Damaris1900

By the way, have you been able to watch my videos.

Thank you for taking the time to film and post those, Keltic; I watched both of them and really enjoyed them.

I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts on Le Ponant, and how she compares to the other Ponant ships you've been on.

I just got the Tauck brochure and am very impressed. I think Tauck, may be the best option, when booking Le Ponant.

Yes, I really like the looks of the Tauck itineraries on Le Ponant. We had reserved space on for 2017 on the Rome to Malta trip, but ended up changing to a Tauck cruise around Japan on L'Austral.

I'll look forward to reading about it.

And the desserts look divine ;-)

Keltic, I hope you are planning to write about your upcoming cruise on Le Ponant. We are holding space on a 2017 Tauck Mediterranean sailing on Le Ponant, and would love to hear your thoughts on the ship.

Thank you for this review. You mentioned that this was one segment of a longer tour with Abercrombie and Kent; I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on A & K, and if you would be inclined to go on another of their tours.

Floridiana, Mark _T, and kool kruiser, thank you for the information on the yellow fever vaccine, that is very helpful. Some of the side effects, while extremely rare, sound pretty horrific, so not having to deal with the risk makes the Mekong cruise even more tempting.

Floridiana, I always enjoy your reports and look forward to them. All the posters who take the the time to write a trip report are much appreciated, and are part of what makes the forums such a great resource.

This sounds like something that we would be interested in doing, and I appreciate your comments and insights. I also really enjoyed your review/comments about the Ponant cruise you took, and that is now something we are considering.

One question I had is related to age: my DH and I are in our early sixties, active and in good health, but a bit concerned about the cautions that are related to the yellow fever vaccine for people over 60. Was it recommended or required for you to be vaccinated for yellow fever, and if so, was that a concern for you?

There is quite a deal of myth in this statement. If you take some time and a spreadsheet you'll find that Tauck is not always the most expensive. In fact for their 2016 sailings many of them were not as expensive as either Scenic or Uniworld. IMO they are very competitive in price and superior in what they offer and Yes! that is a biased opinion.

Denise, the advice to do your own research is really key. Our upcoming river cruise isn't until September, but when we were doing research ( and creating our spreadsheets)we found minuscule differences in pricing between AMA, Tauck and Uniworld when we factored in the things that were important to us and to the friends we will be traveling with. While we are expecting to have a wonderful time on our Rhine cruise with Tauck, we wouldn't hesitate to travel in the future with AMA or Uniworld, depending on the itinerary. The bottom line here, I think, is that they all offer a quality product.

You gave an excellent overview of your Avalon cruise, thank you for taking the time to share! I especially found your comments about having 120 people in the same dining room for 3 meals a day to be interesting, since that is a perspective I hadn't really considered. We will be doing this same Rhine route next September, although with Tauck rather than Avalon, and I really enjoyed reading your review. After taking this cruise, would you be inclined to do another river cruise, or is it back to the high seas for you?

Wonderful photos, I can't wait to see the rest of your report!

Damaris, there were no bicycles available on this cruise.

 

DrivesLikeMario--3 entree choices sounds about right, but I honestly don't recall if that was the number. The primary entrees changed daily and all were excellent. And there were the usual standby choices if you wanted them. I'm a picky eater, and I was very happy with the food.

Thanks, moatenote, I suspected that was the case, but appreciate you confirming.

Thanks for the report! Were there bicycles available on this cruise, and if there were bicycles, were there any opportunities to use them? We're looking at possible river cruises for 2017, and the availability of bicycles on AMA's other European itineraries is one of the things that appeals to us.

The blog is 3 pages. When you get to the bottom, there's a button marked "Older Posts." That contains the newer posts [i tricked the blog software to let me post from start to finish, the way I like to read blogs. ;)]

That was very clever of you! Thanks for explaining; I went back and thoroughly enjoyed both your posts and the photos. It looks as though both you and your DW had a marvelous time, and this cruise will definitely be on our short list for 2017. It sounds as though for the most part AMA definitely lived up to its reputation for providing a great experience.

Thanks for such a detailed report on this cruise. AMA is one of the lines we are considering for this route in 2017, and it sounds as though they do a wonderful job. One of the things that appeals to us for both AMA and Uniworld is the option for bike tours. Did you hear any detailed feedback on the ones offered on this tour by people who took that option?

I'm also really enjoying your blog that you linked to in your first post, those are some wonderful photos. Were you going to be adding more pics of the actual cruise, or did I somehow just miss those?

Thanks again for such a comprehensive (and tempting!) report.

Ural Guy, I really appreciate you taking the time to share the information on when to start watching for the new fares and itineraries, I'll definitely be monitoring that.

With our upcoming Tauck trip we got a quote from them for airfare which actually sounded pretty good, but we're keeping our options open at this point. We'd hate to lose the transfers, though, so that's a consideration.

Thanks for your help!

We booked a October 2016 sailing in mid January of 2015 with Vantage. I think the itineraries came out a month or so earlier. So maybe late November? I would think the other lines would be in the same date range.

 

We were able to 'lock in 2015 prices', and did save a bit when the 2016 prices did increase. We've also had date changes along the way due to Constanta being dropped from route. We did buy insurance (3rd party) since the cruise date was so far distant, for piece of mind.

Wow, that is a lot earlier than I was guessing. I'll start keeping an eye on the websites in late November, early December, then. Third party travel insurance sounds like an excellent idea in those circumstances, too. Are you arranging your own air, or are you planning to do that through the cruise company?

My DH and I are booked with friends on a Tauck trip in the fall of 2016, and are beginning to look at possibilities for a 2017 trip with my sister. I was wondering if anyone had any information on when the river cruise companies usually begin to put out their itineraries and rates for upcoming years. We were guessing it probably wouldn't be until next spring, but would appreciate any information (or even wild guesses!)

Tauck's category 7 suites can accommodate 3 people. Apparently there is a sofa sleeper. I'm not sure if that is on all of their ships, or just the Inspiration class ships.