The process of selecting the right river cruise or small ship cruise line for your vacation can be challenging. Our cruise line reviews will help you make the right choice!
Why do you think your parents probably bought a Ford, Chevy, or Oldsmobile? Why is it very likely you did not? Why do some vacationers choose to stay in a Holiday Inn or a Marriott; why do others prefer upscale hotels such as a Ritz Carlton or Four Seasons that focus more on one’s creature comforts?
More than likely you would answer — “it’s just what they like,” or “it fits their lifestyle” — right? You are spot on! That’s exactly why our very experienced river and small ship cruise experts at Premier River Cruises have taken the time to provide you with very objective, no-nonsense reviews of each of the river cruise and small ship lines our travel agency currently offers for booking. Our cruise line reviews are meant to provide you with better clarity about the subtle differences between the various lines.
Today, it seems like each cruise line's marketing tends to blur the differences between their brand and their competitors and this is intentional. While that strategy may make sense to them, it does very little to aid a first time buyer in differentiating the various lines. We find that most first time river or small ship cruise buyers can easily get confused about each lines product offerings. For you, this confusion could result in you not buying what you wanted, or thought you were buying. Even worse, you could buy a cruise that does not fit your needs, desires or lifestyle. While buying the wrong product can cost you anwhere from $500-$2000 more per person, it could also result in a very poor first river or small ship cruise experience.
We've been selling cruises for over 30 years.
The experienced team at Premier River Cruises is the MOST knowledgeable in the business. Most of us have been selling cruises for over 30 years and river and small ship cruises for at least 15. No one in travel knows more about river and small ship cruising than Premier! The goal of our cruise line reviews is to provide an objective picture of each of their product and services. We believe this is a far better approach than creating an artifical ranking system of each cruise line and provides you a better way to begin your assessment process. Selecting the right cruise line is really, reallly important to you and "one size absolutely does not fit all." If you do your homework and work with one of our specialists, the end result should be the selection of the cruise line that best fits your personal needs, wants, and lifestyle… and, oh yes, budget.
You are about to spend a reasonably large amount of money on your first cruise, and you really don't want to buy the wrong cruise line product. We can only convey our thoughts in our words and encourage you to spend a bit of time on our site, reviewing each line or the ones that you have heard of. As an example... Please DON'T think that because of their marketing and advertising, Viking is the only cruise line, they are most certainly not! They are an excellent product for many first time cruisers, but not for ALL first time river cruisers.
Why you should read all of our cruise line reviews and customer testimonials.
As you spend time on each cruise line, you'll notice that our cruise line reviews are designed to provide you with a feeling and understanding about that cruise brand. As you read the words, think about your lifestyle and what will work best for you. Do you like a more formal setting, or would a more casual, informal setting work best for you on your first river cruise? Is the cuisine important along with the selection of wines and beers, or is food not really important to you? How about shore excursions, do they matter? Think about what matters — and the BEST ADVICE we can give you is DO NOT buy on price alone... that is ALWAYS A MISTAKE!
Finallly, as you go through the materials, do make sure you also watch the videos of each line as they can tell you a great deal about the product in a more visual way. When you feel you are on the right path to finding what you think you would like, narrow your choice down to two river cruise or small ship cruise lines, then pick-up the phone and call one of our cruise experts to talk about your choices and thoughts. We know most people like to remain anonymous and send emails, but, given what you are about to spend, don't you really want to interact with a "human," and a human that really knows river and small ship cruising? You really should call Premier... we promise not to intimidate you, and we guarantee that we will make the process really, really painless. Unlike other travel agencies, we ONLY sell river cruise and small ship cruise vacations. Our specialists are full-time cruise experts who have been on many, many river ships and small ships, and... we don't work on commission! Need we say more?
Use the links below to read a review for each of the award-winning cruise lines that we are proud to offer:
We sell most, but not all river or small ship cruise lines.
Premier only sells cruise lines that we believe provide: 1) a great vacation; 2) a good value, and 3) lasting memories. And, while our goal is to sell you an inspiring, rewarding, and memorable river or small ship cruise vacation, we feel it’s just as important to earn your trust. We’re old fashioned, that way. We feel that if we serve you well, provide the knowledge and guidance so you can make the right decisions, and deliver good value, it will ultimately result in your repeat and referral cruise business coming back to us.
Sure there are a few lines that may cost you a bit less than those we recommend, but we don’t feel one’s vacation is the place to go “cheap.” Vacations are special times; they should create special moments and memories — not nightmares. Why would we suggest a “bare-bones” cruise line to you if we would not take it ourselves, or recommend it to our friends or families — we wouldn’t! Those companies may appear less expensive, but when you add on the “non-included” features they, in fact, may ultimately be the same… or even more expensive (Read our article on How to Avoid Cruise Vacation Sticker Shock!). Why risk your vacation with these types of companies? They are nothing more than a “poor man’s” bus tour on a river or small ship cruise.
Some travel agencies like to put stars on river cruise lines and rate them. We choose not to do that because any type of rating system is far too subjective to be of value — it would not be fair to you or to the cruise lines. Our interests are totally focused on your vacation experience. We recognize that each of our customers are unique, have different tastes, experiences, desires, and lifestyles. Our Premier River Cruises experts understand the subtle differences... you know, it’s like understanding the subtle differences between a Celebrity cruise and one on Carnival, a stay at Marriott or Ritz Carlton, and so forth.
At Premier we also talk about value. If you don’t see a cruise line on our list of preferred cruise companies, then it’s because we have made an objective judgment call that the offerings of that cruise line do not measure up to the subjective criteria and guidelines we follow in order to recommend a cruise company to you.
Must read Premier in-depth articles and exclusive programs.
If this will be your first river cruise vacation, please spend some time on the page entitled, “Is a River Cruise for You?,” it's chalk full of valuable insights you’ll need to know.
Back to Top
 |
