We are planning to take a European cruise next in 2016 and would like to hear if there is a favorite cruise line or itinerary. Also preferred time of year for optimal weather. There will be two couples 60-70 years old. We enjoy cruising and had considered a Mediterranean cruise, but think that we would like to try a river cruise instead. Any suggestions appreciated!

We've river cruised in Europe and ocean cruised in the Med and usually chose May. The weather is warmer but not hot, school holidays haven't started and it is before the peak holiday season.

There is a big difference between ocean cruising and river cruising. The ships are much smaller - usually about 180 passengers so you get to know people. There is always something to see, even at night with the lights of the towns you are passing by. In a river port, the ships usually dock close to the town, so you can chose to take a guided tour or just meander around the town by yourselves. There is also a difference in cost as obviously the ocean liners with thousands of passengers can offer cheaper fares than river boats. We travelled with Avalon and were very happy with the boat and the services.

We have cruised the rivers and also the Mediterranean and used Uniworld for the river cruises and Oceania for the Mediterranean. We loved both cruise lines and the cruises were fabulous.

Ooops, forgot to add, we always go in early Sept. Weather has been great.

We did a Scandinavian/Baltic cruise with Marco Polo; great itinerary, would never sail that line again.
We've taken two Med cruises, both in October, on Oceania, which quickly became our favorite line.

To maximize your sight-seeing, I recommend a Baltic cruise. We did one with Celebrity several years ago and went to Amsterdam, Warnemunde (Germany), Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg (2 nights), Tallinn (Estonia) and Copenhagen (2 nights). We sailed from England and returned there. Celebrity now calls this a Scandinavia and Russia cruise.

We've done four cruises with Celebrity and will be taking their transatlantic cruise in November.

We have done several river cruises with Viking and AMA Waterways and preferred AMAWaterways. We have sailed the rivers in spring and fall, and prefer the fall. We also like cruise ships with up to 300-250 passengers, no more than that.

No river cruises for me. Heard too many recent horror stories of river cruises turning into bus tours. Granted, they were all weather and water level related, but it's just like booking a Caribbean cruise during hurricane season: you are looking for trouble.

We did a Vienna to Amsterdam with Grand Circle a few years ago. Were very happy with them. We enjoy ocean cruises very much, and trans Atlantics are our favorite, from Europe back to the states. But found the riverboat cruise almost as enjoyable. Guided tours into the towns are included in the mornings. Back for lunch, then back into town on our own. We travel in the fall because we enjoy the cooler weather and smaller crowds. Hope you have a wonderful trip whatever you finally choose.

We enjoyed the Russian river cruise more than the one on the Danube. We found it more interesting.

HappyTrvlr we did a Russian riverboat cruise with Gate 1. It was a budget cruise, no frills, but I so agree with you about Russia being interesting. We had no idea how beautiful Russia is, especially some of the architecture. I would do it again, but maybe with a different travel company.

My all time favorite is Norwegian Fjords cruise. We were in May, the weather was sunny, either t-shirt or light sweater.