Luv2travlX2

8 hours ago, milling73 said:

Luv2travel: czech republic does not use Euros. We changed planes in Frankfurt, withdrew 300 euros at a Banco ATM. (Which endedup being $309 dollars from our bank account). Then at Prague hotel there is a machine similar to ATM. We put in 50Euro bill and it gave us equivalent in czech corona i think called. Do not get much Czech money because most purchases can b credit card. Capital One does not charge foreign trandaction fee, so we always use it. Check ur credit card, some charge 3-5%. Get card that doesnt charge foreign use fee for trip. Use cc, u will get best rate and dont have worry about change or if paying right etc. we used the czech money we had for ice cream, small purchases n tip to maid. 

Budapest is same. They use Hungarian money. They will accept euros but u will pay so much more in the exchange. Use ur cc. 
Most other countries on our cruise now use Euros. Many Public bathrooms are pay attendant. Or coin needed. 
 

 

Good advice, Milling73. Thanks.

9 hours ago, milling73 said:

We used ATM for withdrawal of Euros once here. Exchange rate is best. Be sure to have coins for bathrooms. Few are free. Most take 1 Euro coin. 

Thanks for the info about coins for the bathrooms. We'll be flying into Prague for a pre-cruise visit. Will we be able to get/use euros there or will we need to use crowns? We'd love to be able to just get one type of currency, but don't want to be locked out of bathrooms!

Helpful info. Maybe I'll just get some euros, which will work for the main part of our cruise and assume that people in Prague and Budapest will take them if they won't take a card.

And to piggyback on your question, we're doing a 3-day pre-cruise in Prague and adding one extra post-day in Budapest - both cities that don't use euros. Some people have said we can put everything on our credit card, but I worry about things like tips, farmer's markets, and public toilets. Should we get some florins and Czech crowns? Any thoughts on how much we'd need?

Several people have mentioned that the Vienna tour was the weakest of the bunch. I signed up for all of the included ones, but I may end up canceling that one. The MVJ excursion descriptions aren't always very clear. The verbs are ambiguous. "See the magnificent Hofburg Palace, admire the great Gothic St. Stephan's cathedral, view the beautiful Vienna State Opera concert hall." Do we see, admire, and view from the outside or the inside?

My husband and I are taking a Viking Romantic Danube cruise in October. Are the included excursions in Vienna and Budapest just bus rides or walks past different sites? If you don't actually go into any of sites, we may just skip those tours and take public transportation to the things we want to see. What do you recommend?

My husband and I are taking our first river cruise in October with Viking when we take the Romantic Danube trip. We're starting with a 3-day extension in Prague and then sailing from Regensburg to Budapest. I was excited when I heard that excursions were included, unlike our previous ocean cruises. But there are many additional excursions available to purchase. Does anyone have suggestions on which ones are really  "must-sees" and/or which attractions would be easy to do on our own?  We'll probably do the free Viking ones, but they seem to be half-day, leaving us time to explore on our own or with another excursion.

You can just Google Victor Bodden Tours and it'll take you to his website. I've also had several people recommend Rony's Tours, and I found their website the same way. We're still deciding which one to go with. You can read reviews on each site.

Abisutton,can you give me a few more details? What place were you talking about with the broken chairs? And where were the animals treated poorly?

My husband and I are doing the Panama Canal cruise on the Jade in February. We'll probably book the ferry excursion in Panama although reviews about long wait times, rickety ferries, and few bathroom facilities are off-putting. We'll book excursions in Cartagena and in Costa Rica so that we can get the most out of our time there. Still deciding which ones to take. Many of these have no reviews on NCL's site so its hard to judge. But here's my main question. Do we need to book excursions in Roatan and Harvest Caye or can we just get off the ship, find a nice beach, and rent a kayak or snorkel gear on our own? We're on a limited budget and both the Panama and Costa Rica options are pretty pricey. But we don't want to be stuck in a small area with just souvenir shops and no easy way to access anything else.

Thanks for the information, Nednrom. Everyone has been so helpful but its great to hear from someone who has just taken the same trip and knows about the options!

My husband and I are taking a Panama Canal Cruise (Miami - Miami) in early February. I can't figure out, from NCL's website, what happens on the day we go through the canal. Do we need to book an excursion to get the full "Canal Experience", or do we see enough of it if we stay on the ship? If we really should do an excursion, does anyone have a suggestion?

I'm sailing on the Jade in June and I've heard mixed messages about whether or not I can bring my own bottled water on board. Also, can I bring one bottle of wine?