photoman43

Another vote for the D7000, the 18-105. But I would also take the 50mm for indoor/low light situations.

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

You have received many suggestions, a number of them undertaking attempts at behavior modification. But...if you read between the lines, there is one unvoiced option that might make sense to consider or experiment with. Take the D700, the 18-105, and the 50mm. I'm not familiar with the D700, but it certainly could be used with the 18-105, either in DX format or maybe another format option. With the D700, the 50mm lens could actually be useful to you for interiors or night shooting. And I'd experiment to see how much of the frame your 18-105 covers. I had an 18-200 that covered almost the entire frame of a FX camera at the short end.

billmck Loc: Central KY

I've been on several European river cruises. You'll basically have two types of conditions: First, you'll stop daily in the towns and cities along the river; and second, you'll have opportunities for scenic shots from the ship. In my experience, city/town photography tends to be on the wide angle end of the scale, and scenic shots from the ship would be more on the telephoto end. None of the lenses you listed have enough range to do the full job, so I'd suggest taking two, the 35-70 and the 70-300, but since you only want to take one lens, I'd suggest the 18-105.

Bill

dsnoke Loc: North Georgia, USA

I did a river cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam several years ago. On that cruise, I used a D7100 with the 18-105 lens for all but a handful of images. I tried my 11-16 mm lens, but we were so close to the subject that the distortion was unmanageable. I also had my 70-300 mm lens, but nothing was far enough away to need that. If you've got or could rent a 35 (or shorter) mm 1.8 or 1.4 lens, I do that for the nighttime and interiors. I did everything handheld. The boat vibrated a bit, and on land I could always find something to brace myself against. Generally, everything is so close together that anything beyond 100 mm is just not necessary. But if you're doing an ocean cruise, things might be different.

Joel Stuart

LOVE!...:)

Joel Stuart

Thank you for your reply.

JFCoupe Loc: Kent, Washington

An alternative suggestion for you to consider.

Because you will be on a ship and not having to pack up everything every day, etc. take both cameras. Then when you are off the ship use your FF camera with a wider lens. When you are shooting from the ship and the distances are further to your subject, use the crop sensor camera and your longer lenses.

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip.

photoman43

When I was on two European river cruises, Rhine and Danube, I had a Nikon full frame D800E with a 24-85mm lens as my primary lens for pictures in cities, towns, churches, etc. It was just wide enough for cities. And I had a 70-200mm f4 that I used on the boat for pictures of castles and other features along the rivers. I also had a 35mm prime for low light and outside night shots from the boat and inside museums, etc. Ideally a zoom out to 300mm may be a better choice than a 70-200mm.

If you are on a Danube river cruise, try and visit the picturesque town —Szentendre--just outside Budapest. My wife and I are so glad we did this. We took a boat to and from it.

On a Rhine river trip, visit Riquewihr, a small but beautiful town outside of Strasbourg .

Both a very picturesque and fun to visit.

Have a great trip.

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

D7000 w/18-105mm. No question in my mind if only one body and one lens. Good luck and have a good time.

Flickwet Loc: NEOhio

Excellent advice here

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

I'm a Cannon man. "Sorry 'bout that." I have found my 80D with the 18-135 lens able to cover most everything. Referencing that may help.

Joel Stuart

Great suggestion!

Joel Stuart

Thanks for your input and wishes.

home brewer Loc: Fort Wayne, Indiana

I have a D850 with three fast heavy zoom FX lenses and with the extras the camera case is heavy while the d500 with the 18 to 300 and a 10 to 24 and extras is much lighter. While taking photos I always hope I will get some shot that are good enough to make 8x10 or larger prints.

We have never been on a cruise; but have seen where the ships dock and frequently it is a long way from the stuff to see. On our trips we rent a car and stay in Airbnb so I am on my schedule and not the boats schedule. Even then I can not always get the correct lighting.
On the last 3 trips to Europe I took the D500. On the September - October 2023 trip I took a tripod and a SB 800 flash that I never used. The subject matter for all trips was small old towns, waterfalls, rivers hikes in woods and some wide open landscape. We now avoid the large cities.
Some things to consider:
Reviewing the photos show I rarely took a shot at 300 mm with most being below 80mm and over half at less than 50mm.
Some places were so dark I could not get a good shot because the flash was not with me.
Last year in late October Rome was so full of tourists it was hard to get a good city shot. And the lines waiting to get into the "neat" things were very long. Your are there at the peak tourist time and everything will be packed with people.

That said, I suggest you answer the following to decide on what camera and lenses.
Do you want shots that can be wall hangers?
how much weight are you willing to carry?
What shots do you hope to take?
What do you hope to see and do?
How long will you be at each stop?
How far and fast can you walk?
Have fun and be sure to get shots of your companion

williejoha

Ditto Longshadow
WJH