bfamily9
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Posts posted by bfamily9
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3 hours ago, dansachs said:
When we went to Paris, pre-pandemic, we were glad we got tickets to both the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower before we left the States. We avoided some big-time lines by planning in advance.
Here's a link to purchase a pass: https://en.parisinfo.com/discovering-paris/info/guides/paris-museum-pass
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22 hours ago, Chris_Texas said:
Thank you.
My working premise is that there's a LOT of pent-up travel demand from people not being able to travel over the last year - and that once the vaccines take root that people are going to start booking/spending at a brisk pace. I presume that would push prices up, but you're right that it could instead play out with airlines adding more flights.
I rarely see flights get cheaper as we get closer, although I've never booked a flight this far in advance - so this is new ground for me.
Momondo has a feature that shows historical pricing for the specific flights you are looking at. In the past it was usually around the 90 day mark, but as several have said COVID may change that. Here's a link that discusses some of their features: https://www.momondo.com/discover/frommers-best-in-test
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On 7/19/2020 at 2:30 PM, cruiselovin'girl said:
Hello,
Hope you don't mind me tagging on here and asking a few questions (if it's a problem, I can start a new thread but thought those of you with experience could point me in the right direction)! 🙂
I only first heard about the Passion Play at Oberammergau last year and started researching it in January. I don't usually do tours so I was trying to research how to see it independently. Seems like it's really hard to get tickets without being part of a package deal! So, I thought about doing a river cruise in conjunction with the Passion Play and stumbled upon this thread. I have cruised in the past (Ocean not River) on RC, Princess and Carnival but have no experience with the River Cruise companies.
For those of you who have done this type of cruise, which company do you prefer and why?
Also wondering if you booked directly through the cruise line or used a TA. (Especially those who are adding the cruise after the play or vice versa).
Thanks so much for your help,
Pam
I am booked on a Scenic Waterways Danube cruise plus Oberammergau for 2022. I was booked on a June 2020 Avalon cruise with a similar itinerary that was cancelled. At the time it was a double, but my needs have changed. I chose Scenic because I was able to score the one solo cabin with a balcony at a reasonable cost. I like Avalon mainly because of their cabin layout with floor to ceiling window openings to a French balcony and river facing beds. I haven't been on Scenic before, but they are an upscale cruise line. They have a good layout with disappearing power windows to an open French balcony. As you will see from my signature line I have also been on Ama Waterways. All are good choices. I chose based on the itinerary and pricing. I recommend that you check out River Cruise Advisor, where Ralph Grizzle periodically compares the various cruise lines.
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As of March 31, 2021 Scenic just announced that they are suspending the required final payments on cruises that have not already been suspended. So, in my case, I have until March 31, 2022 to make that payment.
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I have a similar cruise scheduled for July, 2022 on Scenic Waterways. Because it includes an Oberrammergau Passion Play land extension, they are requiring full payment by April 7, 2021. I recently took out trip insurance with AXA insurance. That is the company that I dealt with for my 2020 trip cancellation. As best that I can determine this company has a good reputation.
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On 3/19/2021 at 10:45 AM, notamermaid said:
Told you.
I enjoyed Fulda when I went there, over 20 years ago now. Not sure what it was, but it felt right. You know, like a place is interesting and so is another, but one of them appeals more to you. Happened with me with Fulda.
Thank you for the videos. One part of my family lives near Frankfurt and I used to visit them regularly, been around the area a little. Let us have a look at some famous people who came from Hanau, the Brothers Grimm of the fairy tales fame. When they were still children, the family moved to Steinau, North of Lohr am Main, where in the family home there is a museum now: https://www.spessart-tourismus.de/house-of-brothers-grimm
notamermaid
When I lived in Grosskrotzenbug nearly fifty years ago my friends and I used to love to drive to the hähnchenfarm (Chicken Farm) for dinner. I think it was at Steinau near the East German border. They only had a few specialties, kebabs and of course fried chicken. It was delicious.
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16 hours ago, notamermaid said:
Thank you for all the info and personal connection to the area. It is a pity you could not see your former home in daylight.
Let us have a look at Großkrotzenburg. It is on what is called the "Untermain", that is the last section that leads to the mouth of the river and is relatively densely populated. The area is more urbanized but still has some patches of lovely landscape. The area also becomes more industrial and one landmark of that is the coal power station at Großkrotzenburg.
Of interest to tourists from afar may be the Roman fort. At Großkrotzenburg the Limes border hit the Main, coming down from the hills and the Rhine further North. It has a historic synagogue and a museum of local history. The man-made lake - a result of former open-cast mining - is a popular place to spend warm Summer days.
Großkrotzenburg is the first district in the state of Hesse on the right bank of the river. Overall the area feels different from around Würzburg for example.
There is little info to be had in English, so here is, courtesy of the church district Fulda, a short drone flight over the Catholic church, for am impression of the landscape the town lies in:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXwdF359aAA
notamermaid
Since you are sharing some videos, I'll share some videos of Hanau and of Pioneer Kaserne where I was stationed in Hanau. My office was in one of the large buildings to the left just inside the main gate. The kaserne has been closed for a number of years. Hope I am doing this correctly, as I have not attached video links to Cruisecritic before. I think there is an option to translate the German dialogue, but I'm not sure how to make it happen.
And a Google satellite view of 37 Nebenstrasse where I lived on the third floor apartment.
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My first river cruise was an Avalon Waterways cruise from Passau to Basel. I chose it as I usually do because of the itinerary. Starting on the Danube, through the Main Danube Canal, the Main, and finishing on the Rhine. It was a wonderful itinerary, especially since it was my first river cruise. I loved the fact that it passed right by my former apartment in GrossKrotzenburg on the Main. I was stationed in Germany in the army for more than 3 years, and as a single soldier I was lucky to be permitted to live on "the economy". My landlord lived on the first floor, his daughter's family lived on the second floor, and I lived on the third floor. My landlord didn't speak a word of English, and at the time I was quite fluent, so I was able to communicate with him quite well. He appreciated the fact that I made an effort to learn his language. Unfortunately we passed by GrossKrotzenburg at about 11 pm, so I wasn't able to see anything worthwhile.
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On 2/24/2021 at 5:32 PM, Coral said:
I don't believe trip insurance was that helpful for people this past year.
A family member struggled with Globus to get a refund last year. She ended up with part refund, part future trip credit which she doesn't think she will use.
I don't doubt it. However I was booked on an Avalon Waterways Danube cruise with Oberammergau in 2020. It took quite a long time, but eventually I was reimbursed for the full cost of that cancelled cruise. I didn't take the option for an additional discount using a cruise credit, I went with full reimbursement.
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As someone mentioned, most of the river cruise companies are family owned. However I am booked on the Avalon Waterways June 8 cruise from Paris to Normandy and then onward to the Saone and Rhone later in June. Avalon happens to be a subsidiary of Globus brands which is one of the larger vacation companies, so I'm not overly concerned. I don't think anyone else has commented, but because of the virus most or all of the companies are very liberal about rebooking your cruise without penalty if it becomes necessary. Another option you should consider is trip insurance. Be careful though, many of the insurance companies have a reputation of stalling and finding technicalities to refuse payment.
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On 9/23/2019 at 5:58 AM, hmcrn said:
I have a few questions about getting your airfare through Avalon. Have any of you done this? We signed up for an airfare deal (very inexpensive!) since we are arriving in one city and flying back from another.
Do you know if you can stay extra days prior to the cruise without using the Avalon hotels?
What about upgrading your plane tickets with miles if you have a bunch to use?
Do they actually set everything up or does your travel agent do it? How much does your travel agent have to do with any of the flight choices, etc?
I would appreciate any and all answers with this!
Thank you!!
I usually like to book my own air, as I am very picky about the flights I choose. I suppose you can ask for changes if you don't like the flights they arrange, but I don't like having numerous back-and-forth conversations. My guess is that the pricing is no better than doing it on your own and probably worse. However as others have said, if they book the flights, you will be taken care of. I like to tell this story of a previous Avalon cruise. The cruise started in Passau, Germany. I flew into Munich Airport, took a bus to the train station, took the train to Passau, and then couldn't find out where the boat was docked. Finally another river cruise line had their agents at the train station, and they kindly called to find out the boat docking location and got me a cab. I arrived an hour before the boat left.
On another river cruise on the Irrawady River in Myanmar, I flew into Shanghai, took another flight to Kunming, but when I tried to board my flight to Mandalay, I was denied boarding. They have electronic visas in Myanmar, and unfortunately I got stuck with a fraudulent visa. It took me two days to get a new visa, and by the time I arrived, the boat had long gone. Fortunately I had also arranged for a local travel company who drove me around until they found the boat, and I was welcomed aboard.
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You booked a Aurea stateroom and paid a premium for Aurea experience without knowing the perks of Aurea ? Everything is explained on the website while selecting the cruise, stateroom and experience. ...or did you use a TA ?
We called MSC to book at the last minute, on the last day before deposits were due. We were told that there were only a couple of cabins on decks 12 and 13 available at that time. I'm happy with what we got.
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Do you really get a better room upgrading from Bella, Fantastica to Aura? Looks like higher deck but same size cabin (looking at a balcony).
We are on the MSC Fantasia May 27, deck 13. The Aurea experience at least for us includes priority boarding, unlimited drinks, several spa packages and access to some private areas on the ship. We didn't specifically ask for this; apparently it came with the price we paid for our cabin. MSC does not do a very good job of explaining everything to my satisfaction. If it's not too late you may want to check out the MSC rewards status matching program.
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I am due to join Fantasia with a family of 6 at the end of March. Having recently read some of the reviews of this ship, I am now slightly dreading our 2 week cruise and worrying about all the negative comments that are on here. Is there anyone who has sailed on this ship with any positive stories to slightly put my mind at ease?
Thank you
Here's one positive aspect of MSC cruises, but you need to hurry, the deadline for registration is fast approaching. This is a post from my May 27, Fantasia Roll Call:
For those who are new to MSC cruises, they have a fairly unique program called status match. You can submit your existing company rewards information to them to get similar status with MSC Voyagers Club. This is my first MSC cruise, and I was able to get Gold status already. Here's a link to more information:
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For those who are new to MSC cruises, they have a fairly unique program called status match. You can submit your existing company rewards information to them to get similar status with MSC Voyagers Club. This is my first MSC cruise, and I was able to get Gold status already. Here's a link to more information:
https://www.msccruisesusa.com/en-us/MSC-Voyagers-Club/Loyalty-Match-Program.aspx
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My wife and I have been to Rome before, and we aren't that interested in entering museums or churches. I found an Angel Tours golf cart (eco-friendly) tour of Rome on June 1. This company was recommended on other boards. Is anyone interested in it? Discounted prices below. Summary:You discover Rome in an ecofriendly golf car - it's a mixture of driving and walking, relaxing and reveals even more places, hidden areas, besides the "big" sights. On a 4 hour tour you will get to see Piazza del Popolo., Via del Corso, Piazza Venezia, St Peter’s Square, Gianicolo hill, the Key Hole, a secret garden, Mouth of Truth, Circus Maximus, Colosseum and much more that crosses your way like the Pantheon or Castel St. Angelo!). We don't rush and we do stop at most of the sights mentioned, we get out of the car, walk you around, you will get explanations and get a feeling for the sights by foot. There is not enough time to enter sights like Castel S.Angelo or the Colosseum but we enter the Pantheon, the secret garden of course, walk the piazze, St Peter's Square, Gianicolo Hill, have a look through the key hole etc, besides that the speed of the golf carts is limited so we don't drive like crazy ;) We can stop actually everywhere we want and also take pedestrian roads that cars can't enter. It gives you an overview over the whole city. The capacity per golf cart is driver (=guide) + 3/5/7 people so we might even ask one of you to drive (please bring driver’s license), no worries your guide will take care of you, the traffic isn't too bad and it’s great fun!
If there's 4 of you, the price per person is 115 Euro each, if you're 6, 105 Euro each! This would still be a private tour and you would all fit in one cart (the biggest cart is the 8 seater).
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I am fairly new to cruising, but no one has yet created a roll call for this cruise. Therefore I'll try my best.
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I booked 2 central view rooms and saved half the price than booking 1 for 2 adults 2 kids
Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app
It's similar to what I found many years ago when reserving rental cars for business. I found that it was cheaper to rent two, full size sedans than it was to rent one mini-van. Of course then you need two drivers and fill up gas in both vehicles. However it turned out to be more convenient, and it allowed more flexibility with the team.
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We are taking our first Azamara cruise in a couple of weeks and have an inside cabin. We were unsure about no natural light, as we normally have a window or balcony, so booked an inside cabin on a 3 day mini cruise with a mainstream cruise line just to see how we coped. The inside cabin was fine (will not be looking to book with that line again though).
I wonder if you checked out the deck plan. From my research nearly all the cabins on deck 4 can be very noisy. I am on the Azamara Journey 12 night Baltic cruise in August. I first selected a cabin on deck 4, then I switched to another inside cabin on deck 7 for around $100 more.
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Has anyone done the math lately? I keep bouncing around trying to get the best ship for solo at the best price. What do you think? This would be for the latter part of 2017 or even early 2018. thank you!
I took a solo river cruise with Ama Waterways on the Irrawaddi River in Myanmar in mid-September, 2016. This was the first cruise that fall. From what I heard, they often use the first cruise of the season as a training event for new crew members. There were only 9 passengers with a crew of 32. Seven of the nine passengers were traveling solo. Much of the single supplement was waived. Check with a travel broker like Affordable Tours or Vacations to Go for suggestions. If you go to Myanmar be careful about paying for an electronic visa. Myanmar issues these type visas, but there are numerous fake websites purporting to issue them. These websites are very official looking to trap unsuspecting tourists. I paid for what turned out to be a fraudulent evisa, and I was stuck in Kunming, China until I could get a new, valid visa. I nearly missed the cruise, and it cost me over $1200 in missed hotels and flights.
I enjoyed Fulda when I went there, over 20 years ago now. Not sure what it was, but it felt right. You know, like a place is interesting and so is another, but one of them appeals more to you. Happened with me with Fulda.
Paris-Normandy & Lyon-Provence: If you have cruised both itineraries - ?s
in River Cruising
Posted
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.