papa B me

We have been given the green light to leave Bratislava on the Uniworld Maria Teresa and are now sailing up river.  Not sure where we will end up.  Couldnt leave the ship today as the captain wanted to be able to leave as soon as allowed.  Will be interesting how the rest of today and tomorrow plays out.  Hoping we have some kind of excursion tomorrow.  It sounds like we are unlikely to make it to Passau so expecting a longer bus tide to Munich for flight home on Sunday.  Today seems to be the first day patience is running thin with some.  Have seen a few leave the ship for alternative transportation home.  Not an ideal trip and disappointing but I am overall happy with Uniworld and dealing with this mess.

The suite has made it

more enjoyable.  We have had a very nice trip.  I think the next two days and getting us to Munich on Sunday for our flight will be interesting.

We are on Uniworld’s Maria Teresa.  We boarded in Budapest on Sunday.  We have been docked in Bratislava since Tuesday when the Danube was closed to traffic.  We were bussed to Vienna yesterday for a full day of touring and an afternoon concert.  We were given Euros for lunch.  It was a long day.  This afternoon they have added a tour of a palace and gardens about 30 min away.  Captain is holding out hope we may be able to make it to Linz tomorrow but of course is totally out of his control.  Uniworld has done a great job of making the best of a bad situation.  Im personally happy we are stuck in Bratislava where it is such an easy place to walk in the evening.  We are walking up to the castle today since we havent done so

previously.  The big question is what they will do if still closed through the weekend for those of us flying out of Munich.  Heres hopes and prayers for all the people living up and down the river and how their lives have been affected.

This will be our 4th Uniworld cruise and I like the UW decor as well.  Would never want my house decorated that way but I think it is fun for a week or so.  The SS Maria Teresa we are on truly matches the location.  Leaving for Budapest in two days and can't wait.  Thanks for the well wishes.

We sail from Budapest on June 2 to Passau June 9.  Notamermaid can I interpret your last post that things are looking positive for the Danube on June 2?

Uniworld has open seating.  On our three river cruises with them the majority of people do seem to show up as soon as it opens but it is open seating in I believe a 2 hour window.  Will be sailing with them June 2 so can update then if needed.

Several years ago we did a Christmas Market Cruise on the Danube from Budapest to Passau.  We actually flew in several days early into Munich.  We hired a private guide to take us to Neuschwanstein and several other King Ludwig castles.  It was a magical day.  Munich was a lot of fun as well.  We initially planned on a night train from Munich to Budapest but it was during the immigration crisis and train service was canceled.  So we ended up taking the short flight from Munich to Budapest.  Then boarded the river cruise(Uniworld) for the trip on the Danube to Passau.  We are actually sailing the Danube again in 4 weeks to experience it in Summer.  Our cruise actually stops in Bratislava as well.  This was a great way to experience as you say two trips in one.  Good luck planning.

We did the Uniworld Danube Christmas Market with a self planned pre cruise stay in Munich.  It had some wonderful markets and did a day trip to see castles in Austria which was magical with snow falling.  We also went to the Hungarian Opera House in Budapest to see the Nutcracker which was a highlight of the trip.  We have been on 3 Uniworld cruises and actually leave in 5 weeks to do the same cruise down the Danube to enjoy the summer cruise.  Highly recommend Uniworld but I've heard nothing but good things about Ama as well.

I cruised Budapest to Passau for a Christmas market cruise a few years ago.  We are doing this same cruise the first of June and decided to stay with Budapest to Passau and do our pre cruise in Budapest.  There really is a lot to do.  I have been to Prague and love it so it is an option for pre cruise if you want to go Passau to Budapest.  I just like the convenience of starting my trip with a short ride from airport to hotel for pre cruise and flying home from Munich.  Another plus is most cruises from Budapest stay the first night in port so it really give you an extra full day there.  Either is great though.

I just got a notice that my bid was accepted for our June 2 Danube cruise.  We were in a Suite and I bid the minimum for the Grand Suite and got it.  Was pretty surprised.

It is back up.  I just booked a cruise on line

I’m going on the new Uniworld Belgium Christmas Market cruise in December.  Looking forward to the Chocolate, Cheese, and most importantly Beer-ha

I’m the one who booked the Belgium Markets in 2023 with Uniworld.  It really seems unique as well as Taucks.  I’ve previously sailed the Danube for Christmas Markets starting in Budapest and ending in Passau.  We did a 3 day stay in Munich pre cruise and really enjoyed their markets.  Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava, and Passau all had unique and fun markets.  Plus there was a day trip to Salzburg.  Highly recommend this itinerary.  I’ve sailed the Rhine but not during Christmas.  I really don’t believe you can make a mistake with either.  Good luck in your research

Thanks for the great responses.  I’m planning on doing our pre cruise in Bruges.  I think it looks like either an hour and a half car ride from Brussels or less then an hour by train.  Unlike my travel idol JP, we don’t travel lightly(usually have a carryon just for shoes-ha) so will probably hire a driver to take us from Brussels and back.  Thanks again and look forward to sharing and learning again with you.

Brian

I finally booked my first overseas adventure since the beginning of Covid.  I have a good friend who is from Belgium and I had read Notamermaid’s post on Belgium so was thinking about a trip to Belgium.  But I really have been missing river cruising so decided that for 2023 I would book a Christmas Market cruise.  My 40th anniversary is in 2023 and both my wife and myself turn 60 in 2023.  So thought it would be a great celebration trip.  Having cruised 3 times with Uniworld I decided to look at their Christmas Market cruises for 2023.  To my surprise they are offering a new cruise in Belgium.  It is 7 nights and is round trip from Brussels with stops in Ghent, Hasselt, Maastricht, and Antwerp.  I will plan a 2-3 day pre cruise stay to explore places that the River Cruise doesn’t.  Thought I would share this as it being new I thought many may not be aware of it.  Will share more as the planning proceeds.  If anyone has already begun research on this cruise I would love to hear what you’ve found.

Happy to be back!

Brian

This was our first river cruise about 7 years ago. We really loved it. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Do the vinegar tasting excursion.  I almost canceled it because it sounded awful. But it turned out to be one of our favorites. 
 

2. Don’t overbook your day with multiple excursions.  I’m always tempted to try and cram as much as I can into a day out of my fear of missing out on something good. But a river cruise is perfect to spend some free time wandering on your own; laying on the top deck for an hour or two with a glass of wine and enjoying the scenery, or just getting to know your fellow travelers. 
 

3.  If your health allows use the bicycles. This itinerary is perfect as there are usually bike paths along the river. Most nights we would take a bike ride after or before dinner. 
 

4. Spend an hour or two after dinner in the lounge enjoying their on board musician or special entertainment they may have. Again a great way to meet fellow travelers and you can still get to bed at a decent time. 
 

5.  Enjoy the moment and go with the flow.  Unexpected things can happen such as high water, low water, changes to the itinerary, cancelled excursions, etc...  I’ve met people that let these things ruin their trip since their expectations weren’t met.  Instead try to enjoy the moment and look at the unexpected as an adventure and not a disappointment. 
 

Have a great trip!
 

Brian

Thanks again to all for comments and advice. Personally I believe it will reduce my stress greatly for our first post Covid trip out of the country to use ship excursions. Especially with the potential challenges this part of the world can bring. Looking forward to others experiences in the months to come. 
 

For those who have used ship excursions, how far in advance do you usually book your excursions?

Thanks

Brian

Thanks again for all for the input. As mentioned, I’ve done both private and cruise excursions with positive and negative experiences. Having never been to the Middle East I guess I’m most interested in specific experiences such as uktog’s in regards to security and safety. Secondarily there is so much to see as Don mentioned that I want to make efficient use of our time in each port. Hopefully cruising will get back to some sense of normal in the months to come and we will get a good feel as to Azamara’s changes and specifically how they address excursions. I feel certain regardless of what combination of ship excursions and private tours I utilize that this will be a great trip. 

Thanks Don. My experiences have been close to what you describe. However I do believe that as uktog mentioned this is a place in the world where things can change very quickly and I do like the idea that the ship is in direct contact with the tour operator during these unexpected times. 
 

we have also had some good experiences(as well as bad) touring with others on a group tour. 
 

I can Make a case for both but I’m 

anxious to see if Sycamore makes substantial changes to the excursion products. 
 

and it is hard to ignore the OBC

This is exactly my thoughts. Im

going to read every review and thread over the next 9 plus months before committing. If it turns out I’m better off with private tours I think My wife will make good use of OBC at the spa and shops lol. I believe similar cruises to the one I booked are scheduled for 2022 so hopefully some good feedback. 

I really appreciate all feedback both pro and con. I actually have had good and bad experiences with each. Glad I have quite a bit of time to see how the world opens up and explore different options. I suspect at the end of the day I end up with a combination of ship excursions and private guides. Will spend some time going back to pre covid reviews of tours. Thanks for the feedback 

I love how this itinerary is laid out. We will do a 2 night pre-cruise in Athens. Then first day is a sea day. We spend 2 full days in Ashdod, Haifa, and Alexandria with 1 day in Cyprus and ending with an overnight in Athens before disembarking. There will be 3 sea days sprinkled in. Planning on packing in a lot of sites at each port then crashing at pool on Sea days. Won’t plan on anything last day in Athens other then a leisurely wander day. There’s already a good number of excursions listed. Love to hear about any don’t miss sites. I know it will be some long days but I have to see the pyramids and a river cruise on the Nile. Want to have a good overview of a Biblical sites in Israel

Thanks for the feedback. I certainly think it will reduce my stress in planning knowing it will be easier to adjust our plans should there be any unexpected turmoil that changes the itinerary. Covid planning is stressful enough. 

We are ready to try again for our first Azamara cruise after 3 Covid cancellations. I’ve booked a 12 night round trip cruise from Greece with stops in Israel and Egypt for Jan 2023. From planning my previous cancelled trips I know many regulars recommend booking private excursions vs ship excursions. But I’m wondering if you have found due to security concerns and logistics whether it would make sense utilizing ship excursions for Israel and Egypt. With the $1000 OBC promotion and the OBC that comes with the CW suite I’m leaning to booking ship excursions. Would love to hear about excursions taken in these ports in past cruises and general thoughts about ship excursions in these ports. I apologize for asking questions this far away from the cruise but I’m really excited to start planning again. 

Hard to believe it’s been 6 years since our first Uniworld trip but back then it was Crown Plaza City Center. I’m sure it’s probably changed since then. We’ve done 3 pre cruise trips with Uniworld and all 3 were great hotels in great locations