At A Travel Crossroads

[Sharon J]

Just to update: We returned from our Danube trip, and everything was beautiful. For the most part we escaped the rain that just keeps coming all over Europe this spring.

I think our stamina is still affected by our recent bout of covid, but at our ages, it's hard to know for sure. We wore our masks in airports, on the plane, and when we were in enclosed spaces with lots of people, like when we had to take a large bus to get from one place to another. The good news is that neither one of us contracted Covid on this trip. We'd wanted to get booster shots, but after reasearch, will follow the CDC guideline, which recommends waiting 3-6 months after having Covid before receiving another booster.

Barb, Can you tell me a bit more about your Danube trip? Length, accommodations. We quit cruising many years ago, because we like our privacy. Can you sit anywhere during meals, or do you have assigned seating??? Quality of onshore excursions? Any help is much appreciated.

 

[artnbarb]

Barb, Can you tell me a bit more about your Danube trip? Length, accommodations. We quit cruising many years ago, because we like our privacy. Can you sit anywhere during meals, or do you have assigned seating??? Quality of onshore excursions? Any help is much appreciated.

I'll post this on a separate thread.

 

[Andrew]

Barb, Can you tell me a bit more about your Danube trip? Length, accommodations. We quit cruising many years ago, because we like our privacy. Can you sit anywhere during meals, or do you have assigned seating??? Quality of onshore excursions? Any help is much appreciated.

I'll make an effort to answer from a different perspective. Our sister-in-law got us hooked on Uniworld river cruises, on the high end: last fall we went with her on the Nuremberg-Amsterdam cruise, and this spring on one around Bordeaux. These were 1-week cruises, and now we've booked the 2-week+ cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam for next spring. These are all-inclusive including tips, except that we were invited to give 1 or 2 euros to onshore guides and drivers. The tours are mostly included, with just a few optional extra tours for a price. One can sit anywhere during meals: on the Germany cruise it was mostly tables for four, which just the three of us occupied. For Bordeaux there were more tables for two (with just two of us), and we were friendly with a couple at the adjacent table. By the last night it seemed that most people had moved to big tables. Considering that it's a corporate food offering, we were satisfied with the meals.

I haven't been much of a fan of guided tours, but at this stage of life I'm getting to like them more, and these tours give some free time in the towns. It is disappointing that they just let us see the major city of Cologne in the morning, in order to depart and get to Amsterdam in time for people taking the earliest flights. From a Slow Travel perspective, these stops don't give much chance to become immersed in the towns, but it is nice to move around places without needing to pack up.

 

[Sharon J]

Thank you Andrew. Just can't convince myself to do a river cruise. We have been such independent travelers for so many years, and had such a horrible experience on the one cruise we took MANY years ago. Appreciate all the honest perspectives here. I will add that the cruise we took so many years ago, DID encourage us to start our slow travels, mostly in Italy.

 

[milgreen2]

I feel like I've found "my people" on this thread, as my husband and I are facing similar feelings and challenges regarding travel. We have started to think in terms of a finite number of years ahead for traveling the way we have always done. At 66 (me) and 74 (him), recognize that in several years we may want to switch to group travel. Challenge ahead is that hubby will most likely have mitral valve repair surgery in late fall/winter 2023, once we return from our October trip to southern Spain, and so we are putting our usual warm weather trip in late winter on hold......plus I had hoped to do a spring trip to Israel, but we'll have to see how everything plays out.

in terms of long haul travel, we're sort of in the same boat as Barb: SE Asia and Africa have long been on my bucket list, for after retirement so we could go for a couple of weeks AND have low-key post-trip recovery time afterwards, but now the thought of the long flights, and possibly uncomfortable conditions on the ground (heat, humidity, biting insects, etc.) has me rethinking the priority order of future trips.

so glad that Art and Barb made it to the Danube cruise and had a great time. would love to hear more about it!

 

[Pauline]

Barb posted about her river cruise here:

A Danube River Cruise, plus Prague and Budapest

Posting this mini trip report in response to @Sharon J 's request for more info. We chose to cruise with Gate1 because their ships are smaller than the Viking ships - I think most Viking ships hold 190 passengers, while our ship, The Monarch Governess, held only 130. As luck would have it, we...

www.sloweurope.com

 

[artnbarb]

Barb posted about her river cruise here:

A Danube River Cruise, plus Prague and Budapest

Posting this mini trip report in response to @Sharon J 's request for more info. We chose to cruise with Gate1 because their ships are smaller than the Viking ships - I think most Viking ships hold 190 passengers, while our ship, The Monarch Governess, held only 130. As luck would have it, we...

www.sloweurope.com

Thanks @Pauline ! I'm happy to answer questions, but I think @Andrew hit the best part of the cruise - not having to pack and unpack every day or two.

Art suggested a river cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, but I'm not really feeling it. Every day is a different stop, with never enough time to explore the city, so it's more frustrating than fulfilling for me.

 

[NoSpin]

I'll make an effort to answer from a different perspective. Our sister-in-law got us hooked ion Uniworld river cruises, on the high end: last fall we went with her on the Nuremberg-Amsterdam cruise, and this spring on one around Bordeaux. These were 1-week cruises, and now we've booked the 2-week+ cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam for next spring. These are all-inclusive including tips, except that we were invited to give 1 or 2 euros to onshore guides and drivers. The tours are mostly included, with just a few optional extra tours for a price. One can sit anywhere during meals: on the Germany cruise it was mostly tables for four, which just the three of us occupied. For Bordeaux there were more tables for two (with just two of us), and we were friendly with a couple at the adjacent table. By the last night it seemed that most people had moved to big tables. Considering that it's a corporate food offering, we were satisfied with the meals.

I haven't been much of a fan of guided tours, but at this stage of life I'm getting to like them more, and these tours give some free time in the towns. It is disappointing that they just let us see the major city of Cologne in the morning, in order to depart and get to Amsterdam in time for people taking the earliest flights. From a Slow Travel perspective, these stops don't give much chance to become immersed in the towns, but it is nice to move around places without needing to pack up.

Andrew, we did the UniWorld Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in the spring of 2015. We had never done a river cruise and it was fabulous. I assume you are on the Maria Theresa. When we took it that was a brand new ship and it was the ship's 3rd ever cruise.

If it is still as we experienced, you will absolutely love it. The service, the food, the ambience, the excursions (when you dock in Vienna if they offer a private evening event to view opera and dance at an additional price, take it) are absolutely 1st class.

When we were docked in Vienna, wiener schnitzel was on the dinner menu. I told my waiter I loved wiener schnitzel and that's all I wanted. He said, "I'm going to take care of you". When dinner was served he brought 3 huge wiener schnitzels on a plate I was in heaven! Everyone around us was amazed and my wife called me a glutton, but I couldn't care less!

There is so much I could tell you about the trip (like when you actually go over a canal bridge as if you were going over a highway bridge) so if you have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Andrew]

Thanks, NoSpin. Our Budapest-Amsterdam cruise is on the S.S. Beatrice, the description looks similar, and we have our previous experience with Uniworld ships. One thing I meant to mention is that people can book a meal in a smaller dining room with bistro fare for a different experience at no extra cost. Also the crew and passengers become something of a community where we've felt that we'd like more than a week as part of it.