My wife has booked us a river cruise along the Rhine for new year, just four nights, taking in Cologne, Koblenz and a Mosel Wine tasting trip.

Has anyone ever done one, will it be full of old folk? We are 57 but my research would point to us being at the younger end of the demographic that take these trips.

Any advice?

Thanks

I am a government approved guide in Austria and work a lot with Danube cruises. I do city walks, wine tours, the camp of Mauthausen, bike tours, hikes and much more.
It all depends on the company but the majority of the cruises have a wide age range.
Which company are you going with? Viking, Crystal, Viva – older folk. Avalaon, Ama, Younger people (usually)

Did one down the Yangtze in 1998. Shared a cabin with a honeymooning liberation army couple which was awkward. Saw things that are now flooded. Mice everywhere.

Did one down the Yangtze in 1998. Shared a cabin with a honeymooning liberation army couple which was awkward. Saw things that are now flooded. Mice everywhere.

And what did you see out the windows?

I’ve cruised down all the Scottish rivers.

😉

https://www.flickr.com/gp/matt_outandabout/PJC848

A river cruise appeals to me more than an ocean cruise. Not done either though.

We cycled the Rhine EV route in 2018 and stopped overnight in Koblenz and Cologne. Enjoyed both places.

In laws did it but they are quite old. The main complaint was allmthe sailing, which my father in law being a matelot would have enjoyed seeing took place at night so go to bed wake up in anew city having missed the scenery on the way.

will it be full of old folk? We are 57

Sorry to break it to you…You are the demographic that thinks cruises are attractive forms of recreation.

Careful now.

As TiRed says you’re the market segment the boats are aimed at. If it’s a Viking one in a huge boat you’re bound to find someone to chat to. If it’s a smaller boat you’ll all be of a similar age but the number of English speakers may be limited.

If it’s a smaller boat you’ll all be of a similar age but the number of English speakers may be limited.

That sounds very much like a bonus.

Did one down the Nile for my honeymoon. It was possibly the best holiday i`ve had. The temples and day trips were amazing obviously, but the bets part was chilling in the pool on deck while cruising down the river and watching the daily life on the river banks.

My parents want to do this when they can travel again, although I think they are getting too old for the trip from Kiwiland. My plan was to take my bike and cycle between ports – I am sure the Germans have put lovely cycle paths in along the river – while they did the day trip stuff, so good shout re making sure the boat doesn’t travel at night!

My mum and her ‘boyfriend’ did a fair few German river cruises, but not any more as he’s getting too infirm.

He’s 90 something years old.

So I guess you could look on the bright side and assume that the average age won’t be too high as all the nonegenarians and centarians will have given up by that age 🙂

But yes, apart from that, of course it’ll be full of decrepit old duffers. Who the hell else would want to go on a cruise?

We did a Danube cycling cruise, which I recognize is a different thing, and at 57 you would have been right around the median age.

Prepare for some very weird sea-sickness experiences if my experience is anything to go by. It is a weird river – very wide and very slow-moving with the land to either side at almost the same level. I spent a few days in Koblenz back in 1990 (camping right by the river and travelling up and down it) and the motion sickness was very peculiar (I don’t normally really suffer).

I’ve watched the Vikings fly on the wall documentary on Prime and to be honest, the idea of a river cruise along the same sort of lines quite interests me. Not keen on the human sacrifice side of things, but they seem good on partying, robust interactions with local people and Scandinavian martial arts. I guess they may be unpopular with local people during shore visits, particularly monks and some women, but I guess that’s just tourism for you.

Stuff I’d bear in mind would included making sure that you’re competent with axe and/or sword and shield before going – maybe get some lessons in advance – never argue with the ship’s captain and steer clear of anyone wearing really badly-applied eye-liner. Oh, and try not to sack really large cities, Paris for example, as it rarely ends well. Apart from that, it looks like a good, fun sort of gig.

Edit: to be clear, I’ve never been on a Viking river cruise myself, just watched the documentary. They seem aimed at a younger, more adventurous demographic.

They seem aimed at a younger, more adventurous demographic.

The bearded hipsters get everywhere these days.

The bearded hipsters get everywhere these days.

Yes, if you’re taking / hiring a bike, make sure it’s a fixie if you want to fit in 🙂

No bikes this time, just sightseeing by foot and enjoying the New Year Festivities (If we get to go at all Germany is not looking good from a Covid standpoint at the moment).

We are taking the tandem and the motorhome to Holland next year though.

Even as I type this I am realising that I am probably the perfect demographic for a river cruise.

Thanks for your answers so far, it is a smaller boat only 120 passengers but chartered by a British company so most people on there will speak English.

Ahh the evening breeze dancing in the blue rinses, the sound of water lapping at the commode, the scent of dentucreme wafting across the deck…

Synchronised groans every morning as the waking old backs and joints grumble. A chorus of groans as people get up from the table or sun-lounger!