THE THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO RIVER CRUISING
Welcome to River Boat Ratings, the internet's leading site for those who are seriously considering sailing on one of the world's great waterways. It is good to have you here and we'd like to begin by making a few promises to you:
- We will never talk down to you or insult your intelligence. This is a site for adults who do not need advertising hype, phony "user reviews" or PR double-speak.
- This is the only river cruise review site that does not accept paid advertising from the companies we are reviewing. We do not accept promotional fees from any river boat company. You will never see an ad of any kind on riverboatratings.com
- We use only the industry's most respected professional sources for information. Unknown "users" will never be quoted. The bulk of our material is sourced from leading industry reports and from the most respected travel journalists. Our evaluations are never based on popularity polls or self-appointed “critics”.
WHY TRUST US?
Actually, we're not sure you should "trust" anyone you meet on the internet. We urge you to check our background and credentials. Make certain you feel comfortable entrusting some of the best moments of your life to our consultants. Here are a few things about us we hope will be of interest:
- We have been named "The World's Top River Boat Specialists" by the Editors of Conde Nast Traveler Magazine. Ours is the only firm in the nation to achieve this recognition, regarded as the equivalent of a restaurant receiving three Michelin stars. In fact, it is statistically harder to make the Conde Nast "World's Best Travel Specialists" list than it is to gain admission to Harvard University. We have also been named the “Nation’s Top European River Boat Specialists” by Wendy Perrin, the country’s most authoritative consumer travel voice.
- Our Managing Editor, Richard Bruce Turen, is the Senior Contributing Editor at Travel Weekly, the most respected travel industry publication in the nation. He writes a regular column on industry affairs.
- Our firm, Churchill & Turen Ltd., has been named "World's Best Small Luxury Cruise Specialists" by Conde Nast Traveler for the past eleven years. Collectively, our firm has won more "World's Best" accolades than any other travel firm in the United States.
- We have been named one of the nation's Top Ten Personal Vacation Planners by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
- We have been featured in articles in the New York Times, USA Today, Consumer Reports, and The Wall Street Journal. Our staff has appeared on CNN, ABC, and NBC News and on National Public Radio.
- Members of our staff have lived in Europe, traveled her waterways, and worked for Europe's leading cruise lines and small ship operators.
- We are celebrating our 30th year in business. We are proud members of the $21.3 billion Virtuoso Network, the top producing agency group for the world's leading River Boat companies.
- In 2015 and, again in 2017, we were named the Top Producing Consultants in the entire worldwide Virtuoso Group.
Look around our site. Do you notice anything unusual?
- We do not accept advertising or payment from any river boat company reviewed on our site.
- We are a not-for-profit, ad-free, consumer-oriented site and we will never try to sell you or hype you. Every river boat product is different. They are not all excellent.
- We assume that visitors to our site are intelligent consumers and that you will know what to do if you are in agreement with our approach, find our knowledge of river boating of value, and wish to work with us on a zero-cost basis. We charge no fees of any kind in conjunction with the booking of river cruises. If you book with a river cruise company directly, you will still be charged our fee, as it is built into every fare.
A – It is common in the cruise and river boat industry to do what is called a “soft PR Campaign” releasing small bits of relevant information for maximum press impact. We won’t have any specific pricing for the Crystal product for several months but we are anticipating a 20-30% higher per diem than their closest rivals. The product will be very inclusive and the staff to guest ratio will be the highest in the industry. The standard cabins will be larger than their competitors and they will have some large suites. We certainly think that pricing for this product could come in at $500 per person per day for an entry-level cabin. Crystal River Yachts will not be allowing their competitors to have too much advance notice concerning pricing so it cannot be used against them. Crystal Cruise per diems, by comparison, currently range from $450 – $800 per person, per day. Bottom Line: We expect they will be the most expensive option on Europe’s rivers but also one of the most inclusive. They may also be the best. We’ve obtained a picture of the prototype being launched at the yard in Germany.
To reach our editorial offices, please e-mail us at: documents@traveltruth.com. To contact one of our Cruise or Escorted Tour Specialists Tel: 800-445-7979.