GrammaRama

3 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Have you checked on the official tourism website yet? https://m.budapestinfo.hu/

 

notamermaid

 

Thank you notamermaid.  I did briefly go into the website that you noted. I did not find any specific info on all Illumination Cruises but their website did give links to 3 companies offering private tours during the day and night so I guess the gov't has lifted their ban on the Illumination Cruises.  From what I understand Ama is no longer offering their Illumination Cruise so we will have to look into a private tour if we want to see the lights from the water.

Thank you for your help

GrammaRama

On 7/19/2019 at 2:29 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

New article on Cruise Critic:

Budapest Illumination Cruises No Longer a Given on River Sailings

I did a search looking for information on Illumination cruises in Budapest and found this article posted in July 2019.  Does anyone have any additional information.  We are sailing on the AmaLea in May and were very disappointed to hear that the Illumination Cruise was no longer being offered.  We were told that it was a regulation initiated by the Budapest gov't after the terrible accident with Viking and an independent operator.

Are there any private independent operators that might be offering this?

Any information would be helpful

GrammaRama

I guess my name GrammaRama explains why the question was raised.  FB and Book of Face is not part of my vocabulary and I intend to keep it that way.  Thanks for the explanation.

On 2/6/2020 at 6:35 PM, Annie11455 said:

I assume you're doing the Rivers & Castles trip. We're doing that in October (same direction, with pre and post stays). So few poeple have commented on this trip here and on the "Book of Face" page for AMA. I hope you post reviews and/or photos.

 

Could you please clarify what "Book of Face" is.  I have never come across that expression in any of my research.

Thx GrammaRama

Thanks Pompein for the information

Can you remember what the very reasonable prices were?  I am assuming you sent pants and tops to the laundry as opposed to socks and underwear.

GrammaRama

We will be travelling on the AmaLea in May and I am wondering if the ship offers laundry service. for a fee.  If so, does anyone know if this is offered per item or is it per bag or otherwise?  With airline baggage fees being what they are, I was just wondering if laundry service is available at a reasonable price, whether we would consider this option. 

Thanks for any info that you can share

GrammaRama

We have just made our final payment on our Ama Waterways  Melodies of the Danube  River Cruise in May 2020 and have completed our on-line check in.  I thought I had read on CC that once the check-in had been completed that we would be able to access details on the excursions being offered by Ama during the cruise.  I would just like to have a more comprehensive outline of what are choices will be.  I also read that you can decide which excursions you want to go on while on board.  Just thought it would be interesting to get the information ahead of time so you can do some research prior to boarding.

Thanks for any help you can give.

GrammaRama

Thank you for responding to this query.  It appears that we will not have to worry about this for our trip in May.

My husband and I are booked on AmaLea for May 2020. I have been trying to research whether the Schengen Visa will impact us while abroad.  We are both Canadians eh! and it appears that we Canadians do not have to get the Visa while travelling under a Canadian passport.  We will be leaving Toronto, Canada and arriving Munich where we transfer to our flight to Budapest and our return trip will be via Prague to Munich and then transferring for our flight back to Toronto. After the stay in Budapest we will sail on the AmaLea (Melodies of the Danube) and make our way to Prague.   Can anyone confirm that we Canadians do not have to get the Schengen Visa.

Many thanks for your help

6 hours ago, lenetere said:

Is there a Chef's Table on most river cruises?  Or just AMA?  I'm doing first river cruise on Emerald in May.

This will also be my first river cruise.  I am not sure if other cruise lines offer a Chef's Table or not.  It might be called by a different name.  Maybe some other CC members might be able to answer your question. I know on most ocean cruises there are specialty restaurants but they usually come with an additional cost. As some posters mentioned the Chef's Table on Ama is included for one dining experience during your cruise.

Thank you everyone for your responses.  I now have a good understanding of the Chef's Table. 

Would like to know how many people the Chef's Table can accommodate on the AmaLea.  We will have a group travelling in May 2020 and are thinking of trying to book space in the restaurant for the group.  Is that possible?  Is there an extra charge for dining in this restaurant or is it included in the cruise price?

Can we request distilled water required for a CPAP machine before we embark? Is there a charge for this?  On ocean cruises that we have done we could request ahead of time and it was in the cabin upon our arrival.  There usually was a charge for it but not much.  Also,  would we have to bring an extension cord as was the case on our ocean cruises.  We are a long way off from departure but might as well ask the question while I think of it.

We are in the process of booking a cabin on the AmaLea which I believe is a sister ship to the Viola.  In doing some research on the cabins that we had to choose from I came across a site that has some reasonable pictures of the cabins.  I don't believe that I can post the name of the site as it seems to be a TA site.  If you are interested in the name of the site you can email me at joan.manser@gmail.com .  We don't need the sleeper chair to be used as a bed and wonder how comfortable it would be to sit on.  The back seems quite far back so no support while sitting.

Thanks for the reply.  i think I know which way upstream is but can someone confirm.  We are going from Budapest to Vilshofen and my guess is that is going downstream.  Is that correct?  Not certain which rivers in Europe flow into which body of water.  

We will be travelling to Budapest and have a night on board the AmaLea before starting our river cruise.  Can anyone tell me if you typically raft together while in Budapest or are you docked directly at the pier?  Also, is there a norm to which way the ship will be facing while docked.  Just about to book our cabin and wonder whether port or starboard would be better or is it up to the captain as which way you face?  If not rafted in Budapest then I would like to have the ability to look out over the town especially at night.   

I also am not sure what a "Chair Bed" is. Could you mean a pull out sofa.  When Ama advertise cabins that can accommodate quad occupancy, where does the 3rd person sleep?

We are planning a river cruise in May 2020 on the AmaLea.  Now have to decide between 210 - 235 sq ft room.  It appears that the difference in space is in the width of the room.  Only 1 chair at the french balcony in the 210 sq ft room.  Would love the extra space but not sure if it is worth the extra $$. My DH has some mobility issues but gets around easily with a cane although we will have a rollator walker (for excursions) to store in the room so that is another thought.  How much room is there to get around the room? Any advice would be helpful.

Thanks for the clarification.  I thought it might be part ownership but this sets the record straight.  

I am new to River Cruising and am seeing numerous posts with APT & AMA in the same context.  Could someone explain the relationship between them? 

Thx 

We are starting to plan a European River Cruise for 2020 for a group of seniors. Have done some research so far on itineraries, cruise lines etc. but am very concerned about how the water levels have impacted this years cruises. I know that we have no control over Mother Nature and that this year seems to be an exceptional year for heat and lack of rain but am wondering if late May or early June might be a good time to book. Would this time frame avoid the early spring high water problems and also be ahead of the heat/drought period of the summer months. Some guidance would be very much appreciated.

I have done over 20 river on a number (but by no means all) river cruise lines. I also regularly read this river cruise board. It appears that most lines on similar itineraries have similar day / night sailing ratios. The most scenic sections (Rhine Gorge, Iron Gates, Wachau Valley, etc) are almost always done during the day, often with commentary. There is also a fair amount of additional daylight sailing, especially if you sail during the long days of Spring and Summer. IMO there is a good ratio of daylight sailing to time in ports; others may have a different opinion.

 

Note that some lesser sailed rivers (eg Douro, Irrawaddy) have only daylight sailing as those rivers are not equipped for night sailing.

 

Thom

Thank you for your insightful reply. Could you give me your opinion between the Rhine and the Danube as to which is the most scenic.

As I have been researching different cruise lines for a European River Cruise, I am surprised by how many lines say evening/overnight cruising. I always thought that a fair amount of the cruise would be sailing during the day so as to be able to admire the beautiful scenery as you sail by. Is there any line that put an emphasis on cruising throughout the day or is evening/overnight sailings the norm. If that is the case then I think the time of year would be earlier rather than later in the season to take advantage of the longer days. Any comments would be appreciated

Our seniors club is thinking of booking a European River Cruise and there seems to be quite a lot of interest within our group. If booking a group how many cabins/people do you need to get a group booking rate? What kind of a discount/perks can we expect. I am sure that it will depend on how many actually step up and book once we decide which trip to offer. Is there any one cruise line that offers better incentives? Any advice on group bookings would be greatly appreciated.

Do the river cruise lines have a limit as to how much wine and/or spirits you can bring on board. I know our cruise line to Alaska in a couple of weeks only allows you to bring 2 bottles of wine aboard without having to pay the $18.00 corkage fee. They allow as much pop and water as you want.