Anyone ever tried a river cruise?

Riverra travel. Are so helpful

Mum and Dad used P&O for several fjords cruises, sailing from Southampton.
P&O offer a coach service from various pick-up points to the port which might suit you?
Stunning scenery as others have said.

Thank you for all the ideas that you have taken the trouble to post - I am grateful for that.

I have looked at lots of the videos and have come to the conclusion that maybe these things are not for me - the idea of posh restaurants and Captain's dinners fills me with horror - I am strictly a jeans and no make-up girl!

What I really need is a walking holiday - but that is now closed to me.

I will keep searching. Holidaying alone is new to me and I am determined to find something!

We used Hurtigruten for a short cruise to see the Northern Lights. We wanted to to a dogsleigh ride but were advised not to as DH had had major back surgery the previous year.

Luckygirl3

I wonder if folk could tell me which company they used for the fjords cruises please.

We used Viking Ocean. No dressing for dinners. We, are jeans people.

I agree re Viking Ocean. Extremely comfortable and well planned but no dressing up or formal, well anything, really! The Baltic cruise we did with them was excellent. In fact we're going with Viking again in March on their Northern Lights cruise. Really looking forward to it. Come too?

You don't have to join in with the "dressing up".
Big ships have buffet restaurants and room service for those who prefer to be casual. There's no pressure to do anything you don't want to.

We joined the ship in Southampton.
We’ve been with P and O Cruises which incidentally is a different company to the ferry P and O. We’ve also been with Princess and Celebrity.

Of course the Norwegian fjords cruise isn’t the only option.
Mediterranean cruises are wonderful in the variety of places you visit. It’s so great to wake up each morning, open the curtains and finds that we have miraculously arrived somewhere completely different.
It’s completely hassle- free holidaying, on a luxurious floating hotel.
You do need to do your research though as there have been some tv programmes recently featuring cruises which I would pay good money to avoid!!

The cruises from Southampton look great - but the single supplements are eye-watering! I am going to have to learn to accept this as a fact of life.

Why not go with a friend or daughter?

Fred Olsen cruises have single cabins. I've never sailed with them but friends have and really it. Smaller ships too. Check them out.

Really liked it

Have a look at Fred Olsen cruises. They use smaller ships and often leave from (the mouth of the Tyne) Newcastle. They do Iceland/Northern Lights/Norwegian Fjords, Bulbfields/Nordic Capitals, etc.

Thanks - off I go to look them up!

Fred Olsen looks good and have single rooms - it is still around £800 more for a solo traveller. Definitely eye-watering!!

We favour Fred Olsen and I understand that singles are well looked after with special activities and get togethers on board.

A friend of ours, a lady in her 80s who has mobility problems, is a big fan of Fred Olsen. She always seems to fall in with good company on board and likes the friendly atmosphere. She's done several cruises with them now including repeat itineraries as she's enjoyed them so much.

We went with Hurtigruten to Norway, flying to Bergen and did the South to North route in January to see (and did see) the Northern Lights. The ships are very comfortable although I would advise upgrading at least one level. They have thick hulls because of the ice so the lower cabin portholes are more like two foot deep tubes! I rarely noticed the ship roll at all as they're modern and stayed in sheltered waters between the islands. There are lifts between floors and good buffet meals. No dressing for dinner or Captains table. The ships are also postal and ferry ships so they stay close into the coast often only stopping for fifteen minutes to drop off and pick up so you see a lot of the coast and small towns as they call in along the way. There are maps by the gangway of the ports where they stay longer and excursions and daily talks. Coaches meet the ship as it docks and time it perfectly for dropping off back at the bottom of the gangway. There are walking tours around the towns too, but since maps are provided of each town as you dock so you can easily do your own thing. I was walking with two sticks at the time and got around fine with help always there when I needed it.

We also did a Nile cruise with Saga. More expensive than most but they park their boats in better spots, such as right next to the temples in Luxor rather than a couple of miles outside the town. One lady on board, in her nineties, never got off the boat, sitting on the top deck in the sun and watching Egypt float serenely by. Several temples would be fairly disabled accessible though, and being Saga they were very aware of the problems of older people. The ship had its own water filtration set up and you could visit the kitchens if you wished to prove how clean they were! This trip was before Saga was taken over so may be different now.

Sorry to put a dampener on this thread but Covid is still a big risk on cruises. A good friend has just spent 10 days incarcerated on the medical wing of a cruise ship with covid. Another friend did a river cruise in July -at least 10/80 contracted covid - those were the ones they knew about on board! No idea how many contracted it on the cruise, and suffered on their return home
Other consideration- river cruises offer train links or flights. We found train was good - apart from having to handle cases & find storage on trains- not easy! Flying better if you have mobility issues as you can ask for special assistance & they’ll help with luggage.
Agree , Titan or Saga worth looking at as they do door to door transport.

I don't suppose Luckygirl13 means to book to go right now. Meanwhile cruise ships are very busy right now. Thousands of people are enjoying delayed cruises. They can't all have Covid!

Another one here recommending Saga cruises, both river and sea. You are picked up at home, driven to airport or seaport, and rarely have to handle your own luggage.

Saga take care of their passengers so well, especially those with mobility problems. The only thing I would say about river cruises is the stairs to the top deck are steep, and you are rarely allowed to sit on the top deck while sailing because of low bridges; but a wonderful view can be had from the indoor lounge. The boat I went on had a special lift down to the dining room for those unable to manage the stairs.

There’s a cracking one around Arles, Avignon and the Rhône

Check out the No 1 cruise vlogger on Youtube..... .'Tips for Travellers' ....Gary Bembridge.He gives the best unbiased advice .He covers river cruises and does mention the difficulties faced by people with mobility problems not just on the ship but ashore( cobblestones) when river cruising . You don't mention your age but if you are over 50 I think Saga ocean cruises might suit sailing from Southampton .They do seem expensive compared to other cruise lines but they will do everything possible to make your cruise hassle free.Their price includes being picked up at your door.Your luggage will be placed in the car and you wont see it again until you are in your cabin.( 20% are single cabins on their ships) Also included is Travel Insurance, Drinks , Wi-fi, Gratuities, Speciality dining, excursions and nightly entertainment.We sailed with them earlier this year and the crew, food and ship are fantastic but it wasn't cheap .We don't drink so we subsidised those that do.We are doing a Cunard cruise in a few weeks, no private transfer,have opted for included port parking, no drinks package, no Wifi but will pay gratuities ...will stick with included dining an do our own thing in port saving a lot money.But we are both fit and well ( in our 70's) if we had mobility problems we would def sail with Saga.

Thanks for that. Yes Saga to seem to cater best for those with mobility problems, especially in terms of travelling to the port.

Deep down a bit of me feels guilty about spending such a lot of money just on myself - but that is a matter for a psychotherapist and not Gransnetters!

Do you know about HF holidays?
They are basically walking holidays, based in all of the UK’s National Parks - BUT they also organise some Special Interest holidays - Bridge, Book Club, Singing, and Art.
There are always lots of single people, everyone is extremely friendly, and you eat together on circular tables.
I’m just about to head off with them to Dorset!