I have found that a river cruise is not for everyone, but it is a great option for some.
So let me explain who I believe it is and isn’t for.
It could save you a lot of money, or lead you to one of your best vacations ever
If you’re new here welcome aboard.
I'm Gary Bembridge and it's my goal to make it fun and easy to discover, plan and enjoy
unforgettable cruise vacations.
A river cruise is a great way of seeing a region in an immersive and intensive way.
Whether that's Europe, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Nile, or parts of the United States.
But this comes with some catches.
River cruises do not travel large distances across a day, slowly working its way along
the river.
When I am on an ocean cruise, I usually travel many hundreds of miles every day and visit
multiple countries.
River cruises I have been on have often travelled just 20 to 50 miles a day, stopping frequently
at places along the way and often called in on multiple places in one day.
Unlike on an ocean cruise, river ships are always close to land.
The banks are just a few metres away, so I get to observe for every minute of the cruise
the landscapes, towns, sights, and lifestyle along the route, thus giving me a more intensive
in-depth look at a country or region.
For example, my Rhine River cruise explored various areas of Germany, with iconic castles
and historic towns and cities like Cologne, Passau, Rudesheim and Heidelberg.
My classic Danube River cruise immersed me into Austrian history, visiting places like
Linz, Krems and then 3 capital cities: Vienna (Austria), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Budapest
(Hungary).
When I wanted to explore French countryside and chateaux, my Loire River cruise did that
for me.
My Mekong River cruise showed me Vietnam and Cambodian rural and city life.
It remains one of the most fascinating cruises I have ever done.
The distances travelled on river cruises are not vast, and you get to explore in a more
intensive way than you would ever on an ocean cruise.
Those tend to flit quickly from place to place each day, often calling on a new country or
island every day.
Broad and brief tastes of a wide geography is what ocean cruises are more about.
What's important to note is that river cruise programs tend to focus on four key aspects
of each region: the history, religious side, culture, and food and drink.
They also do it at a gentler pace once they call into a stop, with panoramic bus and leisurely
walking tours.
Though some do now offer more active bike and hiking options.
The second time a river cruise is a great idea is if you want to go on a vacation, which
is totally and utterly organised with very few decisions or options that you must juggle.
All you must do is decide when you want to go, broadly where you want to go, which cruise
line you want to go with.
And then everything else is done for you.
The great thing about a river cruise is its pretty stress and hassle free because you
don't have to make lots of decisions as it’s all done for you.
The excursions, dining, drinks, entertainment and so on.
You don't have to make lots of decisions once you go.
In my experience, river cruising is by nature closer to an escorted tour than it is to an
ocean cruise.
The daily activities and program are tightly organised with no, or fewer, choices than
you would have on an ocean cruise.
It’s a much more curated experience, and everyone on the trip has the same shared program
and experience and do the same things at the same time.
Of course, you can opt out of those cruise-wide scheduled activities.
You don't necessarily have to go on all the included excursions, but you should expect
less choice and options and a less individually tailored cruise experience than when ocean
cruising, which prides itself on the range of choice available.
If having a shared communal experience with everyone on the trip and the ability to just
“go with the flow” and not have to make decisions and wrestle with choices and options
appeals, then river cruising is for you.
If you like a more individually tailored, free-wheeling and independent cruise experience
then consider this option more cautiously.
Unless of course you have next over-riding issue and concern that trumps this totally.
River cruising is a great idea if you are concerned in any way about motion sickness,
as it's pretty much impossible to be motion sick on a river.
Though that too comes with a catch, as I will explain.
I have been on river cruises with people who get seasick at even the thought of going on
a rowboat on a lake, like my Father-in-law, but seriously the chance of getting seasick
on a river cruise is pretty much impossible.
It’s smooth sailing literally.
Your biggest water-related concern about a river cruise is not being seasick, it's about
water levels.
And that is one of the key risks with a river cruise.
There may be too much water so the ships can't get under the bridges and therefore get trapped
in a section of the river.
Or at the other extreme the water levels are too low, and the ships can't travel further
down the river.
I've been on various cruises where both of that has happened.
For example, on one Danube cruise we ended up only being able to travel as far as Vienna
because the ships couldn't get any further down towards Budapest.
We ended up having to go on various bused excursions because we couldn't go any further.
While on my Mekong River Cruise, the Tonle Sap Lake was too low for the ship.
We had to be driven many hours around the lake to get to our end-of-cruise destination
at Siem Reap to visit the incredible Angkor Wat ruins.
If you look at online discussions about river cruises, water levels are one of the main
things that has disappointed river cruise passengers as they have been stuck in one
place and bussed on excursions, or even had to pack up and move to a different ship further
up or down the river.
It does not happen every year, but when planning, keep an eye on water levels in any season
to make the most of your river cruise, and consider there is another big upside, despite
this, that may make this risk worthwhile.
If you find big ocean ships a turnoff, or even smaller ocean ships a turn off for that
matter.
River cruising is much more likely to be for you.
River cruise ships will have under 200 guests on board.
In fact, many will be much smaller and closer to a hundred.
That’s possible in Europe.
It's true in the Mekong, going down the Mississippi or the Nile.
It’s a much more intimate experience.
If you like the idea of travelling with much fewer people, you want it to be a much more
intimate experience.
You want to get to know the passengers that you're cruising with much easier because you're
mixing with the same people all the time, then river cruising is a great idea.
Of course, that intimate experience comes with some compromise.
On a river cruise ship, you will have limited options and facilities.
Usually there is only one restaurant and one key lounge / bar area.
Some will have a small plunge pool, maybe have a hot tub.
Not all will have a gym on board.
You're going to have fewer grades of cabins to choose from.
But you will have a more intimate experience, and you will have good food, a friendly lounge
to mix with guests, a good comfortable cabin and open sun deck to enjoy the scenery and
relax.
If you won’t miss all the bells and whistles and attractions ocean cruising serves up,
because a more intimate experience is important to you, then river cruising is something to
consider – especially if another feature of ocean cruising drives you crazy.
If you're like me and want to know when you book a cruise, what it's going to cost you
in its entirety and not have lots of add-ons and nickel and diming, then this could be
for you.
River cruising is a much an all-inclusive experience.
There are a few examples where some river cruise lines are breaking out from this, but
largely speaking today, river cruising is an all included vacation.
All your food is included, all your excursions are included.
Wi-Fi is included and some or all your drinks are thrown in, and on many gratuities are
included.
Transfers are often included to and from the airport.
I find it's difficult to spend money when I’m on board a river cruise, because everything
on the cruise has been covered.
The only things that I've been out of pocket for is if I give any extra gratuities, or
if I've bought things along the way in the different stops.
Though it is important to note though, that river cruising is more expensive on a per
day basis generally than an ocean cruise.
Partly because so much more is included.
One thing to consider is that as most lines include excursions in the fare, if you want
to be more independent and do not go on the included excursions and you head off out on
your own, you are paying a premium for something you will not be using.
There is some hope for you though.
Some lines are moving away from this to give a slightly more fluid approach.
For example, CroisiEurope is offering packages in some countries which do not include excursions,
and you can buy those as a package add-on or ad-hoc.
But overall, if you like to know once you've paid for your vacation that everything's included,
river cruising is a great option.
But is it really limited when it comes to your vacation options?
Although on board a river cruise there is relatively limited choice of facilities, there
is a huge choice in terms of the number of rivers you can cruise on and areas of the
world.
you can do.
And in the number of cruise lines that you can go cruising with.
Europe is probably the most developed in terms of river cruising and across continental Europe
there is enormous choice of rivers.
The most popular include: The Rhine, the Rhone, the Danube, the Douro, Seine, Loire, Elbe,
Moselle, Po, Volga and so on and so on and so on.
In the United States there's less choice, with the Great Lakes area and Mississippi
being the key areas.
In Africa you're going to be able to go into the Nile and there is some limited river cruising
in Southern Africa, around the Kariba Dam.
In Asia there is opportunities to cruise through India, Yangtze River in China, and Vietnam
and Cambodia, along the Mekong.
River cruising is constantly expanding and going to more places so there is a lot of
choice.
There is also an enormous range of cruise lines.
The largest choice is again within Europe, and there are dozens of cruise lines.
Those that cater mostly for English speakers are at least 20 that I've counted and probably
more.
You've got everything from the ultra-luxury lines like Crystal and Uniworld.
Five-star lines like AmaWaterways, Scenic, Viking and Tauck.
Four-star lines like Avalon, Emerald, APT and three-star lines like CroisiEurope and
Nicko
If you are a non-English speaker and you speak French or German, you have even more choice
because there are even more lines on top of that as well like A-Rosa, Collette, Crucemundo
and Lueftner.
If you think a rivers cruise is for you and want to know which cruise to start with, then
watch this video where I give you the best river cruises to do any why, starting with
the absolute must do first time river cruise.
See you over there