Ocean vs River Cruises: 10 differences everyone ought to know!

[@labitx]

Really great advise especially for someone like me, who's used to hitting the rails and traveling between cities particularly in Europe and have never tried cruising. Travel to me is an opportunity to learn and experience the local culture. Would definitely want to get on a cruise someday, and it sounds like river cruises are the ones that best matches my current travel style and interest!

[@tipsfortravellers]

+labitx thanks for watching and leaving your thoughts and comments. I think based on what you said trying a river cruise would suit you!

[@jeanchipongian1086]

Thanks Gary. This was very helpful to me. I love going on the jewel class of NCL. I do love the freedom of the day plans. I now know that the days are more planned and regimented. That is important for my husband. He needs a more laid back environment on vacation. He works so hard that the vacation time is down time and do as he wishes. We will need to stick to ocean. That is huge in our time allotment of time off. Thanks. You did a great job and I for one appreciate it.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Great to hear it helped ! I agree with your decision based on what you say as it can be more restful

[@jasminegarcia2321]

I Am An Ocean Cruiser, Will Be Going On My 5th Cruise Later On In The Year! I love The Video!

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Jasmine Garcia cruising is so addictive isn't it!!! I am with you on the Ocean cruise side too. Thanks for watching and really appreciate you leaving a comment

[@jasminegarcia2321]

Plus It Just Depends On The Individual. Don't Knock It Til You Try It. Yes The Are Addictive, Which Is Why My Family & I Go On Them So Much.

[@thrasherx9319]

Very clever format. Very informative (as always). I don't there is another video like it.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Great to hear! Thanks 😀

[@TakersMissy]

I think I'd MUCH rather a river cruise! If I were ever fortunate enough to tour Europe, I'd be there to see the sights: to experience things I can't anywhere else! :-)

[@mariblue72]

I think after watching this that a river cruise sounds more my speed. Size of the crowd aside, knowing everything (or almost everything) is included in the price and the days are planned out for me sounds more relaxing than a wider range of choice but having to make the decisions myself lol! It sounds like all I'd have to do is show up, behave myself and enjoy the program. :-)

[@tipsfortravellers]

Great to hear it helped you decide 😀

[@danakolpin1289]

I haven't been on either kind of cruise . After listening to you I would prefer a regular cruise

[@tipsfortravellers]

Good to hear it helped !

[@williamthethespian]

Thank you for this piece! You do a quite thorough job of giving the viewer a feel for both river and ocean vacations. Marvelous job.

[@tipsfortravellers]

+William Victor thanks! Great to hear your feedback! Thanks for taking time to leave your comment

[@brookevanderlaak8496]

Great video Gary.Never been on a cruise before but you certainly give me ideas for holidays.Thanks mate.

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Brooke Vanderlaak thanks for watching and taking time to comment. Much appreciated!! The risk of cruising is almost everyone gets hooked ..!

[@deemariedubois4916]

Brooke Vanderlaak I so agree! Gary's videos are addicting. I've been on a bit of a Gary Tips videos BINGE while trying to get rid of this miserable cold. Dreaming of sunshine and warm waters as Georgia has had a unusual horrid winter with freezing rains, snow that actually accumulated--10 inches in our county--and more freezes than we have had in the 25 years I have lived here. The number of people with the flu and colds are extraordinary. Anyway Gary's videos have not just been informative but very enjoyable as I lay in bed with my tissues and a cup of hot tea. Lol. THANKS Gary and thank you for answering my question on a different video and your nice comment.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Sorry to hear you are ill. Hope better soon. Great to hear you are watching lots of my videos though !!

[@davidtavakoli5858]

Very informative video. I've only taken ocean cruises and I love them. My favorite days are sea days and I love enjoying the ship. However, I'm very enticed by river cruises. Don't care so much about the excursions. But some of the river cruise ships look so beautiful and intimate. I wonder if I would truly enjoy that experience.

[@Jules-eu7pl]

Loved my river cruise!

[@tipsfortravellers]

Great thanks hear. Who did you cruise with and where to?

[@wdh47211]

Great comparison......not all unknown to me....but still some great information. THanks....Happy St. Pat's Day

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Wayne Harris great! Thanks for watching. You have a preference for river or ocean?

[@clement2780]

often ocean cruising is most expensive option, followed by bus tours, then river cruises, then packages with flights hotels and either train tickets or rental cars and possibly pre paid art galleries and museum and palaces tickets along with concerts theatre dance tickets, possibly sports events. car bus sickness and ocean sea sickness, river cruises very relaxed, .... bus tour or packages most relaxed attire, cruises often require formal attire.

[@clement2780]

so do you want to relax, be entertained, mostly stay on ship, then choose ocean. if you want to visit cities, worry about seasickness then choose river cruises, other wise land tours are often best choice.

[@pumpkin462]

Wow, I'm glad I watched. I've ocean cruised a lot too and I think what I'm so apprehensive about river cruising is your last point about choice. Even with port intensive cruises, there is always opportunity to return to the ship and relax by the pool, etc. But river cruising seems so structured and amenities seem lacking. I feel like once you have choices it's so hard to go back to a degree. I'm glad they are all inclusive, but for the money I'd like to come home at least feeling a little relaxed and pampered!

[@tipsfortravellers]

I agree and think ocean cruising can be more relaxing. Of course one can stay on the boat on a river cruise but as the excursions are usually included and so you have paid for them it usually makes me (and suspect many people) feel the need to do them all!

[@pumpkin462]

+Tips For Travellers 100% true. Thanks for the vid.

[@wayneloveday4716]

Tips For Travellers Presumably one can leave the excursion and go independently as long as you keep to the set times?

[@ricknicholson5894]

One thing you didn't address and I was waiting for, but perhaps missed, is how long the shore visits are for both Ocean and River cruises. If I had to guess, I've always assumed river cruises would have more shore time. With the cruises we have been on (Ocean), I find shore time to be much to short. In fact I tell my non-cruising friends not to obsess too much on where the cruise is going as you won't have a lot of time when you dock. So two examples, our Old San Juan shore time was something like 6 hours and our Ensenada time was something like 5 hours; I would have preferred longer times ashore.

[@clement2780]

biggest thing for me, is how far your ocean cruise is from destination to port. paris le havre, berlin warnemuende, florence la spezia, rome civitavecchia, cordoba or granada malaga, seville cadiz , etc. either presents impossible choice of staying on ship to save money or paying a ton of money, going on an incredibly long two three hour bus or train ride, seeing tip of iceberg for a given town or city and bussing riding train again ain another two three hours so five to six hours lost per day just commuting

[@fade7755]

Ocean Cruise = when you are young or looking to party like when you were young, River Cruise = when you want to be mature about it and take in some culture.

[@debbieann921]

Great info Gary. Just one question about river cruising. I have heard that the water levels are sometimes too low for the ship to continue on and therefore the passengers must disembark and perhaps board another ship. Is this correct and if so, could you explain in more detail about this.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Yes if the water is too low (or occasionally too high) then the ships have issues. What happens varies. Sometimes guests are bussed on excursions. As ships cruise slowly and rivers wind around it can in some itineraries add an hour or two to still do the excursions while ship stays put. This has happened to me. If the river is really low and no chance of cruising they can cancel but that tends to be in droughts and not very frequent.

[@suntanman99]

Great information Gary! Have you ever been on a cruise that was sort of a combination of ocean and river? One of the cruises I'm considering this year is a Montreal to Boston 7 day trip - it starts on the St. Lawrence River and works it's way into the Atlantic Ocean.

[@pipinhouser]

Trying to decide on river vs ocean cruises for the European Christmas markets. Also, it would be my first time in Europe and I would like to see as much as possible. Any tips?

[@clement2780]

how about deciding destinations, figuring out geography, whether you want to sightsee, active, zip lining, scuba, etc and then choose rail train, bus, ocean, river, ..... almost all destinations are accessible by land. ocean cruises are three hours away between port from advertized cities or towns, villages. ocean cruises pay 500-600 per excursion. if river cruises include at least one excursion per port, then the extra initial cost is well worth the price. if you go on an included airfare cruise package, like oceania, the initial cruise cost is all you pay, ..... onboard entertainment ocean cruises is best. River cruises vienna, budapest, bucharest, belgrade, dresden prague, berlin, nuremberg, munich, ...... ocean Scandinavia, amsterdam, barcelona, venice, st petersburg, turkey, greece. ocean excursions florence, Milano, rome, , berlin, figueres, seville, cordoba, granada, paris, london.

[@davidddddddddd]

Thanks Gary. Never cruised so very helpful. Where would the fjords lay in this comparison?

[@tipsfortravellers]

+David McCrandles the Fjords are a magical place to go and cruising there is the best way by far. Definitely high on the list!!

[@ElaineMasters]

Enlightening! I'd love to do a river cruise but the gigantic boats don't appeal that much and as a diver I'm not inclined to support certain of their practices.

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Elaine Masters river cruise companies seem to be pretty obsessed with environmental aspects partly due to regulatory requirements in the European rivers but also they are mostly owned by operators rooted in countries with strict adherence to those issues. The rapid growth of cruising does mean the industry really needs to tackle this whole area more. Thanks for watching and I really appreciate you taking time to comment. Thanks 😀

[@deemariedubois4916]

Elaine Masters I have wonder how much of the waste on huge cruise ships is put into the ocean? I mean there is good waste and bad waste. Bad waste being rodent glass, cans, paper, and plastic. I would think left over food wouldn't be bad at all. There is some creature that would enjoy it. As to human waste going into the oceans, that would be disgusting. Guess I need to do some research.

[@tipsfortravellers]

It varies. A lot of the waste like food is turned into a slush that can be released into the ocean when 12 miles or more from the coastline. Human waste is processed in mini plants in the ship and can be released into the sea but often also pumped off in port. Things like glass are crushed down and offloaded in ports. Quite a lot of cruise lines do behind scene tours and the environment department is really interesting! I recommend doing it at least once !

[@nilsandlexi]

It sounds as if river cruising simply picks up where coach tours left off. Anyone who has traveled in Europe with Globus or Trafalgar should be quite comfortable with it.

[@alderusdmc]

Perhaps you could try a video on cruising vs overnight train.

[@mariopuzo4509]

Cirque du Soleil had a show on celebrity constellation.Very cool if not SLIGHTLY nerve wracking watching people do insane stunts while the boats listing from the storm outside lol

[@tipsfortravellers]

Sounds both brave and insane of them !

[@clement2780]

if river water levels are too high or low, do the river cruises just turn into regular bus tours?

[@Tuffydipstick]

I've taken 2 cruises on the ocean and I was sea sick on both! Now I am taking a river cruise in 2 weeks time. Hopefully I won't be sick.

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Sylvia Black it is impossible to get motion sick on a river cruise it is said. I am sure you will be fine. Let me know how you get on.where you going and with which line?

[@Tuffydipstick]

I am going on the river Rhine from Arnhem down to Germany then back to Amsterdam. I'm going on the Rheggini Rei 2 with Saga

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Sylvia Black sounds fantastic!

[@maigoff5725]

Do they have the excursions with light activity for the old people?

[@setiabaharuddinseti6694]

thanks for the info,

[@gilgaleste7993]

What months are the best time to do river cruising in the Danube? Hoping to do one next year. Do river cruises offer snacks in between main meals?

[@clement2780]

i dont mind bus in fact i prefer it , river cruising is for inland destinations , cities like vienna, dresden, berlin, prague, munich, ..... seville, cordoba, granada rarely on guadalquivir, loire for chateaux chenonceaux chambord cheverny azay rideau, .... ocean cruises tend to dock in ports where you must pay hundreds of dollars per person per day , bussing or train two three hours one way from destinations. river cruises most all inclusive vacation, meaning final cost tends to be much lower even though initial shock price cost is pretty high. bus tours tend to be rushed and many budget ones end up taking you shopping for guides tips and commissions kickbacks, wasting much time and even skipping must see attractions like museums concerts art galleries palaces ruins.... so save invest in better trips. many locations can only be reached by land, others only by cruise.

[@levelat350]

The “StarBreeze “ was once, “Seabourn Spirit”

[@clement2780]

italy, southern spain, greece , turkey, scandinavia, baltic , british , ireland ocean. river best for germany austria hungary, poland(?), czechia, romania, bulgaria, yugoslavia. geography is a big deal. river cruises can take you inland, smaller places, .... river cruises arrive in city, excursions included or simply walk into town, and enjoy yourself. ocean cruises excursions 200-500 or more per person per day.

[@arongstone]

COOL !

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Arongworld thanks !!!

[@tipsfortravellers]

+Arongworld thanks 😀😀

[@rmthorpe112662]

Arongworld I

[@mariopuzo4509]

...........are you on a Ship right NOW?!😠😠😋 it's so cold here!great advice thanks! Cheers!

[@tipsfortravellers]

No not cruising at the moment. In London

[@randallf8675]

Todas las desventajas de un crucero de mar pero sin ninguna de las ventajas

[@lochyo7728]

hi love your videos!! I hoping to take my daughter on a cruise for her 16th. I'm hoping to do this as cheaply as possible but I want her to a an amazing experience. Can you recommend a cruise for us? I was thinking a Mediterranean cruise? it's such a mine field as I'm new to this! many thanks, any help would be much appreciated!

[@tipsfortravellers]

+billie-joe great to hear you enjoy the videos! A Med cruise is great and I suggest you look at Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise Line and MSC Cruises as they will have the widest range of prices and generally have the best value options. Sailing out of Barcelona may also be a good idea as they have lots of departures and good flight connections (and port not far from the airport). The cheapest will be an inside cabin but look at the other options as having a window or balcony can be great for a first cruise

[@clement2780]

to quote somebody, ocean cruise is resort, river cruise is bus tour.

[@TheBruceGday]

Floating four star hotel is a more apt comparison.

[@Deontjie]

What was your name again?

[@tipsfortravellers]

Gary Bembridge

[@Jackiefromscotland]

How do us disabled wheelchair users ment to cross over 2 ships ???

Large cruise ships = unrestrained, unruly brats everywhere. I like to travel where I am intellectually stimulated. River cruising offers that. Ocean cruising does not. River cruising also offers actual personal service. According to the line and the cabin selected, river cruise cabins can be large and comfortable wirh wonderfully senic views...not just miles of open ocean.

[@tipsfortravellers]

Agree, though there are small cruise ships too that would be suitable. Windstar ships are really small and have up to ay most 350 people and some smaller.

[@mariopuzo4509]

What was the worst weather on a cruise you've experienced?

[@tipsfortravellers]

On a Transatlantic Crossing on QEII in winter with 50 and 60 foot waves crashing over the bow etc. Only 30% of people made it to dinner due to movement and seasickness