Sopwith

Thanks so much for the information everyone. The link to the step-by-step guide was especially helpful. Are you still required to complete the Customs Declaration Card?

Yes, unless you have Nexus. They should hand out the cards on the flight.

Note also that on departure from YVR to US destinations you will clear US customs and immigration at YVR before you board, so you need to allow extra time for this, again unless you have Nexus.

We were also there about two weeks ago. There were no visible repairs under way and the bridge was open. Then Will Smith climbed it as some sort of photo shoot or stunt, which prompted many others to climb it, which prompted the police to close it down for the day. :rolleyes: I understand there are now large signs telling you not to climb the bridge.

I don’t understand....what does the political climate have to do with ground transportation in a port? How do you think it impact things in Vancouver?

Cruise turnaround days at YVR are chaotic at the best of times. Add to that increased scrutiny by USCBP which can extend the time needed to clear. Add to that the redeployment of resources on both sides of the border to deal with immigration issues elsewhere, and you have a further degradation in service. I’m speculating a bit, but that’s how I see it.

The solution is Nexus, which gets you through both security and immigration on an expedited basis. Best $50 I ever spent.

FWIW, I know of several couples who have canceled plans to vacation in the US, so that might ease the burden. We usually spend our winter vacation in Maui, but there’s a strong possibility we may cancel and go to Mexico instead.

Sounds like they are saying everything will be the same--just a different ship???

Some ships are getting stuck on the wrong side of the shallows between Nuremburg and Passau so they are switching people between ships. That is what happened to us. My understanding is that the river is passable downstream of Passau, so I expect you will be okay headed for Bucharest.

We disembarked the Avalon Panorama this morning. The cruise director said the water level is down again between Nuremburg and Passau, sounds like more trouble ahead.

Hi Sopwith, I was just checking the location of the Panorama on some ship tracking websites and according to them you are in Vienna or Regensburg. The majority say Vienna.

 

So I was just wondering, where is the ship actually? Also are you on your way to or from the shallow stretch? I would love to hear whether you made/make it through.

 

 

 

 

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We arrived in Vienna late afternoon Tuesday, departed 5:00 pm Wednesday for Budapest, ETA 9:00 am Thursday.

The ship did not make it through the shallow stretch. We were supposed to board the Expression in Nuremburg, but because neither ship could get through we were diverted to the Panorama in Passau.

I spoke to the Captain this morning. He said some traffic is now getting through, but a cargo ship grounded in the German section of the Danube yesterday. He felt confident that he would be able to get through on his return trip from Budapest next week.

Can you tell us who is telling you? The resource I normally use to monitor river level indicates that levels are low but not too low for transit.

 

 

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I am aboard the Avalon Panorama right now. Info is from the cruise director and captain. It sounds like one or more of the shallower draft ships going downstream are getting through.

We are told that the blockage due to the accident was cleared by June 30-July 1. The current blockage is due to low water upstream of the Main-Danube Canal, which obviously can only happen due to low water entering from the headwaters. The Inn River, which enters the Danube at Passau, appeared to have plenty of water, more than the Danube. But that is obviously a different catchment area than the Danube.

 

We are told as of today the stretch between Passau and the Main-Danube Canal is still impassible due to low water.

Correction:

Nope, although the water is currently low on the Danube river the river is closed due to an accident sind Jun 22nd. We had lots of rain during the last 6 weeks here in Munich and our river (Isar) drains into the Danube river as many others here in Southern Bavaria. In some areas we even had severe floodings. In Northern Bavaria (Franconia) they had no rain for weeks now. But Isar, Iller, Lech and Inn river (which are coming from the South) got a good amount of rain.

 

steamboats

We are told that the blockage due to the accident was cleared by June 30-July 1. The current blockage is due to low water upstream of the Main-Danube Canal, which obviously can only happen due to low water entering from the headwaters. The Inn River, which enters the Danube at Passau, appeared to have plenty of water, more than the Danube. But that is obviously a different catchment area than the Danube.

We are told as of today the stretch between Regensburg and the Main-Danube Canal is still impassible due to low water.

My personal preference would be the French balcony because of the large windows and daylight. But be aware that aside from the weather, the ship will often dock against a canal wall or another ship, blocking the view from that side of the ship. Quite often another ship will moor on the outside, blocking that view as well. This might not happen as often in November as in the summer, but something you should be aware of.

Interested to see how this plays out. There’s not been a hint of low water issues coming from Avalon or in other recent posts.

In past years Avalon was great about posting advisories if there was any possibility of disruption.

So far everything has gone according to Plan B. We’re on the ship in Passau, departing for Linz tomorrow, which has been added as an extra stop because we missed Nuremberg. We were bused to and fro Regensburg today. Not an ideal situation, but you have to go with the flow if you can excuse the pun.

We’re told that one Avalon ship was able to transit from Nuremberg to Passau today after yesterday’s rain raised the level slightly. It appears that most ships are not chancing it in case they get stuck on the wrong side of the shallow stretch.

But the question is: Is the River open now ( July 6)?

No. Our cruise was scheduled to sail from Nuremberg today. Instead we boarded a sister ship in Passau and will start there. We’re told that everything should go as planned from here downstream.

Cruise lines are becoming more and more like the airlines every day. Not a good direction to be headed in when potential cruise customers have so many other options.

A word to the wise: when you book any kind of travel through a TA or an OLTA you don’t exist. The service provider will not deal with you directly unless something requires them to after you have checked in. If you don’t want an agent standing between you and the provider you need to book direct.

We are in Prague today on the land portion of an Avalon cruise tour. We’re scheduled to sail from Nuremberg to Budapest on Friday, but we’ve been told the stretch of the Danube from Nuremberg to Passau is impassible due to very low water - no rain in the Danube headwaters for over six weeks. The plan is this:

Instead of busing from Prague to Nuremberg to board the ship we’ll be picking up a sister ship in Passau on Friday. On Saturday we’ll be bused to Regensberg for a tour to replace the scheduled stop, then return to the ship in Passau. Thereafter the itinerary will be as originally scheduled.

The replacement ship is apparently the same layout as the scheduled one, so there will be minimal impact on cabin assignments.

Stay tuned. We’ll see...

We did the Xpedition 10-day package in May 2015. We choose the itinerary and month in order to go to North Seymour Island during the Blue-footed Booby mating season – and we were rewarded with the full mating dance routine plus male Frigatebirds with their red throat pouches inflated to lure the ladies too! Bugs were no problem at all. You can find more details in my blog:

https://jazzbeauxgalapagoscruise2015.wordpress.com

Thanks for the blog. Much appreciated! Sounds great.

Interesting about the altitude. When I went to Machu Picchu a few years ago the altitude there (9500 feet) didn’t bother me noticeably. In Cusco (11,500 feet) I felt the lack of oxygen when walking, had to stop and take a few deep breaths every 5 or 10 minutes, and had a little trouble sleeping. Other than that, no major problems. Some in our group were taking the altitude sickness medication but stopped after a couple of days because of the side effects. It seems some people are more affected than others, with no real way to tell in advance.

We did the Galapagos in April of 2016. Did it on the Xpedition. At that time it was the Inner or Outer loop. We did the Outer loop. Did the 10 days. 2 days pre- cruise and 1 day post cruise. It was very much worth it. We stayed in the JW Marriott. They took us on several tours, that are included in the price. We were not able to leave the ship on time due to lightening so they had people getting on while we were were still there. We did make it back to hotel for the night but it was later than it was projected. We enjoyed it so much that we booked another trip on the Xpedition. Booked it for the fall and after downloading a calendar of what is happening when, we changed the month until April. Loved it then!!!!

 

 

 

Take a hat and bug spray!!!

Thanks for this. Can you tell me more about the bugs? Mrs Sopwith is allergic to insect bites and if she thinks it will be bad the trip will be DOA, even though she has survived gators and snakes in Florida and bugs in the jungles of Panama, Guatemala and Costa Rica. Is it any worse than that?

Looking at booking this experience for next March or April and I have a couple of questions for those that have done it:

1. Northern loop or southern loop?

2. Is the pre/post cruise time in Quito worth it? Looks expensive.

3. Any other advice?

Thanks.

The weight limit on a float plane is total weight, not necessarily by person, but they also need to balance. The most common aircraft up there is a de Havilland Beaver which usually seats 7 passengers + pilot, but the two three-abreast seats are a tight squeeze. A person of size would likely need two seats but might be okay up front with the pilot. Best to check with them in advance. This won't be the first time they've dealt with it.

In flights I've done (helicopters) they weigh each passenger but you can't see the dial and they don't say anything, just write down the weight. It's very discreet.

"Vancouver's 2018 cruise season marks largest ever vessel, 25 million passengers"

 

OK, did anyone else read this headline as the largest vessel carrying 25 million passengers is coming to Vancouver?

As a Vancouver resident I can tell you that on a busy port day it feels like 25 million passengers down there! And at the airport.

Interesting thread. We have cruised extensively, only once on Celebrity abut 10 years ago. Today I went to their web site to browse what is available for later this year. The web site is *REALLY* bad! Virtually unusable for quick browsing to see if there's anything of interest.

Sorry, Celebrity, but I gave up after less than 10 minutes and am now looking elsewhere.

I'm curious about a couple of things. We were on the NA about 18 months ago and found it to be satisfactory, but not much better. We were particularly put off by the Lido: (1) often crowded and couldn't find indoor seating at peak times, which forced us outside most mornings and sometimes at lunch. This was compounded because tables weren't always cleared promptly. (2) I'm an early riser, and in the morning I enjoy grabbing a cup of coffee and going for a walk around the outer decks. But I found they weren't stocking coffee mugs near the coffee machines as they normally have done. When I spoke to the Head Waiter he said it was a directive from Seattle - mugs are to be set on the tables only. So I had to resort to stealing a mug from a table (if I could fined one!).

Has the situation improved any?

Not to wander too far off topic, we were on a cruise about 10 years ago during which Canadian Thanksgiving was to happen. We do it on the second Monday in October. A few days ahead of time I mentioned to the head waiter (who was from India) that Thanksgiving was on the upcoming Monday. He looked puzzled and asked, "What do you want me to do about it?" I explained that it is traditional to have a turkey dinner. He graciously undertook to talk to the chef and see what he could do.

The next evening when he spotted me he hurried over to assure me that there would be turkey on Monday's menu. All was good, or so it seemed. When Monday came around I went to look at the menu and it was a curried turkey cutlet! Just then I also realized that I was a week ahead of myself, and Thanksgiving wasn't until the following Monday. So I had to explain in more detail the traditional roast turkey concept with stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, etc.

To their credit, they came up with the proper turkey dinner. The only catch was that everyone at our table, which included two couples from the UK and one from Australia, had to have the turkey dinner. It was tasty, and our tablemates were quite good about it even though they don't celebrate Thanksgiving.