WisRiver

The Covent Garden is excellent.  While the area can be pricey, it is centrally located and safe.  Last year we had friends who stayed at the Strand Palace near Covent Garden.  Depending on the time of year, they may meet your price point.  If you can stay for a week, London Connections have excellent apartments in Covent Garden.  We prefer an apartment to an hotel in London.

Last year we were on the Viking River Cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam.  On the next to last day we stopped at Kinderdijk for an afternoon excursion.  We then went to Rotterdam and traveled on Amsterdam in the late evening.  We docked in Amsterdam after midnight.  We had plane reservations home in the early afternoon of the last day, so we went to airport after breakfast.  

It is possible to book a private excursion on a river cruise.  If there is something that you want to see without the "group" from the ship, consider booking your own.  Last year our group of four were on the Budapest-Amsterdam Viking River cruise that stopped in Nuremberg.    We want to see the courtrooms where they held the War Crimes Trials and visit the museum in the building.  Vikings tour was a drive by in a 40 passenger bus.  We made arrangements with a private tour guide.

We had a personalized tour in a seven passenger mini-van with an experienced English speaking guide.  Our boat was two hours late arriving in Nuremberg, but we were in contact with our guide by cell phone.  It was an excellent day.  We ate an excellent quick lunch at a small restaurant.   I would not worry about missing the boat, since the boat may only be moving 20 miles.  It is not like an ocean cruise where if you miss the boat, your next stop may be 100's of miles away in a different country.   If there is something you want to see without the hassle of the bus, think about a private tour.

The long queue is to buy tickets.  Last year we purchased tickets for the Van Gogh for 10 AM admission, ate lunch in the Van Gogh museum.  We also purchased tickets  for 1:30 PM for the Riiksmuseum, an easy 15 minute walk from the Van Gogh.   We were on the Zuiderdam, and took a cab to and from the ship.   A great day.

We have a debit card with no foreign exchange fees.  On our last arrival in Oslo, we bought NOK at a bank ATM's in the Central Station.  We had purchased our airport train tickets with a credit card.  While I had Euros from our travels in Finland, I never saw a place to use them in Norway except at a currency exchange booth.

We have hosted sail away parties in our Neptune Suite.  We do not order appetizers from the Neptune Lounge.  We bring our own munchies, chips, peanuts, etc and drink the sparkling wine left as a room gift plus our carry on wines.    These departures were from Fort Lauderdale, so it is easy to pick up stuff on our way to the ship.  We are doing an Alaska Cruise leaving from Seattle in a NS in late June, and are looking for a place to pick up wine and snacks on our way to the ship.

If you have a balcony, the whales are always on the other side of the ship.  This year we have an aft balcony so we can see both sides of the ship.  The best way to see whales up close is to book an excursion in Juneau.

If you want to be assured of seeing whales, take a whale watching tour in Juneau.  Many offer a guarantee of seeing whales.  We did a 7 day Alaska cruise from Seattle in May, 2012 and did not see any whales from the ship except at a considerable distance.  The whale watching tour in Juneau was extraordinary and worth every penny.  This year we are on the Eurodam leaving June 29, and have booked a whale watching excursion for our Juneau stop.

We have used Civitavecchia several times.  Last year our HAL transatlantic docked at pier 12.  Three years ago on another HAL transatlantic we docked at pier 25.  The only time we have left Civitavecchia was five years ago and we departed from pier 12.  On our departure we did not use the shuttle bus (plus the port was organized totally different), since we had booked a transfer from Rome.   If you show up at the port entrance, they should tell you which shuttle to take.  It is my understanding you cannot walk from the port entrance to the ship.  

In 2017 we did the FLL-CPH transatlantic.  The were several mah jongg sets on board.  At least one set was missing a piece.  Our group of four brought our own travel set.  The mah jongg players used one of the small meeting rooms.   We will be back on the Zuiderdam for the Voyage of the Vikings in August, 2019 and will bring our set.  Check your roll call for your cruise.

If you want to play duplicate bridge, a passenger will have to take the lead.  Last year on the Koningsdam transatlantic there were no duplicate boards.  Otherwise  there is a room where people meet and play social bridge, as was the case on the Zuiderdam TA in 2017.  I think HAL supplied the cards, coffee and cookies.

We were on a Viking river cruise last that did a stop in Nuremberg.  We wanted to do more than a drive by bus tour.  We made arrangements with this private tour guide.  kevin@tourguide-kevin.com 

Kevin is an American who married a German woman, and stayed in Germany after his military service.  He customized a day long tour for our group of 4.  He was worth the extra expense.

We winter near Progteso and use T-Mobile.  Voice and data coverage in Progreso and Merida are excellent.  If you are driving to Chichen Itza, some denotes or Uxmal there are a few dead spots along the highway just as you would experience in the US.

We are on the Voyage of the Vikings in August.  I believe (although I cannot remember the source of my information) there will be nets available on the sports court.  We plan on bringing our paddles and balls, and will hope for the best.  Last year we were told pickleball would be available on the Koningsdam TA.  However, the netting surround the court was not suitable for pickleball. 

Last year we did the Viking River "Passage to Eastern Europe" as part of our Bucharest-Amsterdam  trip.  The Bucharest-Budapest was a totally different trip that the Budapest-Amsterdam leg.  We moved from the poorest areas of Europe (Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkan countries to the most affluent.  Since we started in Bucharest we arrived two days early and toured Bucharest on our own, we did no excursions.  There is a lot to see aside from the one day tour offered by Viking.  We enjoyed the Passage to Eastern Europe.  PM if you have questions.

The U-Bahn stop is about 15 to 20 minute walk from the ship depending on where you dock.  Last year the when we were on the Viking Aegir we had the longest walk possible.  If you are lucky enough to have a docking space close to the bridge, it can be a short walk.  You will have to walk up a flight of stairs or take the bicycle ramp with no stairs.    

I disagree with Host statement about little use for the balcony.  We did a 21 day Viking River cruise on the Danube from Bucharest to Amsterdam with a balcony cabin.  We used the balcony a lot, especially when we were in Germany when they closed the top deck because of the low clearances.  Rhine river cruises may be different.  We checked out one of the aquarium rooms, and we were glad we paid the extra cost for the balcony.   There is only one chair in the cabin, and sometimes we moved the balcony chair in the cabin.  We sat on the balcony fairly frequently and watched the scenery on our side of the ship go by.   Since we were traveling in late May, it was light until 9 PM.  

When we were on the Koningsdam last spring on a transatlantic, they did not set up the pickleball nets because the net weave  enclosing the court was too big and would not hold the pickleball in the sports court.  We had been told by ship services that pickleball could be played.  Any reports from recent passengers on the Nieuw Amsterdam.  We will be on the Zuiderdam in August, 2017 and hopefully they will have the right sized nets around the court.  

I do not like baked or mashed potatoes.  When I see it on the menu with an entree in MDR, there has been no problem when I ask for a substitution of rice or french fries.  You can also ask for a side order of fries.  The HAL wait staff is very accommodating.

The availabilty of the abridged New York Times depends in part with the ships location.  If you are in Europe the NYT might not be available until lunch because of the six hour time difference with New York.  They also offer four page news summaries for Britain, Spain, Canada, Holland and I think Australia and France.  The papers are usually available at guest services.  My experience is based on European and South American cruises.  Asia could be totally different.

We like to book a Neptune for the cabin choice.  We are on the Eurodam for a family cruise to Alaska later this year.  We like the aft wrap around cabins, and these are only available as a Neptune.  We like some of the perks, breakfast in the Pinnacle and hors d'oeruvres in our cabin at 5.  But for us, its the cabin on certain cruises.

Last year we took the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki and spent several days in Helsinki.  We then took the train to St. Petersburg, did several days of sightseeing in St. Petersburg and then got on the train to Moscow.  Each train ride was a high speed train and took about 4 hours.  It was not a cruise, but the train trips were interesting.   Except for the St. Peters Line ferry between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, I do not think any cruises start or end in St. Petersburg.  If you want to start in Norway, there is frequent daily high speed train service between Oslo and Stockholm.

We winter in Chicxulub Puerto near Progreso.  While it is an interesting place, there is almost no surface evidence of the impact crater.   Evidence of the crater was found in oil explorations of the 1950's and  can be seen in satellite pictures.   Chicxulub Puerto has a small central square, and in past years I have met cruisers looking for directions to the impact crater.  The Yucatan is wonderful place, and the meteor helped to shape the geography.  

Last year we did both a Holland America Cruise and Viking River Cruise.  We did a transatlantic from Fort Lauderdale to Rome on the Koningsdam and then a 21 Viking River Cruise from Bucharest to Amsterdam.   We were on the Longships Aegir and Baldur which had a maximum capacity of 190 persons vs. the 2800 passengers on the Koningsdam.  We enjoyed all of the ships we were on, but the experiences were totally different. 

The Viking River food was comparable to the HAL food.  We like HAL food (we are 4* Mariners), and tend to eat most meals in the Lido.    Breakfast and Lunch on the Viking are buffet style.  For breakfast you can have eggs cooked to order, and they have good fresh baked goods.    We ate most of our breakfasts and lunches on the upper deck at the Aquavit Terrace which has a smaller menu than the dining room.   However the view from the Terrace was great.   The Viking menu tended to be more Scandinavian.  Beer and wine were served with every meal.   I do not remember seeing big slabs of meat, although there is steak on the menu almost every evening.  Often there was pork and lamb.  HAL food is much more varied since they have passengers from all over the world. 

I do know if you can change carriers, but T-Mobile works extremely well for international travel.  You need a GSM compatible phone.    There are no additional surcharges,  data (at a reduced speed) and more importantly calls are .20 a minute.  US callers call your local number and it connects you in Europe.