Danube River Cruises - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

myhottoddy · July 12, 2009, 02:44 PM

We are considering a European River Cruise during 2010, will likely try the Danube. Any expeience with river cruises appreciated. Viking does a lot of advertising, but their reviews not promising especially regarding dining. Weather is better June thru Sept but prices are much higher than March thru May and Oct thru Nov. We have been to Germany and Austria in late March and understand that it can be chilly and rainy. Does this reallly matter when on a tour and not driving? Also we are considerin the less expensive D rooms on the main deck(only 2 traveling). Any advice will be helpful. Other competive cruise lines?

Tom

Carolinian · July 12, 2009, 02:57 PM

The least expensive used to be the EasyCruise2 boats in Netherlands and Belgium but EasyCruise pulled out of the river cruise business. I would get a guidebook to identify the most interesting parts of the rivers you are considering. I have not done the overnight cruises on the Danube, only the hydorfoil from Vienna to Bratislava. I have driven the Rhine Gorge and think that would be a neat place to do a river cruise, especially with a side trip up the Lahn, which has several small medieval cities. I also enjoyed the vintage sidewheeler steamboat cruises on the Elbe, but again they were day cruises, not overnight.

thheath · July 12, 2009, 05:11 PM

I've not taken a river cruise but have spent many months in Germany at different times of the year. There is a reason it's more expensive to book during the summer months, the weather is great. Spend the extra money and get the maximum enjoyment from your trip. There is nothing better then eating in an outdoor cafe or having a drink in a beer garden when the weather is nice. There are also more festivals and things to do at this time of year.

cotraveller · July 12, 2009, 07:46 PM

We've been on three European river cruises, Vienna to Amsterdam in 2002, Budapest to the Black Sea in 2005, and most recently from the Normandy coast to Paris this year. The Vienna to Amsterdam cruise was in late June and the weather was unseasonably hot. Daily highs of over 100 degrees for most of the trip. The average high for that time of year was listed as 80. The other two cruises were in mid May and the weather was very pleasant. Cool to warm most days, never hot. A typical day includes touring on foot at the various stops along the way. I would not enjoy doing that in cold rainy weather.

All three cruises were with Grand Circle Travel and we thoroughly enjoyed them. They have a web site, http://www.gct.com/, that has details of all of their trips. They do cater to the "older" traveler and even though we have been retired for a number of years we brought down the average age on all three trips.

Kathleen · July 13, 2009, 11:21 AM

Hi Tom,

We are also interested in a river cruise for next year. Thanks for posting your question.

Tuggers know everything.

Kathleen

thheath · July 13, 2009, 02:17 PM

I been thinking that finding the best river cruise might be through a travel agent. My understanding is that the river cruise industry is hurting along with everybody else. A good travel agent should be up on the best offers available. You could always pick their brain and still book it yourself online if it was cheaper. I'm sure there must be travel companies that specialize in this area.

Carolinian · July 13, 2009, 02:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thheath

I been thinking that finding the best river cruise might be through a travel agent. My understanding is that the river cruise industry is hurting along with everybody else. A good travel agent should be up on the best offers available. You could always pick their brain and still book it yourself online if it was cheaper. I'm sure there must be travel companies that specialize in this area.

An American travel agent may not be up on these cruises. I would suggest checking out a UK-based cruise discounter.

myhottoddy · July 14, 2009, 10:31 PM

We will likely try Viking, Summer is about $2,000 more expensive for the two of us. Pretty expensive beer! I think I will look at late Nov thru early Nov 2010. If you buy the airfare from Viking the discount is ok thru Jul 31, 2009.
Delay the return from same city cost $100 each and I lose the free transfer from Pasal to Munich, go figure.

Tom

thheath · July 15, 2009, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by myhottoddy

We will likely try Viking, Summer is about $2,000 more expensive for the two of us. Pretty expensive beer! I think I will look at late Nov thru early Nov 2010. If you buy the airfare from Viking the discount is ok thru Jul 31, 2009.
Delay the return from same city cost $100 each and I lose the free transfer from Pasal to Munich, go figure.

Tom

It will probably be chilly/cold and wet at that time of year; I think you're making a mistake. You could also try the shoulder seasons in May or September if you don't want to do June-August.

Pat H · July 15, 2009, 08:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kathleen

Hi Tom,

We are also interested in a river cruise for next year. Thanks for posting your question.

Tuggers know everything.

Kathleen

Are you going on the TUG cruise?

Kathleen · July 15, 2009, 08:00 PM

Hello Pat H,

We had two spectacular trips with the Cruising TUGgers. However, Sam and I are not much on cruises.

We(I) have wanted to do a European River cruise for along time. In that Sam is not too gung ho to see Europe, the ease of transportation and pre planned tours might persuade him.

No particular time line. Just in the checking stage.

The TUG Cruisers and Cruisettes will have a wonderful time. They are all good company even if the ship never sailed.

Kathleen

lvhmbh · July 16, 2009, 09:45 AM

I get an e-mail from Travel Insider. The guy that writes the "newsletter" does alot of river cruising with Amadeus.
He has one coming up on the Danube called Christmas Market Tour starting December 13. Sorry I don't have a link but maybe you can find them. Linda

lvhmbh · July 17, 2009, 12:11 PM

I just got my newsletter from Travel Insider and the Christmas Market Cruise is run by Amawaterways. You get a discount if you go through Travel Insider. I hope this link works - it is http://www.thetravelinsider.info/tra...tmascruise.htm

mannering · July 17, 2009, 03:43 PM

There is a great article today on USATODAY online in Travel about these river cruises with links to many companies. They sound like fun trips.

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruis...r-cruise_N.htm

July 12, 2009, 02:44 PM	#1
myhottoddy TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Los Alamos, NM Posts: 82 Resorts: Fairfield Pagosa,Branson and Glade: 507,000 Fairshare Plus points	Danube River Cruises We are considering a European River Cruise during 2010, will likely try the Danube. Any expeience with river cruises appreciated. Viking does a lot of advertising, but their reviews not promising especially regarding dining. Weather is better June thru Sept but prices are much higher than March thru May and Oct thru Nov. We have been to Germany and Austria in late March and understand that it can be chilly and rainy. Does this reallly matter when on a tour and not driving? Also we are considerin the less expensive D rooms on the main deck(only 2 traveling). Any advice will be helpful. Other competive cruise lines? Tom

July 12, 2009, 02:57 PM	#2
Carolinian Guest BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: eastern Europe Posts: 5,562	The least expensive used to be the EasyCruise2 boats in Netherlands and Belgium but EasyCruise pulled out of the river cruise business. I would get a guidebook to identify the most interesting parts of the rivers you are considering. I have not done the overnight cruises on the Danube, only the hydorfoil from Vienna to Bratislava. I have driven the Rhine Gorge and think that would be a neat place to do a river cruise, especially with a side trip up the Lahn, which has several small medieval cities. I also enjoyed the vintage sidewheeler steamboat cruises on the Elbe, but again they were day cruises, not overnight. __________________ Driving Every Loyal Traveller Away - the new Delta

July 12, 2009, 05:11 PM	#3
thheath TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 12, 09 Location: Kauai, Hawaii Posts: 203	Germany Travel Timeframe I've not taken a river cruise but have spent many months in Germany at different times of the year. There is a reason it's more expensive to book during the summer months, the weather is great. Spend the extra money and get the maximum enjoyment from your trip. There is nothing better then eating in an outdoor cafe or having a drink in a beer garden when the weather is nice. There are also more festivals and things to do at this time of year.

July 12, 2009, 07:46 PM	#4
cotraveller TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Denver Posts: 388 Resorts: WorldMark	We've been on three European river cruises, Vienna to Amsterdam in 2002, Budapest to the Black Sea in 2005, and most recently from the Normandy coast to Paris this year. The Vienna to Amsterdam cruise was in late June and the weather was unseasonably hot. Daily highs of over 100 degrees for most of the trip. The average high for that time of year was listed as 80. The other two cruises were in mid May and the weather was very pleasant. Cool to warm most days, never hot. A typical day includes touring on foot at the various stops along the way. I would not enjoy doing that in cold rainy weather. All three cruises were with Grand Circle Travel and we thoroughly enjoyed them. They have a web site, http://www.gct.com/, that has details of all of their trips. They do cater to the "older" traveler and even though we have been retired for a number of years we brought down the average age on all three trips. __________________ Fred in Colorado WorldMark Owner Information - An Independent WorldMark Site. Last edited by cotraveller : July 12, 2009 at 07:48 PM.

July 13, 2009, 02:17 PM	#6
thheath TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 12, 09 Location: Kauai, Hawaii Posts: 203	River Cruise I been thinking that finding the best river cruise might be through a travel agent. My understanding is that the river cruise industry is hurting along with everybody else. A good travel agent should be up on the best offers available. You could always pick their brain and still book it yourself online if it was cheaper. I'm sure there must be travel companies that specialize in this area.

July 13, 2009, 11:21 AM	#5
Kathleen TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Lake Monticello,VA Posts: 278	Hi Tom, We are also interested in a river cruise for next year. Thanks for posting your question. Tuggers know everything. Kathleen

July 14, 2009, 10:31 PM	#8
myhottoddy TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Los Alamos, NM Posts: 82 Resorts: Fairfield Pagosa,Branson and Glade: 507,000 Fairshare Plus points	We will likely try Viking, Summer is about $2,000 more expensive for the two of us. Pretty expensive beer! I think I will look at late Nov thru early Nov 2010. If you buy the airfare from Viking the discount is ok thru Jul 31, 2009. Delay the return from same city cost $100 each and I lose the free transfer from Pasal to Munich, go figure. Tom

July 15, 2009, 08:00 PM	#11
Kathleen TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Lake Monticello,VA Posts: 278	Hello Pat H, We had two spectacular trips with the Cruising TUGgers. However, Sam and I are not much on cruises. We(I) have wanted to do a European River cruise for along time. In that Sam is not too gung ho to see Europe, the ease of transportation and pre planned tours might persuade him. No particular time line. Just in the checking stage. The TUG Cruisers and Cruisettes will have a wonderful time. They are all good company even if the ship never sailed. Kathleen

July 16, 2009, 09:45 AM	#12
lvhmbh TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 734 Resorts: Bluebeard's Castle, STT Vistana Resort, Orlando Costa Linda, Aruba	I get an e-mail from Travel Insider. The guy that writes the "newsletter" does alot of river cruising with Amadeus. He has one coming up on the Danube called Christmas Market Tour starting December 13. Sorry I don't have a link but maybe you can find them. Linda

July 17, 2009, 12:11 PM	#13
lvhmbh TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: Boca Raton, FL Posts: 734 Resorts: Bluebeard's Castle, STT Vistana Resort, Orlando Costa Linda, Aruba	I just got my newsletter from Travel Insider and the Christmas Market Cruise is run by Amawaterways. You get a discount if you go through Travel Insider. I hope this link works - it is http://www.thetravelinsider.info/tra...tmascruise.htm

July 17, 2009, 03:43 PM	#14
mannering TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 27, 05 Location: Vienna, Va Posts: 8	There is a great article today on USATODAY online in Travel about these river cruises with links to many companies. They sound like fun trips. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/cruis...r-cruise_N.htm

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