Experiences on long (over 20 days) river boat trips.
I'm a solo traveller in my 70's and I was wondering about taking a 25 day river boat tour. Would you share your experiences? Did you get bored with the routine, the food or the people? What was the best and worst part of the tour?
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We haven't taken one that long but have taken some of the longer cruises like Budapest to Amsterdam (15 days). Can't say I was ever bored. There are enough excursions and ship board activities to keep me busy. There is more daylight sailing time on the longer cruises though. The TDs often provide interesting talks or activities. There have been exercise classes taught by the crew. But you can also just chill on the sundeck, lounge or Arthur's reading a book or visiting with other travelers. The cabins also have on demand movies many thematically chosen for that particular cruise.
Except for breakfast, the food changes everyday. Lunch is a buffet that features a mix of local cuisine and standards like a salad bar. At dinner in the main dining room, there are at least 3-5 different main dishes every night, different soups, starters and desserts offered. At least 2-3 are local foods. There are basics they are always offered like grilled chicken, steak, etc. Arthurs is the casual venue with a much more limited menu that usually is the same the entire cruise. Things like burgers, Caesar salad, flat bread pizzas, and again local specialties.
Best part is not having to live out of a suitcase and keep changing hotels. We haven't had an issue with it, but some people under estimate the physical requirements for river cruising if they have mobility issues. There's stairs to navigate on the ship and Europe has loads of cobblestones streets and up hill climbs. There are elevators on board but none of them go to the sundeck and some ships it's only between the upper 2 cabin decks. On occasion when the ship is docked next to another ship, we've had to go up to the sundeck, cross over to the other ship then down stairs again. The gang plank at each dock can be difficult. They are narrow, only have rope railings, can be at a steep angle and sometimes a few steps to navigate.
melachap,
If you haven’t taken a river cruise, I would suggest taking a shorter cruise first just to make sure you enjoyed the experience.
I would not hesitate to take a longer cruise or two back-to-back cruises. The food is always varied with regional specialties, cooking demonstrations and an occasional presentation by the chef.
There are always special lectures by either a tour director or special guest. There are sometimes hands-on activities such as crafts or judging chocolates, wines or beers.
The excursions are well curated and conducted seamlessly. The crew members are always professional and will know your surname by the second day. They will also put on a delightful and hilarious “show” in the lounge. There is an afternoon/nightly pianist in the lounge and an occasional musical group.
Our cabin selection is always comfortable and offers a nice respite if we don’t feel like being in the lounge every evening. Sitting in our room and enjoying a glass of wine watching the landscape go by is so relaxing.
I hope I have whetted your appetite somewhat.