Cruising the Danube - First Time!

[doktor]

I am sorry! I do not use this TA but found the info extremely helpful particularly when their is so little info on River Cruises.

 

 

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[WindLord]

TeaBag,

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! What made you select the sailing departing Budapest? I've heard different reasons for wanting to travel east to west.

 

It's definitely entertaining doing all the research in planning a trip like this, isn't it? I wish Scenic was having a presentation near me soon! You'll have to be my eyes on the street at that occasion! haha :)

[TeaBag]

TeaBag,

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! What made you select the sailing departing Budapest? I've heard different reasons for wanting to travel east to west.

 

It's definitely entertaining doing all the research in planning a trip like this, isn't it? I wish Scenic was having a presentation near me soon! You'll have to be my eyes on the street at that occasion! haha :)

Our son is on a sabbatical in Szeged, a city about 2.5 hrs drive from Budapest, till next July and we want to spend a week with them before the cruise.

 

I did read this on Hillman Wonders site for river cruising:

 

Sail downstream if you're on a one-way cruise. The Danube is fast moving. Traveling upstream takes about 50% more time and the ride is less smooth than cruising downstream.

 

Actually it doesn't seem to matter whether you start in Amsterdam or Budapest because the cruise is a combination of upstream and downstream.

[deec]

We chose to start in Budapest because the flights leaving from Budapest for us would have been very early in the am and were very civilized from Amsterdam. Also opted to do the longest flight first.

[Hydrokitty]

TeaBag,

 

Thanks for the warm welcome! What made you select the sailing departing Budapest? I've heard different reasons for wanting to travel east to west.

 

It's definitely entertaining doing all the research in planning a trip like this, isn't it? I wish Scenic was having a presentation near me soon! You'll have to be my eyes on the street at that occasion! haha :)

 

Hi WindLord and welcome to CC....I've taken some time off so I missed your initial post. One cruise line that hasn't been mentioned so far is Vantage (I don't work for them) but I've cruised with them 8 times and never had a bad experience. Danube Budapest to Amsterdam was our first cruise and I highly recommend it. we chose Vantage because they do not deal with travel agents, you deal with them directly; they include wine with dinner (sometimes lunch); most shore excursions are included and there is at least one included excursion in every port...there are usually a few optional tours but they often include a charter bus; admission to someplace special (like Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna) and often lunch in a restaurant. Decor is tasteful and understated; rooms are comfortable and food is excellent. As for a difference in direction we sailed from Budapest to Amsterdam and I didn't notice any difference in the river with regards to smoothness or speed. Been to KC many times (daughter lives near the Plaza)...love your city!!

Edited September 8, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[TeaBag]

deec and Hydrokitty, thank you so much for your input. How does Vantage compare price wise with AMA? To do 8 cruises with them, you must certainly find them wonderful, so I will look them up too. Are they a European cruise company?

[Hydrokitty]

deec and Hydrokitty, thank you so much for your input. How does Vantage compare price wise with AMA? To do 8 cruises with them, you must certainly find them wonderful, so I will look them up too. Are they a European cruise company?

 

No Tea Bag they are not and they do not market outside the US.... you may have to call them directly or google them. Vantage Deluxe Travel is the official company name. I did find them wonderful....especially the tour guides all of whom spoke English like natives (they weren't) and would bend over backwards to help you. As for prices I didn't do a price comparison with AMA, but I did do one with Viking and at the time I did it, Vantage was noticeably cheaper than Viking when you added in all the "extras". Price aside, if I had to choose a company than Vantage I would choose AMA or Tauck.

Edited September 8, 2016 by Hydrokitty

[papa B me]

Caviargal,

 

Thank you for going into so much detail about the service on Scenic and AMA! So far the top contenders are Scenic, AMA, and UniWorld. They all have their own benefits and drawbacks, and their own personality (it seems). I know we'll have a tough time in choosing, for sure! What fun it is to plan an adventure like this, though!!

 

It certainly sounds like you guys have a lot of fun on board! I'm sure my friend and I will be much the same, and try to enjoy every situation to the very fullest. =D

 

WindLord,

I really don't think you can go wrong with Scenic, AMA or Uniworld. I've only sailed with Uniworld and I personally didn't find the atmosphere stuffy but I don't have the experience Caviargal has in comparing to AMA and Scenic. One thing I'll mention about the décor is that each ship is unique with some being more subdued then others. The non SS ships I think are a little less flamboyant. I personally like the over the top décor in that I would never want my house that way but its fun for a week to 10 days. One thing you may want to consider is for your friend and the artwork on Uniworld ships. I've heard that they spend about $1 million per ship on artwork. It is fun to walk the decks and look at it.

 

As far as itinerary I thought I would mention that basically Budapest is the dividing line between the eastern and western Danube. If you want to sail to Bucharest you will most likely start in Budapest and head east. By most accounts the Eastern Danube isn't as scenic as the western. Also much of the sites and tours will reflect the "cold war" era. Although I haven't been I believe there will be a difference in the amount and quality of art for your friend as opposed to the Western Danube. If you want to go from Vienna to Bucharest you could easily do a pre or post cruise stay in Vienna then take a train to or from Budapest for the cruise.

 

I would highly recommend you consider the Western Danube between Budapest and Passau with an extension in Prague. I'm sure all three lines you are considering will have this. They will all include Vienna for the most part. The river scenery will be beautiful, the art museums fantastic, and the music history tremendous. There are sailings directly from Vienna that will not include Budapest but I highly encourage you to include Budapest. There is so much to do and it is a wonderful city. If you plan ahead I would look at what will be playing at the Hungarian Opera House in Budapest and get tickets on line. It is magical. We did this last December. I believe most of the cruise lines will provide either included or optional a concert in Vienna as well. The venues will meet both you and your friends passions.

 

Others have mentioned but the included bikes is a wonderful feature for young and active as well as someone like me middle age(52) and active. Uniworld provides several "Go Active" Excursions including bike tours and hiking.

 

Don't let the age concerns dissuade you with your love of music, art, wine, and fine food. You will find that age differences start to disappear as you get to know other active people on your sailing. Especially if you take advantage of the "Go Active" excursions. Us old timers will love having you with us and you might find we can be kind of fun as well.

 

Good luck with your planning and I would be happy to answer any questions specific to Uniworld.

[bubbulz]

Welcome, Nate! I agree that you should spend some time on land as well if you have the time. We're doing our second Uniworld cruise in a few months (loved the first one so much we immediately booked a second!), and have extra days planned in Budapest, Vienna and Berchtesgaden on each end of the cruise. On the last one (Amsterdam to Basel) we spent extra time in Amsterdam, Lucerne and Zurich.

 

As far as the cruise lines, I think you're looking at all the right ones. Count us among the people who say, "Never," re: Viking; I've just heard too many horror stories. We enjoyed Uniworld's SS Antoinette and the staff so much we have not had any reason to look at any other line. Perhaps that would have been different had we been on one of their older ships. In any event, our experience was much different than caviargal's. All of the staff knew us by name almost immediately and everyone was incredibly outgoing and friendly. As far as the decor, I agree with papa that it's certainly not what I choose to live with day in and day out, but it's fun for a vacation (and their beds are wonderful!!).

[Artistry]

My husband and I just completed our first ever river cruise on the Danube with Uniworld and had a incredible experience. We chose their 15-day European Jewels from Budapest to Amsterdam. There are a couple of salient things that I would like to highlight:

 

1) We were not sure if 15 days would be too much, but it was perfect in every way. It was enough time to become accustomed to the river cruise experience and really engage in everything there was to offer both aboard the boat and off.

 

2) River cruises do skew older in terms of age of the average cruiser, however we had a handful of cruisers that were in their 20s-30s. We found that everyone went out of their way to engage them and I think they enjoyed the experience despite not finding a large number in their peer group. At 60, I signed up for an 18 mile bike ride and the youngsters set the pace and led the way.

 

3) The trip went from the Danube to the Rhine and I have to say that some of the most scenic vistas from the boat were along the Rhine so we were glad we took the extended trip.

 

4) The service and attention to detail on Uniworld was exceptional.Our special dietary needs were attended to beyond our expectations and above and beyond what we have ever experienced in restaurants in the US.

 

5) I concur with others that if you can extend your trip on the front and/or back end it will make the travel that the much more worthwhile. We opted to extend on our own in Budapest to acclimate to the time zone and see the sights and did the same on the back end in Amsterdam. This also took away any stress about flight delays and logistical issues.

 

6) The opportunity to meet so many interesting people from all parts of the world in such an intimate atmosphere proved to be an incredibly special part of the experience.

 

I wish you luck in your decision-making, but you can not go wrong with Uniworld. We had an issue with low water for the date we initially booked. Uniworld cancelled our cruise and then we rescheduled for the date we just completed. We were very happy they didn't try to cobble together a cruise experience, but opted not to sail. There were many people on other cruise companies that sailed that we extremely unhappy to learn they would spend inordinate time on buses as well as enduring boat swaps. As our travel agent had warned us, many cruise lines are great when everything goes fine, but the true test is how they handle a problem which is why she steered us to Uniworld. Enjoy you cruise no matter what you decide. It will be the experience of a life time.

[WindLord]

Thank you all for your replies! I'm sorry I haven't been on much of late; real life has the unfortunate tendency to keep happening, haha!

 

 

Hydrokitty,

 

Thanks for the welcome! I have looked into Vantage briefly, but not to great detail. That brochure is currently on my desk; I'll have to peruse it more closely. I do remember thinking their accommodations looked lovely and, like you said, understated. And how fortunate that their tour guides are so accommodating. From the research I've done, this is a facet that can either make or break one's experience.

 

I'm so glad you enjoy KC! It is a really fun place; much more so than most give us credit! I'm sitting here in my downtown apartment, looking north to the river on a gorgeous day in KC =D

 

 

______________

 

papa B me,

 

Thank you for your thoughtful reply! I do take your point that a Uniworld ship is just like what a good vacation destination is: a lovely place to visit, but wouldn't want to live there! You do raise a good point about the art extant on the ship, though; I hadn't thought of that and that's definitely something to consider.

 

I believe I agree with you about the itinerary. The more research I do, the more I think that Vienna is a must, and that Bucharest, while definitely laudable, might have to be foregone in favor of the western Danube. Budapest is a definite, as that's been on my bucket list for over a decade. I think we'll end up adding at least one day onto either end of the voyage, just as insurance against travel mishaps and to acclimate ourselves to the timezone. Budapest is definitely a place where I could spend a lot of time.

 

I just popped over to the website for the Hungarian Opera House and their season is fantastic the year. They are giving a performance of Wagner's Siegfried! One of my life's dreams is to see the complete Ring Cycle in Bayreuth.

 

Thank you for giving so much good advise and a lot to think about!

 

 

______________

 

Bubbulz,

 

I am surprised vey the number of Uniworld adherents I've encountered on this thread! They are definitely on the short list of operators under consideration. I'm also glad to hear your thoughts re: Viking. They seem like a good operator who has grown to large, too quickly, which has caused problems for them.

 

 

______________

 

Artistry,

 

Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed your inaugural cruise! how exciting that must have been for you both! Thank you for your input on the culture of the ship, I'm glad to know that the younger set were welcomed and included by the others!

 

Now that you mention it, Amsterdam to Budapest does sound like a fantastic itinerary. Here's the problem: all the itineraries sound fun! I'm sure that I'll be swayed to almost all camps during this process, haha. Thank you so much for your reply!!

[bookjjworm]

We did our first river cruise on the Danube with AMA waterways. We loved the whole trip. We stayed in Prague four days before on our own. It was less expensive doing it on your own. We stayed in a wonderful little hotel and hired a guide for three out of four days. We ended in Budapest and again stayed on our own . You will love AMA for their friendliness of both staff and cruisers. The food was excellent and the staff knew you by the second day. Their tours were informative and the guides were excellent. They had four levels of activity for the tours that you could chose from, including bike riding through the villages in some places.

[TeaBag]

We did our first river cruise on the Danube with AMA waterways. We loved the whole trip. We stayed in Prague four days before on our own. It was less expensive doing it on your own. We stayed in a wonderful little hotel and hired a guide for three out of four days. We ended in Budapest and again stayed on our own . You will love AMA for their friendliness of both staff and cruisers. The food was excellent and the staff knew you by the second day. Their tours were informative and the guides were excellent. They had four levels of activity for the tours that you could chose from, including bike riding through the villages in some places.

Thank you so much for posting. There seems to be so few posting about AMA. We went ahead and booked the Magnificent Europe 15 day on AMA Prima departing Jun 1. We will also do our own thing in both Budapest and Amsterdam.

[dan4182]

TeaBag, you chose wisely! We have sailed on the Ama Legro (Paris to Normandy) and the Ama Prima (Vilshofen to Budapest). Both were excellent trips, great scenery and cities to visit, Ama is renowned for the quality of their food and wine. They also try to use locally sourced foods and wines wherever possible.

 

Have a great trip, make lots of memories!

 

 

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[travelin_nat]

We just sailed with Viking and absolutely loved them. We plan to do the Danube next. Our cruise director recommended Nuremberg to Budapest vs the other direction due to the beautiful sight of all the lights as you sail in to Budapest in the evening. You don't get the same sight going the opposite direction.

[dan4182]

We just sailed with Viking and absolutely loved them. We plan to do the Danube next. Our cruise director recommended Nuremberg to Budapest vs the other direction due to the beautiful sight of all the lights as you sail in to Budapest in the evening. You don't get the same sight going the opposite direction.

 

 

We were there in late August of 2015 on an absolutely beautiful full moon night. Almost all the cruise ship captains treat their passengers to a night time cruise up and down the Danube past all the public buildings that are so wonderfully illuminated.

 

Lots of camera cards got filled up that night!

 

Enjoy your trip.

 

 

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[aldukenew]

TeaBag, you chose wisely! We have sailed on the Ama Legro (Paris to Normandy) and the Ama Prima (Vilshofen to Budapest). Both were excellent trips, great scenery and cities to visit, Ama is renowned for the quality of their food and wine. They also try to use locally sourced foods and wines wherever possible.

 

Have a great trip, make lots of memories!

 

 

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Dan4182,

We are sailing on the AmaLyra from Paris to Normandy in September - our 3rd with Ama. Any comments/suggestions about this trip?

 

Allyson

[dan4182]

Dan4182,

We are sailing on the AmaLyra from Paris to Normandy in September - our 3rd with Ama. Any comments/suggestions about this trip?

 

Allyson

 

Allyson, Claude Monet's home and garden in Giverny are beautiful. The cities of Honfleur, Caux de Bec, Rouen, Conflans and Les Andelys are beautiful also.

 

The American cemetery at Normandy, the Museum at the British landing site and Pointe du Hoc where the American rangers climbed the steep cliffs are awe inspiring sites.

 

The french food on the Ama Legro was among the best that my Wife and I have had on any cruise. The french wines were pretty tasty also.

 

Enjoy your trip, make lots of memories!

[aldukenew]

Allyson, Claude Monet's home and garden in Giverny are beautiful. The cities of Honfleur, Caux de Bec, Rouen, Conflans and Les Andelys are beautiful also.

 

The American cemetery at Normandy, the Museum at the British landing site and Pointe du Hoc where the American rangers climbed the steep cliffs are awe inspiring sites.

 

The french food on the Ama Legro was among the best that my Wife and I have had on any cruise. The french wines were pretty tasty also.

 

Enjoy your trip, make lots of memories!

 

Thank you. I have been to Giverny and Normandy but my friend has not. We love Ama and are sure we will not be disappointed this time. Did you take any of the optional tours or just the ones included? I have found that all of them have been great.

 

Allyson

[dan4182]

Thank you. I have been to Giverny and Normandy but my friend has not. We love Ama and are sure we will not be disappointed this time. Did you take any of the optional tours or just the ones included? I have found that all of them have been great.

 

 

 

Allyson

 

 

Just the included ones.

 

 

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[Bruin Steve]

Okay, now that I've booked my first Danube River cruise, one thing occurred to me: We are traveling through 6 different countries that use 6 different currencies...

 

Of course, we won't necessarily be in need of much currency in most places. Our entire trip is through the cruise line (Viking)...

 

We start in Prague (Czech Republic) with the "extension"...but there's only one tour...dinners and lunches are on us and there's a lot of free time...

 

Next, we are two nights in Budapest Hungary--also on our own for some meals.

 

For the next seven nights, we're on the river ship...all meals are included, as are shore excursions...But, what if we want a snack or to purchase a souvenir while in port? We'll be going through Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria...But not all that much time on our own in any of them.

 

Then a night in Bucharest, Romania with dinner on our own...

 

What does one do about local currency? It seems it would be a pain...and maybe some unnecessary expense to exchange dollars for a handful of pocket change for each country...What has everyone else done?

 

Thanks...

[gnome12]

My only experience of these countries is in Croatia, and they will generally take Euros.

[mtebor]

We did our first river cruise on the Danube with AMA waterways. We loved the whole trip. We stayed in Prague four days before on our own. It was less expensive doing it on your own. We stayed in a wonderful little hotel and hired a guide for three out of four days. We ended in Budapest and again stayed on our own . You will love AMA for their friendliness of both staff and cruisers. The food was excellent and the staff knew you by the second day. Their tours were informative and the guides were excellent. They had four levels of activity for the tours that you could chose from, including bike riding through the villages in some places.

 

Just wondering if you booked your own airfare as well.

 

I love your idea of DIY but airfare is a killer $1,200pp

 

I am also concern of my lack of foreign language skill

[doktor]

We generally book airfare on our own. It may be more expensive, but we like to be in control. We wants flights with the shortest times, and the least amount of connections. We usually arrive well before our booked cruise. This April we will arrive two days early in Prague, and we will stay three nights after in Budapest. We have booked AMA hotels and transfers. We will have a total of 5 nights in Prague and 5 nights in Budapest. We will have three day each on our own. We speak no foreign language, however we have found English to be spoken wherever we have traveled. I also have a translator app on my IPad and phone as well as a money converter. We will do two private tours with Tour by Locals prior to connecting with AMA. We will do private tours with Gabriella Torok in Budapest. We are hopeful to do Parliament in Budapest on our own.

 

 

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[gnome12]

My experience on a cycling tour of Slovenia and Croatia is that anyone in the tourist industry speaks quite good English. My only issue was trying to buy 50 grams of meat in a grocery store for my lunch sandwich. Even with my phrase book I couldn't get through to her. She got angry when I wouldn't take 500 grams.