Crochet Queen

That is a nice feature. One less thing for you to handle. Only need to arrange money for your own purchases. Have you used APT for other trips. We might consider booking an AU, NZ tour (land tour) with them. So wondering if they are a good company to work with.

Sharon

Hi Sharon

This is our first trip with APT, however several others we have met up with since arriving in Europe are on their 5th or 6th APT tour in Europe, Canada & Alaska & Australia & swear they would not use anyone else. They just seem to go that bit extra and make sure it is not only a great holiday but an unforgettable experience.

This is our 3rd European River Cruise with APT since arriving in Europe in May & starting in Monte Carlo on the AMAdagio in Arles, to present (Linz, Austria) they have treated us like royalty.

So I wouldn't hesitate recommending them :)

Betty

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Interesting. I see that the APT river cruises are all inclusive, meaning tips too. Just curious if the included tips extend to local guides or just the ship's screw.

Yes purduemom, APT is all inclusive, even local guides. You do not need to spend another cent on their tours. To us that is very important as you know exactly what the trip will cost, excepting of course, the shopping you do at ports :)

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We are currently onboard the AMAVerde with APT, leaving Bamberg a few hours ago and heading to Nuremberg early Saturday morning. We were informed this morning that our excursions in Nuremberg will go ahead as planned, with the exception we will pack tonight & our suitcases will be collected & transferred to the AMABella & be in our cabins when we arrive in Visholvin, late Saturday afternoon.

It is anticipated that no further problems will occur & the passengers currently on AMABella will be transferred to our ship at the same time. We have been informed that excursions will continue as usual and we have been booked into a restaurant in Nuremberg for lunch tomorrow, at APT's expense, prior to our transfer.

It is unfortunate that this has occurred, however, out of anyone's control & it looks like we will avoid the coach tour/hotel scenario.

Looking forward to the next week of river cruising!

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My partner & I are off on a combined Ocean/River Cruise holiday for 9 weeks in Europe shortly. We begin by cruising the Mediterranean (2x 7 nights) from Venice & Genoa with MSC, then 3 x River cruises with AMA/APT starting in Arles, France and finishing in Prague.

I have set up a blog with a summary of our proposed adventures & plan to update it regularly in the next few weeks before we leave, then daily, where possible, during our cruises.

Here is the link: http://twotravellingretirees.blogspot.com.au

Hope you enjoy :)

Please feel free to ask questions & follow our adventures.

Betty

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We are recently retired & travelling from Australia, so will be spending a total of 9 weeks in Europe commencing May 2014. Because of the long flight times we prefer to do as much as possible whilst there.

Our pre River Cruise Extension will be a Mediterranean ocean cruise from Venice. Then we start our APT (AMA) 37 Night Grand European Explorer (3 river cruises total) with 3 night pre cruise in Monte Carlo. We finish with 3 nights post cruise in Prague following our Amsterdam to Budapest cruise.

Possibly our last trip to Europe so crossing off as many of our "wish list" items as possible.

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Scheduled to depart the MSC Fantasia in Venice on Sunday, May 18. Have scheduled a private taxi to airport; however, I just noticed that MSC has a shore excursion that lasts five hours taking you to St. Mark's Square and then ending up at the airport. Has anyone done this shore excursion? If so, can you please provide details?

 

Thanks!

Hi Patti .... I am sorry I can't really answer your question as we have 2 days in Venice prior to our cruise & staying in an Hotel right near St Marks Square, so will do our own touring. However we (partner & I) are on this same cruise so I am excited to finally find someone else joining us. Was beginning to think we were the only ones on this sailing :)

Are you on a Roll Call?

Betty

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I know this is going to sound rude so in advance I'll apologise but if you come to Australia thinking we will accept US Dollars as a tip then you're in for a very rude shock. About the same level I'd get from a New York Cabbie if I offered him Aussie Dollars. US Dollars are not accepted everywhere.

I couldn't agree more, Ozjohnno!

We wouldn't dream of using our local currency when visiting any other country. I just can't understand why people from the US think their $ is accepted worldwide. When we were last in Europe in 2010, I heard many complaints from tour guides who were forced to accept the US$ over the Euro etc as although very difficult to change was better than nothing.

Our motto when we travel "when in Rome ...... ". After all we go to experience a different food, culture etc. than we have at home

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I am doing Amsterdam to Budapest on the AmaReina, AMAs new ship for 2014. This is under the APT banner which sells mostly to Australians and New Zealanders. This tour is fully exclusive. All drinks including spirits all day. All excursions including ones that are usually optionals e.g. Salzburg, Vienna concert, Rothenberg etc, all tipping included. I booked in June 2013 and there was only two cabins left for this sailing date 17th August 2014.

I am also an Aussie, we are booked on APT (AMA) Grand European River Cruise from Monte Carlo to Prague in June 2014. This is also very much "all inclusive". As with your cruise all gratuities, excursions & alcoholic beverages, including champagne at breakfast. This cruise was described in the brochure as a "Platinum Experience". We also received "free" airfares, so paid the extra to upgrade to business class.

This will be our first river cruise experience so getting very excited :)

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We are also doing 3 B2B river cruises in September/October this year. We are doing Prague for 4 nights on our own then training to Budapest where we cruise for 14 nights to Amsterdam. After 4 nights post cruise in Amsterdam we train to Bruges for 2 nights then train to Paris where we board a 10 night Gems of the Seine cruise. We then spend 3 nights post/pre nights in Paris before joining a 12 night South of France river cruise. We have 2 nights post cruise in Nice.

 

I am almost afraid to mention that we a travelling with Scenic. :-)

 

We are getting really excited - 229 days till we leave. We are spending a couple of weeks in the UK before Prague.

Hello fellow Aussie :)

Looks like you are also of the opinion that if we travel such a long distance, we might as well stay quite awhile. What I failed to mention is that we are doing a 14 night Mediterranean Ocean Cruise prior to starting our River Cruising. Yes we are spending the kids inheritance!

The only reason we are not going with Scenic, is their dates didn't fit in with our Ocean Cruise. Booking from Oz, I think APT & Scenic have very similar pricing structures & we had already narrowed our choices to these two despite recent reviews. I have friends who did a similar trip with Scenic last September & loved every minute of their trip.

I am sure we shall all have a wonderful time, River levels permitting :)

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We are taking the AMA (APT Australian) Grand European Tour from Monte Carlo to Prague from June 2nd to July 8th 2014. This tour consists of 3 different River Cruises & starts with 3 nights in Monte Carlo pre cruise, then 7 nights Arles to Lyon. The 2nd 7 night cruise then goes from Basel to Amsterdam where we have a 2 night hotel stay. The 3rd leg is from Amsterdam to Budapest over 14 nights, where we are transferred to Prague for a 3 night stay before flying back to Sydney Aus.

We are recently retired & this is to be our first River Cruise experience. We are getting very excited as the date draws nearer & I am an avid reader of these boards. Thank you all for the great reviews & tips which I am sure we will find useful. Hopefully I can complete my own review when we return.

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"Emirates: No surprise that one of the world’s leading luxury airlines offers complimentary chauffeur-driven airport transfers to their First Class and Business Class passengers. Technically the rules state the service is not available on complimentary tickets or complimentary upgrades, but there have been reports of people still getting the service upon arrival in Dubai. Hey, it never hurts to ask! It’s available in more than 55 cities, leaving the competition in the dust…so to speak. Transfers are available from a passenger’s home, hotel or business to the airport, from the airport to their final destination and to and from the airport to a home or hotel when making a stopover. Chauffeur-drive can be requested online during booking, or when managing a booking. In Dubai, first class customers are provided with specially commissioned Mercedes vehicles, and business class customers are served by luxury Volvo cars (oh the humanity)."

 

Read more: http://thepointsguy.com/2012/07/travel-tuesday-top-10-airline-chauffeur-drive-service/#ixzz2myo0mLEn

 

And from the Emirates website:

 

Venice (VCE) First Class and Business Class Passengers: within 100 driven kms of Venice Airport. Complimentary transfers are provided either by motor boat or by vehicle, at the discretion of the service provider and depending upon location / distance.

Great information Skipper Tim.

We will have a choice of transfers available when departing Prague in July, APT/AMA or Emirates .... No prize for guessing which one we shall choose :)

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Hi Crochet Queen just read your posts about transfers with Emirates, just wondering if they transfer you from port to airport as well.

Thanks

Hi WA Girl

Yes they will transfer you from port to airport, providing it is less than 100klms. Not sure about economy, but certainly valid for First or Business class.

We are off to Monte Carlo for some river cruising after our ocean cruises (Venice to Venice on Fantasia then MSC transfer to Genoa & a 7 night Splendida cruise back to Genoa) so no other Emirates transfer until we fly home from Prague in July :)

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If you have Emirates transfers then that is a different story! my favourite airline by miles. They may well spring for a water taxi for you and they can get a lot closer.

 

Have a look at Venice Connected's website. You can get various passes from them that include unlimited use of vaporetti (handy for nipping over to Murano, Burnao and the Lido or just for a journey down the grand Canal. Some include museum and public bathroom passes too!

Yes Emirates are our first (& only) choice. With a 26 + hour journey each way we have decided to upgrade to business class. So the included transfers should deliver us safely very close to our hotel. Getting from the hotel to the Fantasia May well be another story :)

Thanks for suggesting the Venice Connected website, have bookmarked it for longer perusal shortly.

These threads provide some wonderful information. I know I don't post often, however I read avidly.

Betty

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Only 3 bridges with luggage - yikes I struggled with one. You do realise you'll need to carry luggage over them? They have stairs not a nice smooth ramp. I struggled getting over just one and I didn't have my usual cruise heavy luggage but a large wheeled duffle bag for a short city break. Anywhere near St marks square whilst picturesque is unbelievable expensive for food and drink. Still if you've never been, it's a good location for exploring Venice for a few days.

 

For those of you. Decided whT do do in Katakalon. There are plenty buses in town going to Olympus waiting when you get ashore. Much cheaper than shore excursion but you don't get a guide. If you've already done Olympus, there s. Wee HOHO tourist train that heads into the countryside through an old Greek village and then has a stop at a winery. Next stop is at a nice beach. Costs around €6 I think. The scenery enroute is very pleasant.

Yes the bridge crossing is what we are least looking forward to & hoping our included airport transfers by Emirates will deliver us close to the hotel. As for getting to the Port on Embarkation day, we have yet to sort that out. One can live in hope :) We have been to Venice once before on a tour & stayed in Mastre which was fine but became a hassle getting in & out of Venice.

We have experienced the exorbitant prices around St Marks Square, so will be looking for other options for dining etc. As we are there only 2 days, I am sure we will be fine.

Thanks for the tips on Katakalon ..... Will be a great help.

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Hi All :)

We are also doing this cruise but on May 18th. It will be our first on the Med & with MSC. Thanks for the great suggestions regarding port activities. Nothing organised as yet, however really looking forward to Santorini. Not sure whether to take ships tour or do our own thing. I have read about the long queues for the cable car & the treacherous walks & donkeys. I will keep watching this thread for ideas.

Also, we are flying into Venice (from Australia) 2 days early & have booked the Hotel Violino D'Oro right near St Marks Square. Has anyone stayed here before? It is well located for walking around & only 3 bridges to cross with luggage etc, so hoping it's OK.

Betty

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Hi David

Can you please add us

Betty & Mike

Sydney to Auckland

Diamond Princess

December 14-28th 2012

Thanks

Betty