Daisi

We did the Blue Danube Discovery starting with a Budapest pre-cruise in September. We started with a bus ride to the Castle district, a walk along the streets and a viewing of St. Matthias (stood on the corner across while the guide described the Church). No viewing of Fisherman's Bastien although if we had walked around the corner we would have been there. Then back to stand and view "scenic" country side just over where the bus dropped us off. Not sure if that was because we were a little early and had to wait for the bus to come pick us up, but was very disappointed with that bit as I would have loved to see across the river from the Castle district. Once back on the bus, we drove along the river to see the Parliament Buildings, then across to drive around them and (as we were sitting on the right side of the bus) a drive by view of the Shoes on the Danube. Then it was off to St. Peter's Square where the guide gave us a good description of what the statues meant and then wander over to a park across from the Zoo to get a Chimney Cake and drink - cake was free, it was quite hot so we purchased the water. Then back through the town to the Marriott where we were staying, with the guide showing us sites from the various revolutions held in Budapest. Our cruise left at 5:30 or so, so since we knew ahead, we booked our own night cruise on the Danube and I was so glad we did....not something to miss. We also went to see the Basilica, and it was impressive. Would have loved to go back across to the Castle District, but ran out of time. Hope that helps, I would ask about the evening cruise upon boarding, the tour boats aren't that far and it was well worth seeing.

@RobInMN is correct about only having 1 CD. Avalon is the same, you have 1 CD, however depending on the number of guests wanting tours, they will bring in as many local guides as required. If there are only 4 on one tour, you get 1 guide. Most groups are kept at 15 or less, so it's easier to move through areas without having to wait for everyone to catch up, as you would in a larger group. Don't make that your main choice for choosing one. I'm another Avalon fan, we just love how everything is just right for what we like. Casual, but still first class.

We did this in August, however we never made it to Nuremberg due to low water levels. I am not sure where the ship docks, but I don't believe it's in town. Doing a quick google search, it looks like about 17 minutes from the train station to the dock. When we did our Rhine cruise we had the CD call a cab for us when they were doing the departure arrangements the night before, as we were taking a train back to Amsterdam. I'm sure they will do the same for you.

Seeing that GTC is an US based company, I would assume the term "American" is literally that - American citizens. Canadians may be part of North America, however so is Mexico, St Pierre & Miquelon (which is part of France) and Greenland (which is part of Denmark). In fact there are 23 different countries in North America. The continent is called North America, American refers to being part of the United States of America.

@Canal archive, I'm not in Ottawa, just saw he was there. We do get some info in our local online papers from Ottawa, but mostly it's federal stuff.

Sorry, I can't help much. I find Emerald & their parent company Scenic's websites so bad I rarely look at them. We sail with Avalon, so I can't really help you much more than what you can find online.

I'm out today, but if you post what cruise you are on, and your date, I can try if I get home tomorrow. Sorry, spending a lot of time away from home so it may be Saturday before I can help. This is the basic info for the CDN site, it also has a brochure you can d/l. https://www.emeraldcruises.ca/river/river-experience/discover-more

Thanks @pontac, I had seen the article yesterday, didn't open it, but was pretty sure they gave a gentleman's name. Was wondering why 2 people would choose to consume the same amount of wine while running. I hear the Mayor of Ottawa was in London for the marathon, not sure how he placed. Smart guy, he is apparently also drumming up tourism at the same time...gets the flight over & place to stay paid for by tax payers, just had to pay to run!

@CDNPolar you beat me to it. Server is what we use up here as well.

My sister is still moaning over the loss of her blackberry.

I just upgraded in December from my old 6 (passed on to my DH) to a 15. All of our family (except 2) are on iPhones, so it makes messaging so much easier when you are on pay-as-you-go with no texting. We tried an android (Samsung) tablet when we first started (only had old phones with no "smart" features) and although it was a brand new tablet, I got 2 upgrades and that was it. That's why we switched to Apple, at least we were pretty much guaranteed 5 years. With all the stuff you do on a phone these days, having the security (and I also have a separate virus protection with VPN) is very important to me. @Canal archive, if my 86 yr old Mother can learn to use an iPhone, I'm sure you can learn any new phone.

@Kristelle, I agree with you. As long as the tops on women aren't overly revealing so that my DH drops his jaw into the soup, or the men are dressed in a clean top (not a tank top), I don't care what they wear. I would rather have someone who can carry on a decent conversation than someone who is worried about how they are dressed. I tend to look people in the eyes anyway when talking to them, so don't really notice how they are dressed.

We register for the included tours with Avalon through the MyAvalon site, but can still change at last minute - handy when you are debating between a more gentle or hiking excursion and the weather isn't the best. 🙂 I tend to stick to croissants, cheese, sliced meat and fruit for breakfast, but I will occasionally switch over to the "hot" side and slip a bit of bacon. This is my ideal breakfast, and why we prefer to sail in the spring, so when we come home, we can get the fresh fruit to enjoy.

Ok, we've never sailed with Viking, but my S & BiL do. Interesting about the tickets, Avalon has little "baskets' out with tags, you get to choose which tour you wish to go on so can select the ones with fewer guests or change from one tour to a different one if you wish. I don't think we've ever had announcements on any our our cruises. I think I'd try the back bacon, probably more like our "peal meal" bacon which those south of us call Canadian Bacon!

I meant no more buffet lunch. Sit down as in "menu" only. Sorry, must be localised saying. 🙂