AMA Sonata Melodies of Danube Oct 2014

Traveling on first RC in 49 days. Will be in Budapest 3 days prior to embarkation and in Prague 3 days post cruise. Both of us in our mid 50's. Any tips ...suggestions for planning pre and post as well as what to expect on AMA Sonata. Any comments much appreciated.

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I created the sticky at the top of the forum ("New to river cruising??? Start here!!!") as a general starting place for river cruise research:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2046067

Pay special attention to reviews of AMA cruises, with a focus on your river and ship -- but keep in mind that AMA tries to deliver a consistent product across rivers and ships so any reviews or tips will be somewhat relevant to you.

Other reviews and questions about the Budapest to Prague Danube itinerary, on any cruise line, will also be relevant. Cruise Critic is chock full of good stuff to keep you busy!

Cruised Nuremberg to Budapest, with 3 days pre-cruise in Prague. Service overall and food quality was excellent. We did not try the chef's table optional restaurant, but all the options in the main dining room were spectacular. Wines were above average, and quite free flowing during lunch & dinner.

DW & I are also in our 50s, and in pretty good shape. We are independent travelers who wanted to see what RC and AMA are all about. Some quick initial thoughts:

The "city familiarization trips", even in the active walkers group, were of little benefit; mostly a slow local walk or bus tour. Seriously consider skipping these and doing your own thing with the time saved. We enjoyed the bike tours; not too challenging, but a nice change of pace. Weather was great, especially for those escaping DC 90/90 August weather. Cool mornings in the 50s, afternoons mostly sunny in the 70s. Only rained a few drops the next-to-last day; it will be considerably cooler for you, so bring layers! The vibe in Prague and Budapest were entirely different. We found Prague to be friendly, with nearly everyone greeting one another and happy to speak English. Budapest had more of the reserved, big city feel with an edge: just our experience. The transit systems in Budapest, Prague, and Vienna were all easy to master and use. Do so! Two tips: beware pick pockets on the Karlovy Most in Praha, and make sure you have a valid ticket for the underground in Budapest; they were checking!

We are DIY travelers and also very active.

I highly recommend a private guide in Prague - we have been there twice for three days each time and each trip had a guide for the bulk of a day. I can highly recommend: Andrea Řezníčková as a wonderful guide for Prague.

Andrejka2002@seznam.cz

We had wonderful meals in both Budapest (spent 4 days there) and Prague. I recommend Cafe Bouchon in Budapest and Cestri in Prague and you should reserve both.

We visited the Terror Museum in Budapest and it was very moving. We took the funicular up to the hill where the castle is located, after walking over the bridge from our hotel.

We also spent a half day at Magnolia Day Spa and loved it - what a bargain compared to spas here at home and lovely as well!

We used the Metro in Budapest and tram in Prague, when we did not walk.

We loved the Erlebnis restaurant on AmaCerto and had dinner there twice, as they had openings towards the end of the cruise so we were able to add a 2nd night. We also very much enjoyed this venue on AmaBella.

Pack some layers in case of cold weather.

And I suggest using the local currency for each country as you do get more bang for your buck.

Have a great trip!

Hi All,

Chris and Suzanne Richard from San Diego, CA USA are looking to connect with others doing the Amsterdam to Basel cruise, May 13, 2015. I haven't found a roll call yet for it. If you have booked this river cruise and would like to meet via email before hand just drop us a note at sjrichard@hotmail.com

Hope to hear from someone!:rolleyes: