retiredslug

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Kaub gauge is at 141cm. The forecast, for a second time this Summer/early Autumn, has been quite wrong. Remember the 160cm I stated? The level never went up this far and and for the second time has only gone beyond 140cm. With the weather getting warmer again, with less rain, we see the forecast giving us lower figures. I will again regard them with skepticism and just say that it is still looking all good but the level will likely fall below 120cm before the weekend. Absolutely fine for river cruise ships, awkward again for barge traffic.

 

It is so cool I am tempted to put the heating on. But I will bear it and look forward to a warmer day tomorrow.

 

Oh, by the way, the days may be alright, but the nights are very cool, low frost may be coming to the hills. If you get cold easily, invest in scarf and gloves for the early morning excursions. Could be only 6 Celsius.

 

notamermaid

 

We can confirm the weather has taken a severe downturn here in Salzburg.  Rainy and cold all week and the Biergartens are practically empty.  Hopefully the weather will improve as we head for Basel next week for our cruise to Nuremberg.

Hanging out in one of our favorite European cities, Salzburg, before taking a train ride over the Alps to join the Avalon Artistry II in Basel, Sep 27.  Basel to Nuremberg—anyone else on this cruise?

Bill

We never book specialty dining prior to the cruise. Our feeling is that if we are offered a fair price (deal) that we like, we'll eat at a specialty restaurant...otherwise we'll eat in our assigned dining room which is usually blu on M-class ships and the MDR on S-class ships (we book A1 on M-class and 1A on S-class). We find that on 80+% of our cruises, we are either offered or negotiate a pretty good deal....maybe $30 at Murano, sometimes BOGO if we have at least 6 people in our group. If we can't make a deal, it doesn't bother us....actually trying to get a deal can be one of your daily events :)

We are curious as to why you choose A1 on M-class and 1A on S-class ships. We agree with A1 on M-class, love Deck 11 and much prefer Blu to MDR. Is there a particular reason for avoiding Blu on S-class ships? We follow your posts and are always willing to learn. TIA.

Bill

Oh, oh, have we made a huge mistake? We haven't sailed with Oceania for ten years, one reason being the noise heard from adjoining cabins. We just booked a TA on Marina from NY to London for 2019 and had hoped they had improved the noise problems with the newer ships but apparently they have not. I am noise sensitive and slamming drawers/doors is not my idea of a quality cruise. We have cruised with Celebrity for years now and rarely experienced these problems but wanted to give Oceania another chance.

We recognize that this "slamming" could occur on any ship but if others have had similar experiences on Marina I hope they will post to give us additional information. Thanks.

Bill

Great ship and a great cruise! Did it last year and really enjoyed it.

 

Here´s a detailed review with tips, tour operators etc. Let it be a teaser for your cruise...

 

http://www.travellove.one/Our-Trips/Adriatic-Constellation-1---Ven/adriatic-constellation-1---venice.html

 

If we can help with any more information let us know!

 

Oliver

Hi Oliver,

I don't believe we've met but I think we were on the same Iceland cruise in May of 2016. That said, thank you for this excellent report since we are booked on the September 27, 2018 cruise, Venice to Rome. We too will be arriving at the airport and would like to utilize the bus to Piazzale Roma. A few years ago a regular poster strongly recommended the Santa Chiara Hotel, especially for convenience and proximity to the PeopleMover. Can you comment on this recommendation?

Bill

Could it be possible if the stop at Grand Cayman is before arriving in Miami?

Would love to see a TA from Miami to Dublin again in 2019--especially originating in San Diego.

Head straight for the Excursion Desk to use up any Celebrity OBC ;)

Ah, Steamboats, good to see you posting on this board. If you contribute half as much here as you do on the River Cruise boards the Celebrity community will truly benefit. Your thoughtful analysis and constructive suggestions helped the "slug family" tremendously when we first began river cruising.

Vielen dank

Bill

Good observation! We were in 1104 on Constellation a few years back and the door was a minor problem during the day. This cruise was a TA and the winds caused frequent slamming of the door when used by crew and passengers--sudden jolt. No problem at night but I would not book this cabin again.

Bill

Brief background--experienced cruisers, disappointed with Princess and HAL, loved Oceania but not the prices, tried Celebrity and found a home. Finally Elites, really enjoy AQ and Blu but tried to save a few bucks on Eclipse TA in April and booked OV deck 3, select dining MDR. This was a test for us because after the TA and spending ten nights in London we would again be back in AQ for an Ireland/Iceland adventure.

Actually the OV cabin was quiet and convenient but oh how we missed Blu and all the subtle differences in AQ. While dining in the MDR it all came back to us why we became so disappointed with other similar cruise lines. We avoid fixed dining, prefer select, and dining was the biggest difference for us. Mass production--done fairly well but so impersonal and occasional wait lines we have not experienced in Blu. Even though we choose not to pay for specialty restaurants we now understand why so many do.

It's interesting to us that many don't see the value in Blu and we are truly grateful.

This was our fifth crossing and second on Eclipse. Both Eclipse crossings had scheduled stops in Bermuda (one each direction) and both were canceled due to storm activity.

This was the friendliest, most polite group with whom we have sailed.

Currently in London, will report back after visiting Iceland (and AQ).

My DH is an early morning person so we will off our boat quickly on Sunday (Christmas Markets on the Rhine). A brief time in Amsterdam and on the train to Utrecht or Brugge (spelling?) Any recommendations for places to stay? Seems like some things are closed on Monday in Belgium?

 

Thanks all

My German friends insist I use the German pronunciation and spelling, Brugge. We rented apartments in both cities so that won't be helpful but we highly recommend the convenient Sheraton Brussels--excellent Belgian beer in bar.:D

We were in that area last year and since we had been to Brussels, Brugge, and Amsterdam previously we decided to take a chance on Utrecht, a university town near Amsterdam. Turned out to be an excellent choice. Gorgeous small town with canals similar to Brugge. If given the choice we would actually return to Utrecht over the others.

Spending two nights in Utrecht and the final night in the Sheraton Airport Hotel in Brussels would be our itinerary.

Finally cooled off once we left the tour and arrived in Mainz on our own. We like finishing our European vacations in Mainz, then departing from Frankfurt for the USA. We always book our own flights.

No riverboat activity on the Elbe at all. We docked in Wittenberg to utilize the boat's dining and sleeping facilities. I don't believe we missed anything on the scheduled itinerary except Magdeburg.

In Dresden the Westin was conveniently located for easy walking into the old town--quite a pleasant stay except for the extreme heat. Breakfasts were normal buffet style while lunches and dinners were at local restaurants. GCT included a wine tasting/dinner that typically has an additional fee, to alleviate some of the frustration for the disappointed "cruisers." Actually this group was exceptionally positive throughout the tour despite the bus tour we ended up with. No whining or complaining--just lots of good natured jokes about our "cruise" on Elbe Creek.

To sum up GCT came through and supplied the best alternate itinerary possible and I think we got our money's worth.

Stay in Dresden was comfortable, interesting, and hot. Our tour guide, Miro, is one of the best ever--and that includes ALL previous tours. GCT has certainly treated us well.

Spent three days on the Allegro pretending we were cruising while visiting local sites by bus, usually no more than 1.5 hours each way. Actually we were grateful for only three days on the boat since the cabins are quite small and the beds even smaller. But the food--outstanding! We are not foodies but we have not had better food on a riverboat.

Arrived in Berlin yesterday and the heat wave may be over or not--could reach high 90's again tomorrow. Today was a pleasant mid 80's. Berlin is one fantastic city but overrun by tourists at this time of the year.

Rain gods not acknowledging our requests. At first glance GCT has a decent itinerary in place but obviously no sailing on the Elbe will be taking place. After leaving Prague we will be staying at the Westin in Dresden four nights. We consider this a positive since we've been to many German cities but not Dresden. Could work out nicely.

We have arrived in Prague for our Elbe River cruise and we know this isn't going to go as planned. This will be very interesting to see how GCT handles this current low water level situation. We meet the group tomorrow.

This should be our sixth river cruise, having cruised with Avalon, Uniworld, and AMA previously, but this will be a good test for GCT.

Ever since we cruised with Oceania we have been searching for a comparable dining experience without paying Oceania prices. So we just completed a TA on Celebrity Constellation to Amsterdam and had an AQ cabin that included access to the specialty restaurant Blu, and the Persian Gardens. Absolutely loved Blu and we always enjoy the Persian Gardens or similar facilities.

We saw those lines at the MDR each evening as we walked to Blu where we were cheerfully greeted and seated immediately . We are not foodies but we both felt that Blu was outstanding, especially the breakfasts. We recognize that not everyone feels AQ cabins are worth these extras and are grateful for this. But we were so pleased we've scheduled another TA next year on the Reflection and yes, we choose AQ again. Would not sail on Celebrity in any cabin that did not allow access to Blu.

We decided to disembark one day early on a TA to Amsterdam in April on the Constellation. We also tried to pre-book a taxi because of the obvious luggage transportation issue. Fortunately for us we were told that all the taxis were booked and they could not help us. So, before disembarking we asked the Celebrity folks if there would be taxis available and were told it would not be a problem. Sure enough, right at the gangway several taxis were available and we had absolutely no difficulty reaching our rental apartment.

Hopes this helps others disembarking in Bruges.

Recently returned from TA in AQ on deck 11--wonderful. After many cruises this was the first time I did not need ear plugs! And Blu, can't even imagine cruising Celebrity without access to Blu and Persian Gardens. Will be trying Reflection next year and hopefully all dining adjustments will have been completed by then.

We are interested in this cruise for 2010 and have read on these boards that Uniworld offers an interesting dining option. Did you get the opportunity to dine on the sun deck? Apparently this option is available to smaller numbers of people who prefer the less crowded conditions of the restaurant. Any comments?

Bill