beesKate

We had the same thing happen on our Frankfurt connection too. Original layover was about 5 hours, now 11. We book a day-rate room at the Hilton Garden Inn at the Frankfurt Airport, so we can shower & try to nap since we'll be arriving in Bucharest at midnight.

I was messaging someone whose Aug 21 Bucharest to Budapest was cancelled. They were given 10 days notice with an option to transfer to another cruise during that same timeframe or rebook the same cruise at a different time. Since many people travel to arrive a few days early for their cruise, this could affect how quickly they can shift to another option.

I was wondering the same thing. When I look at Cruise Mapper and filter for Uniworld, they don't have as many ships on the rivers as some other lines. If ships aren't in the correct positions they can't be used for swaps. We only had an issue on one of our cruises where a lock was closed, and they just mentioned bussing us to the next location which was the end of our cruise. We were lucky and lock re-opened and we were able to sail into Budapest.

I'm not notamermaid, but I've been finding good land guides from Rick Steves website. He interviews a lot on his radio show and the forums (as well as the entire website) are searchable. Most of his guides work independently and you can contact them directly.

I messaged with someone recently whose Uniworld Eastern Danube (Aug 21 Bucharest to Budapest) was cancelled with 10-days notice. They indicated they were encouraged to switch to another cruise during the same period (Uniworld lets you know what is available and I presume easier if Uniworld arranged your air or flying into a central location) or to rebook the same cruise at a different time. I've read the fine print on the contract and it looks like a refund may be at their discretion, but if they cancel our entire cruise that's what we're going to pursue. I'd rather not have an enticing credit. They can be rather generous with their credits.

They are what most would describe as business casual. No defined casual nights, but I've seen people dress very casually -- and I'm not aware of staff saying anything. My dining clothes were never that different from what I wore during the day except for a change of shoes and earrings. My husband (and other male guests) rarely wore ties.

Ninaks, You may not have enough time to do this, but we worked around Uniworld only picking up on their scheduled day. If they are picking up at the Frankfurt Airport for the cruise starting in Strasbourg and you would be staying in Frankfurt overnight, you could find a flight with an arrival time that meets your needs and let Uniworld know this is your "arrival flight". You go back to the airport at the appointed time and look for the Uniworld people around arrivals. We did this a few years ago when we arrived a few days early for a cruise beginning in Passau. They were picking up at the Munich airport, so we just took the train back to the Munich airport and found the Uniworld people. They are not checking airline passenger lists to see if you're actually booked on the flight.

I agree with not buying euros in the states. Our credit union ATM card (it's a Visa and on the Pulse network) is what we've always used. You'll be able to use cards for most of what you need or want -- just do the travel notification like you should for any cards. When you use an ATM, look for one that is owned by a bank. Be familiar with the names of the banks in country. If I know I want to get some euros first thing, I'll review the information on the airport I'm arriving at and see where ATMs are located in the terminal I'll be arriving at and if there are bank ATMs. I also go to the airport maps and see where they're located. Some of the ATMs in the airports are linked to currency exchanges and don't have the best rates. If we wait until we leave the airport, we'll do a google maps search for ATMs close to our hotel. Something else to consider is setting up Apple Pay (or Google Pay) and practice using it before you leave home. Even if your credit/debit card is not chip enabled you can use the secure touch technology in the App. As mentioned above, if given an option to pay in euros or dollars, always chose euros for a much better exchange rate.

To be candid, I have not traveled on AMA... however if we book another river cruise, I anticipate trying them out. We have done all our cruises with Uniworld. The last one, we met a couple who were on their first Uniworld after having sailed with AMA. They kept on comparing U with AMA saying they preferred AMA. The last couple of years, my sister and her husband have done several AMA cruises with extensions and have loved them all. They even did two in the last year with covid restrictions and limitations. They had nothing but great things to say about the line. We did book with Uniworld for a cruise this October, but that may be our last one for a while.