European River Cruises
 

Your experiences are requested. We are considering taking a European river cruise. This will be quite a change for us. We are in our 50s and usually rent a car and drive through whatever country we are visiting: Britain, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, etc. We love the adventure! Going on a more relaxed vacation where someone else is doing the driving will be different for us. Has anyone else made this change? If so, could you let me know how you intrepid adventurers liked the river cruises. We'd love to hear of your experiences and opinions.

Never done what you ask about. But you can also look at Fodor's Cruise Board.
Some on this board have done self drive canal boats (usually in France).

Thanks. We were thinking of using one of the major European river cruise lines, but we have never done that before. We are used to renting a car when vacationing in Europe and driving wherever we like when we like. We were wondering if there was anyone else out there that might be more independent travelers that tried a river cruise and if they liked it, and if they missed the freedom to set their own pace.

I just posted a several-part review of a Danube Christmas market cruise we took in Dec. http://www.fodors.com/forums/threadselect.jsp?fid=2

I wasn't sure what to expect but I was more pleased than I thought I might be. But honestly, we sorta "went along for the ride" and didn't fully participate in the activities. And the fact that we could do that was part of the reason we tried it. While I'm not ready to give up independent travel, there was something pleasant about not having to do so much work -and hotel research - to make a trip. We'd do it again - though a little differently, as I explain in my report - and probably will. (Also, which I didn't mention, I'd do it in May or Sept., not Dec. That was a bit of a stretch for someone who has lived in FL for pushing 30 years, though I've relearned how to dress and was actually colder when I got home to a bit of a cold snap than I was in Germany and Austria, where I was expecting to be cold.)

I copied the link from what I thought was the correct page but apparently not. I can't find it using the previous link. Either go to my screen name and check the review or search in Europe for "Danube Christmas Cruise GCT review - independent travelers on a tour"

You'll find my report under "Underhill's Danube Christmas Cruise Report." Let me warn you: it's long! I loved the trip, the first one I've done with a friend instead of my husband--we usually travel very independently, but this time he had to stay home. So I went, with some trepidation, but had a wonderful time and can't wait to do it all over again. But with a bigger shopping bag, and my husband along to carry it.

We have also traveled via rental car in the UK, Germany, Austria,etc. over the years. Now that we are in our 60s we decided to join some friends and took a Vantage River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam in June. What a wonderful two week experience. We unpacked once and either relaxed on deck or toured a local area. The food was very good and was similar to that which was popular in the area being enjoyed. Yes, we saw some areas which we had visited before, but there was much that was new. We particularly appreciated the headphones that were provided by Vantage when we toured an area off the ship. This let us appreciate the opportunity to stroll around the area without being bunched together trying to hear the guide. Yes, we would consider this type of experience again.