Budapest to Bucharest

[trrrip]

Hi, can anyone tell me how much access there is to the sundeck on this river cruise. I have been on a viking cruise before from Nuremberg to Trier and whilst I did enjoy it - lovely boat, great food and service - I felt it was quite claustrophobic during day time sailing as there was no access to sundeck because of low bridges

 

Thanks

[alexandra cruiser]

have a Scenic cruise booked from Budapest to Bucharest and not able to find any info re low bridges.Had similar experience on Danube with Gate 1 but saw many boats that WERE able to go under lower bridges(maybe newer ones?).But I agree it was confining.I had only a french balcony and booked full balcony one this time,just in case.Also, hi river levels affect them too.

Anyone know????:confused:

[jacksonnh]

Did a Passau to Budapest to Bucharest cruise in the fall of 2011 and don't remember the top deck ever being closed.

[Sparky333]

We just did Budapest to Bucharest in October on Viking and the top deck was never closed. Maybe if there are low bridges they sail under them at night.

[alexandra cruiser]

and good to know.But still glad I booked full balcony,took one with AMA and now sort of HOOKED.Makes a small room feel much bigger and better views.:)

[trrrip]

Thanks so much for the responses. Great to hear sun deck not closed most of time, I am going to book up for July 2014.

[Sparky333]

I hope you both enjoy your cruises -- we did :)

 

I didn't do a trip report or review...I'm hoping to get around to doing that soon but we did really enjoy both the Viking Embla and the itinerary. I think the scenery along the river is not as much of a draw on this cruise as others - since we knew what to expect going into it that was not an issue. If you have any questions or are interested in seeing pictures from that itinerary let me know.

[alexandra cruiser]

in both your review(not of Viking so much,taking Scenic)but photos,info on ports ,etc.I can find VERY LITTLE about this area.

Did read not as pretty(mostly industrial?)but interested in seeing the whole Danube.

Did you have lots of ports where docking next to another ship done>?

Have been to Budapest for 1 day and looking forward to 2 more this time.Did not extend time in BUcharest(2 days),Did you go to Dracula s castle.?Sounds hokey,but fun since there.:confused:

[Sparky333]

Hi - I haven't done any other part of the Danube so I'm not really qualified to say - but from pictures I've seen and other posts I've read the upper parts do seem prettier with castles and villages along the way. What we saw along the river seemed to be mainly trees - not so much industrial so don't worry about that -- although we did have a few areas where there are cranes (not birds!) and other not-so-lovely bits.

 

I don't think we docked up against other ships more than a couple of times but I guess that really depends on the river traffic on the day you're sailing through an area. Mainly when we were docked we were out and about doing our tour or walking around on our own so it wouldn't have affected things much. But we had an aquarium class cabin so we weren't planning on spending time on a balcony.

 

It was interesting to see the the towns we docked in - older gothic or neo-classical buildings interspersed with some Soviet-style apartment blocks and office buildings and then driving out of those towns into the countryside with small villages and an agricultural emphasis.

 

We did extend in Romania and thought Transylvania was lovely - and yes, the Dracula castle was fun even though Vlad the Impaler really had no connection to it. I think the Romanians don't love that one of their national heroes is tied up with the vampire fable but probably anything that brings in tourist dollars is not a terrible thing. We had a guide on our own on our last day and went to some Vlad-related sites including the remains of the castle he really did spend time in which was a fun day.

 

Here are some pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/jamison.leslie/EasternEuropeOctober2013?feat=email#

 

Let me know if you have any questions - I'll be happy to try to answer.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Leslie

[Bill'sBride]

Thanks for this post and the replies/pics. I am considering this as a Viking Cruise in 2015. This info is great!

[alexandra cruiser]

for the photos and info.Will bookmark them and look at them again near cruise time in June.Love the dogs,haha.

You mentioned Transylvania,did you go with cruise or on own?We have an extra day and were thinking about HOHO bus for Bucharest.Or did you use a guide there too?:confused:

[Sparky333]

Thanks Bill'sBride and alexandra cruiser. Glad to pass on any info I can - I studied posts here before our trip and learned a lot.

 

We did the Viking extension which went up into Transylvania but the last day you spend in Bucharest on your own. There was an optional excursion to Constanta but not enough people signed up to run it. However the Viking rep there was going to set up a private tour for a few people who were considering it. Our program director on the ship talked about it being so out of season and empty and not a good time to go to Constanta. Her honesty was very kind so people didn't waste time/money on a day that would not have been the best.

 

Anyway before we left home I had booked a private guide for that day to take us around and see some things outside of Bucharest (used the company TravelMaker which I found on tripadvisor).

 

I think other people did plan to use the HOHO bus for that day - I heard the Viking rep talking to them about different things they could do from the bus and where to catch it.

 

If you think of any other questions let me know. I'm off to study up on Rhine options...I think that will be next now that I've been bitten by the river cruise bug :)

[Bill'sBride]

Sparky, we just came off our first river cruise last week, we did Viking's Cities of Light and just loved it. Prague was better than I imagined, the views on the middle Rhine and all the towns were so great. I think you will love it. As I get closer to deciding, I may ask questions!

[Sparky333]

Cities of Light sounds like a good itinerary, too! So many good choices :)

[rjscott]

Sparky,

Loved your photos! We are doing Bucharest to Budapest next June on the Rinda, and it is so nice to have a preview of what we'll be seeing.

Thx!

Becki

[Sparky333]

Thanks Becki - have a great trip! I think doing it in that direction is probably better as people have said -- ending on a high note in Budapest. That is just a wonderful city.

[Abe]

Sparky: Great photos! We're doing the Passage to Eastern Europe on the Embla in March. Could you please tell me about the half day tour in Budapest that Viking provides. If you only get to drive by the outsides of the Opera House, St Matthias Church and other attractions - I'll set aside time to revisit these sights. I'd really like to take a tour of their Parliament and visit the Central Market so I'm trying to plan our itinerary for the 2 1/2 days we'll have in Budapest.

 

Thanks,

 

Kathy

[Sparky333]

Hi Kathy,

I think there can be differences in what the Budapest tour will include. Other people on CC had talked about the Central Market being one of the stops and we didn't get to do that on ours. I was disappointed by that. So don't depend on yours being the same as ours but here's what we did:

 

Drove from the hotel up Andrassy Ave. to Heroes' Square. St. Stephen's spire was pointed out as we drove near it. Also the Opera House was only pointed out as we drove by. At Heroes' Square we got out and the guide explained what the different buildings were and discussed some of the statues that are there. Drove from there through the park behind the Square -- very nice, would've liked to see it in warmer weather with the pools filled and more people out and about.

 

Drove down one of the streets parallel to Andrassy and saw the Jewish quarter and large synagogue. We didn't stop or get out.

 

Drove over the river to Buda and parked. Walked to Castle Hill and watched the changing of the guard (gosh, already forget, maybe it's the President's palace where the guards are) and walked a bit further to Matthias Church. We did go inside and learned a bit about the church - it's very pretty inside.

 

I wish I'd gotten pictures outside of the church where people were dressed in costume and holding huge birds - eagle, falcon? don't know. But for a small fee you can hold one -- they looked very heavy, the tourists doing that could barely keep their arm out straight long enough for a picture to be taken.

 

From there a few steps to Fishermens' Bastion where we were released for a bit to walk around on our own - maybe 40 minutes. Met back at the bus and drove straight back to the hotel. The traffic on the way back from Buda to Pest was very heavy and we inched along. Maybe if not for that there would've been something else, e.g. the Central Market.

 

The tour took 4 hrs.

 

We did cram a good bit in during the free time we had, I thought. My husband was wearing a pedometer and the days we were in Budapest it read 8 miles one day and 9 another.

 

I know you didn't ask and I'm sorry if this is a bore but here are some of the things we did outside of the Viking tour:

 

St. Stephen's Cathedral was fabulous. We went back a second time after I read in a guidebook about Stephen's mummified right hand being there in a chapel (I know, I'm morbid but I really wanted to see it! :o Unfortunately the chapel his hand is kept in was closed for a special service).

 

We had gotten tickets online before we left to do the Parliament tour and that was worthwhile. If you do that and the construction on the outside is still going on make sure you leave yourself enough time to figure out where the entrance is.

 

We did the tour of the Opera House on our own - you just need to be there a bit ahead of the scheduled time to get those tickets, not in advance online.

 

We also did the Terror House musuem - it was good but very emotionally draining and took quite a while to get through using the audio guide (maybe close to 3 hours). Probably if I had it to do again I'd not get the audio guide and just read the printed info in each room.

 

We did the Legenda boat tour at night which was really good - the lit up buildings are beautiful. Some people said they saw pretty much the same thing at their sail-away but to me it was worth doing it during an evening while we were there. It sails for I think an hour and you get a glass of wine or beer or whatever -- they also have dinner cruise options. I don't think I'd do that - there was a bit of smell of diesel I thought on our boat, it didn't seem like a good dining environment but maybe the other boat with the dining didn't have that problem.

 

Anyway, those are some of the things we did and enjoyed. Have fun planning and let me know if you have any questions :)

[Abe]

Sparky - Thank you so much for the excellent information - especially for the list of things you did apart from the Viking tour. Except for the terror museum, your itinerary included all of the sights we hope to visit. I feel confident now that we can fit them all in.

 

I'm sure I'll have more questions for you if you don't mind. Thank you for your kindness and wonderful advice.

 

Kathy

[Sparky333]

You're very welcome.

After getting so much help on this forum I'd love to be able to help someone else in turn :)

 

Wanted to add - we ate dinner the first night at Cafe Kor which we really liked. The Viking rep in the lobby of the hotel made our reservation for us. (anyone going there remember they don't take credit cards)

[alexandra cruiser]

and those on AMA will find the inc.tour is almost exactly like the Viking one described.So must be sort of a standard city tour,but ours DID inc.central market(where we could walk back to ship on own).

Going back to see all we missed on first trip there.

PS.anyone going should TRY to inc. a few extra days there before or after.We only did 1 and really missed out,thats one of the reasons we booked ANOTHER cruise to see it again.;)

[CityGirl4252]

Sparky - we are sailing Budapest to Bucharest on the Emblazoned in March. Your information was very helpful. Can you give me an idea of what your dinner at Cafe Kore cost so that we can make sure we have enough cash with us so we don't have to do dishes. Also did you visit a spa in Budapest?

[Sparky333]

Hi CityGirl --

We didn't visit a spa so I don't have any info on that. I think there are a few recent posts about the baths in Budapest -- Gellert and Szechenyl that might help you.

 

Cafe Kor was very reasonable maybe avg entree around $15. It is small inside so try to get a reservation - we were able to get one for the same day but it was for a very early seating. Here's a sample of the menu:

 

Main courses Prices In Hungarian Forints

Turkey breast a la parisian with fresh spinach pancake 2350.-

Rost turkey breast with roquefort cheese sauce and fragrant rice 2370.-

Spagetti with turkey breast strips and fresh crispy vegetables 2290.-

Rost chicken breast with fresh salad and potatoes 2320.-

Roast chicken breast with apricots in hot caramel sauce spread

with sezame seed and rice 2210.-

Pressed chicken breast filet with mayonnaise potatoe salad 2080.-

Spit-roast chicken strips with yogurt-dressing salad 2390.-

Chicken thigh filet fried in breadcrumbs with parsley potatoes

and peach compote 1990.-

Savoury spit-roast mix with pressed potatoes 2520.-

Duck breast steak with tangerine sauce and fragrant rice 2790.-

Duck breast strips with honey, apple and green salad pasta 2760.-

Roast gooseliver with apples and cranberries potatoes 4190.-

Veal tenderloin "Vienesse" with parsley potatoes and lettuce 3560.-

Beef tenderloin "Goulash" with red wine and croquettes 3380.-

Beef tenderloin slices with potatoes with roquefort cheese 3590.-

Filet steak with green pepper sauce and potatoes 3990.-

Beef tenderloin a la "Rossini" /Gooseliver, mushroom/

croquettes and demi glace 4290.-

Garlicky roast pike-perch file with mixed salad and potatoes 3380.-

Roast salmon with lemon balm sauce, croquettes 3280.-

 

Desserts

"Gulácsi" pancake /stuffed with pulm jam, comes with poppy seed, sugar, whipped cream/ 850.-

"Somlói" spongecake 720.-

"Gundel" pancakes / stuffed with nuts, raisines comes with chocolate sauce and sugar powder/ 920.-

"Mákos Guba" /poppy seed croissant in custard/ 550.-

Chestnut puree with home-made sour cherries in rum 670.-

Icecream cup with forest fruit sauce made with liqueur 980.-

Mixed cheese plate with apples and nuts 1890.-

[Familygoboston]

Leslie,

Your photos are wonderful! This is really the first review Ive seen of this itinerary! I'm so excited now! I was not sure what to expect, but we knew we wanted to experience this part of the world for ourselves. After seeing your wonderful photos, I'm even more excited! You can see the mix of old world charm, and communist brutalism architectural style as well as how the current economic struggle affect these people and places in your photos. This is what we want to see first hand.

 

I'm glad you decided to share them with all of us!:D

[Sparky333]

Thanks, familygoboston -- I'm happy to share and glad to add to your excitement in getting ready for your cruise :)

 

I haven't done any other river cruises to compare firsthand but from what I've read I think this itinerary is unique and wouldn't necessarily appeal to everyone. But for those who have an interest in Eastern European history and the way those countries are now after communism this is a truly interesting itinerary. I think this cruise gives a glimpse at places it would be logistically challenging -- or more work anyway -- to see on a land-based trip.