Why River Cruising Is Better Than Ocean Cruising
No Crowds
River cruise boats are very small compared to ocean cruise ship. Most river boats carry under 200 passengers. In contrast, ocean ship are getting progressively bigger. Cruise ships which carry 3,000+ passengers are commonplace now, with many being even bigger.
River boats don’t feel crowded. The restaurant onboard can accommodate all the passengers at one sitting. The lounge can also accommodate all of the passengers. Their sundecks often have a deck-chair for every passenger. Most ocean ships cannot claim to offer any of this.
Higher Quality of Food
Riverboats have small main restaurant. Many ocean ships still have a big main restaurant, which can sometimes accommodate up to 1,500 passages at one sitting or more. This normally means that the food in these big dining rooms is mass produced. In contrast, the river boat food is not so mass produced, so should be better. Service should also be of a higher quality.
A top Chef once told me that great food needs to go straight from “pan to plate”, without any delay. That cannot happen in a giant dining room, where much of the food is pre-prepared and pre-plated, well in advance.
Easy Ports of Call
River boats can dock right in the heart of their ports of call, such as small towns and cities. Remember most cities have a river passing through them. They are not forced to berth in deep water commercial docks, like ocean ships often have to. These berths can be miles from the city. River boat passengers can simply step off their boat in the town. No cruise terminal is required to handle the crowds and no coach transfers are required.
Perfect Sea Conditions
It is almost impossible to get sea-sick on a river. They are sheltered and very calm. Oceans of course can be wild and can experience storms and hurricanes. The motion onboard an ocean ship, can be very unpleasant at times, even for seasoned sailors.
Simplicity
Life is so much simpler onboard a river boat. Most river boats only have three decks, which are nowhere as long as ocean ships corridors. There may only be 90 cabins, or less, compared to thousands onboard an ocean ship. There are normally only a few public rooms. Therefore, getting around the boat, could not be simpler. Getting lost is not possible.
Embarkation/Disembarkation
To embark a riverboat you just walk on and collect your key from a reception desk. There is not normally a queue or any stringent security checks such as baggage X-raying. To disembark, you just get off. Timed slots are not required.
Why Ocean Cruising Is Better Than River Cruising
Choice
There are a multitude of ocean cruise lines, hundreds of cruise ships, large and small, offering mass market to luxury experiences, from the affordable to the eye watering. These ships offer a vast array of different facilities and different itineraries, in the worlds oceans.
River boats may have just three grades of cabin to choose from, but ocean ships may have at least ten or more, including some very lavish and spacious suites. Full balcony cabins are not generally an option on river boats, but are plentiful onboard ocean ships.
On-board Facilities
Even the smallest cruise ships have an impressive array of facilities: A gym, spa, casino, theatre, restaurants, bars and a pool and hot tubs are standard. Some even have a park, water slides, rock climbing walls , ice rink (real ice), roller coaster and go karts on deck. It’s all about choice. River boats cannot hope to compete.
Entertainment
This is a real weak point for river cruises. Their entertainment is very low key, even minimal. However, Ocean cruise ships are often full of entertainment. They normally have large state-of-the-art theatre, with a large entertainment troupe of singers and dancers, offering big, spectacular, west end style shows. The various bars and multiple lounges will often feature musicians and singers.
Price
Due to the large capacity of ocean ships, ‘economies of scale’ often means that ocean cruises have lower fares (per person, per day) than river cruises, for a similar cabin. In terms of facilities, entertainment and choices of dining, you could argue that you get more “bang for you buck” onboard an ocean cruise.
Itineraries
There are a surprising variety of rivers in the world, with many interesting ports of call. However, the worlds oceans are of course so much more extensive. Therefore there are more ocean itinieris on offer. Large distances at sea can be travelled, for longer durations, including ‘world cruises’.
Malcolm Oliver
WaterWorld by Malcolm Oliver 