ASTA River Cruise Expo 2023

[notamermaid]

Held in Budapest from 15 to 18 March. If you are interested: https://www.astarivercruiseexpo.org/index.cfm

 

@steamboats will you be going?

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

Nope...

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, steamboats said:

Nope...

 

steamboats

Oh schade. Well, I am sure you and hubby have got some great things planned, cruising ocean or river this year. Wish I could go to Budapest - Expo or not.  Perhaps I will manage a day trip to Cologne or Düsseldorf for a christening.

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

VIVA Two is March 23rd in Düsseldorf.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

On 2/16/2023 at 4:28 PM, steamboats said:

VIVA Two is March 23rd in Düsseldorf.

 

steamboats

Viva Cruises has announced that Shiri Gordon from a business partner of the company in Tel Aviv will be the godmother. The press release(s) for the Viva Two: https://www.viva-*****/en/press

 

Viva Cruises is going to be present at the ITB in Berlin as well.

 

Wonder what news may come from the ITB this year? The cruise sector is supposed to be well represented again this year, having returned to near normal operations, i.e. like in 2019.

 

notamermaid

 

[ilovetexas]

I’ve just started looking at this River Cruising forum.  I’ll be at ASTA River Expo in March.  Looking forward to it and learning all about river cruising.  Sailing AmaViola afterwards.

[notamermaid]

Great! Thanks for saying hello. So I guess this will be a business trip. If you would like to share your impressions from the Expo and your cruise we would be happy to read them.

On 2/24/2023 at 4:55 PM, ilovetexas said:

Sailing AmaViola afterwards.

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

[ilovetexas]

On 2/26/2023 at 5:06 PM, notamermaid said:

Great! Thanks for saying hello. So I guess this will be a business trip. If you would like to share your impressions from the Expo and your cruise we would be happy to read them.

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

Thanks!  I’ll be happy to report back in.  I’ll have a chance to see/tour/have meals on Ama, Amadeus, Avalon, Riverside and Viking. Scenic was full for events but I’ll try to sneak aboard and look around, I think there are a couple of hours one afternoon set aside for “open house” to make sure we see everything.  Then of course, the cruise on AmaViola.  

 

If anyone has specific questions I’ll try to check back in here every so often and see what they are so I can get some answers.  No promises - these events are exhausting and I’ll be working, too, but I’ll sure try!

[notamermaid]

7 hours ago, ilovetexas said:

 I’ll have a chance to see/tour/have meals on Ama, Amadeus, Avalon, Riverside and Viking.

That is a great mix of companies and styles. I am sure @Coral and others would be eager to know if you get that "exclusive luxury vibe" from Riverside that Crystal had. I wonder if the atmosphere and food will stick out from the other lines.

 

Personally I would like to know how Amadeus handles the cruises and excursions. All bi-lingual? Dedicated itineraries? Is there a minimum number of passengers needed to have an English tour offered? Does the food seem more continental-European compared to the American lines?

 

Hope your work schedule is as much fun as it can possibly be. I know you will be exhausted from all the impressions. 🙂

 

Any short reply after the busy days very much appreciated.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

[Coral]

59 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

That is a great mix of companies and styles. I am sure @Coral and others would be eager to know if you get that "exclusive luxury vibe" from Riverside that Crystal had. I wonder if the atmosphere and food will stick out from the other lines.

 

@ilovetexasThe food we had on Crystal river was the best I have ever had overall (even at land restaurants). I will definitely be curious about Riverside and your impressions overall. Have a great time!

[notamermaid]

Surprise news from the Expo, the Riverside Mozart was given a proper ceremony for her re-naming, complete with godmother: https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Riverside-christens-Mozart-surprise-ceremony?ct=river

 

notamermaid

 

[steamboats]

Travelweekly is not 100% correct about the history of the Mozart. She was buildt in 1987 for the Erste Donau-Dampfschiffahrts-Gesellschaft. Deilmann didn´t buy her until 1993. When Deilmann went bankrupt Premicon took over the ship in 2009. After a renovation it did run as TUI Mozart in 2011, as Dertour Mozart in 2012 (for 3 years). Then in 2015 Crystal bought the ship and christened it on July 11th, 2016 in Vienna. I don´t think that there have been any christenings except for the first one in 1987 until 2016. The ship was simply renamed or the "prefix" added.

 

steamboats

[notamermaid]

At ASTA River Expo the "open day" river cruise ships were used as hotel rooms - what better way to show travel advisors what river cruising is about, even if they did not actually sail. Using a ship as a hotel during a conference is not unusual at all and at least on the Rhine is done regularly during large conventions of all sorts, for example in Cologne.

https://www.travelweekly.com/River-Cruising/Insights/ASTA-river-cruise-expo-hotel-rooms

 

notamermaid