ThreeTwelves

Hi Monica, just returned last night from our first river cruise which we loved. my suggestion would be to pack light. Seriously, I over packed so much with stuff I never needed that by the time I was packing up to leave I needed to buy another suitcase for all my souvenirs that I purchased on my trip. Needless to say I was charged for that extra suitcase far exceeding what I actually bought, :D lol.

The staff on board are great and friendly. You'll be treated with some really spoiling treatment that's hard to give up.

As to your travel planes, make sure you avoid the aisle seat unless you enjoy getting constantly bumped into from the Stewards and fellow passengers. Also, don't fly into CDG, it's unpleasant but not as unpleasant as the Atlanta airport so be sure to especially make sure none of your connections involved them.

Additionally, don't be late for the meeting up point for the bus back to the ship after an excursion, otherwise be prepared to be met with some sour looks from your bus group because despite what they say, we do in fact wait for you. There was without fail always at least 1 couple late for the bus and waiting on a very hot bus for them caused a few of us to be very annoyed at them. Unless you don't mind being unpopular with your fellow passengers, don't be late!

Above all, Be prepared to not wanting to disembark once your cruise is over. I developed such a warm attachment to my fellow passengers on my trip that I didn't want to leave them. I met so many wonderful new friends on board it that we all hugged when we parted ways. We were like a family.

If you have a window seat and it's day time, you should get a spectacular view of row upon row of tulips of all different colors. It took my breath away!! :D

Yea! Thanks!!! yes I've got the window seat too(I always claim it because I like to lean up against the wall)

BTW, I see you're from Long Island. I was born and raised on Long island, I miss our great restaurants and delis. Oh and the bagels....yum

I'm right with you Lois R - this is my first river cruise and I can't wait to see some Christmas markets and snowy European scenery and drink mulled wine.

Add me to that list, I can't wait to see some Christmas markets and try the mulled wine(although due to my alcohol intolerance, it'll only be a few sips, I know, I'm cursed, lol). First timer too and it's my first time in Europe as well. It's been a life long dream of mine to visit Europe and I won't let the current( although truly horrible and heinous) situation ruin it for us. I perfectly understand why others want to cancel their trips and I respect them for it. Alas for me, I'm still going

Lois R, I agree,

"Compassion and common courtesy? Seems those are qualities that

are lacking on message boards, although I do find folks who

have them:)

Sadly we live in a world where folks are going to always hate other

folks:mad: but happily, there are also people who are kind and loving:)"

Well said :).

Wish I could see the Tulips in Amsterdam too, but unless I can manage to catch a glimpse of them thru the window in the Amsterdam airport as we rush to catch our connecting flight (we have less than 1 hour and 20 minutes between flights:eek:)on our way home, it'll be only through pictures

Our cruise starts exactly 2 weeks from today. We're flying Air France from Atlanta(actually our first plane is in Tampa) to Paris, stay 2 days then to the ship in Germany. We're not worried, this cruise cost too much and no way are these Terrorist gonna intimate us from going.

We go to "LA" [Lower Alabama] -- February it was unusually cold, so this year we are starting out in Sarasota, Florida -- which seems to be equally interesting culturally and runs about 10 degrees warmer in the winter [and costs about twice as much to rent a similar house].

So cool, you're going to be in my neck of the woods :). Yeah! glad to have another New Yorker come over. Lots of people here seems to be from Michigan or Ohio, I love whenever I hear someone with my accent, we're such a minority on this coast, lol.

Tips: stay off I75 between the hours of 4-6pm, road construction has made the exits between Fruitville and State Rd 70 a nightmare. Take side streets instead :).

Thanks for the bed covering tip. I woke up sweating every night.

 

Roz

Couldn't you able to open one of the french doors a wee bit to let in some cool air or is that prohibited? Like you and Hydrokitty, I like it cool at night too and I was hoping to open the window if it's too warm at night. No? are they afraid of letting bugs in? Even in the winter???

BTW, your trip sounded fantastic! You're so brave to go by yourself, I can't even eat in a restaurant by myself:D

Melk Abbey today, had some big snow flakes. Wachau Valley beautify

And some snow and brilliant sun. In Krems will be leaving shortly to Vienna. Have heard nothing about water levels, expect to get to Budapest. The Embla is certainly an older longship and showing signs of wear.

Woot! the river cruise I'm taking is the Viking Odin and it's the same age, guess I'm on an older ship too. Oh well, I've been on much older ships in the past. Hee, my car is a 2012 too:D

So no more talk about boat swaps? Glad to hear you're having a great time :)

Sounds wonderful! Have a great trip! Mine starts in almost 2 weeks and like you, I'm not worried. I am, however, very concerned that the airline will lose my luggage!:eek: Now that's frightening!!!

Bon Voyage!!! Tell us all about your trip when you get home and take lots of pics:)

Wow, sounds fantastic! I really enjoyed reading your blog, thank you so much for posting the link, I felt like I was there and got the chance to live vicariously thru those pictures :).

We are on Viking cruising from Bamburg to wurtzburg today. They have said that they are monitoring the situation. They are also monitoring a water level issue. As for our cruise.... They read the posted statement concerning the Paris Attucks and promised information as it becomes available. Will keep you posted as I learn as well. I do not feel unsafe. Quite honestly, the terrorists have made their statement and will now observe the chaos they created....IMO. Security at airport is very tight - checking ALL passports which is different - before..... If traveling within eu - if you are part of eu.... There was no security to speak of even once in eu.... Security for non eu residents was minimal before Paris from airport to airport.

Yes, please keep us posted! So your cruise is going from Prague to Paris, we'll be doing the reverse next month on the Odin, will anxiously await your reports. I'm sure you'll be very safe in Paris once you get there, but still, it's going to be a different experience then expected. I hope you're having a great time so far!!! :)

We'll be traveling to France for the start of our river cruise in 3 weeks, we have no plans to cancel our trip but we're worried that Viking will cancel us instead if these attacks continue. We're not afraid of any danger and no way are we going to let them(the terrorist) ruin our trip. I'm sure it will be much safer by then especially with the French army standing guard.

My thoughts and prayers for the French people in this terrible time

notamermaid- Thank you very much! What a great idea about using google maps, I've never thought about using that.

As for the buses, have to admit the last bus trip I was on was well over 25 years ago when I was vacationing in Colorado when we boarded a bus from the airport to the ski resort up a mountain. I'm sure they're much more comfortable now.

I'm really looking forward to seeing as much as I can on the bus, just being in Europe has always been a dream of mine and I can't wait to see as much of it as I can! :)

You will get more focused answers if you specify which cruise line and which itinerary you are going on. Then people who have done that can tell you exactly what to expect.

Ok thanks but I was just inquiring about bus rides in general on these cruises in my initial post :). my second post however, you're right, I failed to do so, whoops sorry.

It's the Viking Cities of Lights tour. Although, this trip will hardly illicit many responses from others due to the fact that I hardly see anyone mention it here recently.

I was curious about everyones experiences on the buses since a lot of people mentioned long bus rides in their reviews (or complaints). If the buses do make stops after 2 hours it'll be tolerable especially for my father who has arthritis in his knees. Sitting for long periods at a time can be very painful to him. He's already dreading the airflight.

I was also wondering if from peoples experiences if the bus rides were at least scenic because highway driving abet faster, is extremely boring. I recently came back from a long car trip( Florida to Washington DC) and every state from the highway looked the same. Thank goodness for the Welcome signs from each state or you'd never know you were traveling thru a different state. Hopefully on this trip we can at least see some different towns along the way.

Now of course I'm wondering if there is a difference between buses different cruiselines. Do some provide better more comfortable buses than others? :D

,

Thank you Shmoo here, nice to know about the water. Our 2 long bus trips are from Paris to Luxenberg and the second is from Nuremberg to Prague.

Fingers crossed one of the stops will be the shopping one :D and we'll be traveling thru some towns

Just wondering about what you see on the long bus rides. Does the bus travel through towns or is it just highway traveling where all you see is just roads and trees? Does the bus stop at rest areas or does it just travel straight through until you get to their destintation?

How many buses is the average for traveling and who determines which bus you'll be traveling in? Does everyone just line up and board first come first serve until the bus is filled then onto the next bus? they comfortable? Do they serve drinks like when you're on a airplane or should we just bring our own ? I'm one of those people who can't go any car trip without having either water, coffee or soft drink with me.

I realise this must be a dumb question to many but I'm veru curious to hear and what to expect from the bus rides since the cruise I'm on has 2 very long bus rides,

Wow, the menu looked great ,glad you had a wonderful time. Any pics from your trip?

Omg, amazing pictures and I loved reading your reviews. On our next trip we're definiately taking uniworld.

Thank you very much for posting these! Looking forward to reading more:)

Thank you MeMe4A&J, I'm really hoping you have a wonderful trip too. Less than a month for you, I can"t wait to hear all the details of your trip when you get back.

Are you all packed yet? I'm still in the editing phase, I put things in then take them out when I realize I'm packing way too much, lol. Still have to buy my winter coat. Not sure if I want to buy for comfort or whatever looks good in pictures. I might freeze but at least I'll look stylish :D

Best of luck with your trip:)

Mid-day Monday the Var is headed downstream. Most of the passengers were in Passau, bussed while the boat held in Regensberg. Upon clearance, the Var left Regensberg, sailing east, while the passengers bussed west to meet for re-embarkation at Deggendorf. Theoretically, we'll sail overnight to arrive at Melk just a little behind schedule Tuesday morning.

 

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Hooray! Is she thru the worse spots yet? Fingers crossed you're over that last hurdle and you"ll have smooth sailing from now on. Go Var!!!:)

I've read here from other members here that a raincoat and rain hat work best getting thru the crowds. That's what I'll be packing in addition to an umbrella and a million other things I'll probably take "just in case", lol. However, I've read quite a few reviews from folks who's luggage got lost so maybe not:D

Have a wonderful trip!!!

I have been on four Viking River cruises. He will be able to smoke.

He can ask when he boards where the smoking is allowed and they will tell him.

Have a great cruise.

Phew, Thank you. I wish you a great cruise too :)

Thanks Alberta and pflorio994. We'll be sailing on the Vikings' Odin Cities of Lights cruise. Oh I hope he can find a place that's allowed cause it's going to be awful for my mother and me if he doesn't, nothing like cruising with a person who's going thru withdrawals, lol.

I might have to suggest he take patches and hope this will help him quit:)

Hi, my father who I'll be traveling with is a smoker :eek:(yep I agree, nasty habit but he's 77 years old and won"t quit, believe me we tried) and is concerned about being able to have a cigarette on board. I've researched it online for him and found out there is a section on the boat he can have one but It's on the Sundeck and apparently on this cruise it's hardly open due to low bridges. Do they have an alternative area for him to go if it's closed?

notamermaid, thank you so much for all your great information and tips!:)

I'm copying and printing them to take with me on our trip, you're help is invaluable:):):)

Can't wait for your review ! 3 weeks will speed by real fast.

I really wish I had found this forum on my past cruises (Ocean cruises to the Caribbean only) I just read the reviews. I missed out.

Have a wonderful trip too! :)