Just Returned from Amadeus Prague to Budapest 4/27-5/7/06

What a wonderful trip we had. No one on this river cruise thread has said they have not been pleased with their river cruise & you can add us to the list!

So much has already been covered about Amadeus & the Prague to Budapest Danube cruise that I will address the things that I don't remember seeing in other posts & answer any questions you may have.

1. Prague Shuttle Service to Rennaisance Hotel - Excellent service! Our driver was very helpful with city & restaurant tips.

2. Pickpockets/fake police in Prague - We had no trouble. My husband was approached by a begger & a man wanting to make change (probably a scam) one time each. We were careful--my small purse was under my jacket & my husband carried passports, money, airline tickets in his money belt under his trousers. He did carry a wallet in his front pocket with his had on the pocket, especially in a crowd.

3. Restaurants - About three doors down from the Rennaisance on the same side of the street is the Patriot-X. Good food & great atmosphere. Lunch is cheaper with great bread & a delicious chive butter! U Prince Hotel at Old Town Square was good with English menu & pictures of the food. Go all the way to the roof & look out over the city while eating. We ate at the Rennaisance one night. Everything is priced separately, so it is pricey & small portions, but good food.

4. Rennaisance - A very nice hotel. Our room was large compared to European standards. The included breakfast buffet was great with a huge selection.

5. Amadeus Welcome Desk at the Rennaisance - We met our cruise director, Debbie, at the hotel & she manned the welcome desk & accompanied us on the city tour & to the ship. She gave very good service.

6. You will need local currency for some of the concerts at the churches. One took Euros for the evening performance but only Czk for the late afternoon performance.

7. Our shuttle driver to the hotel told us not to go to the Wensaslas Square at night as it gets rowdy with lots of pickpockets hanging around to prey on the drinkers.

8. AAA said that there were free restrooms at McDonalds, but apparently this has changed, as there was an attendant who wanted paid.

9. There was an optional tour to Konopisky Castle from Prague which was not in our cruise docs. It was a very interesting tour.

10. The included Prague tour took about 3 hours.

11. When we departed Prague on Sunday, we were told that the Danube was too high at Deegendorf for the ship to pass under, so we embarked at Vilshofen. We made an unscheduled stop in Pilsner to tour the Pilsner Brewing Company. We were then bussed to Nuremburg for the Monday tour & Amadeus treated us to lunch at a famous restaurant since it was too far to go back to the ship for lunch. We did not miss any of our tours because of the high water & Amadeus went out of their way to make sure we received all tours on our schedule. By Tuesday we had started our cruise down the river with no more high water problems.

12. The evening entertainment consisted of a male quartet from Regensberg singing classical music, Bavarian dancers, five young women for Bratislava, 2 violins, flute, cello & piano doing show tunes, the crew show & 2 violinists at the Captain's Dinner the last night.

13. Ship's food - I had read posts that said the food was not as good as on an ocean cruise, but we found it to be just as good, but not as many choices as on an ocean cruise.

14. Dress for dinner - We embarked about an hour before dinner was served the first day & the dress was posted as casual, so most everyone did not change, but just wore their Dockers/jeans that they wore during the day. Debbie announced that the dress for future dinners would be dressy casual, but hardly anyone changed clothes from their casual clothes during the day. I had originally planned on taking three pairs of poly/rayon dressier slacks for the dinners, then read that it was very casual, so only took two pairs. Well, I only wore one pair of the dressier slacks & that was on the night we went to the concert at the Royal Palace. The dress code for the concert was anything. I saw people in jeans & T-shirts (not from our ship). I took a dressy pant suit for the Captain's dinner & did wear it. Debbie very diplomatically told us that this was our opportunity to dress up for the Captain's dinner. Most wore pantsuits or dressier tops & slacks--nothing fancy like on an ocean cruise. A few men wore sport jackets to the Captain's dinner.

15. The last night in Budapest there was an unscheduled optional tour to see Budapest at night--$25/person.

16. Our cabin - we were on the lowest level & while to room was small, it was adequate. We were only in our room to sleep & change clothes, so for us, there was no need to have a bigger room. Our windows were never underwater & we could not open them as could be done by those on the upper decks. The bathroom seemed bigger than most on the ocean cruises we have been on. We always book the inside cabins, so I don't know if the bathrooms are bigger on an ocean cruise in the other cabins. The shower definately was bigger than on an ocean cruise.

I'll be glad to answer any questions you have. Those on the Amadeus this summer will have a wonderful time--we sure did!

I'm glad you are back safe and sound and thanks for all the good information. Sounds like you had a great time. We leave Wednesday, finally started packing yesterday. When you left the ship in Budapest, did you have to call Taxi's to take you to the airport or were they just there waiting. We are staying a few extra days in Budapest so we will need transportation to our hotel. Did you have any trouble finding ATM machines, like in the Prague airport and at the ports you visited? The concerts at the churches, you just bought tickets before the performances or did you go earlier in the day to get tickets? Thanks for the restaurant suggestions. I was taking a black dress with a jacket for fancier dinners and concerts. Is that going to be appropriate? Does my DH need a sport coat?

Thanks again for the good info and I look forward to hearing more about your trip.

Bunkiew

Enjoyed your trip report so much. Thanks for all the good information.

We are leaving for the Reverse of your trip in 2 1/2 weeks (can't belive it is already here) We are on the Amadagio from Budapest to Prague. I was so glad you addressed the clothing issue since it has become bigger than life trying to decide what to pack.

What was the weather like, rain? light jacket? longsleeve shirts? etc. Did you take two pair of walking shoes(as has been recomended to me)

Thank you,glad you are home safe and sound.

Judy

Hi Gail,

It's hard to believe you are already back. Time really flies when you are having a good time, doesn't it? Heck it flew for us too. We always have a good time, even living vicariously through others like you.

Did you go the the Opera House in Vienna? We have tickets for La Boheme at the State Opera House. We are very excited about that. Any recommendations on things to do and see in Prague and Budapest. Any information would be appreciated. I bet you are ready to go again.

Thanks for all the research and information.

Bop;) 9/13/06- Amadeus Symphony

What a wonderful trip we had. No one on this river cruise thread has said they have not been pleased with their river cruise & you can add us to the list!

 

So much has already been covered about Amadeus & the Prague to Budapest Danube cruise that I will address the things that I don't remember seeing in other posts & answer any questions you may have.

 

1. Prague Shuttle Service to Rennaisance Hotel - Excellent service! Our driver was very helpful with city & restaurant tips.

2. Pickpockets/fake police in Prague - We had no trouble. My husband was approached by a begger & a man wanting to make change (probably a scam) one time each. We were careful--my small purse was under my jacket & my husband carried passports, money, airline tickets in his money belt under his trousers. He did carry a wallet in his front pocket with his had on the pocket, especially in a crowd.

3. Restaurants - About three doors down from the Rennaisance on the same side of the street is the Patriot-X. Good food & great atmosphere. Lunch is cheaper with great bread & a delicious chive butter! U Prince Hotel at Old Town Square was good with English menu & pictures of the food. Go all the way to the roof & look out over the city while eating. We ate at the Rennaisance one night. Everything is priced separately, so it is pricey & small portions, but good food.

4. Rennaisance - A very nice hotel. Our room was large compared to European standards. The included breakfast buffet was great with a huge selection.

5. Amadeus Welcome Desk at the Rennaisance - We met our cruise director, Debbie, at the hotel & she manned the welcome desk & accompanied us on the city tour & to the ship. She gave very good service.

6. You will need local currency for some of the concerts at the churches. One took Euros for the evening performance but only Czk for the late afternoon performance.

7. Our shuttle driver to the hotel told us not to go to the Wensaslas Square at night as it gets rowdy with lots of pickpockets hanging around to prey on the drinkers.

8. AAA said that there were free restrooms at McDonalds, but apparently this has changed, as there was an attendant who wanted paid.

9. There was an optional tour to Konopisky Castle from Prague which was not in our cruise docs. It was a very interesting tour.

10. The included Prague tour took about 3 hours.

11. When we departed Prague on Sunday, we were told that the Danube was too high at Deegendorf for the ship to pass under, so we embarked at Vilshofen. We made an unscheduled stop in Pilsner to tour the Pilsner Brewing Company. We were then bussed to Nuremburg for the Monday tour & Amadeus treated us to lunch at a famous restaurant since it was too far to go back to the ship for lunch. We did not miss any of our tours because of the high water & Amadeus went out of their way to make sure we received all tours on our schedule. By Tuesday we had started our cruise down the river with no more high water problems.

12. The evening entertainment consisted of a male quartet from Regensberg singing classical music, Bavarian dancers, five young women for Bratislava, 2 violins, flute, cello & piano doing show tunes, the crew show & 2 violinists at the Captain's Dinner the last night.

13. Ship's food - I had read posts that said the food was not as good as on an ocean cruise, but we found it to be just as good, but not as many choices as on an ocean cruise.

14. Dress for dinner - We embarked about an hour before dinner was served the first day & the dress was posted as casual, so most everyone did not change, but just wore their Dockers/jeans that they wore during the day. Debbie announced that the dress for future dinners would be dressy casual, but hardly anyone changed clothes from their casual clothes during the day. I had originally planned on taking three pairs of poly/rayon dressier slacks for the dinners, then read that it was very casual, so only took two pairs. Well, I only wore one pair of the dressier slacks & that was on the night we went to the concert at the Royal Palace. The dress code for the concert was anything. I saw people in jeans & T-shirts (not from our ship). I took a dressy pant suit for the Captain's dinner & did wear it. Debbie very diplomatically told us that this was our opportunity to dress up for the Captain's dinner. Most wore pantsuits or dressier tops & slacks--nothing fancy like on an ocean cruise. A few men wore sport jackets to the Captain's dinner.

15. The last night in Budapest there was an unscheduled optional tour to see Budapest at night--$25/person.

16. Our cabin - we were on the lowest level & while to room was small, it was adequate. We were only in our room to sleep & change clothes, so for us, there was no need to have a bigger room. Our windows were never underwater & we could not open them as could be done by those on the upper decks. The bathroom seemed bigger than most on the ocean cruises we have been on. We always book the inside cabins, so I don't know if the bathrooms are bigger on an ocean cruise in the other cabins. The shower definately was bigger than on an ocean cruise.

 

I'll be glad to answer any questions you have. Those on the Amadeus this summer will have a wonderful time--we sure did!

Well, now I've had a little sleep (very little) & I have gotten out my information from the cruise line & I see I have misspelled some cities. Here is the correct spelling:

Deggendorf, Germany

Pilzen, Germany

Guess I shouldn't have trusted my memory when I hadn't had anything but cat naps for over 24 hours, but I was anxious to get the info posted for the couple leaving this week.

I'm glad you are back safe and sound and thanks for all the good information. Sounds like you had a great time. We leave Wednesday, finally started packing yesterday. When you left the ship in Budapest, did you have to call Taxi's to take you to the airport or were they just there waiting. We are staying a few extra days in Budapest so we will need transportation to our hotel. Did you have any trouble finding ATM machines, like in the Prague airport and at the ports you visited? The concerts at the churches, you just bought tickets before the performances or did you go earlier in the day to get tickets? Thanks for the restaurant suggestions. I was taking a black dress with a jacket for fancier dinners and concerts. Is that going to be appropriate? Does my DH need a sport coat?

 

Thanks again for the good info and I look forward to hearing more about your trip.

 

Bunkiew

We bought the Amadeus transfer to the Budapest Airport & we were the only ones that needed to leave at 7:00, so the cruise director called a taxi. There was a large group that left at 6:00 & I am sure they went by bus. I saw a list on the cruise director's desk that was for those who needed a taxi & had not bought the transfer, so it looked like the cruise director called a taxi for them. The docking area is on a busy street, so there were no taxis just waiting there. Amadeus wanted everyone off the ship by 10:00 am.

We did not use ATM machines, but the cruise director seemed to know where they were & the tour guides would point them out before we were sent off for our free time.

There were people on the street handing out flyers about the concerts & a desk set up outside the church to purchase tickets for the concerts. The church at the Old Town Square had two concerts--one at 5:00 & one at 8:00. One couple did go to the 8:00 pm concert & they said it was very good & lasted an hour.

Your dress sounds fine. You will only need it for the Vienna concert (if you want to dress up) & the Captain's dinner. Here is what I wore for the 12 days: one pair jeans & two pairs of Docker-type pants, three polo shirts, three long sleeved shirts, one crew neck sweater, a short cotton jacket (like the ones in style right now--I saw so many of them on the trip), windbreaker, heavier jacket for warmth & rain, a pair of the little stretchie knit gloves (and I did wear them a couple days), one poly/rayon slacks, top & blazer to the concert, one pantsuit for the Captain's dinner. It rained in Prague for two days, so it was cold. The temps were in the 50's & 60's. Once on the cruise, we had no more rain. Your DH can take a sport coat--I saw a few at the Captain's dinner & the concert. There were more that didn't have a sport coat than did.

You can go to www.weather.com before you go for the 10 day forecast. Hopefully you will have warmer weather than we did.

Gail

Hi Gail,

It's hard to believe you are already back. Time really flies when you are having a good time, doesn't it? Heck it flew for us too. We always have a good time, even living vicariously through others like you.

Did you go the the Opera House in Vienna? We have tickets for La Boheme at the State Opera House. We are very excited about that. Any recommendations on things to do and see in Prague and Budapest. Any information would be appreciated. I bet you are ready to go again.

 

Thanks for all the research and information.

 

Bop;) 9/13/06- Amadeus Symphony

We did not go to the Opera House in Vienna. We went to a Mozart & Strauss concert at the Royal Palace.

We did all the normal tourist sites in Prague & the optional 1/2 day tour to Konopiste Castle (spelled it wrong in my original post). We never took a taxi & our Prague Shuttle Service driver said it is best not to take a taxi because the taxi drivers will over charge. Everything was within 15 to 30 minutes of the hotel.

In Budapest we shopped along the pedesterian mall & went to the huge market at the end of the mall. We also did the optional tour Budapest at Night.

Gail,

Thanks so much for your "what I wore" list as well as the other info about your trip. It's information like that that makes these boards so helpful! Figuring out what to take and what not to take is the worst part of trip planning. :confused: I'm glad you had a terrific experience on your river cruise, and like everyone else devouring the posts on this board, the only way I can get through the anticipation for mine is to read about the trips of others. Did you get off the ship and wish you could book another, or was it enough for awhile?

Thanks again for all the good info, I am going to go home and pack my gloves, never even thought of that. One more question, this is probably in the cruise documents somewhere but did you tip the ship personnel in dollars or euros or what?

Bunkiew

Gail Richard,

Thank you for the information. Get some rest to get over the jetlag and start planning the next trip to get rid of the "post-cruise-letdown.":(

Smooth seas,

Bop;)

Thanks again for all the good info, I am going to go home and pack my gloves, never even thought of that. One more question, this is probably in the cruise documents somewhere but did you tip the ship personnel in dollars or euros or what?

 

Bunkiew

The Amadeus customer service rep said that the crew prefer Euros, so we obtained the Euros from our bank's (Chase) affiliation with Am. Express. I ordered Euros & Czk for $1000 USD ($500 of us & $500 for friends traveling with us) and the service charge was only $5.00. The night before departure the cruise director said we could pay tips in any currency & even use credit cards.

Gail,

Thanks so much for your "what I wore" list as well as the other info about your trip. It's information like that that makes these boards so helpful! Figuring out what to take and what not to take is the worst part of trip planning. :confused: I'm glad you had a terrific experience on your river cruise, and like everyone else devouring the posts on this board, the only way I can get through the anticipation for mine is to read about the trips of others. Did you get off the ship and wish you could book another, or was it enough for awhile?

I think every one who has benefited from reading these boards wants to help those who follow.

We are always ready to go & are already thinking of what we will do next year. We are leaning toward an ocean cruise.

Gail

Thanks for all your great information. My trip starts on June 29. We are doing the Budapest to Prague. How long did it take to get from the airport to your hotel in Prague? Did you walk from your hotel to the castle in Prague? How long did it take? Did you go to Strahov Monastery? Did you do the terrace cafe at the river or castle area? Thanks for your help. Marlyne

Gail,

Glad you're back, we were a day or two behind you, and I know we were both sweating the river levels. We were the first boat to get all the way to Neuremberg - there was one bridge in particular we were sweating that we passed under on the Thursday of our trip. We didn't get confirmation that we could do it until Wednesday, and we only cleared it by four inches.

We also went to the roof terrace cafe at the U Prince. Wasn't it lovely?

I'm jealous that you were at the Renaissance. We were supposed to be there, and in fact had booked an extra night on our own there. About half our boat was "walked" a few weeks before the trip to the Hilton. It had something to do with the May 8 three-day weekend that all of Europe enjoys for the end of (their) WWII. The Hilton was fine, but the location wasn't nearly as good as the Renaissance.

Amy

Thanks for all your great information. My trip starts on June 29. We are doing the Budapest to Prague. How long did it take to get from the airport to your hotel in Prague? Did you walk from your hotel to the castle in Prague? How long did it take? Did you go to Strahov Monastery? Did you do the terrace cafe at the river or castle area? Thanks for your help. Marlyne

We used Prague Shuttle Service & it took about 30 to 40 minutes to get to the Renaissance Hotel from the Airport.

We saw Prague Castle with the included Amadeus' bus tour. I would estimate that it would take about 30 minutes to walk from the hotel to the Castle. We did not go to Strahov Monastery. We did not eat at the terrace cafe at the river or castle area. We did eat at the U Prince hotel as mentioned in my post below.

Gail,

 

Glad you're back, we were a day or two behind you, and I know we were both sweating the river levels. We were the first boat to get all the way to Neuremberg - there was one bridge in particular we were sweating that we passed under on the Thursday of our trip. We didn't get confirmation that we could do it until Wednesday, and we only cleared it by four inches.

 

We also went to the roof terrace cafe at the U Prince. Wasn't it lovely?

 

I'm jealous that you were at the Renaissance. We were supposed to be there, and in fact had booked an extra night on our own there. About half our boat was "walked" a few weeks before the trip to the Hilton. It had something to do with the May 8 three-day weekend that all of Europe enjoys for the end of (their) WWII. The Hilton was fine, but the location wasn't nearly as good as the Renaissance.

 

Amy

Hi Amy!

I read some of your trip reports &, like us, I was glad you enjoyed your curise. The only trouble we had was that we could not board the ship in Nuremburg. But we did not miss any part of the tours or ports, so it was very minor.

At one port, we were docked beside a Uniworld ship & had to pass through it's lobby to get on shore. It was fun to take a peek at another ship. At another port we had to depart through a Viking ship. We were docked so close to their ship that we could sit in our dining room & see what Viking was serving for dinner!

So, what are you doing next year? We have just booked an Australian/New Zealand cruise on the Sapphire Princess to celebrate a milestone wedding anniversary.

Gail

Hi Gail,

We did the Au NZ cruise on the Star in 2004 and had a wonderful time. I have a detailed agenda of tour guides, hotels, tips, etc. that I put together for our trip. I would be happy to send it to you as an e-mail attachment. I hope Princess is again including Adelaide as a port on this itinerary

We plan to return to Australia again in the near future. We only got as far North as Sydney and there is a lot of continent left to see. What wonderful people the Australians and Kiwis are!

My e-mail address is savagetwo98@yahoo.com

Take care,

Bop;)

Gail - what did you think of the Viking boat? We only docked next to another Uniworld boat and it hadn't been refurbished yet, so we thought it wasn't as nice as ours.

Our next trip will be the Galapagos on Celebrity's Xpedition in December. Nothing until then. My mother and I are crusing in 2007 on the new Royal Princess for a 24 day transatlantic. We took a long cruise on her sister, Pacific Princess2 and really, really loved that class of ship.

I would love to take that Aus/NZ cruise someday. You're going to have a wonderful time!

Amy

Gail - what did you think of the Viking boat? We only docked next to another Uniworld boat and it hadn't been refurbished yet, so we thought it wasn't as nice as ours.

 

Our next trip will be the Galapagos on Celebrity's Xpedition in December. Nothing until then. My mother and I are crusing in 2007 on the new Royal Princess for a 24 day transatlantic. We took a long cruise on her sister, Pacific Princess2 and really, really loved that class of ship.

 

I would love to take that Aus/NZ cruise someday. You're going to have a wonderful time!

 

Amy

Hi Amy,

We only saw the dining room & the lobby as we passed through & they looked nice. From what I've read about the beds on Viking ships, they did not sound real comfortable. They are a sofa during the day & fold down for a bed at night. Not sure if all their ships have this type. We chose Amadeus because the ship was only three year's old & the rooms were very nice.

Gail

Which "Amadeus" was this? (maybe I missed something!) We're on the Amadeus Princess in July - is this the same? So anxious to find out more about it....

... From what I've read about the beds on Viking ships, they did not sound real comfortable. They are a sofa during the day & fold down for a bed at night. Not sure if all their ships have this type. We chose Amadeus because the ship was only three year's old & the rooms were very nice. ..

Which "Amadeus" was this? (maybe I missed something!) We're on the Amadeus Princess in July - is this the same? So anxious to find out more about it....

Amadeus ms Symphony. I didn't know Amadeus had a ship named Princess. Their website shows these ships: ms Symphony

ms Amadagio ms Tolstoy ms Tamr Henna

www.amadeuswaterways.com

Which "Amadeus" was this? (maybe I missed something!) We're on the Amadeus Princess in July - is this the same? So anxious to find out more about it....

Nowornever,

The Amadeus Princess is owned and operated by the Austrian cruise company Lueftner:

http://www.lueftner-cruises.at/

Lueftner also owns a boat called Amadeus Symphony which looks identical to the MS Symphony operated by Amadeus Waterways. As the Lueftner website doesn´t show any cruises of the Amadeus Symphony and - as far as I remember - the brochure doesn´t either I assume that this is the same boat and Lueftner has chartered it to Amadeus Waterways.

But the Amadeus Princess and the Amadeus Symphony are definitely different boats.

steamboats