foser22

I'm glad to hear it's casual!! That's the impression I was getting, but you never know. When I mentioned to my husband he may need to bring khakis and a button down shirt, his comment was, I don't think so.....I know some people love to dress for dinner, but sequins seem pretty formal for someone like me:'):').:')

We go in January 2019, so it's still a long way off!! We cannot wait! We have really loved reading this thread...it helps with the long wait.

Mary

I am also sensitive to motion and lower mid is definitely better. We were on the Empress many years ago and I had no problems...although I did have a patch too. Recently, we were in an aft room on Crown Princess. It was the biggest boat we’ve ever been on and even with a patch I was queasy the last few days. We probably won’t do an aft room again[emoji51]

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I’ve been looking at Norwegian cruises and have been reading about Hurtigruten. People seem to like them, but I’m wondering if most of the stops are only 15-20 minutes, what is the draw? I like the idea of a small, casual boat, but 15 minutes is pretty fast.

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What a great review and thank you for posting. We've been pondering this cruise and looking at options. My biggest hesitation is also the Drake!! I'm warming to the idea of just "going for it" and taking my chances. I've also looked at trips that fly into SG. Lots to think about.

We were on the Alaskan Dream 2 summers ago in July. It was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken. To see Alaska up close and personal was an experience you can’t match on a giant ship. I wasn’t on the Baranof, so I can’t say what the boat is like, but we did similar itineraries and things at the stops. Everything was exceptional. The food was fabulous and the other cruisers were fun, interesting and very well traveled. It’s not luxury, but very casual and comfortable. You will love it!

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Wow!! This looks like so much fun!! I'll have to add it to my to do list. Thanks for sharing.

Here's another option for you. Check out Alaskan Dream Cruises. They are an Alaskan company of small boats and offer a very different experience than the large ships. Our boat was a catamaran with 40 people. There's no casino or shows and you don't have to bring dress clothes. It's an active vacation that focuses on the wildlife, scenery and local culture. It's all within the inside passage so in general the water is calm. We saw more whales than we could count up close and personal, and when we spotted them we could follow them. We could even smell their breath. We saw a pod of Orcas and were able to stop and follow them for an hour and they waited to serve dinner until we were ready. A couple of big ships went right by. There's even a naturalist on board to tell us about the animals. In Glacier Bay a park ranger came on board to point things out.

We saw many bears, sea lions, puffins, mountain goats, eagles galore, & we even got to see whales bubble net feeding all from the boat, because we were able to stop and change course when we something. We saw several glaciers calving and could feel the waves because we could get fairly close. We even got to see a moose in the wild on one our hikes.

The food is gourmet and as good or better than the other cruises we've taken (RC, Celebrity, Oceania). I'm gluten free and every meal was delicious!

We also really enjoyed visiting some smaller cities and learning about the Alaskan history and culture from Alaskans.

It's not for everyone. It's not plush, but clean and comfortable. Our room was small, but we had the least expensive room. I'm not sure what the other rooms were like.

Everyone got to know each other. It wasn't a boisterous crowd, but definitely well travelled. The ages ranged from a family from the U.K. with high school kids to a couple from New Zealand celebrating 90th birthdays. Most were 50's & 60's but a very active group.

PS.... the salmon were running and the bears were active and easy to spot because of it. We had no problem with mosquitoes or bugs.

So, depending on what kind of experience you're looking for, this could be an option worth checking out.

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We were on Romantic Danube in May. I would agree that some of the included tours were better than others. Basically They are a quick overview of the city to give you the lay of the land. Later, we would walk around on our own or do an extra tour. We did several extra tours that we really enjoyed and were glad that we did them. The one extra tour that we tried to get on, but couldn't, was the Danube Narrows. It was booked. We kept hemming and hawing and by the time we decided to do it, it was too late.

It was a fun cruise, you'll have a great time!

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We are currently booked on Vikings Waterways of the Tsars in May next year. I just realized that World Cup soccer starts two weeks after we get back. I think it would be a fun time to be in St. Petersburg, but I'm starting to think it might be super busy with people and teams arriving early. Also, we are not able to stay any extra days, because rooms are not available....at least through Viking. Any ideas?

I had same questions prior to our Viking Romantic Danube Cruise. I ended up booking private tours pre-cruise in Prague (Caput Regni...they were wonderful) and post-cruise in Budapest (Travel Guide Hungary was also wonderful). I had planned a private tour in Nuremberg, but ended up cancelling after talking to someone who had just returned from this cruise. The boat wasn't in Nuremberg as long as I had thought and the boat did move to another location, while we were in town. Viking reps could not confirm anything prior to our trip and were not very helpful in planning. I opted to be safe and stick with the Viking tours during the cruise. That being said, the Viking tours were all very good and I would highly recommend doing the additional excursions.

Good advice to check your seats. I just found out by accident also, that the upgraded seats that we paid extra for six months ago were no longer our seats. Our seats were changed to the last row in the aircraft! After an hour hour on the phone and insisting on our original seats we did get them back. Ours is an 11 hour flight and we booked early so could upgrade our seats. I don't understand how they give away seats that have been paid extra for. Sorry for the rant!

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We did a different Christmas Market cruise last December and LOVED it. We just got home from a Danube cruise yesterday and it was great and would be even more special at that time of year!!

We stayed at Hotel Leonardo in Prague and they provided our transfer. It was a great hotel in such a good location. The transfer was very reasonable.

Our guide in Prague was Marketa from Caput Regni and she was spectacular! She's definitely in the right profession because she's charming, enjoys tourists, knows so much history and is very articulate! We all enjoyed our day with her so much.

In Budapest, we had Orsolya from Travel Guide Hungary and she was another fabulous guide. She's very fun and knowledgeable and made our time in Budapest very fun!

You will love the Christmas Markets!! Each one is unique and beautiful.

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I don't mean to throw a curve ball, but we did a similar itinerary in December for the Christmas Markets. I was trying to figure out trains, but decided to book my flight directly from Cologne. The Routing was Cologne, Munich, Chicago. It's only a 30 minute flight and so much easier. The cost was virtually the same.

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