bfamily9

I was happy to learn about the guest laundry facilities on the Ama Magna. Booking a cruise on this ship is on my bucket list. So far I haven't been able to arrange it. I was on two Ama cruises in 2023. First from 13-23 May, Flavors of Portugal and Spain. Luis Ribeiro was the best cruise manager I have ever encountered. My second cruise, back-to-back from 25 May to 1 June, wasTaste of Bordeaux. Both were primarily wine cruises, although they were not advertised as such. I enjoyed both.

11 hours ago, bfamily9 said:

So once the roll call has been created, how does someone search for it? As I said, searching by the month of May doesn't work.

As far as I can tell, when creating the roll call, there is no way to tag it with a specific month other than by putting the month in the title.

So once the roll call has been created, how does someone search for it? As I said, searching by the month of May doesn't work.

It seems river cruise roll calls are catgorized as All Other Roll Calls. I created one with the title Ama Flavors of Portugal and Spain May 2023. What is the easiest way for someone to find this roll call? Searching by the month of May doesn't seem to work?

On 3/15/2023 at 4:50 AM, jlajr said:

I also look first at price per night. (As a technical writer, I notice that cruise lines can include embarkation and disembarkation in the number of days. I believe number of nights is more accurate and relevant. 😉 )

Usually, an attractive price per night reflects a low or zero solo supplement.

I, too, use USD 100 / night including taxes and port fees as a sort of guideline that I might consider breaking depending on the itinerary and season. However, in general, I naturally avoid itineraries / seasons that drive the price up.

For example, I'm booked on a 16-night repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Kiel, Germany, on Costa Firenze, May 3-19, 2023. Euro 999 in an outside cabin. Not just any outside cabin. This outside cabin, 11203.

During my research, I came across an eight-night cruise on MSC Poesia from Barcelona to Warnemunde with a base inside guarantee cabin, double occupancy price of USD 119. Solo price including taxes and port fees: USD 394 or USD 50 / night. Pretty awesome, if you ask me.

FYI. Paul Gauguin in French Polynesia has two cabins designated as solo cabins. However I would definitely not consider them reasonable. I was booked into one for May, 2024 until I found out the quoted price was understated by approximately 15%. When I found it would cost over $14,000 for 11 days without air I cancelled.

4 minutes ago, bfamily9 said:

I have sailed on Azamara in an interior cabin. That was fine with me. Also as a solo traveler, I find it easier and cheaper in those cabins. I have researched Norwegian which has interior cabins and lounges dedicated to solo travelers, but I haven't actually done so yet.

Also last year, I had a solo cabin on Scenic on the Danube. They have one cabin dedicated to solo travelers.

On 2/7/2023 at 5:28 PM, Cruise Kay said:

I find interior rooms cozy. I know it’s gonna be a closet, but….. I’m actually kind of looking forward to it. I think it will be nice. A new experience! Since I travel solo, I only go to my room when I’m ready to go to bed and watch a little TV before I go to sleep. I don’t think it will be an issue. But I am definitely going to blog about the cruise when it comes and I will be sure to share my thoughts!

I have sailed on Azamara in an interior cabin. That was fine with me. Also as a solo traveler, I find it easier and cheaper in those cabins. I have researched Norwegian which has interior cabins and lounges dedicated to solo travelers, but I haven't actually done so yet.

In September 2016, I was on the Ama Pura in Myanmar. That cruise was much different than any other. Whatever happened with that boat? Was it sold?

When designing new boats, what are your 2 to 3 most important considerations? I assume relatively shallow drafts would be one of them.

On our Myanmar cruise, we had only 9 passengers with a crew of 34. It was the first cruise of the season, so they went with only those few booked passengers.They used it as a training cruise. They later sold the boat and no longer cruise Myanmar. One of our passengers was a Microsoft attorney who went on to  a Nepal trek afterwards. I've learned that many passengers seem to be attorneys; at least that is what I found on my cruises last year. I guess it's a good way to de-stress for therm.

3 hours ago, gnome12 said:

The fast train from Paris Est is much more frequent and a bit faster, but there are also fast trains from Frankfurt (hauptbahnhof).

I see you, like me, are not partisan to any one cruise company. To me, I first choose an itinerary, then I chose the company that best fits. On the other hand Ama Waterways, I recently learned, offers several discounts that other companies do not. They offer military discounts and good discounts for frequent customers. What did you think of your Myanmar cruise? It was much different than any other cruise I have taken. The highlight for me was not all the golden temples, but when we went to a country school where we provided some school supplies to the children. It was in Pha Hto Village. Since the recent turmoil in the country I would not go there today.

On 12/10/2021 at 10:13 PM, donaldsc said:

I am not sure if this is the best place to post this but I can't find a more appropriate site on CC.  I am thinking about doing a canal barge cruise probably in France.  We are looking for a barge that holds 10 - 20 or so passengers.  Trip length around 7 days.  Not certain about which area in France.  I have not done anything like this before.  Any thoughts, ideas, suggestion, barge suggestion, WEB site recommendations would be appreciated.

 

DON

I would recommend a barge cruise of Alsace or the Canal du Midi. Most Alsace tours depart from Strasbourg. You can take a fast train from Paris. I haven't done either one, but they are on my bucket list.

I have a severe dental open bite which keeps me from clamping down on the mask. Can I get a personal bite insert for snorkel masks? Is there a universal fitting or will I have to buy the complete mask? I am a novice snorkeler, so I really don't want to buy the mask, as I may never use it again.

Thanks especially to Kahuna and Wendy for the pre cruise suggestions.

Perhaps you are right, but I already have at least two nights in Tahiti while on my cruise.

1 minute ago, Tahitianbigkahuna said:

 

I would go to Moorea  .... east to get to ... easy to return as the ferry terminal on Tahiti is next door to the ship 😉  I've stayed at all the major resorts and our favorites are the Hilton and the Sofitel.

Thanks, but that's already an overnight stop. I'm looking for something different. Here's the existing islands: Tahiti, Huahine, Aitutaki, Rarotongo, Bora Bora, Taha'a, Moorea, Tahiti.

Just now, bfamily9 said:

 

I'm planning on a cruise on the Paul Gauguin, 11 night Polynesia, in May, 2024. You seem to be quite knowledgeable. I've been to Bora Bora on a land tour, but I haven't been on a cruise to the South Pacific before. What island would you recommend for one or two days pre-cruise? I would like a suggestion for an island near Tahiti, but one that is not on the typical itinerary. The Brando seems to be a little too exclusive.

On 1/15/2022 at 1:51 PM, notamermaid said:

That is certainly quite a distance. And from what I can see from a quick glance is that by train it does not seem possible to do under nine hours. Le Quesnoy is just too small, so whether you choose the axis South, by that I mean going via Paris, or the axis North, by that I mean going via Brussels, it makes hardly any difference. Although I am a big fan of trains, I think for this distance you may well want to consider going plane (does not look as if there is a night train). You suggest Paris which naturally comes to mind as the first airport, but also consider Lille and Brussels and see how you may be able to get to Le Quesnoy from there.

 

A nice area to go to, quite off the beaten track. I have only been near so far, not right there yet. google maps tells me it has a New Zealand Memorial. And Vauban has been there as well. Which puts it instantly on my list of interesting places. Yes, this girl loves ramparts .

 

Have fun planning.

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you. I thought so. I'll probably ask my cruise company to arrange a flight.

On 1/9/2022 at 9:15 AM, notamermaid said:

What a long journey, with little time for delays.  But it all worked out in the end. My river cruise was a return trip from Passau so like you I arrived by train, having traversed my country from the Rhine valley in the West to Passau in the Southeast. I had a connection to catch in Würzburg and my train was running late. I was so nervous about missing that connection. That train was then also delayed, a blessing in disguise. I arrived with reasonable time to spare to get the cruise ship shuttle bus (jointly operating for two companies) and arrive at the ship. I was glad to have heeded the advice of the travel agent to allow for delays along the route and book an early train.

 

Speaking of trains. If you are alright with travelling independently with luggage and reasonably mobile, I recommend looking into train journeys and different pre- and post-cruise places. Starting your Main river cruise in Nuremberg? You could fly into Prague or Munich instead. Starting in Frankfurt? You would fly into Frankfurt, but could also choose Düsseldorf or Cologne in order to see the Rhine Gorge as well (check which trains go through the valley rather than along the high speed route).

 

There are nice options and train travel is quite comfortable in Germany. For long- distance journeys I would go for First class. There are also overnight trains that connect countries, so while a journey from London to Nuremberg is probably only something for the real enthusiast, it is certainly doable. London to Frankfurt I would have no hesitation in going by train.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Notamermaid. My Danube cruise in July ends in Munich. I then need to find transport from Munich to Le Quesnoy, France near Belgium. I will be staying in a gite (country house) for two weeks. I am wondering if I should try to arrange a train all the way or fly into Paris, then arrange a train from there? It looks like trains from Munich will require a long day trip.

On 11/7/2021 at 6:55 AM, notamermaid said:

This autumn has seen the completion of the construction work at the new landing stage for river cruise ships in Aschaffenburg and at the beginning of October the MS Excellence Princess was the first ship to be greeted there: https://www.bayernhafen.com/first-cruise-ship-docks-at-new-pier-in-bayernhafen-aschaffenburg/

By the way, the Excellence Princess is 135m long, 122m were "lost in translation", the German page gives the correct figure.

 

The pier is outside of Aschaffenburg in an industrial area downstream from the centre, but in the photos it looks a nice enough setting. Bayernhafen operates several ports in Bavaria (as the name suggests), one of them is Bamberg, where in photos from last year, when the first ship returned after several months of travel restrictions, the area looks more industrial: https://www.bayernhafen.com/a-warm-welcome-to-the-world-heritage-city-of-bamberg/

 

This is how the company advertises the docking locations in Aschaffenburg: https://www.bayernhafen.com/services/cruise-services/

 

notamermaid

 

 

This reminds me of a story of my first river cruise when I traveled from California to Passau. I flew from San Francisco to Munich via London. Took a bus to the train station. Took the train to Passau. Then I had no idea where the boat was docked. Fortunately there was another cruise company with a representative there who called to find my docking location. I took a taxi to the boat. Then I boarded the boat an hour before it departed!  If I had been just an hour late on any connection I would have missed the boat.

Rick Steves just came back from a Europe trip. He suggested taking a good photo of your card and having it printed and laminated. Another suggestion is to just take a phot of it and keep it on your cell phone. In both cases you should take the origional and keep it in a separate secure spot.

I just did a quick check. There are a few river cruise cabins left on the Danube that include Oberammergau. They include Croisi, Colette, Uniworld and Emerald. Croisi has the reputation of French speakers, but they have English too. I have no opinion on Colette. Uniworld is a little high end, but all inclusive, and Emerald is a class below Scenic.

I am booked on Scenic Waterways Danube River cruise starting 7 July 2022 from Budapest and ending in Oberammergau and Munich. This is my first time on Scenic, and I have booked their only solo cabin. I've been on Avalon and Ama Waterways river cruises, and almost any cruise company should be fine. However I have found that it is sometimes difficult to find cruises that include Oberammergau. You can check Ralph Grizzle's website to compare cruise company prices and options.

On 8/15/2021 at 12:26 AM, Canal archive said:

 

Lavender field from Vincent Van Gogh’s sanitarium window near St Remy Provance

Nice photo. I'll have to be sure to take some photos like this in June.

9 minutes ago, bfamily9 said:

I have had to postpone three separate cruises until 2022. I am now doing the Avalon Seine, Saone, Rhone with my son in June. Then I have a solo Scenic Waterways Danube River plus Oberammergau Passion Play in July. Finally a solo European Waterways Caledonian Canal in August. I haven't done any of these before; only Main/Rhine and Irrawaddy River cruises. Thus my interest in this subject too. I'll have several weeks between the last two cruises, so I have rented a gite in France where hopefully my daughter will be able to visit. If all goes well I'll also be able to reschedule my flights on Aer Lingus to accommodate all these changes without additional charge.

Thinking about the flow of rivers, you might be interested in this topic from Ralph Grizzle on high and low water levels in respect to river cruising https://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/water-levels/