The channel for travelers planning a river cruise for the first or second time. I share resources about river cruise lines, the ships, destinations, experiences you may have, and planning tips.
HI, I am new to the idea of a river cruise vacation and have enjoyed your videos. I'd really like to see more content on how we can plan ahead with the major lines in order to Save money. Which company does what kinds of book ahead discounts or other promotions? I really want to do this, but wow, it is expensive! Upwards of $400-800 per Person per night seems like a lot, and we don't want to get stuck is some bellow water room with no view. Also, it's not really clear to me what is and is not included with each line, a breakdown video would be handy. Like how are we supposed to tip? Room stewart, at dinners, excursions etc? How much are the excursions? What about costs around the cruise, like flights and hotels before and after...taxis, like it all adds up, so how to budget? Lastly...when to go? I see images of these rivers just Stuffed with boats, not exactly the Ten grand a week experience I'm after. But going off season poses what kinds of issues? All tips and tricks welcome. :)
Great videos from the Suppliers you mention. Keep Learning and catch up with me! Donna Beck CTC MCC, DS -- 50 Destinations, Products and Services requiring hours of training both on line and on site.
Trying to coordinate with friends is a nightmare! When did people over the age of 60 get so BUSY??? Thanks for mentioning single supplement and roommate options.
I used to put an effort into inviting and asking friends to join me on a trip. After one literally did not respond to my invite and another who just cannot do it anymore due to other life commitments, I realized solo traveling and joining a group in a tour is an excellent way of meeting new and possibly like minded people.
Thanks Kofo! Wonderful and clear video! My husband and I are doing Viking this November! We’re in our late 30s and 40s. We chose it because free round trip airfare, no deposit fee, and $400 credit - basically $400 off. But we also chose it because we’re not very social and want more of a calm and educational vibe. We love history! We also love getting lost in random places and don’t care for excursions. I can’t wait to check out the Asia area of Strasbourg! 😅
My husband and I are experienced travelers and river cruisers and sadly, our first trip with Uniworld in 2022 on the Danube River Christmas markets was disappointing. The agent in charge of booking our airfare offered us the most expensive options. so we booked our own, as I was able to find our business airfare for a much more reasonable price with the same airline. While the food and the cabin service was excellent, the tours were rushed and not always what was promised. On the evening of my 65th birthday, my husband asked for 6 dozen roses be placed our room early morning and only 3 dozen showed up at the end of the day. He had reserved the seafood and steak dinner in the Leopard bar and we were placed with a loud and very drunk couple that everyone avoided during the cruise, that had a very loud fight during the entree and answered racist comments to fellow passengers asking them to quiet down . We asked to be moved to another table, but there were no places available at the tables. We literally left halfway through our main. My birthday was ruined. The next day, that very couple started another loud conflict with an elderly couple who were to do their wedding vows again that day. We went to the front desk to complain as this couple was tolerated throughout the entire trip, making this cruise unpleasant for many passengers.We received no apologies, the staff was unable to handle this situation. Our flight home was very early and on the eve Uniworld offered us their car service from Passau, Germany to the airport to arrive 2 hours before our flight in Munich. Our airline recommended 4 hours but Uniworld insisted it was not necessary. It was rainy and the roads were icy and the airport was already crowded just 2 days before Christmas. We missed our connection to Paris. Thankfully the airline offered us seats on the next flight. After we got off the ship, I realized I had left my home and car keys in our suite. We called the ship as soon as we got to the airport. Our home keys are custom and cannot be copied and quite expensive to replace. After 6 months of being lied to, we simply gave up. Very disappointing to the point that we booked our 2 following cruises with another boutique river cruise line. We were treated like royalty with the other company. While many others will say they had a great experience, we did not and do not recommend this company.
Great summary of affordable river cruises, thanks Kofo! (It looks like Vantage Travel has now closed, boo...) I would be interested if there are even cheaper cruises maybe at a local level...when a family is going together, it gets quite expensive even with these 'budget' options. That said I hadn't heard of several of these cruise lines so thanks very much for providing tips on each!
Problem is companies like Avalon reimburse you only 20% of the money if they cancel. Is either you take a bus and see what you wanted to see by bus, or 80% of your money is gone. This happens a lot for their Christmas Market cruises. Avoid taking a river cruise in europe period November-January
Thank you for the comparison, it is extremely informative. We are a racially mixed family and we have noticed that in nearly all images and video clips about river cruises, even in companies advertisements, are not diverse at all. Are there any that you have noticed to have a more racially diverse clientele?
I definitely would not give any company straight cash. There’s no protection there. Should the cruise line go bankrupt. You would never get your money back.. is best to put it on a credit card and have travel insurance that includes cruise company bankruptcies
You are wonderful! You have a passion for what you do and it shows. I’m currently shopping river cruises and I am honestly confused. I’d love to chat with you. How can we talk ?
I am from Malaysia. I would love to river cruise in Asia. What are the river cruises available? European cruise companies include flights from eg London. But I'm from Malayia and will fly from Kuala Lumpur.
@lilingloh8061 I'd be happy to help you if you're still interested in what river cruises are available. It would be best to help you over email rather than here in the comments. You can reach me at letscruise@koartravel.com I look forward to hearing from you.
So glad I found your Channel, I am a traveler and I needed your advice on River Cruising I have been on Viking, but I need something a little more budget friendly. I think you are great, so much information
So glad you are back! Your delivery is so good-polished yet still natural. And you do a great job concisely conveying your key points without being merely superficial. I’ve missed new posts from you and hope to see more soon.
My husband and I are experienced river cruisers and while you will find lower prices with other companies, know that not much is included: Tours, certain meals and premium drinks, tips, etc. Paying more for an all inclusive is worthwhile. Perhaps wait a little longer to save your money and go with an all inclusive.
Question: If I book a river cruise (Avalon Seine for example) do I select/book excursions before the cruise begins, or do I do that after it starts and I can get feedback from cruise director. Thank you!
We went on a Christmas market cruise in 2023. The water was too high and it turned into a bus tour. We didn't find that out until the first night we wouldn't be sailing at all. We moved down the canal from Nurenberg and sat tied up for three days and were bussed to Passau, Regensberg and then on to Linz and Vienna where we stayed two nights in a hotel. Then on to Budapest by bus. Not happy about it. We received a small refund (15%) and no future cruise credit. We'll be back but not on this cruise company.
That's good to know that there are so many I especially like the ones with no children. We took a princess cruise and I had 128 children running the halls with no babysitters available. It's really nice when these ships bring in the native food when they're at a location so you can try it. On so many cruises we get off the cruise for Native food. Thank you so much.
Very nice video Kofo--thank you. I'd love to hear how you might differentiate these cruise lines by quality, ie, might you classify the upper-end lines as Tauck, Uniworld, Scenic; mid-tier: Ama, Emerald, Avalon, Viking, etc. We did our very first river cruise (Rhine with Viking) last year and had a great time. We thought it was an incredible value, but we're interested in maybe stepping it up a notch, without going overboard on pricing (for example, I'd hate to overpay for a truly all-inclusive, as we don't drink a lot of alcohol). Any thoughts which lines we might research next for the Danube? Thanks!
There is an issue right now with Viking cruising in America. The American Cruise Line has taken them to court because they are not an American company nor they are registered in America. We will see if they are going to be kicked out of the American rivers. Thank so much for this video. I have learned more regarding other available options. My top four are still Viking, AmaWaterways, Avalon and Emerald.
