so it was my intention to say to original poster to do a little research, both positive and negative, before making a choice. And I would advise not to 'pay fully in advance', no matter what the enticement, as it is very difficult, if not impossible, to get any money returned if you feel that it is justified
After examining the posts I can almost be positive that Samting is the former poster Cindiloowho who has not posted since Samting started.

Camdenman: Actually, we have been on two river cruises, one with GCT, but on was on a charter boat on the Nile, so didn't count it. We have cruised on Princess (many different ones), HAL (several), Windstar, Windsurf, Regent, Condo,Splendor of the Seas, Apollo (a Greek boat), Windspirit, Paul Gaugain, Clipper, Seabourn, etc., so I think my input, even if you don't agree, is from experience. It's okay, believe me, if you don't agree. Still think that on a travel forum, it is a good idea to warn people to do research before they lay their money down. It's hard to get back when things go wrong. And the measure of a good cruise outfit is how they handle things when they go wrong...

How about agreeing to disagree and moving on? I agree with Sue here. This is getting tiresome and really it spoils a persons thread. Haven't you done enough of that? I think you have. Your points have been made ad nauseum. JM2C.

This is my last post ever. Let the women take over.

Anyhoo...

I went on the exact same Uniworld river cruise to France that momc went on (two years ago for me). I agree that it was fantastic. It's just different from the big ships--no gym, no pool... But quite nice, and slowly cruising by the little towns is an amazing way to cruise.

I have not given up on River cruising, believe me, and we hope to do one soon; only this time we are going first class, and I will do as I have advised other, find out what you are paying for in detail before you send any money, and 'get it in writing'. We are exploring Peter Deliman. I would like suggestions for any others.

Avalon Waterways "Tranquility"

We took the Avalon Waterways (owned by Globus) MS Tranquility as part of the CHRISTMASTIME CRUISE TOUR WNV1201 starting in Prague with land transport to Nuremberg then cruising on the Danube River from Nurmberg to Vienna during December 3-9, 2008. To streamline the process on leaving the Hilton in Prague, we were divided into four color-coded groups (red, blue, green and yellow – although the yellow group insisted they were actually gold!).

Our Tour Director/Cruise Director was Hans. He was responsible for getting people onto buses from Prague to Nuremberg, arranging local city guides and transport, collecting payment for optional excursions, answering the same questions over and over and, disembarkation procedures. He was distinguished by a loud voice, hysterical laugh and tardy arrival to collect excursion payments. The Tranquility is new (launched in 2007), clean and in good repair. It can accommodate 180 people; there were 150 on our cruise. Because it must pass through locks on the canals and river, the four-storey boat is long with a narrow central hallway and cabins on both sides. The boat is non-smoking although some men enjoyed cigars on the open deck outside the lounge. The ‘Exercise Room’ consisted of two stationary bicycles and one treadmill – hardly a comprehensive set-up but then I never saw any passenger using the equipment either. There was no gift shop on board just items for sale in display cases in the main lobby. Our cabin 219 was bright with light wood trim. It was small but efficiently laid out with adequate closet space/storage space for two people, floor-to-ceiling sliding windows (which we left open a crack for fresh air) and space under the twin beds to store luggage. Our orange bedspread was a visual assault when combined with the aqua and orange wave design on the curtains. Some other cabins had more restrained blue bedspreads. As in most of Europe, the hairdryer is in the bedroom not in the bathroom, ostensibly to protect us from electrocuting ourselves by dropping it into water (DUH!). The vacuum toilet was noisy when flushed but all the plumbing worked well including the tiny shower stall (be careful not to hit the water control handle with your hip and shut off the water).

Because the Tranquility has its bridge and engines in the rear, forward cabins like ours, the lobby, lounge and dining room, were quiet. Cabins back towards the stern did have some engine noise when the river cruiser was underway. Food on board was very good. Breakfasts and lunches were buffet-style while the four-course evening meal was served. Table wine (red or white) was complimentary, kept flowing and was quite acceptable. Open seating meant you could choose different table locations and companions with every meal. Dining room staff, mostly of eastern European origin, were pleasant, efficient and came around with meat and vegetable ‘seconds’ of the main evening course for those who wanted more. Each night a menu (along with the next port of call information) was delivered to cabins for people to choose their next evening’s meal thus giving the kitchen a heads-up on how many of each choice was required. The only logistical problem was the buffet table layout. Because food could only be accessed from one side, there were long lines of people waiting to serve themselves. Ditto for the dessert table. Made-to-order small omelettes were available and this also jammed up the buffet lines. Early arrival recommended. Frequently, breakfast and lunch food was cold when you finally got back to a table after your buffet pilgrimage. Coffee and tea were available during the day in the second and third level lobbies.

Our mooring at Nuremberg was way outside the city with a wonderful view of an industrial park and warehouses. Buses transported us into town for an orientation drive and a stop at the Christmas market in the center of the old town. There are 24 locks between Nuremberg and Vienna and much time is taken up transiting them. After the first few locks, the novelty wore off and we opted for a drink in the lounge. Not that you can stand on the top Sky Deck during all the lock passages. Some of the locks are so low that the bridge is jacked down and the top railings folded in to allow sufficient clearance for the boat to pass. We went through many of the locks at night. Once, at 1:30 AM, we were wakened by a scraping sound of metal against metal. I opened the curtains and looked at a wet concrete lock wall six inches from my nose. Thankfully, I do not suffer from claustrophobia. Other passengers heard the same noise which seemed to be the boat bumping into the lock but, when we questioned the crew the next morning their reaction was, “what noise?” nothing unusual had happened according to them.

Our moorings at Regensburg, Passau and Linz were closer to the center of these towns and local guides took groups of passengers on walking tours in the historic section of town and the little Christkindlmarkts (Christmas markets). Unfortunately, many of the passengers (mostly women) were obese and had great difficulty walking even half a block on level ground. Our enjoyment of the land tours was hindered considerably by the slow pace so these big belugas could waddle along while complaining all the way. Globus/Avalon need to divide their groups into those who can walk and those who cannot walk. Our cruise through the Danube Gorge and visit to the Benedictine abbey of Weltenburg, the oldest abbey/brewery in Bavaria, was also affected by having to wait for these overweight and under-exercised blubber butts. They were, however, always the first into the dining room on board and never missed dessert.

We opted to take the excursion to Salzburg because the weather was sunny and we wanted to go up to the castle as well as shop at the small Mirabell Palace Christmas market. En route we stopped at Oberndorf chapel, home of the Silent Night Christmas carol. Three of our intrepid travelers, in addition to not being able to walk, chose this location to exhibit their inability to tell time. They kept 28 people waiting on the bus as they “forgot” what time we were to leave then thought it was a big joke that they were late. Our city guide Veronika made it clear this was not acceptable behavior. She, in addition to Elisabeth in Regensburg, were two of the best guides we had during the entire tour. City tours also included “Whisper” technology which we had first encountered in Italy in 2005. The guide has a microphone and each person taking the tour has a receiver and earpiece so they can hear what is being said without clustering around the guide. This gives you much greater freedom of movement and, when you can no longer hear your guide, you need to catch up!

When we got to Melk Abbey, Cruise Director Hans had heard enough complaints from the non-walkers and arranged a series of buses to take people to and from the site. We then had a wonderful trip down the Danube though the Wachau Valley past terraced hills of vineyards, the ruins of Durnstein Castle and on to the ancient city of Krems. We stayed up on the sky deck for the entire 35-mile length of while Hans gave a travelogue of the sites on each shore from the boat’s public address system in the lounge. He got quite irritated when people in the lounge chose to talk among themselves rather than listen to him. Then, through a few more locks and we were on the home stretch to Vienna. The Tranquility moored across the Danube from the United Nations City complex. We were given directions to the nearest metro (U-bahn station) which would take us into Stephansplatz in the heart of old Vienna. Because we had been in Vienna before, we opted to skip the city tour and re-visit our favorite streets and Christmas markets by ourselves.

Unfortunately the location of the Tranquility in Vienna was almost a mile away from the metro station – along the quay, up a series of steps, over an expressway, along a pedestrian pathway and down three city blocks – and not a route I would choose to take at night. However, next morning we walked to the Vorgartenstrasse station and took the red line to Stephansplatz station without incident and spent a wonderful day and evening in Vienna. Our return trip to the boat was uneventful except for encountering a drunk near the quay but he was way too inebriated to pose a threat to anyone except himself.

Entertainment during the cruise consisted of a piano player, Cruise Director Hans’ repertoire of six well-used jokes (“everything has an end except a sausage which has two ends”), a frenetic ‘Bavarian’ tuba player with handle-bar moustache and lederhosen, amateur night where the crew entertained the passengers (and sought to create a bond that would result in higher tips) and, two informative seminars. The talk on the history and operation of canals and locks was interesting (believe it or not) and useful considering our route and the 24 locks through which we passed. The talk on four types of all-natural German beers was fun with an unending stream of jokes, information and samples of each product (which undoubtably added to the amusement value). Our last night on board included a farewell dinner complete with the kitschy lights out and parade of flaming baked Alaska desserts around the dining room.

Then came the moment of reckoning. Passengers were instructed to settle their on board accounts – bar bills and other charges (Internet access, laundry, etc.) and to pick up their passports which had to be left with the front reception desk throughout the entire trip. We were given a sheet outlining expected gratuities. It said:
“ Crew of MS Avalon Tranquility: Subject to your satisfaction and to show your appreciation for the job well done, our printed guidelines suggest a gratuity of Euros 12.00/or US $18.00 per person per day (6 days: Nuremberg - Vienna per couple EUR 144 or US$216). This may be dropped into the “Tip box” at the Reception desk and will be shared by the members of the crew. Please use the envelope provided (When paying by Travelers Cheques, please leave “pay to order of” lime empty).
Cruse Director Hans: The Avalon Cruise Director does not participate in the crew’s tip pool. Our printed guideline is a gratuity of Euros 3.00/US$4.50 per person per day. (8 days: Prague - Vienna per couple EUR 48 or USD 78). A separate envelope is provided for this purpose and can be handed over to him personally or deposited in the “Tip box” at the Reception Desk.”

Obviously Globus/Avalon expect passengers to significantly subsidize their wage and salary costs even though they (Globus/Avalon) probably pay housekeeping and serving staff a minimal stipend, if anything at all after deducting room, board and uniforms. This expectation was not met. Consider also that gratuities are distributed on a hierarchical basis with higher ranking staff getting more than lower ranking workers who have a more direct impact on passengers.

Dylann, did you really need to post the same on 3 different threads? Can't speak of others but when I see such an extra long post I never have patience to read it.

I see by the number of his posts that Dylann is new here. He has also taken the time to post some good info inre to this cruise and other trips he has taken so how about easing off a bit? For me reading a long post like this is OK. Patience spurs, patience. :-)

Dylann....As a, restaurant owner, friend of mine who holds particular disdain for the habitual complainers; says his favorite unsaid comment is "Was anything good tonight?". I feel you would be much happier, and add to the joy of others, if you spent more time at home! Your compassion for your fellow human is also noted...May you find PEACE with yourself in this Blessed Season of Joy and Hope.....

I stand corrected. My first reading was a quick perusal. Now that I read the review in detail LBK's answer is understandable.