So Excited I Can't Stand It - New Booking

[Roz]

I am so excited I can't stand it. It was just bugging the heck out of me that I don't have a river cruise booked.  Last weekend I spent hours pouring over TA and cruise line websites looking for itineraries I'm interested with reasonable solo fares.  I mean, what else do I have to do?  Can't go to a bar, the movies, the gym, etc. 

 

I contacted my travel agent on Monday about booking a Tauck Yuletide 🎄 Spirit River Cruise from Amsterdam to Brussels in December 2021. They're offering no single supplement on the lower category staterooms. I figure 2020 is shot for Americans as far as traveling to Europe. Heck, we can't even travel to Canada. TA called me back and said the no supplement cabins are all booked, but she put me on the waitlist. That was Monday. Yesterday (Thursday) I got an email from her saying I cleared the waitlist and if want to book, she needs a deposit from me. I sent her the deposit and now I have to wait 542 days 😪 for my cruise. I got a great deal, and my hours of research over the weekend paid off.

 

I wasn't looking for Christmas cruise per se, just a cruise that started in Amsterdam in the later half of 2021.  It never occurred to me to look for Christmas cruises thru The Netherlands and Belgium because most holiday cruises are on the Rhine, Danube, and Seine.  I've never sailed on Tauck, only Uniworld, so I'm looking forward to trying out a new to me cruise line.  

[Daisi]

Great news.. and you won't have to worry about water levels probably either!  Countdown begins...:) 

 

I was checking out the Avalon bookings for our cruise and see most of them are waiving the single supplement as well.  

 

Edited June 12, 2020 by Daisi

[Ritabob]

Roz,

  I am excited for you!  Time will fly. 

I just pulled the plug on our October 2020 cruise, and now have a FCC burning a hole in my pocket.  Surely there will be a vaccine by the end of 2021.

RB 

[Roz]

14 minutes ago, Ritabob said:

Roz,

  I am excited for you!  Time will fly. 

I just pulled the plug on our October 2020 cruise, and now have a FCC burning a hole in my pocket.  Surely there will be a vaccine by the end of 2021.

RB 

 

Let's hope so.  I'm banking on either a vaccine or the virus just burning itself out.  We shall see...

[ljandgb]

Enjoy!  It's hard not having some sort of upcoming trip to look forward to!

 

I actually really like traveling over Christmas.  As a mom, it's way less stress.  I think that will be a great trip.

[franski]

Exciting news!!  I continue to troll the websites for the various river cruise companies - but, cannot book anything at this time - even if we come across a great deal - because of our travel insurance. They will cover anything  booked before the current travel advisory,  but, not anything booked - or final payment made! - while the advisory remains in effect.  So, until final payment is made on our trip this fall, they will cover any costs that are not recoverable from the company.  This includes our "non-refundable deposit" - if we cancel.  But moving the trip to next year is considered a "new booking" - and the insurance is not valid. 

 

I am still holding out hope that we will be able to get on our cruise this year. We live close to Toronto - and that is one of the airports opening up to travel to/from Europe - so that helps us.  But, we also need to see what the restrictions are once we are on the boat, and for travel off the boat.  If we will be required to wear masks at all times outside of our cabin (except for meals...) - then we need to decide if this is the trip we want to take.  Also, we have pre- and post-trip extensions planned on our own...  If the sights we want to see are not open to tourists, then there doesn't seem to be much reason to do the extensions -->  but, don't know what we can do about our air.   

 

Waiting (not too) patiently...  thankful for notamermaid and steamboats!!

 

Fran

[Coral]

Congrats!  I am looking at a river cruise next fall or December also!

[Lois R]

Hi Roz, BIG CONGRATS ON THE BOOKING😃 sounds like a great cruise.  I have nothing booked at this time and it 

sure feels strange.  I have been looking at different websites for different trips but haven't done anything yet.  Have

you traveled with Tauck before? I met a gal on a cruise a couple of years ago who took a land trip with them and she

said it was TOP NOTCH.......she recommended them to me VERY highly so hope your cruise is everything you want

it to be🙂

[NanciEA]

Roz,

Congrats on the booking. I think you will love Tauck. We have done four land tours with them and they were all amazing. We just returned from one of their Africa tours in January. I'm sad we don't have another currently booked. We are on the waitlist for one of the their Oberammergau river cruises in 2022. We had a Viking river cruise in France booked for this September which we moved to next June. My son is an infectious disease physician and he and his colleagues believe there will be a vaccine by the end of this year - November/December. I feel confident about my June 2021 booking. You should definitely be good to go for December 2021. 

[Lois R]

11 minutes ago, NanciEA said:

Roz,

Congrats on the booking. I think you will love Tauck. We have done four land tours with them and they were all amazing. We just returned from one of their Africa tours in January. I'm sad we don't have another currently booked. We are on the waitlist for one of the their Oberammergau river cruises in 2022. We had a Viking river cruise in France booked for this September which we moved to next June. My son is an infectious disease physician and he and his colleagues believe there will be a vaccine by the end of this year - November/December. I feel confident about my June 2021 booking. You should definitely be good to go for December 2021. 

Hi Nanci...wow, I hope your son is right............that certainly would be good news. 

[bubbulz]

That's great, Roz! It feels so weird for us to not have anything planned. We had to cancel Italy for May and a Uniworld Douro cruise for November as well as a smattering of other shorter trips. At this point, I'm just letting all the refunds sit in our bank account until we figure out what's next.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I'm at the opposite end:  I have three trips booked between next month (Maine) and January (New Zealand), and I'm not sure any of them are going to happen...

[Lois R]

I have nothing booked.......it is a VERY strange feeling.

[Coral]

I have nothing booked either. I probably won't book anything until there is a vaccination or COVID-19 goes away.

 

I am tentatively looking at another Christmas markets next year.

Edited June 15, 2020 by Coral

[Babcia7]

We're still booked for a mid August France cruise with Uniworld, but I have my doubts that it will happen...or if will be the experience that we paid for (in full almost a year ago) if it isn't cancelled.  A brave new world we're having to learn to live with...

I would think that once a vaccine and/or treatment are available we'll all feel more excited about booking vacations abroad.

 

[notamermaid]

Congratulations, Roz.

This looks like a really nice itinerary. The low countries and Belgium are not really the standard places for river cruising but whyever not go? Brussels Christmas market, if it is as good as it was when I went, will be a delight. Bruges in winter I enjoyed as well.

 

If you can fit it in, hop over to Germany to Aachen by high-speed train from Brussels: https://www.aachen-tourismus.de/en/discover/events/aachen-christmas-market/ 

There is nothing like buying the gingerbread where it is actually made.

 

I have no doubt that Tauck will do this cruise well.

 

Have fun.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Edited June 19, 2020 by notamermaid
Grammar

[AF-1]

I guess I will wait till this fall to see where the world is with virus.  Hope to book something for next spring or summer

 

[Lois R]

29 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

I guess I will wait till this fall to see where the world is with virus.  Hope to book something for next spring or summer

 

I really, REALLY want to sail by the spring as well.........we can only hope. I keep looking at different itineraries......both

river and ocean.  I want to book something but then I feel like, why? Nobody knows when anything will be going again.

[AF-1]

Lois R;  right now all my cruises have been cancelled for this year;  I had three.  Next year all I have booked is Princess New England and Canada;  booked for Oct 16th, 2021.  I am going to wait until this fall to book my river cruise.  I have credits with AMA.  I did not take cash refund;  I just took the 115% credit.  So yes I am stuck with sailing AMA;  but, I have never been on river cruise so it will be fun

[Lois R]

7 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Lois R;  right now all my cruises have been cancelled for this year;  I had three.  Next year all I have booked is Princess New England and Canada;  booked for Oct 16th, 2021.  I am going to wait until this fall to book my river cruise.  I have credits with AMA.  I did not take cash refund;  I just took the 115% credit.  So yes I am stuck with sailing AMA;  but, I have never been on river cruise so it will be fun

Hi,  this is just my opinion---but being "stuck with AMA"? I would not use that term.......I sailed with them before and it

was fabulous😃  That is who I was supposed to sail with this year as well.  

[AF-1]

Sorry, I meant I have credit with them.  I know they are a good company.  Of all the cruise lines AMA is the only one who owns all their boats; no debt. 

[Daisi]

That is one thing I am glad with Avalon...they have extended their "peace of mind" plan for *all* 2020 & 2021 bookings.  If we aren't comfortable with the way things are going, we can cancel our May cruise next year and still get the FCC to apply to 2022.  We have only put down our deposit and we can transfer that to any of the companies they deal with, so if we still aren't comfortable with the River cruise (which I can't see, but you never know), we can put it anywhere.

[Coral]

6 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Sorry, I meant I have credit with them.  I know they are a good company.  Of all the cruise lines AMA is the only one who owns all their boats; no debt. 

Technically APT owns a good portion of the company. They are not the only owners of their boats.

[AF-1]

Coral who is APT?  Thanks

[Coral]

21 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

Coral who is APT?  Thanks

It is a major Australian tour company. They invested early in Amawaterways and owns a large part of it (not sure the percentage). It is weird, on my Ama trip, there were a ton of Australians and they all thought they were going on an APT ship. APT also charters a ton of Ama's ships. There were many years when Amawaterways has released itineraries and several weeks/months were missing only to find out they were blocked out for APT to sell.

Edited June 20, 2020 by Coral