Daisi

Nope 🙂 I go in and choose my suite. Click on Dates & Prices, then Reserve Now. Once past the initial page, you will see how many cabins are booked. I usually guess 2 guests per cabin, some will be solo, but at least it gives a rough estimate. Here's our Sept 2023 cruise : https://booking.avalonwaterways.ca/book-vacation/?step=2

Don't worry about the bus, when we were on our Rhine cruise, they had the big busses, and often 3-4 of them. We often had several empty seats empty seats on ours. I can't access your cruise to see how many suites are available, so you may have more passengers now. It just says call for availability, which usually means it's almost sold out. I'm sure you will love it, we were planning our Danube cruise on the plane home from our Rhine one. 🙂

Thanks. We are hoping to do that (with the extensions for Budapest & Prague) next Sept.., it's one that keeps getting re-scheduled. I'd love to see if you could post menu's (dinner) , and what you do on your tours. We will be taking the Chesky Krumlov tour in Passau. Looking forward to hearing how your cruise goes.

It's on both sites @notamermaid, and I agree, it's nice to know ahead of time. I will have to do more investigation as to how they handle allergies etc. It does look interesting.

To me, I would look at how much your fear of being close to the water would bother you. If you would be happy on the 3rd level (think one floor over the water), you should have no problem. You can sit in the dining room with your back to the windows, so you wouldn't be looking out at water level, and while outside sailing, you could sit in the chairs in the middle of the deck (you would be about 2 floors above the water), so should feel comfortable there. As for gangplanks, they all have railings to hold onto, so they should be ok. It's a lot of money to spend if you think you will be uncomfortable the whole time you are on the ship. The good thing about river cruising is that 90% is done while you are sleeping, There are only a couple of times when you would be on the boat while it is sailing, so you can work around that. If you think you can handle it, I'd definitely recommend it, as it is great seeing all the old parts of Europe.

Just went into the Canadian site right now, it's working fine. You may have to delete your bookmark if you have one, google Scenic and try that way. I know I had to reset my bookmark once the site was up and running.

Thanks for your help. I see a very interesting cruise on the website : The Saar & Moselle. Another one for the bucket list!

Just checked, if you do want to go on the 16th, you better hurry. There are only 15 tickets available for the English session at 13:30 - 14:15. You may have to skip lunch and eat on the run or later, but you will know better once you can talk to your CD. Who knows, they may even arrange a drop off if you happen to be driving by. Here is the site, if you don't have it handy : https://jegymester.hu/production/480000/hungarian-parliament-building-parliament-visit

I can't speak for Emerald, but most lines run a tour in the morning (2-3 hrs), then back to the ship, and either free time in the port, or another tour in the afternoon. If you schedule your tour for after 1:30, you should be fine, but would make it closer to 2:00 to be sure, as that would cover any travel time. You could always depart straight from the ship without lunch if it's tight.

Just had someone on another message board ask about Leuftner Cruises. If this is a Travel Agency, I apologise and @Host Jazzbeauplease delete. It seems as if they use Amadeus ships. Just wondering if anyone had heard of them.

I'll agree with the above, we spent a whole day just wandering. Because we were taking trams to our hotel into the old part of town, I just pinned our location in Google Maps, and we walked without paying attention to where we were going. Once we were ready to go back, pulled out my map, hit the walking directions, and we were right back at our tram stop shortly. Not sure how many steps we got in that day, but between that, a full day of waking up at the Zuiderzeemuseum, and then around Keukenhof the next day, we were glad we had the morning to rest on board before touring Cologne.

I would also second Fouremco's idea about doing a pre cruise (Amsterdam is extremely easy to get around on your own) and take one day to see the gardens. We had probably about 4-5 hrs, and could easily have spent the whole day. Even my husband who was "dragged" there enjoyed it a lot.

There are a couple of problems with travelling on a river cruise ship with a disability. If you have limited walking, and can handle stairs with railings (one flight) you may be ok. You can go on a gentle walker group, and if tiring, leave the group for a bit and meet up to get back to the ship. Most of Europe is not set up like the US or Canada for disabilities. Toilet facilities are often up or down a flight of stairs, or a small port-a-potty type thing. Sometimes you have to climb the steps (3 sometimes high steps, but usually 3 steps) to get in and out of the busses. Rafting is another concern, as most ships have elevators that only go to the 3 levels of cabins. If rafted against a ship that doesn't have the same set up as the one you are on, you have to climb 1 flight of steep stairs with railing up to the sundeck, cross over to the other ship, and back down a level to the lobby. Also, as mentioned, cobbled stones are not the easiest for walking on with a walker, possible, but not always easy. The article posted above has some really good info. I would recommend talking to a TA who has been on several lines and understands your husband's limits. It could very well be possible, and I'm sure you would enjoy it, but it's best to understand what you are going into before you shell out for a cruise. Good luck.

We are on iPhones...we use FaceTime over Wifi to call home, but if we need to call the ship or somewhere else in Europe, we need an European SIM.

I think @Kensteris referring to prepaid gratuities, that you pay prior to your cruise. They are worked on the recommended fees by Avalon, while in the UK (and maybe other countries) the gratuities are included in the price of the cruise. Doing so, you don't have to worry about tipping at the end of the cruise, and can just give a little extra for those you feel went above and beyond. As for the CD having "special treatment", Avalon crew are under one contract, the CD is under another. Avalon crew are usually with the same ship for their entire contract - 1 yr or 6 months or whatever. The CD could be by monthly or per sailing.

I agree @Fouremco & @sbjornda, having a SIM card for Europe is a must. I'll gladly spend the extra for the peace of mind when wandering on your own that you have it. We use e-mail, Facetime etc when on the boat to communicate with home, but when out wandering, it's so nice to have.

Have heard on another board that passengers on river cruises got letters delivered that there will be no more testing, but nothing to confirm this yet.

I find going through their Face Book page and leaving a message (not a post) always gets a response. You can maybe explain the situation, that you no longer wish to deal with the TA, and want to deal direct. It may take a day or so, but I always get a response (rather than trying the "contact us" through their website), and they are very helpful. Good luck.

Sad, but hopefully the new excursions will make up for what you will be missing. At least they are playing it safe.

Yes, that was a tragic accident, and so glad that this time, no one was injured.

Hearing rumours that it's the Gefjon, which is showing as being at Forcheim.

@TFree, you will be OK as Forcheim is past Nuremburg, on the way to Wurzburg. Here is a link to the article, in German, but Google translate helps. : https://www.fraenkischertag.de/lokales/forchheim-fraenkischeschweiz/blaulicht/schiff-bleibt-auf-dem-main-donau-kanal-bei-forchheim-an-eisenbahnbruecke-haengen-art-151985

I thought the "Adventures by Disney" were just cruises that accepted young children on them and were geared towards a more family sailing rather than the typical adult (or teenaged) sailings. Learn something new everyday! Sorry, but just the thought of having a group of 4+ running up and down the hallways turns me off.

I know of someone on another page who is on an Emerald cruise at the moment - the Rhine, but I would imagine that for the cruise line, it is standard. No daily testing, and I think she said masks only at the buffet. She is having a fantastic time, so hopefully yours will be as well.

Some may still provide paper daily events, but a lot are switching to apps where you can see everything.