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
66
No. of Departures
852
Avg. Trip Length
13 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$589
Fleet Size
10 Ships
Known For
Aussie Specialist
Ship Styles River Cruises
No. of Trips
23
No. of Departures
291
Avg. Trip Length
13 Days
Avg. Price Per Day
$365
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
The cruise itself was excellent, but wish that we had been informed that it was the rainy season. At least 3 day tours were spoiled by constant rain. The fellow travellers were great company, mostly from Australia, like us. The cabins were a little small. Had we known that you could upsize, we would have done so, but we were not told beforehand. The ...read more food was excellent, staff excellent and cruise director excellent.
The main drawback was the lengthy flight home. We left Wednesday 8th November 11 am, endured 3 lengthy unpleasant flights with Singapore Airlines to arrive in Sydney 10th November 10 am. We had upgraded to Premium economy, but there was very little difference between this and Economy. The Singapore staff were unpleasant and at times very rude. The plane was old and in need of repair/upgrade. The seats were uncomfortable and worn. There was water leakage from above on occasion. The food was not good quality. On the middle trip home of 13 hours, Joy fell asleep and missed 2 meals. When she awoke and asked for a cup of tea, having not drunk anything in 10 hours, she was told NO!!!!!!!!! When Joy later got up to go to toilet, she was told to sit down, even though 2 other people were lined up at toilet. On 2 of the flights we were in the same seats, which were opposite a large double cupboard, which was constantly being opened and slammed shut by the staff as they shuffled paraphernalia backwards and forwards with constant noise and disturbance. We would never travel with Singapore Airlines again.
APT tour was excellent. Overall rating on Tour was excellent. Overall rating on flights was TERRIBLE.
The main drawback was the lengthy flight home. We left Wednesday 8th November 11 am, endured 3 lengthy unpleasant flights with Singapore Airlines to arrive in Sydney 10th November 10 am. We had upgraded to Premium economy, but there was very little difference between this and Economy. The Singapore staff were unpleasant and at times very rude. The plane was old and in need of repair/upgrade. The seats were uncomfortable and worn. There was water leakage from above on occasion. The food was not good quality. On the middle trip home of 13 hours, Joy fell asleep and missed 2 meals. When she awoke and asked for a cup of tea, having not drunk anything in 10 hours, she was told NO!!!!!!!!! When Joy later got up to go to toilet, she was told to sit down, even though 2 other people were lined up at toilet. On 2 of the flights we were in the same seats, which were opposite a large double cupboard, which was constantly being opened and slammed shut by the staff as they shuffled paraphernalia backwards and forwards with constant noise and disturbance. We would never travel with Singapore Airlines again.
APT tour was excellent. Overall rating on Tour was excellent. Overall rating on flights was TERRIBLE.
The APT river cruise was fantastic. Went in Autumn and the scenery was incredible with lots of beautiful colours. The staff on the ship were great. Would recommend it.
We completed this same itinerary seven years ago with Viking at the same time period in mid October. There were obvious differences between the operators. Viking cruisers were predominantly from the USA whereas this cruise was mostly from Australia and to a lesser degree the UK. The Scandinavian design of Vikings ship was much preferred to that of both ...read more of the APT ships. This cruise was impacted by low water which we were aware could be a problem. As a result we were placed on a Travelmarvel ship after a two hour bus ride from our starting port of Budapest.
Unfortunately for many guests the planned activities for Budapest did not happen. APT did arrange for guests to travel by coach to have a lunch cruise the next day (6 hours of road travel) The staff on Travelmarvel tried very hard but it was obvious more training is needed. The food and wine advertised in APT’s brochures emphasises fine wine and food. The wine was far from fine and food was bland. Viking also excelled in this area. Passengers had no other wine option made available to guests. One house white and one house red and a sparkling. When off ship we purchased wine. APT’s advertising promotes that passengers will not need to spend any more dollars once you are aboard. Viking’s offering in this area was far superior!
We did approach a senior staff member about these issues and were told we should expect better when we changed ships. APT had ample time to upgrade wine and food menus prior to commencing the cruise .
The wine offerings continued to fall short on quality though you could purchase from a short list of wine around the 30euro mark.
Staff on the Amastella were more proficient and the cabin were meticulously cleaned. Viking was also rated highly in this aspect.
The off ship excursions were very good on both cruises. We have traveled on 3 Viking river cruises and have experienced high quality cruises. We cannot say this about our most recent APT experience.
Unfortunately for many guests the planned activities for Budapest did not happen. APT did arrange for guests to travel by coach to have a lunch cruise the next day (6 hours of road travel) The staff on Travelmarvel tried very hard but it was obvious more training is needed. The food and wine advertised in APT’s brochures emphasises fine wine and food. The wine was far from fine and food was bland. Viking also excelled in this area. Passengers had no other wine option made available to guests. One house white and one house red and a sparkling. When off ship we purchased wine. APT’s advertising promotes that passengers will not need to spend any more dollars once you are aboard. Viking’s offering in this area was far superior!
We did approach a senior staff member about these issues and were told we should expect better when we changed ships. APT had ample time to upgrade wine and food menus prior to commencing the cruise .
The wine offerings continued to fall short on quality though you could purchase from a short list of wine around the 30euro mark.
Staff on the Amastella were more proficient and the cabin were meticulously cleaned. Viking was also rated highly in this aspect.
The off ship excursions were very good on both cruises. We have traveled on 3 Viking river cruises and have experienced high quality cruises. We cannot say this about our most recent APT experience.
Thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone. APT provided excellent service, meals were great, daily excursions interesting. Good mix of people on board (though mostly Australian). Was a bit apprehensive at first as I was a solo traveller but felt welcomed by all. Toni did an excellent job with our cruise booking , airline booking and great accommodation ...read more in Prague. Looking forward to another trip in the future.
We highly recommend this trip. This was our first river cruise and APT did not disappoint, exceeding our expectations. The ship, The AmaVenita was like a 5 star hotel and nothing was a problem for the crew. Shore excursions and special events were excellent and run smoothly. All the tour guides were friendly and very professional. We really enjoyed ...read more Prague and the accommodation was excellent. As always Georgie did a wonderful job organising our holiday and look forward to our next adventure with her.
4.7
Had a great time on this river cruise, fabulous weather, plentiful delicious food and wine , staff were very attentive and knowledgeable. Highly recommended.
We had the most wonderful holiday Rachael McSorley from Global Journeys was a blessing she was so helpful with booking and organising our river cruise with Travel Marvel. Cruising down the Danube was a dream come true and the ship and staff did not disappoint. The tours and food were amazing. We will definitely use Global Journeys and Travelmarvel again ...read more in the future.
Everything we hoped it would be, the boat and staff/service were first class. We were so lucky with the weather which helps but also the cities and towns visited were wonderful.
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!!
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