Beginning some research on river cruises. Wife has always wanted to do one.
Would like to hear about your experiences. And, recommendations on:

Which Cruise Line?
Which river?

Trip would probably be in the fall. Include two to three couples, all in mid 60's and in good health. All experienced travelers. This group spent 2 weeks in Italy in November.

Hit me with all you got.

Most of my river cruise clients have sailed the Rhine or Danube with a variety of cruise lines.
The most popular options among my clientele tend to be AmaWaterways and Viking, though the best fit really comes down to your budget, travel style, and the itinerary you have in mind.
Recently, I've also been hearing excellent feedback about Riverside and Scenic.

If you'd like guided support while researching or booking, I'd be happy to help as a travel advisorfeel free to email or send me a DM.

We had a great experience with a cruise on the Rhine with AmaWaterways on the AmaLucia and would recommend.

River cruising is all about itinerary + what your group wants, not just the ship. Fall is a fantastic time to go.

For first-timers, I usually steer groups like yours toward the Rhine (castles, charming towns, easy logistics) or the Danube (iconic cities like Budapest & Vienna). Cruise lines matter tooAmaWaterways is great for immersive, active experiences, while Viking is very consistent and easy.

I'm actually cruising the Rhine this spring with AmaWaterways and touring 8+ river ships at the River Cruise Expo, so I'm deep in comparing itineraries and ships right now. If you'd like help narrowing down the right river and cruise line for your group, happy to help my contact info is in my bio

We did the Viking 8 day cruise on the Danube from Passau, Germany to Budapest in 2023. We had a fabulous time and I highly recommend this for a first time river cruise.

Like the others have said, many first timers start with the Rhine or Danube. I did the Rhine on Avalon a few years back. River cruising is so very different than ocean. I loved porting directly in the cities where you can just walk off the ship and you are in town. I loved all the castles and churches, walking on cobblestone streets, etc.

My clients tend to lean more towards AmaWaterways. I currently have a Texager booked on Viking for this coming year on the Danube, and had a Texager do two cabins on Ama in August on the Rhine. I also have clients booked for a Portugal one on Avalon this coming year. Another client on Ama on the Danube in April.

Viking requires final payment earlier than other cruise lines. Some lines are more inclusive than others, thus while they seem more expensive, they may include shore excursions and drinks, whereas others do not.

We're a different demographic, but we cruised with A-Rosa on the Rhine this summer.

It's the only line with family rooms and a kids club. German company and everyone was a German retiree except for the family rooms which were all American families. So sort of surreal.

But we had a great time. It's quite a bit cheaper than Viking, but all the excursions are separate fee. We are very competent travelers and booked all our own stuff in the cities.

If they had another ship that went to different cities, we'd do it again in a heartbeat.