Roll Call - Christmas Markets 2008 - all lines, all dates

[hello]

Great to hear what a wonderful time you all had -- can't wait to hear more about it!

[fred111]

Got back home last night and went to sleep. Haven't even opened up all the bags yet. Biggest problem we will have is trying to remember what we bought for who.

 

One thing we will do in the next few days is write a review of the cruise on the member review section. I noticed that there are very few reviews of river ships there compared to ocean going cruise ships. Maybe if more people wrote reviews it would help others in making future decisions.

[steamboats]

Welcome back home!

 

Sounds like all who already returned had a wonderful time!

 

steamboats

 

BTW now it´s snowing in Munich!

[Second seating]

We were on Uniworld's River Queen Christmas Markets on the Rhine cruise which ended Sun., Dec. 7 in Basel Switzerland. It was a fabulous cruise. Everything that Fred said about his Uniworld cruise goes ditto for us. The only bad part was the weather. We had rain on most days:(. But that did not dampen our spirits. We were able to see and do most of what we wanted. Markets were good - some better than others. My favorite was the old one in Strassbourg, Alsace, France. After the cruise, we took the train to Bern for 1 night and then on to Munich via Zurich for 2 nights. We love Munich and its Christmas Markets. There was even a Market in the Zurich train station!!! Will write more later as I am jet-lagged. Flying weather across the Atlantic to Atlanta was very, very bumpy.

 

Hello,

 

We are on the Dec. 14th through 21st River Queen Cologne to Basel (I am using ship departure and arrival dates). Did this ship have free WiFi like Fred said?

 

Thank you,

Second seating

[ChefPeg]

Hi everyone. My name is Huntster and I am a friend of ChefPeg. She is currently sailing her little heart out, lol, but she asked me to let everyone know that she hasn't forgotten them. She is unable to post on CC from her ship, but she asked me to wish everyone well and that she is having a great time.

 

Thanks Buddy!!

 

I appreciate you posting for me. Internet signal was nil when going through all of those locks.

 

Take care my friend!

 

Peggy

[fred111]

I don't know about the River Queen, but the River Duchess had it. I think it was satelite based so it worked pretty well in good weather but was slow when cloudy. Overall, a very good idea on Uniworld's part.

[KeyOfSea]

Welcome back home!

 

Sounds like all who already returned had a wonderful time!

 

steamboats

 

BTW now it´s snowing in Munich!

 

 

We missed the snow?!!? Just wanted to drop in to say that we had a wonderful time. We still don't have the time zone thing figured out though. We can't seem to sleep at the "right" time.

[steamboats]

Hi Trish,

 

Welcome back!! Yep, you missed it! It started snowing on Thursday night (right when we had our office Christmas party). Now it´s all covered with that white stuff!

 

steamboats

[AZPam]

Made it back last night after a fairly uneventful, but looooonnnnngggg, day of flying. Had a few delays in London, but had a long enough lay over in Chicago and no issues going thru customs, so no worries.

 

Our trip was truely magical from start to finish. Had some drama with our group of women, but I guess that just goes with the program with women! :cool: Grand Circle out did themself on everything as usual. Had my same complaints as for the food, but that's just me. Everyone else liked it all, so it's really just my issue. The weather was pretty rainy most days, but there were a few days that it turned to snow! :D It didn't stick, but it was so pretty to watch coming down, I think we all felt lucky to experience it. Of course the locals and other travelers who live in the cold climates all thought we were nuts, but coming from Phoenix, we don't see a lot of snow!

 

Switzerland and the French stops are still probably my favorites, but I love Germany too. We took the train to Luzern one day on our pre trip and that might have been my top highlight, but for sure in the top five. One of the few days we had sun and could see the Alps in all their beauty with snow. I think I liked the Christmas Markets in Cologne the best and it's where we did some major damage on the credit card with the shopping. Totally missed seeing the castles on the Rhine as it was fogged in that day. Big disappointment, but what can you do with mother nature? Guess we will have to go back sometime! :D We had just the best program director too, which really added a lot to our trip.

 

For now, I am just totally exhausted and can hardly see straight. I haven't even opened my bags yet, but have mountains of laundry to do and am expected at a Christmas party tonight! I am so happy to hear others have also had a great trip and will be anxious to hear as more return.

 

If anybody has any specific questions regarding Grand Circle, I'd be happy to try and answer.

[Bill S]

We're home, too!

Our Avalon experience was truly very, very good. We flew out of Vienna on Thursday, Dec 11 and missed the snow, too. Munich was really foggy though.

We arrived home 1AM on Friday and we are working through the jet lag, this time not as bad as it has been on prior transatlantic flights.

We were impressed with all of the towns and cities we visited, especially Vienna-what grand city!

I'll post a review when I am fully lucid in few days! :rolleyes:

Welcome home everyone!

[Yaya&Papu]

Honestly, I did not pay attention to the free WiFi or not. There was only 1 computer and I did see it in use a lot - although I did hear several people complain that it was down a lot (satellite connection). Weather was cloudy/rainy and I'm sure that had much to do with poor reception.

Walter will be the cruise director and he is nice and friendly/helpful. Sara is the hotel manager and Captain is Joachim Schlenker. Waiters are great, esp Josef and Kiki. There was no illness on the ship, and a hand-sanitizer at the door of the restaurant.

Beds are comfortable, food is good, wine is good. entertainment is pretty good. Markets are great = favorites are Strassbourg, Heidleberg, and Cologne.

[nordski]

When AZPam suggested combining messages re: Christmas Markets, I really wondered if that idea would work. Well... it was a brilliant idea producing a wealth of information, wisdom and enthusiasm.

 

I have only two regrets. One is that, since we had gone last year, we missed out on this year's discussions and excitement. On the other hand, the messages induced fond memories of our cruise and has even encouraged us to think about doing it again. However, this time we would be better informed.

 

The second is that we will be on a "Tulips and Windmills" itinerary this spring and, although I can hope, I'm not certain AZPam is up for another river cruise so soon. Perhaps her idea is so good that someone with her skills will undertake a similar discussion thread.

 

Congratulations AZPam for an excellent idea and the enthusiasm to keep it rolling.

[AZPam]

When AZPam suggested combining messages re: Christmas Markets, I really wondered if that idea would work. Well... it was a brilliant idea producing a wealth of information, wisdom and enthusiasm.

 

I have only two regrets. One is that, since we had gone last year, we missed out on this year's discussions and excitement. On the other hand, the messages induced fond memories of our cruise and has even encouraged us to think about doing it again. However, this time we would be better informed.

 

The second is that we will be on a "Tulips and Windmills" itinerary this spring and, although I can hope, I'm not certain AZPam is up for another river cruise so soon. Perhaps her idea is so good that someone with her skills will undertake a similar discussion thread.

 

Congratulations AZPam for an excellent idea and the enthusiasm to keep it rolling.

 

 

Thanks for the sweet comments! While I am up for another river cruise at any time, I am afraid my wallet won't be ready again for some time unless the real estate market comes back quickly. :(

 

I highly suggest you start a thread similar to this one for the Tulips and Windmill spring trips. I am sure there are plenty of others that want to chat and see what ideas are suggested. Just check on it regularly and keep the chat going. Some people are a litte shy at first! ;)

[nordski]

Thanks for the sweet comments! While I am up for another river cruise at any time, I am afraid my wallet won't be ready again for some time unless the real estate market comes back quickly. :(

 

I highly suggest you start a thread similar to this one for the Tulips and Windmill spring trips. I am sure there are plenty of others that want to chat and see what ideas are suggested. Just check on it regularly and keep the chat going. Some people are a litte shy at first! ;)

 

 

I know it's highly irresponsible not to volunteer to engage in this proposed project that I consider so valuable.

 

However, to do so would show an appalling lack of self-knowledge in terms of my social intelligence...not so strong, my technical skills in posting messages...sometimes wonky, and even my "doc dance"...best left to the imagination :).

 

So, I'm hoping someone with a better set of skills will love the challenge and star the thread.

[skertso]

Hello All!

 

We had a fabulous time and are ready to go on another river cruise!

 

Everything worked out well for us except for our connecting flight being cancelled because they couldn't land here at home in Las Vegas because of the snow. We then had to wait 24 hrs to get another flight and were forced to book a hotel in Atlanta. Who would have thought that the place weather would affect us would be in the desert home of Las Vegas! It's a funny end to the wonderful story of our trip!

 

Hope that everyone had and will have as great of time as we did!

 

:) Cherie

[skertso]

I wish you all a very happy holiday season and my very best wishes to everyone in the new year!

:) Cherie

[pacmom]

Merry Christmas to all. Pam thanks for starting this thread. And thanks to all for the info shared. Our trip was wonderful. Peace. blessing and calm seas in 2009. Pat

[KeyOfSea]

I promise that I will REALLY write a review after Christmas!! :rolleyes:

 

Merry Christmas everyone!!

[AZPam]

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope that Santa brings you everything on your wish list!

 

And after the holidays are over and things settle down again, I want to hear a few short reviews from everyone!

 

Pam

[CC Help Michell]

Merry Christmas Everyone! I hope that Santa brings you everything on your wish list!

 

And after the holidays are over and things settle down again, I want to hear a few short reviews from everyone!

 

Pam

 

Me, too! My sister and I decided over Christmas that we want to do this trip as a "girls' thing" in the next 1-2 years, so now I get to start researching! :)

[pacmom]

Here are my thoughts about our fantastic trip on Vantage's River Odyssey. We flew direct from Cincinnati to Frankfurt, were met by one of the cruise directors and when all were there, we were taken to the boat. The autobann was a mess because of an accident, so we took the local scenic trip in the snow. We arrived a bit later than scheduled, but we got there. Our cabin was immaculate, individual duvets--no cover hogging. The was a small pointsettia plant on our table. There was ample storage space, in the room and in the bathroom.

 

The dining room was bilevel and just lovely. The first evening, for some reason, a few of the wait staff thought our table choices had been taken. When the maitre'd found out, she brought us a whole bowl of the wonderful shrimp appetizer. Never had even a mediocre meal. The coffee machines in the lounge were great. Hot chocolate 24/7 at the push of a button.

 

We had 4 tour directors--our was Annelis. She was really good. All four were willing to answer questions and help in any way they could. They are true professionals-we had an incident that ended very sadly. Sandar was their tour director. He handled the situation very well.

 

The tours. Although we had TDs, we still had local guides. Only the one in Bamberg, did not meet my expectations. The best was the one in Mainz. We were there on a Sunday morning. She walked us thru town before visiting the Guttenberg museum. The pace was as if you were taking a stroll--lovely before the crowds appeared.

 

The Markets--the reason for the trip. They were wonderful. Never felt there wasn't enough time to enjoy and browse and shop and eat and drink glugwine and jageartea. We found the prune people and one is on my mantle now. I found some yarn I've never seen here in the states.

 

We met some really nice people. My only complaint was they were all Americans. This was our 7th river cruise and I missed meeting prople from other countries. Yes, we knew this in advance, but this was the only itinerary that had both Nurnberg and Bamberg--both were must stops for me. I would go on another Christmas Market cruise. Weather was good--snow a few days and rain one day. It was a wonderful way to start the season. Happy New Year. Pat

[AZPam]

Pat, I think our two boats were tied up together on one stop and your boat had to walk thru out to get out? Hope I have the right boat! I know somebody on the other boat fell in ours and also heard somebody had died on the other boat during the trip. Is that the sad incident you mentioned?

[pacmom]

Pam,

Yes, we were tied up together in Mainz. A man sufered a fatal heartattack and died. The results would have been the same here at home. Symptoms appeared early Sat., but were brushed away and the attack happened while the rest of us were at dinner.

 

Something strange happened--an older gentleman from your boat got on one of our tours to Heidleberg and lost his wallet and claimed to have lost his passport. Wallet was found by one of the TDs and he was returned to you by dinnertime. Our passports were collected and kept til the nite before we left. Hope his was also.

 

On the evening of Dec 5th we were asked to write a poem and place it in one of our shoes outside our cabin door. St. Nicholas found us and left a large chocolate image of himself and some fruit. They posted all our literary attempts for our enjoyment. Did you go to Heidelberg or stay in Mainz? It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon at the Market. Pat

[AZPam]

Pam,

Yes, we were tied up together in Mainz. A man sufered a fatal heartattack and died. The results would have been the same here at home. Symptoms appeared early Sat., but were brushed away and the attack happened while the rest of us were at dinner.

 

Something strange happened--an older gentleman from your boat got on one of our tours to Heidleberg and lost his wallet and claimed to have lost his passport. Wallet was found by one of the TDs and he was returned to you by dinnertime. Our passports were collected and kept til the nite before we left. Hope his was also.

 

On the evening of Dec 5th we were asked to write a poem and place it in one of our shoes outside our cabin door. St. Nicholas found us and left a large chocolate image of himself and some fruit. They posted all our literary attempts for our enjoyment. Did you go to Heidelberg or stay in Mainz? It was a wonderful Sunday afternoon at the Market. Pat

 

I wish I had realized you were on that boat so we could have said hello! That would have been really fun. I hadn't heard the story about they guy from our group that went to Heidelberg with you. Kind of funny if you ask me. They also collected our passports when we first boarded, so that guy must have been a little light in the loafers to have been so confused regarding the passport and the tour group. We had done Heidelberg on Saturday as the boat sailed from Speyer. Loved it since I had never been there before but crowds and crowds of people! We also got the shoe treatment on the 5th, but they didn't ask us to write poems. Quite a few people left letters though for St Nick that were read aloud. Let me tell you, we had some interesting characters from the sounds of those letters!

[skertso]