Kristelle

I think this is the correct thing to do if anything seems suspicious - directly ring the original company whose logo is featured and see what they say. Obviously getting their contact number independently, not from the ad. I guess they are counting on people thinking oh well, $1, nothing to lose and paying anyway I admit I have sometimes bought very cheap things (nothing to do with cruises) from FB ads - some have been fine, others have been oh well, only lost $5 was worth a try. But I always pay through PayPal, not directly with my credit card - so I can only lose the amount I know I paid, the company does not have access to my details

yes I think most people accept tourism revenue is a good thing for the places visited - but like everything there can be too much of a good thing - so huge numbers of tourists, especially all at once, is not always good for the local population or the environment of delicate places for the many reasons already given upthread this idea that just because visitors spend money. unlimited amount of them is wonderful is misguided at best - and, as has been pointed out cruisers don't spend as much in local places as other non cruiser tourists.

When I get home from a holiday, anything in my suitcase that has not been worn (or has been washed on the trip and re packed) doesn't get washed again when I get home, it just gets put straight away, a job which takes me 5 minutes. Any worn clothing in the wash bag gets tipped into laundry hamper to do next washing day. I get that some people enjoy travelling light - I am not one of them. I have a luggage allowance (1 suitcase, not 4!!) so I use it and enjoy wearing different clothes on different days/activities.

Not sure if this is an option for you, but I will give a plug for Hospital in the Rock in Budapest - guided tour through old caves converted into hospital during WW2 and beyond - wax models recreating scenes of its use over time. Maybe not everyone's thing but I found it very interesting and a nice change from castles, cathedrals, city walks.

I have only been on 2 river cruises, a small 4 day one in my own country and a 2 week Europe one. ^ feel free to make a condescending comment about how little I know too. On those cruises the cruise director was very visible and co ordinated excursions transport on board activities etc - people had choice of several excursions each day - and helped with any queries and gave a breifing each night before dinner keeping everyone up to date with happenings. A lot of this information was also available on the TV channel in our room - but of course it didnt get there by magic, I assume the CD organised those updates too.

I found I did sit on the balcony - sure, one can see better from the top deck but sometimes it is closed for travel between low bridges - and other times I sat on our balcony in the morning before breakfast - this was 14 day cruise so sometimes I wanted 'away from people' time during the day- and even without the balcony I appreciate the large window (Scenic have either aquarium class or balconies, no in between 'large window but not balcony' option.) the issue of docking side by side with other ships only happened couple of times in a fortnight. But clearly this is just personal preference.

I think it is more that we are not prepared to give up things like travelling ( unless temporarily in extenuating circumstances like pandemics) but we are prepared to modify things at home and travelling, when reasonable to do so. I certainly try to re use and recycle as much as possible and avoid plastic bags, straws etc and I like changes such as reusable bottles when cruising rather than free bottles of water, for example.

whether a balcony is worth the extra expense on a river cruise is subjective - IMO it is, the aquarium class cabins only have a small high window at water level - you can't see outside as well as not go outside. We didnt spend a huge amount of time in our cabin - but I did enjoy being able to sit outside sometimes, I did so every day and I liked the full length windows.(this was on Scenic but all Europe river cruise ships are very similar in style)

yes, that sounds similar to our Scenic river cruise experience. We had warm evenings and perhaps 1/4 of men wore shorts at dinner and jeans were not at all unusual at dinners. I dont think Scenic cafe is open at dinner, only breakfast and lunch (if it was, we never went there in the evening) and so dress code I am refering to is in main dining area. Most people went dressier for the gala dinners and the evening off board concert - but by no means really formal. A minority of men wore ties at those times but most did not.

I rinsed the items out after washing with the sheets - the sheets are just sort of dried soap, they disintegrate into soap as soon as you put them in water. Before discovering laundry sheets I always rinsed out whatever product I used before so no difference to me in that regard.

Yes you can do that. I find the laundry sheets so convenient though. Not just for cruising, also other types of holidays, hand or machine washing.

I second this. River safari spotting crocodiles in their natural habitat and then BBQ lunch - was really good but not sure how you would go time wise doing it from a cruise- we were on land holiday staying in Airlie Beach

not sure if this counts as a plane tip but since laundry was mentioned - I have found laundry sheets very useful.. Instead of bringing liquid laundry wash or powder or soap, the laundry sheets take next t o no space and have next to no weight and don't need to be wrapped in anything, as they won't leak or spill.

do you mean the number that shows on email as Scenic Club Number?

I don't think that is what the expression entails - seems more like a deliberate put down to me - or deliberately ' non complimentary' if you want to justify it that way. Interestingly te post calling out the haughty disdainful posting got 10 likes, more than I have seen for any other post on any thread. Clearly this is something others have noticed even if you somehow have not.

I have received an email telling me gold benifit of $200 discount per future tour - but no actual voucher.

Absolutely. within reason, of course. I am surprised that anyone owns that many swimsuits - but if you do and you like to bring however many on your trip, that's OK, totally up to you. or if you (like me) own one and just bring that, that's OK too.

why use it then? surely we could all use neutral and respectful terms about alternative choices.

No the comments were not objective ones about perceived quality of experience but snooty put downs about alternatives. I can't recall who said them all so I am not referring to anyone in particular.

^^ I agree. vast difference between saying what you prefer or can afford or see as advantages of something vs disdainful sort of comments about alternatives I have observed quite a bit of what ldubs described in my relatively short time here. and I say that with no horse in the race of ocean cruisers therefore no bias either way - being a river cruiser person myself

and further to above - the door opening onto the balcony on Scenic ships is a folding glass sort of door, opens the length of the cabin - so you can open it all the way and have your balcony as part of your room if you want, or separate when you don't.

Leaving aside whether everyone wants to be reunited and has the money to do so, this idea is also assuming everyone is into cruises - when clearly some people are and some people are not. Can't see it working out myself.

Cant speak for AMA or Viking - but I travelled on Scenic and had a balcony and we did use it. We also only twice out of 14 days docked side to side against another ship and then only for part of those days. This happens but perhaps not as much as people think - and of course might not always affect you depending which side of ship your cabin is at the time. Balcony was small but large enough for 2 chairs and a small table. Advantages of balcony vs french balcony IMO - you are genuinely sitting outside, you can separate from your partner - for example if I were reading a book on the balcony and he was watching something on the TV But it depends on the price difference between french balcony and true balcony if those were my options and all else same.

Yes, exactly - I think it isn't so much that tourism isn't wanted, just not too much all at once. Which of course can be the problem with thousands of people on large cruise ships.

that seems a good idea Szt - but does also highlight why locals may not be in love with cruise ships - if you dont want throngs of tourists on your day trip and prefer quiet uncrowded towns, , I guess locals who live there might feel same way 😉