packed already

It must be frustrating, Scenic cancelled our cruise the day before we were meant to fly out in April, they offered us the reverse trip which we accepted. Luckily we had booked through a Travel Agent and she did all the ringing and dealing with Scenic for us. Emerald and Scenic are cancelling lots of their sailings at present so I expect the office staff are under huge pressure.

My suggestion, apart from emailing and ringing until your information is correct would be to login to the airline’s website and check your flights are as you expect them to be with the seats you have chosen. This will give you some peace of mind until your trip personaliser catches up. You still have some time to go so you have time to have this corrected.

I have sailed a couple of all inclusive cruises, including Uniworld and felt under no obligation to tip however we had a couple of favourites and gave them a discreet tip part way through the cruise. 

Hi Sissi67

I am one of those people who heard yesterday that Scenic had cancelled our cruise so now I am sailing with you. It was a very stressful day yesterday but all has been sorted without too much inconvenience. I hope you are enjoying Basel, we still fly into Amsterdam, spend 2 nights there and then on the 11th we fly to Zurich and are then transferred to the ship.

I look forward to meeting you.

Enjoy your next couple of days, we fly out from Sydney tonight.

On 4/4/2022 at 8:03 PM, notamermaid said:

@packed already welcome to the river cruising board. A long way to travel to what I am sure will be an exciting time in Amsterdam and on the canal and river.

 

As you have read, we have now had a decent amount of rain - with a bit of snow thrown in - and the level has gone up. Kaub now stands at 146cm, is levelling off. This means for this week there will be no problems for river cruise ships with either low or high water. Next week, the levels will go up further but we cannot say how much. Definitely no problems with low water any time soon! I always say below 90cm at Kaub ships can be slowed down because the navigation channel narrows and with every centimetre less it gets trickier to sail till finally the draft of each individual ship prevents it from sailing safely. In low water that decision lies with the captain of a ship, in flooding the authorities put a ban on river traffic.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Thank you for your welcome and answers, I’ll be following along.

Hi notamermaid and others that have been posting. I have been following along and here is my 1st post. Thank you for the information you so freely provide.

My husband and I are booked on a Scenic Amsterdam to Basel cruise leaving 11th April 2022. I am enjoying reading your information and will follow closely as the departure day nears. We are leaving Sydney this Friday for a couple of days in Amsterdam prior to departure. We hope to visit the tulip gardens and visit the Anne Frank House while we are in Amsterdam. 
Could you inform me of the minimum water level the boats need to sail and is there any danger of the river being too shallow? 

The Uniworld walking tour in Vienna shows you the main sights and finishes about 11am. We then had the option of continuing with the guide to see the palace. There were buses that took you back to the ship at noon, 2pm and 4pm. If you are considering a private tour why not arrange somthing for the afternoon and enjoy the walking city tour in the morning.

Hi, I am sailing the the Main having just left the Rhine. We are in Wurzburg. The conditions have been perfect as has the weather. Touring has been done in short sleeves although very chilly at night. For 1st time cruisers I hope this helps you as it was the information I was looking for. Happy sailing.

Thank you to everyone who took time to reply, we fly out of Sydney tonight and have packed our bags, less dresses and more pants to layer tops and cardigans. I wish there was a "like" button so I could like all your threads individually.

It is less than a week until we board Uniworld River Empress for an Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise, this will be our first European river cruise. I have been watching the weather and am now reassesing my packing. The temperatures seem to be lower than I was anticipating. We are in winter in Australia with daytime temperatures around 18 to 22 Celsius and I am wearing jumpers and cardigans. Some of the ports we are visiting don't seem to have daily highs any warmer than this. I thought it was Summer in Europe and was expecting much warmer temperatures. Is it likely to warm up? I'm wondering if I should pack more long sleeve tops especially for evening up on deck.

Also will I need insect repellent? For those who have sailed Uniworld can I ask if the laundry is sufficient for the number of passengers or will there be a line up? Are the cabins individually climate controlled? Is there body lotion supplied? For anyone who has done the go active bike riding excursions are they easy flat rides or are steep hills involved? Also if anyone would like to recommend an excursion they particularly enjoyed I would love to hear about it. Many thanks for reading my long list.

Backing up a bit........I arrived in Amsterdam a day early and stayed at

"The Banks Mansion" hotel. It is a lovely property. A big flower market

on one side, with a canal on the other, it is sort of a cross between a

B&B and a hotel. The lobby is like a living room with a fire place and

complimentary juices/coffees/teas/booze (yes liquors are included).

The large breakfast room is downstairs and is also included in the price.

The staff (reception) are very warm and welcoming.....and helpful too.

Thanks for your input, we will be staying at Banks Mansion for 3 nights at the end of this month prior to our cruise, lovely to hear from someone who has stayed there and enjoyed it.

Thanks notamermaid for this post and all your time you contribute. I am eagerly following as we depart Amsterdam on 2nd August on River Empress.

Thanks again, this thread is so valuable.

We have done a 12 day land and Mekong river cruise, we went in January and found it very hot so April will be even hotter. Our trip to Angor Wat seemed excessively hot.

Make sure your ship has a pool as you will use it every day. Whilst sailing the breeze was lovely on the pool deck while we read or were in and out of the pool. Shore trips were hot but not extensively long, cool bottled water was freely given on buses and at hotel. It was a marvelous holiday. We sailed with Travelmarvel and were very happy with everything.

We are sailing with Uniworld on The River Empress on 2nd August from Amsterdam to Budapest. I read that the 110m ships have less trouble with water levels than the bigger ships. Is this correct?

Hi, We cruised Alaska in May. The weather was perfect and lots of snow still around.

We did an inside passage our of Vancouver.

May was a beautiful time of year to visit both Alaska and Vancouver.

Enjoy.

Hope you enjoy your Alaskan cruise, I will be leaving Australia in a week for a Canadian land tour followed by an Alaskan cruise, my husband says I have way too much packed so if you have a moment could you tell me what is in your suitcase. I will be away for 3 weeks.

thank you.

We are in the same situation so I am also interested in following the answers, thank you for asking it and thanks to those who provide their experiences.

I am also going to Alaska on Volendam in May so would be interested in replies, what date do ypu sail Nicci1?

Thanks, I have already investigated some of your suggestions such as leaving a bag in Vancouver and packing minimal toiletries so I will try packing and weighing two weeks out and then ditch what doesn't fit, just another question, is it acceptable to go to dinner in your jeans or do I need to change and dress in a different outfit that is more dressy each night?

Hi All' date='

We are very excited about this cruise, we are doing a Scenic river cruise this year, so more northern Europe and the HAL one will give us a wonderful slice of the Med............as an Australian going to Europe is always a dream trip.

QUOTE']

 

Congratulations on your 1st HAL cruise. We are also Aussies and sailing on our 1st HAL cruise this May to Alaska.

As you say a trip to Europe for an Aussie is a dream trip. We sailed the Med in 2007 with MSC, it was a dream come true. I used Cruise Critic back then to book some private tours that were recommended.

I would love to hear about your Scenic River cruise as that is one on our bucket list, trying to decide between Scenic and APT, what made you choose Scenic and which River cruise did you choose?

Best wishes to you.

Thanks everyone for your input, it looks like another pair of shoes will go in for both of us plus flip flops. Just couldn't see how we need flip flops in Alaska in May. (Help me out here)

It isn't the airline that causes the restriction (23kg each in checked luggage) but the pre cruise tour that only allows 20kg pp.Yes, hubby will pack light but once you take everyone's suggestions about alarms clocks, power boards, binoculars, torch (and the list goes on) I'm not sure how we will get it all in.

Suggestions welcome.

Hi again, thanks for all your advise so far.

We are travelling in May 2015.

I am an Aussie who is spending 2 weeks travelling around BC followed by a 7 day Alaskan cruise. We have a 20kg pp weight limit. My "plans" are to take 3 pairs of shoes. A black pair of mid heels (sandals) to be worn most nights, a comfortable pair black leather walking shoes, to be worn most days and a pair of mid heeled wedge boots to be worn some nights with pants (or winter dresses) or some days with jeans. My husband will take one pair leather walking shoes and one pair leather dress shoes. Most hotels offer disposable slippers should we want to visit the pool in Australia, is this the same in BC and on cruise lines?

Tell me your thoughts on the "plan" and what I should / shouldn't include.

Thank you in advance.

Thank you for your help

Enjoy your cruise, as are having a great time on the Volendam and I'm sure you will too.

Thanks, can you tell me when and where "Happy Hour" or 2 for 1 drinks are served, also what are the shows like in the evening. Also are the pools heated?:

I have never been on a HAL cruise previously but certainly looking forward to it, even if I do have to wait until May.

Hope you are enjoying your cruise.:o

Have a wonderful holiday from an Aussie. Hope to hear about your holiday when you return.

Thank you for your input, I will try your suggestions, I am an Aussie and phone calls are expensive so I will just tick the box and send out my first bag when we arrive. We will be touring for about 12 days prior to boarding so I will have a fair bit, how much can you send out on the first night? Is there a limit or is it "unlimited". I really try to avoid going to the ships desk to sign up for these things, you would think in this day and age so much more would be available over the internet.

Looking forward to May, it can't come soon enough.

Smooth Sailing to you all.