4Lakes Lady

Champmason: nice review! We also are dedicated Gate1 fans. We did a Russian River cruise with them last fall that was excellent! Another Christmas Market cruise a few years back that introduced us to river cruising. We love their land tours as well and always have found that the tour director is outstanding. You cannot beat their prices so we will keep on traveling with them! [emoji41]

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Sounds pretty cheap. I would give it a try. Getting tired of spending 700 to 800 a night for a pre or post cruise hotel.

Actually when I said I booked it at a great price it is $147 with breakfast included. I really like using Booking.com since I don't pay until arrival with cancellation possible until 24 hours prior to scheduled arrival. Not bad for Venice [emoji41]

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Thank you for the joint recommendation! I just booked it with a bonus of a great price. Always appreciate the advice from fellow CC members [emoji4]

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Any suggestions for a hotel in Venice prior to the cruise? Looking for something convenient to where the Riviera will be docked.

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When does Oceania get your airline tickets? On previous cruises I have always done the deviation Airfare. For our November 2017 cruise, I have opted for non deviation since the first 2 nights are in our departing port. When can I expect to find out what our air route will be?

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You might want to check out Gate1 River Cruises. We did the Christmas Market cruise a number of years ago and really enjoyed it. It included a pre cruise stay in Prague and post cruise stay in Budapest, all for a very reasonable cost. The stops on the Danube had wonderful markets and the Vienna Christmas Market was beautiful at night. Hope you find one to your liking- it's a terrific experience!

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While I've only been on 3 Oceania cruises, we did get one referral offer. We were booked on an early May cruise to Alaska in 2016. We received an offer from Oceania in December that if we referred anyone else for this exact cruise, they would get a $1,000 cabin reduction and we would get the same $1,000 reduction on our fare. It was a great deal and my sister and BIL joined us. I can only speculate that this particular cruise was slow to fill up. Would love to get more of these offers but now it seems we are at the other end- waitlist!

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Thanks everyone for all the great suggestions. I will be checking out all of them! Love the photos [emoji7]

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We are scheduled for a Rhine River cruise next May. Basel to Amsterdam. We want to independently add on stays in Lucerne and Amsterdam. If anyone has suggestions for hotels in these cities, I'd love to hear from you. Looking for reasonable prices with good locations.

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Thank-you for all of the information. My husband and I will be leaving on May 20 for the 14 day Amsterdam to Budapest cruise aboard the Monarch Queen. This is our first European river cruise, but our 5th trip with Gate 1. Never have we felt like we missed out by not taking the more expensive tours. I am hoping that Gate 1 will pull through with flying colors once again.

We have done several Gate1 land tours and loved them all! We also have done 2 river cruises with Gate1 and had a wonderful time on both of them. We are taking our first river cruise in Viking next spring- it will be interesting to see what the difference is since Viking is definitely a higher cost than Gate1.

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We did Alaska on the Regatta last year. My favorite thing to do was get up early in the morning and go up to Horizons. They have a cappuccino machine set up and wonderful pastries. It was always quiet up there and I enjoyed the spectacular views along with my coffee. Enjoy your trip!

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I'm wondering why you had to find the cabin---it would seem like Oceania would be calling your TA once the cabin opened up or put it on hold for you (you we're wait listed).

I wondered the same thing myself. I'm only speculating that it may have been a timing issue. Perhaps they may have contacted me if I had not beaten them to the punch [emoji5]

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I also was waitlisted for a section of the 2019 world cruise. I checked the O website frequently and last week noticed there was availability in the category I wanted. I immediately contacted my TA- she secured a cabin shortly after this. I had paid the deposit so I'm sure that helped. Good luck- hopefully you too will get a cabin.

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Not long ago we booked a Viking river cruise through the travel department of a big box store. Viking wanted final payment in June 2017 for the April 2018 cruise. The TA requested a later date and now final payment is October 2017. 6 months is better than the standard requirement so get your TA to negotiate with Viking.

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I'm a pretty conservative souvenir seeker [emoji5]. What was available were many hand carved Christmas Santas and beautiful painted ornaments- very reasonable! If you are interested in fur hats these were pricey. Various flavored vodka was a popular purchase. Other than that- not much to spend money on along the river. We used rubles for our tips to local guides as well as at the end of the cruise.

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Having done Moscow to SPB last September, I would advise changing to rubles at an ATM at the airport. Also, be sure and take what you will need until you get to Moscow. We found only 1 ATM along the way- most stops are at small towns/villages and not all vendors take credit cards. Enjoy the cruise- we found it fascinating!

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Joe,

Your enthusiasm, photos and descriptions have inspired me- I've always been interested in this part of the world. As of yesterday I am now on the waitlist for this portion on the Around the World itinerary for 2019. Thanks for taking the time to let us all join you [emoji4]

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Definitely see the Farberge Museum- not only are the eggs beautiful but so is the building.

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FYI - just retuned from the Rhine Getaway with Viking last week, and the food choices were all (for the most part) based on the destination, etc. Once again, we found the food to be good to excellent on this cruise and we've been happy with the other cruises as well. The "free" wine stayed pretty much the same (with the exception of a Riesling added once in that region) but they had other (maybe free, maybe not) options as well. Same with beer - more than one included option as well.

 

 

 

Sounds like the OP may have a boat with chef issues?

 

 

 

Jeff

Thank you for your opinion of your recent cruise. Having reserved a first time Viking cruise for next year on the Rhine, I was becoming apprehensive reading this thread. Glad to hear someone give a more positive review of the food served on Viking!

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This happened to me even though I used my United card to pay for the cruise with O air. I asked for the free checked bag and was allowed outbound but refused at the gate check on my return flight. I guess it's the luck of the draw when checking in.

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We did a Russian river cruise last September. We did feel security was adequate. I would be more concerned while touring Moscow and St. Petersburg now rather than while aboard the ship.

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If the classes are full you may be able to get on the wait list once you board. But then it is only luck if someone already signed up drops out. They are really fun, so if you want to get in, go for it as soon as they open on line.

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One of the things we enjoyed at this museum was that it was not wall to wall visitors. It allowed for leisurely viewing of the extraordinary treasures. If you have the chance - don't miss it!

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Robjame- thanks for taking the time to post your cruise experience! We are scheduled on Riviera's Atlantic crossing in November and just reading about your appreciation of this trip is terrific! Makes me count the days until I am back on the ship- love Oceania!

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OP, I'll throw one more complication into the ring when choosing a cruise. If sailing through the Archipelago is important, consider the arrival and departure times. Our trip on Nautica (London to Copenhagen) was the reverse of the August 28, 2017 itinerary. We were scheduled to be in port in Stockholm at 9:00 AM which meant we were transiting the Archipelago very early in the morning. I'm an early riser and I was able to enjoy this amazing part of the cruise, but I suspect there were plenty of cruisers who put a premium on sleep and missed out.

 

Frankly, I think our early morning sail made the experience even more magical. There was so little traffic on the water that the sea was like glass. We glided so serenely through the gorgeous scenery that the experience was more magic carpet ride than sailing. Very, very special.

I agree. My memory of sailing into Stockholm on Nautica was magical! The early morning time on my veranda was one of the most beautiful moments of the entire Baltic cruise.

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