ljandgb

Two chairs?  We only have one. Yes, nice rooms.  Our view is of the other side of the building across the courtyard.  The bed is comfy and it is very quiet. Not sure if that's a function of the hotel or few guests.  The surrounding area is definitely quiet.

The cruise director today said that there are only 27 passengers on the first half of the cruise - Deggendorf to Budapest, and "a few more" on the second half.  Wow.

We’re at the cosmopolitan also. Agree about the shower! Lol

We did a 3 hour food tour yesterday, early dinner (at Lokal if @Travelw is looking for suggestions) and early bed. Today we officially check in for the Avalon portion before going out to explore more of Prague. 
 

Our return flight was changed AGAIN overnight, to leaving a day early. My husband is on the phone now with the airline. 

I just started another thread about our Avalon Danube trip starting tomorrow.  We are doing the full route - Germany to Hungary, with a few days in Prague beforehand.  We're in the US, so some of your questions may not apply, but I can try to answer what I can.

I do know Avalon said it would provide testing for the return home.

Our flight leaves at 12:30pm for our 3 week trip down the Danube.  We've had this planned for 2 years, celebrating  having only 1 kid in college, after having 3 in at once.  (Hint for others - if you have twins, wait at least 4 years to have any more kids!) We splurged on the Royal Suite, and will be on Avalon's Artistry II.  We don't normally travel with a computer, but this trip decided to bring our old one.  I hate posting things with my phone, but since I'll be all tech-ed up, hopefully I'll be able to post or answer questions.  We'll be in Prague for 3 full days before the cruise - I like to have a good cushion before cruises start as we have abysmal luck with transatlantic flights getting canceled or luggage getting lost. 

Here's our cruise:

https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/the-danube-from-germany-to-the-black-sea-with-2-nights-in-prague-2-nights-in-transylvania/WDOE/?season=2021

I put my husband in charge of entry/travel requirements for the various airline/country/cruiseline rules.  We're both vaccinated, and I'm even recently boostered.  Our PCR tests are negative, and we have a large supply of masks.  

Our flights home have been canceled twice in the last week already, the second time without any notification.  The BritishAir representative actually suggested we just change airlines and we are now booked on Lufthansa the leg that BA kept canceling.

Well, for diverse passengers, I have been consistently impressed when traveling with Road Scholar. I'm an introvert, generally have no interest in making random new friends, and have truly enjoyed the people I've met on Road Scholar trips. Yes, they're generally all Americans, but from all walks of life, with a general curiosity about the world.  BUT, they generally use Croiseurope for their river cruises.  We did one with RS on the Rhine a few years ago.  The line is not fancy, which is how RS keeps it's costs very reasonable, though the ship was in good shape, clean, and the crew was delightful.  I would agree with the food assessment.  I'm not a vegetarian, but highly favor veggies, and some nights were a challenge for me.  

Not quite what the OP asked for, but offering a perspective.

Great.  Was going to pass along a tip we got.  We were having a hard time getting the website to take the address, but got it working in the end.

We'll be meeting my husband's cousin in Budapest for the second half of the trip.

Sorry, tried to just message you, but can't.  Have you done the passenger locator form yet for Czech Republic?

That's our sailing, too.  We have 2 days in Prague first.  Are you flying straight in and to the ship?  We have horrible transatlantic luck, and have learned to fly in at least a day early.  

We leave in a week for our 21 day Prague to Bucharest Danube cruise.  I believe Avalon has one ship on that itinerary now.  I was wondering how covid related issues were going - masking, testing, transiting thru different countries, tours, etc.

I've been watching the Uniworld thread as well.

We fly thru London into Prague.  It seems American Airlines, England, the Czech Republic, and Avalon all have slightly different testing and paperwork requirements.  We're trying to make sure we catch all of them, as it would be tragic to miss our trip due to an administrative error.  

We are doing Prague to Bucharest September 1.  From what I've read, there are only entry restrictions for those flying into Budapest/Hungary, so hopefully the tours will still be available to us since we'll be arriving by boat.

I'm still not 100% certain the trip will go (Avalon says it's a go), since circumstances seem to change on a dime, but I'll be packed and ready just in case.

21 hours ago, steamboats said:

@ljandgb the towns along the Rhine river were not affected. They only had the "regular" flooding. Even along the Moselle river where the water receeded the damage is not that bad. It was the small creeks which turned into big rivers destroying houses, bridges and streets.

 

steamboats

Ah, that's good to know, though my heart goes out to all the neighborhoods and towns that are affected.  

We have a river running thru our town.  It came massively out of its banks during Hurricane Harvey from rain upstream.  What shocked me wasn't as much the volume as the velocity of the water.  It rampaged thru town, picked up cars, shipping containers, mobile homes, etc, and tossed them around like rubber duckies.  When the water receded, there was mass destruction along its path.

Will these towns along the Rhine be ready for tourists?

Interesting.  We almost 2 months yet.  We'll see how it evolves.

Agree, getting it in writing would be some small ammunition.  Contacting the hotel and having a back up testing plan just in case is also a good idea.  It's frustrating, as I always prefer to fly in early for cruises.  We have a terrible track record of delayed and canceled transatlantic fllights.

We're actually flying in to Prague (embarking Deggendorf) and ending in Bucharest - 21 days down the Danube.  Woo hoo!

12 hours ago, Loreto said:

I received an email from Avalon that our ship has changed, but we are still in the same cabin, thank goodness.  We were on the Artistry II and now it is the Imagery II, which happens to be 3 years newer.

This is the 13 day Rhine/Moselle northbound Basel to Amsterdam Sept. 22-Oct.4.

We've switched ships.  We were supposed to be on Imagery, and now are on Artistry.

Received a note from our TA that we would need a neg PCR test within 72 hrs of boarding the ship.  As we are flying in 2 days prior, and I can't get same day testing for our flight, the test will be 4-5 days old prior to boarding the ship.  When we questioned her on this, she recanted and said since we're checking into a hotel arranged by Avalon, that will count.  We'll see if we're left scrambling to find a PCR test or are left on the pier when it comes time to board.

1. - I've not been to either, but read "All the Light You Can Not See," which is set in St. Malo.  It's a wonderful book, and a good read regardless, but would highly recommend it if you decide to go to St. Malo.  It's made St. Malo a "must see" for my next trip to the area.

3. - windmills are windmills. I'd probably poke around Amsterdam, do the Anne Frank house - you can get tickets for entrance and a short docent lecture around 30-60 days prior.  Definitely worth it to get more historical context.  And I'd do a food tour.  Lot's of tasty foods in Amsterdam.

Testing positive is a risk, even after being vaccinated.  The current science seems to suggest that a vaccinated person who encounters the virus will have some virus replication, particularly in the nose and throat area where it first enters the body, but that it will be at much lower volume than an unvaccinated person, and that it will be "put out" by their immune system much faster.  This would result in little to no symptoms and very low risk of transmissibility.

Much like a small fire starting, with very little fuel and an early fire suppression system versus an unchecked fire with abundant fuel.

I have heard of some tests going to a finer dilution than others, meaning that if you have just a bit of virus, it would not persist in the test down to the furthest limits.  There's no way of knowing which countries, and which  labs, are doing what sort of dilution.  I think that a retest several days later would be more likely to show negative, or that screening antibodies would show immunity.  For some countries that is the protocol, and if so, you are free to go.

I love the Reykjavik Residence Hotel.  IMO, though, I'd consider a multiday tour that gets you out of Reykjavik.  Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time in the car boomeranging back and forth from the city.  If you aren't already seeing Jokulsarlon, you can do an overnight trip there.  If you are, consider a trip to Snaefelsness or into the highlands instead.

Sadly, I did not love the old walled city.  Pre-Covid, at least, it was wall to wall tourists and souvenir shops. I think Split and some of the smaller islands spoiled me, as their old cities are a vibrant mix of tourism and locals.

I'd also recommend Cavtat.  It's just a short drive south of Dubrovnik and very picturesque.  Do the very easy walk to the top of the hill and around the peninsula.  There's even a few small rocky beaches where you can sun bathe like a local.

We did a food tour from Dubrovnik, if you really want to get away from the crowds.  We stopped at a small winery and then had the best "dinner under the bell" we'd had on our entire trip, at a small restaurant that had seating out over a small river.  It's listed as the Konvale Gastro Tour, by Magical Croatia on TripAdvisor.  Dino is the owner and guide and was the perfect example of Croatian hospitality - open and enthusiastic.  If you do want to look into this, contact him on WhatsApp.  He answers that promptly.

Absolutely agree about not using Viator for tours in Iceland.  Weather, with cancelations and delays, can be a significant issue, and direct booking is always best.  For some reason, Icelandic businesses seem to respond best to Facebook posts.  If you have an issue contacting them directly, look for them on Facebook. 

I would probably ask for a full refund.  I would not want to support a business that is not 100% trying to keep its passengers and crew safe.

I've been to Iceland twice and still haven't been to the Golden Circle.  I'll make it there one day, but it's not top on my priority list.  I have heard that it's good to see first, before the rest of Iceland, as it is less impressive once you've seen other parts.  

Consider a multiday tour to the south coast or Snaefellsnes.  Lodging will be included, and it is usually small groups.  You'll see much more without backtracking to Reykjavik every day.

If I need a test to get on an international flight from the US, I'd have it to land wherever we end up.  There's a clinic near by that can get the results back in 24 hours.  I'd love to not have to worry about that at all, though, if the vaccine certificate was good enough.  Things seem to change weekly, so I'll just have to keep abreast of the current requirements.

I went back and looked at the link and I can't find anything about negative tests, just proof of vaccination.  Perhaps I was hallucinating.  It was a long day at work yesterday.  So, if I just need a negative test to get on the plane to get there, I should be fine to spend a couple extra days in Prague.  Assuming I'll need another negative test to get back on the plane to come home, I hope Avalon assists with this since we don't have any extra days at the end.

I agree it's not a surprise and for the best.  I am wondering about the requirement of a negative test within 72 hours of beginning "Globus sponsored travel" since we were planning on arriving in Prague 2 days early.  That means any test I get for the flight won't be good by the time we get to the boat.  Maybe if I get Avalon to make our pre-night hotel reservations that would count.  Time to call our TA.