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I am planning one for the next fall.
It appears there are so many companies there: Viking, Avalon, etc. Would you recommend a good one, please. Also too: do you know the one you would not recommend?
And another question, please. My wife cannot walk more, than 0.5 mile or so (back problem). Do they have just walking tours, or some bus tours available as well?
Thank you.
Last edited by Maple47; 04-07-2019 at 09:08 AM..
Reason: Sorry, forgot to ask the second question.
I am planning one for the next fall.
It appears there are so many companies there: Viking, Avalon, etc. Would you recommend a good one, please. Also too: do you know the one you would not recommend?
And another question, please. My wife cannot walk more, than 0.5 mile or so (back problem). Do they have just walking tours, or some bus tours available as well?
Thank you.
Our daughter and son in law just did AMA and had a great time but it is pricey and a very active cruise. I don't want to discourage you from something you really want to do but river cruises can be very strenuous and require a lot of walking on cobble stone. This is why we have decided not to tackle one. My husband has mobility problems and I too have back issues.
Thank you, nmnita!
This is the info I was looking for. I am just curious: I know the majority of the passengers on these long ships are senior citizens. So, how do they cope with this strenuous activity?
The thing that puts me off a bit is all the tales of low water so that passengers get bused from stop to stop instead of floating. That would be a rather expensive bus tour.
Reviews talk about a lot of walking.
I assume that it would be possible to skip the walking tour and hire a taxi to go see the sights. Although that would need to be verified.
Thank you, nmnita!
This is the info I was looking for. I am just curious: I know the majority of the passengers on these long ships are senior citizens. So, how do they cope with this strenuous activity?
You may need to seek a cruise ship which has an elevator. We had an overnight cruise in Halong Bay, Vietnam, recently and our tour company deliberately chose a ship with an elevator.
You can stay aboard if need be. I guess that it is the more fit seniors who go. People from Australia need to be fit enough to cope with the long flights to get to Europe so presumably they can then cope with the walking.
Scenic is a very popular Australian company who cater to our non-tipping culture. Apparently quite all inclusive.
Like nmnita, we were ready to book a european river cruise. We hesitated when we heard three things:
1. The ships sail at night. During the day you are docked immediately next to another river cruise ship. That ship is your view.
2. The walking on the included excursions. Yeah, well, that's not gonna work for us. (And be careful - now some of the river cruise lines are going in the direction of active trips that include bicycle trips, hiking, kayaking, etc.)
3. The slim possibility of low or high water landing us in a bus instead of the ship.
In the end, we've dropped the idea. If it were on a price comparable with mass market cruises, we would probably do it. And YES YES YES I know the 'experience' is not the same. But the dollars in my pocket spend exactly the same. What we define as our priorities and pleasures determines what we do and how we value our disposable funds.
One POSSIBLE exceeption: A river cruise in Asia. Issue #1 is largely eliminated. Issue #3 is considerably less likely. I'm still looking at Issue #2 and the related costs.
Thank you, nmnita!
This is the info I was looking for. I am just curious: I know the majority of the passengers on these long ships are senior citizens. So, how do they cope with this strenuous activity?
actually I think river cruises, though do attract seniors, they attract those who are closer to their 50s, not 70 plus. They also attract seniors who are physically fit or did not do their homework like you are doing and like JKgourmet has done. I do wish we would have booked one 20 years ago. Now I think I will be content with staying closer to home. The price of river cruises has to be a concern as well.
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