How Many Have Booked River Cruise for 2007 and where?

[gogogramma]

We flew IAD Dulles to Frankfort, then on to Budapest after a 50 minute layover on a shared United/Lufthansa flight. The leg over the pond was less than 8 1/2 hours, and we were in economy but had scored the paired window-aisle seats on the outside. The second leg was not even two hours long. Frankfort is a BIG airport and we were lucky to make our flight there going from arrival to departure gate. Our tour did book obviously the most economic flight, but we were with a fairly large group and no one upgraded.

[yellowrosetx]

We flew IAD Dulles to Frankfort, then on to Budapest after a 50 minute layover on a shared United/Lufthansa flight. The leg over the pond was less than 8 1/2 hours, and we were in economy but had scored the paired window-aisle seats on the outside. The second leg was not even two hours long. Frankfort is a BIG airport and we were lucky to make our flight there going from arrival to departure gate. Our tour did book obviously the most economic flight, but we were with a fairly large group and no one upgraded.

Thank you for response. Sounds like we might be going on similar flight only thru Munich, we are suppose to arrive from IAD in Munich at 10:20 then catch next leg at 10:55. We should be on the same type of plane - Lufthansa/United. My main concern is stretch and leg room. I may check into upgrade, if it's too much, take a sleeping pill!

[yellowrosetx]

We flew IAD Dulles to Frankfort, then on to Budapest after a 50 minute layover on a shared United/Lufthansa flight. The leg over the pond was less than 8 1/2 hours, and we were in economy but had scored the paired window-aisle seats on the outside. The second leg was not even two hours long. Frankfort is a BIG airport and we were lucky to make our flight there going from arrival to departure gate. Our tour did book obviously the most economic flight, but we were with a fairly large group and no one upgraded.

Thank you for response. Sounds like we might be going on similar flight only thru Munich, we are suppose to arrive from IAD in Munich at 10:20 then catch next leg at 10:55. We should be on the same type of plane - Lufthansa/United. My main concern is stretch and leg room. I may check into upgrade, if it's too much, take a sleeping pill!

[gogogramma]

Alarming short layover--find someone to assure you that the gates are close or that they will hold the gate open--they are sometimes closed 30 minutes before departure for all those except wheelchair assisted, for whom they will keep the gate open until arrival. Hint hint. Could you ask for a wheelchair? Upgrade might be OK depending on carrier--United offered economy plus (a extra 5 inches) for $99 each way--at least it was available to their frequent flyers. Golly, they have so many rules it isn't even funny!!! And a sweet MD might prescribe 10 little helper pills, even a 3 or 4 hour broken nap takes care of the worst of any flight. Good luck.

[tonirossi]

Going solo on Peter Deilmann's Princesse de Provence 8/25-9/1 R/T Lyon.

 

Suzanne123 - My agent promised a roomie which has not materialized. What is the charge for a single supplement if I end up rooming alone?

[Suzanne123]

This web site might give you an idea.

 

I just got my documents yesterday for my cruise late next month, so I'm pretty excited.

--hope you get to go!

 

http://eurorivercruises.com/Cruise%20Itins/PD_Prov_lyl_lyl_2007.htm#rates

[trufflelady]

We are going on the Castles Along the Rhine & Danube Cruise leaving on Sept 24,2007,from Amsterdam to Budapest with 3 extra days in Budapest.

Anyone else going on this curise?? We are so excited as we have never done a river cruise.

Maggiegrammie

 

Hi Maggiegrammie,

There will be 4 of us doing the holiday markets in December on the Explorer. We are curious to find out about the ship. This will be our first river cruise, and we too are excited. Please let us know how your trip was. When we get back in December, I will share our trip with all. :)

[gerena]

We are taking the Eastern Europe and the Black Sea with Vantage Travel. This is our first river cruise, first with Vantage and first time to this area. We have traveled extensively in other places, however. We are taking the pre/post packages in Bucharest and Budapest. We leave October 3, 2007 and return October 20, 2007. Anyone on this board joining us?

[MSEm]

We are booked for the Viking River "Cultral Delights" for Nov 2007. We are doing the 4-day pre-tour of Hong Kong. Fly out of Atlanta on 1 Nov and return on Wednesday, 21 Nov. (Yes that's T-Day eve).

Got our Visa's and waiting to pack.

[basso]

Helen and I are back from the River Discovery cruise from Amsterdam to the Black Sea. Many of the castles, churches and even a palace were amazing to see. It is still difficult to comprehend how the people could have built such magnificent structures with the limited tools they had. Still after a while visitors tend to become jaded.

 

One of our passengers from Britain wrote furiously every day about the sights we were seeing. After a week I took a peek at his notes and they were, "ABC, ABC, ABC, ABC, ......". I thought he had been taking notes about what we were seeing and asked him what he was writing. He told me it was shorthand and meant, "Another Bloody Church, Another Bloody Castle, Another Bloody Church, Another Bloody Castle, ......".

 

Of course that didn’t happen:D , but it very well could have based on our itinerary. However that wouldn’t include the hills, many covered with beautiful vineyards or the many scenic villages and cities with their picturesque old bridges or the friendly people in those towns or the outstanding service on the river vessels. The captain stated it wasn’t a boat, but rather a ship. The depth of certain stretches of the rivers, the many locks, and the limited vertical clearance of many of the old bridges limits the size of the "ships".

 

Our program director, Monika, was absolutely superior. Whenever possible Vantage brought very good local groups on for entertainment, but it was still limited. River cruises are just different from ocean cruises – no ship singers and dancers, no swimming pool, no spa staff. It was amazing to see the relatively small galley space that was used to serve the 166 passengers – and the cooks did an excellent job serving very good food. But again the number of courses was less than served on ocean cruises. The ship itself is brand new, having launched in the spring of this year. The big thing with river cruises is the itinerary. And don’t wait until it’s too difficult for you to climb the many steps and hills. Castles were built on the high ground for good reasons, and some churches were occasionally used as fortresses.

 

I think most people enjoyed the cities of the western part of the cruise more than the part from Budapest to the Black Sea. It was probably due to the democracy vs. communism or capitalism vs. socialism of the post-WWII era. However Vantage did an excellent job, such as adding the Hungarian csikos (cowboys) at the Kalocsa stop. (I wonder if that’s where the Cisco Kid got his name.) The Hungarian goulash with hot paprika was excellent at lunch. The entertainment at the Bucharest lunch was superb. The Romanian landscape, during our post-cruise extension, was sensational.

 

The River Discovery is brand new, the cabins were excellent, the service was superior. All in all, it was an outstanding cruise. Thank you Vantage.

 

Bill