How do river cruises compare to luxury ocean cruises?
Luxury ocean cruises typically are defined by spacious staterooms, as noted above, fine dining, an all-inclusive product, including beer, wine and spirits, gratuities and shore excursions on one luxury cruise line (Regent Seven Seas Cruises).
River cruisers don’t quite match the luxury standards of ocean-going vessels, but river cruisers do come close. Refer to the chart below for comparison.
River Cruise Vessels vs. Luxury Ocean Vessels
How do river cruise vessels compare to luxury ocean-going vessels? Though the comparison is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, the exercise is relevant for those who are familiar with luxury cruises but not with river cruises. For comparison, we use AMAWATERWAYS' European-based vessels and Regent Seven Seas Cruises' fleet of ocean-going luxury vessels.| AMAWATERWAYS | Regent Seven Seas Cruises | |
|---|---|---|
| Stateroom Square Footage | 170 square feet to 255 square feet | 306 square feet to 1,216 square feet |
| Beer, wine & spirits | Beer and wine included with dinner | Beer, wine & spirits included 24/7 |
| Open-Seating Dining | Yes | Yes. Regent has four-dining venues, two that are reservations-only. |
| Internet | Included | Available for a fee |
| In-Room Dining | No | Yes |
| Shore Excursions/Tours Included | Yes | Yes (Regent is the only luxury line to include shore excursions) |
| Staff-To-Guest Ratio | 1-to-3 | 1-to-1.6 |
| Expect to pay in high season | 7 nights on the Danube, $342 per person | 10 nights, Copenhagen to Stockholm, $855 per night, per person |
Readers should know that Regent’s fares also include economy airfare from major US gateways, a deluxe pre-cruise hotel night, an in-suite mini bar replenished daily, and shipboard gratuities.
Regent is a total ripoff with false advertising ( comparisons to other lines ) & very overpriced cruises. Shore excursions are ” included” at their astronomical prices.
I’ve found that when you factor in all costs (airfare, booze, transfers, gratuities, etc.) that the gap between Regent and other cruise lines gets a lot smaller. But feel free to keep posting the negatives about Regent – just makes it easier for me to book the itineraries I want. Thanks!