Some companies, such as Crystal Cruises, offer an early payment discount of 3-5%. But Crystal is ver

Q Just discovered your site and am hopeful I can get an answer to a question that my engineer s mind can t help asking, We re contemplating a Danube Riverboat cruise, company best cruising boats to be determined based on my spreadsheet results, but I really want to know how I can best minimize the high river flooding that has led to some past river cruise vacations becoming bus tours. My wife and I have no interest in bus touring. Is there any data on when one should avoid river boats on Europe s rivers? I ve been through the various company brochures and they never mention the flooding issue.
A You have raised one of the river boat industry best cruising boats s best kept secrets. There is a season for flooding. best cruising boats That season is spring with April the month you definitely want to avoid, given your concerns. April and early May are the months best cruising boats when a combination of melting snow and predictable rains can cause a considerable rise in water levels. The issue is that river boats must be built within best cruising boats certain strict best cruising boats size parameters to be able to fit under low-hanging bridges along the major rivers. High waters mean the boat portion of the cruise must be cancelled.
The problem is that high water has occurred in May and even into early June. To minimize the risk of high water ruining your riverboat experience you might want to avoid sailing the Rhine or the Danube on the scenic best cruising boats stretch between Vienna and Cologne. As a rule, the Moselle is less likely to flood.
Our Editors would urge you to carefully consider our ratings of the major riverboat lines. Tauck is rated # 1 for a great many reasons not the least of which is their policy of not operating bus tours when people have paid for riverboat vacations. In the event of flooding, Tauck has issued full refunds or credits to all guests. To date, no other river boat line has adopted this policy.
Q  I suppose you could say we are travel junkies. We ve been on thirteen cruises and three river cruises, on Vantage and Avalon. Found lots to like about each but we sensed we were not experiencing the top of the line . The junkie part is that we subscribe to about seven travel magazines and it seems like they all have their ratings and it is hard to know which ones are accurate. You are probably aware that your ratings are different still. We noticed that Travel + Leisure picked Tauck as # 1. This sounds like a pretty best cruising boats good recommendation. What do you think about their ratings and how they all seem so different? Males me wonder if these river boats aren t all the same.
A We understand the confusion. It is, partly, intentional. For the most part, you are not reading actual reviews. best cruising boats You are seeing Reader s Polls , which can be notoriously inaccurate because we do not know who is voting or anything about their travel backgrounds or motivations. best cruising boats The editors of the publications you are reading best cruising boats will usually not identify the best cruise product because they would likely lose the advertising support of the losers . So it is left to crowdsourcing, a terrible way to choose a hotel, a cruise, or a river boat company.
Tauck is definitely the current top-rated river cruise option on most itineraries. best cruising boats But not always and not necessarily for your particular desires or expectations. These fleets are not at all the same. They each have strengths and weaknesses like any other travel best cruising boats product. If you want the upside as well as the downside, you should choose to work with a river boat specialist with whom you feel comfortable. You are going to be charged for their services whether or not you use a specialist, so you might as well take advantage of all of the expertise available. That last sentence, by the way, was uncomfortably self-serving, But true.
Q We usually best cruising boats do the travel planning for our group of six friends (We all worked together at Caterpiller). Next year, the group wants to do a river cruise and we were thinking about the Rhine versus the Danube. We love walking around towns together, stopping best cruising boats to shop, having a drink or two, and stopping to enjoy a fine lunch. We re not a museum crowd. We have served in the military and we do have an interest in seeing some of the former Soviet bloc countries. best cruising boats Is the Rhine right for us? We have sailed NCL and Crystal and we re looking at Avalon and AMA. Love to have your best recommendations. Keep up the good work.
A You are really best cruising boats late. It will not be easy to secure best cruising boats three cabins on the sailing and date you want for this coming summer. That said, we think the Danube is a better option for you. Both Avalon and AMA are well thought of but AMA comes in with higher ratings in most categories.
The Rhine offers best cruising boats some terrific castles and nice settings. It flows from Switzerland to Holland. This is considered a bit more of a history and culture itinerary versus than the Danube which starts in Germany, usually the village of Passau and ends in Romania. Many of the cities along the Danube were closed due to the imposition of the Iron Curtain. There is an energy in Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, and Bulgaria that is palpable and it is, quite frankly, an itinerary that is a bit more exciting given your specific interests.
Q So glad we discovered this incredible web site. But we re disappointed that you have nothing on CrosiEurope, a line we discovered online. They have offices in America so they must have a fair share of Americans onboard and they seem to be a great value. Wondering why you have not reviewed them and whether you think we should try them. We re retired and fairly comfortable but we hate throwing money away.
A You know, sometimes it pays to delay a trip until you are financially ready to do it the right way. We don t cover CrosiEurope because we have devoted our efforts toward the true three and four star river boat companies that appeal best cruising boats to the American traveler. CrosiEurope best cruising boats has been sailing Europe s water4ways for the past three decades. It is a mass market product and they have always had some of the lowest pricing in the industry. They market heavily in Europe and any CrosiEurope cruise is likely to feature some Americans, with a collection of nationalities from all over Europe. The line includes and open bar as well as excursions at a price point generally below $2500 USD.  They are promoting themselves as a visit to Europe before you even get off the ship. This can work with guests who have lived in Europe and want a saturation experience. For most river cruisers, however, we are not currently recommending CrosiEurope because, at current discount levels, you can get aboard one of the higher best cruising boats rated lines for very little difference in price.
Q I will be taking my wife on a Viking River Cruise on the new Odin Longship sailing from Germany on June 12th. My travel agent informs me that I have to pay in full six months best cruising boats in advance of my cruise departure. In reading the fine print, Viking makes it clear that final payment is due ninety days prior to departure . I feel like someone is trying to take advantage of us and I d like to know if this is some sort of a scam. This must affect others who sail with Viking River.
A It does. You have read the fine print correctly but you are leaving out the key sentence which exempts best cruising boats certain promotional fares . The fact is that nearly everyone who books Viking is on some sort of a promotional fare, if they weren t, they would be paying best cruising boats list price.
Normally, your travel agent would have explained Viking s payment schedule. It is not at all standard industry practice and it does raise questions about the financial situation at any company that requires full payment for a travel product that will not be consumed for another half year.
Some companies, such as Crystal Cruises, offer an early payment discount of 3-5%. But Crystal is very open about this pricing option. The problem with Viking s current policy is that they retain the right to charge best cruising boats a higher price if the guest does not make full payment on promotional fares far in advance. While we really do not wish to question Viking s current financial situation, best cruising boats it is true that building two dozen ships in a 36-month period requires substantial cash flow. Viking is clearly helping its bottom line with these full payment promotions.
Q My wife and I have done eleven river cruises throughout Europe. We are now looking to expand our horizons best cruising boats a bit but we ve learned the hard way that nothing is more miserable than a poorly managed/staffed river program. We ve had a few of those. We appreciate your ratings, best cruising boats although from personal experience, we think that Grand Circle ought to be rated higher and, perhaps, some of the newer Avalon boats. best cruising boats It might also be a good idea to expand your reviews to include Scenic and Amadeus. Our question has to do with future plans to cruise Vietnam s Mekong Delta. What is the riverboat you rate number one in that area?
A The best boat on the Mekong in 2014 will be Aqua Expeditions 40-Guest Aqua Mekong. The product is actually more creative best cruising boats than the name they picked for this vessel. best cruising boats Aqua will offer a one week cruise from Siem Reap in Cambodia to My Tho, which is less than a two-hour drive from Ho Chic Minh City. If you arrive ion Siem Reap one or two days early, which you would be foolish not to do, there are opportunities to visit the incredible best cruising boats temple complex of Angkor Wat.
Q Just discovered your site and am hopeful I can get an answer to a question that my engineer s mind can t help asking, We re contemplating a Danube Riverboat cruise, company best cruising boats to be determined based on my spreadsheet results, but I really want to know how I can best minimize the high river flooding that has led to some past river cruise vacations best cruising boats becoming bus tours. My wife and I have no interest in bus touring. Is there any data on when one should avoid river boats on Europe s rivers? I ve been through the various company brochures and they never mention the flooding issue.
A You have raised one of the river boat industry s best kept secrets. There is a season for flooding. That season is spring with April the month you definite