Rhine River Cruise vs Danube River Cruise

Danube River Cruise

If you haven’t caught on yet, I am a big fan of river cruising. I like sailing and sightseeing at the same time. It’s relaxing, yet I am accomplishing something, a win-win! I also like the coziness. There is a lounge on the ship that basically acts as a living room where you can socialize or just enjoy a drink or afternoon tea. There are little cards that act as conversation starters with a few of them creating conversations about travel agents (even though I prefer the term travel advisor!)

Light meals are served in the lounge as well. Right outside of the lounge was outdoor seating which is what we enjoyed our first day onboard.

All of the food was delicious and if you could not decide what to order, they would literally bring you two meals! I am still craving the desserts as I have a sweet tooth and took full advantage of all the offered desserts every chance I got!

I really love the Panorama Suites on Avalon, here is the tour I did to explain what is special about these suites. The best part of being onboard though was the service. The staff at Avalon really goes above and beyond to ensure you are comfortable at all times. An Avalon river cruise is such a lovely way to travel.

Danube vs Rhine

I sailed the Rhine on Avalon in March so naturally, people have inquired upon my return which one I prefer. Unfortunately, I don’t have a clear answer. Like with many things in travel, the answer is … it depends.

Here is what I liked better about sailing The Danube:

– I like the cities we visited along the Danube
– We got to spend more time at each destination
– The views were more scenic when sailing on The Danube while The Rhine had more industrial areas that we saw while sailing

Here is what I liked better about sailing The Rhine:

– I like the little villages along the Rhine, smaller and quaint
– More sailing during the day to relax and take it all in (even though views tended to be more industrial)

– We were able to experience more locks along The Rhine (I find them fascinating), we only experienced one lock during the day on The Danube because we passed through most of them at night when I was sleeping

If you asked me which river I would pick if I had to sail one again, it would depend on when. Being that I desperately want to do a Christmas market river cruise and I enjoyed the villages along the Rhine more, I guess I would pick the Rhine, although I have been told that the markets along The Danube are also some of the best. As far as which one would be best for you, let’s talk through it and figure that out!

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Read more about the Danube River Cruise here! From Budapest to Bratislava to Vienna!

See why a river cruise should be your next booking (even if you don’t like cruising)!