Amadeus Diamond June 26th

[Deadskins]

Anyone booked on the June 26 to July 3 Danube River Cruise on the Amadeus Diamond?

[TourDeCruise]

Yes, we are. Our paperwork says June 25th though for Budapest to Nuremberg. This will be our first river cruise although we have been on numerous cruises. It will be the first time for my husband to these countries and the first time to Slovakia & Hungary for me although all ports will be new for me except Vienna.

 

Kathy & Jack

[Deadskins]

Sorry, meant June 25. We are probably flying in a day or two early and then joining on June 26.

 

This looks like pretty good cruise. Also been on the large ships and thought we would try something smaller.

[willift]

We just got a very interesting offer from Gate1. This june 25th cruise $1998.00 for 2. Seemed pretty cheap and started us thinking about European River Cruises. This summer isn't good for us but now I think we've got the "river cruise bug"

 

anyway we're looking for information about this line. We're Americans looking for English speaking staff & tour guides. Looking for moderately priced midlevel type cruising. We also need warm weather jackets sweaters and dressing in layers just doesn't work for the DW. What does anybody know about this cruise?

 

What about flight in & out? Who flys to these destinations? Anybody do it cheaply? Are airline mileage flights available?

 

Here's the link on the pricing

http://www.travelzoo.com/cruises/europe/983978/?utm_source=top20_us&utm_medium=email_top20

 

Any input or research info would be greatly appreciated

 

Willift

[TourDeCruise]

I think we got the same Top 20 deal, which we considered to be a very good deal, except we took the air package too as air can be kind of pricey in the summer and we want to go from Philadelphia. The air we got was US Air from Philadelphia to Amsterdam & KLM from Amsterdam to Budapest, then US Air direct from Munich to Philadelphia on the return.

 

Jack had been watching prices on river cruises and said this was a great price, so we hopped on it. Plus the air arrangements are convenient.

 

We have never been on a river cruise, so unfortunately we won't be much help on the ship or river cruising. Have you ever been on a river cruise? We plan to take the three tours (Budapest, Vienna, Regensburg) that are included with the cruise, and then will do the rest of the touring on our own.

 

Do you think they will let us off the ship in Linz even though the ship is only docked for 2.5 hours?

 

I did post a bunch of questions on the following thread. Feel free to add any questions you may have, but so far no one has answered any of my questions.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1372492

 

Kathy

[willift]

Never have been on a River Cruise. We've cruised numerous times on Royal Caribean sand we're thinking we are ready for something different.

 

It appears to be a whole different kettle of fish.

 

Concerning getting off the boat for a couple of hours, it doesn't seem to be a big issue getting off & on. It's not like there are thousands of people or tendering involved. I'm wondering how the passport issue is handled.

 

Hope you have a great trip and I'll watch your thread to pick up more planning tips

 

Willift

[TourDeCruise]

We have mainly cruised with Celebrity (21x), but have also cruised on Azamara 1x, Royal Caribbean 2x, and Holland America 3x. This will be something different and give my husband a chance to see some of central Europe. Don't feel too sorry for him as he is well traveled in Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic.

 

Good point about passport handling. We probably don't need a visa for Germany & Austria, but do we need a visa for Hungary or Slovenia? We have another 10-night Celebrity cruise the first half of May from San Diego to Vancouver and then a 1-night cruise on Princess a day later from Vancouver to Seattle where we will fly home. Then this river cruise in June.

 

I hope someone answers some of my questions as I know very little about river cruising. We do have a DVD on Amadeus river cruising on the Amadeus Symphony that we watched. That is where I saw the bike path along some of our ports.

 

Kathy

[Deadskins]

TravelZoo is also the deal we used, but, without air. We are not sure if we will be flying early. Also, we have been to Munich for Oktoberfest, so may fly out of another city.

[H2Otstr]

We have mainly cruised with Celebrity (21x), but have also cruised on Azamara 1x, Royal Caribbean 2x, and Holland America 3x. This will be something different and give my husband a chance to see some of central Europe. Don't feel too sorry for him as he is well traveled in Northern Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic.

 

Good point about passport handling. We probably don't need a visa for Germany & Austria, but do we need a visa for Hungary or Slovenia? We have another 10-night Celebrity cruise the first half of May from San Diego to Vancouver and then a 1-night cruise on Princess a day later from Vancouver to Seattle where we will fly home. Then this river cruise in June.

 

I hope someone answers some of my questions as I know very little about river cruising. We do have a DVD on Amadeus river cruising on the Amadeus Symphony that we watched. That is where I saw the bike path along some of our ports.

 

Kathy

 

You do NOT need a VISA for these countries. The boat will take your passport when you check in on the first day and will return them on the last day when you setle your bill. Just make a copy of your passport to keep with you when you go off the boat.

[TourDeCruise]

You do NOT need a VISA for these countries.

 

Thanks you for responding. I was hoping we didn't need to send off our passports to get visas as we are on a Celebrity cruise in May and will need our passports. Your avatar is cute.