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Romantic AMAWaterways Danube river cruise from Vilshofen,to Budapest .


thunter1224
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 AMAWATERWAYS...  We are planning on taking our first river cruise , and out first trip to that area of the world.. we will be traveling from 

  • Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest, Hungary.   And not sure what to expect . like I see they sometimes have to bus you to the next ports due to water level and that some of the shore excursions are included  and some are not .. what is the upgrades for them?  also will we have any problem in these cities , with only speaking English in the shops, markets, restaurants?   Any information about this cruise would really be helpful.. 
  • Thank You 
  • Rev. Thomas Mertz
  • Pennsylvania 
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17 hours ago, thunter1224 said:

 AMAWATERWAYS...  We are planning on taking our first river cruise , and out first trip to that area of the world.. we will be traveling from 

  • Vilshofen, Germany to Budapest, Hungary.   And not sure what to expect . like I see they sometimes have to bus you to the next ports due to water level and that some of the shore excursions are included  and some are not .. what is the upgrades for them?  also will we have any problem in these cities , with only speaking English in the shops, markets, restaurants?   Any information about this cruise would really be helpful.. 
  • Thank You 
  • Rev. Thomas Mertz
  • Pennsylvania 

We sailed this itinerary on the  AmaSonata in September of 2015 and enjoyed every minute! The weather was beautiful and we didn't experience any issues with water levels. Most excursions are included, with several to choose from. There were a few with a fee, but worth every penny - we went to Cesky Krumlov, which was lovely and attended a concert in Vienna. There were no issues with languages. Most locals spoke English, as I recall. I would do this one again!

 

Allyson

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Hi I hope you are as fortunate as we were on our Ama Danube Cruise. Most of the time the bus ride is very short less than 1/2 an hour. In Passau and Bratslavia, you simply walk off the ship. The longest bus ride was the all day tour from Linz to Salzburg. But you had a lovely stop in the lake region of Austria on the way there. You are in good hands with Ama. Enjoy!

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When are you planning to sail? Depending on the month / time of year your experiences can be very different with water levels as I am sure you have read/seen on these boards which are super helpful, informative and full of useful information. We sailed on this same itinerary with AMA over the Christmas/New Yrs holiday in 2017 and had a wonderful trip.  If you do a search you will find my postings about the trip as well as many others who have sailed with AMA. Everyone we encountered was super friendly - we stuck mostly to the ship sponsored tours - but our oldest speaks German so when we struck out on our own pre cruise in Munich and then again in Vienna while everyone spoke English it was interesting to watch her speak to taxi drivers, wait staff, shop owners, etc in German. Would sail again with AMA without question -

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56 minutes ago, thunter1224 said:

I am a little worried about traveling over seas anymore.. I know that I will not travel to Paris at this time .. but I am hoping this area is safe for American's to travel ?? 

 

We go all over Europe on our own and have done so for the past 10+ years. We feel more safe in Paris or London, for example, than than we do in many large cities back home. Bad news travels fast, and what you hear on the news gives the impression that all of Europe is a chaotic mess of violence, terrorism, and other assorted mayhem. That couldn't be further from the truth.

 

Don't worry about it, and go have a great time on your cruise. Just keep an eye on your surroundings like you would in any city back home. If you are not scared to walk around Philly (I see you're from Easton, so I thought I'd use a local example) then you should not be afraid to walk around Vienna or Budapest. And most of the other stops on your cruise are smaller. In this world there is no totally safe place, but Europe doesn't feel dangerous to me.

 

PS Congratulations on winning this cruise!

 

Edited by jpalbny
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Most people will say that traveler's checks have long since served their purpose and are now a relic. I haven't used one in probably 25 years and I doubt that I ever will again.

 

We use our regular atm and credit cards everywhere. Just make sure that your bank knows when and where you're traveling. Since you have time, check what your foreign transaction fees will be and whether you can reduce them. But it's still likely cheaper to get cash from an atm overseas, than to buy it here.

 

If you're worried about going over empty-handed, grab some euros from AAA or your bank, but expect that you'll pay a 10% premium. Get more if you need them once you're there.

 

Once you have Euros, exchange a few for local currency in the non-Euro zone (Hungary) if you need to. But I never buy currency in advance and I've been fine.

 

I hope that those of us who are frequent travelers to these parts can put your mind at ease. 🙂 It's really easy to travel to, and within, Europe. 

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1 hour ago, thunter1224 said:

Thank You ..and I was wondering since you travel so much over there .. Would it be wise and can we use Travelers checks ? ..lol if they even still have them 🙂

 

Travelers checks are a relic of the past and are seldom accepted anywhere.

I totally agree with the previous post - I feel safer in many European cities than is some US cities. We also travel internationally on a yearly basis and have been doing so for a longgggg time (not gonna tell ya how long 😉). 

Edited by dogs4fun
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 I am now looking into where to fly into ?  Maybe Munich ??? Also how did you get from the airports to the the dock in 

  • Vilshofen ? not sure if we should use train, bus, taxi ? Plus we are thinking after the cruise we are in Budapest .. and not sure if we should travel back to Munich or if there is a closer airport to get us back to the USA ..
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1 hour ago, thunter1224 said:

 I am now looking into where to fly into ?  Maybe Munich ??? Also how did you get from the airports to the the dock in 

  • Vilshofen ? not sure if we should use train, bus, taxi ? Plus we are thinking after the cruise we are in Budapest .. and not sure if we should travel back to Munich or if there is a closer airport to get us back to the USA ..

We took the train from Munich to Vilshofen - using the Bayern ticket was seamless, efficient and very inexpensive. The cruise line should also offer a transfer from the Munich airport to the ship (for a fee).

Why would you go back to Munich if your cruise ends in Budapest? Purchase a multi city airline ticket that arrives in Munich and departs from Budapest. Budapest's Ferenc Liszt International Airport is very easy to navigate and is a short drive from the city center.

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1 hour ago, thunter1224 said:

Also how did you get from the airports to the the dock in 

  • Vilshofen ? not sure if we should use train, bus, taxi ? 

FYI: Vilshofen would be about an hour and a half via taxi - would be quite expensive! 

We took the S bahn (station at the Munich Airport) to Munich Hbf - switched to the train. Lovely ride, about an hour and a half - Bayern ticket for 4 people was 43 euros (very inexpensive - will be about half that price for 2 people).

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5 minutes ago, thunter1224 said:

We will be looking into the cruise line and CC doing the air flights.. and if they do it . they included all ground transfers.  getting excited 🙂 🙂  

Then you should be all set. Enjoy!

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We will be looking into the cruise line and CC doing the air flights.. and if they do it . they included all ground transfers.  getting excited 🙂 🙂  

 But it will depend on costs .. of the air flights, port costs, taxes , and everything that goes with winning a trip.  so after we hear back from them with the prices .. we will be deciding on how we will get there .. or if we can make it at all ..

I tried to send you a message .. but it won't let me . 

Rev. Thomas. 

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Agree with dogs4fun

We spent a few days pre cruise in Munich - took the train to Vilshofen.

At the station there was a cab/van that we and two other couples on the same train (it turns out) who were all going to the ship hoped in and drove the short ride ($5 euros each!)

In Budapest we flew home (stop in London) back to New York. That was a long day - maybe because it was New Yrs day with only 4hrs of sleep (LOL!)

 

If you can - spend a few days in Budapest post cruise - it was fabulous and we wish we would have had more time there.

 

Bob

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3 hours ago, thunter1224 said:

 I am now looking into where to fly into ?  Maybe Munich ??? Also how did you get from the airports to the the dock in 

  • Vilshofen ? not sure if we should use train, bus, taxi ? Plus we are thinking after the cruise we are in Budapest .. and not sure if we should travel back to Munich or if there is a closer airport to get us back to the USA ..

Fly home from Budapest. Going to Munich isn't practical.

Congratulations on winning the trip!

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Thank You

We are new to flying into foreign airports .. or even traveling there in general..   Most of our traveling has been to and from somewhere close to our home in the USA ..     and any of my foreign traveling has been planned by the US Air Force ..

 

 

Edited by thunter1224
wording
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44 minutes ago, thunter1224 said:

Next question.. will we need to bring adapters for our phone chargers? or is there USA 110 outlets in the rooms ? 

You will need adapters for foreign hotels and AMA. Electricity on board is 220v with 2 pin power outlets.

Edited by dogs4fun
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