Daisi

Thanks, that's what I thought, and I told them that you were more a Rhine specialist....but I'll let her know. Thanks again, and have a great day! Meeting with our TA to book our flights today...we may actually get back on the rivers again! (Can you tell I'm excited? 🙂 )

@notamermaid, just asking for a friend, as I sail in Sept. They have heard that locks are down, but I told them that it was only maintenance and they should be all working now. Is that right? Sorry, but you are the only one I know with this info. 🙂 Thanks.

Kristelle, the only "silly" questions are the ones you don't ask. You say you are used to organised tours, so the structure of a river cruise should be no problem for you. The bonus is, your hotel comes with you as you travel, so no having to rush in the morning to make sure you haven't forgotten anything! There can be problems with water levels, but that is where the next piece of advice I quoted from Gourmet Gal says...go with the flow and look on everything as an adventure and you should be fine. Enjoy, and have fun planning your trip, that's 1/2 the fun!

@pontac, yes, I realise that, but that was one perk that I think was only for those in the UK. My main problem with Scenic is almost every time I try to go through their website to look at a potential cruise, it doesn't work...very frustrating, and while I realise that the experience onboard is 100% different than the experience you get from the local offices/website, it's the "first impression", and kills most interest in touring with them. I use a TA, and if I can't get through the website, I wouldn't expect her to have to spend the time either.

I don't mind how Avalon has gone paperless - I saved all the menu's, daily sheets and books from our cruise, but then have to digitalize them if I wish to post something, so it will be much easier having that already done for Sept. Also, much easier to tease people (parents) with the menu's we will be having every night. They are probably saving a lot of money in publishing, and that I don't mind. If it helps keep the costs down for us, it's truly a triple win - for the consumer, the company and the environment. As to the "door to door" delivery, that was only provided for the UK, so most won't miss that. 🙂

Once the creeks and rivers crest here, we do "rapid runs" down them with the canoes. Right now, flood levels are still on (and some ice), but hopefully soon. Used to have fun at school - make our own rafts and see which team could survive intact to the end....bonus points if all came out fairly dry as well. 🙂

Sorry, guess my video doesn't work....

@Canal archive, they are both something to see. We will often take a weekend and drive up to Peterborough and a bit north to see the lift lock. There is another one just a bit north at Kirkfield, but it's not as high, only 15 metres. Here is a video of how it works, it's more like your Falkirk Wheel. @1of4 my nephew did that for a couple of years, he worked at the Canoe museum while at Trent. 🙂 IMG_1417.MOV

Also on the same canal is this one. In the fall, they fill the lock with canoes for a charity.

We have this one on one of our canals. We've been up a couple of times, it's interesting watching the boats go through. Not sure I'd enjoy being in the front position though. 🙂

Very interesting... even won an architecture award in 2016! https://www.architectmagazine.com/awards/al-design-awards/2016-al-design-awards-sayn-iron-works-foundry_o

You should be given contact info for the ship and your CD either onboard or in your cruise information (sorry, don't cruise with Viking, but I'm sure this is standard with all lines). If you are only doing the organised tours you should be fine without having to contact them as you will be given information as to where to meet up after the tour is over. Yes, the ships can sail on, but they will make sure that you don't miss it if you are with the group.

Hearing on another message board that the Scenic Windmills, Tulips and Belgium Delights tour that was scheduled to depart on Monday (I think Amsterdam) has been cancelled. The pax have been offered to sail from Amsterdam on the 12th, with Scenic paying for flight changes and offering a 2 night stay in Amsterdam.

Thanks... I'm sure we will find something, although I'm happy with just the iced tea as it's unsweetened and we can't normally get that up here. 🙂

Question about the included Cocktail Hour... was anything on the bar menu included, or did they limit you? We enjoy a nice scotch, and I was thinking this would be a great way to sample different brands. 🙂 Thanks.

Wild garlic is quite common around here, but we have to wait a couple of months for the snow to melt. 🙂

I don't recall the Panama Canal ever being blocked... do you mean the Ever Given in the Suez Canal?

Thanks for replying. Not the most proficient with tech, but I do like to play. Glad to hear that they work well in the cabins as we use our evenings to update our trip for family, it will make it easier to post all the photos.

Just in case you are interested......we have cabins available on our cruise in Sept. 🙂 One question though, I hear the new Whisper sets that provide hot spots for wifi can use wireless earbuds. Did you try them? I'll pack mine anyway, they don't take much room, but it would be great if they work. I was going to get a SIM card in Hungary, but if the sets work well, maybe I won't need one.

Thanks so much for taking us along on your journey. We are so looking forward to our Danube cruise this Sept, after many cancellations & re-bookings. Now it looks like maybe we have another cruise to add to our bucket list. 🙂

Thanks for your review, looking forward for more. To bad you didn't have the best of weather, but glad you made the best of it.

We did the Rhine with Avalon May 2018. I highly recommend Keukenhof if available, as well as Colmar. The excursions have changed since we toured (we did both the Black Forest Open Air Museum and Colmar the same day) so not quite up to the newer ones. You won't go wrong if you choose ones that look good I'm sure. As to Amsterdam, they have great art museums if you like, there is a flower auction, Anne Frank Museum (you have to order tickets online well ahead of time or you won't get in), and several other areas to see. We took the train one day up to Enkhuizen to see Zuiderzee, which we loved, and wished we had time left over to stop in at the train museum in Hoorn. As to wifi, it was pretty good for most of the trip, I think the only place we had a bit of problems was Bresiach on the last night. You can either get a local SIM card (we got a Vodafone one in Amsterdam at a local convenience store.), or see if your plan has a decent roaming plan. Another thing I might recommend is getting a tram/bus pass, you can get one at a convenience store at the airport, they are handy, *but* you have to tap on and off. Your cabin will probably not be ready until after 2:00, however you can drop off your luggage and wander. Most recommend that you wait until at least 10:00am to drop the luggage, as they will be trying to get the passengers from the previous cruise out. There is normally a very quick turnaround, when we got to our ship around 11;30, there were still passengers from the previous cruise onboard. We were invited to have a light lunch & drink in the lounge while we waited for our tour. Yes there is laundry on board, and I have heard others say prices are reasonable. We pack more quick drying clothes, so can rinse out in the bathroom sink and dry in our closet. Don't over pack, it's a more casual atmosphere, and most guests will be wearing the same outfits more than once. We do our cruises with a smaller backpack (for our electronics and a couple changes of clothes) and a carryon each. There is a mini-bar, however you are able to bring alcohol onboard, so we always request that they take the stuff out of the fridge so we have room to put our purchases in it. Don't forget, in 2023 (and hopefully from now on), there will be a free cocktail hour and you are more than welcome to order a drink to "go" to enjoy in the lounge or sundeck after lunch or dinner. Drinks are not overly expensive, I think we had 2 beers and our bar bill was about 8 Euros. You can view the bar menu here, just scroll down to the link. https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/why-avalon/dining/ Enjoy your cruise!

@Host Jazzbeau & @Wings55, had to Google that one, I had no idea who it was. 🙂 Guess that's a more American show. @gnome12 I think Ottawa borrowed some of your finest last winter. I know when we got to PEI, the RCMP wander around Charlottetown with the horses for tourist pics, and of course we have the Musical Ride at fairs etc, but that's about the only time I've seen horses on the streets. Mind you, we don't get into the cities to often.

I believe there are mounted officers in Toronto, and I know of one in Halifax. There are probably more in various cities around. Our national police force (RCMP, they cover all areas that aren't big enough to have their own provincial or local police force) only use the horses for tourism, although if they catch you doing something, they are police!

Agree with @TMLAalum, you probably will have to go through your TA. You could also have your TA look for flights, they may be able to get better rates as well. If you go with Avalon, once the flights are booked, you can go online with the airline and select your own seats & upgrade if desired.