FuelScience

Vantage in the USA

$500 per person deposit.

Final payment due 90 or 120 days before departure.

10% discount on total cost of cruise if final payment is made with echeck a year before travel (although we recently got this deal for an April cruise booked in July).

Can you bring your own spirits on board? Say a flask or a fifth of liquor? In your suitcase?

In your hands if you want. No problem!

You should also know that generally there is no assigned seating for river cruises, so you can move around and find people you like to dine with.

Grand Circle Travel (operated very similarly to Vantage and owned by a feuding brother) almost always has true last minute deals (often 30 - 50% off prices that people have actually paid). GCT.com click on Ways to Save then click on Last Minute Deals - I do not work for them but if you ask me for a referral we both come out ahead.

 

In 2015 we did 3 weeks with Vantage on good deal combo cruises on the Seine and Rhône, came home and I saw a GREAT deal on GCT cruising Bordeaux and 3 weeks later were back in France. The joys of retirement!

 

NOTE that sometimes these great deals are on trips that have been selling so poorly that they are about to be discontinued (but the trip you are buying will still run). I learned the hard way not to grab something I wanted to do when offered.

 

Thom

Good point, but it can also go the other way. We reserved our upcoming Vantage Douro cruise last July, and it sold out in early October. By then, the price had gone up by over $1,000 per person. So for very popular cruises, reserving early sometimes has advantages.

I was just thinking today that I never see people posting and telling about the "deal" they got on their cruise. Is this a CC policy, or do we just consider it to be in bad taste to talk about the cost of our cruise package?

I've been told that the best time to catch the tulips at their peak is during the last two weeks of April, but it varies from year to year.

Thank you so much for posting the dailies. I notice dinner is 7 pm each day. Is the buffet open earlier? I will be super hungry by that time.

 

Thanks!

I don't think that there was a buffet. The alternative dining is a dinner in the lounge that's a special tasting menu prepared by the chef. If I remember correctly, it's the same thing every night. I think that it's at the same time as the regular dinner. Most afternoons Avalon serves tea which includes some sweets to help you make it to dinner.

 

In fact, we almost always have problems sleeping on the second night, because it's too early to go to sleep on our home time zone. We slept well enough (too well?) the first night, so we're less tired.

 

After that second night we're usually good enough thereafter.

 

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JP, I have the same issue. I always sleep well the first night, but the second night I have real issues. You need to retire so that you can follow my schedule ;-)! Also, I generally use Ambien on the plane to help me sleep.

Avalon will retire it's last 3 non-suite ships and add one new suite ships in 2019.

http://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Avalon-Waterways-reduces-Europe-capacity-for-2019

We are looking at booking the Rhine River cruise in September. Our travel agent gave us a price on the Affinity, but reading the information, the boat was launched in 2009. Would it be better to go later and book a newer ship. I have nothing against old things, since I am in that category, just wondered about the beds and furnishings.

I would at least get a price for a newer ship. River ships are generally in great shape, regardless of their age. Since the ships usually don't sail during January and February, they can be fixed up during that period. If you're looking at a cabin on the second or third decks, the new ships have cabins that are 200 sq. ft. (vs. 172) with beds facing the window. Also the floor-to-ceiling window is significantly wider.

How do you handle the jet lag when you arrive in the morning after an overnight flight?

What works for me may not work for others, but for our last few trips, I've tried shifting my sleep schedule by 30 minutes to an hour a night each day for several days before departure.

For example, if my flight leaves at 6:00 p.m., and I normally go to sleep at 10:00 p.m., I would start shifting several days before the flight so that my new bedtime is now 7:00 p.m. ( assume that it will be at least an hour before things settle down enough to get to sleep on the plane). You should also adjust wake times, so I would be getting out of bed at 3:00 a.m. instead of 6:00 a.m.

It's not a lot of fun, but the approach above would shave off 3 time zones and make your first days go a lot better.

https://www.jetlagrooster.com/

Hello FuelScience,

 

"I have signed you up for the Nickocruises river cruise on the MS Casanova from 2 June to 9 June 2018 with a pre-cruise stay in Paris and Nancy. Fly into Paris, relax in a charming hotel of your own choice and take the train plus coach to Nancy the following day. Guided tour bookable at the tourist-information centre in Nancy: http://en.nancy-tourisme.fr/stay/city-tours/ Your charming hotel in Nancy will be the "Hotel des Prélats". After a restful sleep a train will take you to Metz. Have a stroll around Metz and after a quick lunch board the next train to Forbach with a connection to Saarbrücken. In Saarbrücken you will be taken to your ship. From Saarbrücken your cruise will take you to Trier, down the Moselle and into the Middle Rhine valley. From there you head upstream till you enter the Neckar. Heidelberg is another highlight on your cruise and in Stuttgart a post-cruise day ends your journey before you are taken by train to Frankfurt and fly home."

 

:D Ok, joking aside, this would be a doable part-DIY trip along the Moselle, Rhine and Neckar with some of the Saar for good measure. If one wanted to, a more direct route from Paris to Saarbrücken is possible.

 

I phoned nickocruises and the information as regards English-speaking tours is this: a few dates on this itinerary are bilingual/designed for English-speaking guests. Which those are one needs to find out directly by phoning nickocruises or sending them an e-mail (it is handled by different employees than the one I spoke to on the phone).

 

This has been my attempt at being a travel agent. It has been fun trying to get this together (I normally travel DIY myself) and although this company might not appeal to you I do recommend keeping Nancy in the back of your mind (it has been on my bucket list for quite a few years since a dear lady told me that it is great and I love Metz) and the hotel I mentioned has got something about it from the look of it. :)

 

notamermaid

Notamermaid!

You're too good to me! It looks great. I just sent a note to Nikko to ask about dates for bilingual cruises on the itinerary. It looks like a very appealing trip. I'll let you know if it works out.

Well, what a wealth of information! Just read from the beginning. Thanks to all the posters. We are doing the Danube in Oct 2018 on the Expression. I hate wishing away the good weather that is coming, but can't wait. This will be a great cruise. Spending a few days in Zagreb first, then heading to Budapest to join the Avalon group. We went to an Avalon "talk" earlier this week, which we had done before, but found it so much more interesting now that we are booked! Will keep an eye on this thread to keep the excitement and information going over the summer. Happy sailing all!

Glad the thread has been useful. Sounds like you've got a great cruise planned. If questions arise, feel free to post them, and you'll get lots of good advice.

I'll add a couple of extra caveats.

1) Make sure that you know where your ship is docked with a clear address that you can give to a cab driver. Most of the ships dock on the east side of the Rhine near the German border--not close to downtown Basel. We once disembarked in Basel, and I had to walk a block to get street names to give the limo driver we'd booked enough information to find us. The docking location the ship's personnel gave me didn't show up on his GPS.

2) Monitor river conditions and call the ship on embarkation morning to make sure that it's made it all the way to Basel. Sometimes river conditions won't allow the ships to get to Basel and the dock in Breisach. It takes a little over an hour to get from Basel to Breisach on the train.

Extra €40 Per Bag Per Flight for Madeira Extension?

We're doing the Douro with Vantage in April and taking the Madeira post-cruise extension. Our Lisbon-Madeira tickets have been issued, and after talking to TAP (the Portuguese national airline), it appears that we'll be charged an extra €40 per bag per flight--so €160 (~$200 US for two people each checking a bag).

Can someone who's taken the Madeira extension confirm this extra charge?

We go in April Zurich -Paris..when do we receive travel docs? I can't seem to look up our SwissAir reservation LAX-ZUR on the airline's site.

Also...as far as bringing money...should I just put funds in a new debit acct & put our trip (play) money in it? Instead of bringing credit cards, in case they get stolen? Opinions on this?

You don't say who you're cruising with, and that makes a difference. You should probably call your cruise provider and ask them to go ahead and purchase your tickets (most will put it off even if you've already paid in full). Once the tickets have been issued, you should be able to access the reservation on line and change seats, etc.

Documents typically become available 3-4 weeks before you travel, but this may vary with cruise provider.

If you search the forum, you'll find lots of discussions about debit cards that don't charge for foreign withdrawals.

Does the restaurant for dinner require men to wear pants? What is there to do after dinner on the boat? The site does say evening entertainment, but was just wondering what will be offered.

We've cruised Avalon twice, and they're pretty clear on stating that shorts aren't allowed at dinner in the restaurant. The bar remains open after dinner, and there's a keyboard player there. There will probably be two or three nights where local entertainers will be brought on board for song and/or dance performances.

Six pack of adapters, $8.99 on Amazon.com.

https://smile.amazon.com/Tmvel-American-European-Adapters-Certified/dp/B071S1QV17/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1518921276&sr=1-3&keywords=european+adapter+six+pack

I too am a fan of the Moselle. It's a very scenic "small town river." Several lines have trips from Remich to either Amsterdam, Basel, or Nuremberg. Most include stays in Paris before or after the cruise. Cruises to Nuremberg often include a stay in Prague as well. One thing we like about Avalon is the fact that they always offer a "cruise only" option if you want to skip the extra hotel nights before or after.

If you have more time, you can do a Rhine/Moselle cruise--usually 12-14 days.

It’s easy to check Avalon for prices. I just looked and a June 15 cruise comes to $10,484. That INCLUDES prepaid gratuities and trip insurance (gratuities are $258 and trip insurance is $698). It also includes one night in Cannes pre-cruise and two nights in Paris post-cruise along with all transfers.

If you skip the Cannes and Paris nights and join the ship in Arles and disembark in St. Jean du Losne, the price is $8,496. This includes trip insurance and transfers, but not prepaid gratuities. Hope this helps.

Has Avalon confirmed the Fairmont Monte Carlo? On our Avalon cruise last spring we were put up in Cannes at the Carlton Intercontinental.

We’ve done the Rhone with Avalon, and we’ve done the Moselle 3 times (Viking, Vantage, and Avalon) and the upper Rhine (Vantage). Here are a few thoughts. Do you want spectacular scenery? Then you definitely want the Moselle/Rhine with the beautiful Moselle and the Rhine gorge with all the castles. We found the views along the Rhone to be pretty mundane.

If you want to visit a more cosmopolitan city, then Lyon on the Rhone is a real plus.

Are you interested in Roman history? On the Rhone you’ll have the Roman amphitheater in Arles, the Pont du Gard, Lyon’s Roman museum, and Temple of Augustus and Livia in Vienne. Trier on the Moselle features Roman baths, the Porta Negra, its own amphitheater, and a great Roman museum (which generally isn’t part of the tours). I’d give the Rhone a slight edge on Roman history.

Getting to and from the ship shouldn't be a problem for either. For the Rhone you'll probably take a train from Paris and taxi to the ship. The train station in Arles is just a couple of blocks from where the ship docks. I assume that AMA would provide transfers from Luxembourg to the ship (typically in Remich). Rather than flying from Basel, I would consider taking the train to the Zurich airport (~1 hour) where you can get flights direct to North America rather than flying from Basel.

They're both great trips. I'm partial to the Moselle, but that's just one person's bias!

You'll have a fun time regardless of which one you take. Hope this helps.

I've looked and looked and am still in a quandary about water levels...I read that they may be high in spring and low in summer. Is this why fares are higher in autumn?

You can probably lower your chances of water problems by picking a specific date, but it's always a possibility. A while back there was a post by a cruiser on the Danube describing how they were warned at the beginning of their cruise about the possibility of problems due to low water. Later in the week they ran into problems due to high water. Things can change in a hurry!