Which river cruise company?

Beeblebr0x

We've never been on a river cruise and are interested in a River Danube trip. I've briefly looked at two companies, Riviera and Saga as we have friends who've used both. 

I'd be grateful for any recommendations.

Misslayed

We did the Danube on a Viking ship. It was fabulous. In our late 50s (on our honeymoon! 😉), we absolutely are the target market. The service was outstanding, the food most excellent and very varied, the cabins just perfect, with very comfortable beds, luxury toiletries, and every last detail thought of. The excursions were varied, some included, some had to be booked. All superbly well organised. A small fleet of luxury coaches followed the ship and picked us up at various points to travel to Saltsberg, Bratislava etc (I’ve forgotten where else, it was 11 years ago). We noticed that the Viking ships always had the prime berths - ie nearer to the city centre, or with the best view. It wasn’t cheap, but we felt worth every penny. If you fancy the idea of relaxing on deck with a glass of something chilled watched the most glorious scenery pass before your eyes, then you’ll love it! 

la531983

You went to Salzburg on a Danube cruise?! Be a near 4 hour drive on a coach from Vienna!

Or was it from Linz?

We did a Danube cruise on Marella and there was nothing wrong with it.

Neil49

We've been with Riviera once and Avalon twice. With Riviera most of the passengers were from the UK whereas with Avalon the majority were from the US, Canada and Australia with the cruise being part of  general tours of Europe.

Overall, we preferred Avalon and are going with them again later this year. 

katejo

Beeblebr0x said:

We've never been on a river cruise and are interested in a River Danube trip. I've briefly looked at two companies, Riviera and Saga as we have friends who've used both. 

I'd be grateful for any recommendations.

I did a 1st river cruise with Riviera in March but not the Danube. It was well organ6snd the food was excellent. Just slightly disappointed that we couldn't spend time on the top deck when the boat was moving because of low bridges. 

Misslayed

la531983 said:

You went to Salzburg on a Danube cruise?! Be a near 4 hour drive on a coach from Vienna!

Or was it from Linz?

We did a Danube cruise on Marella and there was nothing wrong with it.

It wasn’t from Vienna- a 90 minute coach journey with stops for splendid Alpine scenery on the way. We went from Passau to Budapest btw. 

Beeblebr0x

I've looked at the Viking website and they're several hundred pounds dearer

Neil49

katejo said:

Beeblebr0x said:

We've never been on a river cruise and are interested in a River Danube trip. I've briefly looked at two companies, Riviera and Saga as we have friends who've used both. 

I'd be grateful for any recommendations.

I did a 1st river cruise with Riviera in March but not the Danube. It was well organ6snd the food was excellent. Just slightly disappointed that we couldn't spend time on the top deck when the boat was moving because of low bridges. 

This is possibly an opportunity to bring up a few considerations you may not be aware of. The cruises are dependent upon the river levels, so in the spring they could be in flood which can restrict boats getting under some bridges. The boats are designed with this in mind so top decks are fully collapsible and the boats bridge lowers right down. On our last trip (to Paris) the captain had his head sticking up through the lowered roof while steering. The exact opposite is drought conditions late in the summer where boats possibly cannot get through locks or even dock. You would typically be bussed to the destination or even switched to boats which are further downstream. We went from Amsterdam to Basel late August without any problems but you should be aware of the limitations. 

Another consideration is the fact that you typically start from one city and return from another. Our first trip was from Nuremberg to Budapest but very few UK airports cover both destinations so we flew from Heathrow (not our first choice). Going direct is recommended to avoid missing the boat.

I note your comment above regarding the price of Viking and I agree with you. Riviera have various promotional offers but Avalon don't advertise that much. We've booked with them using Tripse and Barrhead travel in the past and have got some decent deals. I don't think you would be disappointed with either company. 

Just to add that there are plenty of videos on YouTube covering all the major river cruise companies. Well worth watching. 

Hope this helps. 

Beeblebr0x

Went with Viking as we didn't fancy Riviera's circular cruises.

Hoenir

Beeblebr0x said:

I've looked at the Viking website and they're several hundred pounds dearer

Orientated towards the American market.

Have done the Riveria cruise, Lyon to Avignon on the Rhone. Highly enjoyable. All UK residents on board.  Made some good friends on the trip. The fact that the boat sailed one way was a bonus. 

Beeblebr0x

Hoenir said:

Beeblebr0x said:

I've looked at the Viking website and they're several hundred pounds dearer

Orientated towards the American market.

Have done the Riveria cruise, Lyon to Avignon on the Rhone. Highly enjoyable. All UK residents on board.  Made some good friends on the trip. The fact that the boat sailed one way was a bonus. 

I checked with Riviera and they were only offering circular cruises, so more of a whistlestop tour.