GCT Romance or Great Rivers for first River Cruise?

[brownblonde]

I have never heard of providing a gift or card for a CoC, and can't really think of a good reason why you should. A CoC is nothing more than a Commanding Officer being transferred to another duty station and turning over his command to someone new. Not really a big deal (in my opinion). But then the only CoC's I have been too I was while on active duty and I was required to be there.

 

For a retirement ceremony however a gift may be appropriate if you are close to the person.

 

Cheers,

Bill we had the most interesting and beautiful day. We were under tents and thank goodness the weather changed in our favor in Pa. We were on the list as we entered the base and also when we arrived at the parking lot and told where to park. There certainly are no doubt bigger and more fancy affairs according to rank, but this was pretty good. The food was great, ham,beef,crab balls, cocoanut shrimp, whole cold salmon and much more. decorated cake and cookies. The inside of the club where it was held on the base just beautiful with live music playing.Just may have the chance to go again in 2 yrs when his term is up and it changes to another person. We certainly felt honored to be in attendance. No gift was expected as you said and several others that I talked to was with the same opinion.

[AZPam]

Beth...I noticed you are from Surprise, AZ. While we are both in the Phoenix metro area but live more than 75 mils apart. I live outside of Queen Creek. GCT have some pretty good flight connection out of Sky Harbour.

 

We sure are enjoying these bonus cooler mornings here in AZ! We have been able to get out to walk or ride almost every day.

 

You both need to come visit the AZ Cruiser group under the Friends of Cruise Critic! Guess I'm not getting up early enough to enjoy these "cool" mornings? All I know is the last few days of 110-114 have been killers. I hate the summers around here!

 

I think Roger has pretty much answered all the questions, but I will put my two cents in that you will love GCT and river cruising!

[TravelerThom]

I haven't done these trips quite as much as Roger [i have had the pleasure of cruising with him; Hi Roger!], but I have done Great Rivers twice and R&M once [have also done GCT Budapest-Black Sea, GCT Linz-Budapest, UniWorld St. Petersburg-Moscow, barges in France, GCT Yangtze and Viking Elbe River; obviously I enjoy them]. I won't disagree with Roger's advice that Great Rivers is an excellent first cruise, but I will say that R&M might be my favorite cruise. Given that you are looking at Last Minute Deals I'd say take the best deal, they are both 14 nights on the boat, and you can't go wrong with either.

 

I have had rooms on every deck of GCT's boats. My SO was rather dubious the first time about being in the "cellar"; she is short and was worried about not being able to see out well, but that was not a problem. You do hear a little water noise on the hull beside your bed, but I actually found that a quite restful "white noise". Note that if you get a balcony room the balcony area comes out of your room, and you lose two feet of cabin space and corresponding storage space [still enough storage, so not a big deal]. The "action" is on the sun-deck and in the forward lounge. The one time we had a balcony [comp upgrade] we used it maybe ten minutes during the two week cruise. I personally would never pay extra for a balcony. If you have a choice take mid-ship [the bow of river boats do not up and down, such as you can get on ocean ships, but there is some thruster noise forward, and some engine vibration aft].

 

I like relatively early spring or later fall cruises. Weather is cooler, and I'd much rather walk in 60 degree weather than in 90 degree. Also smaller crowds and lower prices. BUT if you get a great deal go anytime:)

[Carhut]

We are frequent ocean cruisers but hope to take our first European River cruise next year. We are looking at GCT to start as we have many friends who have sailed with them. Ideally, we want to book one of their short notice deals about 3-4 weeks out for June of 2011.

 

I would love to hear specific comments on those two itineraries, Romance of the Rhine and Moselle and Great Rivers of Europe from some people who have done both. As in, we saw more castles or more scenic riverside or better walkable ports, etc. We would be 4 active people aged 55-60.

 

Thanks!

 

My first river cruise was GCT's Great Rivers. It was just wonderful. Last year I took the Rhine and Mosel for the 2nd time. Love that itinerary. You can't go wrong with either one. If you want to see some of my pictures, look at them on this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/home

 

Carole

[Carhut]

Roger, you are the cruiser we were looking for! And you live "nearby"! LOL We appreciate your thoughts and tips on the itinerary and booking deals. When you flew out of Sky Harbor, where did you connect through? We can be pretty flexible in our dates. We are generally thinking of booking next May for a cruise next June. What times of year have you gone? And how last-minute did you book? Did you do an add-on at either end of the cruise when booking last minute?

 

Nbevins, thank you for your thoughts as well. Helps to confirm that GCT is a good choice, as well as both itineraries being wonderful. What times of year did you cruise?

 

We don't drink coffee, so no problem there. And we love cocoa! I have read that we might want to take our own pillows? What do you all think?

 

Thanks so much for all the input!

 

You can ask for extra pillows. Also as somebody said the head of the beds can be raised up. I have to sleep with my head elevated, so always lift the head of the bed. Works quite well.

[onespots]

I have been on GCT's Great Rivers three times and the Rhine & Mosel twice. Each is fantastic so you cannot go wrong. I would suggest the Great Rivers as your first trip since in includes both Vienna and Amsterdam. I also like beginning the trip in Vienna and ending in Amsterdam. Instead of calling GCT, check out their website ww.gct.com for their "Last Minute Deals". I have gotten deals on four of my GCT river cruise. You can save quite a bit of money if your don't have set dates.

 

Beth...I noticed you are from Surprise, AZ. While we are both in the Phoenix metro area but live more than 75 mils apart. I live outside of Queen Creek. GCT have some pretty good flight connection out of Sky Harbour.

 

Hello my is John. We live in Gilbert ,Az and will be taking our first Grand Circle cruise in September. Would really like some insider info with all your vast experince. Best to contact us at sfaigle@aol.com

any help wouild be welcomed.

Best Wishes, John

[Carhut]

My first river cruise was GCT's Great Rivers. It was just wonderful. Last year I took the Rhine and Mosel for the 2nd time. Love that itinerary. You can't go wrong with either one. If you want to see some of my pictures, look at them on this site: http://picasaweb.google.com/home

 

Carole

 

Sorry, I just realized that that web site didn't open correctly. Try this one.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/Carhut/RhineMosel2009#

 

If you click on "Carole's Gallery" you can find other trips also.