Many people are reluctant to try a river cruise because they think it would be boring, only suitable for seniors, or would feel claustrophobic in a small boat. We had the same idea five years ago before we took the plunge and continued our careers. First river cruise. We’re in love with river cruising, so we wanted to share these 10 things: River cruises do better than ocean cruises (we think).
If you love cruising but aren’t sure if you’d like a river cruise, read on because you might be surprised!
Disclosure: Some of the river cruises we have been on in the past have been invitations from the cruise lines, but we always give honest reviews and feedback. This post is not sponsored.
1. Standard cruise prices for river cruises include more
On a river cruise you can expect Includes flights, transfers, food, drinks, Wi-Fi, excursions, activities and entertainment. While prices are generally higher than ocean cruises, the experience is more inclusive than a typical ocean cruise.
This is a huge benefit of river cruising, and when you consider all the extra fees you have to pay on an ocean cruise, it’s not expensive at all.
What each river cruise company includes is slightly different. For example, we have been on three different river cruise lines:
- Ama Waterway: Transport, food, drinks, Wi-Fi, excursions, activities and entertainment
- Riviera River Cruise: Flights, transfers, food, wifi, excursions, activities and entertainment (sometimes drinks are included in the promotion)
- Tui River Cruise: Flights, transfers, food, drinks, wifi, activities and entertainment
read: What’s Included on a Riviera River Cruise
read: What’s included on a Tui River cruise?
2. River cruises keep you in port longer than ocean cruises
This is because the distance between destinations is much smaller than on an ocean cruise ship, so travel time between each port is significantly reduced. The advantage of this is that you can Stay longer in port.
It gives you more time to explore places and even the chance to enjoy the destination until the evening. overnight stay More common on river cruises, it allows you to spend the longest time in port.
We had a great night in Budapest, Ruedesheim felshofen and Linz. During these overnight stays we went out for dinner and found local pubs within walking distance to make the most of our time in our destination.
As the ship departed we experienced an incredible sail away from Budapest!
Unfortunately, itineraries and expensive port fees mean ocean cruises limit the time you can visit your destination. Adequate time to get back to the ship will also factor into your day in port.
If you miss the boat on an ocean cruise, getting to your next destination is likely to be much more difficult and expensive than if you miss the river boat and have to take a taxi a short distance down the river.
We were even on a river cruise where the captain turned around and went back to pick up passengers, which had no impact on our arrival at the next port.
Since the destinations you visit on a river cruise are closer to each other, you can even Go to two places in one day. You can start your morning in one port, return to the ship for lunch, and then visit another port in the afternoon.
We have done this on every river cruise to date. For example:
- westhofen and passau
- Kalosa and Mohac
- Tanguy Milanovac and Golubek
- Koblenz and Boppard
- heidelberg and speyer
We only know of one ocean cruise company that does this, called heavenproviding Greek island hopping tour services.
3. The river cruise can pick you up and disembark for a tour
In some cases, a river cruise can actually Pick you up at the end of your cruise. Yes, that does sound unusual!
On a river cruise, you depart from a point on the shore excursion and the river boat will meet you further down the river, where your tour ends.
This is very cool and we have experienced it a few times on European river cruises. The huge positive for this is Dramatically reduce your transfer time (No one wants to be stuck on a coach longer than necessary) and gives you more time to explore your destination.
4. Check-in is much faster on a river cruise
When you arrive to board the river boat, you simply state your name at the front desk and they will take your photo and hand you your cruise card! That’s it!
You don’t have to wait long at the cruise terminal, go through security, or worry about finding your cabin. The river boat’s crew will personally take you to your cabin.
Another thing you might want to do is Surrender your passport at the front desk. But this only applies to cross-inland river cruises, for example if you are traveling in and out of the EU. We had to do this on an East Danube cruise because we visited Serbia which is not part of the EU.
this means River cruises handle all customs inspections And you don’t have to disembark to be processed. When we returned to Southampton and arrived in Dubai we had to queue for several sea cruises.
To be fair, we had some quick boarding times for ocean cruises, but even so, boarding for river cruises was still a smoother, quicker process.
5. River vessels dock in the center of the destination
If you’ve ever taken a sea cruise from Rome, Paris or Florence on your itinerary, you’ll know that these ports are actually very far away. These “to” ports (such as Le Havre FOR Paris) mean that your ocean cruise ship may stop 2 or even 3 hours away from these cities.
In contrast, River cruises can take you to the heart of your destinationso in most cases you can simply disembark and walk to the town or city you want to visit.
Capital cities such as Budapest, Bratislava, Belgrade, Paris and Amsterdam It can be reached on foot directly from your river cruise.
We really love how easy this makes river cruising and we can make the most of exploring a place without having to think about long transfer times at the end of the day.
6. Enter the bridge
Can you imagine being at sea and popping up to the bridge to look around and chat with the captain? On a river cruise this is not uncommon!
The captain of a river cruise is usually Glad passengers visited the bridge Look inside. We offer free organized tours upon request. Most of the time, the captain is happy to stop and chat with you.
The only time the captain should not be disturbed is when the ship is passing through a lock or entering or leaving a port.
7. River cruises are more purposefully immersive
On a river cruise you can Experience more destinations You don’t even have to get off the boat to visit. This can be done in a number of ways:
- Local dishes are on the menu at the ship’s restaurant
- The bar serves local wine and beer
- Local group provides exclusive show for cruise ship passengers
Not only can luxury river cruises do this, we’ve experienced it on affordable river cruises as well. On the first night of our Tuj river cruise there was a Hungarian folk group performing some very energetic traditional dances.
AmaWaterways offers services when we visit Vienna Sachertorte Lunch and apricot dumplings in Budapest.
On our Riviera River cruises, local wine and beer are served with dinner each evening, and there are different local dishes on the menu.
Don’t worry, there are definitely some things on the menu that you’ll recognize, but it does give you a chance to try something new.
8. You won’t get seasick when taking a river cruise
If you might get a little seasick on an ocean cruise, you’ll be happy to hear that won’t be the case on a river cruise. Even in bad weather, it Smooth sailing on the river cruise.
If you’ve put off an ocean cruise because of seasickness, a river cruise is a great option.
9. The dress code on river cruises is very relaxed even at night
The atmosphere on board was River cruising is more relaxing Compared to many ocean cruise ships. When it comes to dinner attire, you can leave the cocktail dresses and suits at home.
We even wore nice shorts to the restaurant on the river cruise and no one batted an eyelid.
People still get dressed up on river cruises at night, but it’s definitely not what you experience on a typical ocean cruise.
If you’re not sure what to pack, Read our guide What to Wear on a European River Cruise.
10. All cabins on river boats have windows
All river cruise cabins have at least one window, if not a balcony. There are no interior cabins on river cruises. Even if you choose the cheapest cabin on a cruise ship, you’ll still have a window.
We even took a ride River boat with full balcony.
One thing no one can guarantee is the view when docked.
Are you interested in learning more?
We recommend that you watch the video we will show next How to choose the best river cruise cabin.
