Anyone Cruised with Riviera Travel?

I, too, would like to take a cruise with Riviera on the Douro, unfortunately I have to use crutches (and wheelchair) to get around and they have given me the impression they are not inclined to take me because of not being able to get across boats moored together to get to my vessel if needed.

What a coincidence, Ladyleftfieldlover!
I hope you have a super time and I shall look forward to hearing about it afterwards. ⛴️😎🏰

Ash, we are doing that very cruise next week!

That sounds lovely Ashcombe, especially the romantic middle part. The Lorelei rock is bewitching. Schöne Fahrt!

Thank you again for all your helpful suggestions, which are much appreciated. We have settled on this cruise and have booked to go on the 1st May next year.

www.rivieratravel.co.uk/river-cruises/rhine-cruise-to-switzerland#overview

Danube is the top river then the Rhine and the Seine which is good to sights of Paris and Monet's garden . Wish DH was fit to go on these cruises now I loved going .

Haven’t done any river cruises with Riviera but always travel with them - all over the world. We tried other companies and their tour managers are the best.

Folks in our local u3a do a lot of cruising with Riviera and have only good reports of them - plus you can opt for your local u3a to receive a donation of a percentage of your total cost, and it is not insignificant. Our u3a has received several thousand pounds over the past 5 or so years.

We have done 3 Xmas markets, the Douro, Amsterdam and the Dutch Bulb Fields; all have been really enjoyable. I think my favourite was Amsterdam. There is always a quiz, a gala dinner and a local music group. A couple of times we have been entertaining but the crew singing which was very good. Food has been lovely and the cabins are decent. Free drinks package was included. We always go with them. We did do one with Saga, but it was in Russia so not a fair comparison!

I don't recall any, if it's there we didn't notice it

No piped music on any of the four Riviera ships we've been on recently!

spottybook

butterandjam The piped music was on deck and in the lounge. Really inappropriate when taking in the scenery or relaxing with a book on deck. It has to be said that this was a few years ago though. DH did write to Riviera after we got home and got the usual response of “well most people like music”. Well so do we but in the confines of our four walls or a concert.

Thanks; very useful to know. We'd been looking at Riviera but piped music would be a real downer for DH.

Catlover123

Escaped, we booked a saga cruise because we liked the idea of being picked up at our home. It worked on the way there in a comfortable car,but on the return journey we were in a mini van with several other people and it took forever because they were all dropped off first, so it was a very long and roundabout journey. It has put me off booking with Saga again.

We think we've got round that issue by booking a night either end at the Gatwick Hilton - meaning that we will be unlikely to be with any other people because we'll be on a different schedule. 🤞

butterandjam The piped music was on deck and in the lounge. Really inappropriate when taking in the scenery or relaxing with a book on deck. It has to be said that this was a few years ago though. DH did write to Riviera after we got home and got the usual response of “well most people like music”. Well so do we but in the confines of our four walls or a concert.

Escaped, we booked a saga cruise because we liked the idea of being picked up at our home. It worked on the way there in a comfortable car,but on the return journey we were in a mini van with several other people and it took forever because they were all dropped off first, so it was a very long and roundabout journey. It has put me off booking with Saga again.

Do iodine tablets keep drones away?

We are going on our third Riviera Travel river cruise next week. Flying to Basle and returning from Cologne. Last October we did the Rhone river trip. We enjoyed it but lots of the trips had to be changed as the river was so high. We have had 30% off this new trip which is good as having a cabin each isn’t cheap! The year before we did the Danube trip which was great. The food is good, cabins comfortable and there are walking groups for different levels of fitness. Back in 2019 we did a hotel based trip through southern Spain (Seville, Granada etc) with Riviera and it was brilliant. The guide/tutor was excellent.

Aveline

Not sure I'd be going anywhere near the black sea in the current situation!

My husband says we'll have to take iodine tablets 😂

And yes, Saga does offer that car ride for you, but if you compare their cost, you'll see how it's "included"?!
Yup, thank you DrWatson. I know how it's included, and it's worth every penny to me!
I have "done" several cruises along the Rhein, where I did "my own thing", aided by the fact that I speak fluent German. Good fun they were too.
But arriving at a certain age, I now want everything taken care of for me. That is why the companies mentioned are popular. No worries about transport, accommodation, cancelled services, checking timetables, booking restaurants etc. Bliss! My brain will enjoy the rest. IF there happens to be a loud person in the midst, well, there's ways of dealing with that!

Not sure I'd be going anywhere near the black sea in the current situation!

We have done several with them and have loved every one. They are better value than other companies, easy to deal with and everything is included. The ships are lovely. We are already booked for Romania to the Black Sea for 2027!

For the OP, woodenspoon and others, there are masses of Cruise firms these days, Ocean and River, most of them desperate for customers!

My inbox has for many months had even the luxury end firms making increased offers to get 'bums on seats', or into cabins in this case. (And yes, Saga does offer that car ride for you, but if you compare their cost, you'll see how it's "included"?!).

In addition to Riviera, Viking, Titan, etc, there's Emerald, Avalon, AMA, Scenic, A-Rosa, and quite a few more. They will all to some extent depend on a guide -- IF you choose a ship's tour! - but the onboard experience should be pretty good on them all. Mind you, that "piped music" reference was a bit disturbing!

We've done lots of Sea cruises, and have learned to AVOID ship's tours in general (in just a few locations, the destination is too tricky to arrange yourself, so they are a necessary - and almost always overly expensive! - evil). River cruises are usually stopping in towns and cities, so it's relatively easy to do your own thing? If certain tours are included, on a given trip, well fair enough, go with the flow -- but any group tour or coach trip can have drawbacks like commentary, or someone loud you get stuck near?

Masses of research is out there, on an abundance of blogs and forums.

Our Riviera trip to Corfu was dreadful. Very poor accommodation. I.will.never be able to forget one place we stayed. Giant vats of serve yourself scrambled egg for brek. A worker arrived with a kind of wheelbartow of more egg which he tipped in over the remains of what was already there. The much vaunted train trip was packed, standing room only and windows misty so nothing could be seen anyway. Lasted all of 20 minutes. Very experienced guide but silk purse, sow's ear.

Not been with Riviera but I’ve done several river cruises. I’d say Danube beats Rhine. IMHO. Budapest at night is an amazing sight

We did the Switzerland to Cologne River cruise with Riviera travel about a month ago. It was a Gastrnomic tour and it was the first time they had done this one and it did need the timings tweaked a bit. Not long enough in some places and too long in others. Otherwise it was fine, the boat was a newish one “The Geoffrey Chaucer” and very nice and the food was lovely. . Agree that it depends who your local guide is how good an experience you get guided tours. Free seating in dining room but some people tend to sit with the same people but not all by any means. Overall an enjoyable experience.