I'm going to tell you 14 things that I think you need to know about river
cruising that are watch outs or things you need to know before you go that the
cruise lines probably won't tell you, and certainly the brochures won't warn you
about. Hi, I'm Gary Bembridge and this is another of my tips for travellers. The
goal of this is not to put you off river cruising, but it is a very different way
of travelling and there's a whole bunch of things that I think you need to know
to make sure that if you decide to go you're going to you make the most of it.
First of all, you can only cruise a relatively limited part of the year.
The season runs normally from April through to October in Europe, and
although there might be some Christmas cruises or New Year's cruises like
Christmas market cruises, the ships are normally put into harbour and basically
retired for at least the first three months of the year. So, there's only a
relatively limited period of time that you can go cruising. The second, and
really important thing to note, is that it's very possible (and sometimes almost
likely) that your itineraries will get adjusted because of water levels - so
either to high water levels or too low water levels. You might often find on
a cruise that quite close at the time you booked to go that the itinerary
might get changed, or even when you're on the cruise you might find that you
end up staying in one place and getting bused to excursions. What's very
important on river cruises is you don't actually travel that far, so you might
only be traveling maybe 20 miles or 30 miles, so it is relatively easy for the
river cruise lines to then just bus you on the different excursions. In some
seasons that can be pretty bad, so for example, in 2018 there were big
problems particularly on the Danube and itineraries were constantly being changed.
River cruising ships are basically all the same, because they have to be a
certain length, width and height to be able to cruise the
rivers of Europe, so seen from the outside you'll find that all river
cruising ships look the same. Therefore, if you really want to understand the
differences you need to look inside and so that's why video sites are really
important so you get a chance to look inside the ship. When you're going to go
on a river cruise you can't really tell by the outside of the ship, you need to
really look inside. Also it's very important to note that river cruise ships
have relatively limited facilities. You normally find there's a
large lounge area with a bar, you might find at the rear of the ship there's
either another lounge or special dining restaurant, there's
a main dining room there's maybe a small fitness centre,
maybe a small hairdresser and massage area and a Sun Deck.
So, facilities are very limited and choice is very limited. You don't
have a lot of choice of dining options, so you normally find for
dinner you have to eat in the main restaurant and there's no room service
or no alternative. That is really important to know because it tends to be
a sit-down dinner with multiple courses, so you're going to find in the evening you
have to commit to going to dinner which is going to take several hours. If you
one of those people that like some evenings just to have a relatively easy
evening, like if you're an ocean cruise you might just go to the buffet
restaurant, that's not an option on river cruise boats. You have to go for a full
sit-down dinner on most ships. Another thing, which is a big surprise to a lot
of people on river cruises, is that the ships will normally park parallel to
each other, sometimes three or four deep. You'll often find that you are
surrounded on all sides by another ship. So, if you're in your cabin for example
you're basically looking straight into another cabin and can be quite dark, and
to get onto land you either have to go through or climb up and over
the sun deck. On the big busy rivers you're going to be docking in
many places multiple deep. The places and excursions you call on are extremely
similar across all river cruise lines. You'll find they tend to stop at the
same places. They'll often the same excursions. Historically the
excursions have tended to be much more historical and you're going to see
lots of cathedrals on walking tours of the town. Now more
cruise lines are trying to diversify that and you'll find a lot of them
will start to have a more active hiking or a bicycle tours, but you'll find
wherever you go to they are stopping at the same places and doing pretty much
the same excursions. There's no real big difference in excursions. Importantly
most cruise lines include at least one excursion in every port of call. That's true
across most cruise lines. There are one or two exceptions to that but generally
speaking cruise lines include an excursion and they will be very similar
across cruise lines. Another thing that surprised me a lot when I started
going river cruising is just how regimented it is. Having been used to
ocean cruising where you have much more flexibility. You can get up when you want,
dine when you want as lots of different choices. River cruising is very
regimented. You'll find that there are announcements waking you up at a certain
time to have breakfast because you need to get out on
excursions a certain time. You need to be back because the ship might be moving a
along the river and then going to more excursions. Lunches at the
same time with very tight narrow set time, again with limited choices, and as I
mentioned earlier dinner will be at a certain time and will be a multi-course
dinner. In the evenings there will be port briefings
or talks, maybe some local entertainment. It's a very regimented and set
experience. Of course you can decide not to go on the excursions and
basically build in more flexibility that way, but bear in mind that most of the
time you will have paid for the excursions within your fare so by not
going on them you are paying for something that you're not using.
A lot of the river cruising lines developed out of escorted
tour companies and a lot of the people who go on river cruising are people who
enjoy escorted tours and that more regimented way of traveling.
It is quite a regimented and strict way of experiencing a region. The other thing
you need to know is that River cruising is quite an expensive travel option,
certainly versus ocean cruising. So, if you take a look at say July on the
Rhine even on a budget line you're probably paying about
$200 - $250 dollars per person per day ( that's about £190 pounds and about the same
in Euros). The premium lines you're probably spending $300 - £400 dollars per
person per day (so about £300 pounds per person per day). It's a relatively
expensive option certainly when you compare to versus ocean cruising.
Thats is partly because the ships are much smaller so, of course, they can't
amortize the costs across as many people, and also because a lot of things are
included within the fare. One thing you'll notice in river cruising is that
pretty much all of the cruise lines will say that they're all-inclusive. However,
you need to understand what that means because every cruise line has a
different definition of what all-inclusive means. Generally
of course your accommodations included, your meals are included, maybe
things like afternoon tea. Some Cruise Lines, particular more premium
lines, will include all of your drinks and premium drinks at all times of the
day. For example Uniworld will do that. Others will include beer, wine and soft
drinks at lunch and dinner only. All the river cruise lines will offer free Wi-Fi.
Most of them will offer one excursion in
all the places that you call on, an exception for example is CroisiEurope
which is a more value line where you can buy a
package of excursions, and your fare doesn't include excursions. Also what's
important is when you're looking at all-inclusive is it will differ
based on where you're coming from! So for example using the CroisiEurope example,
if you're booking to cruise Europe from the United States you'll find that
excursions are included. So, it depends a lot on where you're travelling from.
Gratuities are included on some lines and not in others. It's
important when you're looking at a river cruise line and it says it's
all-inclusive that you understand what that really means, because it is
different pretty much across every single cruise line. Another thing which is
important river cruising is river cruising in my mind is it is not suitable for
people with accessibility issues, particularly those in a wheelchair. River
cruising is something that is not likely to work because first of all you'll find
most of the cabins on ships don't have facilities for people in wheelchairs or
with limited mobility. Some of them will have elevators which go between some or
all of the floors. But what's very challenging is when you're docking in
some of these small towns, particularly on the Danube and the Rhine, there may be
very narrow ramps which you have to go up and there'll be cobbled streets and
steep inclines. So, it's not really suitable for people with
wheelchairs and there's not that many cruise lines that have accessibility
cabins. If you are in a wheelchair or you have accessibility issues, check very
carefully with the cruise line. Linked to that is you do need
to be relatively active and fit because most of the excursions are walking tours
on cobblestones and up steps. Although most cruise lines will have a gentle
walking option and they may have a little mini bus which moves you around,
it is a quite an active way of travelling and there's lots of walking involved.
River cruising has an image of being for an older traveler and, in practice, it
still is mostly an older traveler who goes on river cruising - people in
their 50s, 60s and 70s and above. River cruise lines are trying to attract
more families and you'll find in the key school holiday periods some
cruise lines have more family or multi-generational cruises, where they
try and build in more activities and features for kids. In my view, river
cruising is much more of a baby boomer product and a much more of a baby
boomer way of traveling, because those are who most of the people on board are
going to be and a lot of the tours and excursions are going to
historical places or have a historical or sightseeing bend to them. The whole
structure, the facilities and the way of dining is a more adult
experience and certainly a slightly older adult experience. Solo travelers
are one of the traveler groups that are very drawn to river cruising. However it
can be a very expensive way for solo travelers to cruise because you'll find
most cruise lines, certainly in the peak season, will charge double to occupy a
cabin. Increasingly cruise lines are offering in the shoulder
periods out of season is more solo deals.
If you're a solo traveller and want to go river cruising it is a very social
way to travel, because of small groups and you can get to know people very easy, making
it a great way of traveling as a solo
traveler. It is a relatively expensive option so
look at the beginning and the end of
the season when Cruise Lines find it slightly harder or more challenging to
fill and will do more solo deals. A couple of cruise lines are
introducing smaller cabins and more solo cabins but again this
still tends to be a premium on those. The other thing to bear in mind is when
you're cruising down the rivers, and particularly on the places like the
Danube, is you're going to go through a lot of locks and you find as you
cruise along, and you might be sleeping, there will be noise and bumping as you
go through the locks. Personally I love locks and find
fascinating their technology, but it's one things that people don't really
think of. They think they will be sailing up rivers for miles and
miles and miles, but you will find you go through a lot of locks. It can be
slightly odd when in your cabin because suddenly you might find you have
a big concrete wall up against your window. The other thing I would say
with River Cruises is they are slightly noisier than ocean cruising. In
terms of people walking around and talking. More noise because they're much
smaller vessels and there's less ambient noise of the ocean.
When I go on a river cruise I always take ear
plugs with me as I find that much easier to sleep. It is a little bit noisier and I
have had some experiences where I can hear the people in the room next door
snoring for example or televisions or whatever, so if your are a light sleeper
take some earplugs.These are the things that
I think you need to know and aren't going to be told about river cruising. It is
not to put you off river cruising but to ensure you better
understand the process of river cruising so that when you go
you know what to expect. There are some surprises and some
differences. I love it if you watched many more of my Tips For Travellers videos as
I have lots about river cruising and lots of tips, ship tours and
reviews of river cruising lines