If you’re contemplating a trip to the German Christmas markets (Weihnachtsmarkt) this festive season, here’s a Rhine River Cruise offer that may be of interest.

As a Special Introductory Offer, you can enjoy a massive 50% discount off the recommended retail price for the Premicon Queen 5-Day Christmas Markets Rhine River Cruise from Cologne.  To avail yourself of this offer, you must book by 15 June, 2010.

On this cruise, you will visit charming towns and vibrant cities along the Rhine including Koblenz, Rüdesheim and Mainz and experience the sights, smells and traditions of Germany’s famous Christmas Markets.  Although, the Premicon Queen offers food, leisure facilities and entertainment that they say some may prefer not to tear themselves away from.

So, if you like the cold weather, winter cruising along the beautiful Rhine River and exploring the best of the markets in style, this Special Christmas Cruise from Cologne may be for you.

See here for more information about the cruise and different cabin categories.  But note, you have to book by 15 June, 2010 to receive the 50% discount.

See Travelsignposts photos of some Christmas market visits.

Travel Signposts Blog

Yes, things are tough out there and all the special river cruise offers like ‘companion fly free to Europe’, ‘buy one get one free’, ‘save $2,000 off the cost of your cruise per couple’, etc. are an indication that river cruising companies are finding it difficult to induce travellers to come out of hiding. Last week, Peter Deilmann Cruises, best known for its European river journeys, announced that it is ceasing its river cruise operation at the end of the summer.

Rhine River Cruise

Peter Deilmann Cruises have been operating for over 25 years, but unfortunately its client-base is over-concentrated in one group – 70% come from German speaking countries. From our experience with other cruise companies, they appear to have a broader mix of clients.  Also, up till recently, smoking was permitted on Peter Deilmann river cruises, a real turn-off for non-smokers.

But, it’s not surprising that river cruises are over-supplied at the moment. Before the harshness of the economic downtown caught everyone off guard, the river cruising industry was a booming business and companies were ordering more river boats and putting on more river cruise itineraries to cover projected growth, as one would. So, with increased numbers of river boats and cruise itineraries and less people prepared to make that commitment to travel, companies are caught with excess supply.

Deals that are available at the moment are quite incredible and anyone who’s interested in river cruising should take advantage of these offers. When the good times come around again, you can be sure that prices will go up and the most that you will get is perhaps a measly 5% discount for booking early or being a repeat customer.

Much as people tend to lose confidence at times of economic downtown, the smart travellers should really become counter-cyclical travellers, i.e. travel more when there’s an economic downturn to gain from the cheaper prices and then sit back when times are good and prices start sky-rocketing!

So, when the going gets tough, the tough should go river cruising!

River Cruise Info
River Cruise Blog

Travel Signposts Blog

River cruise season is here again and if you’re still undecided on whether to do a river cruise, it’s not too late!  Before the world was turned topsy-turvy by this economic downturn, it would have been impossible to book a cruise at this time of year as many of the popular cruises are already booked a year in advance. The situation has changed.

These days, there are so many more river cruise tours available and what with all the discounts being thrown in at the moment, the choices are overwhelming.  Should you go for the offer of a free flight for the second person or is the offer of  $2,000 price reduction per couple for the cruise a better deal?  Mme, how does one go about deciding?

It would be a mistake to base your decision by discounts offered alone as you may end up going on a cruise that’s disappointing. If this is your first river cruise and you’re not likely to do too many cruises in the future, then it’s important that decisions are based on what will make your trip an enjoyable experience, one that exceeds your expectations and one that will give you many years of happy memories.

Which River?

M/S Poetry

There are so many different rivers that you can cruise on in Europe, the Rhine, Danube, Rhone, Elbe, Po and so on.  The essence of a river boat cruise is that you do make quite a lot of shore excursions.  Your river boat will be making several stops along the way and passengers will be able to do sightseeing in the towns and villages along the river.  So scrutinizing the itinerary and ensuring that the places visited are what you want to see is an important consideration.

Would you like a cruise that will take you through a few countries, like the very popular Amsterdam to Budapest cruise or would you prefer to immerse yourself in the culture of one country only and therefore do a river cruise within that country, for example the Rhone River cruise within France only.

Which company?

Which company should you travel with?  The major players in European river cruising include:

• Avalon Waterways (now part of the Globus Group)
• Uniworld
• Viking River Cruises
• Peter Deilmann Cruise
• Tauck World Discovery

The Europe river cruising market is very competitive which is good for ensuring quality for the customers.  Compare the brochures from a few of the above companies before deciding.  All the information are available on-line.

Which season?

Weather is another important consideration.  You can’t always predict the weather.  When we did our Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise in August, we had such magnificent weather that even the captain and tour director were amazed. They were amazed because the cruise before ours had two weeks of non-stop rain and the rivers were flooded.

However, if you choose a winter cruise, which is usually cheaper, then you can expect to be indoors a fair amount of the trip and it gets dark early.  So choosing the right location and time of year is important for river cruising as it’s preferable to be outdoors, on the sun-deck enjoying the beautiful scenery along the riverbanks rather than huddled indoors.  Some operators may offer you a free flight for a winter cruise, but the cost of the cruise itself is pegged at the high season fare.

How much can you afford?

What’s your travel budget and what length of cruise are you looking for?  The price range of cruises depends on a number of factors such as season, duration of cruise and your cabin type.

• the cabin type that you choose makes a big difference to the price.  Most river cruise boats are designed so that rooms on both sides of the boats have views, but on some boats the lowest deck and cheapest rooms are at water level.  The best cabins are those ‘staterooms‘ on the upper deck with French balconies.  These are great as you can relax, read or watch the passing scenery from the comfort of your suite if you didn’t feel like going on the sun-deck.
• check to see if the on-shore excursions are included in the price of the cruise or do you have to allow extra budget for some of the visits that you’re interested in.
• on many cruises, you have to pay for your wines and drinks at meal time, however there are cruises that provide complimentary wines as part of the package.  Look out for these!
• port charges and tips for the crew will all need to be considered in your budget.

So, as long as you’ve taken some of these main points into your decision making, you should be on your way to a pleasant cruise.  Bon voyage!

More comprehensive information on river cruising, click HERE
See our River Cruising photos HERE
More photos HERE

Travel Signposts Blog

If you’re contemplating a European river cruise, there’s never been a better time than now to travel.  With the economic downturn, there are some fantastic sales and deals coming through, depending on where you are based and especially if you can travel in the next few months. 

Some of the current special offers to coax travellers out of their economic-downturn bunker include:

• 1 Free night’s pre and post cruise accommodation plus and Earlybird cash saving to the combined value of over $1450 per couple (Australia)
• a Free cabin upgrade plus an Earlybird cash saving. Maximum saving is valued at over $880 per couple (Australia)
• book the Magnificent Europe cruise and save $800 per couple off the package price if you fly Singapore Airlines (Australia)
• Book the Magnificent Europe Cruise and second passenger saves 50% off the cabin price for selected departures (N.Z.)
• 2-for-1 offer! Two people cruise for the price of one on select river cruises when you book by March 31, 2009
• extra 5% off if booked by a certain date
• free upgrade of suites for certain cabin classes
• $200 – $400 off the cruise price per couple if booked by a certain date (U.S.)
• savings of more than 50% off regular fares, if airfare is booked in conjunction with a cruise (U.S.)

M/S Poetry

European River cruises have become the fastest growing travel choice in recent times and we’re seeing more and more cruise providers building up their fleets and creating river tour itineraries to capture our imagination. There are some good reasons why this travel mode has become so popular:

• Unlike ocean cruises where you’re in the open sea most of the time and therefore see very little of the ports that you call into, with the river cruises, you actually do see a lot of the towns that you stop at.   On the Rhine river cruise for instance, the boat zig-zags the Rhine, stopping at towns, cities and villages along the way.  Most of the time, the boat is moored right in the town centres and passengers can just stroll off the boat and be taken on walking tours or do your own explorations.
• You have the same room for the duration of the cruise and there’s no packing and unpacking every other day as on coach tours.  Speaking with fellow travellers, this is a big plus with everyone.
• Most of the boats are relatively new and the suites and staterooms are very modern and comfortable.  If you choose a room with a balcony and floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors, you can watch the world go by from the comfort and privacy of your own room or you can choose to go onto the upper deck and enjoy the sun.
• There’s no early morning departures to beat the traffic.  On a river cruise you can choose to sleep in or get up early regardless of the boat’s schedule.

When we did the cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest, we thought it was a very civilized way to travel.  We certainly saw a lot of amazing places and had great experiences during our two week cruise.  The Amsterdam to Budapest cruise is one of the most popular cruises and is a good one to start with.

Helen

More info on River Cruises
European River Cruising for people who use wheelchairs

Travel Signposts Blog

One of our readers suggested that we consider providing information about river cruising for the disabled.  She was particularly interested in a cruise holiday in France and has not been able to find ships that accommodate people who use wheelchairs.  Even the more recently built ships do not have any elevators or stair lifts.

The above observation is correct as we too have been through the exercise of searching for river cruise ships with wheelchair access when we were taking my mother-in-law on a river cruise in Europe.

Canal cruising

 From our experience, the river boats are built to a width so that they fit through the lock system in Europe.  They want all passengers to have rooms with views, so the passageway is quite narrow to accommodate rooms on both sides of the ship. It’s not impossible to include an elevator in the boat build, however I guess if the demand increases, then we may see future boats that cater for travellers requiring wheelchair facilities. 

When we took my mother-in-law on the Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise in 2005, we resorted to booking her a stateroom that was on the same level as the restaurant so that the need to climb stairs was limited.  Her stateroom also had French windows so that she was able to enjoy all the views and the sunshine from the comfort of her room.  In December, we’re taking her on a Northern Lights Cruise and the Hurtigruten ships do have a few rooms especially designed for passengers requiring wheelchair assistance.  Whilst this is not a river cruise, it neverless cruises along the coast of Norway.

If you search the internet or make enquiries with river cruise companies, it is possible to find some boats that cater for disabled travellers.  In my quick search on the internet I was able to find a couple of companies that advertise that they have rooms with wheelchair access:

Special Places Travel run canal cruises in France, Belgium, England, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Scotland and Italy.  I checked their French canal tours and a couple of their boats do have wheelchair access.  The boats look quite flash and I wouldn’t mind doing one of their trips at some stage, especially as my mother-in-law herself has espressed an interest in this kind of holiday – www.specialplacestravel.com.

EuroRiverCruises.com is the other crowd that advertise wheelchair accessibility on a couple of their cruises.   Their canal boat the “Reine Pedauque” is designed specially to accommodate passengers with physical challenges and is fitted with a lift for wheelchairs and a stair lift for access between decks.  The doors are wide enough for wheelchair access on all decks. Of their river cruise fleet, the M.S. France has a couple of cabins equipped for the disabled.

Peter Deilmann Cruises – One of their ships, the M.S. Dresden has 1 two-bed outside stateroom for passengers in wheelchairs.  The company’s website indicates that their staff can offer clients every assistance to ensure mobility around the ship, however it needs to be noted that their ships do not have lifts to transport guests between decks. Guests are able to take their own wheelchairs on board.

Impending travellers would be wise to discuss their specific requirements with the cruise company before making bookings on cruises.  This will ensure that your needs can be met and there’s no last minute surprises or misunderstandings in regard to wheelchair access.  The people at www.disabilitytravel.com/accessible-cruises.htm also provide advice and service for disability travel.

Helen

Travel Signposts Blog