Welcome

just an for your info...there is also a CRUSE board on TA. you can cross post if you want.

as far as unsolicited hins/observations/comments. you say....

".... I'm a bit overwhelmed with all of the options. This will be my first visit to Europe, I hope first of many....."

whats the Chinese Proverb....""A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step..."

> So, if you are serious about your 1st and hopefully 1 of many, what differences does it really make?

> you can overthink this if you want. No travel police to stop you. But really, just go. See what its all about. also, you post on teh SOLO board, but you really wont be SOLO. And you wont know until you like something until you TRY. SOrry, thats how it is. But if you are willing to TRY and give it a shot, you may learn something about yourself and your likes and dislikes.

> there are no travel police to shoot you if you dont do this or that. In general any restrictions you place are on you.

> there is no "my way or the highway". Once you do a trip or trips, you will realize you can cherry pick/mix and match what and how you want to do things. Its your choice. If you want to do a "tour" for everything, you can. If you want to book your own flights and lodging and then pickup tours, you can. Its YOUR choice.

> note that on a tour/cruise, you go where they go. You jump, when they say so. So, just keep that in mind. But if you keep in mind that - travel is a do over - you can go back too. Its YOUR choice.

you say...."Through research, it looks like the Danube or Rhine options may be most appealing to me, but I am open and need some guidance. ..."

to me, i would go with my 1st instinct. Again, you can overthink this if you want. No one will stop you. And you can overthink this if you want.

last comment.

> how many FRIENDS do you know , know you well enough to for this question? But you are asking STRANGERS on here for the same?

Again, go for this trip and dont look back. After and during the trip, look at what you like or dont. Keep in mind, its just 1 "of many?" trips. YOu are new and dont know much. You WILL LEARN alot too. But look at this 1st trip as that. Dont even try to get it 10000% right. You wont and you will NEVER go anywhere.

Be willing to get out of your comfort zone and make mistakes. On your choices and so forth. But LEARN from them.

THere is a post on here where some person from Eruope is in New Guinea and wants to go home. Read that post and LEARN from it. It applies to EVEYRONE that wants to travel.

good luck

Welcome to the Solo Travel. If I'm being honest, this is not the most ideal place for additional research. As noted, there is a Cruises forum here on TripAdvisor. It's a better TA spot for asking about differences of various options. But more than that, I highly recommend Cruise Critic - both the reviews section and the boards (forum) section. The Cruise Critic community is far larger than the Solo Travel or even the Cruises forum on TA. At CC, they have both a sub-forum for solo cruisers and singles cruises which is also different. And CC do "Roll Call" threads, too - so cruisers can post in advance. Good Luck!

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g1-i10703-Cruises.html

https://www.cruisecritic.com/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/115-river-cruising/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/279-solo-cruisers/

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/85-singles-cruises/

Thank you! The addition to the trip is something else that caught my eye. I appreciate the great feedback.

Ummmm, okay? Thank you for whatever that was.

Appreciate the info, I’ll check these out and move my inquiry to the cruises board. Honestly, I’m just hoping to hear some other travelers experiences to help me narrow down my choices. Appreciate your taking the time to provide links.

Oh, one more thing, we chose the Danube because we had heard that along the Rhine it is more industrial as you go along the river. While on the Danube we went by many castles, small villages, single dwellings as well as countryside. The vineyards through Wachau valley were breathtaking :) And there is nothing like rounding the river bend coming in to Budapest and seeing the Parliament!

Check the expected water level of the rivers on the dates you have in mind.

There have sometimes been issues which have resulted in substitute buses.

The other issue that comes up some times is that a passenger needs to be fit enough to climb over one or two other boats to get to the shore.

I agree about Cruise Critic being a great resource. I crossed the Atlantic solo on the Queen Mary and following the advice I received on Cruise Critic meant I had the best possible cabin for me and a good idea of what to expect on board. I had a wonderful time.

It's going to be cold in February/March, especially on the water. And also rather grey and dreary. If you can, mid to late Spring might be a better choice for timing.

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