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I loved the changing scenery and nature on the Columbia river cruise - from rain forest to desert. And I do love local museums or national parks. Anyway your experiences are with one itinerary only. I have cruise the whole Mississippi river, the Ohio river, the Illinois river, the Cumberland river and the Tennessee river plus the Columbia / Willamette / Snake rivers. It´s definitely different from river cruises in Europe as there the cities are close to the river and one after the other. It´s more nature and smaller towns and American history on US cruises. Yes, US river cruises are more expensive... But that´s mainly because you have to have US crew (and unions) onboard. In Europe you have a lot of Eastern European crew onboard who does earn much less than a German crew member (for example). It´s the same as on land... different wages in different countries. You can´t hire "cheap" non US crew due to legal reasons (Passenger Vessels Services Act). That´s basically why US river cruises are much more expensive and less luxurious than European river cruises. You definitely can have a great time onboard. Don´t set your expectations too high and prepare yourself on what to expect or not and you will be positively surprised! steamboats

I wouldn´t say "stay away" and "not up to par to European river cruises" but for the German market European river cruises are not that a high end product and way cheaper. You have to be aware that Uniworld is a luxury river cruise line. It can´t be compared to ACL or AQV. Both are not that high end luxury. But you definitely will have a great cruise! There are only 3 companies on the Mississippi river system - ACL, AQV and Viking. steamboats

Wonder of the Seas already has that mini casino called Golden Room (see here). At least on Wonder there is no bar in the Golden Room. Just sort of a buffet. But there it was planned as a VIP casino for the China business. It then was used as smoking casino. But I´m pretty sure that they do serve you drinks in there. steamboats

Definitely a much better article! steamboats

It´s not a regular dry dock. Cruises starting April 17th til May 3rd are cancelled. steamboats

Yes, I know of people who used this service, although I think 6 Euro (one way) is sort of robbery compared to the 2.50 Euro (one way) the former Largo della Pace - Train Station bus was. I think the BIRG ticket is still 12 Euro and that´s a day ticket for the train to Rome plus public transportation there. steamboats aka Carmen

The first LNG ship was the AIDAnova which was running the Canary islands and later the Med out of Palma de Mallorca... Meanwhile we have AIDAcosma, Costa Smeralda, Costa Toscana, Iona, Arvia, Mardi Gras, Carnival Celebration and MSC World Europa. AIDAcosma and MSC World Europa were doing the Arabian gulf cruises this winter. Yes, the infrastructure for bunkering LNG was available in Europe first and not just in the Carribean ;-). steamboats

@Coral I totally agree with you regarding the ship´s layout and that as a regular passenger you might not see everything if not specifically searching for it. But this is a professional travel writer and she should prepare herself prior to the cruise and check the deck plans and in case the way to a certain area is not obvious I´d ask for it. But the article sounded more like "oh, what a loveley surprise, there´s a full bathroom in my cabin". steamboats

Gee, I can't delete the quote in my cell phone. Unfortunately I can't join the VIVA TWO christening tomorrow as I'm busy with another appointment. But we are checking out the A-ROSA Sena in a week (just for 2 nights). steamboats

@notamermaid, exactly you are not a travel writer reporting about river cruise ships. Therefore you don´t need to be prepared (o.k. it helps to be prepared). But every second sentence is that she is surprised to find this or that. It´s her business and therefore she should prepare herself to make the best out of a short trip (for her readers). steamboats

Pretty weird article... Maybe the writer should be better prepared next time she´s going on a cruise. What, you didn´t find the pool? Never had a look on the deckplans before? steamboats

Travelweekly is not 100% correct about the history of the Mozart. She was buildt in 1987 for the Erste Donau-Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft. Deilmann didn´t buy her until 1993. When Deilmann went bankrupt Premicon took over the ship in 2009. After a renovation it did run as TUI Mozart in 2011, as Dertour Mozart in 2012 (for 3 years). Then in 2015 Crystal bought the ship and christened it on July 11th, 2016 in Vienna. I don´t think that there have been any christenings except for the first one in 1987 until 2016. The ship was simply renamed or the "prefix" added. steamboats

For those who don´t have any problems with their knees and need some exercise you can walk down from Anacapri to Marina Grande using the Phoenician staircase (Scala Fenicia) which has been finally renovated a couple of years ago. You can see a couple of my photos here. When it´s not too hot I love to go up to the Villa Iovis or if you don´t want to climb up there you can take a turn and follow the signs to Arco Naturale. It´s a very nice walk up way up but along the Southern coast of Capri passing by the Faraglioni rocks and also the Villa Malaparte plus the Grotto di Matermania. steamboats

Not in general... and if so prices range from 50 cents to 1 Euro. In larger restaurants there can be a lady sitting there who is taking care of cleaning the restrooms. She does expect a small tip which can be 50 cents to 1 Euro. In some cases you have actually to pay upfront. So it´s always a good idea to have some coins with you (especially for the ladies as for some reason we always have to pay while the men don´t have). steamboats

@Happycrafter123 you more than fine with 5 Euro per person with a small group. The 1 or 2 Euro would be for a bus driver of a regular bus (50 or so seats). For a private driver I'd give 10 or 20 Euro for the whole group. steamboats

The drivers and guides will prefer Euro as they are living there and have to pay a high fee for converting Dollar to Euro. The staff onboard will appreciate Dollar. But I´m definitely with you that by European standards the tipping amounts for the tours are way to high. 1 or 2 Euro for the driver (most don´t tip the driver separately) and maybe 5 Euro for the guide (per person). steamboats

Exactly, the On Your Own tour for Capri is just an overpriced ferry ride back and forth with a guide keeping you all together. They use the same ferry as everyone else. Actually I have seen an X group on the ferry over to Capri once. So they don´t have their own boats. steamboats

You don't need to worry about the return trip with the ferry. Just buy the return ticket at Marina Grande in Capri for a ferry back to Naples (there are two companies and they have different times). There are plenty of boats offering trips around the island. So no need to book with a tour company. All boats pass by the Blue Grotto where you can optionally (additional fee) go inside (you need to change boats). I usually use the public bus up to Anacapri. The ticket booth and bus terminal is right at the Marina Grande. I buy all the tickets I need for the day. Like one up to Anacapri, one for Anacapri to Capri town, one for the funicolar down to Marina Grande. steamboats

Just walk over to the ferry terminal and take the ferry on your own. The ship tours do use the same ferries. steamboats

Nick Weir dropped a couple of hints on Twitter. steamboats

Nick Weir gave another hint on Twitter for The Wizzard of Oz. steamboats

Just can simply take the ferry from Naples to Capri. At Capri Port (Marina Grande) there are lots of boats waiting for boat trips around the island. The (highly overrated) Blue Grotto has to be paid extra and you have to change to a smaller row boat. It´s optional on the boat trips around the island. steamboats

@Steff79 basically for you as the interview is in German - but others can try an automatic translation service - it´s about the Norwegian Prima and how they observe the critics. steamboats

@cruisemom42 it´s Roman theatre and yes, the tour ended up there. The plants are basil, strawberries and tomatoes which are grown there. All are very popular in restaurants in the area. There are also experiments with orchids, bromelia and other flowers. steamboats

We once did the Napoli Sotterranea. You can see some impressions here. steamboats