Grand Circle Travel Reviews

We were on the Seine Cruise - Normandy to Paris last April. Fantastic experience and trip. The program Director was excellent and we were very pleased with staff, food and city tour guides. We just signed up for another trip in 2025.

This is my 3rd GCT cruise and I’ve been consistently impressed. The itinerary and services were excellent. The home hosting sets you apart from other cruises. We all appreciate your highly qualified tour directors, tour guides, and resource speakers. The cruises just keep getting better. We just arrived and we’re already planning our next one.

We had a wonderful time on our Blue Danube from Prague to Budapest. The guides were professional, caring, and knowledgeable. The city walks and tours informative and fun. The optional tours well organized and educational. The ship talks and entertainment educational and enjoyable. The ship was clean, well maintained and the staff and crew were attentive and friendly.

My husband and I recently returned from a Grand Circle trip--cruising the Rhone. Soon after we arrived in Paris, we met our superb guide, Louise **. Louise was enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and funny; moreover, she diligently made sure that every detail on the trip was perfect for everyone. I cannot imagine a better guide. Simply put, she embodies the French expressions "joie de vivre" and "esprit de corps." Furthermore, our ship, the MS River Chanson, was extraordinary. The entire crew -- from Captain Ludovic ** to all the waiters (especially Dan & Kruno) to the bartender (Niko) to the cabin attendants (especially Akos, Dora, Krisztina, and Alex) -- was hard-working and extremely personable! The food was exceptional, and the cabin was comfortable and spacious. In short, I recommend Grand Circle Cruise Line without reservation. Merci beaucoup to you all!

I just finished the river cruise with Grand Circle from Budapest to Romania, it was a wonderful trip! The staff are super nice, the food was excellent, the itinerary for the whole trip was well prepared. I really don't expect any better than that! Grand Circle is great!

Taking A River Boat Cruise is wonderful. You get to meet many of your fellow passengers from around the US. It’s a more intimate cruise than a large cruise ship as there are only 150 passengers compared to thousands.

This was my second trip with Grand Circle, and once again, it was simply amazing! I started with the pre-trip to Ayers Rock (Uluru) — a truly breathtaking experience that’s hard to put into words. From there, we explored the wonders of Australia, from the iconic Sydney Opera House to the Great Barrier Reef, both incredible bucket-list highlights.

My husband and I recently completed a wonderfully entertaining and educational journey from Paris to Southern France. We traveled using a high speed train, comfortable riverboat and completed the journey on a comfortable motor bus. It was our 13th trip with this company and once again we were very impressed with the knowledgeable, patient and helpful staff, the well-organized stops/visits, the local experiences and the reasonable price. We have never been disappointed with this company.

Our tour of Australia and New Zealand was fabulous and informative. Our tour director, Paul **, was very knowledgeable of the area and ensured that we saw all the most important sites. The food and accommodations were very good. I loved snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef and cruising Milford Sound.

This was our first river cruise and I don't think any part of it could be improved. If we have the opportunity to travel again, Grand Circle will definitely be our choice. Our Program Director made the trip educational, interesting and entertaining.

Had a wonderful time on Spain and Portugal in Depth! Had never been to either country, and this trip was perfect for seeing many major cities between the two countries. Would definitely recommend to others!

My wife and I returned from the Canadian Maritime & Nova Scotia trip on Monday 10/13/25. We had an absolutely wonderful trip and saw some amazing new sights. We traveled with my sister and brother in-law, which made the trip that much more enjoyable. We met a lot of new "friends" and enjoyed everyone's company. Our Program Director {Margo **} was the best. She made sure everyone was getting to see what they wanted to, and we even saw a few special; things. We would highly recommend her as well as our bus driver {Mike}. They both went above and beyond during the entire trip. Trip was great, meals were great, entertainment was wonderful and sightseeing terrific.

This was my first time on Grand Circle. It was a wonderful experience. The staff went above and beyond to make our time unbelievable. The local guides made the experience that much better. The food on the ship was beyond compare. I highly recommend Grand Circle.

Everything was excellent. Will do another one after I save $$$! Food was top notch. The staff courteous and friendly. Bed was comfortable. Excursions were educational. I learned a lot. I love traveling

My husband and I just got back from our third River cruise with Grand Circle Travel. We did The Blue Danube: Budapest to Prague. We loved this trip! It was beautiful! This was a special tour, The Music Lovers Cruise. We were treated to lots of different music from the region. It was wonderful! The food was great! The service was impeccable. We loved these cruises! Looking forward to the next one!

We've been on several trips with OAT and they have all been wonderful. This was our first land trip with Grand Circle and we thought the 33 person group size was too big. Jeremy, our guide was fantastic and could not have been better. But we didn't like the huge amount of noise at the included meals with that many people. Also, the portion of the trip actually in the Canadian Rockies was only 5 of the 13 days and those days were great. The other days were spent in Calgary and in moving from Jasper to Vancouver. Two of the days were extremely long and grueling on the bus, even though we stopped several times. We would have preferred to spend more time in the rockies and fly from Jasper to Vancouver or back to Calgary. In the future, we'll stick with OAT.

This trip was a rich exposure to historical events, marvelous archaeological and historical sites, three proud, diverse cultures living on the same island & ancient crafts such as slate quarrying & dry-stone wall construction. All the people were just wonderful to talk to. Despite a bad reputation, all the food was most excellent. Will, our Program Manager was resourceful, enthusiastic & had a great sense of humor. He & Henry our driver, made a very good team for introducing us to life in the UK. I appreciated the way that Will incorporated music in his discussions about people & places. Riding through the Welsh countryside listening to a stadium full of Welshmen sing their national strong was stirring. Most Memorable Moment: Numerous ones come to mind, but walking Stonehenge & Hadrian’s Wall, visiting Chester & being bagpiped to dinner in Edinburgh were certainly highlights.

The Grand CIrcle trip on the Rhone River was amazing. It was our 12th trip with the company 11 with OAT and our first with Grand Circle. The crew were always pleasant and made you feel welcome and special. The Program Directors for the 81 people on the tour were caring individuals who were knowledgeable and always pleasant. They had a wonderful ability to coordinate the tours which were divided into 2 groups of 40. They also had a good relationship with each other which was important in creating a warm and accepting environment. The tours in all the cities and the countryside were well organized, educational, historical, and fun. The Chanson was beautifully decorated and our room was very comfortable. The food was good and represented French cooking from each area. We look forward to taking another trip with Grand Circle.

My wife and I joined the Denali tour with our tour director, Scott ** and our driver, Willie. They were both professional with a touch of humor. The tour was wonderful. Our only complaint was the weather, which for some reason, Grand Circle could not control. Scott was a great director, and provided 2 speakers to the group (Jim ** and Aurora **). Both speakers gave excellent presentations (Climbing Denali and Photographing the Northern Lights). We would recommend this tour to anyone interested in the State of Alaska.

Grand Circle is a great travel company. Making reservations is easy, fixing complicated travel plans finalized with no problem for me! We were met at the airport and never let go! Of course it is the guides who are the face of Grand Circle. They are really fantastic, always cheerful and there is nothing that they can’t do! Their knowledge of Portugal is total!! I enclose a photo of Joana and wish her long, happy life when she gets married in May ‘26.

The trip to The Canadian Maritimes was ok. We’ve traveled with OAT and GCT in the past. We were fortunate that 16 people canceled making the main group of 26 more reasonable. Our trip leader was amazing, so patient, knowledgeable and helpful. Overall we will not be traveling on land tours with such a large group again. We prefer the smaller size tours of 16 max. There were too many “meals on your own” than in the past and a lot of time “on your own.” I would have loved to see and visit more lighthouses! We enjoyed the 6 hour experience at Petty Harbour, Leo the fisherman and his wife Kimberly were so accommodating.

This was our first trip to Europe and Grand Circle Travel made it amazing. Before booking this trip I read lots of reviews and one said that Grand Circle had a "rabid" fan base that traveled with them repeatedly. I now understand why. This was one of the best trips we've ever taken. The ship, the crew, the food, the tours, the cities, the tour leaders and especially our fellow travelers. We made friends that I know we will keep for years to come and are already planning future cruises together!

We had an excellent experience on the Grand Circle British Isles tour. Of the twenty-five GCT trips we have taken we felt we had the best tour director we have ever had. She was excellent. She was available to us at all times to respond to questions or issues that we were experiencing, and she resolved each and every one to our satisfaction. GREAT job, Trey!!! Thanks for a wonderful trip. -- Betty & Charles **, Altoona, FL

We recently returned from the Great Rivers of Europe cruise with Grand Circle. This was our first experience with Grand Circle and we were greatly impressed. The boat was comfortable, the food was absolutely delicious and with many choices, the atmosphere was fun, the crew was friendly and efficient, and the activity directors were excellent and caring. The places we visited were brought to life by the local guides or our activity director when she lead the walking tours. There was also a special guide who did an easier route for those with walking restrictions. There were special evenings in the lounge with fun events hosted by the crew and several times local performers came on board. Several of the in depth presentations about issues of the country we were in were provided by local experts who came on board just for that presentation and they were excellent and interesting.

Romance on the Rhine & Mosel was an amazing trip! The M/S River Harmony was well maintained. With only 140 passengers, we received personalized service. The crew was absolutely amazing. The meals were fabulous. Will definitely book again.

The Romance of the Rhine and Mosel was my first river cruise. The ship was clean, the staff was so helpful and friendly. Everyone was exceptionally courteous. The weather was perfect. The scenery outstanding. The onshore excursions were fantastic. The fellow travelers were fun and interesting and kind. I would highly recommend this cruise.

The trip was prefect from start to finish. The program directors and staff were all amazing and so friendly. The food was always delicious and plenty of choices. Wines and beers same. The staff very attentive and everywhere we went we were very informed. Lots of walking for those who wanted and also plenty of relax if needed. Very educational trip. They really covered everything they set out to do. Free time was there if you wanted to explore on your own. Bartender Alex very knowledgeable on lots of countries. Hotel manager was a delight, always with a smile his staff the same. Cleaning crew is amazing. Like I said best trip of my life. Was treated like a queen. Cabin was spacious for 2. We had a balcony which was very nice to use sailing down the river.

Paris and Normandy cruise on the Seine in late July - early August 2025. This was our third river cruise in Europe and simply the best! The ship was fantastic, crew was professional and personable, Tour Director was 5+ stars. Food was delicious. Entertainment was fun. Flawless delivery at a terrific price.

We just completed an Eastern Europe trip. The Danube was too low to get all the way to the Black Sea. Can't do anything about that. Grand Circle did a good job of responding to the conditions (low water and excessive heat). On-boat service and performance was excellent. Ditto for food. Pre-trip interaction with Grand Circle was frustrating, to say the least. Different answers depending on who you spoke with. Using Grand Circle Air was a bad experience, even though we were paying for Business Class. At that price, seats should be assigned/chosen at purchase, not at a later date. And, the price should be the price and not later 'oh, the airline charges extra' for your ticket, not to mention not assigning seats at purchase.

My son and I recently returned from the Rhine/Mosel River Cruise and can recommend it wholeheartedly. Everything was perfect. The staff is exceptional including Amin, our Program Director. The sites were beautiful, we learned so much, the food was excellent, the cabin was comfortable, the gym was a nice bonus, and all in all it was an exceptional experience for both of us. The captain was always there to greet us with his warm smile whenever we came back from a day trip.