Traveling on a river-ship/riverboat cruise in Europe amazing – Shreveport Times

Editor’s note: Part one of three part series article.

My wife and I love traveling on cruise ships to be able to visit fascinating ports of call. We have experienced cruising on various cruise lines for over 40 years, including: Princess Cruise lines, Carnival Cruise Lines, NCL Cruise Lines, Celebrity Cruise Lines, and others. For many years, we talked about going on a river-ship (AKA river boat) cruise, but delayed this adventure for one or more reasons. However, this year, we decided to travel to Europe to take our very first river-ship cruise view the countryside along the rivers and to be able visit some small towns in Southern Germany via the ports of call with AMA Waterways river-ship, AMADOLCE. River ship cruising is truly amazing, but remarkably different from cruising on the large cruise ships. This is the first part of an article about river ship cruising to assist you in your decision making for the future.

Why are river-ships or river boat cruises so popular? They provide a vacation which is very structured and hassle-free. Passengers know in advance the ports of call and able to step off their ship and be in a large or small city within moments of arriving. Most ports are nearby historic sites, shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. River-ship cruises offer a unique way to travel slowly and safely to experience something new and unique around every bend of the river.

As with any travel plans, especially a river-ship cruise, it is important to start your research as early as possible. Do ask family and friends for their recommendations. There are many websites to read the various reviews by prior passengers of river-ship cruises to give you the positives and negatives of their cruising experience. Based upon my personal travel experience, there is no such thing as the “perfect or 100 percent excellent” travel experience, so if you are like me, just strive for 85 percent or more, as this is a great goal. Another reason to start early in your research is because most of the river-ship cruise lines in Europe and Asia have a limit on the size of their ships (Note: most river-ship look identical except for the logos and ship names.. some are longer than others…namely called longships). Their size limitation is due to the width and depth of the rivers, due to passage width and length of the many locks that the ship must navigate to reach all of the ports of call (Note: Our AMA Waterways river ship went through 52 different locks along its eight day journey). However, last but most important, there are only a small number of cabins and passengers per riverboat cruise ship, between 120 to 140, in comparison with ocean going mammoth cruise ships, with more than 3,000 passengers. (Note: Newer river longships can now carry up to 190 guests) So, this limit of the number of passengers per ship could result in no available cabins for a specific cruise date and itinerary, or there exists only the very expensive cabins.

I will not be able to discuss all of the options for selecting and securing your river boat cruise itinerary. Remember that every river boat is different and all are not excellent, but some better than others. Some of the popular river boat cruise lines in Europe are: Tauck River Boats (www.tauck.com ) , Scenic (www.scenicusa.com ), AMA Waterways(www.amawaterways.com) , Uniworld (www.uniworld.com ), Viking River (www.vikingcruises.com), Avalon Waterways (www.avalonwaterways.com ), Emerald Waterways (www.emeraldwaterways.com) , Grand Circle River Boats( www.gct.com) , CroisiEurope (www.croisieuroperivercruises.com) , A-Rosa Cruises (www.arosacruises.com) , and Vantage Deluxe River Cruises (www.vantagetravel.com)

Also, I suggest you use this website www.riverboatratings.com which will provide you with lots of comparative information about the various river boat cruise lines. This website offers a consumer oriented and ad free site devoted to the world’s top rate river boats.

You can contact a group tour agency, directly contact the riverboat cruise line, contact your credit card travel agency, local travel agency, and contacting various internet based travel companies who primarily focus on riverboat cruises. If you have the time, do some comparative shopping as many prices do differ as well as the discounts and perks offered. Also, consider obtaining reviews and recommendations about those on-line travel consultants or agencies before making the call or visiting their website. If you feel more comfortable in meeting with someone at a local travel agency, make sure that you have some background information on what riverboat companies and parts of the world you wish to cruise. If you plan to use airline reward points or credits for your flights to reach the embarkation port of the riverboat cruise, generally you will need to visit the airline or awarding company’s website to make these reservations or you can call their awards center. Many travel agencies will not handle award travel points or credits for your transportation needs. Likewise, obtaining hotel rooms for days before and after your riverboat cruise itinerary using award travel points or credits, you will need to contact the hotel company.

Remember to ask for senior discounts (60+ and 65+ discounts) and other available discounts or perks as these travel agents/consultants will often not offer them to you unless you request them. Most of the time, if you discover any discounts or perks after booking, they might not be applicable or available. Consider obtaining both medical and cancellation insurance for any reason, as this coverage would cover your travel investment and also assist in getting you needed medical attention locally and if necessary, medical evacuation to your home.

If you will be traveling alone on a cruise, expect to pay up to 40 percent or more than if you have someone to share the cabin or share the group tour. It is suggested you plan your riverboat cruise at least six to nine months in advance to obtain the best price. There are often peak and non-peak times of the year to travel to certain countries, so check on these options as it might result in significant cost savings. Also, river-ship cruises become bus tours when portions of rivers have very high or very low water, but passengers might not be informed of this change until their arrive at their embarkation city. Though weather and river conditions can’t be predicted in advance, sailings in April, August, and October are most likely to have water-related problems in Europe.

(This article will continue next week)

(Note: Please listen to a special radio program on Saturday, August 1, 2015 at 9 am on THE BEST OF TIMES radio show on News Radio 710 KEEL to learn more traveling on a river boat cruise in Europe. You can also listen to this radio show via the internet at www.710KEEL.com)

Gary L. Calligas is the publisher of The Best of Times, a free monthly magazine for mature adults in Northwest Louisiana and is the host of The Best of Times Radio Hour which airs at 9:05 am every Saturday on NEWS RADIO 710 KEEL. For more information, please visit www.thebestoftimesnews.com or email gary.calligas@gmail.com.