pontac

I didn't say it was a fault of computer spell-checkers, just pointing out that a writer cannot rely on a spell-checker. Not spotting a homonym is a fault of a proof reader though, who should see that the wrong word has been used within the meaning of the sentence/paragraph, such as my uses of rote, sea and red. They are proper words, correctly spelled but used in the wrong circumstance

I was taught 'I before E except after C' which is not only good but rhymes. The rest, on months, I do remember

@notamermaid You are so correct. If we rote it then we can't do a final proof because we sea what we expect to see, and if we uses a homonym it doesn't get picked up by a spell checker. I've proof read books for others and others have proof red my books and all the proof readers pick up something. Not picked up by spell checker in the above because they are not misspelled - just the wrong word. rote should be wrote sea should be see uses should be use red should be read

Look again at the line above 😉 Re complimentary vs complementary a complementary experience isn't necessarily free. Complimentary Land Package is correct imo.

To change the subject, I have this advert for Ama Waterways at the top of this forum:- Did no one at the ad agency or Ama Waterways actually read it before approval?

Not so on Scenic. Those on top deck have their own restaurant, and there's another restaurant with a special menu to which others in the middle on lower decks get an invite.

Yes, I meant 10 January. I am doing a lot of stuff with Feb dates and I got confused!

I am on the Tulips & Windmills cruise departing Amsterdam on 27 Mar. Two days ago (on 10 Feb) I received an email from Viking telling me the excursions were now open for booking. However, we had already booked the excursions we wanted as they had been available for booking on MVJ for several weeks. So that Viking Cruise-at least-is not delayed. Might be worth you checking MVJ every day and refreshing the page in case you are seeing a cached page.

No problem. I didn't know that signatures do not show on phone until reading @gnome12's post above. My report on 2022-04-23 Viking Tialfi 'Rhine Getaway' Basel>Amsterdam link 2023-04-24 Viking Hild 'Rhine & Moselle Discovery' Basel>Trier link below

Thanks, @knoxclone for the comparison review. The lack of a fridge rules Uniworld out for me - I need to keep my eyedrops refrigerated. I also greatly dislike bathroom soap and shampoo being in wall dispensers.

I think you'll need to ask Viking about your transfer arrangements. But if you need to arrange it yourself, there is a good train service between the two. I used to stay in Brussels when on business and some nights I'd train to Antwerp and back to have a decent steak in Gaucho's Argentinian steak house in Antwerp.

Wise to book all the included excursions. You don't need to go on them. It's possible to book an 'optional' excursions on board. The Programme Director will promoting them during the evening briefings before dinner, but some do fill up, OTOH there are cancellations, so ask. I've cruised with Viking on the Rhine between Basel and Amsterdam and once from Basel to Koblenz (before turning along the Mosel). You might like to read my trip reports; there are links below in my signature. However what excursions are offered can and do change year by year, also according to the direction travelled. MVJ will show what is offered on your cruise. FWIW I think the Amsterdam to Basel is the more interesting direction as the scenery gets better. There's no check or restriction on leaving and no bag check on return It's 'German Night'. I can't speak for 2024; they used to have a German Oompah band in lederhosen walking around the dining room,and the guests made a conga line, but they didn't have them post-covid. As it's you first river cruise I'd suggest you don't book 3rd party excursions. Timings depend on many factors, state of the river, locks and how busy. Also mooring position is out the control of the Captain but is chosen by harbour master. On our cruise earlier this year we missed one place when there was an optional evening excursion as we got held up at dock. I'm European, The US tipping culture is .... When we were in the US Mrs P and I took turns in paying for restaurant meal. I found out she was tipping 10% and she argued when I said in the USA 20% was standard. You'd expect Europeans to conform to US tipping standards when in the USA, but I know from reading this board that Americans don't conform to European tipping standards when in Europe. Booking in the UK means gratuities are included. We don't add more. Before gratuities were included, Viking gave us envelopes at end of cruise with suggested amounts. You could also pay with credit card, which we did, paying the suggested amount. Viking suggest an amount to tip the guide and coach driver; as I recall that amount is per day, so if your excursion is 3 hours in length then the full day amount is not appropriate. Also remember that the coach driver is an employee of the coach company with a competitive pay, paid holidays and free heath care. We only tip guides who are exceptional; above and beyond the standard. Chilled sparkling water is available 24hrs from dispensers outside the lounge, as are teas and coffees. You have time in Amsterdam to buy soft drinks which you can bring on board, and restock during the cruise. Ditto spirits, wine.... If you drink a lot of cocktails or spirits or want a daily glass of Veuve Cliquot or different bottle of wine at lunch and dinner from the standard supplied then the drinks package is worth it. if not it's borderline whether it's worth it.

Hi @bobbysgirl48 We've not been on any ocean cruise, but plenty of river cruises. From reading this board I understand you'll find they are not the same in many ways but I expect you'll greatly enjoy it. Mrs P wanted to see the tulips also, which is why we booked this cruise. We are on the upper deck in cabin 336 and I'll be wearing a bow tie at dinner. There are photos of me with my trip reports on this board, and here's me on the Rhone in August. We're looking forward to meeting you

This is the beer page of the Viking bar-menu from August 2023 on the Rhone. I think the bar list are the same throughout the European river cruises, but I can't swear to it as I nowadays drink only wine. (It also lists non-alcoholic cocktails.) And whether it'll be the same in 2024 only Viking knows !

Thanks for this, we haven't looked at MVJ recently. (Been abroad on holiday hence my delay in replying)

Having travelled on both Viking and Scenic I did not notice any superior customer service on Scenic

On the Eurostar website they list Eurostar train times from London to Amsterdam after May 2024, but none from Amsterdam to London after May 2024. Seems the newspaper was accurate.

Thanks for the offer, but not necessary now, thanks to @gingerspike. I have already looked at the Amawaterways site, and indeed looked at the page @Host Jazzbeau gives the link to. (BTW, thanks, @Host Jazzbeau)

It's all in the article..... Trains will run empty on the Amsterdam-London route during the period, while passengers heading for London will have to change trains in Brussels, Belgium, instead. Travellers will still be able to go one-way by Eurostar from London to Amsterdam during the six-month interruption.

According to The Guardian, it's the other way around. Eurostar services to Amsterdam Centraal are unaffected, but there will be no Eurostar service from Amsterdam from June 2024 to early 2025, because of work at the station will mean there is no room for border control facilities. Eurostar services from Amsterdam to London to be suspended for six months | Eurostar | The Guardian PS - there's a Marsalis in Louisiana USA however I don't think the Eurostar ever went there, but I couldn't find Marsalis in France.....

As do Viking and Scenic - and probably others. The main attraction of the Scenic Bordeaux cruise to Mrs P was that we'd travel by train to/from London. (Eurostar arrives at the north of Paris and the train to Bordeaux departs from the south of Paris. Finding out no transfer is supplied and that we'd have to get ourselves and our baggage across Paris made me change to a flight; there's a non-stop flight Lon>Bordeaux BA flight that Viking uses. Not so Scenic - Lon>Paris>Bdx and Bdx>Amsterdam>London.)

Thanks again @gingerspike I'm aware that the American Wine Society advertise a cruise annually which is hosted by a US expert. Looking at the Amawaterway's site for the 2024 Rhine Castles and Swiss Alps cruise I see that there is one designated as a wine cruise, which departs 11 November. Thanks for the info - I didn't know they had dedicated wine cruises. As a wine buff (aka avid drinker) I'll explore further. Re: cruise companies visiting the same wineries, Europe is different from the USA and many European wineries are not set up to take visitors en masse, that's especially true in Bordeaux and most of the top wineries don't even have any wines to sell as they operate an ancient system where a middleman has a contract to buy the entire output and they sell on to importers and merchants. Another factor is that places visited can change; for instance when I went to Bordeaux on a Viking cruise we had a tremendous visit to Château Siaurac, but from 2024 this Ch is now on Scenic's itinerary, it wasn't when we cruised Bordeaux with Scenic this year.

Thankyou @gingerspike Some nice wines there; was it a special cruise? I can't see a mention of a wine host for this cruise on the Amawaterways website, and it seems unusual to have a US host. Some of wineries visited were also on the Scenic or Viking Bordeaux cruises I have been on,

If you're considering booking Viking's 'Tulips & Windmills' cruise based on brochures, check itinerary online before booking. I booked last year for 27Mar24 and received this info on 15Nov23 As you may be aware, schedule or itinerary changes may become necessary due to a number of variables. In this instance, in order to improve the guest experience, we have replaced our previously planned stops in Hoorn and Arnhem, in the Netherlands, as well as Ghent, Belgium, with new destinations. Day 3: Enkhuizen, Netherlands (previously Hoorn) Day 4: Nijmegen, Netherlands (previously Arnhem) Day 7: Middelburg and Veere, Netherlands (previously Ghent) a few day after receiving this I got a flyer from Viking offering discounts on the cruise which shows the ports no longer visited. I'm looking forward to my guest experience being improved 😉 but part of the attraction of the trip may have been visiting Ghent and the 'Bridge too Far'.

There's nothing in my post that suggests it is. I'm glad you enjoy AMA and am not suggesting you change. Maybe if my first river cruise had been with AMA I would have stayed with them. As it is, I know what Viking delivers and I am happy with it.