knoxclone

I cant remember about the main pool, but I know the infinity pool is ladder only, because I had a little trouble navigating it.

Congratulations -- so looking forward to "virtually" traveling with you! its a bucket list for me as well.

We really enjoyed the Tortuga Canal boat tour, and the sloth sanctuary. We did the snorkeling in belize as well.

Did the transit from Panama City to FLL last November which has a few different ports than your trip I believe, . Best overall excursion was the Tortunga (?) canal boat ride, Very enjoyable, easy walk to boats - saw tons of native wildlife, w very knowledgeable spotters/ guides.

MSP is major hub for Delta/KLM/Air France w/ multiple flights daily nonstop to Amsterdam, and then connect to Zurich or Basil. Zurich airport has great rail connections

I have very much enjoyed all three of my Viking river cruises - Rhine, Danube Waltz and Tulip Time. Am taking my first Uniworld cruise in October with a group and then AMA in late February. Will post review w my experiences and thoughts.

I am totally fine w cold (midwest native)... Maybe I will see what the Christmas market cruises offer other than the "markets". 🙂 Regardless, I am looking forward to experiencing AMA, after Viking and Uniworld.

Thanks for the insights so far - I am planning on winter' esque" weather, but was hoping that they may lay on a few other options.

First time on AMA (AMALucia on the Rhine) - and I was wondering about any additional "optional"excursions. The itinerary at this time only mentions daily "highlights of", hiking or or a biking excursion(s) which, given the fact we are traveling in "early spring" i.e. end of February - may not be very practical! 🙂 Would anyone happen to have dailies or experience on any other options? Thanks!

The tags will tell you when the batteries need changing!

I went on my first river cruise ( in fact my first cruise, period!) when I was in my late 40s on Viking. Loved it and we have continued to river cruise - on several lines. I have never felt out of place - and we were definitely one of the younger guests on board. As multiple people have commented, the excursions are as active or relaxed as you choose. I do believe that the time of year and the length of the trip definitely impact the demographics of the pax.

Will be taking the Rhine ( AMS- BAS) on AMA next spring. Having sailed the Rhine on Viking in 2016, I am eager to compare the two! Several ports are different, so hoping for some guidance on excursions and any "tips and tricks" from seasoned AMA travellers! 🙂 I understand that exclusions are included - but do they offer any additional special excursions that you learn about only after boarding - lectures, cooking demonstrations, etc? Also - any specific suggestions for Dusseldorf, Ludwigshafen, and Riquwwihr would be greatly appreciated because there are bike tours (which look tempting) offered as one of the options, in early March the weather may not be very cooperative. Thanks much!

We did Panama Canal last November and the the seas were flat and calm the entire cruise.

Thanks all for the suggestions!

Having been to both, I agree with @CoralNormandy is incredibly important part of history and even without a personal connection to WW2, it is a powerful and humbling testament to the bravery of thousand of allied soldiers. I highly encourage it. MSM, while beautiful, would not be my choice if I only had one day.

I'm looking for suggestions from anyone who has used a transfer/ car service from CDG airport into Paris recently (not uber). The small taxi service I used in the past is no longer in business. Thanks much for any suggestions

Yes! On our last cruise in November, I had ordered cheese plate for dessert and by the time it arrived, I was stuffed. I asked if they could wrap it up so I could take it and they said, yes..but we we deliver to your room. By the time we returned to our cabin, the cheese plate, along with a few "extras" was already sitting on the desk.

I'm looking for suggestions from anyone who has used a transfer/ car service from CDG airport into Paris recently (not uber). The small taxi service I used in the past is no longer in business. Thanks much!

We used the Marriott in Budapest - was very pleased w location along the river and it was very reasonable in price.

Same here on the Star in November.... living room Baristas had no idea what I was talking about. 😞

Viking River almost always has a "gentle walkers" group for excursions. As Daisi said, you may miss out on "free time" or shopping, but you should see all the stops on the itinerary. I always take advantage of that group. Often times, they use the bus to cover ground - for example, in Bratslavia, you could ride the bus back down from the castle or walk the path. That being said, Europe is not ADA friendly+ cobblestones, you need to be realistic in your planning. If you are just slow ( like me) it works, but if you have serious physical limitations, I would do some additional research. Good Luck!

Thank You - your photos are outstanding!

Looking at the Tauck Paris to Nice cruise, but from a search, looks like there are not a lot of Tauck travellers on CC. Hoping that someone has done Tauck recently and could comment. This would be 2 days in Paris, a week on the Rhone and then ending up in Provence. Thanks

As the OP, I will again say that in addition to the transit of the canal - which was my sole reason for choosing that itinerary - we really enjoyed the horseback trip and the snorkeling excursion, along with the Tortuga canal boat trip. As I mentioned before, this a primarily a third world country cruise, coming out of post pandemic... and we were only a few days post hurricane. I thought while at times while the restaurant service was spotty, the staff for the most part hustled, and went out of their way to be friendly and helpful. I had a long discussion w the excursions director on the Star and he admitted that it's been very very hard to get the excursions back up and running at the level Viking prefers. Many vendors have simply ceased to exist and many of the tour guides have left the industry. He did mention, and it's worth repeating - he cannot fix something for a guest unless he knows about it - before you depart the ship - and feedback on excursions - both good and bad- is the only way to know whether changes to the excursions are needed. Just my opinion. 🙂

Hmmm... While doing research, you always learn something new...and maybe while that little nugget of wisdom may be of vital importance to client A for whom you are putting together a proposal, it turn out to be completely irrelevant to clients B, C & D. But, those "nuggets" will add to the overall knowledge and expertise and may benefit future clients. I so would I guess it's just a matter of trust and personalities. And, many TA's will waive the fees, but as @Gretchendz stated, TA's can't afford to work for free. 🙂