The Problem with Best Lists for Europe River Cruises
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
I think we have a big problem about travel writers selecting the best cruise for different cruise guests based on the reason or circumstances the cruiser has taking a wonderful river cruise vacation—one size never fits all cruisers.
Often these are short on facts or in-depth comparisons. As we always say, all river cruises are probably the best vacation you will take, so many of my comments are rather picky, but when you are spending between $15,000 and $25,000 for a vacation, the differences matter.
A Recent Article to Emphasize Why In-Depth Analysis is a Better Approach
I recently read an article in Cruise Critic UK (published on 22 September 2023) that advised folks about which cruise lines they should take for 10 cruising situations. The title of the article was “The 10 Best River Cruise Lines in Europe for Every Traveler”. The article was designed to help you “decide the best river line in Europe, depending upon your travel style.”
I am not bold enough to say her choices are wrong, but rather they are not in-depth enough to make good decisions for our clients. I will provide you with our thoughts about 3 of her recommendations and how we would approach 3 of the categories cited in the article.
Category 1—Best River Cruise for First Timers: Viking River Cruises
The authors defend her selection by stating that Viking’s “well-tested river cruise recipe of the world’s largest river cruise line” includes one excursion in each port” and “offers a wider variety of river cruises than others.” They have 70 river cruise ships sailing in Europe and a total fleet of 100 ships.
Most of these statements are correct but a little misleading. Viking does offer 19 different cruise route itineraries in Europe in their brochure (this doesn’t count the Christmas Market season cruises, which I have not included in any of these numbers).
By my count, Avalon offers 36 itineraries in their brochure; AmaWaterways offers 29 itineraries and a 7-Rivers Journey in their brochure; Emerald with only 7 ships has 18 itineraries in their brochure; Scenic offers 17 itineraries in their brochure with only 11 ships; Tauck offers 21 itineraries in their brochure with only 9 ships; and Uniworld offers 16 itineraries by their fleet and 2 cruise & rail in their brochure.
Maybe the fact that Viking is one of the 2 lines that sails on the Elbe increases their variety in her judgement, but we would never recommend sailing on the Elbe, the Loire or the Po as these rivers often have conditions that cause them to cancel or modify the cruise with bus tours substituted for a port stop.
Viking longships have space for 190 passengers. I have been in the lounge with about 190 other travel agents, and it was crowded and felt cramped during a presentation about Viking River Cruises.
A Viking Longship Lounge—felt crowded to me.
To accommodate the 190 passengers, many of the staterooms are quite small. There are 90 staterooms on their signature longships. 50 staterooms are very small compared to other cruise lines. 25 fixed windows staterooms on the first deck at the water line are 150 sq feet and 25 French Balcony staterooms are 135 square feet. Neither of these are acceptable for the majority of our clients.
135 square feet French Balcony stateroom—very tiny.
Balcony Staterooms on a Viking long ships. The tiny windows on the first deck at the waterline are the 150 square foot staterooms.
The final reason I would not pick Viking as the best for first time cruisers is the lack of excursions included in the fare. On a normal 7-day cruise, there are only 6 excursions included in the fare. Sometimes as many as 6 different options are offered at an extra cost and often these are capacity controlled or quite expensive. It is also difficult to determine the exact cost for these options or to learn about them, as the costs change, are not published before the cruise. It is not uncommon for a guest to pay an extra $500 to $1,500. Almost every other lines offers more included choices.
I have told this is a huge money-maker for Viking but not very client friendly for our clients.
So, I will not be so bold to tell which line to pick for first time cruisers—we match you to your style with in-depth knowledge about the river cruise industry—one size does not fit all!
Category 2 Best River Cruise Line for Active Travelers: Avalon Waterways
The author picks Avalon for its Active & Discovery options as her reason to select them as the best line for active cruisers. Of the 36 offerings by Avalon, 8 itineraries are Active & Discovery in their brochure. Most require an extra fee.
Avalon bikes ready to go
While this is a very good selection, it does not consider the AmaWaterways program, which has a dedicated wellness host on-board with a master’s degree in physical education. All 29 AmaWaterways itineraries offer active options.
A group from an AmaWaterways cruise riding in the Wachau Valley on the Danube
I will tell you the AmaWaterways program is better—I have a master’s degree in physical education and the AmaWaterways program is excellent, age appropriate, and offers good variety for guests.
Len and Jane, our clients ready for a bike ride along the Moselle River
Wellness Host in yellow jacket—highly professional staff
I would place Avalon’s program second to AmaWaterways for these reasons but either line offers better options than most other cruise lines.
Category 9 Best European River Cruise Line for Unique Destinations: CroisiEurope
She cites cruise on the Loire, the Elbe, the Guadalquivir and the Vltava Rivers sailings as her evidence to sail on this line for unique destinations, but I have already pointed out the problem with water conditions on 2 of the rivers and you can add the Vltava to the list. The Guadalquivir is quite large and can even accommodate larger ships, as we have sailed on this river with an Azamara Ocean cruise. So, again it is unique but for our guests, probably not their best option—we would recommend visiting areas of the Elbe, Loire and Vltava Rivers on a land based extension.
This is probably a good selection for some but ignores some difficulties for most of our clients for some other reasons. First, the language on-board is French, and they provide an English translator to their English-speaking guests, but this is very awkward at best.
Two other factors here—all guests are served the same meal unless earlier arrangements are made, requiring constant vigilance for lunch and diner meals to not get a meal you wouldn’t like. Also, the staterooms are functional but not really luxury—they are rather sparse.
Our clients would not like this—for most good food and wine are important factors and this line just doesn’t match their desired travel style.
Our Final Thoughts
Our advice—just do not accept best cruise line lists—for most of you they are opinion at best or poorly researched and perhaps even biased. Just remember, most folks who search for river cruise information add the word best to their search, because we all want the best. Please read these list critically—look for facts and try to distinguish what is fact and what is opinion.
My hope in writing this blog is not to criticize river cruise lines, or criticize the authors, it is to educate you that an in-depth knowledge of the river cruise industry is required for an advisor the truly help their clients. We have that knowledge and only worry about the best match for you on your vacation, not a blanket statement about which line is best for you.
We hope you enjoyed this blog.
I think you can see why we are in the business—it just is awesome to help folks have a great vacation.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 52 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
