Home > Compare River Cruise Companies > APT River Cruises vs Travelmarvel River Cruises
APT River Cruises vs Travelmarvel River Cruises
Compare the travel styles, pricing, destinations and popularity of APT River Cruises and Travelmarvel River Cruises.The Low Down
Initially providing coach touring around Australia and NZ to the local market, APT have grown exponentially over the last decade to now offer trips around the world, and are well known for their European river cruises. Over the last few years APT have introduced small ship expeditions that cruise the waters through Asia, Europe, Canada and off the coast of Kimberley. Catering primarily for the retired market, their trips aren't cheap, but in APT's case - you get what you pay for. Look out for their great Fly Free offers, and Earlybird Savings. The team here at Global Journeys have travelled multiple times by coach, cruise & river with APT, and we definitely recommend them as a quality, consistent, reliable Operator, and our past client reviews back that up.
Travelmarvel, is the sister brand of APT. Positioned as a premium Operator, but a step down from APT with regards to pricing, inclusions and the age of it's river ships. After a few years Travelmarvel will inherit APT's ships as newer ones are built. Travelmarvel & APT share the same past passenger Rewards Scheme, and many of our clients like prefer to spend a little less, knowing they are still backed by one of Australasia's premier river cruise operators. As Platinum Partners of APT & Travelmarvel, our consulting team have an in-depth knowledge and have personally experienced travelling with Travelmarvel and would relish the opportunity to help organise your next river cruise. Stats
No. of Trips
70
No. of Departures
1,262
Avg. Trip Length
13 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$545
Fleet Size
10 Ships
Known For
Aussie Specialist
Ship Styles River Cruises
No. of Trips
26
No. of Departures
436
Avg. Trip Length
13 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$319
Fleet Size
9 Ships
Known For
Contemporary Cruises
Ship Styles River Cruises
In Their Own Words We asked the travel companies themselves why you should travel with them
Life-enriching, relaxing and unique – an APT river cruise is the ultimate holiday experience. Discover unforgettable destinations as you travel in total comfort and style. From Europe to Africa and the mighty Mekong River, APT has a diverse range of river cruises, and you’ll wake up most mornings in a new location, ready to explore fresh and exciting sights. Timeless luxury, exclusive experiences, life enriching moments and true personalisation. APT offers all-inclusive holidays so everything is taken care of. We invite you to join us; you won’t be disappointed.
Make the most of Europe’s waterways on Travelmarvel’s three new European river ships: Polaris, Capella and Vega. Combining state-of-the-art design with more dining options and social spaces, the contemporary-class ships will offer a relaxed new standard of cruise.
Or perhaps a river cruise on the life-giving Ganges or Mekong to get to the heart of these colourful and spiritual nations. Experience life in their small villages, whose communities have much to teach us about their local culture and customs.
Recent Reviews
4.8
So many wonderful things about this cruise. Everything is organised for you. The meals are great and the drinks are free flowing. The staff are so helpful and nothing is too much trouble for them. Some fantastic sights that you stop and see along the way. Highly recommend this to anyone young or old.
We have done this trip previously, although in April. This time we went in November. Although the autumn colours were beautiful it was very cold most days (around 5 degrees during the day). As this was the last trip of the season we found many of the freedom of choice activities were limited and in many cases were only limited to a city walk. We were ...read more really looking forward to riding the e-bikes on a couple of occasions but were told once we boarded that they stop that by the end of October. Very disappointed! We did find we were sitting around a lot on the ship and once we did stop at each port we were time limited. Maybe more day-time activities whilst on board too would have been better. On the whole we enjoyed our time away and couldn't fault the food and staff and their attention to detail.
Paris was very disappointing, the river cruise & Prague were excellent and met all expectations. Very knowledgeable & well organized tour guides. Perhaps this trip isn't geared to solo travelers. Accommodation on the cruise & Prague of high quality but were disappointing in Paris.
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
Recommendations:- (Paris) Perhaps the APT tour guide could have attended ...read more earlier to ease the tension/frustration/anger felt by the early arrival of clients. It was noticeable, that both Avalon & Viking guides where in attendance. Hotel personnel were quite rude/short/ with clients as they where very busy! Perhaps this could be looked into by Global Journeys. (GJ Team: We'll certainly pass on your comments to APT. Thanks for your feedback.)
On the whole a great trip. The one let-down was the food, which would not pass muster in a Melbourne bistro. Restaurant staff were largely under-trained, which may be a hang-over from COVID.
A very enjoyable trip dispite the low river levels and the need to change ships. The scenery and Signature experiences were wonderful and well organised. Great mix of fellow passengers and everyone looked out for each other. Found the food choices a little disappointing. Presented lovely, but found it largely very bland and not a lot of variety. ...read more Fellow passengers who had done the trip before expressed the view that it was not up to the standard of their original trip and I think there was a general view that standards had slipped. Perhaps that was a result of COVID affecting the staffing levels or general cost cutting. Would like to see a wider range of wines and food selections, but overall we had a great time. Hannah at Global Journeys was as always, helpful, timely and obliging.
Georgie from Global Journeys has supported us to book our past three adventures and I hope will continue to support us into the future. Georgie has efficiently and effectively managed a large range of silly questions from me, without batting an eyelid (at least not that I can see) and has always been very helpful. She responds quickly to my enquiries ...read more and has negotiated many situations with tour providers or has clearly and quickly advised that what I was requesting was not doable.
We are and have always been happy to have Georgie there and look forward to working with Georgie and the Global Journeys team on future bookings.
We are and have always been happy to have Georgie there and look forward to working with Georgie and the Global Journeys team on future bookings.
4.7
The whole trip was excellent. I have nothing bad to say. The accommodation was great, the food was to die for and the trips where good. Our cabin on the ship was lovely and in fact the whole ship was great. Crew were also excellent.
So glad we chose Travelmarvel's European Gems cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest for our first trip after covid restrictions for the past three years. We sailed on the Polaris, a brand new ship which was modern and tastefully furnished. The staff and crew worked very hard throughout the cruise and were very friendly and eager to please. The cruise director, ...read more Andrew, was always available and approachable and he made sure everyone was informed about each day's tours and activities. The food and drinks were of a high standard and plentiful. We were looked after in every way and felt very special indeed. There were so many lovely passengers on board and we enjoyed their company very much. We saw some amazing places and were thrilled that it also snowed for some of the cruise. Of course, being December, the Christmas markets didn't disappoint either. A big thankyou to Georgie from Global Journeys who always makes booking so easy and stress free and Travelmarvel for a wonderful cruise that was everything we could have hoped for.
This was a birthday gift for my husband 60th birthday. I fretted and worried that it would be an OTT organised activity trip which he hated...BUT was so pleasantly surprised at how stress free and optional it all was. The tour leader Andrew was fab. The staff superb.
Absolutely everything was outstanding. Could not fault it. Was really hard to get ...read more off!!
Absolutely everything was outstanding. Could not fault it. Was really hard to get ...read more off!!
We had the most wonderful time and made many friends during the cruise and exchanged addresses. Also, a special thanks to Singapore Airlines for the wonderful way they looked after us. The cabin crew were out of this world. Also thank you Racheal for your work in organising this trip as everything went to plan. Will certainly recommend you to anyone ...read more interested in a river cruise through Europe.
I had an amazing trip. The crew and staff were fantastic always smiling, nothing was to much trouble. The tour guide was fantastic on the ball for every little detail. I would highly recommend this trip to everyone.
My first European River cruise and my first with TravelMarvel. My expectations were high because I had been waiting since April 2020 to take this trip due to Covid. What can I say but it was absolutely fabulous. Just the right balance of energetic shore trips, resting and rocking in the lounge, chatting with new friends and sleeping my head off to the ...read more soothing motion of the grand boat Vega.
Travel Marvel's staff were fabulous. Nothing was too much trouble and they noticed before you asked. Special thanks to Cruise Director Emece who worked 24x7 to make our cruise go well despite the challenges of fledgling international travel after Covid. And to the team at Global Journeys especially the ever patient and resourceful Georgie, thanks are just not enough for the support you gave me during the long Covid delays and the patience you showed at my fears I might never get on my journey of a lifetime. You got me there guys!!! I'll be back.
Travel Marvel's staff were fabulous. Nothing was too much trouble and they noticed before you asked. Special thanks to Cruise Director Emece who worked 24x7 to make our cruise go well despite the challenges of fledgling international travel after Covid. And to the team at Global Journeys especially the ever patient and resourceful Georgie, thanks are just not enough for the support you gave me during the long Covid delays and the patience you showed at my fears I might never get on my journey of a lifetime. You got me there guys!!! I'll be back.
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