European River Cruises - strategy
 

We're interested in taking a European River Cruise in 2017. Two of us, early 60s. My husband likes to bike, I'm more of a hiker. I've received various recommendations on cruise lines from friends, and I've looked online and have ordered some catalogs.

My first question is - when is the best time to book? I saw something that said you absolutely do not pay the quoted brochure price. It also said that some of the best prices are from Jan-Mar the year you want to travel. I know I have received many 2 for 1 deals this year for 2016 cruises. Do I wait? Can I get deals a year out?

My second question is - we're generally independent travelers. Some of the cruises I've seen have land add-ons on either end of the trip for a few days. Personally, I'd rather do that on our own, just find a hotel and do what we usually do in a city. Are there any advantages to doing it with the cruise company? I'm leaning towards staying a few days on our own on both ends and just using the cruise company for cruise itself.

Any good resources you can recommend (other than Fodor's excellent forums) would be much appreciated.

Thanks so much -
Alice

The pricing for river cruises will generally have a "cruise only" price that will eliminate the tacked on days at the beginning and end of your cruise. I would stay away from any cruise company that requires that you pay anything but a deposit up front. If your time is flexible, and you can take advantage of last minute deals, you might wait until closer to your preferred cruise date to book. You might not have a choice of cabins, however. You could also watch to see what good deals come up for sailing at "the drop of a hat", but you'll have to know your prices so you know a good deal when you see one.

We have booked a river cruise for next June already. We want a particular date to coincide with an annual event in Paris. This early we were offered free airfare from a number of different U.S. gateway cities, which was quite attractive, as well as an early booking credit.

Prices are lower on fall sailings as well. We are sailing 10/16 and the price was $750 lower. This will be our second cruise with Avalon. We stay on the lower deck with a high window as we aren't in the room very much.

Well, having airfare included is very attractive as a reason to book early. And we want shoulder season, I think, but I haven't decided which end of it yet.

I didn't know you could just place a deposit and make use of a cancellation date if you change your mind or find something more attractive. I do that with hotels all the time, good suggestion.

I forgot to ask - is there any advantage to using a travel agent/agency that specializes in cruises? My inclination is to just book directly with a cruise line.

Thank you, burta and cobbie2!

Alice

The hotel stays added to each end of the cruise are priced per person so would cost you more than booking a hotel yourself.
We have always booked direcrly with the company.

Hi Alice,

> is there any advantage to using a travel agent/agency

I have found that many TAs offer a reasonable discount.

For my upcoming Danube cruises I have been quite happy with Ms Lin Griffin of Atlas Travel, not only for price, but service as well.

I have also found www dot cruise dot com to offer substantial savings - sometimes.

Enjoy your trip.

((I))

PS:

>I have received many 2 for 1 deals this year for 2016 cruises.

That's standard. Nobody pays brochure price.

>Any good resources you can recommend ...

Sign up at www.cruisecritic.com

((I))

Booking earlier gives you better choices of cabins too.

Go to the boards on cruisecritic for some great cruise information. There is a section called specialty cruising and you will see river cruises. Click on that. For the Danube, sometimes there is high water in the spring from heavy rains that can impact your trip. Water that is too high or too low can impact going through the locks. Ten you might have a very expensive bus trip. Of course the same is true if the water is too low. Or if there is a strike amongst the lock operators. You need a little patience and Plan B sometimes for a River Cruise!

We went in October and it worked out well. We used AMA Waterways and were very happy with the quality of the cruise. I would definitely use them again. A friend has used Uniworld and was very happy with them as well. I think they are equivalent quality.

We did do the before and after stays through the ship, which I normally do not do (Budapest and Prague). Since we had not been to either city, I thought it would be easier since some tours were included. We took an AMA optional tour (extra cost)in Prague to Terezin(concentration camp) that was quite fascinating. This was the camp used to fool the Red Cross into thinking that the camps were humane. We could have easily arranged this on our own as there were several tour companies that offer this. In the future, I would probably just book myself independently in these cities, but it was quite convenient.

I always use a travel agent for cruises. You get the benefit of their buying power for cost savings, sometimes extra perks, and if there is a problem, your agent will go to bat for you. I do not a use cruise specific travel agent. Most travel agents handle a lot of cruises.

Sorry for the late response, we were away on a short trip. This is all very helpful. I will sign on to cruisecritic and look into a travel agent as well. I'm liking one of the AMA Waterways tours (mostly because it's only 7 days, with cities I want to see on each end). Since I signed up online with a lot of the river cruise companies, I'm ALREADY getting deals, so I imagine that will continue. Since we're flexible as to dates, I think I can wait a bit.

ellenbw, that's a good reason to use a travel agent. The last time I used one was to organize a trip to Costa Rica, and it worked out very well. There's a company nearby that specializes in cruises, might check them out.

Thank you everyone, I'm looking forwards to this as yet unplanned trip already!

Alice

7 days is a bit short, and if you book on the shoulder season, beware of the potential challenge with the river's water level. There seems to be more issues with the water level for the past few years.

You really don;t want your scenic cruise turns into a bus tour, which had happened in more frequency. Ask your travel agent about the strategy for avoiding that and the answer maybe book at a different time.

I have suggested Emerald earlier, they are a newer player to the game and I have personal friends who cruised with them and was impressed enough to re-book.

I was on AmaWaterways for a Christmas market cruise on the Rhine last December. I loved everything about it except the mattress. It was very thin and hard. I was traveling with my cousin so the cabin was configured with twin beds. We spoke to the hotel manager who recommended we have housekeeping add a foam mattress topper. This helped but it was still very uncomfortable and for that reason I will not sail with Ama again. We had a veranda room and at those prices it was unacceptable. It's a shame because everything else about the cruise was very nice.

I am considering another river cruise in June so I will follow this post and be interested to hear what itinerary and cruise line you select.

If you go to cruisecompete.com you will get competitive pricing for your chosen cruise. I have used it several times to book a cruise.

I have three general recommendations for river cruises:
1) Don't pay extra for a verandah. It's not often usable, especially in shoulder season, and you are often parked next to other ships, which means you'll have someone else literally four feet from your window, so you won't be able to use it in most ports.
2) If you are comfortable traveling on your own, never book a land add-on before or after the cruise. While it may save you a couple of dollars in transfer costs, it's rarely something you can't do cheaper and better on your own.
3) If you can find a reliable and knowledgable travel agent, use one. It's not that you can't do all the bookings yourself, but since river lines pay commissions, agents are happy to book and some know a lot about the business and can really add value and help you decide what you want and how much to pay.

Thanks for these tips - I was considering AmaWaterways because I like one of their itineraries, never heard of cruisecompete.com, so that's a big help too.

And doug_stallings, I hadn't even thought about your point about a verandah. As to land add-ons, I would most certainly handle these myself. And I might just go see the local 'cruise expert' travel agent, no reason not to.

But now I'm wondering about shoulder season - and water levels. Time to hit the books, I think.

Thanks all - Alice

Alice9,
I just came across this website on current water level that someone else linked. Thought it might be helpful to you.
http://rivercruiseinfo.com/content/river-levels

Scootoir, thanks so much, very helpful.

Aice

Looking at the link that Scootoir provided, it appears water level are lower than usual pretty well everywhere. All it takes is one heavy rain storm and the water level is going to change almost overnight.

Disagree with Doug about the "verandah", but maybe it is a case of definition

We sailed on Avalon Tranquility II on the Romantic Rhine. Our room had wall to wall windows that opened. Not a balcony, but it was lovely to cruise lying on the bed and watching the world cruise by

You don't need a balcony, you'll have more privacy with a window, especially when the ships tie up to each other. I prefer lower room with window, mid ship..it's quieter..

You'll have fun biking and hiking along the river, but don't bother with a bike tour, because they spend more time talking than biking. It's very easy to follow the river.

I prefer independent hotels and apartment rentals pre & post cruise. It's cheaper if you book yourself, even at the same hotel the cruise company is using and you can still purchase the cruise company transfers...I did from Arles to Barcelona and then rented an apartment for a few days in Barcelona..was awesome!

The most luxurious and state of the art, farm to table dining is Crystal Cruises. AmaWaterways & Uniworld are the next rated and then Viking.. All of the ships have bikes to use..

So now it's January and I haven't done anything yet - Sticky problem of a niece getting married and waiting for her to set a date. Now I know she's getting married in Sept, but is it too late to book a June river cruise?

Also, I went to see a cruise TA, and the prices she was quoting for Amawaterways seemed very high. Perhaps since I'm used to independent traveling, I wasn't prepared for the per head price to be so high for a 7 day cruise. She was quoting about $5K pp, can that be right? Once I include airfare, and a few days pre and post, that's more than I expected to spend.

She was VERY down on Viking, she said the long ships get stuck more easily than the smaller ships the other lines use.

I also emailed with a TA from Pavlus, my sister-in-law has used them before, but I was less than impressed. All the agent said was to pick a cruise and she'd get me a quote. Very helpful.

Amawaterways has a Romantic Danube cruise that's 7 days long, and we could spend a few days in Budapest before and a few days in Prague after (which I'd arrange myself). I went to the Ama site and the prices were exactly what the TA told me.

Meanwhile, I'm seeing half off fares from Viking just about every other day!

What to do?

Thanks,
Alice

I'd target a price in June of between $2,500 and $3,000 per person for a river cruise. If you book this month, you should have plenty of choices, but that's really all I'd spend. The prices I see for January bookings on AMA in June are around $2400 to $3400 per person, so I'm not sure where you're getting $5000.

This is prime booking season, and if you book in the next couple of weeks, there a lot of sales. The Basel to Amsterdam is often the cheapest itinerary.

Amawaterways just drop their prices to $1749 pp on their 7 day cruise for June. Not sure if this is a time limited promo and how long it will last.

http://www.amawaterways.com/destinat...-river-cruises

Thanks very much, doug and Eschew. Now, the prices quoted are for the lowest level of cabin. One question is - how much does the level of cabin matter for a river cruise? I just need enough space to walk around.

Also are there mailing lists (other than the ones directly from the cruise companies) I should be on to see these sales?

Feeling more hopeful,
Alice

If in a lower cabin, when docked the views would not be to my liking.

We've been on river cruises where lower cabin occupants have complained about their windows being below water level and garbage floating past their view.

Alice, the answer lies on how much you spend in your cabin and when. This question comes up all the time on ocean cruises. Should I save by taking an inside cabin or should I spend money and get a balcony.

There is never a right or wrong answer. If all you is you your cabin as a sleeping quarter and hardly spend time it, then by all means, save the money.

This is what me and DW do most of the time in our cabins but yet we have never ever been in an inside cabin. We both like and enjoyed a little of natural "outdoor light" so our choices are usually an "obstructed view" cabin. And from time to time, depending the price gap, we have book balcony and even suites.

The question you should ask is $5000 vs $1800 for a better cabin. In my mine, it would be no. I can take the same trip twice.

Thanks much for the insights into cabin picking. It's beginning to seem like we are late to the gate for getting a cruise for May/June this year. Is that true? A lot of cruises seem to be booked already.

One choice that appeals, other than a Danube cruise, is a Douro cruise out of Portugal. Seems to me we could go earlier on that one, it would be warmer sooner.

But it it's really true that we should have started this earlier (with trip insurance, since something like my niece's wedding could have really messed us up!), is it worth looking at cruises late summer? We generally avoid Europe in August, lots of things are closed and it's more crowded (and depending on where you are, hot). Am I just uninformed about this? We might have more choices and better luck with prices in August.

The best thing I've learned here is that I do not need to spend $5K a person, and that is valuable information indeed!

Thank you thank you.
Alice

It is not too late to plan for a summer cruise now. You may even get last minute deals.

Everyone is different, and we seldom buy travel insurance. The cost and benefits ratio does not work for us at this point. We may change our mine later as we get older. You should consider your own circumstances.

We have been through to Europe in all summer months and we found that June is the best. Weather is nice enough and it is not getting crowded yet. July and early August are the worst for us, way too hot and too crowded. Late August is not too bad and early September is good for the Southern Mediterranean, and can be cool for Northern and central Europe.

We have decided to forgo our trip for next winter to South America. The timing doesn't work. We are now just starting to look at a cruise for mid June in Europe. There are still plenty of time if you are not picky.

Determine what you like about cruising (or vacation) and spend the money on activities that you enjoy the most. For us, the shore activities are places where we won't go cheap. The cabin is a sleeping quarter and as long as it is comfortable enough, we don't want to spend too much money on it and makes the "rooming" the most expensive part of the journey. Of course, there are perks that goes along with the more expensive cabins, the question I would ask is it worth the extra? and can the money be better spent elsewhere.

Good luck on your search and feel free to keep asking more questions here.

I booked my river cruise on fairly short notice. At first my agent told me they were all booked (I really wanted the Danube with AMA Waterways) for my timeframe of mid Sept-mid Oct. I called AMA personally and asked them if they had any room at all in that timeframe including Budapest and Prague. They had just had one cancellation on one ship. I had her hold it and called my agent. She booked it for me - one of the below deck rooms which I did not particularly want, but could live with. My DH was not happy with the room, but TA assured us she would put in for a room upgrade if it became available. I asked my DH if he would rather not go if the choice was the below deck room. He agreed to go.

Two weeks before the trip, there was a balcony room available - we wanted a mid ship window room, price wise. Our TA negotiated with them to lower the price - they were not going to sell that room - and they agreed and we paid about the price of the window room. This is why I like to use a travel agent. DH was very happy. That said, a balcony on the river cruises is very tiny and not necessary - but we did enjoy it!

We have done several river cruises and all have been in lat Aug. or Sept. and we really enjoyed going at that time of year. The weather has been fabulous. We also always use a travel agent and she has been fabulous getting us the cabins we want and the ships we want.