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winegirl

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  • Posts

    326
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About Me

  • Location
    WI
  • Interests
    Wine, food, travel, books, politics
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Windstar
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Mediterranean

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winegirl's Achievements

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Uniworld's ship Joie de Vivre travels the Seine and it was a spectacular ship. All inclusive. We loved it and will use Uniworld again.
  2. For those who asked about travel insurance with pre-existing condition waivers that can be purchased at the time of final payment: I bought policies with the help of Steve at the Trip Insurance Store which is highlighted on the CC website. The policies I bought (for 2 trips in 2022) were IMG Global iTravelInsured Travel LX. You can find this with a number of online travel insurance websites, and they all charge the same premium since this is a highly regulated industry. So you don't have to beat your head against every website looking for a better price.
  3. As I recall, our ship docked near the town. We visited a fish market ( L'Hippocampe poissonnerie) that was close to shore and from there walked to the ship. I don't recall any long bus ride like the one to the Normandy beaches. Maybe my memory is mistaken, it was in 2018. Mea culpa. Will keep my notes to myself from now on.
  4. We took a Rhine River Christmas Markets cruise from late November to early December. Comfortable weather proof hikers/boots would work well. Not the boots that we Wisconsinites use to shovel snow, but some lighter weight trail hikers: I have some Vasque Gore Tex lined hikers that are low cut like sneakers. Warm, lightweight wool or polypropylene socks. No cotton, if they get wet, they stay cold and wet. Also recommend some warm gloves and a hat if your jacket does not have a hood. I took a midweight walking coat that was somewhat water resistant. We had no rain. But the mistake I made was not taking an insulating layer under that coat. I wore fleece shirts underneath, but I should have also taken my Eddie Bauer lightweight down vest that I could wear under the coat. All was well until Strasbourg: it was bitterly cold and clear that day, with a light wind. I'd say in the teens. We were touring and in town all day, waiting for a dinner reservation in the evening. Once the sun started to set, I was just frozen. We ducked into shopping malls, stores and bars until it was time for our dinner (which was well worth staying for.)
  5. Having taken two cruises on AMA Waterways (Tulip Time and Rhine Christmas Markets,) and on Uniworld (Seine River Paris to the coast and Bordeaux): For a Seine River cruise, look into Uniworld. Their ship Joie de Vivre is spectacularly beautiful and elegant. I took my spouse, daughter, brother and sister in law on the Uniworld Seine River cruise and they all loved it. Embarked at the Quai de Grenelle in Paris, with lovely view of Tour Eiffel. Excellent on board experience and lovely fellow travellers made for fun in the evenings! At Honfleur, walked short distance from ship to the town center, looked around, and had a lovely galette lunch in a little hole in the wall restaurant. One of the favorite ports. Giverny in full bloom mid October, another favorite stop. And a full day to the D-Day beaches and American cemetery. AMA Waterways also lovely cruise, excellent cruise director and much merriment on board due to the season. Ship not quite as elegant as the Uniworld Joie de Vivre and AMA is not "all inclusive," which means some drink tabs, tipping, etc. Not a deal breaker IMO. If your mom needs an elevator, explore which ships have those. Joie de Vivre did have an elevator and a nice self laundry as well, if you want to use it. River cruisers do tie up next to each other at ports. You usually can walk through the reception areas from boat to boat. But not always and you may be climbing to the sun deck and down more stairs as you traverse the ships to shore. You may find your balcony cabin is looking right into another cruiser's cabin window. We've had both upper tier balcony cabins and lower deck cabins with just port hole windows. I actually preferred the privacy of the lower deck cabins, which tend to be smaller but full of comforts. Although you trade some light for that privacy. We are now embarking on our first Scenic cruise (Danube) which I picked for the specific itinerary/stops. We've travelled along the Danube by automobile in the past, and I wanted my daughter to be able to visit Nuremberg (our family comes from there.) The logistics and communications have been a little challenged. If you use a travel agent rather than booking directly with Scenic, they will communicate and send materials to the TA, not to you directly. We got the Glen Moroney letter a few weeks ago, to my personal email. Will roll with the punches and hope for the best, so jury is out on Scenic at this time.
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