Q – We will be celebrating our 40th anniversary and we would like to go on a river cruise. We are looking at one of the two-week itineraries between Budapest and Amsterdam..Outstanding food is one of our prerequisites. We’d hate to be in Europe for two weeks dining on banquet-style or luke-warm buffet meals.How do we avoid this?
A – Since you used the term “outstanding” to describe your culinary expectations, we would have to say that we seriously doubt that any of the current crop of river cruise lines will meet your expectations. The food aboard the top river cruise lines, particularly AMA Waterways, Tauck, and Uniworld is often quite good. But river boats have small kitchens, rather-limited option menus, and food budgets that just don’t match that of the Top Ten-rated cruise lines.
If you are seeking truly memorable cuisine on the water in Europe, you will need to refine your search to include the smaller, inclusive, five-star lines. The best lines in our ratings for food are Crystal and Seabourn. The Oceania ships have excellent food at a lower price point.
Finally, we would strongly suggest that you look at the possibility of doing a river barge trip in the south of France. Many of these barges employ talented chefs and you can accompany them tot he local market in the morning where they purchase the best and freshest offerings.
As a general rule, never expect really special cuisine on anything that floats with per diems under $500.
