AMAWaterways Prague to Budapest 6/8-6/19 Live

6/9--Sitting in the BA First lounge at LHR waiting for our connection to Prague. Seems like a good time to start. For those who don't know me, I am a seasoned Regent cruiser. My husband and I, as well as our two close friends, are taking our first river cruise. And I will try to report along the way as is my custom on Regent cruises. I find that I am better with minute by minute, day by day, reporting rather than waiting till the end of the trip and trying to remember everything.

Flights from TUL to DFW and DFW to LHR were right on time, no problem. We do our own air with miles. BA First is very nice. I think that AA First is better, but I wanted to try something different this time. I actually slept quite a long time on the plane. Where BA excells over AA is in their lounges. They have lots of food, totally open bar whereas with AA, you get a couple of snacks and a comfortable place to sit.

We will be staying at the Hilton Old Town in Prague.

If anyone has questions along the way, I am happy to answer.

6/9--Sitting in the BA First lounge at LHR waiting for our connection to Prague. Seems like a good time to start. For those who don't know me, I am a seasoned Regent cruiser. My husband and I, as well as our two close friends, are taking our first river cruise. And I will try to report along the way as is my custom on Regent cruises. I find that I am better with minute by minute, day by day, reporting rather than waiting till the end of the trip and trying to remember everything.

 

Flights from TUL to DFW and DFW to LHR were right on time, no problem. We do our own air with miles. BA First is very nice. I think that AA First is better, but I wanted to try something different this time. I actually slept quite a long time on the plane. Where BA excells over AA is in their lounges. They have lots of food, totally open bar whereas with AA, you get a couple of snacks and a comfortable place to sit.

 

We will be staying at the Hilton Old Town in Prague.

 

If anyone has questions along the way, I am happy to answer.

Looking forward to your thoughts on river cruising. The Danube is a great place to start.

Rachel, looking forward to following your adventure! This is an itinerary that is high on my list.

We did this trip as an escorted cruise last September. It was our first river cruise and I couldn't help comparing it with our Regent experiences. We'd surely do a river cruise again, just don't expect Regent-level food, service, or cabins.

Speaking of food, there was a terrific, reasonable French bistro-type restaurant a few doors down from the Hilton. While I am all for trying the "native" food, I can honestly say, it was by far the best food for the money that we experienced during our 3-day pre-cruise stay in Prague.

Thanks, Rachel. Looking forward to your reports. Have a lovely cruise!

(On my old tape of the musical "Hair," there are a couple of cuts that didn't make it into the show in any of its performances. My favorite of those is a song called "The Bed." "Ah, the bed!...." I think the piece begins. As you probably know, I'll be interested to hear about the bed!)

We will be on AMA in November in Cambodia/Vietnam and on AMA or Tauck in 10/12 Budapest to Amsterdam. We will savor every word you write RachelG. Thanks.

and really look forward to all the details,,,also Regent and Seabourn cruiser,,but love riverboats as well,,,as said,,,we dont expect the level of service or food as those,,but great experience,,,,just different....we re on the new ship AMAcerto,,,with 2 balconies,,is that similar to yours??? Have a great time,,,but try not to "compare" to ocean cruises luxury ship,,,many do ,,then come away disappointed....good luck.....:D

Hi, Rachel,

Thanks for sharing your experiences in your cruise. I'm booked on this cruise on November 10, 2011, so I'll be following closely your comments and review. Are you on the Amadolce? That will be my ship in November.

Have a fantastic cruise!

Sergio

Rachel,

Have a wonderful cruise. I am sure you will enjoy your first river cruise.

A quick checkin while my husband showers. Finally arrived last evening at about 6:50. Luggage came out slowly, but our driver from Prague Airport Transfer was waiting patiently. He gave us a nice commentary all the way to the hotel which was very helpful. My husband thought he emphasized the danger of pickpockets a little too much, but better to be safe.

Hilton Old Town is within walking distance of most of the places we are interested in. Oddly configured room but comfortable--standard queen bed (for Poss).

Dreps, we ate at your bistro. I had a big salad, my friends had quiche and croque monsieur, and my husband had grilled chicken that came out raw the first time. So they cooked it some more and he said it was good. Nice wines list.

Too tired last pm to look around. Today is our city tour. Haven't met our rep from AMA yet. She left a note for us last night.

We had a busy day today. Breakfast (included) had hot and cold buffets with eggs, breakfast meats, cooked tomatoes and mushrooms, all kinds of breads and pastries, lots of fruit. I am not a big breakfast person so just had cottage cheese ( which tastes so much better in Europe, probably because it is nit the fat free stuff I normally get) and fruit.

The instructions said to meet prompty at 9 for the city tour. We got downstairs at 8:50 and they were already boarding the buses. So prompt means early, which is fine with me. There were 4 groups, 3 regular and one gentle. We all went by bus up to the castle and toured there. The only interior tour was at st. vitus church ( really nice stained glass). Lots more to see in the castle area. Then the regular groups walked down through town across the charles bridge to the main square to see the famous clock which is currently malfunctioning, a disappointment but we were forewarned. The gentle group took the bus from the castle to the area near the square.

All the touring and walking took about 4 hrs. Everyone in our group seemed fit enough and able to keep up, and the guide stops and talks pretty often.

By this time, we were hungry. There are little caves everywhere. The one we chose was off on a side street and really more of a bakery and take away place with just a few tables and a wonderful very clean bathroom. We had sandwiches and salads. My husband's salad had a huge hunk of goat cheese that would have cost at least $8 in Tulsa. The owner was really sweet and gave us extra samples of her bread. She really liked my husband's cowboy hat.

Then we did the Jewish tour buying the combo ticket that gets you into 3 synagogues and the cemetery. There is an extra charge if you want to go to the New Old synagogue, but frankly unless you were just doing an all day Jewish tour, the cheaper ticket is more than enough. The highlight really is the cemetery with the old half fallen down stones.

Then walked back to the hotel. We are going to the Czech dinner tonight, more for the music and dancing than anything else.

I had to look to make sure, but yes, the boat will be the amadolce.

Thanks for your info. We will be doing the reverse route in Sept. Was just curious about the Danube water levels, so I will be glad to hear about the rest of your trip. Have a great time!

RachelG, am avidly following this thread. We are taking the reverse as a Christmas market cruise with college friends. We will be staying at the same Hilton(on our own), What is the name of the French restaurant? Thanks for posting as you go. Pat

Finding this so interesting as we are currently also in Prague, spending a few days independently before our Uniworld cruise to Budapest starts on Sunday. Prague is a beautiful city. We purchased a Prague Card, and a 3 day transportation pass and have been seeing the sights. Hired a guide for a tour of the Jewish quarter this am. Oh, and also flew BA via London - will second your comments about the Concorde Lounge at T5.

Czech food and beer are excellent. Last day tomorrow before our transfer to Passau for the cruise, this is our first river cruise. Enjoy your adventure.

Rachel, I'm so excited to read your posts, as we are doing the same trip in 5 weeks but we're doing Prague on our own. Would love to hear what you think we should not miss or maybe skip in Prague and any information on recommended restaurants. Thanks for taking the time to do this!!

I'm excited about your info too . We fly to Prague on the 24th(staying at the King's Court) and board the Amadolce on the Violin Deck in Nuremburg on the 27th. Keep the invaluble info coming!

(Mrs.Batt) and Rachael took BA,,,usually book my own,,,but wow,,,rates really hi for Business class...:mad:

We booked our own air but were able to use FF miles. Leaving Prague for Passau tomorrow, hired a service to to transport the 6 of us, stopping in Cesky Krumlov on our way to the River Beatrice.

Blogging at http://www.slowtrav.com/blog/marciab, understand wifi will be spotty on the river.

Thanks for all the nice comments. Before I forget, sorry about the typos. I am working on my husband's iPad, and it does not have a proper keyboard, plus auto complete sometimes does weird things to what I type.

In answer to the question, the French bistro that is right down from the Hilton old town is called La Gare Brasserie. We have reservations at Kolkovna which is also just a little further down tonight. It comes highly recommended.

The folkloric night was pretty good. The singing and dancing were quite good. Food was very starchy, but fine. I can eat that about twice a year. I suppose it is good in really cold weather. The appetizer was dumplings with cabbage and smoked pork, actually way better than it sounds. Main was a skewer of chicken, beef and pork along with really good scalloped potatoes and green beans with ham which were both exactly like my mom, of German descent, would make. Dessert was a crepe. Unlimited wine (not very good) and beer ( excellent by all accounts but I don't like beer). This is an optional excursion, but I would definitely rec it for the singing and dancing part.

Today we did our own thing. There was an optional excursion to terezin, but I thought it would be too depressing.

We walked all over, to the US embassy with the beautiful gardens alongside, all over lesser town and old town, to wencelus square. Took a few breaks for food and drink along the way, and went in a lot of shops. Perfect day. Temp was in the mid 70's and it did rain just sprinkles on us for a while, but mostly sunny.

I know you are having a great time on AMA. We did the reverse cruise from Budapest to Prague last year. You have some beautiful towns along the way. What ports do you visit? I bet people will chime in with some of their/our favorite discoveries.

Ms. Batt, I know you are having fun too.

This is turning out to be a most interesting travelogue. We are loving the accounts of the journey, the hotel and the meals in Prague. With the actual river cruise to come. Thanks to you all.

We flew using ff miles on AA and BA. Paying for the tickets in F or business with $ would hv been pricey indeed.

We depart in the am ( early) for nuremburg visiting Karlovy Vary along the way.

Rachel, amusedly trying to type on a Ipad, too, I have a bluetooth keyboard along for the ride, too lazy to set it up. Enjoy Kolkovna, we ate there a few nights ago, it was good, but again we are having many variations on a basic meat and potatoes theme, trying to add fresh greens wherever possible. We also had a French meal last night at Chez Marcel, not far from Old Town Square where we are staying, near the French Embassy. Walking around this charming city has been the best, even with the raindrops. And thank you for letting me do a little piggy backing on your thread - perhaps we will meet somewhere on the Danube.

and enjoyed it so far,,,will yoube going to Terezin???Sounds sad,,but interesting,,,,got a nice write up in Rick Steves guide...a real history buff,,,so may take it next June...can t wait to read about ship,,,have fun...;)

We flew using ff miles on AA and BA. Paying for the tickets in F or business with $ would hv been pricey indeed.

We depart in the am ( early) for nuremburg visiting Karlovy Vary along the way.

Lunch tip: try the Thai Restaurant. We enjoyed that and the beautiful scenery in Karlovy Vary.