Cruise Review - Travelmarvel Vega / Polaris

[reeves35]

For anyone who is interested, I have now posted my lengthy review of my August cruise with Travelmarvel from Amsterdam to Budapest. https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=706433

[Got2Cruise]

I read your review, very well done. This is the first I’m hearing about the Travel Marvel brand. 

[ural guy]

Great write up, sounds like you had a great time.

 

I do agree with your comment about Maria Theresa.  I would have liked to have heard more modern history when we've cruised through this region, but no, people are fascinated with her story.

 

It sounds like the Irish Pub was used as a less formal dinner spot, is that the case?  If so, what was that menu like.  Between Viking and Vantage, we like the shorter, less formal dinners, so it would be nice to have that option.   Thanks for posting.

[reeves35]

17 hours ago, ural guy said:

Great write up, sounds like you had a great time.

 

I do agree with your comment about Maria Theresa.  I would have liked to have heard more modern history when we've cruised through this region, but no, people are fascinated with her story.

 

It sounds like the Irish Pub was used as a less formal dinner spot, is that the case?  If so, what was that menu like.  Between Viking and Vantage, we like the shorter, less formal dinners, so it would be nice to have that option.   Thanks for posting.

The menu in the Irish pub was disappointing.  It only had a soup and 3 main courses.  The mains were cottage pies, a pulled pork burger and one other thing that I can't remember.  It never changed and, once passengers worked this out, they never returned.

 

[ural guy]

That's too bad, thanks for the answer.

 

[Bill Y]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:16 PM, reeves35 said:

For anyone who is interested, I have now posted my lengthy review of my August cruise with Travelmarvel from Amsterdam to Budapest. https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=706433

A good review, mirrors our experience on Travelmavel Capella at the end of July, fortunately we avoided a ship swap but is was touch and go. We were not as lucky with the weather as you as it was drizzling on and off through the Rhine gorge but it could have been worse. This cruise was different from other river cruises that we have done where sailing was only done during the day, due to the distance travelled sailing had to be done through the night. The scenic highlights, Rhine gorge and Wachau valley were timed to be during the day. The other difference being the number of historic and capital cities visited. This resulted in excursions that were intense with a lot of historical and cultural facts on most days and included walking tours which are unavoidable in pedestrianized areas. Each excursion was led by a local guide.

 

We too found a bit of an overload at the end with visits to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest on consecutive days, but there is so much to see and learn about these places and people. The comments we heard outboard was one should have done Budapest to Amsterdam while we were fresh. We actually chose Amsterdam first as we had visited Amsterdam before but not Budapest so wanted more time there. Another comment was that people did not know of the amount of walking required. Your 13,000 steps a day gives others an idea, in fairness to Travelmavel they do suggest starting walking three times a week to prepare for the trip but many had not read this and certainly not before they booked. People did have covid in the second week although it was not talked about, they seemed to isolate in their cabins and their partners wore masks, I don’t believe anyone was seriously ill.  The only criticism we had was that the excursion in Budapest did not go to the Buda castle district or mention much about it, although you could visit it in the free afternoon if you knew it was a priority visit IMHO.

[Kristal Blade]

Hi Bill Y,

we are going to be on Capella later this month. We cruise from Budapest to Bucharest return. 
Are there any tips or tricks we need to know before boarding? We are good walkers and are ready for some 10K plus days. 
Thanks for any info.

[Kristal Blade]

On 10/2/2023 at 11:16 PM, reeves35 said:

For anyone who is interested, I have now posted my lengthy review of my August cruise with Travelmarvel from Amsterdam to Budapest. https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=706433

Thank you, this made for interesting reading as we had done this cruise in April this year. We cruised on AmaStella. We hadn’t realised APT was an Australian company but were delighted to have so many Australian and New Zealand passengers on board. We had a really fun time.

We cruise on Capella later this month so good to get some more info about the ship layout.

Happy travels reeves35. 

[reeves35]

9 hours ago, Bill Y said:

A good review, mirrors our experience on Travelmavel Capella at the end of July, fortunately we avoided a ship swap but is was touch and go. We were not as lucky with the weather as you as it was drizzling on and off through the Rhine gorge but it could have been worse. This cruise was different from other river cruises that we have done where sailing was only done during the day, due to the distance travelled sailing had to be done through the night. The scenic highlights, Rhine gorge and Wachau valley were timed to be during the day. The other difference being the number of historic and capital cities visited. This resulted in excursions that were intense with a lot of historical and cultural facts on most days and included walking tours which are unavoidable in pedestrianized areas. Each excursion was led by a local guide.

 

We too found a bit of an overload at the end with visits to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest on consecutive days, but there is so much to see and learn about these places and people. The comments we heard outboard was one should have done Budapest to Amsterdam while we were fresh. We actually chose Amsterdam first as we had visited Amsterdam before but not Budapest so wanted more time there. Another comment was that people did not know of the amount of walking required. Your 13,000 steps a day gives others an idea, in fairness to Travelmavel they do suggest starting walking three times a week to prepare for the trip but many had not read this and certainly not before they booked. People did have covid in the second week although it was not talked about, they seemed to isolate in their cabins and their partners wore masks, I don’t believe anyone was seriously ill.  The only criticism we had was that the excursion in Budapest did not go to the Buda castle district or mention much about it, although you could visit it in the free afternoon if you knew it was a priority visit IMHO.

Thanks for your comments.  Whilst there was a lot of walking, Travelmarvel do offer a group for more restricted walkers "the gentle group" which walks less distance, goes slower and, where possible, avoids steps.  Of course, there is also the option to not do the included walks.  It is not school-camp so, if you are happy to just do your own thing in a town or even just stay on the ship and rest, no one will query your choice.

 

You are correct that the Budapest tour doesn't spend much time on the hillier Buda side.  I was thoroughly "castled-out" by the time we reached Budapest so didn't really miss touring another castle/palace.

 

Edited October 4, 2023 by reeves35
Added context

[reeves35]

5 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you, this made for interesting reading as we had done this cruise in April this year. We cruised on AmaStella. We hadn’t realised APT was an Australian company but were delighted to have so many Australian and New Zealand passengers on board. We had a really fun time.

We cruise on Capella later this month so good to get some more info about the ship layout.

Happy travels reeves35. 

Glad you had a great experience on APT and are going on Capella later this month; I will be interested to hear your comparison thoughts.  I imagine the cabins on Capella will be a bit smaller though they are well designed and we never felt cramped.

 

APT is a long-standing company here in Australia.  When I was young, it was called Australia Pacific Tours and specialised in coach tours to places like NZ, Central Australia and North Queensland.  They smartly identified about 15 years ago that their target demographic were moving towards river cruises in Europe, Asia etc and moved into those markets.

[Host Jazzbeau]

@Kristal Blade APT partner with several cruise lines, esp. AMA for river cruises and Noble Caledonia (based in London) for small-ship cruises. You might find more itineraries and dates, or lower prices, by dealing directly with those two companies. 

[Kristal Blade]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

@Kristal Blade APT partner with several cruise lines, esp. AMA for river cruises and Noble Caledonia (based in London) for small-ship cruises. You might find more itineraries and dates, or lower prices, by dealing directly with those two companies. 

Thanks Jazzbeau,

I am now on the AMA mailing list so get regular offers from them. Noble Caledonian is a bit of a stretch price wise! Lovely itineraries but we haven’t ever booked with them.

Hope you are enjoying your cruise.

[Bill Y]

On 10/4/2023 at 5:44 PM, Kristal Blade said:

Hi Bill Y,

we are going to be on Capella later this month. We cruise from Budapest to Bucharest return. 
Are there any tips or tricks we need to know before boarding? We are good walkers and are ready for some 10K plus days. 
Thanks for any info.

I think that Travelmarvel Capella has been well covered by reeves35’s excellent review of her identical sister ships. As regards to tips, (gratuities are included as with APT), It was not explained how the restaurant operated at lunch time, we assumed that it was just a buffet as it had been on our two previous Travelmarvel cruises and just went and got food. We were surprised that soup did not appear to be on offer, on the third day we noticed people with soup I asked the man serving at the servery about soup and he said ask your waiter. I had no idea that we had a waiter, waiters were around serving drinks and clearing plates as at breakfast. We asked about soup and he gave up a choice of two. The next lunch time we sat and waited for the waiter to appear he gave us a menu with two soup and several mains there was always a fish option, these were served to us but could be mixed and matched with food from the buffet.

The shaver socket in the bathroom did not take UK round pin shaver or toothbrush chargers (pins too fat). It was not obvious that there was bar at the rear of deck 3, it was a long trek.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise, Capella is a new ship and when we had inclement weather the lounge did not feel crowded. We were interested in the cruise that you are doing but as it’s now only done only in April and October we did not fancy the extreme ends of the season, unfortunately Travelmarvel has cut the routes it sails since the pandemic so if we do decide to do it will probably be with another company. We welcome a review of this cruise.    

 

I do not think that you will find the walking too much as it’s at quite a slow pace, it’s probably the same as you experienced with Travelmavel’s sister brand APT, incidentally when a ship swop was mooted on our cruise it would have been to an APT ship, I only mentioned the walking as there were some who had walking difficulties and were unaware that most of the included excursions included walking unlike ocean cruising which has a greater choice and are extra anyway. Please feel free to ask any more questions.

[Kristal Blade]

Thank you BillY,

good to know there are additional lunch options. I was brought upon soup so I will be hoping for that every lunchtime!

I was hoping that we might get a couple of laundry bags provided. It was terrific to get a free laundry service on AmaStella, but I will wash out the smalls and pack strategically.

We are on deck 3 so it shouldn’t be so much of a walk for us to reach the bar. 
 

We aren’t expecting great weather, seeing as it will be November when we visit most destinations. But we can layer up and I always pack gloves and scarves. 
 

Are there daily puzzles? I think we had a crossword and Sudoku on Stella.
 

What is the currency on board? I’m expecting it to be Euro, but I know none of our destinations use Euro!
 

Thanks for any answers. 
 

I will definitely try to do a review after our trip. If the wifi is any good I might even put some live-ish posts on. 

[reeves35]

3 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you BillY,

good to know there are additional lunch options. I was brought upon soup so I will be hoping for that every lunchtime!

I was hoping that we might get a couple of laundry bags provided. It was terrific to get a free laundry service on AmaStella, but I will wash out the smalls and pack strategically.

We are on deck 3 so it shouldn’t be so much of a walk for us to reach the bar. 
 

We aren’t expecting great weather, seeing as it will be November when we visit most destinations. But we can layer up and I always pack gloves and scarves. 
 

Are there daily puzzles? I think we had a crossword and Sudoku on Stella.
 

What is the currency on board? I’m expecting it to be Euro, but I know none of our destinations use Euro!
 

Thanks for any answers. 
 

I will definitely try to do a review after our trip. If the wifi is any good I might even put some live-ish posts on. 

Yes, there is soup every day at lunch and dinner.  Just ask for the menu at lunchtime.

 

There are no free laundry bags but laundry onboard Travelmarvel is great value.  It is much less than you'd pay in a hotel or onboard an ocean cruise ship; most items are between EUR1.50 and EUR2.50.  I did wash smalls in the shower but you will need to take a travel clothes line with suction cups at each end with you as there is no retractable clothes line installed.

 

Nothing is far away onboard so, from a Deck 3 cabin, you'll be able to get anywhere you need to be in a minute or two.  McGeary's is not open during the day so, if you want a drink, you'll need to head to the main lounge forward.

 

There are no daily puzzles as there is no daily newsletter with everything now on the screens in your cabin or around the ship.  It is claimed to be an environmental measure though probably cost-cutting also.

 

Onboard currency is Euro.  It is completely cashless though you can pay for your account with Euro notes if you prefer that instead of registering a credit card.

 

 

[Kristal Blade]

Thank you reeves35,

All my questions answered and I will definitely pack a clothes line. We often need to extend drying space because the lines in the bathrooms are often very small. 
We will bring some puzzles to keep us occupied, but I expect we will be happy chatting with our cruise companions.

[Bill Y]

On 10/9/2023 at 6:51 PM, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you BillY,

good to know there are additional lunch options. I was brought upon soup so I will be hoping for that every lunchtime!

I was hoping that we might get a couple of laundry bags provided. It was terrific to get a free laundry service on AmaStella, but I will wash out the smalls and pack strategically.

We are on deck 3 so it shouldn’t be so much of a walk for us to reach the bar. 
 

We aren’t expecting great weather, seeing as it will be November when we visit most destinations. But we can layer up and I always pack gloves and scarves. 
 

Are there daily puzzles? I think we had a crossword and Sudoku on Stella.
 

What is the currency on board? I’m expecting it to be Euro, but I know none of our destinations use Euro!
 

Thanks for any answers. 
 

I will definitely try to do a review after our trip. If the wifi is any good I might even put some live-ish posts on. 

When we had our first briefing onboard Capella we were told that it was a paperless ship and information was on the TV, The only paper delivered was booking forms for extra excursions and the final account.  The "daily cruiser" that used to be supplied is now on the TV although a couple of paper copies are displayed at reception, but they still hand out APT maps at reception. DW says Travelmavel used to have daily Sudoko, so don't know if they are available on demand. As well as the days itinerary there was interesting port information and history on the TV, the downside was that it disappeared the next day. As someone who used to keep the itineraries and maps to jog my memory  I was going to ask the cruise direction at the end if I could have this information electronically but I forgot.

 

I believe that your other questions have been answered. You probably have a credit card that has favourable charges and commission for use on the continent. if not its worth checking which of your existing cards  is best to use.

[Kristal Blade]

Hiya BillY,

yes to a good credit card that is fee free. Good old Halifax.

 

Extra excursions? Everything was free on AmaStella, are there excursions you have to pay for? 
I can understand going paperless. On sea cruises we chuck so much stuff in the bin, but that is the ads for the spa that we never use plus future cruise info. I would like the daily info as a hard copy but will have to learn to look on the tv.

We had APT maps on Stella and they were really good. I kept my Budapest one, ready for my next cruise!

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, Kristal Blade said:

Extra excursions? Everything was free on AmaStella, are there excursions you have to pay for?

Despite not being "all-inclusive," AMA does provide all excursions including optional ones without extra charge [except maybe a classical concert evening in Vienna].  Many other cruise lines, even ones like Uniworld that call themselves "all-inclusive," routinely have extra-cost excursions.

[Kristal Blade]

14 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Despite not being "all-inclusive," AMA does provide all excursions including optional ones without extra charge [except maybe a classical concert evening in Vienna].  Many other cruise lines, even ones like Uniworld that call themselves "all-inclusive," routinely have extra-cost excursions.

Yikes! We were totally spoiled on Ama then! The classical concert in Vienna was free.

looks like I will be making sure I book AMA next time.

Thanks Jazzbeau, as novice river cruisers we just took our Ama experience as the norm.

[Host Jazzbeau]

6 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

Yikes! We were totally spoiled on Ama then! The classical concert in Vienna was free.

looks like I will be making sure I book AMA next time.

Thanks Jazzbeau, as novice river cruisers we just took our Ama experience as the norm.

Scenic is truly "all-inclusive" so you might consider them too.  We consider Ama to be Very Good, and Scenic to be Excellent – especially their unique 11-day itineraries.

[Kristal Blade]

Thanks for that insider info, Jazzbeau,

We prefer longer breaks so a 7 day trip is hardly worth leaving home for! Once I unpack I don’t like to refill my case too soon! 
A 14 day or more is our preference, which is why our next trip on Capella is Budapest to Bucharest return.

I will look out for Scenic trips from now on.

[reeves35]

2 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Hiya BillY,

yes to a good credit card that is fee free. Good old Halifax.

 

Extra excursions? Everything was free on AmaStella, are there excursions you have to pay for? 
I can understand going paperless. On sea cruises we chuck so much stuff in the bin, but that is the ads for the spa that we never use plus future cruise info. I would like the daily info as a hard copy but will have to learn to look on the tv.

We had APT maps on Stella and they were really good. I kept my Budapest one, ready for my next cruise!

As has been said, there is always a hard copy of the daily planner on the wall near reception.  Some people just took a photo of this on their smartphone so they could keep a copy.  

 

Travelmarvel is positioned one step below APT (and, by definition, AMA) and priced accordingly.  I'm surprised you didn't realise that optional excursions were an extra cost; it is clearly shown in their brochures. 

 

The price differential between APT and Travelmarvel (or Scenic and Emerald) is quite significant; for our cruise, the difference was over AUD3000p.p. for the same cruise itinerary.  You need to assess if the all-inclusive features of APT and Scenic (all excursions, full drink package, single laundry bag, butler to unpack clothes) justify the difference.  Everyone will have a different viewpoint depending on their wants.

  

[Host Jazzbeau]

14 minutes ago, reeves35 said:

The price differential between APT and Travelmarvel (or Scenic and Emerald) is quite significant; for our cruise, the difference was over AUD3000p.p. for the same cruise itinerary.  You need to assess if the all-inclusive features of APT and Scenic (all excursions, full drink package, single laundry bag, butler to unpack clothes) justify the difference.  Everyone will have a different viewpoint depending on their wants.

That is assuming that the quality of what is provided is the same on the top line and the value line.  I don't expect that to be true.

[Kristal Blade]

I am getting a bit confused by APT now, because our first APT cruise was on AmaStella. Our current booking on Capella was also done through APT! So it seems APT uses both “high end” and “lower quality” ships.

To be honest we didn’t notice a price difference, but once we have paid and done a cruise we forget what we paid! We are at the stage of life where, happily, if we see something we like we just go for it. We do have budgetary limits. I think I mentioned on this thread that I thought Noble Caledonian was outside of our budget.

 

I didn’t have a butler unpacking my clothes on AmaStella, but he did bring delicious little nibbles to our room every evening. 
 

I didn’t see a brochure for this trip, booked after seeing an online advert because having done an APT trip I think we are on a mailing list now.

 

But if we have to pay extra for an excursion we want to do then I expect we will. What sort of additional cost are we going to be charged?

 

Thanks for all the insider info reeves35