TAC1582

On 8/12/2022 at 4:35 AM, Cruisegroover said:

Did you get bussed to Regensburg for the walking tour or did you get through? I just saw a blogger doing a live who is on your river cruise and no mention of any river level issues.

We were on the viking Regensburg to Budapest cruise Julyv24 to 31. We started at Engelhartszell Austria (down river from Passau). We were bussed to Regensburg for that tour. Because of the extra time on the bus, it became a full day tour so we were given time to eat lunch on our own before returning and giben 25$ pp shipboard credit to cover our lunch cost. The rest of the cruise was as scheduled.

Simple Q: We have booked a pre Viking Danube cruise extension in Prague. Will there be a Viking rep at the hotel to organize things and answer questions (find our excursion, ship transfer, touring suggestions,  etc...)?

I'm on the Viking Romantic Danube cruise thes Sunday. I was just notified that the cruise will start in Passau instead of Regensburg. Busses wii take people to Regensburg on day 2 for shore excursions. Day 3 will be in Passau as normally scheduled. (See below). Hopefully the rest of the cruise to Budapest will go on with no other disruptions.

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Due to low water levels on the Danube River near Passau, your ship will be unable to reach its regular embarkation port in Regensburg and you will now embark in Passau (75 miles east of Regensburg). As a result of these changes, we have made the following adjustments to your program:

For guests joining us on our pre-trip extension
For guests joining us for our pre-trip extension, you will be transferred to your ship at the new docking location on Day 1 of your main itinerary.

I found the Colosseum more impressive than I expected. Read on line about getting tickets. There can be a ridiculously long line of people waiting in line because they did not do a little research and find that it is totally unnecessary.

But going inside St. Peters is highly recommended. Again, do your research to avoid the lines (book a tour, get there early). But it is such an amazing building. If you are physically up to it, you can take the elevator up to the roof level (extra fee, not too bad) and then climb up to the top of dome for an incredible view. Plus the view inside from the roof level is amazing and the view of the inside of the dome is cool.

To top it all off, there is a gift shop and cafe on the roof of St Peters. Who would have thought. We were buying some post cards at the gift shop there and after paying I was waiting for my receipt. In Italy, all shops are required to give you a receipt for every purchase so I got used to getting them for every little thing. The cashier however was not providing one so I asked her if she had to give me a receipt since it was required in Italy. She looked at me with a sly grin and said "you're not in Italy". Palm to forehead "doh!"

We had three full days in Rome after our cruise. It was great. I would assume that you would disembark early in the morning and the ship would have a bus transfer option to take you to the city center. That is what we did. From the city center you can take a taxi to your hotel. Our cruise line had a guide on the bus give some orientation during to ride in and also arranged for taxis to be waiting for us at the bus station - very nice.

We were at the hotel by noon so we had the rest of that day to tour on our own. Rather than schedule something on our first 1/2 day, we just did a self guided walking tour. We took the subway to the station by the Spanish Steps, toured the Keats Shelly House and a couple churches, saw some Bernini art (it's everywhere), passed the Trevi Fountain (was under construction), went through the Pantheon, and the Piazza Navona. Eat gelato, drink espresso, take your time (no one eats until 8 PM anyway). That is a great part of town for a self guided walking tour. Pizzeria da Baffetto (right by Piazza Navona) is great Pizza and the Frigidarium next door is great for gelato.

Then if you have only one full day, pick one place to focus on (Vatican? Ancient Rome?) and go there the next day.

If you are dropped off by the train station, you will be close to the central market, just north of Basilica San Lorenzo. This is where a lot of the street markets are, although still touristy. As pointed out above, the south side of the river is a good place to find less touristy restaurants and shops. The piazza south of Santo Spirito is often recommended. Gelateria La Carraia is right on the south side of the river at the Ponte Alla Carraia bridge. Great (and cheap) gellato shop. That's two bridges downstream from the Ponte Vecchio (touristy, but worth crossing) It may be in the heart of the tourist district, but it would be a crime to be in Florence for 1/2 a day and not to at least walk by the Duomo. It is one of the most important buildings in human history. The main street from there down to Piazza Signoria is very busy with shops, tourists, and locals. One the east side of Piazza Rupublica is a department store (La Rinascente Firenze), which is like most other big city department stores, but it has a roof-top cafe with a killer view.

Rent a Vespa and ride around town. That's what they do in every sit-com episode that is set in Rome. Of course the teen age girls also end up in a romance with an Italian boy, so maybe not such a good idea.:confused:

We were in Venice in May. We had our hearts set on a Gondola ride but never got around to taking one as every time it worked into our schedule, the weather was bad. The problem with pre-booking is you may get a ride in bad weather. Wait until you get there and see. If the weather is good and it looks like you want to do it, do it. Also note that the some of the pre booking services charge per person, but in Venice the fee is per boat (same price for up to 6 people). This site gives the official fees: 80 euro for 40 minute ride before 7 PM. 100 euro after 7 PM.

http://www.gondolavenezia.it/history_tariffe.asp?Pag=43

It's a bit like the Blue Grotto in Capri. Yes it is expensive for what you get and a bit cliche, but if you know what you are getting in for, then it isn't a rip off.

Beer is included BUT only Bud or Bud Light. They also offer Becks but did not have any for the first 2 days on our cruise. There is a wine list that is a bit longer to choose from and mostly standard liquors like gin etc

Alas - looks like I won't be drinking beer. But then again, I'm on a Greece/Italy cruise, so beer would seem out of place anyway. :)

We were in Turkey for a week (a couple of years ago). It was not a cruise, but work/pleasure combo trip. But Selcuk is a wonderful little town. We didn't get to see the museum (was closed when we were there), but we had two of the best meals of our trip there. If you walk down the main pedestrian street of town, toward the end it opens up to a plaza with the ruins of a Roman aquaduct (more storks). There are tables for outside dining in the plaza. The two restaurants we really liked were on the right side at this point. One owner claims to make the best chicken kebabs in the world and the other other makes the best baba ganoush in the world. Also, if you cross the main road from that pedestrian street going back toward the temple of Artemis, you go up a hill. The ruins of the Basilica of St. John are on the right (very worthwhile also). On the left in a row of shops was a pottery shop run by a delightful young woman who makes all her own pottery and sells it (for very reasonable prices) in her own shop. We spent a lot of money there. Best place to get souvenirs and gifts. So much better than shopping at tourist shack right by the exit from Ephesus that was selling "Genuine Fake Watches". Honest, that's what the sign said in big bold letter.

is it necessary or recommended to book in advance? I worry about booking a boat trip in advance and then find the weather is bad. But I also worry about not booking in advance and not being able to get a boat when we arrive. What was the capacity of the boat?

We are taking a cruise (early May) with an all day stop in Capri. I think that we would like to take the popular 2 hr boat tour around the island (with a stop at the Blue Grotto). There are lots of companies offering similar trips on Gozzo boat for 6-8 people for 150 to 200 euro. Any recommendations on what company to choose?

We loved our Azamazing evening in the port of Chania last month. It was a greek wedding, very well organized, and the fireworks over the ship at the end was an unexpected treat! Well done!

Our cruise next spring is going to Chania, but as of now they are listing our Azamazing evening as bring in Sorento. But they say this is still tentative. Haven't seen anything about the Sorento event.

Thanks for the suggestions. I did not know about this White Nights party. It will not be routine for us as it our first Azamara Cruise so we will probably enjoy that if offered. I'm encouraged by the positive comments about this itinerary. It also has two days at sea, which we found attractive as I worried about shore excursion burn-out. Mediterranean cruises especially seem to be in port every day. We were really looking forward to having time to enjoy the ship which we should be able to do with the sea days. I guess that's an even better excuse to dine ashore when the opportunity arises. We are especially keen on seeing Santorini and having three days in the Amalfi area. My wife's mother was an Army nurse in WWII near Naples and just loved that area and cruised from there to Santorini on the Sea Cloud when she retired. My wife retires in April so when we saw we could retrace that journey, we just had to do it (alas, not on the Sea Cloud).

Our ship will be in

Mykanos until 10 PM

Santorini until 10 PM

Chania (Souda) until 9 PM

Amalfi until 10PM

Capri until 10 PM

I'm thinking Chania is not in town. The others, yes?

My wife and I are booked on the Journey for a Mediterranean cruise next spring and are starting to think about shore excursions, etc... We are new to cruises (been on one Alaska cruise with HAL a few years ago). I see that on our itinerary, we have several days where the ship is in port until from early morning until 9 or 10 pm. If I am on the ship to eat dinner, I would think that it would be to late to go ashore to see or do anything after dinner. But with that much time in port, I would think it might be nice to experience the port in the evening, which I assume would mean eating dinner at a restaurant on shore, which would be an added expense. When given this option, what do most people do? Thanks for any tips.

how do I find out at which port our Amazing Evening will be for our cruise starting next April? I didn't see it specified in the itinerary.

Thanks. I certainly don't have any points or status. I will work with the guide.

I'm booked on a cruise for next April (Istanbul to Rome). I was looking at booking some private tours. I've only been on one cruise previously and none to Greece/Italy. In general, at what time might I expect to be ashore if the itinerary says that we are to arrive at ports at 11 AM or 8 AM? Would it matter if we are docked or tendered? Thanks

I have to agree. Haghia Sophia is probably my second favorite ancient building in the world .... right behind the Pantheon, which is one of the few other examples I can think of that have also seen continuous use (without significant alteration). And is slightly older. :)

I've not been to Rome, but we have a cruise booked for next April that sails from Istanbul to Rome, via the Greek Islands, Sicily, and the Amalfi coast. Will definitely want to check out the Pantheon - still the largest cement dome in the world, I think. I've always been a fan of architecture and the Pantheon is certainly among the most important/influential/remarkable structures ever.

...In all seriousness though, there's a big difference between something that's 500 years old versus 2,000 years old. I don't expect there to be as much to see when something's that much older and has been in continuous use. Maybe that's where all my research prior to the trip helps. One can often find reconstructions and maps online that really help one to visualize how an ancient site would've looked.

I recall sitting at a sidewalk cafe in a narrow alley in the Sultanahmet neighborhood for an afternoon break. Looking down the alley I had a clear view of the Hagia Sophia towering overhead and I just sat there thinking this has been one of the largest and most important buildings (and in continuous use) for 1500 years. Amazing. How many other structures can you say that about?

I didn't really mean to skip the Hippodrome. It's just that it doesn't take too much time. You basically have to walk down it anyway to get the Blue Mosque entrance. That and the park between the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia are a wonderful places to hang out. I have lots of pictures from these public parks. I also have those same pictures of the obelisk and the serpent head from the Museum. BTW, if you ever get to Ankara, I thought the archeological museum there was much better than the one in Istanbul, and I only got to see a small part of it as much of it was closed for renovations (this was one year ago).

...An Istanbulkart (electronic travel card which you load with credit) can save you a little on a timed connected journey like this, but not of you break your journey for a coffee or a wander, and in any case it's probably not worth the grief for a one-off.

But I'm no expert.

 

BTW, to access the platform at Eminonou you take the subway under the road near the Galata Bridge just the same as folk who simply want to cross the road, but then go up the exit half-way along that subway, the tram-stop is in an island in the middle of the road.

 

JB :)

We too used the Istanbulkart to ride the tram (very easy) and the subway to cross from the Eminonou tram station to the Spice Market and the TorYul docks for a 2 hr Bosphorous Cruise (there may be more than one). And just in case the original poster is confused, the subway JB is talking about is not an underground rail system (American usage) but an underground pedestrian walkway for crossing a busy street (British usage). This Subway was interesting as it was very crowded and lined with shops selling all sorts of things. This is not a tourist market, but a place for locals to shop (drug store, toy stores, etc...).

Our cruise will have a stop in Santorini in late April, 2015. We are most interested in seeing Oia but also Akrotiri. Given that these are in opposite directions, I was wondering if it might be best to rent a car rather than relying on bus service. I wasn't sure about bus service to Akrotiri. Our ship is scheduled to be in port all day (7:30 AM to 10 PM). Since this is early in the season, it seems opening hours and bus service will be limited, but crowds would be less. Would you try both these sites via bus that time of year?

We are booked on a Cruise for next year (end of April/early May). I was checking the web sites that list what ships are in what ports for any given date and was glad to see that it looks like we will have all the port to ourselves, except for Mykonos where we will be sharing the port with a couple of large ships (we'll be on a smaller ship - capacity ~700). We've not cruised much before and never in the Mediterranean. Will this make the island unreasonably crowded or is it early enough in the season that crowds won't be so bad? How would this information affect the way we go about planning our day on shore?