Budapest to Amsterdam in the Fall

[Kellie Poodle]

DH and I are planning a rather involved and ambitious European tour this Fall. Our TA has put together a plan for us to do a land tour with Globus of London and Paris then we fly to Budapest for a Uniworld cruise to Amsterdam.

 

I would appreciate it if you experienced folks could answer a few newbie questions:

 

1) what will the weather be like in mid-October. The cruise leaves Budapest on October 12. I don't mind 60's but daytime temps below that aren't much to my liking.

 

2) TA has recommended Uniworld. The cruise would be on their Princess. Is this a decent boat? Would anyone recommend another cruise line or boat?

 

3) Are the shore excursions easy walking? My DH has difficulty with inclines. steps are okay and flat surfaces. Will he be okay on the excursions? We don't want to go only to find out that he can't partake in any of the shore excursions.

 

4) I realize that menus will be more limited than an ocean liner, but do they let you substitute things on the menu. Like could we get double broccoli and no potato? I guess I'm asking if they are flexible with personal dietary preferences.

 

5) Are their cyber cafe's available on the itinerary? I might have to log in to pay a couple of bills back home as we'll be gone a total of about 2 months.

 

After Amsterdam we are flying to Spain where we'll sightsee on our own then take a RCI Mediterannian cruise from Barcelona and back followed by a trans-atlantic on RCI to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Thanks in advance for all of your kindness.

[tiggypooo]

Hi Kellie:

That sounds like quite an amazing itinerary that you have planned.

I sailed on River Duchess, the sister ship to River Princess last May and my collegue did her cruise on River Princess in Aug.

She did the Budapest to Amsterdam route like you have planned.

I think that you'll be very happy on the Princess. I loved the Duchess and my collegue who has well over 35 cruises with Princess and Celebrity, had to admit that her cruise on the river was her fav. so far.

She didn't think that she would like it as much as what she normally does and she really didn't want to like it as much as I told her she would, but she couldn't lie.

We compared notes and the 2 ships sounded very similar in most regards.

The accomodations were more than satisfactory. The beds were amazing and I was sorry to be leaving them at the end.

The food was wonderful. They're very flexible and will try their best to make sure that you have exactly what you want.

Breakfast and lunch is served buffet style and dinner is a 4 course sit down meal.

There is always 3 choices on the menu for entrees and if you don't like any of them, there is always the fillet.

The shore excursions are pretty easy to do.

There wasn't any really long or strenuous walking on mine and I doubt that there is on any of them, seeing that they generally have a older crowd onboard.

I wouldn't plan on spending too much time on the internet onboard. At $1.00 a min. the price would really add up. There is plenty of chances to hook up with the internet in the many internet cafes in your ports.

I conducted alot of business from them.

The weather I cannot comment on, but I'm sure that you'll have alot of cooler days and quite cool evenings in Oct.

I think that you'll be more than pleased with your TA's recommendation.

Have a wonderful trip.

[letsgoeverywhere]

We are doing this route mid September with Amadeus and I was happy to see your response Tiggypooo! This message board has such great information for the inexperienced. We are also from Ontario!

[tiggypooo]

Hi Lets go......Where in Ontario are you from?

I'm in Oshawa. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me.

I have some good pictures that I don't mind sharing and I can give you info on the ports.

tiggypooo@yahoo.ca

[tiggypooo]

Hi Lets go......Where in Ontario are you from?

I'm in Oshawa. If you have any other questions please feel free to email me.

I have some good pictures that I don't mind sharing and I can give you info on the ports.

tiggypooo@yahoo.ca

[letsgoeverywhere]

Tiggypooo, I'm in Ajax! I'll send a private message. Thanks.

[3040tennis]

Janet,

My husband and I are booked on Uniworld's River Princess for this date. We will be travelling with another couple. Have done many cruises with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean but this is our first river cruise. Looking forward to seeing you on board. Maybe we should try and start a roll call for this sailing.

Kit

[CPT Trips]

3) Are the shore excursions easy walking? My DH has difficulty with inclines. steps are okay and flat surfaces. Will he be okay on the excursions? We don't want to go only to find out that he can't partake in any of the shore excursions.

 

Many of the old cities along the Danube and Rhein route are hilly, so there will be inclines and/or steps. Additionally, many of the walking surfaces cobblestone and are uneven.

 

There was a thread on here months ago on a similar topic maybe someone else kept a link to it. I do not recall whether the originator of that thread ever posted back with their experiences. You might want to post this question under it's own subject. Found the post! http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=641134&highlight=difficult+walking