birdman518

I am doing Metamucil now every morning... "things" are going much better, and I will certainly continue on our cruise.

It turned out that (per DW) it doesn't matter. We would do them anyway, so it will end up being (at most) 3 tours x 2 people x €149 on top of the cruise.

I was just getting ready to sign up for our optional excursions on our upcoming Danube cruise. We are taking the pre- and post- stays in Budapest and Prague, respectively. I know I can ask AMA or our travel agent, but I am up early and figured I would ask here for people who may have done this. Selecting the optional tour for Godollo, it states that it is 149 euros. Is that per-person? It is not clear. Similarly for all of the other 2 optional... all are listed as the same price... The Vienna Mozart concert and the Folklore Dinner in Prague. So all 3 for two people would end up being about 900 euros extra. Just checking.

I use Magnesium Citrate liquid similarly only as a last resort.. it is like a colonoscopy prep. Not something I want to do while vacationing, esp. on a cruise.

Quick update: This has been working quite well for me: 1. Daily dose of Miralax + Metamucil. 2. 500mg Magnesium Citrate capsule daily. This has been producing as close to "normal" as I have been for a while. I would like to see if only doing the Magnesium on an "as needed" basis would work, i.e., maybe two times per week. The results have been "not too urgent", which is a good thing. Thanks to all again!

My bad.. thanks!

Thanks... the liquid is not necessary, so I will probably just skip taking it, or buy something abroad..

We are going to be taking the AMA Waterways Danube cruise in May from Budapest to (ending in) Prague. We fly into and out of Frankfurt. Fortunately, neither of us are on prescription medications, but we do take some supplements, such as a generic multi-vitamin, Vit. D3, Curcumin, and a few others, and we would like to take them on our trip. 1. Do these need to be in their original bottles? If so, this will take quite a bit of room for a 10 day trip. 2. Will we have to go thru inspections both in Frankfurt AND Budapest? I know that Hungary is not in the EU, and will that make a difference? 3. Our previous trip with AMA on the Rhine was easy, going into and out of Amsterdam, and all countries part of the EU and Schengen area. 4. I don't HAVE to bring an OTC liquid, but if I did, can it be in a greater than 3.4oz bottle? Any other suggestions welcomed...

Thanks to all for replying. I have just been trying a Magnesium supplement tablet, with only a little (not enough IMO) success. The whole issue is that I would prefer not to miss a whole day of my cruise/trip in the bathroom, which is what happens if I used either Dulcolax liquid or Magnesium citrate liquid. Both work, but after 4 or 5 days of constipation, it takes a while. As I tried to indicate before, this is an ongoing problem that I believe has to do with my spine issues... it is pretty common to read that nerve problems can be indicated for constipation, presumably because nerves work muscles, including the colon.

I am retired. Normally if I have to block out most of the day for a "solution" to work, it is not a problem, although it is still annoying.

Thanks! Which OTC magnesium supplement (and dosage) do you use?

No, but I plan to start based on feedback from this forum....

Thanks again to all. Yes, I am about ready to set up a visit with my PCP or gastro-enterologist...

Thanks to both of you. Sorry I should have made several things clear: I eat a healthy diet of mostly home-cooked foods with lots of vegetables (and garlic). I also take Metamucil and some Miralax daily. I used to take a stool softener each day, and I drink a fair amount of water. I have tried prune juice regularly. It is probable that my constipation could be caused at least partly because I have neuropathy issues for my cervical and lumbar spine, and this can be related to constipation, as the nerves need to all work properly to move things through. So my question is not about "constipation in general" as all of these ideas can be found online. But on a cruise, where every day is planned, I would prefer not to be stuck on ship because I had to take a more drastic laxative which could take all day to work. I was hoping for someone who might say they had the same issue...

Okay, this will be our 2nd AMA cruise, but, we still feel like new cruisers! I just spent time looking here for the keyword "constipation", but did not see exactly what I am looking for. For people who have chronic constipation, how do you manage it on a cruise? Even when OTC products work, they can create a situation where one is disinclined to stray too far from the toilet. And even if not an emergency, one does not really want to find a public restroom in many large cities. So: does anyone have a recommendation for a real overnight remedy? One that will not endanger the entire next day? Thanks to all, and sorry for raising this!

FWIW, we just booked our 2024 Danube cruise with a TA... we used the one from before, and it was a good experience. Thanks again to all for help and advice.

As it turns out, there is a funny outcome here. While I was awaiting a callback from the cruise company (I was really only expecting a quote), I also reached out to my TA. By the time I got the call, the room I wanted was gone. My TA had grabbed the last one for us. We are going to meet with her on Friday, and I am 99% sure we will commit at that time. Thanks again to all!

Thanks all, for your replies. At this point, I am only getting a quote from the cruise company. But I am a little anxious not to lose a place for the cruise and date I want. I suspect we will go talk to a TA on Friday. (soonest).

We are looking to book another river cruise (Europe) soon. Last time, we used a local travel agent, and we were generally pleased with her help. But to be honest, there was very little that we could not have done easily ourselves. What is the general opinion here about "doing it yourself"? I really only see 4 big items: 1. Book the cruise 2. Book the airlines 3. Book extra-cruise activities 4. Book travel insurance Obviously, the more stuff that the cruise package includes, the less of the above may be applicable. I am not really crazy about this, but the wife (?) wants to. In a similar vein, does American Express travel (we recently got a Gold card) have any advantages for this? Thanks, Mitchell

Thanks, GeezerCouple... Yes we are in the USA. We will deciding exactly what we *want* to do and when very shortly. I will take your advice! FWIW, we plan to go back with AMA Waterways because it was a top-notch experience, in every way.

My wife and I took our first cruise (AMA Waterways Rhine) last April. At that time we did not book until February, partly because we just decided to do it. We had no problems getting a spot on the peak Amsterdam part in early April. We want to do another one (Danube), next May, but I have a few health issues that might pop up. I do understand that trip insurance may be one way to cover this, but what if the problem is (like mine) cancer, where although everything looks clear now (it does!) one does not know what could happen (mine has already come back once). My understanding is that travel insurance may not cover pre-existing conditions.. what about something like this? The second part of my question is: what is the latest date you would recommend committing to this? E.g. I will have scans every 3 months, so the next one will be Feb. 1, then one around May 1. With cancer, any scan could have you in surgery within a week. I would think I am not the only person to be in this position.... Thanks! P.S. I am clear now and do NOT expect any problems.