Leaving tomorrow for our Avalon Danube cruise

[ljandgb]

Our flight leaves at 12:30pm for our 3 week trip down the Danube.  We've had this planned for 2 years, celebrating  having only 1 kid in college, after having 3 in at once.  (Hint for others - if you have twins, wait at least 4 years to have any more kids!) We splurged on the Royal Suite, and will be on Avalon's Artistry II.  We don't normally travel with a computer, but this trip decided to bring our old one.  I hate posting things with my phone, but since I'll be all tech-ed up, hopefully I'll be able to post or answer questions.  We'll be in Prague for 3 full days before the cruise - I like to have a good cushion before cruises start as we have abysmal luck with transatlantic flights getting canceled or luggage getting lost. 

 

Here's our cruise:

https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/the-danube-from-germany-to-the-black-sea-with-2-nights-in-prague-2-nights-in-transylvania/WDOE/?season=2021

 

I put my husband in charge of entry/travel requirements for the various airline/country/cruiseline rules.  We're both vaccinated, and I'm even recently boostered.  Our PCR tests are negative, and we have a large supply of masks.  

 

Our flights home have been canceled twice in the last week already, the second time without any notification.  The BritishAir representative actually suggested we just change airlines and we are now booked on Lufthansa the leg that BA kept canceling.

 

 

[Travelw]

We leave tomorrow as well, will be in Prague on Tuesday for 3 nights pre cruise, then to Artistry II on Friday.  All 4 of us are vaccinated and hopefully we have completed all the required paperwork.  Looking forward to traveling again.

 

Dennis

[SeaandSky5]

@ljandgb and @Travelw I hope you have a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to reading about your experiences while we try to decide if we are moving forward with our October cruise on the Danube with Avalon. 

Enjoy!

[Daisi]

Wishing you both a great time.  Please report back as to how things are...wondering if you will meet up as you  are both on Aritstry II.

[puppycanducruise]

@ljandgb @Travelw  Bon Voyage. 

Hope you have a wonderful cruise.  Looking forward to hearing all about it.

[loriva]

Also wishing the both of you safe travels and a great cruise.  Traveling vicariously through you in hopes that our similar cruise goes in October.

 

All the best,

 

[Loreto]

Safe travels!  We were originally scheduled on the Artistry II for our Sept. 22 Rhine/Moselle 13 day cruise, but was changed to Imagery II. First time on Avalon.  We are going to Zurich on Delta from Las Vegas 2 days early.  Looking forward to your reports!  Thanks!

Karen

[need2travel1]

Sounds like a great itinerary, enjoy yourselves!!

[Travelw]

We arrived yesterday and can’t wait for the festivities to start.  Very tired after 21 hours of travel.  Our vaccine status cards were checked so many times, you almost could keep them out, twice in Chicago, three times in Frankfurt and at the hotel in Prague.

if you have a connection flight in Frankfurt, make sure you have plenty of time between flights.  Frankfurt airport is really spread out and we had to clear German customs even though we were just in transit and lines were very long and slow.
The Cosmopolitan hotel that Avalon uses in Prague is very nice, good location and rooms very comfy, must say the shower isn’t the best, hard to control.

[ljandgb]

We’re at the cosmopolitan also. Agree about the shower! Lol

 

We did a 3 hour food tour yesterday, early dinner (at Lokal if @Travelw is looking for suggestions) and early bed. Today we officially check in for the Avalon portion before going out to explore more of Prague. 
 

Our return flight was changed AGAIN overnight, to leaving a day early. My husband is on the phone now with the airline. 

[gnome12]

5 hours ago, Travelw said:

f you have a connection flight in Frankfurt, make sure you have plenty of time between flights.  Frankfurt airport is really spread out and we had to clear German customs even though we were just in transit and lines were very long and slow.

You were not just in transit. You were entering the EU, and you go through immigration in your first port of entry to the EU. (You actually went through customs in Prague, but didn't realize it.)

[Travelw]

Thanks, good to know.

Today we took the Tram to the Funicular to go up the tower, very interesting, both the tram ride and the funicular.  Walked to the monastery brewery for lunch, good food and adult beverages 🍺.  In the afternoon we went to the Jewish quarter to tour.  This is a sobering experience when you see the names on the walls of all the Jewish people that were killed during WWII.

The Avalon rep told us this afternoon that our Czech dinner tomorrow night has been canceled 🙁.  

Last night we ate at the Imperial restaurant, directly across the street from the hotel, very good food and decor was fantastic.

 

Dennis

[Daisi]

@ljandgb & @Travelw, may I ask what your hotel rooms are like?  I have looked up the Cosmopolitian Hotel, and it looks nice, but we have never stayed in a hotel arranged by Avalon, and wondering if they are decent rooms.  Is there any view?  I know you are more "in the center" area, so maybe just looking at buildings,   Just curious.

 

Hope you both have a great time, and safe cruise.  I will be looking for more info once you board. 🙂

 

[Second seating]

Really good restaurant in Prague with Czech food. We had dinner there on a do it yourself land trip in December 2019.

Second seating

Svejk Restaurant U Karla

 

 

[Travelw]

Our room is very nice.  It has a king bed and 2chairs.  Bathroom is nice but as mentioned above the shower is not the best.  No view to speak of, a building is a few feet away.  I would stay here again because of the location.

[Daisi]

Thanks @Travelw, we end our cruise in Prague, not sure what hotel, as they can change at any time.  Really hoping that our hotel in Budapest has a river view. 🙂  Nice to hear about the king bed, as that means it's not a basic room. 

[ljandgb]

Two chairs?  We only have one. Yes, nice rooms.  Our view is of the other side of the building across the courtyard.  The bed is comfy and it is very quiet. Not sure if that's a function of the hotel or few guests.  The surrounding area is definitely quiet.

 

The cruise director today said that there are only 27 passengers on the first half of the cruise - Deggendorf to Budapest, and "a few more" on the second half.  Wow.

[ljandgb]

There were 17 of us in Prague.  Of the official tour days, one was a free/arrival day, with a 6:00pm meet and greet that evening.  Since that was not announced prior to our arrival, we already had a beer tour scheduled.  We met up with everyone else the next morning, including @Travelw and his crew.  Super nice people!  We did a short drive/walk tour thru the castle, Jewish quarter, and old town in the morning.  Five of us did an optional tour to Terezin in the afternoon - a Jewish ghetto/camp nearby based in an old fortress.  

 

We left Prague for the ship yesterday, with a stop for a short tour in Regensburg on the way.

 

We had a long safety and welcome meeting last night, and a good dinner.  Lots of choices, including nice vegetarian choices (can't comment on how vegan they are, sorry.)  Masking is supposed to be whenever you are up and walking around.  In reality, that got dropped pretty quickly.  The crew is masked, though there were some noses sticking out.  Breakfast is buffet, serve yourself just wear your mask.

 

Like I said, there are 27 passengers, and about 30 crew.  I can't imagine they are making money on this sailing, but I think just trying to prove travel is possible.

[Travelw]

Yesterday was a really nice day, the group from Prague had a stop in Regensburg on the way to the ship.  Beautiful city, a nice stop.  We arrived at the ship around 4:00 pm, wonderful to be on a ship again.  Seems really weird with only 27 guests on the entire ship.  The crew was very happy to have guests on board again.

Arrived in  Passau Germany this morning, a little chilly and foggy.  Temperature is going to 75 later and fog is starting to burn off.  There is a guided city tour this morning.  The ship sails this afternoon for our next port so we will be cruising the Danube during the afternoon.

 

[Travelw]

Yesterday we had a really nice morning in Passau.  Our tour guide was interesting and knowledgeable and Passau has a lot of charming buildings.  The waterfront area is very picturesque.  In the afternoon the ship sailed through the Schlogen Oxbow on the Danube.  Many little villages along the shore and scenery was spectacular.  
At dinner Ljandgb and their spouse joined us for dinner.  Had a great time.

Going to Salzburg today, very excited, it is a 10 hour excursion.

 

[ljandgb]

Quick update - the first half of our trip is over.  This cruise is a combination of two cruises, Deggendorf to Budapest and Budapest to Bucharest.  We arrived in Budapest last night and had to say goodbye to all but 2 of the passengers from the first segment.  Such a small number of passengers led to really getting to know almost everyone.  It was a really nice way to travel.  This morning was like some weird adult summer camp on that last day when you're all sitting around waiting to get picked up while saying extended goodbyes to all your friends. LOL

 

We have 53, I think, for this second segment and we get underway tonight for a sunset cruise out of Budapest.  It will be weird not having the original 27 folks on board.

 

One difference was that our first 27 spent several days wearing masks in the hallways and entering the dining room, though that tapered off to only when going up to the buffet by day 3-4.  The group that came in today, I didn't see a single mask.  That might be because most have been in Budapest since at least yesterday and basically no one wears masks here.

 

One big point in our favor - everyone that was covid tested came back negative.  Nice!  I was worried about what would happen to us if someone from the first segment came back positive.  There were a handful that did not get tested as they will not be leaving Europe in the next 72 hours but instead will continue traveling.

[hihandycap]

1 hour ago, ljandgb said:

That might be because most have been in Budapest since at least yesterday and basically no one wears masks here.

Please share the experiences of the new passengers when they entered Hungary, particularly any US citizens who arrived by air.

[ljandgb]

What exactly are you looking for? I can ask our friend, who joined us here in Budapest. 

[Daisi]

Glad to hear you are having the sunset cruise out to see the buildings all lit up.  I was hoping to hear from @PRNole47if they had done that for his, as he was starting in Budapest, but haven't heard if he is back yet.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise, sounds as if Avalon is doing a great job.

[hihandycap]

1 hour ago, ljandgb said:

What exactly are you looking for? I can ask our friend, who joined us here in Budapest. 

What happened when they landed and passed through immigration and customs--particularly what documents beyond passports and customs declarations were they asked to show and what questions were asked?  Also, if they stayed in Budapest a night or two pre-cruise, what restrictions did they encounter? (We have three pre-cruise nights planned in Budapest before boarding Emerald Destiny for Bucharest on 4 Oct.)