worldtraveller99

Loving your report *Miss G*, plus loved the river cruise report too - we are on the Rhine in a few weeks time for the Christmas markets. Hope your trip is brilliant!

Thank you!

In the UK a number of Christmas events have just been cancelled, due to a worry re lack of electricity / Local Council funds running out. Please tell me there is no similar concern in Germany, notamermaid?

I guess it is a combination of a guided walk and then free time for the markets in Dusseldorf, Cologne, Rudesheim (with the mechanical music museum), Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg, and Lucerne.

Sadly it isn't in our itinerary, which just says "have dinner on ship as you continue south" on the Rudesheim day. But our Inspire cruise only starts in Dusseldorf, and ends in Basel with a day's coach out to Lucerne. So we get other nice trips I am sure.

How lovely! Was that a surprise, because I cannot see it in the itinerary?

Thank you Mrs, Claypool! Your cruise is what we will be doing in 9 weeks time!x Was it good? What did you like best?

Not as a pandemic! Plus we do take the polio sugar cube when we go to countries where that is recommended. I think all countries have to balance the nationwide expense of mass vaccination versus the hopefully ever-lowering number of people still alive who might die from it!

I think we have gone to "Covid what Covid?" in the UK, so would hate to see masks back in Germany. We aim to have annual flu and Covid jabs in October, so hope for the best.

Thank you notamermaid, that is all sad, though understandable. And leads to a baby boom next summer! (People staying at home!)

In the UK everyone over 50 is now eligible for an (updated?) Covid vaccination along with the annual flu jab this autumn. I will probably have them on the same day. Sore arms ahead! So it has become annual for us, at least until it goes away.

Thank you notamermaid. Am crossing all our fingers that we still have wonderful Christmas markets to go round!

I don't think you are more in danger if people near you are unvaccinated. I think it means that they are in danger, if they catch Covid, of it being more serious for them, than it would be for us who are vaccinated. I guess cruise lines (and the whole tourism industry) wants to widen the number of people going on holiday! I still think having had to pay for a test in a strange city before we got on our Alaska cruise was a complete waste of time and money. Because we met some people who had been on a small Lindblad / National Geographic ship (also with the pre-test) and they said lots of people had caught it on their ship! I guess that was the close confinement there? I was not aware that anyone had it on our Silver Muse.

Thank you notamermaid. I really hope there are no happenings out of the ordinary? Do you mean running out of gas / fuel? I sincerely trust not?

I understand what you are saying about a 5th growth only experience, but the river cruise will enable us to taste all Bordeaux wine styles without either of us needing to drive between them. I once came with a girl-friend to Bordeaux, then on the bus to Pauillac for the day, and had booked us to taste at Ch Pichon Baron and Ch Lynch Bages because they were both in Pauillac. I hadn't realised how far apart they were! If I hadn't persuaded a lovely lady, who was the wife of a taxi driver (who had gone in to Bordeaux to work!) to drive us to the 2nd one, we would never have made it!

Tres bon Pontac!

Thank you Pontac for the information! All sounds good. I am sad that people go to Bordeaux and aren't interested in wine. Oh well!

Thank you very much NJPA79

Thank you so much Pontac, that was really interesting. Please may I ask - when you said you selected Bordeaux wines from the wine list with your dinners, did you pay extra for those? I am very suspicious now of "all wines included" cruises, having just returned from a Silversea ocean cruise where the "recommended " wines being poured were a Valpolicella, tasteless Edelzwicker blend etc, all retailing about £8 a bottle - which is entry-level blandness in wine terms now). If one (eg me) does not have the eyesight for using a tiny mobile phone for daily Programmes, menus etc, would they print a copy for you if you had asked?

Thank you NJPA79. What do you think of the ship, food and drink, excursions etc please?

PS We spent a week in Amsterdam some years ago. The Rijksmuseum took us 3 hours, but we love art galleries. Re Zaanse Schans Plan your visit - Zaans Museum at the Zaanse Schans we took the train I think. Definitely easy to book entry online and just get the train (and probably a lot cheaper).

Hi gggold18 - we are travelling with Tauck for the Christmas Market cruise in November. I will be really interested please if you can give us a review / tell us whether you made it down the Rhine, on your return?

Just to pick up on OwenSmith's report re the Amadeus Imperial's poor food and drink. We travelled with Amadeus on our Danube Christmas Market cruise a few years ago, because it is one of the cheaper river cruise lines. This is how tour companies - eg Great Rail Journeys work, so they are able to make a profit while not charging you too much. Actually we liked the food, but I am a simple soul re food. But the (included) wines were undrinkable. All of our table rebelled when they gave us a horrible Romanian wine, and they had to find for us a reasonable German wine, which was ok. So I think you are allowed to ask for something better?

Your Regent reviews sound much worse RetiredandTravel! At least we only had 1 tender port, and personally I liked our entertainment people. I guess what we are paying for is fewer people, so less queueing, and probably slightly larger and smarter cabins? I will certainly ask for tender or not information if / when we cruise again.

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