gct -great rivers of Europe

[GGCHAMBERS2]

I have booked this trip and wonder if anyone has taken in and has some elpful hints of what to do and see.

 

Gerry

[ron46936]

I would like to second your request. We just booked this trip starting June 6.

 

Ron and Kris

[calabash]

We did this cruise two years ago and was by far our favorite. We did all the optional tours offered and enjoyed them all.

[travelsfun]

I agree with the previous poster...we did this trip 2 years ago also and enjoyed it totally. Hope you will be lucky enough to get Alex for your program director.If you have any specific questions, I will be happy to answer here.

Dorothy

[GGCHAMBERS2]

On the optional day trips, was there any you really liked or any you would skip?

 

Thanks,

 

Gerry

[ron46936]

All of our experience is on ocean cruises so I am very curious.

 

Does the ship offer laundry service.

 

Will I need an adapter to plug in my battery charger?

 

Do I need to plan for tips?

 

Can I bring drinks alcoholic or soft?

 

Will we have time to explore on our own?

 

Thanks

 

Ron

[Dale]

If I were you I would give Grand Circle a call for the answers.

[calabash]

All the optionals that we took on the Great Rivers of Europe were great. I would not omit any of them. There is still plenty of time to explore on your own.

 

Yes, there is a laundry service. The fee is reasonable.

 

Yes, you will need an adapter.

 

Yes, tips will be expected at the end of the cruise. The GCT brochure will give you guidelines.

 

Yes, you can bring alcohol and soft drinks to your cabin. There is an ice machine available for your use. However, if you plan on bringing alcohol to the dining room there is a corkage fee.

[ron46936]

Thanks for the info. I had been looking at this particular trip for years. My wife just retired which freed up the time. A last minute discount helped with the money. With less than 3 weeks to get ready we are trying to figure out what to take and what to plan.

[happy taveler]

I took this trip in 2005 and I liked it the best of the 4 I have taken with GCT. The optional trip to Marksburg Castle was great as some how on my other trips to Germany I had never visited it. I also took the Post Trip to Brussels and enjoyed that with the one day trip to Bruges.

[Carhut]

I took this trip in 2003 and of the 4 GCT river cruises I've taken, this is the favorite. In fact I might be doing it again this summer. Think all the questions have been answered. Only thing I can think of is take a light jacket. Even though it's summer, I found it cool at times and ended up buying a jacket over there my first river cruise.

[rogerdawhip]

ron46936 -- I'll be on this trip with you. I also booked last minute and got a great deal. This will be the 3rd time I've done the Great Rivers with GCT(first in June 2001, 2nd in Nov 2005). I've also done 4 other river trips with them. All the optional excursions are great....I've done them all a few times and may do a few again this trip.

[ron46936]

Roger,

 

You must really like this trip to do it for a third time. We are real rookies at this type of cruising. Our names are Ron and Kris and we live near Kokomo Indiana. Our friends Roger and Joanne are also going. Usually we plan our trips well in advance but this is an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

 

Any pointers will be much appreciated.

 

Ron

[rogerdawhip]

Ron,

I hope to meet you on the ship. It shouldn't be very hard. The will be a maximum of 144 passangers and not many will be named Roger. I'm traveling from Queen Creek, Arizona. I just received my air itinerary today....I'll be arriving in Vienna between 10 and 11 am on the 6th. This will give me time to take the Uban (Vienna's subway) into the town center for a few hours. The only pretrip pointers I can think of is to not overpack. You won't need a suit/tie unless you like that sort of thing. Even for the Captain's dinner most men are dressed in business casual. I enjoy the GCT Great

Rivers mainly for the scenery while cruising and the small towns we stop at. Each trip is different due to the crew, program director, and passangers. The ships crew really makes the trip. By the end of the cruise they are usually like family.

[GGCHAMBERS2]

I am on the June 20th or 21st cruise. Anyone going on that one? Please tell us more on traveling on your own. It is going to know that you can get into town easily.

 

Gerry

[GGCHAMBERS2]

One more question...what toiletries do they provide....soap, shampoo,conditioner...... I want to know what to pack.

 

Gerry

[ron46936]

Roger,

 

Unfortunately we are apparently doing the same cruise except in opposite directions. We depart Chicago on the 6th and arrive in Amsterdam on the 7th. I am sure we will pass in some port along the way.

 

Ron

[rogerdawhip]

Gerry,

The ships that I have been on had shampoo and body soap in containers attached to the shower wall. The shampoo was ok but I like bar soap so I bring my own. They also have hair driers in the desk/vanity area of each cabin.

roger

[CPT Trips]

As far as tips go, you can put the tips for the ship's crew on a credit card. You need cash for the PD tips.

 

Alex was a good PD - we didn't have him for our group. We had Dewy on our cruise and Gusta was the other PD. All were excellent!

No problems carrying beer, wine or spirits on board . . . we bought duty free liquor on the trip over, also picked up local beers in the towns where we stopped.

 

We did not do the Heidelburg optional for two reasons - we spent time there on prior trips and also the bus ride was fairly long. We also skipped the Rudesheim dinner excursion - food on the ship was fine and we didn't see the value in it.