For each, passengers are divided into groups (around the same size on both lines) and have individual audio headsets that make it easy to hear the commentary without having to cluster around the guide. Scenic also has theTailormade App, which works as an audio guide and offers independent city tours, and an offline navigation system. On both ships, there's a "secret cellar," with better vintages available if you ask. Tauck differs in that the main restaurant is open seating, meaning you can go down and have dinner whenever you like. The Rivers They Cruise. Adventures by Disney, the guided, family vacation arm of the Walt Disney Company, offers unique journeys sprinkled with signature Disney magic. The pours at lunch and dinner are generous, so if you're not a liquor drinker -- or don't like alcohol at all -- you might not need all the extras that Tauck provides. Choose Scenic for an all-inclusive river cruise that has more options for active and individually minded travelers. The line also offers a "bite to eat" snack menu that can be delivered to your cabin as room service, or to any of the lounges as a small plate. Con: There is a striking difference in style between standard cabins and suites, Knowing these more curated cabins exist might lessen your experience in entry-level rooms. In Memphis, opt for The Elvis Experience with a tour of Graceland. Do they only sell direct, and not through travel agents? There are a limited number of cruise choices and they do not sail in Europe. 3 Viking Cruises also fared well this year, with readers . As expected, the ships serve American cuisines with options for fresh lobster or USDA Prime Beef. COVID-19 procedures are availablehere. Tauck: What Are Its Smallest, Largest and Most Common Stateroom Sizes? For passengers who like convenience, though, the extra money is worth it. By COVID-19 procedures are available here. COVID-19 procedures are availablehere. The cabins are large with King-sized beds, which is a rarity in river cruising. Tauck is a family-run company that has shown travelers the world since 1925. Rockies Icons and Alaska Cruise - APT (15 Days From Calgary to Vancouver) Many of the staterooms have balconies that offer panoramic views and fresh air. Uniworld has bicycles, and there is an included excursion every day, although there are also optional excursions. RIVER CRUISE BRANDS - Harr Travel Typical starting price: $,1999 for 7 nights (per person, based on double occupancy $285 per night, all-inclusive), Where they sail: Danube, Rhine, Seine, Moselle, Douro (Portugal), Mekong, Egypt, Africa (river and rails), Columbia, Specialty cruises: Christmas markets, wine, Onboard amenities (may vary by ship): Wellness activities, Wi-Fi, sun deck, pool with swim-up bar, massages, hair salon, flat-screen TVs that also works like a computer with on-demand entertainment, Inclusive: All meals, drinks (unlimited fine wine, beer, and soft drinks with lunch and dinner; unlimited sparkling wine and fresh juice with breakfast), tours at every destination, bikes and hikes, onboard entertainment. Rest easy (literally) as you enjoy bigger views, more space and 24/7 access to open-air cruising. All Inclusive French River Cruises 2023/2024 | Tauck Most cabins also have a French balcony, which allows the rooms themselves to be larger than full balcony cabins, while still letting in fresh air. Standard suites are sparse, small (just 160 square feet) and lack balconies. Sail through France and visit the picturesque Old Town in Strasbourg. Special diets can be catered for with advance notice and menus are labeled for people with dietary restrictions. Since Aqua Expeditions ships are so much smaller than the average river cruise liner, they can visit more remote destinations and the excursions reflect that, from watching Amazonian pink dolphins to receiving a blessing from a Buddhist monk while traveling the Mekong. Uniworld stands out immediately for its impressively designed interiors; each ship is themed to the areas that ships sail through. Dinner is served to the table and, on both lines, staff are very attentive. Choose Tauck ifonboard spa, beauty and fitness options are essential to your vacation. There is a price difference between the first deck and the second deck, with the former being more affordable. Love Scandinavian Design? Viking, the world's largest river cruise company, moved up two spots into the lead position. They are also more likely to offer a hike or a strenuous walk than Tauck. Solo travelers will appreciate that there are dedicated Solo Traveler Suites with no surcharge for a non-double occupancy booking, which is unheard of with cruising. Both lines offer the type of amenities you'd expect on upscale ships. On both lines, the excursions will include walking and coach tours of local towns and villages, visits to castles and historic monuments, and experiences such as wine tasting. These are the best river cruise lines for comfort, destinations, and irresistible perks and tours. Both lines provide generous pours of wine during lunch and dinner, mostly regional varietals. Having fewer people on the same size ship does make a difference in terms of seating, service and overall vibe. Expect to pay $129 for the drink package on a weeklong cruise. Not only are Avalon Panorama Suites 30% larger than the industry standard . AmaWaterways: What Are Its Smallest, Largest and Most Common Stateroom Sizes? Both Tauck and Scenic are at the high end of river cruises, in terms of price and inclusions. 1) Avalon's Rhine & Moselle on Affinity (Amsterdam to Basel, 14 days) 2) Tauck's Rhine & Moselle (Amsterdam to Basel, 13 days) 3) AMA's Europe's Rivers & Castles (Trier to Nuremberg, 7 days -. This was our first riverboat cruise and we loved it! On the Mekong, go on a guided tour of Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Scenic also offers cruises inRussia,Vietnamand Cambodia and Myanmar (Burma). Tauck, the well-known tour and river-ship operator, retained its No. "The itinerary was. Without a doubt, the most visible presence in the river cruising world is Viking River Cruises, thanks to effective TV, radio and direct mail advertisements. The 10 Best River Cruise Lines - Travel + Leisure When cruising the Nile, ride a camel as you visit the pyramids in Cairo, Egypt. I could use Scenic's $379.00 per day per . If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. My husband and I went on the Treasures of the Mediterranean Isles Trip jn October 2022. Treasures of the Mediterranean - Northbound 2019, See all activities, themes, and interests >, The Romantic Rhine: Amsterdam to Basel featuring Oberammergau - Southbound 2022, Belgium & Holland in Spring - Northbound 2023, Holiday Magic: Danube Family River Cruise - Westbound 2022, The Rhine & Moselle: Canals, Vineyards and Castles, The Danube from the Black Sea to Budapest, Active & Discovery on the Danube (Eastbound), Save $600 off trips to every continent on earth, Redeem anytime before 2023. Choose Viking ifyou don't need a gym or a lot of extras onboard. Tauck Tours and thus Tauck River Cruises may be the most well respected. Every cruise line considers dining to be a priority and serves fresh well-balanced meals served alongside regional wines, beers, and beverages. There is no special programming for kids, and children under eight are not allowed to sail. Avalon features wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling windows with beds facing the views for ultimate enjoyment from their suites and staterooms. Window cabins are 150 square feet to Viking's 135, and most of Tauck's cabins have a French balcony and are 225 square feet (while the standard on Viking is 205 square feet). I think they'd maybe be my first choice, and I know everything is included with them, but I like to get a bargain if I can. Site Map|Global Site Map|Terms of Use|Privacy Policy, You can add one more tour operator from the list, Get guided help to find the right trip for you, Travel tips, stories, top 10 lists and more, Get yours before you leave, easier, cheaper. After experiencing the river cruise lifestyle, I was sold. River Cruise Advisor's video reviews take two forms: ship and experience reviews, and Riverside Chats, more of a question and answer style video. Given the price point, the passengers seem more well-heeled on Tauck. The Aquavit Lounge is glass-enclosed and it can open to the elements in nice weather. However, Crystal Cruises has some excursions that incur an added cost, and all of the American Queen Steamboat Company excursions are additional (although they do offer hop-on hop-off bus tours). Copyright 19952023 The Independent Traveler, Inc. Amazing, Funny & Totally Awesome Cruise Photos, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1224277, Click here to reload the page in order to enable certain features, Policy regarding COVID related Discussions, C858B0A9-6769-424D-B129-59363EDAC023.jpeg, B5073042-BF8A-4EEC-BD19-0938D8732763.jpeg. The line claims the ship offers more suites than any other European river vessel and these cabins -- while not true two-room suites -- are 300 square feet. Some ships on both lines have hot tubs or plunge pools on the top deck. You'll pay about $1,000 more than lines such as Viking, AmaWaterways and Avalon. Tauck provides unlimited complimentary beverages onboard which includes regional wine, beer, soft drinks and premium spirits. Save up to $2,800 per couple off the cruise price of Europe sailings. Basically, if you need anything while you're off the ship, they are only a few steps away. A river cruise is kind of like a floating hotel, except you'll visit a variety of places but only have to unpack once. One of the Tauck tenets is "lagniappe," or a little something extra, such as a Champagne reception in the Baden-Baden casino or roses to put on the graves of veterans at an American Military Cemetery in Luxembourg. Choose Viking ifyou want what has become the industry standard for river cruising, a semi-inclusive experience with a line that does more sailings on more rivers than anyone else. Avalon Waterways has used their 80-plus years of travel expertise to design the very best river cruise experience. On Viking, you can pay extra for a better bottle of wine, whereas Tauck has a wine cellar with some special bottles that are included in your fare (although they don't exactly volunteer these premier offerings; you have to ask). They are comfortable but not luxurious or particularly interesting. AmaWaterways operates the finest fleet and provides all-inclusive river cruise vacations on the great waterways of Europe, Russia, Vietnam and Cambodia. The reason why Scenic fans might not know Tauck, and vice versa, stems from the companies' headquarters. Junior Suites are 240 to 250 square feet, two Royal Panorama Suites are 475 square feet and, on some ships, Royal Owners Suites are more than 500 square feet. Some of the shore excursion options are truly special, such as truffle hunting in Bordeaux, visiting Highclere Castle where "Downton Abbey" was shot or cognac blending in Camus. We also considered the added value of all-inclusive perks. Kids love the Junior Adventurer dinners or Disney movie nights, and there is also a Just Teens program with dinners and separate tour groups at various destinations. With an innovative product and rapidly-growing fleet of custom-designed ships, the line enjoys a reputation as the leader in river cruising. I was on the River Queen last year, and although the cabins are a bit small, they were well designed. Scenic **: Inclusions are for all guests, regardless of ship or suite. We cruised Budapest to Amsterdam 2 years ago with Avalon and it was the best vacation,most relaxing we ever. Activities include educational lectures from visiting professors, and well as local entertainment, and even Broadway-level performances. A WORLD OF WATERWAYS The Rivers of Avalon Another thing that sets the Inspiration class of ships apart: "loft" design cabins, which have a raised platform seating area that provides extra space in lower-level cabins. In Europe, the Danube River and the Rhine River are two of the most popular cruises for first-time river cruisers. Pro: The boats boast a boutique design and feel with unlimited premium spirits and wines. In 2023, they will launch Seven River Journeys which will cover seven rivers and 14 countries over the course of 45 nights (starting at $24,999 per person, double occupancy). smalltowner, October 30, 2010 in River Cruising. We handle our own travel arrangements by choice and prefer to book our own hotels and make our own way to the boat. This was our third Tauck cruise with Ponnant but our first post covid and the Tour: Treasures of the Mediterranean - Northbound 2019. (Scenic has its own lower-priced counterpart, Emerald Waterways.). River cruise ships dock near city centers, enabling visitors to explore on their own or take advantage of the array of excursions organized by the cruise line, from going on a strenuous hike to touring a castle, or sipping wine at a vineyard. Onboard amenities (varies by ship): Fully stocked minibar, Wi-Fi, flat-screen TV, L'Occitane bath products, fitness center, free bicycles for use in select ports, whirlpool, library with books, cards, and board games. They also tend to have more inclusions than a traditional cruise. Cons: There are different levels of service depending on the cabin category you book. A river cruise is an all-inclusive journey where you unpack once but visit many destinations. Scenic offers various excursions, from visiting World Heritage Sites to a round of golf.