Andona

Hi, First time cruiser here 🙂 We have the HIA package and I prebooked the Pinnacle Grill one night using our Specialty dining credit. I would like to cancel that booking and change to another night but want to be sure that the Dining credit will be refunded to me.

When I clicked on the "Cancel Dining" in my itinerary on the website it indicated that I would receive $0.00 credit ( which makes sense as I didn't pay anything ) however it doesn't say that my credit will be refunded?

So I thought I'd asked more experienced cruisers if I will get my credit back by cancelling online... or will I have to call them? ( I'm in Australia)

TIA

Andona

Really excellent review of your Emerald trip. We cruised Emerald in 10/15 from Amsterdam to Basel and had the same basic experiences. We're now considering a Danube cruise in July 2018. After reviewing options offered by AMA, Avalon, Viking and Emerald, we're thinking Classic Prague and Danube Delights on Emerald is the right choice for us. We feel it's an excellent value. We like that Emerald has a mix of Australians, British and North Americans. Do you remember what the cost was for the all-inclusive drink package?

I'm really sorry but I don't remember what the drinks packages cost. We just paid out of pocket for extra cocktails , bubbly and beer etc.

Andona

Andona, sorry to keep asking questions but.....do you recall how long the bus trip to Schonbrunn palace was? My sister & I are debating whether to take a private tour or not. Private tour takes public transportation and they say it is a 45 min journey to the palace. Part of the issue is that I have knee/leg issues. The Emerald tour is 4 hours. Are you only at the palace for 2 hours & the rest is travel time? Because 2 hours is long enough for me to walk around the palace! Also the Brahaus tour your hubby took..was that a lot of walking? I'm ok if it is slow or short walk & then standing for the guide to talk/point things out. My sister is a big beer "snob" so we may want to do that tour too,.

Hi ChosenOne, I'm happy to answer any questions [emoji4]

With the Schonbruun tour , the bus took about 30 to 40 minutes to get to the palace, it would have been quicker but we went through a lot of morning traffic. At the palace we were taken on a guided tour of about 20 rooms, that took roughly an hour? ( it's hard to remember exactly) we stopped in each room for a brief explanation of its use and history and decoration etc. We then had about an hour and a half of free time. We chose to walk through the gardens and up to the Gloriette and fountain at the top of the hill behind the palace. After walking back down we still had time for a coffee in one of the cafes in the Palace grounds before getting on the bus. If you didn't want to walk around the gardens there was time to visit one of the museums at the palace or to see the Strudel show in the cafe or to take a carriage ride or just relax and people watch in one of the cafes.

For the Brahaus tour, my husband said there was a fair bit of walking and some stairs but you did stop frequently along the way to see various parts of the process. The brewery he saw is located in a very unusual building which also houses artworks and sculptures, this added an extra interest to the tour. They had plenty of time at the end to sample a variety of different brews.

Hope that helps

Andona

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Great review do know the cost of the drinks package we are sailing on emerald dawn in the summer I'm not much of a wine drinker but do like spirits just trying to way up whether it's worth getting a package or bringing a bottle of vodka on myself

 

 

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They offered a few different packages. My recollection was that the basic package included beer and wine at any time of day and that cost around 9 Euro per person per day. There was a more expensive package that included spirits but I'm sorry I don't remember how much that was.

Andona

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Thinking about an Emerald Cruise next year. Thank you for all the information provided, how many extra excursions did you do?

My husband and I both did the Schonbrunn Palace tour and the Evening concert in Vienna. He also did the Brahaus tour. A couple of our friends did the Cesky Krumlov day tour .

Andona

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Andona: you said in your post you did the tour of Schonbrunn palace in Vienna. Since it runs the same time as the walking tour I know you can't do both. But did the bus back from the palace offer to drop people off in town so we could do our own sightseeing/shopping and then take a shuttle back to the boat later?

Yes, when our tour at the Schonbruun finished we were taken back along the Ringstrasse and the bus stopped at Schwedenplatz to drop off anyone who wanted to stay in the city. Those who didn't want to stay were then taken back to the boat. They were running shuttle buses to and from the boat all afternoon. We chose to stay in the city for a few hours and caught a bus back later.

Hope that helps

Andona

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Andona, thanks for all the reviews. My sister & I sail early August on the Emerald Dawn from Budapest to Nuremburg...our first river cruise. You mention a digital clock in the room...is it an alarm clock? (one less thing to pack if it is) And you mentioned trivia nights. I am a trivia addict. Were the questions mostly general knowledge or did they cater to the Australians on board? or even better, is it trivia about the places were are visiting on the trip? I've heard Emerald sails with mostly Aussies on board which I think will be fun! We are from the U.S.. Love meeting people from other places. Thanks again for your help

Yes, the clock was an alarm clock :)

Each Game night had a different theme. The first night was called "Timelines" and the questions were mainly about events in history ( quite recent history, mainly)

The second was "A night with the Stars" and the questions were about mainly about movies,movie stars, songs from the movies and famous singers.

The third one was "Liars Club", each question was about a series of words from some of the languages we met with along the cruise, e.g. German, Slovakian, Hungarian etc. Three of the staff members would give a (usually hilarious!) definition for the word and we had to guess which was the correct one.

The last game was "Name that Tune" . They played snippets from a series of songs and we had to name the song and singer/songwriter of each tune. The songs were primarily from the 50s and 60s.

I don't remember that the questions were particularly geared towards a particular nationality, the timelines questions were about world events etc. they seemed to try to keep those questions fairy general. The "Name the Tune" night was probably pitched more to a particular age group rather than to a specific nationality - we bombed out on that one, would have done much better with songs from the 70s and 80s :')

They were all great fun and well organised, I don't know if they would use the same format on all the Emerald cruises but its probably somewhat similar?

As for nationalities on the boat , on our cruise there were a lot of Aussies ( including us :) ) and also a lot of Canadians, some Brits and a smaller group of Americans. Like you, I really enjoy chatting to people from all over the world.

I'm sure you'll enjoy your cruise. :D For what it's worth , after our 2 weeks on board, we felt that we would probably have preferred to do a shorter cruise than the one we did, so Nuremberg to Budapest sounds perfect.

Andona

Andona, your devoted Q&A on Emerald experiences here earned you the Ambassador title, at least from me. Many thanks.

Thanks! Very happy to help :)

Andona

 

One question I have is regarding the dress on board. Particularly with regard to how "dressy" most people dressed on whichever night is considered the Capt's. Dinner or or some such title. I have seen posts where past passengers mention all nights were quite informal, with most tending towards the same type of dress one usually sees called "casual chic" on non-formal nights on ocean cruises. A couple of people even stated they wore the same clothing to dinner that they wore on their daytime excursion. Having dressed up for way too many formal nights for years on ocean cruises, and not wanting to drag along special shoes and accessories (or even a suit or jacket for my husband for a formal night), I hope attire for most wasn't really all that "dressy". I have a feeling dress actually may differ just a bit from line to line so would really like to get your take on this.

 

Thanks again for posting!

Happy to help! We also wrestled prior to the cruise with the "dress code" question.

On most nights there was a mix from a few fairly casual people to "casual chic". Generally the majority of people changed for dinner but for most nights that just meant a collared shirt and trousers or jeans for the men and nice trousers/pretty top for the ladies , or on the warmer days there were some sundresses worn. On the two specials nights the majority of women wore some blingy jewelry or dressier top and some of the men wore jackets ( but a minority, I'd say only about a dozen?)

I only took a couple of "dressy" tops and On several evenings I just dressed up a nice t shirt with a pretty silky scarf or a colorful necklace. ( I took a few scarves, they weigh next to nothing and were a great way to change the look from day-to-night with my shirts) I took a couple of pairs of trousers that I rotated for dinners but also wore nice jeans a couple of nights.

I did take heels but only wore them once, mostly I wore a pair of pretty flat shoes, much more comfortable!

Hope that helps :)

Andona

Just back from a trip with Emerald waterways . They supply every cabin with a golf umbrella. It's in the wardrobe of the cabin.

Andona

Thanks again for your insights, Andona.

One repeated comments is its very limited washroom sink & countertop space. Is it adequate for you two to share such?

And how effective is your cabin' black-out curtain when fully down in the morning?

Yes, there isnt a lot of space on the sink itself, really only room for a couple of small items. However at the right immediately above the sink there was a set of about 4 shelves . On this there was a built in cup for toothbrushes. On these shelves I had plenty of room for my makeup and face creams etc, our deodorants, toothpaste and mouthwash and a few other items. Under the sink is a deep drawer in which I kept my hair care items, hair tongs, brushes etc as well as our two toiletries bags.

These items are all accessible as you stand at the sink.

On the opposite wall of the bathroom above the toilet is a mirrored cabinet with shelves. We kept additional items in there such as medications etc.

so, the bathroom is small but I thought they'd done a good job of maximizing the storage space on the Emerald Sun, I'm not sure if the bathrooms on all the boats are the same though?

I forgot to mention previously that built in to the main storage space in the room ( where the TV sits ) at the right hand side is a section of the bench top which opens up to reveal a mirrored back and storage that could be used for dressing table or desk items. There is a stool under the bench top and I sat on it to use the hairdryer, my husband used it when working on his laptop. The cabin's powerpoints are all at the right above this desk area, 4 of them. There was also a power point In the bathroom.

On the wall above the TV there was also a long shelf which came in handy for storing things like hats, cameras, scarves, etc.

There was a small nightstand on each side of the bed, with good reading lights . On one was a digital clock.

There were two hooks on the back of the cabin door on which we hung our raincoats and bathrobes.

In the wardrobe, as well as the bathrobes and slippers We found a large umbrella, two walking sticks , earplugs , shoe shine sponge and laundry bag.

The block out blinds were pretty good, there was probably a little light creeping in at the edges but not excessively. The sun was rising around 5 to 5.30 am when we were on the boat and we did not wake from too much light coming in.

Hope that helps

Andona

We'll be on EW the first time too from Bucharest to Budapest this mid-October. Like to know a bit more of:

- its WIFI connection

- wake-up call placement

- number of dining room server

- dance venue

I can't speak specifically for Bucharest to Budapest but between Amsterdam and Budapest the WiFi was generally ok but did vary depending on your location. It tended to drop off in the locks and also in some remote areas along the river. It was its best when docked in towns and cities. My husband and I both managed to update our travel blogs every day and my husband was able to get some work done as well.

Sorry can't help with wake up calls as we didn't use it.

In the dining room the service was good. We had three waiters serving our table of 8 and they also served about four other tables of 6. We never felt like we had to wait too long, the wine was topped up regularLy. With Four courses and conversation our dinner usually took about two hours. However if you were a smaller table and didn't linger over dessert we noticed people leaving after say an hour and a half, probably less if you didn't have dessert.

Re dancing, there was a small dance floor in the lounge near the bar. It was used quite often by a few couples later in the evening on the nights when the evening's activities were finished. It was well used on the disco nights. The resident musician on our cruise was excellent, we enjoyed the music but didn't find it too loud or overpowering when you wanted to have a conversation or play card games etc.

Hope that helps

Andona

Thank you for a glimpse into life aboard an Emerald ship! I'll be on the Liberte in a month. Regarding the toiletries...do you remember if a body wash/shower gel was provided?

Yes, there was shower gel, shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and soap provided. Topped up regularly when used. Hope that helps :)

Andona

Happy to help! Yes we were on the Emerald Sun. I've realized a slight error in my review, there were 4 trivia/game nights not 3.

Also just to add a couple of points, the location for our Vienna concert was the KunstHistorisches Museum, just amazing arriving and walking up the grand staircases having the entire place to ourselves. The performance was excellent, a chamber orchestra with a tenor and soprano. We were told that the cruise line don't always get that venue however.

After the performance when we returned to the boat the chef had prepared a light supper of goulash soup and cheeses which was served in the Horizon lounge.

On the two special dinner nights , dinner was preceded by a small cocktail event in the lounge.

One other point was that , particularly in the first half of the cruise, between Amsterdam and Nuremberg we were docked in locations which required us to be bussed to the town for the walking tour. Although a couple of times the boat would then "catch up" with us and we could walk back to the boat afterwards. Eg this was the case in Rudesheim, Miltenberg-Wertheim, , Wurzburg

The places where the boat was docked right in the middle of the action So we could walk from and back to the ship were Amsterdam, Cologne, Regensburg, Passau, Linz , Durnstein and Bratislava.

In Bamberg, Nuremberg, Vienna and Budapest we needed to get shuttle buses to and from the boat. In Budapest the shuttle drop was at the Marriott Hotel on the riverfront.

In Budapest, we had time in the afternoon to take the first shuttle (2.30 pm) to the Marriott, walk to the Metro and catch it up to Szechenyi baths and then get back to the last shuttle (5.30) to get back to the boat . That was a lot of fun and I'd highly recommend it on a sunny day.

The evening sail along the river past the lit buildings in Budapest was another highlight.

Ancona

Hi all,

We've just returned from our first River Cruise and knowing there was not a lot of information about Emerald Waterways I thought I'd give some information back about our experience.

We cruised from Amsterdam to Budapest on the Emerald Sun, embarkation was 4th May.

I have copied all the daily program sheets to a PDF and will include the link here

The daily sheet was left on our bed every evening during dinner as part of the evening turndown service. There was also a short Port talk every evening in the lounge before dinner where our cruise director went through the details for the following day and also discussed any upcoming Extra excursions. In the document I've also included the sheet of information we were given about the extra excursions. Finally on the last page you can see the cover of the 450 page guidebook that we received that covered all the sights from Amsterdam to Bucharest.

Arrivals: We had planned some of our own ( car) touring before the cruise and so did not use the free transfers from the airport. We were travelling with friends, some of whom were staying at the Emerald hotel in Amsterdam and they were provided with free transfers to the boat from the hotel.

Demographic: Our group of friends are all in their mid to late 50s. There were a few other groups/couples on the boat our age or younger, the average age of the majority of passengers seemed to be late 60s. Our cruise had a large proportion of Australians and Canadians, with a handful of people from the United Kingdom and America.

Cabin: We had a Panorama Balcony Suite on the top deck. These have a small strip of timber flooring near the window and a small coffee table and two chairs on it. They have the drop down window that gives you the effect of an "indoor Balcony" . We dropped this a few times and enjoyed the fresh air.I have nothing to compare the size to as I've never done any previous cruising, River or Ocean. The bed was very comfortable and the storage was plentiful and well designed. I found room for all our clothes and bits and pieces. We had heaps of coat hangers and were invited to ask for more if we needed them. We had bathrobes and really good slippers, I'm not sure if you get robes in all cabin classes though. The lighting in the cabin was good, and there were blockout and sheer blinds so you could still see out and retain your privacy ( useful when in dock or rafted with another boat)

Some people are happy with cabins on the lowest deck but personally we were glad we were on the top deck. Its on the same level as the lounge which was nice when getting to and fro within the boat.

Bathroom: The bathrooms are cosy but there was a large drawer under the sink and a wall cupboard for extra storage. The showers were a reasonable size, good water pressure and plenty of hot water, although the temperature of the water fluctuated a bit. Nice toiletries and plenty of them.

Cabin service: The cabins were serviced daily, the times varied a bit but were always finished by early afternoon. Every evening during dinner they would come to the room for turndown service, chocolates on the pillow, Next days activity sheet on the bed, fresh towels, blinds down and lights turned to low with the "fireplace" playing on the TV.

Lounge: The Horizon lounge was large, and had a really good mix of comfortable lounge seating as well as tables and chairs near the bar and towards the back. There was an excellent coffee machine which was available all day and night, we saw plenty of people going down in the pyjamas in the morning to grab and early morning coffee.

Pool Lounge: The pool and its lounge area ( Riverview Lounge) provided a nice alternative place to sit and relax. We swam a couple of times, the pool is small but it was a bit of fun swimming and watching the river go past. In fine weather they opened the roof top over the pool, but it was a bit cool for that on several days so the rooftop was closed most days. There is a coffee machine, and biscuits in this lounge. There was a phone from which you could call the main bar and have drinks brought down to the pool area if you wanted them.

Spa: I booked in for a massage one day and thoroughly enjoyed it in the small massage room.

Sun deck: We liked the artificial grass on the sundeck as well as the abundant tables chairs and sun lounges. There's a three hole put-put golf area and a tic-tac-toe area, both of which provide about 10 minutes worth of novelty. There is a walking track around the outside of the deck which was popular with those trying to keep their step count up! The one thing we found disappointing was that we had been unaware how many days the sundeck would be unavailable, at least 6 days it was blocked off. We understand the necessity of doing it but it was still disappointing on nice sunny days.

Restaurant: The Reflections Restaurant is on the middle deck. It was a large airey space with the 10 seat Captains table near the entry. Along the windows were a series of 2 seater tables, each one in close proximity to a table of 4. These could be pushed together to make tables of 6. There were also several round tables of 6 near the windows and, in at least one family group, this was able to seat 7 . IN the middle of the room were a number of round tables of 6 and about 6 rectangular tables of 4. We were a group of 8 and asked if it was OK to have two tables of 4 pushed together for us, the waiters were very happy to do this for us and after a few nights they just left the tables pushed together for us. The Captains table was used by the Captain and Owner Suite guests at the two special dinners but otherwise was available for anyone on other nights. The service was very good, the waiters came around frequently to refill wine glasses etc and we were welcome to take a full glass away with us to the lounge at the end of dinner. We became very friendly with the two young men who served our table each night.

Breakfast & lunch: You have two options for breakfast , the expansive buffet breakfast in the restaurant or a light breakfast in the lounge. We enjoyed both but preferred the light breakfast as the lounge was much more peaceful and it also prevented us from overeating! There is a bar table across the front of the boat, and this was set for breakfast each morning, we liked sitting here and watching the mornings on the river. You have the same two options for lunch. Again we mainly ate the light lunch because I'm not a fan of big restaurant buffets, too much noise and too much queuing!

Dinner: On the first night and the night of the Optional concert excursion in Vienna, dinner was a buffet. On the Welcome Dinner night and the Farewell Dinner there was a special 5 course menu. Every other night dinner was a 4 course meal served to the table. There was usually 2 choices for appetizer, soup, 3 choices for Main course ( always one meat, one fish and one vegetarian) and 4 choices for dessert ( generally a cake/torte/strudel etc, fresh fruit salad, a special ice cream dish and a cheese platter) It sounds like a lot but the actual serves were very small, so I had no difficulty eating 4 courses most nights. We noticed one table ordered an extra plate of chips every night. The food was always presented beautifully and was generally well cooked and tasty, however I would have to say that it was a little on the unexciting side when it comes to stronger flavours. The soups in particular had a tendency to be a bit bland.

Evenings: On 5 evenings they converted the pool area to a cinema and showed a movie. On these nights there was no entertainment in the lounge other than music by the resident musician ( who was very good). On 3 nights there was a trivia or game activity in the lounge, these were well organised and lots of fun. On one night the Crew put on a show and there was also a Disco Night which was very popular.

Daily activities: Every day there was a walking tour or , in Vienna and Budapest a bus tour with stops. They always had a "gentle walkers" group and on a couple of occasions an "active walkers" group. The guides varied but were generally interesting and informative. We found sometimes the walking tours were a bit slow and so we tended to break off and do our own thing.

Extra Excursions: My husband did the Brahaus tour which he thoroughly enjoyed. We also did the Schonnbrun Palace tour and the Evening concert in Vienna, the concert was one of the highlights of the trip for us. A couple of our friends did the Cesky Krumlov day trip and enjoyed it, we visited Cesky Krumlov after the cruise on our driving tour and also loved it. Three of our group did the Bike Ride in the Wachau Valley and enjoyed it, they are all fit and regular riders and had no problems but there were others that found it a bit too challenging.

Boat Bikes: The Bikes for the Organised bike tour were NOT the boat bikes, they were brought in specially for that tour. The boat bikes don't have gears and would not really be suitable for anything other than a gentle ride along flat ground.

Laundry: When you board there is a laundry bag and price list provided. Wait a few days and they will have a special offer that is worth using. As many clothes as you can cram in the bag, washed, ironed and folded for 24 Euro, or Washed and folded for 19 Euro.

Alcohol: We found the wine served at dinner was mostly fine. We didn't purchase any additional alcohol packages, just paid out of pocket for a pre dinner drink in the bar or in the lounge in the evenings if we wanted one. For us this was better value than any of the packages.

Hope that helps anyone looking for information. I'm happy to answer specific questions too.

Andona

If you've considered Scenic but prefer something less inclusive you may like to look at Emerald Waterways, They are owned by Scenic but offer a less inclusive range of cruises. I.e alcohol only at meals and some tours ( but not all) are an extra charge. Their boats are fairly new and offer some unique facilities, eg the pool area converts to a cinema at night time. They are also reputed to appeal to a slightly younger demographic than many of the other lines. After a lot of research we chose Emerald for our upcoming Amsterdam to Budapest cruise with friends, ( all mid 50s) As we haven't done the cruise yetso I'm not in a position to give a proper opinion yet but thought you may like to inlcude them in your options. [emoji4] also, all tipping is included. Good luck with your research

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We had a good choice of flights but we booked over 12 months in advance,

Andona

Actually, just to correct that. We booked our cruise over 12months in advance but our flights were booked as soon as they became available, I believe that was about approx 330 days in advance.

Andona

Did anyone else use Emerald for their airfare? We are booked on the promo that air is $495. I know that once we book the air we need to apply another $1500 on the reservation, but was wondering how the flights are chosen.

 

gb

We took a promo offer that included an AUD$795 return airfare from Sydney. When we told our travel agent our flight dates ( we are doing a little touring over there both before and after our cruise) she came back with a few choices of flights on those dates. The flights were with Singapore Airlines, we had no choice of airline, had to accept the airline of Emeralds choice. She booked our chosen flights via Emerald and was able to select seats for us ( I think she did that directly with Singapore airlines) We had a good choice of flights but we booked over 12 months in advance, I believe the choice can be more limited if you're booking closer to the date. Hope that helps :)

Andona

I've just returned from the Emerald Waterways (Evergreen Down Under) Splendours of Europe River Cruise. I will try to write a complete trip report under a separate topic (and add a link here), but suffice it to say, I was VERY happy with my first River Cruise, and my Emerald experience..

Thanks for your post! I really hope you get the time to post a trip report, we are doing the Splendors of Europe Cruise next year. I've been wondering what ( if any) of the additional tours to do. We have already seen Rothenburg so don't plan to do that one but I'd be interested to know if you did the Schonbrunn Palace Tour, or the guided bike ride, or the Vienna Concert.

Thanks again

Andona

Hi all:

click on the link for itineraries and menus on Emerald's Amsterdam to Basel trip. https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6aEIMeU-M3tZTAwaFozX3FmM00/view?usp=sharing

 

Happy reading!

Thank you so much!

Andona

 

My Windows 10/laptop has real issues with cruise critics board and when I attempt to upload the PDF of the itineraries/menus via the paperclip option' date=' it doesn't load it. I had a hell of a time getting my trip photos loaded, but unfortunately, I can't use Flickr or Shutterfly for a pdf. But, I would be happy to email you the pdf if you want to private message me and give me your email address. I promise you I'm not a weirdo (just seriously technologically inept) and won't use your email address for anything unsavory...

 

liz[/quote']

 

Thank you so much for linking to your review and pics! I would love to see your itineraries and Menus too, so I'll try messaging you with my email address.

 

Thanks again

 

Andona

Hi!

I hope you get some responses to this thread from experienced Emerald Waterways cruisers as I'd be interested to read some more reviews. We are also booked on an Emerald Waterways cruise next year in May. ( but it's marketed as Evergreen Waterways to us here in Australia).

We're doing the Amsterdam to Budapest cruise, a group of 4 couples, all in the mid to late fifties age range. We'll be sailing on the Emerald Sun.

I can contribute a couple of blogs I've found from people who sailed with Emerald.

This one was Nuremberg to Budapest, but it has lots of information and pictures of the boat. https://goo.gl/Rzd6v9

This one was Budapest to Nuremberg but also has lots of inside info about what it was like to sail with Emerald https://goo.gl/ohbnQi

I haven't found any detailed information online of people's experiences on the Amsterdam to Nuremberg route with Emerald Waterways, still looking for that!

All the best

Andona

It won't be on Avalon but we are planning to shoot video from our cabin with the GoPro on our Evergreen cruise next year. We'll probably opt for the "through glass" version or set up our ( full height) tripod within the cabin rather than risk leaving the camera on the balcony railing.

As you say the through-glass option isn't ideal but with similar situations we've found we get reasonable results with the curtains pulled behind the camera to cut down on reflections on the glass.

The other thing you have to watch is the flashing red light on the front of the camera. This usually gets reflected off the glass and is visible in the video so you need to cover the light with black tape or card if you can.

Good luck! I'm glad to know we're not the only GoPro geeks in the forum :)

Stayatsea, thanks so much for the info about the excursions. I'll pass it on to my fellow travellers.

Thanks NtStiRReD for your quick answer about the bar costs. That sounds quite reasonable.

If you can tell us anything about any of the optional tours you did/do that would be great. I believe StayatSea mentioned they did the Rothenburg tour. We have visited Rothenburg previously but friends travelling with us have not been and would be interested in any details. Is the trip all day? if so I'd assume you don't get time to see any of Wurzburg.

Hope you enjoy your tour of Bamberg!

Andona