Any suggestions for a river cruise, for me, my sister, and our mom? We’re looking in the late April or sometime in May timeframe, for a 7-9 day cruise somewhere in Europe. Our mom has mobility issues, so we want something where the scenery is great for someone who mostly can’t leave the ship. We were considering AMA cruises, their Tulip cruise, which cruises around the Netherlands. They have bikes on board, for people who might want to take bike rides, not that I would be interested in that 
I’m ready for a river cruise after getting daily catalogs from Viking River Cruises. Anybody else?
Everytime I watch Downton Abbey, I want to jump on a Viking River Cruise! Sorry, OP- I can’t really help you. I do know that my in-laws did a canal trip around Amsterdam and loved it but they are fairly mobile.
I’m about to watch Downton, and those Viking cruises look great. But the AMA ships are smaller, which sounds good to us.
Quite interested in this topic, as a way to travel with an older relative.
Just got a brochure for Uniworld river cruises–seem even more expensive and luxurious than Viking, with very similar itineraries. What is appealing about these cruises in general is that all meals, and shore excursions are included. We have a family member who cruises extensively and has to manage those excursions very carefully as they can inflate the cost of the cruise significantly. Uniworld even includes all beverages, alcohol or otherwise, gratuities and airport transfers. Haven’t looked at Viking that closely to compare, though.
I am very interested in the Viking Cruises. I have heard great things about them from several people that have done them, in several areas.
I heard the food is great ( as is the wine and beer )
We did something remotely similar…canal boat in Scotland , but it was not exactly a cruise. We rented the boat and operated it ourselves. Very slow pace from Falkirk to Edinburgh. Think of it as a motor home on the water…not recommended for people with mobility issues though.
Last September H and I did an AMA Paris/Normandy cruise. It was wonderful. We also took the Paris extension.
In August we are taking a Viking Danube cruise from Budapest to Germany, with an extension in Prague.
AMA was outstanding. I hope Viking lives up to it, but we shall see.
How was the food on the AMA cruise?
Thanks, lje and gloworm.
Cardinal, we both enjoyed the food very much. The only meal I didn’t enjoy thoroughly was when I ordered duck. I had never had duck before so didn’t know if I should ask for R, M, MW, or W. Whatever I picked wasn’t right. In between the three meals there are foods available all day. The first thing we did upon return was get ourselves a cappuccino machine.
AMA has wheel chairs. I imagine Viking does as well. There are also elevators.
My young travel agent did the Vienna Budapest River trip with Viking.she mentioned trying to sail south. I wondered if most passengers were older. She had a great time. She mentioned getting off at shores, taking bikes out, etc.
Glow org, I tried duck and found it greasy. I like white meat in general, if I have any meat.
bookworm,
Our itinerary gave us a choice of direction. We chose Buda-Nurem. The extension offered Munich or Prague. We chose Prague because we’ve never been.
We saw a number of river cruise ships while in Boppard (on the Rhine) last fall.
Many of them were beautiful, but some looked distinctly lower than first class than others.
The one thing that concerned us were the large numbers of walkers and wheelchairs on the decks. We’re only in our early 50s and wouldn’t like to be the youngest/most fit on board.
Gloworm , the Nuremburg , Budapest , Prague is the specific one I want to try ! I can’t wait to hear how you like it
Thanks, Ije62. I’ve been following the goings on in the countries we’ll be visiting, and it’s not all good, plus some do not use the Euro, so it will be interesting. Our cabin on Viking, though a similar upgrade is not as big as the room on AMA.
Cardinal, if you will be traveling as three, unless you spend big time, I’m not sure you can get three to a cabin, but I could be wrong.
Update: We’re going to the Netherlands. We’ll now be four: Mom, my sister, me and Mr. Fang. Gloworm is right that we would have had to pay for two rooms anyway, even we’d only been three people.
I’m getting kinda excited about the trip, and so is Mr. Fang. I’ve never been to the Netherlands. Plus, I’m thrilled to be spending time with my mom. I’ve done a couple of other vacations with Mom in recent years, and each time I’m conscious that it could be the last.
Cardinal, which line are you using? Whichever, I’m sure you will have a great time.
OT: I got an e-mail yesterday telling me we have been given a free category upgrade. Not a bigger room, but better view. Totally unexpected.
@“Cardinal Fang” I was wondering how your River boat cruise turned out. My 50th birthday is in October, and I’m tempted by the Viking brochures, but also am considering a totally different “active” tour through Backroads. Wondering if the river cruise was fun, what the pros and cons were, the age group - - anything you might want to share!
It was fantastic!
We went on the tulip cruise on AMA Waterways, to Belgium and the Netherlands. We started and ended in Amsterdam, and in between went to some little cities, plus Antwerp and Ghent. The food was great.
Every day there were tours led by local guides, but you could just wander around whatever city or town you were in instead, or ride one of the bikes that were carried on the ship.
The first day we had a canal boat tour of Amsterdam (loved it, I could live there). The last day was the highlight of the trip, a visit to the Keukenhof , a huge garden of acres and acres and acres of tulips. Every year the garden designers plant tulips in different striking designs and patterns. You could point your camera anywhere, and you’d get one of the best pictures of your trip. We stayed there for four hours, but we could’ve happily stayed longer. The Keukenhof has wheelchairs available, so Mom was able to enjoy it with us; with no wheelchair, it would have been much too much walking for her.
I’d say the average age was maybe 70. It was definitely active retirees. People who need wheelchairs or walkers would have trouble, because the river ships are docked side to side in port, so to get on and off the ship when it was docked, we had to clamber through one or two other ships, which involved stairs.
The ship would typically cruise starting around dinner, and through the night. My favorite part of the trip, other than the Keukenhof, was just sitting alone on the deck early in the morning with a cup of coffee and a bun, watching the banks of the river go by.
For a more active trip, you could consider bike and barge. While at the Keukenhof, we ran into another tour group doing at VBT (formerly Vermont Bike Tours) bike and barge trip. They were travelling on a barge, and then each day they’d ride the bikes to a destination. From my point of view as a cyclist, the riding was easy (15-30 miles a day) but they seemed to be having a great time. Whereas the river cruise ships hold 150 guests, the barges hold 24, so it would be a much more intimate trip.
To sum up, I highly recommend the AMA Waterways Tulip Time cruise. [I should get a commission; already a couple of CCers have signed up for river cruises after hearing about my experience. ; ]
I’d like to do the one to Moscow and St Petersburg. What is holding me back is the old age of the fellow cruisers. I don’t want to be on the oldies cruise, but I feel like in Russia I’d like to have an escorted tour. I feel like I must be old before my time. I love the idea of the river cruise, I really have no desire to do a big ocean liner.
This is my trip 3 times from now so I have time…lol. First London, then Italy, then I want to do this. Somewhere in there i need to be having a drink at the ice bar in Iceland.