LTC

Thanks so much for the information notamermaid, I really appreciate this.

Thanks notamermaid. You gave me hope that the trip maybe able to go as a river cruise and not a bus tour. Had no idea that Emerald could dock downstream not far from Passau or that the bridge may not be a problem for all ships. Great to know!

Thanks for your info, especially on Passau. We board an Emerald cruise in Passau on Sunday which cruises to Budapest. From what I've seen of the weather it will be raining just about the entire time. Our daughters are coming with us and it's their 1st time on a river cruise, so I'm hoping this won't turn into a bus cruise.

We did ours about 7 weeks before flying into Vietnam

Hi, We are doing that same cruise with Emerald later this month. We got a single entry eVisa to enter Hanoi, getting the visa for Cambodia at the airport and got the 2nd eVisa for returning to Vietnam. It took 5 days to get the first evisa and almost 3 weeks to get the second one. We didn't want to get the 2nd one until we got the first one in case there were problems. We didn't go through the company, just got it online as there is a huge saving.

We did a land trip in Budapest a couple of years ago in mid May and I was surprised how hot it was for a few days... it was mid to high 20's...around 75 plus in Fahrenheit. If you have space in your luggage, I'd pack a pair of shorts and a short sleeved top just in case that happens when you're there. It's so hard now to know what the weather any place will be like.

We disembarked in Lisbon in December. We were on the Sun and can't remember what time the ship arrived in Lisbon but it wasn't until close to 8am that we were able to leave the ship. Even if you were able to get off at 7am, I think your chances of making your flight is not good. I agree with the RD64 on recommending you stay at least overnight. Our cruise left from Lisbon and we spent 3 days there precruise and flew back the day after the cruise ended. It's a wonderful city with lots to see and do.

Hi lexmiller, Thanks for the video and the article link...very helpful. I guess we waited too long to book excursions, next time we'll book really early!

We are on the same cruise and found the same thing with the shore excursions. Very disappointing as the cruise is still over 6 months away. Also tried to make reservations at The Porch and couldn't so I guess that's full also. Although we have cruised over 30 times, this is our 1st time on Celebrity and the 1st time we've ever run into problems booking excursions or dining reservations this far out.

Hi Bill, Their website says the Radisson Blu or similar.

Hi, Have been on AMA 5 times but not since covid, so this info is from 3 years ago. For sightseeing, the majority of tours are for regular walkers and another tour for slow walkers. They've had but not all the time tours for fast walkers also...these tours you saw all the sights of the regular walker tour but walking to the sights was at a faster pace. We also like to sightsee on our own and some of the tours give you time to explore on your own and met the group at a certain time and location. There's laundry service but you pay for it. The boats we were on had no charge for dining venues and every evening an hour before dinner, there's a ship and sail where the drinks...they have a drink menu for what this includes but it includes a nice variety... are complimentary and I've never seen a limit to how many you can have. Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for the info...appreciate it.

Sounds fantastic. I'm getting as excited for the flight as I am for the river cruise!

Thanks, I sure plan on it lol!

Thanks for your replies. Have booked with them to fly to Hanoi and and return from HCM in March. I thought the reviews seemed to good to be true but I guess not.

I'd love to see some comments if you have time when you get back from your Mekong cruise. I'm getting quite excited about it. Glad you thought Egypt and the Nile was awesome...it's been on my bucket list for awhile. We are doing a half day excursion to Abu Simbel, never heard of the Garbage City, will google that. Thanks for mentioning it. Have a super cruise!

We have 3 river cruises and an ocean cruise booked for 2023. After 3 years of not river cruising we wanted to make up for it. Two cruises on Emerald....March to the Mekong going from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh and May doing Munich to Budapest. In November taking a Nile cruise with AMA starting with their pre cruise in Amman and Petra and in August doing a Norwegian Fjords cruise with Celebrity. Have fingers crossed that we get to do them all!

Has anyone flown with EVA air in Royal Laurel Class?

Enjoy the cruise...I know you'll have a super time!

Hi BobandLizM, I think you'll really enjoy the river cruise experience. Are you on the March 25th cruise?

Hi TriMomma, I appreciate your quick reply, it's very helpful! The Rice Field Dinner sounds fantastic! It certainly makes for an easy decision to choose that one! Thanks again for your helpful review and answers to my questions.

Hi TriMomma, Thanks so much for your great review. We are doing the 17 day cruise in March from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh with Emerald. We have cruised with them before so are familiar with their ships and great food and service. Thanks for the clothing advice, that's great to know about shorts and sleeveless tops. I have a few questions for you if you don't mind. How did you find the 3 hotels? Easy to go out on your own during free time? How far in advance did you apply for visas and how quickly did you get them? Dinner in the Rice Fields...can you give a bit more info on that? We had been looking at that one and the Champagne Sunset Sail . We had decided on the Champagne Sail but now the Rice Fields Dinner sounds very nice too. How was the mosquito situation? it's probably different in Oct/Nov than March/April but just wondering if it was bad. Thanks again for posting your excellent review, I'm getting very excited about going on this cruise.

Glad you had a fantastic trip! We're doing Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh with Emerald in March so can't wait for your review.

Emerald Plus excursions are no charge excursions that are customs, traditions etc that are local to the areas you are visiting. We have been on a few Emerald cruises in Europe and have had lunches at a local families home, local entertainment coming aboard the ship, farm visits with tastings. It is the Discover More tours that come at additional costs.

Thanks for your great review! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your cruise!