sharkster77

Just got back from a Viking tulip cruise. On our Rhine cruise 4 years ago there were people every night who wore suits and dresses to dinner. This time, folks just seemed to keep on whatever they wore for the day. There were some jeans, but nobody looked like slobs. Some threw on a sweater or scarf to dress up their upper torso, but that was it. I don't believe I saw anyone wearing a suit, sports jacket, or dress.

In Ireland 7 years ago, I was looking for the plain back coffee setting on the machine. A waitress told me that they called it coffee creme as some there thought there were racial implications calling it black coffee. Not saying it's true or not true, but that's what we were told by a local. Personally, I see no racial implication----I mean, black coffee is black in color, so ...

We did get a taste of European football (soccer) culture that was fascinating while in Bruges---- That evening, Bruges was playing a Europa league game against Thessaloniki (sp) of Greece. During lunch the main square near the Belfry was filled with hundreds young Greek men, dressed in all black, "pre-gaming" (we were told no alcohol is sold in the stadium), loudly singing their chants whenever a group of their compatriots walked by. Lots of machismo and testosterone in the air! I guess lots of Greek fans didn't have to work that day (lol)! The next day I looked up the score---Bruges beat Thessaloniki, 1-0.

@pontac, great recap!!! We got on the Ve the same day you disembarked. I posted my cruise comments on the Tulips and Windmills Roll Call.

In the post that you quote, I see a figure of $900 pp (a comparison of 900 vs 1200 pp). Where do you get the figure of $9,000 pp? What am I missing?

Most river cruise lines will even uncork and provide glasses for the alcohol you've brought on board at no charge.

AND---no extra charge for special dining venues, all cabins with a verandah, a more cerebral and less hedonistic vibe (trying NOT to sound snobby, but some of us aren't into the heavy drinking/party scene)

Here in Massachusetts daffodils are just starting. We've had a return to temps in the 30's (Fahrenheit of course) and that's slowed things down.

We sail April 5---try not to trample all the tulips at Keukenhof so there's some left for us to see! Bon Voyage! PS--I read that the tulips, etc., are blooming a little early this year, so even though Keukenhof just opened March 21, you should have a great display to check out.

What @DinnyClaire is going through is the exact reason why we dumped our Fire tablet and got a Samsung galaxy instead. Couldn't be happier. Have access to all of the google apps, and with the Kindle app, I do not miss the Kindle at all. I found Fire's browser to be terrible, and couldn't replace it with Chrome or Firefox without hacking into the Fire's OS.

Is it available from the Amazon app store? We replaced our Fire tablet years ago when that version of it would only allow apps from the Amazon store--no android apps. I would check the Amazon app store--it it's not available there, you have your answer.

We usually spend our OBC on optional excursions long before the ship ever sails.

It's been 4+ years, but I believe the tip shows up as a lump sum, not daily entries. It's listed as a lump sum that can be paid in advance on MVJ.

The tipping is suggested, not compulsory--the suggested tip is added to your bill, but you are free to change the number.

There may not be roll call for your particular cruise but they're might be something like: "2024 Avalon Tulip Cruises" "2024 Avalon Cruises" With no more than 180 passengers per river cruise, and a small number of cruisers who read these threads, the odds of finding someone on your cruise is slim. Having said all this, just type a list of your questions and the community will certainly answer them!

Unfortunate---my Viking clam chowder was tasty, but the flavor profile was completely different from traditional NE clam chowders.

That is a great strategy! We will keep that in mind, as we sail in 2 weeks, then again in June 2025---after our next cruise we will consider booking something else during the interim waiting for our 2025 trip. We are 1000% satisfied with Viking river, and are trying Viking ocean next year.

When you pay for optional excursions, the OBC will show up in your MVJ. IF you don't use it, it should stay there for onboard use.

Ooops---I said we had a Cap One Venture card, when it is in fact a Quicksilver card as well. My only gripe with the card is that when COVID hit, I guess fewer people were paying their bills, so Capital One had to reduce its debt, so they CUT MY CREDIT ALLOWED BY TWO-THIRDS!! We always pay our balance in full every month--I tried to explain why good customers like me had to suffer because of others who don't pay their bills--they pretty much said too bad, sucks to be you! (my words not theirs, but that was the vibe) I said OK, and now I use that card as little as possible--found the AARP card from Barclays, no foreign fees, and a nice healthy amount of credit allowed.

Interesting---while our TA was on the phone with Viking booking our 2025 ocean cruise, the rep offered the final payment for 180 days out (we sail on rivers next month). Was going to have her ask for it---wasn't necessary.

We sailed with Viking in 2019 and will sail with them again next month. In both cases we were not able to book airfare ourselves for as cheaply as Viking could. Couple this with airport transfers, and it was a no brainer both times. By pairing for Air Plus we were able to suggest flights and Viking found them amenable.

Speaking of Viking recipes, on our Rhine cruise 5 years ago, one evening's dinner menu listed "New England clam chowder"---being a born and bred and resident New Englander, I had to try this. It was delicious, but did not remotely resemble any NE clam chowder I had ever tasted---a less tactful New Englander would have confronted the chef and asked him to "step outside"!! (Never mind, he was built like a defensive end and would have obliterated anyone who did dare challenge him, haha!)

Hmmm, we have a Capital One Venture card that doesn't have foreign transaction fees. Which card do you have?

We're the opposite of what some have described---we NEVER use an ATM at home, but have Capital One accounts with debit cards strictly to get currency abroad. We get about 100-200 euros/pounds/etc. at the start and often get by for 10 days with just that. If we need more we'll get a little more from an ATM. Much easier than trying to predict from home how much we'll need for an entire trip beforehand. As I mentioned in an earlier post, withdraw funds in the local currency--let YOUR bank at home do the conversion, usually in your favor. Similarly we have 2 credit cards with no foreign transaction fees--we use these abroad, and leave any other cards at home.

Also when you pay by credit card, you have a choice of paying in local currency or your own. Always choose local---let your bank/credit card company do the conversion, they will give you a better rate than the vendor's bank. We started travelling internationally 7 years ago---we find that we need much less cash on hand than when we started---COVID accelerated the move to mostly cashless societies--Europe is more cashless than here in the US.