Tell me about European river cruises? Are

[Anonymous]

I keep eyeing the disney ones that go through the rivers with lots of castles. The activities sound really fun, lots of biking through vallies and things like that. But the timing has not worked with our schedule as they only seem to run a few every summer. They are somewhat limited by river depth — at some point the river is too low and the boats don’t move. My aunt was on a Viking one that got stuck and they had to load everyone off on the shore and bus them down the river to a deeper spot. I guess with all the people off they could tug the boat out of the mud.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Viking cruises are insanely popular among affluent older people. Because when you are old, you do slow down and the cruises offer a more frictionless way to travel. You're not rushing from hotel to hotel nor are you agonizing over where to eat or what to see. Everything is taken care of. Viking does a great job.

My parents LOVE Viking cruises. They travel other ways too, and still ski blacks for example so are still active (gave up waterskiing last year though). Early 70s. They like the access to city centers, the many countries on one itinerary, unpacking once, etc. I think they add excursions to be a bit more active than the average person on their ship but it’s so customizable.

We are friends with an active-enough (not skiing blacks, but no issues pounding the pavement in a city) neihhbor couple and they also LOVE their Viking Cruises. They book the big suite over a year out and a ton of activities and go on two a year. We are not the target demographic nor as we cruisers generally, but they look great! If only we had a 100k/year vacation budget...

[Anonymous]

My parents did a river cruise for their 50th anniversary when they were 71 and said it was the best vacation they had ever taken.

[Anonymous]

I get seasick so avoid sea/ocean cruises. Can anyone with this issue who has been on one comment?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get seasick so avoid sea/ocean cruises. Can anyone with this issue who has been on one comment?

There is very little motion that I recall.

[Anonymous]

Viking it the big name one and $$$, but there are other options as well. My parents have done a number of cruises with Gate 1 and been very happy with the boats, food and tours.

[Anonymous]

We went on a Viking cruise several years ago with a few members of my spouse's extended family. We were in our late 50s. There were only a handful of passengers younger than us and the vast majority were much older. The accommodations were very comfortable and the food high end but the entertainment was cheesy and the overall experience just not our thing. It was likely floating high end assisted living. Plus everything you see is packaged, you're herded around like cattle, treated like children, and required to be back on the boat and in bed by like 8. It was NOT our thing. And they're not cheap.

[Anonymous]

I took my 2 teenage sons and 80 YO parents on a Uniworld river cruise last summer. Uniworld is a Viking competitor (high end) but allows kids. There was one other kid on the boat. I was probably among the 20 youngest passengers of 150 total, and my parents among the older ones - lots of 60s and 70s. Pros: like a floating Ritz Carlton. Rooms were small but impeccable - pillow menu, high thread count sheets, turn down service with chocolates. Food, wine and service also impeccable - excellent, locally curated food and wine, and the lounge was the kind of place that by the second day the bartender knows your drink and the cleaning staff greet you by name. We were all really happy on the boat. Sailing was very pleasant. It was a great way to see a part of Europe I otherwise wouldn’t have, without packing and unpacking all the time and with no time on a bus / train.

Cons: the excursions were a mixed bag. some were those annoying ‘follow the lady with the umbrella in a crowd of 30 people.’. others were great. A lot depended on the guide and who else was in the group. I didnt realize you can book private tours - it would get expensive but I might have done it in the places where the excursions weren’t appealing (Vienna comes to mind). And it’s definitely not a lot of time in any one place.

Bottom line - I’d definitely do it again, but only on a route where I was really ok with seeing each stop for a short amount of time (like maybe the Rhine where its castles and wine; not the Seine where I’d really like to explore the towns and markets for a couple days). And I’d spend more time in advance looking at the excursions to make sure there were enough active ones for me and my companions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep eyeing the disney ones that go through the rivers with lots of castles. The activities sound really fun, lots of biking through vallies and things like that. But the timing has not worked with our schedule as they only seem to run a few every summer. They are somewhat limited by river depth — at some point the river is too low and the boats don’t move. My aunt was on a Viking one that got stuck and they had to load everyone off on the shore and bus them down the river to a deeper spot. I guess with all the people off they could tug the boat out of the mud.

Yes my in-laws (who have probably taken 20+ Viking cruises) had to do this one summer when the water was very low. They were told a few weeks in advance and were given the option to cancel but decided to go and still had a nice time. And they keep planning them!

[Anonymous]

Dh and I plan to try this when we retire in a few years. I’ve never been on an ocean cruise as I get seasick so I’m hoping a river cruise will be a totally different experience. But I’m also not interested in the crowds and screaming young kids, etc. I’d like it to be slower and more relaxed, with some stops and sightseeing. So, we’ll see. I haven’t begun my research into it yet!

[Anonymous]

One one my bucket list things to do was a European river cruise...until I saw a few shows on them. I watch a show called Dream Cruises or something. They just highlight cruises around the world and take a camera crew on there and show you everything. Anyway, I saw a show with Viking and one by AMA and I now would never go on one. Well never say never. Everyone is old as hell. The entertainment obviously is focused on that age group. It's like a floating restaurant. Some stretches of the rivers were nice but other looked like you were on the C&O canal. Often, you can't go on the top deck due to all the low bridges. I don't know. I would still do one, but I'm in no rush. However, I saw some cruises through the Scandinavian fjords that just look absolutely magnificent. One of these cruises is now well in front of one of those Viking cruises.

[Anonymous]

I have no interest in going on a standard cruise, but would LOVE to do a river cruise. I've never seriously looked into it because they do seem to be targeted to the retiree demographic, and we've got elementary aged kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have no interest in going on a standard cruise, but would LOVE to do a river cruise. I've never seriously looked into it because they do seem to be targeted to the retiree demographic, and we've got elementary aged kids.

Some lines cater to families—including young kids.

There’s a YouTuber who posted about their River cruise on Arosa (family with two young kids).

[Anonymous]

Like others have said, my parents love these cruises, but even they have talked about how many “old people” are on board, and they are in their 70s! I think they preferred Avalon to Viking; better food and lodging. However, they said Viking was very good at handling logistics.

[Anonymous]

I really don't understand the DCUM posters whenever they talk about this. It is not like old age is contagious, or that older people can't be interesting and fun. They are. But when I go on a vacation, I am generally going to spend time with my companions. As I mentioned upthread, we took our young adult children on a Viking Danube trip, and it was great. We met some nice people, but we were there to spend time as a family and enjoy seeing new things. If you don't want to go on an excursion, you don't have to (but they do have more active choices). You know that when I stay in hotels, there are a lot of people that I don't hang out with also.