To make it easier I posted my reports on the Amadeus Web Site. THis is the link and you cannot access it from the web site directly.

This is really just for LCT eyes and I did it all today so it was pretty rushed so forgive me for any errors. Let me know if you find anything. Once I clean it up I will put it on my web in some form or another.

There are pictures on www.ngaire.smugmug.com of all the ships as well and links on the reports.

Still adding some captions but need to go home now and wanted to get this posted tonight.

http://www.bkrivercruises.com/REP.River%20Ship%20Reports.htm

Ngaire, thanks for the analysis. Reading your comparison of Amadeus versus Scenic, it seems to me that Amadeus is far ahead unless you really want a full balcony. 11 nights for $3596 versus 10 nights for $4835 is a big difference even if tips, wine and beer with lunch, and an excursion or two more are included with Scenic. To top it off by adding a "nuisance" charge of 25 euro for internet on Scenic, I would vote for Amadeus. Of course, we will probably opt for the Egypt trip in 2010 vice Budapest - Prague so we probably shouldn't have a say in this trip.

Ngaire............what a wonderful job you did with this comprehensive report and photos. Have so enjoyed reading it.Will now look forward to experiencing river cruising in 2009 and 2010. Whatever hosted cruises you decide to do we hope to be there.

Ngaire: Great reporting! For what it's worth, a few of my friends have done that particular tour on Scenic and found it fantastic. All the day tours are included with Scenic aren't they but not for Amadeus? One thing one friend mentioned is that they could have breakfast in their room if they wanted - is that possible on Armadeus? Don't mind me - probably won't get to join you but I never give up hope! Lee

Marc,

Be aware that companies count days differently. Some count Day 1 of trip when you leave home & day 2 when you arrive in your port city. Others, count day 1 as the day you arive.

We have done 5 river cruises using both Uniworld & Tauck & enjoyed them both very much. Balconys are so small & narrow they should not be a deciding factor between lines. All river boats are the same width to get through the canals. You can't keep the doors open as the mosquitoes will kill you.

I think an important factor is who offers the vox box. Uniworld has it but Tauck does not. Also, the size of the excursion groups varies. You shoould aim for no more than 20.

You are absolutely correct Jackie. I aleady figured that and if you dont watch that your analysis can be off completely. I did my average by the the number of nights once you arrive in a city for the pre or embark on the boat for the cruise.

Amadeus includes a tour on almost all ports but not the more extensive tours which are included in Scenic Tours.

Amadeus no breakfast or meals in the room. Do not know about the four suites missed that detail, but probably available in the suites.

No meals in standard cabins on Scenic either but all meals are available in the Junior and Royal Suites.

I was expecting the balcony to not work actually. However, the balcony on the Scenic cabins is not as large as a Regent ship but also not too small and narrow. They have designed these ships so well that it all works great. Still not quite sure how they did it but the hallways between cabins are wide enough and the balcony will work.

I sat on a balcony on my scenic tour and had a glass of wine and looked at the Pest side of Budapest. It was quite comfortable and wide enough to use.

VOX BOX. No one has mentioned this, Uniworld never discussed this at all. I just looked it up on google and it seems to be associated mainly with the music industry as a clear form of playback. Then there were other products called the VOX BOX? Sorry I am totally in the dark on this one Jackie, please enlighten me.

There is a small tape recorder that you use when on tour so you can hear the guide even if you wander off or turn the guide off if you dont want to hear. Is that what you are referring to with VOX BOX? I know Scenic, Amdadeus, Avalon have that.

On the 2010 trip we will have our own tour bus if the numbers develop as I anticipate. Size of group is an important factor Jackie and actually something I did not cover. I think Amadeus and Scenic will be similiar on this issue.

My plan is to have a vote to decide the ship Marc. First we have to get 2010 pricing, Amadeus may go up in price and close the gap in pricing we just dont know yet. I will also do a more detailed comparison with cost of tips, excursions, water etc to see how it will all turn out in the end.

Scenic tells you upfront the hotels they are going to use and Amadeus does not. So I want to determine what Amadeus used in 2009 and compare the type of hotels used on the pre-trip as well. I did have dinner with some guests on Scenic who said their pre-tour was truly outstanding.

I do believe whichever line we end up selecting it is one of the two best out there with value for dollar spent. I loved these two lines. I am sailing on Amadeus in November. If there is ANYWAY I can get to Europe to sail even for a few days on Scenic I will do it but my schedule is so tight I am just not sure if it is possible. I tried to spend a few nights on board Scenic before returning but the airlines would not co-operate.

Ngaire, sorry about the vox box. I meant Quietvox headphones.

Excellent work. Really appreciate the extra effort you and Ken go to so that your clients are as knowlegeable as possible. We all benefit so much from your expertise. Carol and I for two find a balcony as a close to must have to consider a ship. I understand it is very much a personal preference and some find the dollar savings more compelling. We do not. Would gladly pay something, a modest something but something to have the flexibility of a private balcony. I think on a river cruise it might be more important than on a big ocean cruiser. On a river you are always passing something to look at while on the ocean sometimes it is just ocean.

I might have missed it but is dinner a fixed seating or is it come at your convenience around a short period of time. Having dinner at a set time is ok but would prefer to be able to change the table partners for dinner so that the people one meets and gets to know can be from a larger circle.

Hi Ralph:

Good question.

ALL the ships offer open seating dining although I think that everyone comes at pretty much the same time for dinner. Not 100% sure on that detail how long the "window" to start dining extends.

Ken and I also also contemplated doing the trip twice. One way for those that want SCENIC and then we turn around and go back the other way for those that want AMA. That may work well. Everyone is happy then.

I did these notes on word first so I could email it out. When I realised how much there was I decided to publish it on the web with a link here instead. I did have some preliminary paragraphs that I did not include on the web (dumb me). So I am posting that information here and I also added it to the web page for future people. The questions asked were on these preliminary notes.

NOW ADDED TO THE WEB PAGES AS WELL.

A very confusing situation. Each of the top lines has positives and negatives. You must prepare yourself for a smaller cabin, but they will suffice. No long sea days to lounge in your cabin. None have much storage and limited drawer space, so pack lighter than usual. Australians are the majority on almost all lines with the exception of Viking Cruises (that I do not recommend) that is marketed heavily in the USA and is mostly Americans.

I may have a few facts mixed up on little details between lines. It was a lot to cover in just three days of touring. Of course there will be things I do not know. However, this is an overview that will give you a good idea of the basic facts.

Overall my top two choices for escorted groups are AMA Waterways and Scenic Cruises. Also highly recommend Avalon Waterways, Tauck Swiss Boats, River Cloud, and Uniworld for individual travel depending on individual’s preferences. All these boats are quite different and details are in the reports on each cruise line.

Some feature land and cruise together, some you can do cruise only. I have given a “guidance” of per day pricing and identified if it is cruise only or land and cruise for a September 2009 Danube cruise between Prague and Budapest. Rates have been calculated from the first night of accommodation. Some cruise lines add the day of departure as part of the trip. I did take that into consideration on my "averaging" statistics. Rates can very between dates and itineraries.

Port excursions. All the lines state they do special unique shore excursions and focus on local wines and foods. It would be impossible to assess these items without actually sailing on all the ships. The different lines all offer a shore excursion in nearly all ports. Then it breaks down into those that offer the "standard" excursion and then for an additional cost "optional" excursions. These are AMA, Avalon, Uniworld, River Cloud. The two lines that offer all tours included are Tauck Swiss and Scenic. Tauck and Scenic do offer excursions similar to the optional excursions on the other lines.

Most of the boats offer the same amenities. Toiletries, hairdryer, bikes, safes, umbrellas, sun deck with lounge chairs (some in shade some in the sun) whirlpool, giant chess set on the sun deck, workout room and sauna, open seating dining.

All boats offer 24 hour reception and coffee and tea bar area. To my knowledge no standard cabins offer in room dining (no room service breakfast) except the suites often offer this extra perk. I know this is the case on Scenic.

Dress: It appeared to be all country club casual. Tauck did mention the "formal" welcome aboard but even this I think would be at the most "informal" on Regent. I do need to clarify that completely.

Very informative overview and comparison, Ngaire. Many options suiting each and every budget and taste. No real "wrong" choices. Just the right personal choice.

We leave for Budapest this coming Saturday for 4 days pre-cruise and then embark on the MS Amacello, ending in Prague. A trip very long in the preparations and anticipation. It will be interesting to compare our 2006 Deilmann river cruise and experience. Our Deilmann experience was stellar; specifically service and cuisine.

Have a wonderful trip Denise and can't wait to hear all about it -

Have a wonderful time Denise.

Nancy

Have a wonderful river cruise Denise & Alan - wish we were going with you! :app:

Denise I did not get to visit a Deilmann ship unfortunately. I have heard they have wonderful food and they do have a good reputation. My concern there was that most of their ships are older, with smaller cabins. It is a German line. Did you have announcements in both languages?

We visited the Amacello. That ship had the nicest hotel director and a really super cruise director. I think you will have a great time.

Thanks for the good wishes. I think this trip has taken my researching to new heights! Well worth it, as this journey to Hungary is of a very personal nature. We are so eager to take this trip; one we've discussed and planned for for several years.

Ngaire, Deilmann does make announcements in both German and English. We had no problem with things spoken in two languages. In fact, it added a nice European touch - at least for us. We found our European cruisemates to be warm, inviting and congenial. We had a fantastic time. If Deilmann offered the identical itinerary that we are taking through AMA, Deilmann would have been our choice.

While the Cezanne, the vessel we cruised on, was older and the cabin decor a tad "tired," the impeccable service and cuisine won us over in a very big way. When you experience a winning combination, I think you can be somewhat forgiving with the cabins. Of course, just my opinion. We would cruise with Deilmann again in a heartbeat. The cuisine and dining room service on Deilmann blew us away. Far surpassed Regent - again, IMHO.


Sorry you were unable to tour their vessels. I hear the Mozart is impressive. No first-hand experience, just word of mouth.

Denise: Have a wonderful holiday - hope it lives up to your expectations. Budapest is fantastic, closely followed by Prague! Lee

Thanks, Lee.

We will also have several days in Prague; three days private touring in addition to the AMA tours.

Have a fantastic time Denise & Alan. Will be anxious to hear all about it. Travel safely.

Have a great time, Denise! I hope you'll tell us all about it upon your return.

Denise & Alan - Have a great trip :)

We've been on two river cruises (the Danube in 2005 on Avalon and in July on the Rhone/Saone on Uniworld).

We had the top category cabin (not a suite though) on both with the "french balcony". Since very little time is spent in the cabin on these river cruises (compared to Regent etc), I don't think there is a big benefit to a "full balcony" (which may cause the rest of the already fairly small cabin to be smaller - perhaps Ngaire can comment on the feel of the cabin between Amadeus & Scenic). Also, the way that these river cruises work, when you are docked (usually during the day), several boats are usually stacked up against each other (you walk through the lobby area of other boats to get to the dock), so you wouldn't want to sit out on your balcony anyways since you'd just be looking directly into the next boat's cabin. It is nearly impossible to make sure that this doesn't happen to you even if the line "pays extra" to be the boat right next to the dock since there doesn't seem to be a consistent way that they dock - starboard or port. Even if you're right next to the dock, the full balcony would put you at the same level as the dock basically.

I think that a "french balcony" is fine especially on deck 3. Most of the newer boats also have these on deck 2 (but the savings is minimal). However, I would not accept a cabin on deck 1 with portholes/windows since you could feel submerged under water at times.

Hi Peter:

I had grave doubts about this balcony myself and felt it would take away from the cabin size that is already small. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The cabin is still just fine and so well designed it works great. The cabin with balcony is 200 sq.ft so it is bigger to start with as most ships are in the 150 - 170 range.

Not having done this yet I am no expert but I think the times that this balcony would be great is when you are sailing and the sundeck is closed. It would give the option to sit outside and enjoy the passing scenery.

I do agree that parked the balcony is really of no use. Although I did sit on the balcony of a cabin and have a glass of wine looking at across the river at the Parliment buildings and it was really delightful. Probably an odd situation when the ship was not parked next to another ship.

I also agree on being on the higher deck. Those lower decks with those high windows or portholes feel confining. You cannot "look out" as they are so high up but they do let in light of course. Interestingly enough Scenic has the largest window in these cabins although still really high on the wall. The windows have a "shelf" that is about 12" deep that none of the other ships have. Sure would be handy to store things there.

Avalon: I would love to hear your opinion of Avalon as opposed to Uniworld. Either by email or posting here.

Thanks for the good bon voyage wishes, JoAnn, Donna and Peter.

Peter, I recall your previous river cruises. We were "pioneers" back then; your two river cruises and our Deilmann river cruise, in 2006.

We made our way out of the OC early this morning for our flight into Dallas. Sitting in the Admiral's Club at DFW now, drinking, typing and waiting to connect into Frankfurt and then onto Budapest to begin our pre-cruise visit. We arrive in Frankfurt at 7:20AM tomorrow and then connect with Lufthansa, arriving in Budapest early afternoon.

We'll be at the InterContinental in Budapest for 4 nights. So looking forward to our stay there. I hear the views are spectacular. We then transfer, through AMA, to Kempinski. Then, embarkation on the Amacello.

Cannot wait to FINALLY begin this journey and river cruise! We've waited a long, long time!

Bon Voyage Denise! Sounds wonderful so far and a cutting edge to regular cruising. Keep us informed on your journey. I might consider a river cruise in the future if Regent fares continue to rise. Looking forward to your honest reporting

Bon Voyage, Denise! Hoping you've safely arrived in Budapest and beginning your explorations.

Looking forward to your river wrap-up. Your eye for detail adds so much to our vicarious sailings.

Have a wonderful time on this long-awaited trip.

Cheers, Anne

Ok - comparison between Avalon & Uniworld - I'll try to give some comments here (more on the boats, cabins, layout, and food than on people, itinerary, entertainment since they were both charters and not the "typical" cruise). Another thing to keep in mind is that our Avalon cruise was back 2005 and Uniworld was this July - so things could have changed (or my memory fails me).

Cabin - we were in a "french balcony" cabin on deck 3 on both so they were comparable. Uniworld cabin seemed a little bit better appointed (with a small flat panel TV mounted on the mirror) and felt a little bit better. The bathroom on Uniworld was considerably better - both being showers but the Avalon one barely had room to turn around in. I would give a slight edge to Uniworld.

Boat and Layout of the boat - I got annoyed at all the 1/2 levels on Uniworld (front of the boat with the dining room & lounge is 2 levels while the rear section with the cabins is 3 levels). I don't remember this on Avalon but do remember that we had to walk "outside" to get to the cabins on the 3rd level. However, the Uniworld boat had a small elevator (something that I don't remember from the Avalon one). The lounge is basically the same with different decor. We liked the dining room on Avalon better but there are many factors that could be interpreted the other way (Avalon was all tables of 6 - while on Uniworld they ranged from 4 to 10). Uniworld's decor was "fussier" and felt less spacious (but that could be a function of the itinerary (since we were headed north - one side blinds were drawn during dinner - compared to the eastbound itinerary on Avalon which allowed for no blinds during dinner. Small advantage to Avalon.

Food - We liked the food on Avalon much better. Menu choices on Uniworld was strange - entree at the "welcome dinner" was veal with no alternatives (strange choice since many people don't eat red meat and even amongst those many won't eat veal) - vegetarian choices were usually only the vegetables from the main entree. Quality was quite a bit lower on Uniworld also. The afternoon "snack" was very skimpy, if you are not there within 5 minutes of them being put out, there wouldn't be anything left. We have never felt so consistently hungry on a cruise/vacation before. Big advantage to Avalon.

All other things being equal, I would rate Avalon higher than Uniworld. However, we don't think we would take a river cruise without being part of group (like here on LCT) or one of the charters that we've taken. We've been debating on next year's trip (whether we want to do an Amadeus Charter from Paris to Nuremberg or the PARIS one - it would be great to see many of the people from here again but its so cold there in Dec).

It feels like we've abandoned Regent but we've done all of Europe on Regent (except for 007 & FJORDS equivalents). Maybe they'll come up with some "new" itineraries soon.

Thanks Peter. Appreciate your input very much.

I believe you will find Amadeus the best of the three lines although I am sure that the new Avalon boats would be better than what you were on in 2005.

Can't wait for Prague to Paris in November!

Todd, glad you are "trailblazing" for us months after Denise got off. Let's hope they get it "together" on this new vessel by the time you get on with Ngaire and Ken!

That was a Deilmann cruise Denise was on, right?

Todd, no Denise was on the AMA Amacello two weeks ago...Denise has previously sailed on Deilmann so her candid review (which gave
AMA low marks on cuisine in particular) also
discussed the very positive experience she had
on Deilmann. (her comments are in RSSC thread,
"just returned from our AMA cruise")

r/wes

I will go find it. Thanks Wes!

I did Find it - Thanks again.

Todd.
Did you do your own flights or use the
company?

I did my own flights using Frequest Flier Miles. Delta.