rahrah50

Five yesterday as well............I just throw them in the trash. I had a wonderful cruise in China with Viking, but if I am looking for info I just look it up on the website. Wish I could get them to stop sending so much. Seems very wasteful..............

Thanks Hydrokitty. I will check out Vantage also....I really like this itinerary and while I have gone on ocean cruises they just are not my favorite way to travel. There are 5 other gals and we are all widows so the river cruise sounds like a good fit for us. I am the researcher for the group so I will keep doing my research!!!!!!

Thank you thank you Jazzbeau!!! Perfect information. Viking is now off the list, as I have read too many negatives about this itinerary. I do not want a bus tour!!!! I am a good traveler and realize things can happen and I will make the best of most situations, but I don't think this is the trip for me on Viking.

Thank you for the information. We love private guides and I will stash this information. Thank you for the info on Uniworld. I am going to do more research on the cruise companies. We loved Viking in China but I am reading more and more negatives so I will continue to search for info. I understand the river levels are a risk when booking this cruise but I want a company that handles it well and communicates with the passengers. From some of the reading I have done it sounds like Viking longships have the deepest draft of the river boats.

River levels are an obvious issue on the Bavaria to Budapest cruises. Is there a river cruise company that handles low or high water better than others? In doing more reading it appears Viking does not handle the situation very well. Does anyone have a suggestion of another company?

Thank you Jazzbeau for the links. We have reviewed cruise companies and itineraries so we are fairly comfortable with our choice of Viking. I think I read every post on Viking China before we left. I am not fond of ocean cruising as I am not very interested in the ship's amenities and shows, and all the people. I loved the China trip and thinking rivers in Europe may be a better way to go.

A group of us are thinking of taking the Viking Bavaria to Budapest river cruise with the Prague extension. We all have done the Viking China trip and loved it. What things should we keep in mind when booking? Water levels??? anything else?? We prefer to not travel during June, July, and August.....

Thanks in advance for any helpful tips.......

It took us 1.5 hours to go through immigration in St Petersburg. You will not go through customs.

We used SPB tours and so thankful we did. One of the gals in our group was pickpocketed and lost her passport and wallet. Viktoria stepped up and found a hotel to stay overnight(she could not get through immigration to return to the ship for our overnight stay), took her to the US Embassy the next day, and returned her to the ship before we sailed. Our tour guide was very interesting, enjoyable, and knowledgeable. A wonderful tour!!!!

Letters from doctors, etc. have been useless for me and DH. He had knee replacement and I have an insulin pump. Just inform TSA and you will be wanded and patted down and sent on your way. I have not had anyone at our TSA check points or any other country I have visited even want to see the letters.

There are many wonderful "sugar free" products out there. But read the labels as some have mannitol which can cause gastric issues and still have carbs. My grocery store has "sugar free" cookies which have more carbs than the non sugar free. Many people believe if it says sugar free it is OK to eat. Not so.... It is all about the carbs!!!!!

Carbohydrates are what raises your blood sugar. Beware of "sugar free" because sometimes sugar free has more carbs than non sugar free. Once you meet with the dietitian you will have more info. I have Type 1 and have an insulin pump. I do not let diabetes keep me from traveling. You may have to plan a little more but you can do it. There are lots of foods that will work for you on the cruise. Have a wonderful time!!!!!

I also have Type I diabetes. I have traveled all over the world and have never once had anyone ask for my doctor's letter. Cruise ships as well as hotels will provide a sharps container. The cruise ship will provide a little medical fridge also.

I like prepaid gratuities. Something else I don't have to worry about while on vacation. I feel there are a lot of people who make my cruise wonderful that I never see. My Silhouette cruise in May was prepaid and I gave a little extra to our room steward, waiter (we were Select but ate at the same table with the same waiter), and drink server. I felt they all were wonderful to our group of widows and also protected us from a gentleman who was very unkind to us seated at the next table. When I travel on a land vacation I check out the tipping customs for the country I am visiting and abide by those customs.

Re: Select Dining

A group of 8 were on a Baltic Cruise in May. We all had select dining, ate at the same table at the same time, with the same wait staff for the whole cruise. We had prepaid our gratuities and gave additional tips on the last evening. It really was no different for us than having early or late dining. I do realize for smaller groups or couples they may have different table mates each night......

I have sailed in a PH suite on Oceania (R ships) twice and a veranda on Celebrity once. They are different trips and it depends what you like. If you prefer a quieter and smaller ship, no formal nights, and less people then you may like Oceania. If you like all the people and lots of activities then Celebrity may be for you.

I was on Silhouette about a month ago. I also wanted the premium non alcohol package but had the classic package. They would not change it. We tried guest relations and the martini bar. There was no problem obtaining all the bubbly water we wanted. In fact, most of the time we were given Pellegrino as they ran out of the classic brand. We had teas, diet cokes, and lots of bubbly water.....Thought it would be an issue and it never was.

I used the laundry on Silhouette two weeks ago with much concern on some cotton knit tops. No shrinkage at all. I was very pleased with the laundry services.....

Studentoftheworld-I am not sure about the bars as I don't drink. The only one I know for sure that was there was the Martini Bar. Sorry......Loved Silhouette..

We have just returned from Silhouette Baltic Cruise. We did use taxis in Stockholm and had no issues at all. Just ask the price before you get in. Ship to the VASA museum was 200 Swedish Krona which is about $24.00 for four of us. Same price from Ice Bar to the ship. Celebrity did not have a shuttle.

In Copenhagen we did take the shuttle but I can't remember how much it was. Maybe $15 round trip?????

No we did not request any sort of refund. We just wanted the premium no alcohol instead of the Classic package. We tried at Guest Services as well as the Martini Bar and neither one would change it. It ended up not being an issue so we didn't worry about it. No one tried to pay to upgrade so I don't have any info on upgrades.

Schipol airport now has two security screenings to go through. Make sure you allow lots of time there as they were not close together. We left Silhouette in Stockholm at 6 am as we had a 9:30 flight to Amsterdam. We had a prearranged transfer and disembarked on our own. Walked right off the ship. We were the last people onboard our flight to the US as we had to walk all over Schipol for screening and backtrack to our gate.

We just returned from Baltic Silhouette cruise. We were told to always have our passports with us, no matter what country we were in. You are in a foreign country, you should have your passport with you.......

We docked in Tallinn. We took a cab to the top of Old Town and walked down. Took a cab back to the ship. Loved our visit to Tallinn!

Just returned from Silhouette - We tried to upgrade our Classic package to Premium no alcohol at Guest services and they would not do it. About half way through our cruise they ran out of bubbly water and we were give San Pelligrino at no additional charge......

The bedding issues were resolved quickly. I would have no reservations about booking Celebrity again.