Daisi

We have a while to go, and I will make sure we have contact #"s in case they do miss us. I'm hoping by next year the flights will be sorted so no major delays, as we will have a change over in Amsterdam. If you left around 6:00, I'll continue my plans for the night time cruise, as it will still be light around then. Thanks for the heads up.

Thanks. We want to do the 2 tours that day, so will be going back probably to Vienna on another trip. I knew there was a full day of cruising just about to go from Budapest to Vienna, and another afternoon for the Wachau Valley. Those are the days we call "danger days" as we are onboard for that afternoon tea! Did you leave Budapest in the evening? We will be sailing in mid-Sept, so just wondering if we should get our own evening cruise or if the ship leaves with time for pictures. It will be a busy day the one full day in Budapest - morning tour, Parliament Buildings and evening cruise, but it will hopefully be good. Thanks for the updates, hope you are having a great time.

I guess I'm one of the "digital" ones, I haven't used a map for years. We do a lot of driving on our holidays, it's so much nicer to be able to actually see the scenery rather than having my head buried in a map trying to make sure we get the right turning, or if a road is closed. Of course, we don't travel highways, so it's not like saying take this exit or that, we are looking for a small street sign hidden in a tree. Loved using it in Amsterdam an Einkhuisen as well, just pinned where we had to end up, and wandered at our will. So much easier than trying to find out where you are. For the dailies, I wonder how many end up in the garbage? I don't mind them on my phone, and I hear that city guides, maps etc will all be available in the app that won't require wifi, so anyone can use it. I also hear that there is a place to mark where you take pictures, so it's easier to know what was what when you get home. You can print out anything you wish once you get home as a memory, or just delete it off your phone. I like that idea.

As @pontacmentioned there are valuable post "stickies' on the top of the main page that help first time cruisers. Once you have your itinerary set, you and a TA can figure out what line is best for you timewise and budget wise. A good TA is invaluable, as they do all the leg work for free, and you can just let them know what you want.

Don't worry, I know the feeling! I am going to try to live post once we get our cruise next year, but I never learned how to 1 finger type, so typing on a tablet is difficult for me.

Glad you made it ok Queen of my Heart, and are enjoying it. Unfortunately, the menu's are unavailable, I guess they didn't load correctly. That's ok, as long as the food is good, I'm sure we will enjoy it. 20 passengers must make a very open cruise. I hope they are all good to get along with, you don't need one bad apple to spoil things with that few. Looking forward to hearing more about your trip, have fun.

@notamermaid, I'm not sure Avalon does "travel documents" anymore. They are very much into environmental policies, and use an app for all their paper work. I hope Queen of my Heart feels they are informing her of what is going on, from others I hear from other boards, Avalon is very good for helping it's clients. I know I usually get a response back within 24 hrs. when I message them. They are even purchasing trees to offset air travel for those who book their flights through them, and have eliminated a lot of plastic. Here's a link to explain what they are doing: https://www.avalonwaterways.ca/why-avalon/cares/

Just wanting to wish you a great sailing @Queen of my Heart.

No testing required for Avalon, only proof of vaccination.

I am surprised that there are so few cabins booked, but then better for you possibly....although I can't see them splitting into gentle walker tours unless necessary. Enjoy the cruise!

I took this picture from our Rhine cruise. Our cabin was on the middle level, to give you an idea as to how high we were over the water. You know how large swans are, and these ones were at the next cabin, so not really that far away. It may give you an idea as to how close you will be from the water - if you choose a cabin on the 3rd level, you are 1 level higher. Our dining room was about 6 steps down (about 1/2 between the 1st and 2nd level), but you can easily seat yourself so you aren't looking out on the water.

Nope 🙂 I go in and choose my suite. Click on Dates & Prices, then Reserve Now. Once past the initial page, you will see how many cabins are booked. I usually guess 2 guests per cabin, some will be solo, but at least it gives a rough estimate. Here's our Sept 2023 cruise : https://booking.avalonwaterways.ca/book-vacation/?step=2

Don't worry about the bus, when we were on our Rhine cruise, they had the big busses, and often 3-4 of them. We often had several empty seats empty seats on ours. I can't access your cruise to see how many suites are available, so you may have more passengers now. It just says call for availability, which usually means it's almost sold out. I'm sure you will love it, we were planning our Danube cruise on the plane home from our Rhine one. 🙂

Thanks. We are hoping to do that (with the extensions for Budapest & Prague) next Sept.., it's one that keeps getting re-scheduled. I'd love to see if you could post menu's (dinner) , and what you do on your tours. We will be taking the Chesky Krumlov tour in Passau. Looking forward to hearing how your cruise goes.

It's on both sites @notamermaid, and I agree, it's nice to know ahead of time. I will have to do more investigation as to how they handle allergies etc. It does look interesting.

To me, I would look at how much your fear of being close to the water would bother you. If you would be happy on the 3rd level (think one floor over the water), you should have no problem. You can sit in the dining room with your back to the windows, so you wouldn't be looking out at water level, and while outside sailing, you could sit in the chairs in the middle of the deck (you would be about 2 floors above the water), so should feel comfortable there. As for gangplanks, they all have railings to hold onto, so they should be ok. It's a lot of money to spend if you think you will be uncomfortable the whole time you are on the ship. The good thing about river cruising is that 90% is done while you are sleeping, There are only a couple of times when you would be on the boat while it is sailing, so you can work around that. If you think you can handle it, I'd definitely recommend it, as it is great seeing all the old parts of Europe.

Just went into the Canadian site right now, it's working fine. You may have to delete your bookmark if you have one, google Scenic and try that way. I know I had to reset my bookmark once the site was up and running.

Thanks for your help. I see a very interesting cruise on the website : The Saar & Moselle. Another one for the bucket list!

Just checked, if you do want to go on the 16th, you better hurry. There are only 15 tickets available for the English session at 13:30 - 14:15. You may have to skip lunch and eat on the run or later, but you will know better once you can talk to your CD. Who knows, they may even arrange a drop off if you happen to be driving by. Here is the site, if you don't have it handy : https://jegymester.hu/production/480000/hungarian-parliament-building-parliament-visit

I can't speak for Emerald, but most lines run a tour in the morning (2-3 hrs), then back to the ship, and either free time in the port, or another tour in the afternoon. If you schedule your tour for after 1:30, you should be fine, but would make it closer to 2:00 to be sure, as that would cover any travel time. You could always depart straight from the ship without lunch if it's tight.

Just had someone on another message board ask about Leuftner Cruises. If this is a Travel Agency, I apologise and @Host Jazzbeauplease delete. It seems as if they use Amadeus ships. Just wondering if anyone had heard of them.

I'll agree with the above, we spent a whole day just wandering. Because we were taking trams to our hotel into the old part of town, I just pinned our location in Google Maps, and we walked without paying attention to where we were going. Once we were ready to go back, pulled out my map, hit the walking directions, and we were right back at our tram stop shortly. Not sure how many steps we got in that day, but between that, a full day of waking up at the Zuiderzeemuseum, and then around Keukenhof the next day, we were glad we had the morning to rest on board before touring Cologne.

I would also second Fouremco's idea about doing a pre cruise (Amsterdam is extremely easy to get around on your own) and take one day to see the gardens. We had probably about 4-5 hrs, and could easily have spent the whole day. Even my husband who was "dragged" there enjoyed it a lot.

There are a couple of problems with travelling on a river cruise ship with a disability. If you have limited walking, and can handle stairs with railings (one flight) you may be ok. You can go on a gentle walker group, and if tiring, leave the group for a bit and meet up to get back to the ship. Most of Europe is not set up like the US or Canada for disabilities. Toilet facilities are often up or down a flight of stairs, or a small port-a-potty type thing. Sometimes you have to climb the steps (3 sometimes high steps, but usually 3 steps) to get in and out of the busses. Rafting is another concern, as most ships have elevators that only go to the 3 levels of cabins. If rafted against a ship that doesn't have the same set up as the one you are on, you have to climb 1 flight of steep stairs with railing up to the sundeck, cross over to the other ship, and back down a level to the lobby. Also, as mentioned, cobbled stones are not the easiest for walking on with a walker, possible, but not always easy. The article posted above has some really good info. I would recommend talking to a TA who has been on several lines and understands your husband's limits. It could very well be possible, and I'm sure you would enjoy it, but it's best to understand what you are going into before you shell out for a cruise. Good luck.

We are on iPhones...we use FaceTime over Wifi to call home, but if we need to call the ship or somewhere else in Europe, we need an European SIM.