NanciEA

I am the OP, so I thought I would clarify. Lindblad's website now says all alcohol will be included on their Europe 2.0 (2016) sailings on the Orion. Tips to the crew and onshore will also be included. I was happy to read this as during our previous sailing on the Orion (prior to Lindblad) this was not the case. It could be a little awkward, as we often joined others for the recap and dinner and wondered if we should share the bottle we purchased, etc.

I'm enjoying your reports very much. Keep them coming! You mentioned that 3/4 of the cruisers were from a company charter. I was wondering if this affected your enjoyment of the cruise either positive or negative? Did you feel left out socially?

My DH and I have cruised on both Viking and AMA, as well as Avalon in Europe. I'll rank by categories as different things are important to different people.

Payment schedule: Tied = AMA and Avalon (90 days out) 3) Viking - total payment upfront

Customer Service Prior = 1) AMA, 2) Viking, 3) Avalon

Air Arrangements (I always book by own.)

Cabins = 1) Avalon (floor to ceiling sliding glass doors are amazing), 2) Viking, 3) AMA (This is very different, depending on how new the ships are. We were on an older AMA ship.)

Food and Wine = (Very subjective) = 1) Avalon, 2) AMA, 3) Viking

Mobility of Passengers = 1) AMA, 2) Avalon, 3) Viking. On our AMA and Avalon cruises there were exercise rooms, and AMA had bike tours. I asked a Viking representative why they didn't put an exercise room in their new longships and the reply was "that is not our demographic".

Cruise Director = 1) AMA, 2) Avalon, 3) Viking. (Luck of the draw.)

Staff and Service = 1) Avalon, 2) AMA, 3) Viking

Excursions = 1) AMA, 2) Avalon, 3) Viking. On our AMA there was at least an attempt at slow and active walkers groups.

Hope this helps. If we take another river cruise in Europe I would look at AMA or Avalon and decide based on ports of call, travel dates, ship etc.

I have not been on this specific RCL excursion, however, I have been on a walking tour which included Nevsky Prospect. Our tour stopped at a shop which was an upscale candy store/deli which was very nice. If you bought something, even just a few candies, the receipt could be used to visit their very clean toilets. Some in our group who weren't interested in shopping did wander on the block outside to take photos. No problem. You just had to be ready to leave at the appointed time. There is also a great gift shop at Peterhof. We had lots of free time there to wander in the lovely grounds, which we did, but we also allowed ourselves time to browse in the shop. Again, we just had to be back at the bus at a certain time. The Hermitage, like all large museums has a wonderful gift shop as well. We did not use our free time there to shop because there was so much art work to see. I would definitely take Rubles and not worry about finding an ATM, as we did not make any specific stops for those. Perhaps we lost some in the conversion rate by getting them from our home bank, but we were very relaxed about not having to find an ATM and that was important to us.

H2Ostr, several years ago my DH and I did a AMA cruise in Holland and Belgium. We too were excited that they had slow, medium and active walking groups. However, the reality was less exciting. As Ural Guy states, the groups are totally self selecting. Where you and I might think those who needed a cane to assist with their walking would select the slow, or at least "medium" group, there was a couple who insisted on they were "active for their age" and joined our group most days. There was nothing the guide could do put go as slow as the walkers using canes could go. We learned to join the "medium" group as it was the smallest and then go off on our own. We have sailed with Viking twice, and AMA and Avalon once each. We definitely thought Avalon had the most active passengers, possibly because they had a fitness center on board. I was disappointed that Viking did not put a small fitness room on their new longships. When we asked about this they replied that this was "not their demographic."

In March, my husband and I booked a 7 night cruise for February 2016. At the time of booking, I said I also wanted to book a three night pre-cruise at the Intercontinental Bora Bora in an OTW suite. They told me they would "put me down" for the pre-cruise and let know later about the price. I called last week to see if they had booked the hotel package yet and they said they still do not have a price and cannot book the three night extension. I told them I am booking my own air to Papeete and I wanted to go ahead and buy my tickets as only certain flights work for us. They said they would let me know when they have the rates and can guarantee the pre-cruise stay, but they gave me no timetable. Has anyone else had this happen to them for 2016? When did you have your pre-cruise confirmed? Has anyone not gotten the pre-cruise hotel they requested? The agent at Paul Gauguin was kind, but insisted there was nothing she could do as of now.

There is definitely something missing from the $94 quote. We paid $644 to insure our 7 night cruise, plus 3 night pre-cruise (but not airfare). We have on going evacuation insurance from Medjet Assist. We prefer their product because they will evacuate you to your home hospital, not the "nearest medical facility".

My husband and I did this AMA cruise several years ago at exactly the same time in April. We arrived on Thursday morning for a two night pre-cruise stay which I planned myself. I used points to stay at the Marriott on Stadhouderskade. I picked this location because it was near the museums. The Marriott let us check in early, which was great. Our first stop was the tourist office at Leidesplein where we purchased tickets for a tour to Keukenhof the following day, as well as a Museum card. Then we walked to the floating flower market and the Begijnhof. I would recommend both. (Then we visited the Anne Frank House, which I had prebooked, and climbed the Westerkirk bell tower, neither of which it seems you will do.) Dinner was at the Five Flies (D'Vijff Vlieghen) which had fabulous food and a festive "old Dutch" feel.

Friday we were on the first bus from Leidseplein to the gardens. There is a bus change at the airport, but it is easy to do. We had checked the weather report and it was going to be sunny and 70F. My husband is an avid gardener and we were worried the weather might be bad on the day of the cruise ship tour to Keukenhof. It turned out the weather was equally fabulous a week later, but we still enjoyed seeing the gardens a second time. When we returned to Amsterdam, we went to the Van Gogh Museum as it was open until 10:00pm on Friday. (Not sure if this is still true.) We by passed the line because of our Museum pass.

Saturday we checked out, stored our luggage, and took the short walk to the Rijksmuseum. After that we walked to Rembrandt's House, Magere Bridge, The Willet-Holthuysen Museum and the Van Loon Museum - all on our pass. We returned to our hotel around 3:00 to retrieve our luggage and take a taxi to the cruise boat.

The only excursion included with the AMA cruise in Amsterdam on Sunday was a canal cruise, which we purposely had not done on the previous days. If they still have the bicycle trip to Volendam that day, I would consider doing this if you feel your mother will be okay on the ship without you. I say this because that bicycle excursion was my favorite ship excursion we have ever done and we have traveled a lot. We cycled to Edam for a cheese tasting, past tulip fields and even stopped at old fashioned windmill for peek inside. We also took the bike tour the following day in Arnhem and it too was wonderful.

On the last day of the cruise, we toured Keukenhof Gardens again, this time with AMA. We told our guide we would not be returning to the ship with the bus, but rather we caught a bus to the Leiden train station and a train to The Hague. We wanted to visit the Mauritshuis Museum. In the late afternoon, we took the train to Amsterdam Central Station (30 mins.) and walked to the boat which was docked just behind the station.

This is a bit long and maybe it won't be of any interest to you or your Mom, but perhaps useful to someone else. Don't be embarrassed about planning ahead. That's half the fun!

Have just made a reservation for a B2B on Orion for its 2016 European trips (unlike any other Lindblad offerings) alcohol is included and gratuities are included as well.

hrprof, I was wondering where you read/saw that alcohol and gratuities were included on your Orion sailing? We too are booked on the Orion in Europe in 2016 and I could not find these inclusions. (Hence my original post to start this thread.)

Perhaps I should have explained further. We traveled on the Orion several years ago, prior to their association with Lindblad and yes, we did pay for our wine with dinner. It was New Zealand and the wine was actually excellent. We did an excursion out of Napier to several wineries, so Orion definitely did not discourage folks who were interested in wine as well as nature and adventure. The meals were also wonderful as the menu was by Sydney's Serge Danseraeu of the Bathers' Pavilion restaurant. The 2015-2016 brochure states this is still the case for the Orion. Also, since this cruise is in the Baltic and visits several European cities, perhaps they will be okay with us wine drinkers joining the expedition? Orion Expedition Cruises certainly was welcoming to us.

I was wondering why no alcohol is included on any expeditions? I did a lot of research prior to booking and many, especially "high end" cruises/expeditions, now include at least wine and beer with dinner. We have traveled with Viking and I do not consider them "high end" and they include wine and beer with lunch and dinner (river and now ocean cruises). Admittedly, it is not alway "great" wine, but still.... It is like getting free wifi at Hampton Inn, but having to pay for it at the Ritz Carlton? I am paying $1000 per day per person, so I was wondering why they could not pour a glass of pinot noir with my dinner? Just curious.

I usually book are travel insurance independently and have done so for our upcoming PG cruise. I go to http://www.insuremytrip.com to compare prices. I have booked with Allianz Global Assistance. I am booking air on my own, so I did not insure that part of the vacation. Three night pre-cruise and seven night cruise was $644.00 for two persons in their late fifties.

Thanks for all the responses. We are morning people and are usually up by 7:00am, so it seems like Deck 7 will be fine for us.

Regarding the Friday night flights, my DH and I both work and need to be home by Monday morning. We have to "leave paradise early" because we are not independently wealthy and must work to support our travel habit. Because we live in a smaller city in the Eastern time zone, we will not arrive home until very late on the night after our departure from Papeete. We not only have to connect through LAX in the morning, but also then either Chicago, Dallas or Atlanta, which needs another few hours for the connection. The flight from Papeete doesn't arrive at LAX until 11:15am PST, which is 2:15 in the east. Also, we've been stranded in LA before, not because the weather is bad there, but because of storms in the eastern US. Does that sound familiar?!

We are looking at booking on the PG and were wondering about noise from above on Deck 7. I did a search and the only thread was about the aft cabins. What about mid-ship where the cabins are below the pool and Le Grill?

Also, the cruise schedule says the ship docks at 7:30pm in Papeete on Friday night. Has anyone ever booked the 11:59pm Air Tahiti Nui flight on Friday instead of staying over until Saturday night? It seems like enough time to make the flight.

I wanted to let everyone know my group of four made a one hour connection at Charles De Gaulle in Paris two weeks ago. We panicked when Air France (Delta) changed our times so we only had one hour to make the connection. We had to get from 2F to 2E - M concourse. Thanks to this forum, I went to the easyCDG website and printed out the step by step instructions. Our flight from Budapest arrived early and we had an extra ten minutes, which helped, but we still would have made it. There are numerous phases to the transfer including elevators, passport control and buses, but when we arrived at our gate 30 minutes after leaving the previous one, they were just starting to board first class. You have to pay attention to the signs and hustle. We did not run, but did walk very fast.

Yes, Delta would have changed our flights for free after the time change, but we had premium economy seats on our Air France flight and none were available on the next flight. We highly recommend premium economy, and it should be noted that this is a step up from Delta's economy comfort.

Does anyone remember how the river cruise lines handled the chaos in air travel in 2010 because of the eruption of the volcano in Iceland? Did travelers already there stay on the ships or were they put up in hotels, or left to fend for themselves? I'm asking because we leave in two days for Prague and there is a distinct possibility of another eruption soon. I know there was little air travel in 2010 between the US and Europe for about six days, but I thought I read somewhere that because the airlines lost so much money, they had come up with contingency plans if there was an eruption in the future. Obviously, we have to go with the flow and this is all part of international travel, but it is also good to be knowledgable and prepared.

Eight summers ago we took a family cruise on the Nautica from Rome to Istanbul. Our sons were 18 and 20. When I mentioned this prior to the cruise, some Cruise Critic posters implied we were practically torturing our young adult children. Wouldn't our sons be looking to meet people their own age? Wouldn't they prefer a cruise with wet T-shirt contests? Or a booze cruise perhaps? What the posters didn't know was my 18 year old picked out that cruise as his high school graduation trip reward from us. When our sons were growing up we traveled the USA and to some parts of Europe with them. We promised them that upon high school graduation if they had gotten into college and we had never had to bail them out of jail, then the family would take a two week vacation anywhere in the world they chose. My son had the world to pick from and after extensive research, he chose the Oceania cruise. We all still talk often of that trip. (They had their own cabin next to ours.) My sons would spend their college and graduate school years with friends their own age (and maybe some wet t-shirts and booze were involved then!), but our family vacations were for the four of us to form lifetime memories. We had fantastic meals in Toscana and the Polo Grill. Most of our excursions were private and we had a blast. We rented a jeep and drove all over Santorini, we laughed at the "family beach" we went to on Mykonos that was actually a topless beach, we sat in the stadium at Ephesus where Paul preached, and we had a wonderful young man who had recently been a sharp shooter in the military tour us around Istanbul. My sons are far away now and my husband and I treasure the two weeks we had with them on the Nautica, so take your daughter and treasure your time with her. I don't know how you could regret it.

We are looking at booking the Viking Homelands cruise for 2016 in the PV1 Penthouse Veranda category on either Deck 5 or 6. Does anyone know what the "wings" or "protrusions" are which are on the deck plan for the back of the ship on Deck 7 and 6? My concern is these will make the cabins located below them darker and limit visibility. It is hard to tell from the exterior drawing of the ship. I cannot wait to book until the ships sail and someone reports in.

There is a new review for the Avalon Illumination (Bluesky1212) who said they could not board in Nuremberg because of low water and they were bused to Passau. The reviewer stated that despite losing two days of river cruising, Avalon provided no compensation. They did not mention if they were able to still visit Nuremberg and Regensburg or not. We are booked on this cruise in late August, and I fully realize that we could be bused for low (or high) water, but I would hope some sort of tour would still be provided. The review did not say what they did for the two days they were not on the river.

We did a 7 night Tulip Time cruise with AMA several years ago in mid April. We flew to Amsterdam several days early, as the cruise did not really have time scheduled to tour the city. We went to Keukenhof on our own (Very easy to due via bus.) on one of those days. A week later we went back on the cruise tour. It was fun to see the changes in just one week. We hoped one of the two days would be sunny, but we got lucky and both were. In fact the whole cruise we had beautiful weather.

Our family did "Norway in a Nutshell" from Oslo to Bergen, stopping overnight in Flam. I would highly recommend this as otherwise it would be a very long day.

We were in the Lofoten Islands a few years ago with our family. We rented a car and toured around. It is very easy to drive there. We were based in one of the larger towns (Svolvaer), but I would just check to see if there are any rental agencies in the town where your cruise docks.

When I read the OP's post, I did not think they were implying there was anything wrong with the bus on the tour, but that their friends were physically unable to exit the bus and complete a walking tour of the locale. I'm assuming this was due to a physical disability. We have been on several river cruises and there is always a lot of walking. Viking usually is very good about informing their passengers about walking requirements, stairs, etc. But, then the passenger has to take some responsibility in reading the excursion details and attending the port talks.

I was wondering why there are so few cabins on the PG which can either be twins or one queen? Most seem only to have the one queen option. This seem unusual compared to many cruise ships where almost all cabins can accommodate either configuration. I can only assume there are built in end tables which cannot be moved. Does anyone know?

I'm so glad Avalon responded the way they did. My husband and I have taken three river cruises and raved about them so much we talked three other couples into going on the Danube with us later this summer. Everyone was looking to us (me) for guidance and I wanted to try Avalon, mostly for their suite/cabin design. One of our previous cruises was on AMA, and two on Viking. No major issues with either line, but some minor ones with Viking in Russia. We actually tried to reserve AMA because we were familiar with it, but they were already booked for the dates we were all available. Then I saw the cabin designed on Avalon and talked everyone into it. I don't want to be "wrong" about this river cruise. Now I feel reassured that if anything does go wrong Avalon will take care of us.