Rebel54

Thank you for this. Watching it right now.

I really enjoyed your report. Thank you so much. I'm going with another company and doing Germany (Starting in Prague and embarking in Vilshofen) to Bucharest. It was nice to see some of the places we will stop and your report really made me excited to be seeing these places. Bless you.

As someone that does not consume unclean food...that is a difficult menu. Glad to see they had something that wasn't pork or shell fish. This is my fear on my upcoming trip, trying to find foods that are ok to eat.

Avalon appears to be doing free prepaid gratuities on select cruises for Black Friday.

I love that I can open the cabin up all the way on Avalon and enjoy the fresh air in the room and sit right in front of the open space. I also love that the space in the cabin that would have been used for the balcony is not lost to me if I don't want to be out there. I would compare the size of the staterooms on the ships with balconies and with french style. If you don't mind losing the internal floor space then go for a ship that gives you a full actual balcony. Also remember that many times you will be rafted to other boats while in port and that space will be useless to you unless you want to chat with your neighbor so why not have that extra sf in your cabin.

Suzanne, it should show on your daily itinerary on your documents.

Viva does have a US Marketed page so I think it would be nice to have more info on them. I am actually looking at one of their cruises for 2025 Christmas markets.

Just a suggestion....look at Viva cruises as well. Great prices, a little less provided as far as tours but if you can manage things somewhat independently it might be a good option for you. I'm actually looking at them for a 2025 Christmas cruise.

That's why I will never book with Viking. Too many other options that don't want your money so far in advance.

There are some adults that could learn from my grandson.

On both of my river cruises there were tween/teens and they were very good, respectful and delightful to talk to. They were with their grandparents both times and really seemed to enjoy the history aspect of the tours.

Good afternoon, Thank you all. I did manage to find the english FAQ's but still could not find any age references. I did email their company so hope to get an answer. I'm referring to my 2 year old grandson who will be 4ish when we plan to take this cruise. He will still be young enough where he won't be "bored" and we can keep him busy and entertained. I commented already but my daughter is a very strict parent when it comes to public behavior. She was taught at a young age that there are appropriate ways to behave in public and she has carried that over to him. She's probably way more strict than I ever was but she's a great mom and I appreciate that she's teaching him to be a gentleman in public :). We want to do a Christmas cruise so I'm just trying to gather info in advance. Viva looks to be a great price point for their budget so we will try it out.

I am 100% with you there. I can say one thing about my daughter, she is way more strict as a parent than I was. My grandson knows what's up. He's a toddler right now, easy to entertain and quite well traveled at his age. I can't say he will never act up but he knows that he will be dealt with and my daughter is not a "let your kids be kids" kind of parent. He already understands time out very well. You only have to tell him once.

Good afternoon, I tried looking on their site but the FAQ's come up in German and I coudn't find anything. Does anyone know if Viva allows children and is there an age minimum.

Checked bag and a carry on shouldn't be an issue unless you are talking about a rollerboard carry on and the they might look at you crazy. We had 3 suitcases between us on one trip because of some extra stuff we had going on. They took the extra one but they gave us a hard time. My husband is a very big guy and his shoes alone can take up most of one side of a suitcase....and thats not bringing an excessive amount of shoes. They handled it and we were thankful...but I wouldn't push my luck agai with that.

It was easy to see which one had it, I was just happy that there was still one available.

My husband and I have done the Royal Cabin before and love the extra space. I think it will be an amazing experience for my daughter to celebrate her major life accomplishment.

Yes, that's where the advance planning bug gets me. I want a Royal cabin on this trip so I didn't want to wait until they were all filled up. Hopeful that it will all be wonderful.

Avalon got me again. Second out of 3 cruises with them that got cancelled on me. I was scheduled for the June/July 2024 Germany to Romania and they pulled the ship to move it to the Rhine. Now I'm on the August itinerary. They did give me a credit and found me a better promotion so all in all ended up saving $2000 on the trip. Now I just have to pray that the water gods are nice during Aug 2024.

I'm taking my daughter on the Danube for a "girls" cruise in 2024. Germany to Romania, Prague and Translyvania. I can't wait. We have such a great time traveling together. This will be her first time back to Europe since she was a child when we lived in Munich/Bad Aibling, Germany. This will be my 7th trip to Prague. Check out the Honest Guide and the Real Prague guide on YouTube. Lots of great suggestions for Prague. Try to get out early one morning in Prague...like at sunrise early. You will get to enjoy places like the Charles Bridge and Old Town Square without the crowds. A great food tour is "Taste of Prague". They have a website you can book at and they give you a digital book and map of great places to eat. The farther you get from the tourist areas, the more reasonably priced the food is. Don't miss the Jewish Quarter. Enjoy 🙂

I hope you will share some of your experiences. We are doing Germany to the Black Sea next year. I wish it was sooner. Until then I live vicariously through others 🙂

I like to sign up for the extra excursions as soon as I am able because I want to pay for them before I leave and not have an additional bill on my trip. I also want to make sure that I am able to get the ones I want. If they cancel Avalon has been pretty good about refunds so I don't worry about that too much

Windfarmer, I think that is something you need to call Avalon about but I would not risk having the wrong visa myself. We did the same cruise with Avalon a few years ago and I seem to remember them stressing that you make sure you get everything squared away.

I set up a Klarna account so I can convert to local currency through that. Plan to use my US card as a backup.

Me too. I am forcing myself to take a carry on only on our next trip which will be 20 days on the Danube...gotta pack smart 🙂