I am planning a river cruise in 2009 for my 25th wedding anniversary. I am looking for the one with the most esthetics as far as scenery while cruising goes. I want to cruise in Europe, but have no restriction as to where, as long as the scenery and ports are charming. The options are: Danube, Rhine, Rhone or Moselle. What are your suggestions and what time of year do you suggest? I want this to be a memorable trip.

Thank you.

How long a cruise do you want? There a number on the Danube that might suit you quite well.

Whatever you itinerary you consider... check out Peter Deilmann. They are more expensive than other river cruises, but the their atmosphere would be more "special occasion."

Have you considered Russia? Our trip with Viking was magnificent.

Grand Circle Tours has some interesting tours. http://www.gct.com/gcc/general/
My friend has been on 3 of their tours and said each one was very good. The last tour was in Russia.

However charming the ports, be sure to check the cruise itineraries very carefully to see how much actual usable time you get in each of those charming ports. Many river cruises give you a day or less in each place. Hardly time to figure out where you are let alone actually experience anything.

Jake,

I was under the impression with all of these trips you spend only the day in the port and then move on. Are there trips where you stay over in a hotel and then get on the river cruise ship again the following day?

There are excursions in port that you can sign up for. You will see them listed online. It is my understanding that it is cheaper to select them before you leave home.

This is good because you don't have to take the time to figure each port out unless you want to walk around on your own and do your own thing.

We too loved our Waterways of the Czars river cruise with Viking last year.

Regarding time in port and tours, we spent several days in Moscow and several in St. Petersburg, aboard the boat. All other ports were for the day. We only had one day without a port call. Our tours, with a few exceptions, were all included.

GCT Russian Waterways places you in hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg. The savings on time by avoiding nightmarish traffic jams is enormous. In addition, you choose excursions while on the boat. I believe two days ahead so you can make last moment decisions. Very convenient.

Bellibop
Why not think about taking a barge along the Canal from Bordeaux to Marseille. These barges are not what you think. These are very posh and you'll be pampered from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean. You'll have the barge taking through a whole series of locks and you can be helped too, if you want.

http://www.frenchhotelbarge.com/

Give it a look.

Blackduff

We loved our Grand Circle river cruise down the Rhine and Moselle, the latter part of April into May. The weather was wonderful, the crew on the boat, mostly young people from Croatia and other countries of the area were the best. The food was very good, wine was mediocre, so we brought our own aboard from ports of call. Yes, we were in a different port each day, but the scenery as we traveled was always a kodac moment. Our only "put off" on the entire trip was the average age of the traveler was somewhat older than we were....but we met several couples in our age bracket and then found we enjoyed all ages as so many had traveled extensively and were open for anything. We truly enjoyed this river cruise and plan to take the Seine River cruise next May. Give this company a look as many of our friends have taken their trips and have nothing but accolades for them.

Bellibop: Excuse the highjacking. but I couldn't resist answering the post by ...


ibailey wrote:

>>>Our only "put off" on the entire trip was the average age of the traveler was somewhat older than we were....but we met several couples in our age bracket and then found we enjoyed all ages as so many had traveled extensively and were open for anything.<<<


How nice, you actually found out that OLD geezers do have something to say of interest. In fact, you might even learn something fascinating from a discussion with some of the OLD folks. Try it...you'll learn to like it!

Stu T....(born February 10, 1929, and still eagerly traveling, and willing to put up with you young kids).

Bellibop--be sure to check the river cruise itineraries very carefully. The ones I've seen don't allow enough time at each stop to do much of anything at all.

It always tickles me when people say "they are older". I have found that is doesn't make a difference. It's whether you are interesting, have good conversational skills, humorous and have something to say. There have been people that have bored me to death at all ages. I look a little deeper into people, rather than at their appearance. Maybe some of you should try to do the same. I think you migh be surprised.

southeaster:

Thank you!...my point, precisely. I guess I'm just an old Grey Panther, ready to strike at those who disparage "age"...if theyr're lucky, they, too, might get there some day!!

stu T.

Please look carefully before you decide. We have just returned from a Viking tour and I think you would be very disappointed.
The biggest problem was scheduling. There was very, very little time allowed at the sites you will want to visit. Plus many of those side trips will cost you extra....$100+ per person.
I deliberated between Viking and Grand Circle....and I chose the wrong trip. I wish you better luck.

sjgd: Doesn't Viking advertise that day excursions are included in the cost? Details, please?

here's some info that might be helpful:

http://smallshipcruises.com/rivereurope.html

and some more:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/cruisest...ea.cfm?area=21

have fun deciding, and please post a trip report when you get back. I have long thought about doing one of these.

I just got back from a Rhine/Mosel river cruise on Avalon. Last year I was with my family on a Rhine/Danube cruise with InTrav (now out of the river cruising business I hear). I think it's a matter of what you're looking for. I would compare river cruises to bus tours with the convenience of not moving from hotel to hotel. On both cruises the accomdations were clean, and the boat was lovely. The InTrav cruise would be comparable in price to Grand Circle or Tauck. There were 3 onboard tour managers plus an on board guide. All tours were included and they were very thorough. In almost every town there was some sort of local "experience" such as having a traditional German lunch...seeing glass blowing in Wurzburg...A wonderful evening of music in Vienna. The food was not great on the boat. And...there was not a lot of free time in any of the places we visited.Of the 98 passengers, close to 60 were part of an organized group from a university which limits passenger interaction as they stay within their groups.
The Avalon cruise I just returned from was less expensive. The boat was beautiful and the cabin great. The food was slightly better on the Avalon boat over InTrav. The biggest difference is that the included tours were really about giving overviews of the town. Many optional excursions were offered and some were great some weren't. All were priced at about 30 - 40$ per person. Which translated into a lot of free time in many of the towns we visited. Avalon had just one cruise director but we don't require much regarding that. The boat crew was fantastic. I also liked that there weren't a bunch of organized groups on this boat. The passengers were very amenable...all ages with about 30% from Australia. In the end I think it's about what how much you want included in your trip. For some it's better to have more programmed tours for others free time is better.