Kristelle

anyone who has not heard a snore on a flight has not been on a flight with my husband 🤣 He can definitely snore sitting up.

I don't think I could nap all the time through from lunch to dinner though 😄 if there is a mixture of a few 'just sailing' half days along with some on board demos/activities (like wheelhouse tours, do they do them on river cruises?) and the occasional full day tour and some free time off the ship - then I think that will be a nice balance for me. Scenic includes all excursions too - sounds like Tauck, in that regard. another possibly silly question re public toilets - is there a standard price for them and one carries that much cash in case of needing one or how does it work? (am used to Australia where paying for public toilets is not a thing)

yes I agree - probably will be nice now and then. But, for me anyway, I probably dont want that every day. Happy to get off ship on our own and do exploring on foot in our free time.

Europe river cruises - most days seem to have an excursion in the morning then back on board for lunch question - what happens in the afternoon between lunch and dinner? I get that you can sit on the sundeck or in the lounge and enjoy the scenery and that will be nice at times - but are there also activities (lectures, cooking demos etc) on board and/or can you leave the ship, if it is docked, and go out and explore within walking distance on your own? Amsterdam to Budapeston on Scenic, , if that makes any difference.

I guess that depends on the purpose of one's journey - if I wanted entertainment and sightseeing, and the journey 'being part of the destination' I would go on HOHO London double decker bus or a boat trip on the Thames. If I want to just get from A to B in easy quick cheap method, underground is the go.

I went o n the underground in London 10 yrs ago with no problems. not exactly a tourist this time but we are staying in hotel and visiting family before our cruise Said family live in London and told us easiest way to get to them is via the underground - I don't think they would suggest that if it were "close to hell" .

I have some blingy sandals with a low chunky type heel and they are what I wear with any dresses for any dressy occasions.

Hot spells by european standards don't bother me. Am used to Australian summers. London is family catch up, not touristy time and we have a Paris day tour booked and Scenic is all excursions inclusive - so should all be good.

We arrive in London 1st Sept. 3 nights in London, 2 nights in Paris then Amsterdam to Budapest River Cruise.

Would be too cold for me in winter but September is early autumn ( fall) so hopefully still mild weather and less crowds. And was slightly cheaper than June/ July/ August prices..

Adelaide oval is the same. You can buy the Footy Record for cash outside the stadium but once you are inside everything is card only.

I am going to Europe in September. Will it be less crowded then?

Anita you were there in early July - middle of summer. Ive been to London before in July and was. for us, nicely warm, around 27 deg C (in 2013) We will be there in September this time - early autumn.

not sure why the "Wow" 🤨 I said we should try our best to pronounce names correctly - I didnt say it was easy or we will always get it right - just that we should try our best and not deliberately mis pronounce or change them. Of course people can't just go by silly made up names like Little Boo Boo - and that wasnt at all what I meant - I meant it is up to the person whether their name is shortened - eg if they want to be called Jennifer or Jenny - or whether they are known by their middle name or their name is anglicised etc

I think that is different and is also wrong - people deliberately mispronouncing your name or deciding for you to change it to something else. something done a lot in the past to people with non mainstream names - Guiseppe became Joe whether he wanted to or not I think we should all try our best to pronounce people's names as we are asked to and to respect their right to change or not change their name as THEY want to. But people not knowing and not doing deliberately - as was OP's scenario - that is different.

Doug thanks for that info - if only to reassure me that , for me, it doesnt matter which of Scenic's ships I am on - being in ordinary level balcony cabin. Obviously preferable not to have to do a mid trip ship swap - but will make zero difference to me if my entire trip from Amsterdam boarding is on another ship instead of Scenic jade. and since we are catching train from Paris and not doing transfer with company, I will have Scenic number ready in my phone, just in case.

Well, yes, that would be tricky. I was assuming company would send passengers a message to notify them

Oh yes, I get the inconvenience of swapping ships mid trip. I meant it wouldn't matter if your whole trip from the beginning was on a different ship to the one expected

My son used to work in a bank branch in an older suburb of Adelaide. Only couple of years ago. They s till had customers with passbooks - no new passbooks will be issued for other customers but those with them already were still usable Pension day there were always old age pensioners lined up outside for bank opening, to withdraw cash over the counter using their passbooks

does this really matter to people? the ships of a company are all pretty similar, arent they? we are booked to travel on Scenic Jade - if we get to Amsterdam and find we were sailing on Scenic XYZ instead, would that make any difference?

I'm not in US - but this mispronounciation thing is something that people from other 'non white mainstream' cultures with 'ethnic names' face in english speaking countries all the time - other people not pronouncing/ spelling/ understanding their name correctly and of course most don't have an easy middle name option to fall back on either. My boss (Indian) has a name usually used for women in anglo saxon culture - spelt differently but pronounced the same - eg Leesa (not the actual name, just as an example) Ive known people with ethnic names which have 'silly connotations' in anglo saxon culture - eg Mehboob, Hardik (real examples) people cope with these things My husband has the common mainstream name Kenneth - but like most people with that name he always goes by Ken. if people reading lists, name tags etc call him Kenneth - no big deal, no hyperbole about losing freedoms - just corrects them if it is someone he is going to have ongoing connection with or lets it go if not.

kangaroo pockets we call them here - cruisemom42 showed a small picture of a green one above. I quite like them, I don't think they are unflattering

probably the purple one just the first ladies one that comes up on google images 😉 very interesting discussion to me, hoodie can be zipped or not, would still call it a hoodie and yes usually sweatshirt (windcheater) material those oodies have been a popular thing in Australia for year or so - very thick fleecy interior and over sized like in pic. I have one myself - not intending to take on cruise 😉

what you are describing in OP sounds to me like an oodie - which was a trademark, so various copycats brought out similar with different names. However here in Australia oodie has become a generic lay person name for one of any brand here they are mostly patterned - with sports teams, cartoon characters, other cute patterns - see pic below. Mostly worn over pyjamas or at least at home to keep warm, occasionally seen in public in very casual setting (walking the dog etc) - but to me that would be equivalent of wearing a dressing gown in public, might do so to put bin out on kerb but not in general public settings Hoodies are like my previous picture of purple hoodie - re posted here for everyone else- and worn in public all the time for any casual setting - eg on cruise excursions but probably not out to dinner Examples of Oodie and Hoodie, in my Australian understanding of words

and another tip right for Kristelle 😉☺️