stingraynz

thanks Milepig that was a great review synopsis with great comments.

Room service is very prompt as your butler brings it right on time. They do a full set up in the room, similar to room service at Four Seasons. They had great breakfast offerings. We loved having room service and then having our coffee on the veranda.

Silver note dinners are available at the usual early (7pm) Regular (8pm) Late (9pm) but you have to book it right away online to get your choice. Once onboard talk with your butler or the Maitre D to get a table. It is a very small venue. We decided to go again once onboard and we got a reservation for 6:30?!? The menu in Silver Note was very good. I liked it better than La Dame.

Many people also just come in and sit at the bar to enjoy the music and ambiance.

Hope this helps.

In the excursion details they do a great job of listing exactly how many steps, stairs etc. I do find that the more active excursions are not the included ones. Better to do your own thing if that's what you want. Maybe best to do a mix of private and ship tours. BTW - I did one of the SS cruises to the Caribbean April 2018, some islands yes were quite damaged and I liked that SS didn't want to pull the Muse out of the area. Many Islands were doing great and so happy to see us! My first experience with included excursions and I thought they were excellent. Due to this and a great itinerary we are doing an Asian cruise again on the Muse next month!

Enjoy the cruise!!

The last cruise I was on, on the Muse in April 2018 we had the best white puffy slippers. I even got an extra pair to bring home!:hearteyes:

Hi and Merry Christmas everyone!! I thought I would escape for a few hours and do some writing and re-live my trip with you. Worried I rushed a bit doing this so please excuse the errors. Hope you enjoy it!

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 04, 2014

VIENNA, AUSTRIA

If you wanted to do all the optional tours in Vienna (Schonbrunn Palace as well as the concert) plus the city tour/walking tour/Christmas market you can do all three no problem. You just will not have any free time to do anything substantial on your own. You will have a good amount of free time in the Christmas markets though.

The main issue with Vienna is so much to see and do and not enough time.  We decided on doing the walking tour and then free time in the afternoon (foregoing the Schonbrunn Palace excursion) and then the classical concert at night. Vienna did not disappoint! Walking around the city within the pedestrian area and the areas between the Christmas markets and the opera house were so beautiful to explore.

Our included tour started with a driving tour of Vienna that includes the Vienna Opera House, the Ringstrasse, and St. Stephen’s Cathedral, followed by a walking tour of the historic city center. Afterwards, spend some time enjoying the festive Christmas Markets located around the Town Hall.

Our city tour which also included a stop at the Lipizzaner (sp?) stables, this was such a thrill for me as I love horses and always have wanted to be these amazing white horses. They are perfection to me and not a hair out of place. We actually were so lucky (our tour guide really timed this impressively) to see the horses AND they were getting ready to walk from the stables (right passed our group) to the building across the street. They were all dressed in their tack and strutted out and across the street into another palace.

A few things to note:

During our tour we saw 3 different Christmas Markets. One in the pedestrian area and it was more of an artisan market it was gorgeous but very small and intimate. The second one our guide called the small market and I guess it was compared to the huge one in front of city hall. I liked this ‘small’ market the best it was very classic and had great stalls for coffee (this is Vienna) etc and I just found it less crowded. We are basically no time at either of these first two markets, however, you always had the options to stay. I guess they want to show all the markets which is appreciated. But you see this is the problem which Vienna, you need more time. What we need is an overnight . It is really a spot you need to spend a few days. The last stop on the tour was the large Christmas market in front of the city hall (Rauthas?) This is the market that is usually photographed in the river cruise promotional ads. This market had a lot to offer but it also was the most commercial one we saw of the trip…lots of booths with things ‘made in China’ or more of a fair type of feeling than any of the markets we saw along this trip. This is also where the ship shuttles departed from just out front of the huge city hall. We did eat some great Bratwurst there as it did have quite a few benches to sit and eat. Seating for eating at the markets was basically non-existent. Having seen all three markets I do think the second, smaller market was my favorite here and really beautiful. Plus it was just not as busy.

We spent some time after lunch going through the entire large market took lots of photos…people in our group did buy some really nice ornaments. Actually Vienna had the best tree ornaments booths, definitely lots of styles and colours to choose from.

Something to note: Our treat to ourselves was to go to the Hotel Sacher for cake and coffee and we went all out. I made reservations for mid-afternoon and we had the most beautiful ‘corner of comfy couches’ what a beautiful table. They have a list of coffees to choose from (the usual Viennese coffee options) they had many cake options and of course, the Sacher torte. There were three of us so we ordered a different cake each and shared plus coffee of choice and mineral water. It was a great afternoon. Afterwards it was already dark so we walked around the pedestrian shopping area and then cabbed it back to the main market, city hall and the shuttle stop.

One great find during our shopping time we did go to the stores that sold the Mozart Keugl chocolates and we found just plain chocolate (no marzipan or nuts or anything) for 1 euro and they came in different percentages of cacao and named for the country of the cacao, so I but a bunch and tried ‘Madagascar’, ‘Ecuador’, ‘Costa Rica’ and a few others and they were all amazing. I got a selection of high and lower percentages of cacao, I really love dark chocolate but all of them were so smooth and not sugary just chocolatey. I really recommend these. They were about the size of a large tootsie roll. What a find, I wish I bought more!

Tonight was the wiener schnitzel and other Viennese fare for dinner unfortunately we missed it due to being pretty full from an afternoon of eating and opted to have more time to get ready for the concert. I was very sorry to have missed the schnitzel because that is really something I wanted to try in Austria or on the ship and missed it.

Most people onboard go to the concerts in Vienna either with the ship or DIY. If you could I think DIY is always more bountiful because you can select exactly what you want but you are on the hook for your own transportation. Going with the ship is just easier. Either way I think it is a great option and a must do just select the one that suits you best. I don’t think many people are disappointed. Most people onboard go to a concert and I didn’t hear any complaints.

I did like the way that AMA did the concert. The seats are level chairs (not tired seating) and yes, the room is very warm as many have said before on here. AMA made this clear to everyone onboard the bus and said not to bring your coats if not needed, otherwise they also provided the coat check in the cost of the ticket, they also provided a program. I did note that the group from Cosmos sitting behind us did not have the program. They also provided for the drink (champagne, OJ or mimosa) at intermission. I liked it was all included, this just rounds out the experience and made it easier. Yes, the tickets were not cheap but they could have charged the same amount and not included the extras we were happy to see that they did.

Back onboard there was a fairly comprehensive buffet for those like us who didn’t get dinner.

The ship departed towards Melk later on after we returned from the concert.

I'm glad to hear the Marriott was nice inside especially the room and the brekkie. It did have a great location. In end those are the things that count. They should power wash the outside. :)

Just returned from the great Christmas Market visit from Budapest to Nuremburg on the AMAPrima and the further extension to Prague for 3 days. WE LOVED IT! I hope I get this in time for those of you going soon but I am assuming this will mostly help those of you planning next year’s visit. As always I got the best help in planning right here on CC so this is my part of giving back and sharing what I learned enroute. Hope you enjoy it! I will probably be mostly just confirming what you already learned here as, of course, the advice was spot on as usual, hopefully I will add something new. So here goes……

DAY 1 – MONDAY, DECEMBER 01, 2014

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

This is more of an aside comment than anything else. The worst part of our journey was the horrible adventure Lufthansa sent us on. We had 2-2 leg flights as there were no direct flights from Toronto to either Budapest or Prague. All 4 flight segments of the trip were a disaster and all Lufthansa’s fault and I am unhappy to report that they just threw us to the wolves and left us to the mercy of the other airlines!! None of the delays or cancellations were due to our booking selection of proper layover times. On the way there it was due to a pilot strike and they just threw us at Austrian Airlines (which was amazing) and on the way home our flight from Prague to Frankfurt was delayed so long that we arrived in Frankfurt just as our flight was departing to Toronto.

Originally we booked our flight with a 3 hour layover over the months they whittled that layover down to 1.15 hours and then the flight was late over an hour so there went the layover and not due to weather. They threw us over to Air Canada on standby. Nothing bothers me more than when you pay extra for an aisle and window seat selection and end up in a middle seat for an 8+ hour flight. Very disappointed in an airline that we have used many times over the years but has just become worse and worse. IMHO. We did find a new gem in Austrian Airlines for this area of Europe. They were excellent and helped us out tremendously when Lufthansa made such a mess of our reservations. The planes, service and meals were very good. They get an A+.

Needless to say we missed the entire first day in Budapest due to overcoming the pilot strike, we spent 8 almost 9 hours in the Vienna airport in a line up trying to get on the next flight to Budapest. We end up getting on a 6pm flight that we were told was oversold which in fact was half full (talk about misinformation). From there it was an easy 35 minute flight to Budapest and we were there.

We had a private transfer booked which we were able to contact and change our arrival time. They were amazing. However, I did notice that they had a taxi stand outside that told you how much the flat fee was BEFORE you left the airport just outside from arrivals. This looked like a great option to the transfers or the shuttles one member of our group who also got scattered due to the strike took a taxi and all worked great. I don’t think she even had local currency. For tourist things they were very good about taking euros and giving euro change at a half decent rate. However, to buy things at a grocery store or taking cabs around town you want to have Hungarian Forint.

We stayed at the Kempinski and it had just a fantastic location. It was located within the main Christmas Market at Vorosmarty Square. It was within a block or two of; the Danube, the Gresham Palace Four Seasons, the main shopping street Andassy Ter and about 10-15 min to the Central Food Market open all day every day until 6pm (5pm on Monday). Our room overlooked the huge ferris wheel that looks like a small version of the London Eye located within a main city park.

The rooms, bed and bathroom were amazing and what was even more amazing was the breakfast buffet! I have never seen such a huge spread, you couldn’t possibly eat from every station. We loved the hotel and had absolutely no complaints and really recommend the Kempinski. Other hotels that looked nice and were in great locations were; Four Seasons (of course), the le Meridian (right beside the Kempinski and in the most gorgeous building) and the Sofitel. The Sofitel wasn’t a particularly nice building but it does have those Danube views. I did note the Marriott on the Danube was not a pretty building at all and actually very grubby looking. Good location though.

The plan for the first afternoon was as follows, of course…none of this happened but here is the info.

GO FOR A WALK AND VISIT:

• Vaci Utca - begin at the Square (vorosmarty ter) beginning of Vaci Utca fast and end at (it was recommended by a number of people to not eat at establishments on Vaci Utca as it was very overpriced and not the best food.

• Central Market Hall (Nagy Vasarcsarnok) Vamhaz Korut 1-3, Budapest 1093, Hungary (központi vásárcsarnok)

o this is about 2 bridges down the opposite direction from Gresham Palace

 the Market Hall is set up on 3 levels

• the ground floor is produce, spices (this is where to get your paprika-both hot and sweet varieties)

• upper level is souvenirs and stand up eateries

• basement level is a supermarket and pickled fare

• closes at 5pm on Monday

o see “shoes of the Danube” on the way back to the hotel

TIPS ON EATING in Budapest:

• Tipping in North America is usually 15-20% - in Europe it is generally 10-15%. Budapest may be about 10%

• Services charges (the tip) is often added to the bill so make sure you check this. If you are unsure if the service charge has been added, ask.

• If you are unsure, it is courteous to leave a tip

• NOTE: the eating establishments on Vaci Utca are notorious for over charging and generally the restaurants in this street are not recommended

• Paprika – often accompanies salt and pepper on Hungarian tables. It is made from both red and green peppers and can come in sweet version (primarily added for color) or get fairly hot and spicy

• On the menu anything cooked ‘paprikas’ (PAW-pree’kash) is a red thick creamy spicy stew with either chicken or veal and includes dumplings.

• To add even more heat to your food ask for ‘eros pista’ (EH-rewsh-PEESH-taw) the literal translation is ‘spicy steve’ – the Hungarian answer to tabasco

• Starches – tend to be dumplings, potatoes and rice

• In a more traditional Hungarian Restaurant, a salad could be comprised of only pickled vegetables

• Thankfully, most of the newer, more modern restaurants will have great salads with leafy vegetables and great options for meals.

• Langos – similar to a potato latke – fried potato pancake served with sour cream

• Most Hungarian restaurants will have a mix of both Hungarian dishes and continental. Generally, only touristy restaurants will only serve Hungarian dishes. There will also be the usual restaurants, offering French or Italian as well as some recognizable chains from home.

• Desserts – especially cakes are emphasized. Dobos Torte is well known to Budapest. Sponge cake with chocolate icing between many layers, chocolate wafer cake, chocolate marzipan cake, dark chocolate ‘domino’ cake, cheesecake, poppy seed cake & apple cakes are found everywhere.

• Winter treats – during wintertime, roasted chestnuts and gingerbread are specialties of the season

DRINKS

• Hungary is more of a wine loving country then beer. However, some well-known beers are Dreher and Borsodi

• KAVE – (KAH-vay) coffee

• TEA – (THE-aw) tea

BUDAPEST RESTAURANTS OPTIONS they looked good, good reviews and near the area of the Kempinski hotel

• ES BISTRO – amazing casual eatery within Kempinski hotel – Grill, burgers & Hungarian fare

• NOBU – within Kempinski hotel – Japanese – located in many cities

• RESTAURANT JARDINO – located in the Kempinski hotel. Superb, flagship restaurant, menu changes and different countries and regions are highlighted

• CSERPES TEJIVO - Suto Utca 2, Budapest 1052, Hungary - Bakery; milkshakes, sandwiches, dessert

• COMME CHEZ SOI - 1051 Budapest, Aranykez u. 2 ., Budapest, Hungary (Belváros-Lipótváros) located 1 street west along Vaci Utca– near the historic McDonalds / 00 361 318 3943 – Italian and very small.

• FRUCCOLA - Kristof Ter 3, Budapest, Hungary (located on Kristof Ker just east of Vaci Utca) / +36 30 251 8656 – fresh foods, healthy salads and organic options

• DIVIN PORCELLO – MUST EAT PORK - Apaczai Csere Janos utca 7, Budapest, HU, Budapest, Hungary (located towards the Danube & The Marriott) / 306651004 – ham, pork roast, cheese & deli

• SZAMOS GOURMET PALACE - Vaci utca. 1, Budapest, Hungary - towards Danube on corner on main shopping street) / +36 30 570 5973 - Cakes, coffee, chocolates, soups and small meals nothing dietetic

• CAFÉ GERBEAUD - 1051 Vorosmarty ter 7-8, Budapest, Hungary (Belváros-Lipótváros) / +36-1/429-9021 – a historical pastry shop, with small meals (sandwiches) coffee, cakes, macarons. Very historical establishment & said to be a favorite of Empress Sisi.

• CAKE SHOP BUDAPEST - Jozsef Attila Utca 12, Budapest 1051, Hungary / +36 30 721 0773 – cakes and desserts

• OSTERIA ITALIANA L’ARANCETO - Dorottya utca 8 V Distrct, Budapest 1051, Hungary (Belváros-Lipótváros) / +3612693534 – Italian - make reservations

• ANNA CAFÉ - Vaci utca 5, Budapest, Hungary - located on main shopping street Vaci Utca & Kristof Ter - café food, dessert & coffee.

It was horrible pouring rain when we arrived after 7pm so we just walked out the back door of the hotel, the Christmas markets were just closing down for the night or just setting up in general as they weren’t yet prepped up. So we just walked over to Gerbeaud (the old Café establishment) they only had desserts so they sent us around the corner (in the same building) to “The Gerbeaud Bistro” it was amazing. Both establishments were in the most beautiful building right out of the 19th century (maybe older). Huge curtains draped from 20 foot ceilings. Guilded mirrors, everything you would expect. The prices were very reasonable even though we were paying in Euros and not local forints. We were a group of 6 ladies so we had everything from cocktails, wine and beer to amazing soups (pumpkin and goulash), chicken paprika, stews, salads, then strudel and crepes for dessert. A great end to a horrible day. We were finally in Budapest and all was great with the world.

Back to the kempinski and the great bed for a good night’s sleep, when we arrived they had brought more pillows and a tray of assorted salami and paprika spice to take home. Very nice, they knew we had a long day.

DAY 2 – TUESDAY, DECEMBER 02, 2014

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

The ship is located on the Pest side between the Elizabeth Bridge and the Liberty Bridge, great location we planned for our transfer to take us at 3pm.

If we had more time we would have bought the HOHO pass for 48 hours – great buy at about 20 euro each.

Since we only had the morning we planned to do the Freebudapest Tours. I got the information for them right here on CC and it worked out great. Our weather was very sketchy the day prior, if we had booked a guide for a horribly rainy day it would have been miserable. With this option, we figured if we don’t want to go, then fine we don’t have to. The weather was ok so we went and we loved it. We’ve done these before and they are a great summary and a nice walk. If you want something in depth this is not for you. But you can tip them about 15-20 euros they make the money directly and you are still getting a tour for half price.

The Meeting point for the tour was: Deák Ferenc tér (Deák tér) right outside our hotel about 2 minutes and directly outside from the Le Meridian hotel. They operate everyday. And have a walk in the morning then a different one in the afternoon. We only had time to do the morning tour which was the general Budapest walk. Would have loved to do both. – here is the info but please look it up again in case something has changed. they were called Free budapest tours

We did the regular Orientation Tour

I thought this tour was a good mix with the cruiseship tour we were doing the next day. This was all walking and the cruise tour was mostly all bus. When we got out at the fishermans’s bastion the next day, with the cruise ship we already knew where to head to the bathroom at the Hilton just next door.

After the walking tour ended at the Hilton over on the Buda side by the fisherman’s Bastion, we took a cab back to the Kempinski Hotel. The cab fare was extremely reasonable we felt about 3 euros. So for more than 2 people it was cheaper as well as more direct than public transport.

Our transfer bus was ready on time to take to the ship for 3pm. We were the only ones checking in at the time, there were 3 lovely sailors to handle the bags. So much nicer than the ocean cruising, you are basically coming on with your bags.

It was really close to the hotels I mentioned above we had a group to co-ordinate so we needed the transfer but if I was 6 people for less I would just get a taxi from the hotel.

The ship was docked just down from Elizabeth Bridge and the Liberty bridge (lit up in very green colored lights at night). This bridge is where the central food market is located. This was our chance to go to the market to get our paprika and hot pepper spices. It was a beautiful 10 minute walk in the beautiful brisk evening to the market, we enjoyed it immensely and we all got our spices!

Back on board we had the welcome aboard cocktail party where we met the main members of the crew and they briefed us on the main points of the voyage. Dinner was served afterwards and it was my favorite dinner of all the menus in the main dining room.

The meals were very good on the AMAPrima just as advertised. There are the usual always available fare like chicken breast, steak and Caesar salad. The chef recommendations were usually the regional specialties and then they always had a least one other selection in each course (starter, soup/salad, main and dessert)

After dinner the ship did a sail along the Danube to see the illumination of Budapest. This was superb, especially seeing the grand parliament building and all the bridges lit up! This was probably the warmest it was to sit on the balcony. The rest of the cruise just became too cold and damp. We opted for the larger room on the upper deck with the double balcony. The balcony was fairly useless on this off-season cruise, the Juliette balcony room would be the best set up for this time of year. HOWEVER, our room did have the bigger bathroom, it was a large rectangle vs. the smaller triangle of the Juliette balcony room. For this reason of the larger bathroom, I would still have selected this room. On the warmer itineraries when you can have the doors open and use the balcony I would hands-down opt for this category. In our group, we had 2 rooms in each category (except the suites) everyone was very happy with the rooms they selected. The Juliette balcony rooms’ bathroom was more like we are used to on an ocean cruise so they are very well laid out. Our bathroom probably had another third more space. The shower stall was huge. Single travelers had the rooms that were below water level and it was perfect for one person. For two people, I just wouldn’t recommend it.

Breakfast and lunch were served buffet with entrees that can be ordered from your waiter. You must leave enough time for the food to be served, if you want a fast meal, just do the buffet. There was also a buffer (smaller, about half the size) in the lounge as well, for those who want a faster more casual meal. I disliked this option because it is too hard IMHO to sit on a sofa and eat on a coffee table. Some of the lunch items on offer on the dining room buffet I actually liked even more than dinner so even lunch was a great tour of culinary delights. Unfortunately, I first lunch I had onboard was the last as we always opted to eat the wonderful options the cities had to offer, sometimes at the markets but mostly in local restaurants.

Of course, on our itinerary the Christmas Markets were always highlighted and time was made to visit them on all the tours. They were so good and definitely fun to visit for everyone. I do like markets and really didn’t know what to expect and they were even better than expected…don’t you just love when that happens. They all were different in some way or another, they all had shopping stalls of Christmas items, winter items or even non-seasonal items. They are always serving hot and cold food as well as hot and cold, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. They were full of spirit. I’ll list more of this when I write about each market in the port.

Most of these tips I actually got from this site so thank you very much, I also now added a few.

CHRISTMAS MARKET VISITING TIPS:

• wear good sturdy shoes

• dress warmly as it will get cold at night (wear a scarf & hat)

• i liked the fingerless gloves or mitts that allow you to handle money or eat easily

• i would opt to wear gloves rather than mitts to handle items easier & to access to your money easier

• if you find something you love, buy it! To avoid disappointment. items may not be found in other markets and if they are, the prices will be comparable as well as the fact you have very limited time to do comparison shopping

• always ask for locally made goods. If you want true German made products they will be labelled. If no label, it is probably not made in Germany. The main German area these products come from is called Erzgebirge

• think about how much you are purchasing and how you will pack it in your suitcase-bring bubble wrap & maybe a cylinder to put a print or canvas painting in to avoid breakage

• bring small bills & coins. This will make food and beverage transactions much faster.

• all the markets we visited on the Budapest to Prague itinerary took euros no problem (use small bills). With the exception of one restaurant and museums in Budapest and Prague i never needed local currency. Euros was used for everything easily

• if you are given plastic glasses and plates with food purchases, you will have to make a deposit and it is refunded when you return the items.

• if possible, avoid weekends and night time hours. The best times are weekday afternoons from 3pm until evening to see the lights come on.

• love the baking, cookies and gingerbread? Every country has their own take on the recipes so why not try them all. Bring bubblewrap it will come in handy to wrap baked goods (if they make it into your luggage).

• i liked the gingerbread best in Passau & Vienna, yes even more then the famous Nuremburg gingerbread. I found the Nuremburg gingerbread somewhat cakey, where the Viennese and Passau offerings were more like I am used to yet more spicy. The Nuremburg gingerbread also had this edible paper on the bottom which I found yucky and not something I enjoyed eating to trying to pull off. I like just simple gingerbread (no edible paper) with a small amount of icing for crunch. again IMHO. So what i am saying if you like gingerbread (i love it!) try them all don’t wait for Nuremburg to stock up because it was different from place to place.

DAY 3 – WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 03, 2014

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

BUDAPEST CITY TOUR

We usually had both ‘gentle walking’ tours for those who couldn’t walk many stair or difficult terrain as well as an active walking tour. Sometimes I took the gentle walking tour to allow more time for taking photos. I found in Vienna, that everytime I stopped to take photos I was running to catch back up with the tour guide. I may have considered taking the gentle walking tour that day.

In Budapest the tour was mostly on the coach so there was only one tour type but they never had more than 30pax on a 50pax coach so I was very thank full that anyone who wanted a window seat could have their own seat on the coach. The coaches were always really nice, they always had an onboard washroom and most also had espresso machines.

Summary of Excursion

Cited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe, your city tour this morning includes sightseeing in both Buda & Pest. In 1873, the independent cities of Buda and Pest officially merged and created the new metropolis of Budapest. Your tour through this sprawling World Heritage city offers splendid views from historic Buda Castle of the twin cities on both banks of the River. Your tour also features a visit to the Fisherman’s Bastion as well as seeing the marvelous Royal Palace, St. Stephen’s Basilica, Heroes’ Square and much more. You will also have time to visit the Christmas markets before returning to the ship now docked in Esztergom.

What you will see:

City Park, National Opera House, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Parliament, Matthias Church

What you will visit:

Heroes’ Square, Buda Castle Hill, Fisherman’s Bastion, (Vörösmarty Square) Christmas Markets

We actually didn’t stop at Hero’s Square, I don’t know why but we had a lot of time at the Fisherman’s Bastion (Castle Hill) as well as the main Christmas Market so it didn’t make any difference to me. I liked the new schedule better.

We stopped at the Budapest Christmas Market on the tour for about 40 mins. This market offered:

• lots of food with the most sit down areas. In fact, it was the only market with sit down areas out of all that we visited

• lots of stews and roasted meats

• chimney cakes

• lots of things for the home or handmade jewellery and Artisanal items that are not necessarily Christmas themed. This was at this market more than any other. Most of the other markets had winter or Mostly Christmas themed items for purchase.

Technically, passengers could have used this half day doing their own touring BUT once we left the ship it moved to Esztergom a suburb fairly fair from Budapest, on the Slovakian border. It took 30-40 minutes to drive there on the bus, so we chose not to risk it as the ship departs immediately once the buses all arrive.

Leaving Budapest, if you were on the starboard side of the ship, you saw the shore that was Slovakia. Many itineraries stop in Bratislava, ours didn’t but we could see Slovakia on that side during our sailing (taking a nap and unpacking) and then either just before dinner or after dinner (I think after dinner) we saw the lights and shores of Bratislava area.

Next Installment…..Vienna!!

Thanks for posting about your recent trip with eagle ray divers and I am so glad it was as good as when I went. I often think of them and it was quite long ago I used them, you never know if they are still around or as good. They were such a group of fun people who love to dive. I learned some great dive tips from them. I know now I can still contact them if I go back to Cozumel.

The 'no shows' are hard as it is great for those taking the tours but horrible for people running their businesses. I always feel so bad for them.

Can any of you wealth of knowledge tell me what company actually owns the Aria? I noticed that many use it such as Avalon etc. But does Aqua Expeditions actually own and operate the Aria and Aqua?

I am very interested in doing one next fall and torn between the Aria for a 3, 4 or 7 days or

going full out and doing the 10-day with International Expedition (IE). If it were up to me I would like the IE itinerary but the others in my group I'm afraid may want to do other things in Peru which is why I started looking at the 4 or 7 day on the Aria and wanted to know who to contact.

Thanks!!

Thanks to the recent travellers for your recommendations and reviews. Sounds like you all had a great time.

Thanks to everyone for helping figure this out. Thank you Stephen for your communication. I am very happy K-E is still fully operating and continuing to offer a great alternative to cruisers in Katakolon!

For those of you lucky enough to be going soon, please let us know how your visit to Olympia went!

OK so the plot is thickening and this is pretty bad circumstances. I have had two emails from KE since my original post, I wanted the second email to confirm some questions I had before posting. This is pretty weird....

I rec'd an email at the end of last week from Stephen at K-E saying Last Tuesday July 10th, the Katakolon-Express, did not meet the passengers for the tour of Olympia because the managing crew of the MSC Musica (this was the ship my friend was on) called the tourist police and had the tour escort & bus driver arrested when they entered the port! They said this was so far, the first and only time this has ever happened and of course the worst case scenario. MSC was alleging that K-E coerce their passengers at the port. I know my friends had to reserve ahead of time and give their names so K-E could show the port that they have confirmed reservations with ship passengers. By the time K-E explained to the police and were in fact released it was too late to pick up the passengers and continue the tour! This is terrible that the ships are fighting back like this. First of all they are hurting their passengers by ruining their tour plans but they are also playing with people's livlihoods and potential for earning a living.

K-E told me in the second email they are the only ones that operate within the port area and they now have some sort of clearance pass, to show they are legit so this does not happen again.

I don't know if this is getting better or worse.

I am pretty sure my friends ended up taking the other option that waits outside the port area to fill up the bus. So if K-E isn't there on your dates you can go with that option in a pinch. If anything, it sounds like they are the more likely the ones to coerce the passengers as they are getting people more last minute. They operate outside the port. Good thing they were there to take my friends to Olympia.

I wonder if the ship passengers complain to the shore excursion desk when they see similar tours to theirs at half the price and this is how the ship is fighting back.

K-E does not seem like a company that would coerce passengers, I don't want to see their business hurt because of this. At the same time, I think I would stick with the small private tours with a licensed guide.

Thanks for the reply Paul.

I don't want to make any panic here but I do want to find out what happened, because I recommended Katakolon-Express. However, your lack of response leds me to think there has been something happening with K-E. So hopefully someone else mentions something.

At the moment, I do not have much detail what my friend and their group did or who they got at the last minute. I am just so happy they did find something or they would be really peeved with me for telling them to not do the ship's tours! I have mostly done private tours since 2003 and seriously, they have ALWAYS shown up. So that is why I think something happened to the company especially since this was a big bus company that only deals with the ships. Like I said before they looked like a fantastic option for this port!

All my friend said in the email to me was they were pretty much the first people off the ship and looked for them for 40 minutes (K-E shows very specific meeting points on thier map) and then they just took another option that was waiting there. I have been to this port and it is tiny, it is not like you can miss a company with signage and a bus. So I was very confused. That is why I emailed Katakolon-Express to find out if they were there or not. I sent 3 emails since Tuesday and no reply. This is when I decided to check back with CC, my cruising bible.

When we were checking for options for this port originally here on CC, there was another option mentioned. I forget the name but they were similar to K-E except that they wait to fill up the bus at the port (I didn't like that) and the tour was half the price 10 euro not 20 euro that K-E charges. Funny, I think that one that fills up at the port is probably what my friend ended up with. They are still on the cruise so I won't find out what they did until they come home.

Hi

I recommended them to my friend's group for their cruise this week and they reserved them about a month ago. They (Katakolon-Express) were great to deal with and communicate with.

They were in Katakolon this past week on (July 10) on the MSC Musica and Katakolon-Express wasn't there!?! They ended up jumping on the other option that meets at the port and fills up the bus after 40 minutes of looking/waiting around the meeting point.

It is very odd for a company to take reservations and not be there, especially since you pay once you meet them there. My friend sent me an email saying they got messed up. I have been emailing them to help them find out what happened and KE is not answering. Have they folded up shop?

They looked like a great option for Olympia. I hope something didn't happen to the company. So I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this lately or have they heard back from them recently.

ScubaJeff

A while back I read your posts regarding the ports and questions about what ops to go with etc. you seem to be going to the same ones I did and I remember your original posts asked a lot of the questions I had (thx)!

So now it's your turn to go enjoy the trip and let us know what dives you do and how they went.

Have a great time!

COZUMEL, MEXICO THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16TH 2004

NCL SUN ARRIVE-DOCK 8AM ALL ON BOARD 6:30 SAIL AWAY AT 7PM

211 nautical miles from Belize and 528 nautical miles from Cozumel back to Miami

I read countless positive posts on the great service provided with Eagle Ray Divers so we booked our day in Cozumel with them. They are so many dive ops to choose from in Coz that this would be an example where we would not book with the ship. I contacted Chellie at Eagle Ray and we organized a day where Lisa and I could dive and Paula could snorkel. This way we could all go together and Paula can see where she needs to get certified, because diving is so much better than snorkeling. Unfortunately, Chellie did not prove this point that well since Paula was the only snorkeler and she had the most beautiful model-esque snorkel guide all to herself. After meeting Oscar on the boat I wanted to snorkel too! That day I’m not sure if the true beauty of Cozumel was under the water or above the water. ;)

Our first dive was a wall dive at the Palancar Caves. We went to a max depth for a few minutes at 102 feet to see this huge eagle ray that was gliding below us. Then most of the dive was about 85-90 for 44 minutes. We went through some amazing ‘caves’ (more like swim thrus). This was probably the best dive site I have been to for both animals and topography. It was like a playground (jungle gym) for divers.

We went through many caverns and beside the eagle ray, we saw lobster, crabs, banded coral shrimp, hawkesbill turtle and a lot of grouper.

The second dive Las Palmas was 60 feet for 50 minutes, excellent dive over a sandy bottom spotted with patches of coral. Excellent, excellent!! So many animals. We saw five really cool toadfish that are endemic to Cozumel. We saw jewfish, huge anemones, small nudibranchs, big anglefish, trunkfish & really colorful coral. We saw one eel that was out and swimming along the reef, Benjamin couldn’t resist picking it up. We saw almost everything on the fish identification card!

Our boat was the ‘estrelle del mar’ (star of the sea-not sure of spelling or translation!) it was very charming and comfortable. It looked like a converted fishing boat, it had plenty of room for all our stuff and to lounge around. We had a full boat that day and it was busy. I read some posts about Coz being not that good anymore. Well I don’t know what it used to be like but I will put it at the top of my list (tied with Bora Bora) and that is a tough act to be compared to.

Chellie was a pleasure to deal with and they offer snorkel trips (you may luck out and get Oscar!) and discover scuba excursions as well. They would be a great bunch to do your first dives with. The other boat they had going out was doing discover scuba that day and we spoke with a guy who has been ‘discovering’ scuba with them about 6 times (get certified already).

Before you leave the marina make sure you go back to their dive shop/office they have some good stuff to purchase (T-shirts, tank tops, pendants etc)

http://www.EagleRayDivers.com

Chellie and Antonio Castellanos

email: chellie@eagleraydivers.com

011-52-987-872-5735 phone/fax

The other ships is port were as follows: Carnival Miracle, Navigator Of The Seas, Grand Princess Splendour Of The Seas were docked four beside each other at the International Pier (newer one) Voyageur Of The Seas was there but I can’t remember if it was at anchor or not. The Veendam, Sea Dream II and us (NCL Sun) were at the Punta Langosta Pier the Carnival Sensation was at anchor next to us. The Punta langosta Pier was very close to downtown. This pier had big pavilion offering tons of shops, Senor Frogs, Carlos ‘n Charlies, it seemed after our day on the turquoise sea we only had time to go to the shops near the pier and that is all we needed. We usually go get everything at Cinco Soles they have everything we need and it is very conveniently displayed. It may be more expensive but I never find anything really over priced. My favorite purchase was a silver chain with a scuba diver pendant.