PhD-iva

I just checked and the fx rate was at 23.5. Even if this was a little low, you also have to remember that I did not pay any transaction fees to convert into and out of the local currency.

I was in Prague/Czech Republic for three days and never used the local currency. Before I ate any meal, I confirmed I could pay with my CC. Anything else (tips) I paid in euros. I bought 90 euros of craft jewelry from a craftsman on the Charles bridge. His prices were expressed in euros and the local currency.

Let’s see if I can post some pictures of Cochem castle. Perhaps you could take a taxi to the castle. I saw several pax who routinely used a cab to drive them into town whereas other pax would make the walk. This was arranged by the cruise director. sorry that my memory is a little fuzzy after so many castles. I think much of the tour of Cochem castle was on the first floor. I do remember stairs and a second floor, but perhaps your husband could skip that part of the tour. I’m going to have to think about the sundeck access. Actually, I’m pretty sure we always exited using the main floor, not the sundeck. My second cruise was on the Danube and we often exited using the sundeck. I wonder if “rafting” could be a reason to have to exit using the sundeck. Perhaps others more knowledgeable than I am could help. Enjoy your cruise!

This is our practice as well. Goal is to arrive home with about 50 - 100 euros, including coins and small bills (for tipping soon after arrival).

“…..You only have to put some portion of the trip on the Chase Sapphire reserve to get full coverage.” I’m not sure how this works. Is Chase going to provide travel insurance and reimburse costs you did not charge to their credit card? Is this really correct?

I love my Away suitcases!

The addresses printed on the brochures are pre-printed at the publisher, hence the delay.

Agree absolutely. That’s why I would prefer to book business class through the cruise line even if it is not the most cost-effective option.

Working on my ipad mini using safari.

I don’t think Japan is allowing any cruises, but if you’re planning/hoping on going, do some research first so you avoid disappointment.

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One other thought, many of the cities on your European itinerary are not long distances from each other, so therefore while not optimal a bus trip is possible.

Low water and high water are travel risks that river cruise passengers undertake. You/they don’t control wether the ships can navigate the rivers as scheduled. That said, many cruise lines have years of experience dealing with this, and they often handle it well assuming passengers are also flexible. Remember, you under take the risk of your ship not being able to sail the entire itinerary. in my case (Emerald - Danube river), our embarkation port was moved to a section of the river that was still navigable. We then were bussed back to the scheduled embarkation city to do our excursion/tour. This meant that we had less time in that city, Regensburg. So, you have to be flexible and understand that this is a possible outcome. oh well, I look at it as leaving something to enjoy on my next visit.

I was on the River Queen the sailing before you and I agree everything was fabulous! I loved it! Honestly though, the dining room service was slow. We had about 70 pax on board. By comparison, my Danube river cruise on the Emerald Sky 2 days later was packed with about 160 out of 180 max capacity IIRC. I have to commend Emerald on the valiant effort to keep up with dinner service. It all comes down to training. On Emerald, the supervisor was all over the servers, directly their activities and making sure everything ran smoothly. In contrast, the servers on the River Queen would slowly meander through the breakfast dining room, never lifting their head to look around to see if anyone was trying to get their attention. I was on the ship 10 days, and no one ever figured out that when I sat down for breakfast I wanted cream, not milk, for my coffee. This is a training issue. There were other issues with Emerald so I don’t want to make it sound like I prefer Emerald - I don’t! But service on the River Queen was slow. Service in the lounge was fine. On balance it was a fabulous cruise, and they are my favorite river cruiseline.

I was on the Emerald Sky last week, disembarking on the 23rd. We were not able to sail to Budapest due to low water. We docked in Komarno, Slovakia and were bussed into Budapest and to the airport.

This is exactly what I like about Oceania. It’s pricing is alacarte, mix-and-match. You do not pay for business class unless you want that luxury. Many posters here will recommend that you DIY your business class flight. Many cruisers like to organize their own excursions and many itineraries have active roll calls with passengers joining private group excursions. For example, Regent bundles the cost of excursions into their price. So you are paying twice if you prefer a different excursion experience. Also, on Oceania you can customize your drink package with several different options. I prefer to be able to adjust the amount that I drink and/or the quality. I can do this on Oceania, whereas on Regent it is bundled into the price. Reading and understanding the list of excursions and their pricing is a bit of a headache especially at the beginning, I will agree with you on this. Enjoy your cruise!

Yes, I think it is very possible to request any entrée in an appetizer portion, meaning just a smaller plate or a smaller serving. I probably ought to try to do this more often, haven’t tried it yet, but many have posted regarding the smaller serving option. Just be clear when you place your order.

Can you share the letter w us?

We try to arrive home with about €50 - 100 euros left over, including small coins. Then we have them available for the next trip.

On 22 June I booked a 3 November cruise and I was concerned about excursion availability. Only 1 excursion I wanted was sold out and I was able to find something else. YMMV. Enjoy your cruise!

I found O’s reply courteous and responsive, although it should not have taken multiple attempts to contact them before their addressing your issues. The $500 FCC was VERY generous. I don’t feel their response to you was condescending in any way. I hope you can find the right cruise line to fit your needs.

I was on a transatlantic cruise from Rome to Miami on the Riviera last November. After the evening performance show ends, a really good small group of musicians play music in horizons. I’m guessing it starts around 1030 or so, which is just about when the second happy hour starts. The music is definitely not classical, they’ll do various themes on different evenings. The group that performed on my itinerary was really good, especially the singer. Lots of people were dancing, including four or five staff. The associate social Director along with several others (perhaps they were performers, I’m not sure) were up on the dance floor. This encourages others to also dance. Both couples and singles were dancing. Enjoy your cruise!

Budapest.

Embarked yesterday on Emerald Sky. We were supposed to embark in Regensburg, but due to low water we embarked instead in Engelhartszelle (sp?). Today we will take a two hour bus ride to Regensburg, we will have free time for one hour in Regensburg after a one hour walking tour. I think that starting tomorrow we are back to our usual cruise schedule.

I’m glad your question got answered. Today is disembarkation day, and many passengers have already left the ship for their 830 bus to Baden-Baden. I made some new friends and new memories. The cruise Director, Rik, was very good and entertaining. Service in the dining room should not have been as slow as it was, but in the end it was fine. Many passengers exhibited signs of having a cold, lots of coughing and sniffles. A few passengers, I only know of four, tested positive for Covid. Several passengers told me they had been tested and they were negative for Covid. They just had a head cold. Congestion, sneezing and coughing.