Is it better/more cost effective to take a cruise ship or travel by train around western Europe?

I realize, of course, that there are pros and cons to each (including flexibility of schedule, hotels/on board rooms, etc) but what I really want to know is which will cost more... assuming I can find the cities I like and all of that on one cruise. Any experience to share?

i would defiantly go by train! not only for flexibility reasons but so you can see a lot more of Europe!! there are places that you will want to see that are not along the coast plus you get the whole back packers experience staying in a hostel!! you can get a eurorail pass for cheap and traveling by train is gorgeous :) you see a lot more!!

With a cruise you will know, pretty much, what you will get.
The route is described and your stops are known. Yes, you can add excursions but they will never be far from the coast or river if you do a river cruise.
The price is also known and while there are price ranges, there are no real cheap options. Cruises are luxery travel, they work to be that.

If you go by train much more is open.
You will have the whole continent to travel in.
You can use places to sleep in the whole price range.
And you can spend on food what you want, from very little, supermarket food you prepare self to famous restaurants with very high prices.

If you like predictable, a cruise might be the best for you.
If you find cruises to dear, or not going to the places you want to go, you can find a whole range of tours in Europe, where everything is taken care of, even how much time you spend on seeing the museums and how much time in the souvenirshops your guide gets provision from. Your local travel agency is bound to have several on offer.

When you travel by train you can prebook everything, or leave everything open to the last minute so you can see what you are going to pay for when you get there, (with the risk you have to move further because all is booked out.)
Traveling by train you can spend from 75 Euro per day to more than 500 Euro per day depending on your preferences, but most people can make it for less than 200 Euro and still sleep in a hotel each night and eat all meals in restaurants.
I do not know the range of prices in Cruises, as I do not travel that way. Till now I have never had the need. But I might when I will be older. My parents have done several river cruises recently and really enjoyed them.

why don't you combine both...part by train and part by boat...doing all by boat will be hard as the waterways don't connect the large cities but it's charming to travel by boat and there are very good cruises if you don't go in July/August I'm sure you can find good deals

[defg348]

mostro pumapuma chaussure puma shoeschaussure pumaspeed cat puma

[defg348]

There was a father who was very proud of his three daughters. Every night he took a stroll around the house to make sure everything was all right. One night when he was doing his stroll, he could hear laughter coming from his youngest daughter`s room. He stood there for a while and thought about this, but reached the conclusion that he could always ask her tomorrow, instead of bothering her at this time of the night. When he reached the window of his second daughter, he could hear her crying. He thought about this too, but ultimately he decided to ask her tomorrow and continued. There were no sounds at all coming from his oldest daughter`s room, and he then went to bed, satisfied. The next day, when they all were gathered around the breakfast table, he said to his youngest daughter, "I heard you laughing last night, as I walked past your window. Why was that?" She answered, "That`s because you taught me to laugh when someone was making me happy." He then asked his second daughter, "I heard you crying last night, why was that?" She answered "That`s because you taught me to cry when someone was hurting me." He then told his oldest daughter, "I didn`t hear anything from you..." She said, "That`s because you taught me not to talk with my mouth full." Nike air max 91 Nike air max 91 CLASSIC cheap Nike airmax 91 Nike airmax 91 Nike air max 91 men