vantage river cruises

[npphotog]

Hi PBNJROCKETTE - I see you will be leaving from New Jersey. It's a long flight. We left from Tampa to Chicago to Beijing. 13 hrs from Chicago. It was one of the best trips we have taken - would go back in a heartbeat. Brought 11 fake Rolex watches back, kept one and gave the rest away for gifts. Cheap gifts - 2 or 3 for $10.

 

Food was outstanding. Spent 4 nights on the Yangtze, fantastic. Hotels were great. Loved the Terra Cotta Soliders and walking the Great Wall. Took our Santa hats along and took a photo on the Great Wall for our Christmas Card that year.

 

If they offer any optional tours, take all of them. We did the Tang Dynasty banquet, it was really super. Do the Ancient Water Town tour if offered. We took a train to Shanghai, turned out to be a bullet train. Also do the acrobatic show if offered. Could go on and on about the China trip...you will have a ball. Enjoy. Willard

[pbnjrockette]

Hi PBNJROCKETTE - I see you will be leaving from New Jersey. It's a long flight. We left from Tampa to Chicago to Beijing. 13 hrs from Chicago. It was one of the best trips we have taken - would go back in a heartbeat. Brought 11 fake Rolex watches back, kept one and gave the rest away for gifts. Cheap gifts - 2 or 3 for $10.

 

Food was outstanding. Spent 4 nights on the Yangtze, fantastic. Hotels were great. Loved the Terra Cotta Soliders and walking the Great Wall. Took our Santa hats along and took a photo on the Great Wall for our Christmas Card that year.

 

If they offer any optional tours, take all of them. We did the Tang Dynasty banquet, it was really super. Do the Ancient Water Town tour if offered. We took a train to Shanghai, turned out to be a bullet train. Also do the acrobatic show if offered. Could go on and on about the China trip...you will have a ball. Enjoy. Willard

 

We ARE booked on ALL the optionals. Know that Vantage does a great job with their optional choices.

 

Please....go on and on! Would love to hear from you in an email about what you packed (what month did you go?) and how you handled the "toilet" situation (not sure I can handle squatting without toppling over!!)

[npphotog]

pbnjrockette - Re: China - email me back to me at WillardWKrieble@ij.net.

[LindaRH]

Correction: My cruise starts March 31st, not April 1st on the River Odyssey. I have the pretrip in Brussels for 3 nights. Flying to Newark to catch the FREE airfare to Brussels (obviously not totally free).

 

ok...correcting the correction :confused:. March 31st is considered the day you fly. April 1st starts the cruise. The Brochures get very confusing. Sorry.

 

Linda

[bigeasy]

I'm not sure what optional excursions are offered on your itinerary this season. Let me know and I can comment on the ones we have experienced.

 

As I said above we did the Heurigen evening in Vienna and Jewish Heritage tour in Budapest.

 

The Jewish Heritage tour in Budapest is wonderful because it includes an inside visit to the Central (Dohany Street) Synagogue which I believe is the largest in Europe. It has been magnificently restored and its history especially during WWII is very moving. The ****s took the building over and created a ghetto around it where many Jews died. Their markers are in the courtyard and there is a memorial to them on the grounds along with a memorial to the righteous who helped the Jews during this terrible time in world history. This option was interesting for Jews and non Jews alike.

 

The Heurigen Evening takes you to a wine house outside Vienna where you have dinner and local wines. They usually serve traditional foods in a courtyard (heated in November) and there are typical singers and musicians in costume doing Austrian folk type music. It is touristy but fun.

 

I would recommend both but your choice depends on your preferences.

 

Hi Gianni

 

I'm booking the two tours you mentioned as they sound great. Other tours offered are: Hungarian Countryside Puszta, Holloko, and Hungarian Folklore Evening. Have you heard anything about these tours.

 

Do we have time to book the Amsterdan candlelight tour at night & would it be easy to get there from the ship?

 

Thanks again for all of your info

 

MaeLin

[bigeasy]

We are booked on the Vantage Castles of the Rhine and Danube (Budapest to Amsterdam) beginning on November 4. Does anyone have insight into weather at that time of year or suggestions for outerwear (winter coats? boots?, etc.)

 

Hi Mary Lou

 

We're booked on the same cruise. It looks like the weather will be average mid 40's.

 

See you

MaeLin

[GiannaD]

Hi Gianni

 

I'm booking the two tours you mentioned as they sound great. Other tours offered are: Hungarian Countryside Puszta, Holloko, and Hungarian Folklore Evening. Have you heard anything about these tours.

 

Do we have time to book the Amsterdan candlelight tour at night & would it be easy to get there from the ship?

 

Thanks again for all of your info

 

MaeLin

 

The only tour I know about is the Hungarian Countryside tour. The Puszta is a type of horse farm where they give a demonstration of the amazing horsemanship of the Hungarian "cowboys." I will do that tour soon and can respond later.

 

In Amsterdam the ships are docked all over the harbor usually somewhere near the main train station but it depends on the dock master so the lines never know where they will be docked. You will have to ask your program manager about that tour.

[LindaRH]

ok...correcting the correction :confused:. March 31st is considered the day you fly. April 1st starts the cruise. The Brochures get very confusing. Sorry.

 

Linda

 

Ok...so this is getting silly but I have another update. I will be flying out of Newark on March 28th to do my precruise 3 night Brussels extension then I meet up with the River Odyssy on April 1st to do the cruise. After that I will be heading to Scotland for a 3 night postcruise extension, which I just booked. I also booked an optional tour while in Brussels to Ghent/Bruges. So there you have it.

 

If there is anybody out there doing this cruise (also on roll call) or have done it I would love to hear from you. I've already had wonderful responses on this thread and appreciate it all. The more info I have the better I like it. :)

[bigeasy]

The only tour I know about is the Hungarian Countryside tour. The Puszta is a type of horse farm where they give a demonstration of the amazing horsemanship of the Hungarian "cowboys." I will do that tour soon and can respond later.

 

In Amsterdam the ships are docked all over the harbor usually somewhere near the main train station but it depends on the dock master so the lines never know where they will be docked. You will have to ask your program manager about that tour.

 

Thanks again

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Ok...so this is getting silly but I have another update. I will be flying out of Newark on March 28th to do my precruise 3 night Brussels extension then I meet up with the River Odyssy on April 1st to do the cruise. After that I will be heading to Scotland for a 3 night postcruise extension, which I just booked. I also booked an optional tour while in Brussels to Ghent/Bruges. So there you have it.

 

If there is anybody out there doing this cruise (also on roll call) or have done it I would love to hear from you. I've already had wonderful responses on this thread and appreciate it all. The more info I have the better I like it. :)

We are doing the same thing as you One week later4/14, But not Scotland We are doing Scotland in July on Princess.

[GregnChris]

Where are the Roll Calls for Vantage River cruises? We will be doing the Duro river in November of 2012. I know it is early to start a roll call, but I want to know where to look for one.

 

Thanks,

Greg

[npphotog]

Greg - Roll calls are right here where your question is - I think. We are going Dec 7th with Vantage on their Cruising the Rhine Druing the Holiday Season. Anyone else going on this cruise, let me know. This is our 5th trip with Vantage and been very pleased so far. Willard

[JesterPlaying]

Greg,

 

There is a single roll call thread for all Vantage cruises on the river boat roll call board.

[Hydrokitty]

We ARE booked on ALL the optionals. Know that Vantage does a great job with their optional choices.

 

Please....go on and on! Would love to hear from you in an email about what you packed (what month did you go?) and how you handled the "toilet" situation (not sure I can handle squatting without toppling over!!)

 

Your post made me laugh! It's amazing how quickly you will adapt to squatting without toppling over! I did it in Egypt and nearly passed out when I saw the hole in the ground but I kept telling myself "you can do this, you can do this" and you know what I learned: I COULD AND I DID and so will you!!! First time is the hardest after that you don't even think about it and keep telling yourself how good for your thighs that position is!!:D PS: I also brought toilet kits that I bought from Magellans catalog on line, but which you can probably buy in any store that specializes in travel stuff. Each kit was less than $1 and contained a paper seat cover, toilet paper, sanitary wipes and paper towel. Packet is small enough to fit in your purse or even back pocket of your jeans.

[GregnChris]

Thanks Npphotog and JesterPlaying.

 

I have poked around and found a forum for all river cruises roll calls. Given what I see in that forum, it looks like one would create a thread in that forum with a title of something like Vantage Duro River 9/22/2012. Since that is long time out, I don't think it makes much sense to start one now. But I will wait to see how things play out with the new organization of the site.

 

Greg

[LindaRH]

We are doing the same thing as you One week later4/14' date=' But not Scotland We are doing Scotland in July on Princess.[/quote']

 

I know you are. We both have been searching for tips and suggestions. I leave the ship on 4/13 for my postcruise extension to Scotland. You will be right behind me. They obviously wait a day to bring the next group of passengers on board so we will miss one another. You are on the river odyssy, aren't you?

 

Linda

[4774Papa]

Just signed up for Vantage China, August 23, 2013.

[CruiseDirections]

Just returned from a fabulous cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest on the River Explorer, I would be happy to answer any questions. I will post a review when I get it complete.

 

Nancy

[PCruzer]

We are doing the Vantage Machu Picchu and Galapagos (on the Galapagos Legend). This will be our 2nd Vantage trip. Has anyone done this Peru/Ecuador trip before? Would love to hear your opinions of the trip - good and bad - and whether you have any advice. Thanks!

[npphotog]

Hi 4774 Papa - You will love the Vantage China trip. We did it back in May 2007. If you are interested I am sending a site which I have 38 photos from our trip. Hope it shows up in blue and you can click on it. Only problem is that I somehow loaded them backwards - at the bottom of the site click on reverse and it should it should start with the Panda photo.

Willard

 

http://s191.photobucket.com/albums/z210/1Willard/

 

If it doesn't show up in blue, type it in to pull it up.

[npphotog]

4774 Papa - Sorry mislead you - you have to hit slide show at top then reverse at the bottom.....

[4774Papa]

4774 Papa - Sorry mislead you - you have to hit slide show at top then reverse at the bottom.....

npphotog, thanks, great photos. The trip looks wonderful. Also, Vantage does it well. Did you find good restaurants for the meals not covered by the tour?

[npphotog]

Food off the ship was really great...but then I never had a meal that I didn't like. I am not really a beer drinker but the Chinese beer is very good. We had a couple of home hosted meals and the people could have not been nicer. Willard

[Billybob62]

I am looking for some feedback on a river cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea on Vantage. We have been on 6 prior Vantage trips, but never a river cruise. I would continue to travel with Vantage in a heartbeat (we are going to Cuba next month with Vantage), but I have heard mixed reviews of the what one sees on this particular cruise, lots of rather depressing citiies and towns that have not yet been able to escape their Russian influence. Budapest at the beginning and Vienna as a post-cruise extension are very appealing. Candid assesments of what your impressions were will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:)

[4774Papa]

I am looking for some feedback on a river cruise from Budapest to the Black Sea on Vantage. We have been on 6 prior Vantage trips, but never a river cruise. I would continue to travel with Vantage in a heartbeat (we are going to Cuba next month with Vantage), but I have heard mixed reviews of the what one sees on this particular cruise, lots of rather depressing citiies and towns that have not yet been able to escape their Russian influence. Budapest at the beginning and Vienna as a post-cruise extension are very appealing. Candid assesments of what your impressions were will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.:)

On our Russian River cruise with Vantage, we talked to some that had done the lower Danube from Budapest to the Black Sea.

They all said that Budapest was great (I have been there and it is), but except for the Iron Gates, the scenery was not much to brag about.