ON the Amadagio!

[Buckland]

Hi Alice,

 

I have seen guys take a platter and pile it high with as much food as they could possible get on it - and they did it with every meal. I don't think someone like that would appreciate the kind of four course meals we got on the Amadagio. Granted, the entrees might not fill you up if that's all you had, but when you consider that all meals were four course, you would easily find that in the end - you're full.

 

On our Mediterranean cruise there was one person at our table that ordered and ate everything that was on the menue for entrees. We're talking a full roast beef dinner complete with mashed potatos and yorkshire pudding, then the salmon dish served with veggies on rice etc., then he had the rack of lamb and topped it all off with the captain's prize hamburger platter. I thought he'd explode. ( ever see "The Life of Brian"? )

 

I'm sure someone out there might complain, but we heard nothing of the kind on our cruise. Besides, you could always order from the "Standard Fare".

 

Hope this helps.

 

Buck

[ToniBruce]

Alice:

 

After undertaking a considerable amount of research, my wife and I decided to book the Amadeus Amalegro Budapest to Prague river cruise on 8/2. Are you on this particular cruise? Having taken more traditional cruises (e.g., Winstar and Oceania) we wanted to experience a river cruise.

 

Thanks.

 

Bruce

[AliceS]

Buck,

I hear you about the amount of food that some consume. I'd rather have the quality myself.

 

I believe our sailing date is 8/22 on the Amalegro.

[Buckland]

You guys are going to love it! Bring your cameras - and don't leave them on the plane on the way back home like I did.

 

Buck

[Buckland]

Hi AliceS

We had a great deal of difficulty working out the air portion of our cruise. We booked through Brendan who is 30% owner in the Amadagio and thieir web site had icons for Air Canada so we thought there would be no problem. What we discovered is that we would have to get ourselves to JFK in New York then fly to Paris from there and connect to Amsterdam. Two years ago we flew to Amsterdam from Montreal Canada. We were able to take a bus to Montreal then our flight. For this trip we wanted to fly with my wife's sister and her husband and they are in Toronto. We would have to fly to Toronto in any case so we thought, hey, no problem. Back to what we found out - no flights from Ottawa, Canada where we live go to JFK, only La Guardia. We would have to arrange our own transfers there and now with the higher security problems we needed to have three hours in order to do that. We also discovered that with flying from Ottawa to Toronto to La Guardia, transfer to JFK, then fly to Paris, then on to Amsterdam we would be travelling for almost 24 hours. I don't think so. In the end we met with my wife's sister in Toronto and flew to London where we spent the better part of two days, then on to Amsterdam. that's a bit of a long explanation, but you asked... In the end we got the flights we wanted, including transfers, for the price we wanted. But it would definately be easier if it could all happen at the time we purchased the tickets for the cruise. In the end we are very happy.

 

Re: my camera. Well, that is like a scene out of Monty Python. My camera was left on the last plane we took which landed in our home town. One would think that anything left on board would be taken to the lost and found in the airport where the item was found. According to the local air port anything left on the plane goes to the lost and found for the air carrier, but nobody knows where that is. I was given a phone number, but that turned out to be in India. When I told the nice person I spoke with that I left my Canon Camera on the plane she became very confused and couldn't understand how I got a cannon on board the aircraft. I just said 'thanks for the help" and hung up. Since then I've found an e-mail address which I sent a request for help to and got a response that said I could expect a response in four to six weeks - nice. After three days of searching and phoning again and again, I finally managed to talk with someone who sympathized with me and had access to a computer. He checked the airports of Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver for any cameras and came up empty-handed. I think my camera is gone.

 

My insurance company is willing to compensate me for the camera but they need an incident report and a statement from Air Canada that they are not liable for items abandoned on their aircraft - I have no problem with that at all. I called Air Canada again and, you guessed it, was given the number for India again. And so the very merry-go-round goes round.

 

Buck

[TataTom]

Well, Tommy and Karon have made it to the Amadagio and the bags made it too so we are happy. Although we have only been on board for a day now, we are just delighted with everything. The service is wonderful, the food is marvelous, the cabin is great. Buck was right. John, I know you and Peggy are on the boat, but I haven't run across you yet. We have a lot of Australians on board, maybe 50 or so, and they are a lot of fun.

 

I will report more as the cruise goes on. Short and sweet, we are happy campers!

[Venturagirl]

TaTaTom, I am wishing you a wonderful time on the river! Thanks for posting. How is the weather?

[Buckland]

Hi TataTom,

I'm glad you agree with me that everything about the Amadagio is wonderful. If your Cruise Director is Nancy say hi to her for me, she might remember me if you mention that I sent her the personality quiz and the puzzle. With luck you may be able to get a chance at both of them. They are a lot of fun!

 

We had a number of Australians on our cruise too, and a bunch from Alberta Canada. I think cruisers are all a bunch of fun. I hope you are having the weather we had - we really lucked out. Enjoy your time on board!

 

Buck

[AliceS]

Tomy and Karon,

 

Please keep us informed of you adventure. We are really excited about our future river cruise and want to know everything. Thanks for posting. Show and tell!

[mattie00]

I am also interested in any and all news from on board. We are doing the Ultimate River Cruise on June 21, 2007 on the new Amalegro. Glad to hear that Albertans are frequenting these cruises (we're from Cochrane, Alberta - 35 km NW of Calgary). Everything we have read so far has been so positive so we are certainly getting excited!

[TataTom]

Hello all:

 

Today is Regensburg. ´The weather so far has been great, a little cool yesterday but nothing that a jacket wouldn't handle. No rain. So far the cruise has exceeded all our expectations, and we are very happy. Ýou will love the Amadagio, first class all the way. I am in an internet cafe right now, and using a German keýboard, so this will be a short message. I am taking notes for a detailed report when the cruise is over. Until then, rest easy, you will be delighted with your cruise!

 

Now I am off for the famous Regensburg suasages and saurkraut and beer!

 

Later,

[Buckland]

Hi TataTom!

I think the sausages in Regensburg were the best I have ever had! You must be careful though, if you get some to take out, like we did, then sit at a table to eat it, you will get yelled at. They charge a bit more at the tables, but you get a bit more too. - And you can order a beer, which is what we did to put them at ease - we also gave them a good tip. But mmm, I sure could use a few of those sausages now, too bad I didn't think ahead and get a bunch to take home, but without a portable freezer, I'm afraid that would be impossible.

 

Glad you are having a good time.

 

Buck

[Diane&4girls]

I'm loving this thread! I've searched high and low for info and this is IT!

 

My kids and a friend and I are leaving on the Amadagio Nov 19th from Nuremberg to Budapest.

 

I, too, tried to work out my air with Brendan, but they were unable to get me back to CLT on Nov 26th, which is the Thursday after Thanksgiving. I bit the bullet and booked it myself.

 

Our cabins are 227 (Cat C) for the kids and my friend and I have 302 (Junior Suite). I hope these cabins are great ones.

 

Thanks for all of the info. You guys are the BEST!

 

One more thing.... what is the best way to get my US money converted?

[Buckland]

Hi Diane&4Girls

My wife and I converted our money to Euros for stops in Germany etc., but for Budapest it's different. They use Florents ( I think that's how you spell it). Not to worry though, there are bank machines everywhere and you can simply get out what ever you need there. We took out ten thousand Fl, which would be less than $50 US, and blew it in about an hour and a half. They won't be converting to Euros for a while yet and their money is not worth a lot so the prices seem high, but they are not really. It's very strange to see gas priced at 271.9! Shop around and you can find some bargains. In the big shopping plaza we found that the farther into the back you go, the cheaper things got. Give yourself plenty of time to get to the airport - it's a long way. The cruise director on the Amadagio is supurb - she'll make sure you won't be late. Just let her know when your flight out is a couple days in advance and she'll make the arrangements. If you have purchased your transfers already it's even easier as she will already have the info she needs, but it doesn't hurt to be thourough.

 

Buck

[Diane&4girls]

You're great! I knew Budapest would be different but it's nice to know I won't have any problems finding money.

 

We're taking a taxi from NUE to the boat but I booked the cruiseline's transfers from the ship to BUD. Our flights depart at 6:30 and 7am (my friend from NY), so I wanted to be sure to have someone there for us.

[Buckland]

Hi Diane&4Girls

If you are leaving Budapet at 6:30 AM get ready for a very early morning! We had some people meeting in the lobby of the ship at 4:30 AM! We had to be there at 6:30 for our 9:30 AM flight. We beat the morning rush hour so our drive to the airport was steady and traffic free.

Hear's hoping that you don't get in the way of any demonstrations going on in Budapest. Things were peaceful when we were there.

 

You're going to love your cruise, but of course, you've been on the Amadagio already, so you know what I'm talking about.

 

Buck

[Diane&4girls]

Well whomever is demonstrating needs to stay out of my way!

[Buckland]

Our guide was well aware of what was going on and steered us well clear of any potential mishaps.

 

Buck

[Diane&4girls]

That's good to know. We got our tickets yeaterday. They know me by my middle name but had my legal 1st name on all of the confirmations, but failed to print it on the documents! They'll get it worked out.

 

One question: How many formals? 1? The other nights casual (slacks)?

[Buckland]

Hi Diane&4Girls

We were told we'd have 2 formals, but during the introduction on day one the captain told us that he wasn't a big fan of formal nights so we just had one Captain's dinner. They gave us plenty of notice for it too, so we weren't taken by surprize. All the other evening meals were very loose. Some people dressed nice, but not formal. Usually we were dressed in whatever we were wearing when we were on our shore excursions.

 

You may want to sort out your names on you tickets and stuff as there will be a couple times where officials will come aboard to check passports. With us they did a face-to-face check. It was very quick and did not delay us much at all.

 

I'm so excited for you. You'll see so many interesting and unsual things. And you'll get to taste some really wonderful food.

 

Buck

[Diane&4girls]

Hi Buck,

 

I really appreciate all of the answers you've given me. My 17 yo daughter really wants to know if jeans were worn to dinner. That would make her day, probably mine too! She has her slacks all packed but I'm sure she could switch them out for a few pairs of jeans.

 

As you see, this is a swing from our usual cruise style! So I'm a little lost on what to expect.

 

Do you think my laptop would work? I need to be able to communicate with my clients. Is the onboard internet really that slow?

 

Our flight into Nuremberg arrives at 12:30. Does boarding really start AFTER 4pm?

 

What time does dinner start?

 

Did you scope out the workout facilities? Gotta have it.

 

Again, thanks soooo very much!

[AliceS]

Diane,

 

I'n anxious to hear all about your river cruise. We go next August and have never done this type of cruise before. Please keep notes and show and tell. Thanks.

[TataTom]

Tommy and Karon have returned from the two week Budapest to Amsterdam cruise on the Amadagio, and I have enough notes to generate a fair report on the cruise. Right now I am completely jet-lagged, my brain thinks it is 3:00 AM and we have been on airplanes and in airports all day. So be patient, more information will follow.

 

If I had to describe the cruise in one word, it would be "wonderful". Everything was first class all the way, really a great experience. If you are booked on an Amadagio cruise, you will be delighted with it.

 

Money is not a problem, you can access ATM machines just about everywhere. Make sure your card company knows you will be in Europe so they will not challenge the withdrawals. Use the machines marked "International".

 

If you have a wireless capable laptop, you can use it on the Amadagio for internet access at the rate of 5 euro per hour. If you use a half hour, you can still use another half hour at another time for the original 5 euro charge. However, if you use the computer they provide in the cabin, then it is still 5 euro per hour but it does not accumulate, you either use the whole hour at once or lose whatever part you did not use. Why they do this is a mystery, everything else on the cruise is world class, but their internet access policy is pretty short sighted. We just used internet cafes, usually for a euro or two per session. Downside is the European keyboards, they will drive you crazy.

 

More later, I am off to bed!

[Buckland]

TataTom has it pretty right on. The wireless internet in the aft cabin I found to be convenient from the stand point of the usage. I booked one hour, but if I used five minutes I still had 55 left to use at another time. It took me a little more than a week to use up the hour. The other upside is that I could compose E-mails off line and send them when I connect. The down side is that you lose the satellite connection when ever the antanae are down - which is a lot of the time as there are a lot of low bridges you have to go under. We did not use any internet cafes so I can't comment on that.

 

Jeans are fine for dinner! I would think no one would notice as long as they aren't those "stylish" ones with all the rips and tears in them. Your laptop would work as long as you have an adaptor for 220V. There is a note in this thread regarding that.

 

We boarded our ship as soon as we pulled into the dock. I'm sure you will have no problem getting aboard as soon as you get there.

 

Dinner starts at around 6PM to 7PM, depending on the shore excursions. For every meal there was a line up waiting to get into the restaurant. If you have a particular place you'd like to sit it's best to get there early. We liked to sit in a different place every time so it was more interesting. We didn't mind where as it was the food we were going for. Lots of times we had different people sit with us and we soon developed some wonderful relationships, and we still communicate with them.

 

The work out facility is a bit small and I saw only one person use it. There are a couple cycles and a tread mill and a sauna. It is at the stern of the ship. After a day or two I think you'll find that you get quite a bit of excersize and the thoughts of the Gym will fade. But you will still have plenty of time to use it.

 

If you like you can E-mail me at buckland_1@sympatico.ca and I'll send you a few pics of the gym, the power recepticles, and the ship. That applies to anyone else who'd like to see them too.

 

Nuremberg is very interesting. There is so much recent history there - it's scary to think what could have been. By the way, they have excellent sausages there and a really great market to buy stuff. My wife got all the gifts we were to take back in that one place. She also got a wonderful dress that she wore for the formal night.

 

Buck

[TataTom]

Some more information about the Amadagio:

 

There are two large umbrellas under the bed in the roll out container. Also blankets and such. I knew about the blankets, but did not discover the umbrella until the last day! No matter, I had my own small travel one, and besides, we did not need umbrellas at all except for the last day in Amsterdam. Great weather!

 

The toilet is vacuum operated, and the first time you use it you may jump. It makes a lot of noise and the flush is immediate. If you have the bathroom door just ajar, flushing the toilet makes enough vacuum to pull the door shut.

 

The shower is an engineering marvel, but be careful. The handle controls are instinctively backwards, the large outer lever controls flow, not temperature, and the smaller inner dial controls the temperature. If you have the shower on the hand-held spray head and switch to the overhead spray, there will be some cold water in the shower head that will surprise you. Good way to wake up.

 

We arrived in Budapest in the morning, and the Amadagio greeter got us a taxi and sent us to the ship. When we got there, there was a marathon race going on and the street on the dock was closed to traffic so we had to carry our suitcases several hundred feet. When we got to the gangway, the staff came out to get our luggage. You can not get into the cabin until 4:00 PM, but they will store your luggage until then in the lobby. In the interim, you can walk around downtown Budapest, it is very close to the ship. Get some forints from an ATM, don't get too many as they are hard to convert back into dollars or euros. I was able to convert forints into euros in Bratislavia. There is an ATM machine on the corner downtown by the Hardee's, of all places.

 

The laundry on board is not cheap, but very good quality and next morning service. I used it mostly for underwear (.8 euros each) and socks (.8 euros pair).

 

The ship was amazingly clean and the deckhands would wash and wipe all surfaces every day. The room maids would clean on their hands and knees, everything was meticulous!

 

Dress code for dinner was either what you wore that day or mild business casual. No jackets or ties required except at Captain's dinner, and there it is optional. For the Captain's dinner about 60 % of the men had jackets and ties. That means 40% of them were perfectly comfortable in whatever they wore. So don't sweat the jacket and tie. If you would feel uncomfortable not being the best dressed, OK, but otherwise it is not necessary.

 

The food was fantastic and the service also. Much to choose from at breakfast, many interesting items on the buffet and you could special order eggs if you wanted, four course lunches and dinners with all the proper glass and silverware. For lunch you could choose your own salads and desserts from the buffet. There would be soup and three different entrees on the menu. For dinner, you had your choice of three appetizers, two soups, three entrees and two desserts, all first class. I felt like a very wealthy man eating in such high style day after day. The chef was marvelous, and the food was five star Michelin quality in every way. The presentation of the courses was marvelous, each was a work of art. Quantities were more than adequate. Wines and beer were free with dinner, choice of local reds and whites, all very, very good. As soon as your glass would lower in level, along would come the wine steward with more.

 

That's it for now, more later. I am still jet lagging.