Booking a river cruise is significantly different than an ocean cruise. I have a dozen mistakes for you to avoid to help ensure you’ll have a top-quality river cruise experience.
A river cruise can be a scenic and easy-going way to travel between interesting cities and other sights, while giving enough time to experience them. When booking a river cruise, particularly a first time river cruise, there are mistakes that many make when choosing and booking the cruise. If you’re a veteran ocean/sea cruiser, some of what you’ve learned doesn’t apply to river cruise choices. Therefore I have a dozen mistakes that you need to avoid when planning and booking a river cruise.
Mistake #1 – Prioritizing the cruise boat:
Many ocean cruisers choose the cruise primarily for the ship and its multiple attractions. As a result, some cruisers remain on the ship even while in ports. Ocean going cruise ships are huge compared to river cruise boats. River cruise boats don’t have the multiple dining rooms, the entertainment, including on some, Broadway-style shows, spas, large fitness centers, running tracks, many shops, large pools, casinos and other attractions that ocean cruise ships have. River cruises focus on interesting itineraries and excursions. They prioritize exploring the local scenery, sights and culture through which they’re cruising.
River cruisers should therefore focus on where their river cruise boats travel and at what destinations they stop for cruisers to explore, either on an excursion or on their own. Unlike ocean cruising, you’re close to land, which is great to allow you to connect with local culture and sights. When choosing a river cruise, you should keep that in mind.
When booking a river cruise, don’t ignore cruise extensions that will allow you to explore the cities at the start and end of the cruise, plus understand the difference between balconies on ocean and river cruises before spending on one.
Mistake #2 – Ignoring potential cruise extensions:
While the ports of embarkation and debarkation for ocean cruises may be of little interest so that many ocean cruisers fly in to them and go straight to the ship, much of the time, river cruises start and stop in remarkable cities with spectacular sights and culture that should never be ignored.
Some river cruise lines have extension packages that include stays with hotels and touring before and after your cruise. You may want to take advantage of them and they may include airport transfers as well as hotel/ship transfers. You could also book a pre- and post-cruise stay on your own. Regardless of which choice you make, you should always seriously consider river cruise extensions.
Mistake #3 – Spending for a full balcony:
When I take an ocean cruise, I always book a cabin with a balcony. It costs, but to me, on an ocean cruise it’s worth it. On a river cruise that’s not necessarily the case. On the better river cruise boats, the outside wall of the cabins features lots of glass for amazing views. If you get a balcony, they’re normally very small, nothing like the ocean cruise ship balconies.
If you want to splurge on your cabin, go for the ones with floor-to-ceiling glass walls. Or reserve a cabin with a “French balcony.” “French balconies” are large glass doors or wall-to-wall windows that open to give you fresh air and have the feel of a balcony without the table and chairs. You get fresh air and a great view. On some of the newer ships, in particular, they’re great.
You likely should avoid the least expensive river cruise boat cabins, if possible, and be sure of the pickup and drop-off locations for your excursions.
Mistake #4 – Booking the cheapest cabin:
On an ocean cruise ship, the least expensive cabins generally give you access to all the dining rooms and amenities the ship has to offer. The smaller cabins, but not the cheapest, on the ship are still reasonable in size. On river cruise boats, the cheap cabins are normally very small and have almost no view at all. Meanwhile, the cost of many of the cabins with a “French balcony” is not nearly as much extra as you might think.
Mistake #6 – Assuming your excursion will bring you back where it picked you up:
Some off-boat excursions, particularly long excursions by bus, may pick you up at one port stop and drop you off at the next. That will mean that you would miss part of the cruise’s scenic spots, which may or may not make a difference for you. This may not be important to you, as the excursion could be a very special one, but you must be aware of it.
Not skipping shore excursions and bringing comfortable shoes are critical to having the best river cruise experience possible.
Mistake #7 – Don’t skip the shore excursions:
If you’ve been on ocean cruises and had a bad experience on some of their excursions with multiple bus loads of cruisers simultaneously traveling to a sight(s), that’s unlikely to occur on river cruise excursions. The river cruise boats are much smaller with far fewer passengers than most every ocean cruise ship. That means that generally the river cruise boat excursions are more intimate, small group outings, many on foot. Even the bus excursions are typically smaller and easier for cruisers. On river cruise boat excursions it’s usually much easier to get a real feel for the destination.
Mistake #8 – Leaving your comfortable walking shoes at home:
River cruise excursions, more often than not, require at least some walking. On European river cruises, in particular, you’re often walking down narrow streets and alleys, some that are even cobblestoned. You might be walking for several hours. You need comfortable clothes, especially shoes, for river cruises.
River cruise boats are small. Don’t assume you can eat alone, purchase in shops on the boat or that the WiFi will always work.
Mistake #9 – Assuming you can dine at a table of your own:
River cruise boats don’t have lots of dining venues nor lots of tables for two/one. Typically, you’re going to be seated with other passengers, some of whom after a few days you’ve met, while others are strangers. Sometimes the others at the table are compatible, but sometimes they’re duds. It’s up to you to meet others and arrange to sit together. In some cases, the river cruise boats are getting larger on some rivers and may give you more dining choices.
Mistake #10 – Assuming there are shops aboard the boat:
Unlike ocean going cruise ships, river cruise boats don’t have lots of shops, and if you left something at home, you’ll almost always need to take time to purchase a replacement ashore.
Mistake #11 – Flying in on the day of embarkation:
Just like ocean cruising, it’s a serious mistake to fly in on the day of embarkation. Sometimes plane flights are canceled or late and you miss the cruise. Just as important, you’ll miss the opportunity to explore what’s likely a great city for exploring and touring and the full cost of getting to the next port will be solely yours.
Mistake #12 – Assuming that WiFi always works:
Generally, WiFi on river cruise boats is free, but on most boats on most rivers, it tends to come and go according to the terrain surrounding the river and how remote you are at times. The river boat lines are getting better at keeping high speed Internet going, but you can’t count on it.
River boat cruising can definitely be a wonderful experience, but try your best to avoid the mistakes I list here for a top cruise and a great experience.
READ ALSO:
Top hotel amenities that travelers really want when choosing accommodations
Passport renewals by post, app and online — it’s easy, but start in plenty of time
After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
