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We're currently on the Viking vilhjalm. Left Budapest last night and just conquered the first loch. It's 69 degrees and sunny but they aren't expecting any issues m

We're leaving Wednesday on a Viking cruise from Budapest to Passau.  My sister arrived in Budapest this morning and was assured that the river levels are much improved and they aren't expecting any issues.  Also, the weather is warmer than usual which is great news to me who hates the cold.

Do the Viking ships have laundry facilities?

Viking wants $1000 to spend 2 days in Budapest before our cruise. They charge a fee of $100pp to get there early (which is super annoying). Wondering if we could supply our own hotel, breakfast and transfers for less than the $800 difference? What do you think? There was also a line item for "Viking service host" but I don't know what that means.

Not positive, but I think 20 minutes at the church (that was plenty of time) and half an hour at Prevast (also enough as there wasn't much to see - we just strolled down the road, looked around and got back to the boat).

The name had "Submarine" in it - as you approach the park they were just to the right of the main sidewalk. Enjoy!!! Kotor is beautiful!!!

Post-cruise we took the train from Rome to Venice. We had two large suitcases (too large for overhead shelf) so we left them in the luggage rack at the front of the train car. My husband saw them there about an hour before we reached Venice, but one of them was stolen before we reached our stop. No fun to spend the first hour in Venice reporting the theft and filling out a police report. Good news is that trip insurance should cover some of the loss. Be aware!!!

After fighting our way through the hoard of taxi drivers we found "city park" (go left instead of straight at the first intersection) where there were several vendors with excellent prices ($20 for lady of the Rock + Prevast). The big boats don't start touring until midday. We got a 9am boat trip and were back onboard the ship by mid-afternoon when the port got crazy crowded!

I'm on the Royal princess right now and agree that the lack of the nice walking path is a big disappointment. Check Holland America. They have a nice one. My other disappointment is the lack of ice! The machines in the buffet run out every meal and the dining room gives you 2 cubes. Not a huge thing, but you see people trudging around the ship with empty cups looking for ice. I can't enjoy iced tea without ice!

Is there a dress code to visit?

Hi,

We will need to get from Hotel San Maurizio (in Sam Marco) to BEST WESTERN Titian Inn Hotel Venice Airport. Is this feasible via water taxi?

Hi, We'll be in Barcelona 1.5 days and need to end up at the Port to board our cruise. I've got a list of places that sound intriguing. The first 2 are must-sees, but the rest can be trimmed if needed! Could one of you experienced travelers take a look and let me know this is reasonable/advisable and if there is an order that makes sense? Also, how would you get around cheaply? City bus? Prefer to walk when possible to offset the cruise calories :D, but the second day will have our large suitcases with us. We're staying at HOTEL GRAN DERBY.

Sagrada Familia (purchased tickets for 9:15 first day)

Park Guell

The Skylight at the Palau de la Música Catalana

Barri Gòtic

Casa Batlló

La Boqueria

Santa Maria del Mar

Las Ramblas

Magic Fountains of Montjuic

I have no idea how to guess a time to book a shuttle to our hotel. If the ship itinerary says we dock at the ungodly hour of 5am what do you think is reasonable? We will not be in a huge hurry and we can carry our luggage off, but I would imagine it will be a zoo of people trying to get to the airports.

I'm sure it will be very loud so can't sleep in, but can we have a nice breakfast in the MDR and let the chaos die down? Or do they want you to leave your rooms super early? The shuttle someone on the roll call recommended is $70 for 2 people. That seems reasonable - any other recommendations? We don't have anything planned until 2pm that day so plenty of time.

thanks!

Cruising on the Royal princess next month and since we'll be doing many ports I'm trying to convince my husband to skip the MDR and eat at the buffet most evenings. The side benefit of much less to pack attracts me. However, he wants me to confirm that the same entrees are available both places... Are they?

I haven't been on Princess yet (sailing Royal Princess out of Barcelona in Sept!) but we've done several Carnival cruises with our kids. I'm looking forward to a little less booze-cruise atmosphere BUT I'm dreading the lack of that fabulous chocolate melting cake dessert!!!

I've been checking out some patters and see there are several exercise classes (Zumba, abs,...). Does anyone know if there's a charge for this?

Just FYI, we're cruising princess starting in Barcelona, ending in Rome and we're flying home from Venice. Airfare through princess was <$3k for both!

We're thinking of doing a ship excursion in Santorini to avoid the pileup at the tender dock. There is one that offers a boat trip to Nea Kameni and a 40 minute hike up the mountain.

Has anyone done this? Sounds like it smells terrible (sulphur odor). How's the climb?

Trying to tour Pompeii or Herculaneum and climb Mt Vesuvius. The ship excursion is $109 (Pompeii & Mt V)) which seems pretty reasonable. Can we do better? Is Herculaneum more interesting than Pompeii?

Creating stained glass is my hobby and out of several European stops I'm the most excited about Venice! Obviously Murano is my main destination, but is there any interesting art glass or stained glass that I should see?

We also have a limited time. If you can only stay 2-3 days what are the must-see attractions? My main purpose is Murano Island because I love glass art - what else would be a high priority?

Thanks very much! Do you have any opinion on Costa?

Hi,

We're from the US and planning to cruise the Mediterranean in September. I had not heard of Oceania prior to researching this trip. Their Havens Voyage itinerary is exactly what I'm looking for, tho the price is a good bit higher than some almost-as-good ones. Are the Oceania ships considered "better" than the Royal Carribean/NCL/Holland type ships which are the ones we have used in the past?

thanks!