dolllover

Love following your review. Did you take the ships excursions?

We were just on the Quest and we had a private tour to Cinque Terra. Our ship did not leave until 11 pm, so you CAN do Cinque Terra in a day, it was a long one, but not rushed, and we had a great time. We were in a van, on the train, and on the water...did it all

May just do it with a private guide. What company did you use? I'm not sure I'll be back in this area so seeing Cinque Terra may be the thing to do. Thank you.

Thank you everyone for the replies. Lots of great ideas.

My message to the OP is simple. Sit back, take a deep breath, and think what you really want out of your trip. It sounds to me like you want to see and enjoy Italy. And doing this via cruise is just not the best method! I have driven over 10,000 miles through Italy from the Northern borders to the South of Sicily. I have also taken numerous cruises around Italy (and Europe).

 

So consider that a cruise will only give you a limited amount of time in a few places. And in many cases (such as Rome and Florence) you are going to need 1 1/2 hours each way to simply get from your ship to your destination. So, if Italy is your goal, consider a 2 week (or longer land trip). There are quite a few different options including tours (in all price ranges), renting a car, or using trains...or perhaps a combination of all those ideas. The Italy you will see and experience on land is totally different then what one experiences on a ship.

 

Consider one example. Some cruise ship excursions, from Livorno, will go to the wonderful walled town of San Gimignano. You will arrive on a bus (with 60 others) and be walked through the walled town that is crowded with hundreds or thousands of other folks on buses. Now consider when we spent a week in a gorgeous hotel just outside of that same town. We would drive over to San Gimignano about 6pm, after all the day tours were gone. The town was charming, quiet, shops were not crowded, locals and workers had time to chat with us, etc. When we left our restaurant around 11pm, we walked through the quiet eerie streets which looked much the same as they had over 1000 years ago.

 

Or think about Florence (one of the top tourist cities in the world), We had first visited this city on 2 different cruise line excursions and thought it was an OK place. Then, on a lengthy driving trip in Italy, we stopped at Florence for a few nights. For the first time we fell in love with this city, felt its amazing spirit, discovered some of its good restaurants, etc. We did not have to rush from place to place and worry about the 1 1/2 hour trip back to the port. We could spend a long day exploring the city, go back to our hotel to shower and have a drink, and then back out in the evening for some shopping and a great meal. And after dinner we could stroll along the quiet river and duck into a bar for a few nightcaps.

 

You mention the Amalfi Coast...and its similar to other parts of Italy. You can try to rush through in a one day bus excursion...but a bus cannot even take you into Positano (no tour buses allowed). Or, you can spend a few days (or even a week) staying on the coast (we stay in the small village of Praiano) and explore Positano, Ravello, Amalfi, Sorrento, Salerno, Capri, etc etc. You do not have to choose between seeing the coast from a boat, a car or even a bus...you can do it all :). We have done it on cruises (many times) and on extended land visits (twice) and while we loved our cruises....staying on the coast was the only way to really get to know and love this area.

 

You want to see Italy? Stay in Italy. You want to see the Adriatic and other bodies of water....take a cruise. We love both forms of travel, but land is the only way to truly experience a country.

 

Hank

We're going with Azamara to Italy next Oct and hate being rushed seeing the sights. We've never been to Italy so would you recommend that we stay in Liverno and Portofino that the ship docks in for a less rushed and more authentic Italy?

Anyone done Azamara's Cinque Terre excursion through the ship? Wondering if we should save Cinque Terre for another trip and enjoy Portofino. I have a lot of onboard credit but don't want to waste it on a rushed excursion. TIA

Thanks for the notice of the price drop. Was able to save 200 on my upcoming April cruise.

On our recent Avalon cruise the food was ok but not great and we had unbearable noise level in our room but not in the dining room. I would go on another river cruise with Avalon but on one of their newer boats. My TA recently travelled on the newer Passion and had a great time. Our recent experience with Viking was far superior.

We just came back from an outstanding trip with Viking on the Danube. Would not hesitate to take this cruise. In fact we are looking at doing this itinerary in the future.

Sounds like you have a dreaded case of Suite Envy. I think you can be cured by leaving Celebrity and sailing on Holland America since you love it so much. I am happy that Celebrity is upgrading ALL cabins - this is not just about suites.

And you can be cured by moving to Seabourn or Regent. Public spaces should be kept public.

We leave today for a Ponant cruise and DH packed a sport coat for the special evenings on board. We know someone who cruised with them last year and she said the Europeans do tend to dress up and there were a lot of cocktail dresses on the Captain's evenings. It has often been our experience that Europeans in general dress well, especially as compared to Americans. JMO.

How was your trip? Did you like this company? I'm considering Ponant for future cruises.

Thanks!

Wow looks amazing! I've been thinking of trying Crystal in the future. Thanks for the pics and review.

I doubt it, unless there is major change to your cruise, meaning you are very delayed going to Regensburg or away from it. As regards locations they are quite a distance from one another and will definitely not be on the same day. The repairs mean road traffic is diverted in Passau but I did not read anything about river traffic being affected.

 

notamermaid

Thank you! As always you are a great asset to these boards.

This is the infamous low suspension bridge in Passau: http://www.brueckenweb.de/2content/datenbank/bruecken/3brueckenblatt.php?bas=703 It is one of the lowest on the Danube. Due to corrosion damage the bridge is actually closed to traffic, repair works will run into 2018. The official website for water-related topics in Germany, publishing regular updates for citizens with regional info available, states that at a water level in Passau of 6.30m "passage of suspension bridge problems for some river cruise ships" arise.

 

The level there is currently at 497cm, the prediction for the next two days shows no significant rise.

 

notamermaid

I wonder if my optional excursion to Weltenburg Abby and the Danube Narrows in Regansberg will be cancelled because of this bridge repair.

I plan on rolling with the punches on my upcoming river cruise on the Danube.

Dramamine knocks me out and ginger doesn't work at all for me. I like the patch but need to bring that from home.

I'm one of these people that prefer ship tours to private tours. Haven't had a bad one yet. So far all have been great.

Am I wrong in my belief that Avalon is not for people who are looking for glitzy, cutting-edge, Las Vegas style entertainment?

 

Ira

Although I would like a choice of fireplaces on the TV.

I don't need glitz just decent entertainment. What was so funny is the CD told us to make sure we didn't miss the entertainment that night lol. Ring around the rosy with elderly performers that couldn't remember which way to turn was silly . Most people left.

I would never fly in the day of a cruise. Too many variables can happen. For connections I like 2 or 3 hours to be safe.

The entertainment on our most recent river cruise with Avalon was so bad it was embarrassing. It felt like they hired any free entertainment they could get their hands on. The entertainers were in their 60's or 70's and couldn't remember the choreography. When we're paying big bucks for these river cruises hiring decent entertainment is a no brainer.

I would like to know as well. Thanks!

I agree Papa enough of the anger. Looking forward to my trip with Azamara.

I'm a new cruiser with Azamara and this whole fiasco will make me think twice in the future about booking so far ahead with this line. My cruise got switched to Spain now instead of Italy. If I wasn't interested in visiting Spain I would have just cancelled.

Im a full figured woman. would they have wetsuits for me...size 4x. are they shorty's or full. should I be safe and purchase one myself. im worried about the weight. are there any limitations on a persons weight as well.

 

also need a vegetarian diet other than burgers. do they have both of these

 

I would definitely check on weight restrictions. You have to get on/off the Zodiacs each time you do an excursion. There is a lot of walking on uneven ground and very narrow paths. We hired and worked out with a personal trainer for 6 months before we took this cruise. Even the mild excurions were taxing. The Zodiacs hold 16 guests, 1 naturalist and 1 driver and it was quite close quarters. I have noticed age and weight restrictions on some of the shore excurions as of late. Check before you spend your $$$$$$$$.

 

Do you know what the age restrictions are on some of the excursions? I can't find any info on this. Thanks!

My feeling is Viking chooses to run cruises on this river, which has been marginal at best all summer, not just this week. To find out only a few days before we are due to leave that our ship might be a bus is beyond disappointing. If they'd offered us an alternative weeks ago we might have taken it. Sure they have our money now, and the small print gives them the right to keep it but I can't see them getting any of ours again.

I don't know if you had done any research on the Elbe before you booked this cruise but the Elbe is horrible for

low water. You take your chances when you book this type of cruise.

^^ Thank you!