blag

For UK residents if the three visas are required, and Azamara are not arranging them shipwide I believe that these can be obtained electronically. Here are some resources in case Azamara don't arrange visas: https://www.ghanahighcommissionuk.com/passports/VisaApplication.aspx http://www.smevisa.gov.ao/Consulate.aspx https://snedai.com/e-visa/ For non-UK residents (like me) things are more difficult, and to avoid mailing passports visits to embassies/consulates/High commission etc. may be necessary. In some cases it may not be possible to stay on board without the visa. I don't know whether this requirement applies to any of the ports on this cruise. I might add that I am surprised that those who have booked this cruise did not check things like visas and vaccines before booking!

Please report your findings and I'll feed them into Facebook fora.

I don't understand this. Could you please explain 'you would purchase'?

What is FVW, please?

I spent some discussing this very issue with the captain very early one morning. He was aware of the problems, and anxious to ensure that we stuck to our itinerary timings, so as not to prejudice our chances of getting to Budapest. We were not able to dock at Batina due to low water, and he went further upstream to dock at Mohacs. As a consequence of this our long (0900 to 1600) excursion was extended by over 3 hours, and we actually boarded at about 1905. In truth, the rest of the guests had embarked previously but I was enjoying the really, really inexpensive beer at a Riverside bar (Pizzeria & Gastropub) so much that we were the last to board, delaying the ship for a full five minutes. Part of the delay in Mohacs was due to customs/immigration for the ship and crew at Mohacs. The ship was coming from a non-Schengen (Croatia) country to a Schengen country (Hungary). The ship was visible upstream from the bar (cheers!) for this process and 'reversed' to the passenger pontoon once the formalities were complete. I learnt from the captain that the River Duchess (110M * 11M) requires a minimum of 20cm water under the bottom to proceed, but with that amount of water under the ship it has to proceed very slowly. Presumably this reduced speed moderates the riverbed damage caused by the propellers. I may be wrong, but I believe he said that they require at least 1M clear water under the ship to go at full speed.

Hi. Winding down after a couple of hairy days. (long story, but flights Budapest-Istanbul; Istanbul/Milan Malpensa. Were forced to stand for 40 minutes in 35+ heat waiting for hotel transfer. Hotel is only 4 mins away from airport!) A complimentary cold prosecco at the Hotel is soothing. I will post pictures and report on my cruise, but as it is not a matter of high priority for me, please be so kind as to remind me.

There seems to be very few cruise ships on the stretch between Budapest and Bucharest at present. You can monitor cruise ship movements on CruiseMapper.com or the app of the same name.

Very few ships currently sailing as far as that. I suugest you use CruiseMapper to see how many cruise ships are parked at Budapest.

What is the port of disembarkation?

I don't know that this question can answered other than in the most general of terms. Customs/immigration clearance may be a factor. If you identify which port, and the preceding one, you might receive more specific input from others who have visited that port.

Update from the River Duchess... Captain addressed the guests here in Budapest this evening. He reported that the water level (location not specified) had dropped by an unprecedented 30cm in just one day!

We are currently on the River Duchess (110m) nearing Budapest. Yesterday evening the ship was not able to use the pontoon dock at Batina due to low, water, and those guests due to travel beyond Budapest (some travelling all the way to Amsterdam) were told that, due to low water and the likelihood that there will be high temperatures and no rain, the ship would not proceed beyond Budapest!

The answer is: yes. I am very sensitive to noise, and usually take a suite in such a location. But... The noise has never been sufficiently intrusive for me to regret having the suite.

Lowest levels on the Po for seventy years, and when we drove over it yesterday (on our way to Milan Malpensa airport for flights to our lower Danube cruise!) it was a sorry thing indeed. A far cry from 'the mighty Po'! Fountains in Milan all turned off and drinking water rationing in Verona.

I didn't think you were allowed to take your own hairdryer on board!

I had forgotten the avatar! Nikon kit. Several bodies, all digital. I hate changing lenses.

???

I see that the spell-checker is accepting scrapping instead of scraping! I pray that there is no scrapping of my ship when I'm on board. 😉 Plus, I think you mean traverse rather than transverse. 🛳️

Thank you. That sounds much more encouraging. Much appreciated. I have taken note of all the caveats.

I can't say that this is very comforting. Are you saying that unless there is precipitation/additional water the levels are likely to be such that we won't be on the boat?

Thanks for this. Interesting though the story may be, it doesn't really answer the question I posted, which I repeat below: We're due to go from Bucharest to Budapest from July 10 to 17. River Duchess is 110M long. (I think the draught is 1.6M) Are water levels likely to be OK? (Forgive me, but I don't understand the technical stuff!)

We're due to go from Bucharest to Budapest from July 10 to 17. River Duchess is 110M long. (I think the draught is 1.6M) Are water levels likely to be OK? (Forgive me, but I don't understand the technical stuff!)

I too, worried about this, and travelled without any of the meds on the banned list. I don't know why I bothered. When we arrived in Dubai, there were no controls! Just a totally disinterested official who glanced at our passports and waved us through. Of course, that doesn't mean everyone will have the same experience. The list, by the way, is download-able (don't remember exactly from where) and contains some real surprises. Oh, and don't think you can purchase the meds when you arrive. Without a UAE prescription, forget it. We tried. For the first 4-5 days of our cruise I suffered withdrawal symptoms! The upside? I no longer take the meds I was not permitted to take into the UAE.

'It' being, presumably, the date of theAzamazing evening?

Pre-booking avoids the tiresome queue on board. Leaving it until you are on board may mean that you find some excursions are already fully-subscribed.