Junebug624

I have read everything I can here. Our group of 10 has 5 adults and 5 kids 1-15.  We arrive at Ft Lauderdale airport just in time to need dinner nearby as soon as we get to our hotel.   I need suggestions for hotel that is moderate (is under $250 x 3 rooms with taxes and fees even possible?), clean, has included breakfast since different ages may want to eat at different times.  I find some that meet the criteria but they are so far out that the UBER costs from airport to hotel and hotel to Port Everglades is concerning when you need 2-3 cars.      If we have to be several miles from the two destinations, are we better to look south or north?    Thank you!

Hi. I just want to add that we free from Toronto to Haneda, took a $70 tax ridei to Hotel Monterey and walked to the terminal the next day. We liked the hotel very much and the breakfast was very lovely. Our cost was $146 for room facing the bay and the breakfast through   Japanican.com. We could have taken a less expensive transfer but hesitated to in new country and with our cruise luggage. 

I assume you have completed the Danube trip by now. We are trying to decide whether to do 2 days on our own in Prague and get a driver to Vilshofen or to just do the 12 day trip, Danube plus 3 days in Prague for an additional $400. Any thoughts?

How did you like the Princess? Is it is newest of the Monarch fleet? Is there any advantage to doing Budapest to Vilshofen vs the opposite direction? Thanks!

When we went through the stretch between Regensburg and Passau on the 19th of June, they said that at the shallowest point that there was only 40cm of water under the ship. This was on the Monarch Princess which has a draft of 1.7 meters (water depth 2.1 meters). Since a Viking long ship has a loaded draft of 2 meters they would have had only 10cm (about 4 inches).

RDC1, could you tell us about the Monarch Princess experience? There is so little information on that ship. Thanks!

baileysre@gmail.com

Looking for info on Gate 1 Monarch Princess as well.

following this post! We are considering an Alaskan cruise with an almost 2 year old next summer. So other peoples ideas would be helpful

follow ing as well for late July/early August with twins almost 3, 4,7,8,11 and their three sets of parents. All suggestions welcomed for 7 day cruise.

No, we booked privately, but the exact ones were offered by RCI too.

What private companies did you use for your excursions, please?

Hi,

We just came back from our Mediterranean cruise, we booked 2 tours with Itialy.Tours.EU, 2 excursions with our cruise ship NCL and one with Barcelona Day Tours, in all tours, we could leave our backpack in the van, there were no incident happened during our trip in Italy, but we were advised to be careful for pickpocket, so just be cautious , but we felt very safe travelling with tour guide, in all companies, they really care about our safety.

I realize you are just back from your trip and probably exhausted, but if you could, would you tell us which of the Italy Tours, NCL, and which Barcelona Day tour you took? This is exactly what we are planning and I want your brief thoughts on each. Thank you. Unfortunately, once most of us return, we forget to give back.

Am I correct that shows that are on several nights, such as the impressionist and Burn the Floor and the vocalist, have a different show each night? We are used to just walking into shows, so this may take some planning since we need reservations. Thanks for posting the dailies! So thoughtful!

I booked directly with Gate 1 using a Travelzoo discount and it has been fine. I have found that they are more than willing to answer questions, but more quickly by phone than to the general info email. Once you book with them, be sure to ask for your sales person's email and that will be your contact person. If they don't know the answer, they find out and get back to you!

Thank you so much for all this help! I will reread all this again but I bought jacket was needed for the captains dinner per Victoria cruise line,I believe. WEre you on a Victoria boat? I would hate for him to b the only one without. Ours is a 4 day cruise. Again thank you. More questions to come.

Here are some questions for recent participants for Gate 1 China Trips with cruise of Yangtze River on Victoria Cruise line: We arrive in Shanghai from Indy on Oct 27 for 14 day tour...

As above the trip was said to be "gueling" so I'm wondering if we should not take every excursion, but build in a little down time. Is the Hutong Tour one we could miss?

I think I do not completely understand the excursions while on the cruise. Is it one fee, $80 for 3 tours, one each day? First, Three Gorge Dam. Second, Lesser 3 gorges and Daning River. Third, Fengdu (I heard with LOTS of steps--I'm not good with steps). If we choose not to do, are there activities on the boat to enjoy? Classes, lectures, massage, etc? Again, needing some down time?

Other boat questions: Is it true that we would need to charge electronics at a main desk rather than in the room?

What would be the charge to have some laundry done onboard? Another alternative? Really trying to take as little as possible. Wish the sportcoat wasn't needed for hubby.

General questions: Are tips on the boat, to drivers and guides in Chinese currency? I'm guessing yes.

Do the busses have a bathroom? Only 1 checked bag, I read, but I'm not sure we'll even have luggage on the bus as we fly between cities.

After a full day of touring, if dinner is not included or not in an excursion, could we just eat at the hotel?

Do the hotels provide soap, washcloths?

Will we likely be in a place where we can pick up American packaged snacks so we don't have to take so many granola bars, etc?

About purchases. I believe we can bring back $800 worth of goods without fee. Do we need to keep receipts together, but can pack the items in checked baggage? We usually don't buy souvenirs really, but just might this time.

Thanks so much!!!

Thanks for starting this thread. I too am anxious to hear details about travelers' recent trips. So many other posts are from 2-3 years ago. Things change. Would it be a mistake to not take the excursions from the boat, but to just enjoy the amenities and lectures/classes and rest up a bit for the next 7 days?

Anyone going on the Oct 26 trip 14 days in China with 4 day river cruise? We leave from Indianapolis, then non-stop to Shanghai. Incredible price through travelzoo.com which I have used before for Ireland trips.