Jayayeff

Eagerly following along - don't know whether I'm more excited to hear how everything is from you, or about being there myself in a few more weeks!!:D

Safe travels to you all...

Anne..

Anyone have any thoughts on what to do about tipping or not on a very very expensive bottle of wine in Vienna ? Does the sommelier get a tip? So unclear how to handle this.

If you feel you'd like a specific tip to go to the sommelier then just tip him in cash at the end of your meal. As a European, and former hotel employee, I (and my friends) always handle tips this way. For most of us service charge and taxes are now included in our bills, this we pay usually by credit card and then leave a small'ish addition amount as a thank you for good service in cash - this you can split as you wish by giving more than one amount or as a single amount for all those who served you....My best advice is don't stress over tipping in Europe as with living wage legislation, inclusive service charge and taxes it really isn't expected, but anything given is appreciated. Personally, I struggle when travelling in the US where tipping is expected and in significant amounts - I never know who to tip or how much!!!

Anne..

The hubby and I are interested in doing a Danube river cruise (possibly in May of 2018 but starting to look now). We haven't decided on length but probably something in the 12-day range and we'd probably like to start in Budapest and make our way west. I realize there are a ton of "which is the best" threads, but rather than asking in general terms I'm interested in opinions (especially from those who have cruised with more than one line) on which you think would be the best for *US* given a couple of factors:

 

1. I have Celiac which means a strict "no cheating" gluten free diet. I realize no line can absolutely guarantee no cross-contamination but the effort put into accommodating gluten free diners can vary wildly and the cruise line's written policy often isn't indicative of the actual experience, in either direction. Sometimes they promise little but deliver much, sometimes they make it sound like it'll be fine and you have problems the entire trip. Despite my restriction I'm an adventurous foodie and unseasoned chicken breasts and naked salads (or no accommodation at all) aren't going to make for enjoyable dining. The main reason Scenic isn't on my list is that I've heard not great things about them regarding special diets.

 

2. We're younger than the average river cruising demographic. I'm in my 30s and my husband is in his 40s, we both work full time but like to save up both time and money for a good trip once a year. We don't mind being on the younger side and actually have quite a few good friends who are much older but I'm not sure if we would feel horribly out of place on certain cruise lines like Uniworld or Tauck (which would otherwise be my first choices based on reviews, itineraries and inclusions).

 

I'm drawn to the all-inclusive lines since we do like having options for tours and an evening cocktail or two and might end up spending just about as much on a line where those things were a la carte. We don't have a "sky's the limit" budget and will probably book a basic no frills room to keep costs down but ultimately we're more interested in a good value than a cheap price tag so if one of the boutique lines is really a bigger bang for your buck than Viking that's a consideration. We also enjoy classical music and would certainly take advantage of a concert in Vienna. Any advice or opinions are appreciated!

Have a look at Crystal River Cruises. Whilst many will say they cater to an older demographic I have cruised with them onboard their ocean ships over the past ten years and have found a mix of ages on all my trips. The group of friends I travel with when I can are in the mid 40's to mid 60's age group, we are all active travellers and have no issues with the onboard experience not catering to our needs. The Crystal Mozart, which launches in mid July and was built specifically for the Danube, is a large river boat with multiple dining venues, lounges/bars, etc and all standard staterooms (either window or french balcony) are the same size and layout (200+ sq.ft.). They are fully inclusive throughout the ship (food and beverage, gratuities, tour guides, airport transfers, etc.) and offer a large selection of complimentary tours, active (e-bikes, hiking, etc.), full day and half day sightseeing tours and culinary tours plus a special event evening private gallery viewing and classical concert tour at the Belvedere Palace in Vienna.

I also have special dietary needs and stateroom allergy issues and Crystal have always met them (and remembered them from my guest profile) throughout the ten years I have cruised with them. You can contact them directly via their onboard guest services dept and specify your special needs both in the public areas as well as for your stateroom...

Looking at the prices on the website they may appear to be high, but I just did a quick comparison calculation on all the complimentary excursions/transfers (14 in total) I have pre-reserved for my early September sailing and I estimated that they must add up to well over $1,000. I also have an amount of OBC from my travel agent and to be honest I have no clue what I'm going to do with it as my time onboard is already filled with all that is inclusive!!!

Ewizabeff, interesting to see this. Believe it or not there were FOUR bike tours offered on the current Budapest-Passau itinerary that we just completed. One in Budapest, one between Durnstein and Melk, one in Linz, and one in Passau. That is more than I remember compared to past trips :D

I will be taking one of the Crystal Mozart inaugural season Danube river cruises this summer and they too are offering bike tours in four of the ports on our ten day roundtrip Vienna itinerary. All as per the above with the exception of Linz, the fourth port with a bike tour on the Mozart itinerary is Bratislava...

Anne...

Lois,

Thank you for posting re your recent river cruise experience. Knowing you were previously a solo ocean ship cruiser, it is reassuring to read that you enjoyed your river cruise so much. I will be making the change from ocean to river in September, and whilst I will have company onboard as a couple I have travelled with previously, plus another solo lady friend of theirs, will be on the same cruise, it was good to read your positive review as a solo onboard..

I have one question re accommodation. What deck level were you on?? I am booked on the lowest deck (aquarium class) in order to get the lowest single supplement and my one concern is how light, or dark, those cabins with just the higher lever windows are...Thanks..

Anne...

...now if I can figure a way to do The Residence on Emirates via an award:rolleyes:

The Residence is not available on Emirates, it is Etihad that has that on some of their aircraft....

Anne...

The day to day itineraries are available on the website. What isn't available yet are the included and/or optional shore excursions for each itinerary. I believe these will be listed on the website some time in April for the Crystal Mozart sailings, but have no idea when more info for the new river cruise ships launching in 2017 and 2018 will be released. You should also check the website for pricing periodically too as Crystal reviews prices every two months - I recently got a significant reduction on my September sailing on the Crystal Mozart when 'Aquariam' class staterooms got a fare review at the end of February....

Anne..

wandb, I post all of my trip reports right here on the river cruising forum. My most recent one for the Rhone cruise is on here somewhere; probably a few pages back now as it's an old thread. Here is a direct link but the links are also in my signature.

I look forward to reading it. I will be taking my first river cruise in Sept. (Danube on the Crystal Mozart) and enjoyed your previous two river cruise reports and photos so much, I'm eager to get a sneak peak at what to expect...

Anne..

Any hotel recommendations (4 star OK or 5 star within reason)? Our April Crystal cruise ends there and we have one extra day.

 

Any guide recommendations?

 

Any other tips?

We are two women travelers - I am told safety is fine - just watch it at bazaars and of course be appropriately covered.

I have been to Istanbul several times in the past few years. On my first visit I stayed at the Intercontinental but found it to be out of the way with regard to all the tourist sites, etc., and the established chain hotels can be horrendously expensive.. Now whenever I go (was there in late July and will be there again in a couple of weeks) I always book one of the boutique hotels in Sultanahmet. I have stayed at the Amira hotel twice and the Neorion hotel once, both are excellent, very comfiortable, superb service with very helpful staff and are very safe for a solo female traveller... I have never used a guide, if you stay in the old city it is very easy to get around to all the major sites and you can get all the info you need from audio guides or guide books...or from the front desk staff at the boutique hotels as most give their guests an orientation talk complete with free map, etc. upon arrival.... You can also buy tickets for many of the sites/museums, etc. online ahead of time to avoid lines....

Anne

We are looking at a cruise on Azamara Quest next year that calls at Taormina. In fact the dock is at Giardini Naxos I think. Does anyone have experience of calling at this port rather than Messina?

 

I am sure it will be great to go much closer to Taormina than the bigger ships can manage but I wondered if it would be possible to be independent there rather than using ship's tours to visit what sounds like an amazing old city.

I was on a cruise a couple of months ago that anchored in Giardini Naxos for Taormina. My friends and I got a taxi from the tender dock for the ride up to Taormina (taxis can take the shorter route, buses take a longer route up the steep hillside). Very nice taxi driver who offered to collect us later in the day - and did, at exactly the appionted time. Cost was Euros 25 each way.... The town itself is small and very easy to explore independently...

Anne

I completely agree too. I used to work for one of the international hotel chains and even though I still get preferred rates, etc. Istanbul is one place I never use them - staying in one of the 'boutique' hotels (plenty of reviews on Tripadvisor) is by far the best way to go.. The standards are high, the staff are extremely helpful, and most offer included breakfast, complimentary afternoon tea/snacks, or a happy hour in the early evenings. Sightseeing is easy in the old city, either on foot or by tram. Many of the boutique hotels in Sultanahmet have roof terraces with fantastic views of the Blue Mosque, Haghia Sofia, Sea of Marmara, etc. etc. Finally, the rates are a steal compared to the big name hotels...

Anne

Make sure you go on a serious diet beforehand, for the reason given by Zach1213. One inch makes a huge difference; also, the aisles are very narrow. Personally, I would change my travel plans in order to avoid Emirates' 777s, even if it meant making an additional connection..

Personally I think that is a bit of an exageration - I live in Dubai and have been flying Emirates since they started up 27 years ago. I have lost count of the number of times I have flown back and forth between here and the UK on 777's and have no problem with the seats - I'm 5'8", a little above 'average' in size and always select an aisle seat. If you go to the Emirates website and click on 'fleet' it gives you lots of info, photos, etc. about the seating, entertainment system, food, etc. on all aircraft in the fleet. Although the fare is usually slightly higher Emirates also operate the A380 to Manchester (afternoon departure from MAN is A380, evening departure is 777), that is slightly more comfortable in Economy than the 777's. For a 7 hour flight, I'll take the non-stop Emirates flight over a connecting flight any day - they are very reliable and with the ICE entertainment system the time flies!!!

Anne

PS - although it does only have 2 engines it is a big aircraft...

We are considering a cruise that stops in Honfleur. Would it be possible to tour the Normandy beaches from there? How long a car ride is it? I know Paris is three hours away.

If feasible, can anyone recommend a tour company that does this?

Honfleur is the port of call for passengers to visit the Normandy Beaches. I was on a cruise earlier this year that had an overnight in Honfleur and there were several ship excursions to the landing beaches. I believe the journey is approx one and a half hours, depending upon town visited etc. etc. I know a couple who were on the same cruise as me who did a private tour, I'll see if I can find the details and post again... I had been there previously so chose to spend the day in Paris, and contrary to what is often posted here the journey time was nowhere near three hours, more like two, including a bathroom break en route!!!

Anne

In my view, your question is not off topic as the docking location is almost right next door to the famed bridge. Can't get much closer, right?? See two of the pictures below. In most all cases, we dock at the three-story international terminal that has the super views for BOTH the bridge and Opera House. Like it?

 

As I understand, larger ships, such as the Solstice, cannot sail under this bridge (due to their total height) and need to be on this side. Some smaller ship often cross under the bridge and dock on that other side.

 

For our UK friend, be sure to post a follow-up report to help us on our early 2014 cruise know more as to how your late 2012 Aussie-NZ cruise goes, what you liked most, etc. Is this your first sailing on the Solstice? If you need to know more on this great ship, check out my live/blog connected below with lots of ship visuals, food and entertainment highlights, etc.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of wonderful visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 104,312 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

Here are two different views in connection with Sydney, their famed Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, etc. The first picture show another cruise ship (Crystal Symphony), not Solstice, being docked where we will be. Then, a night view, another angle on the Opera House and Bridge, then a look at the docking facility where our Solstice will be for two days as we get ready to commence our early “adventure”.:

 

 

 

Terry

Thanks for posting the photo of the Crystal Symphony. I'll be there, on her in 98 days time!! Can't dock at the OPT on New Year's Eve for obvious reasons, but we move around from Darling Harbour to the OPT early morning on New Year's Day for the remaining two days of our port call....can't wait...

Anne

Sydney harbour ferry

 

This is whetting my appetite - can't wait for my 3 days in Sydney over New Year, the ferry ride to Manly is definitely on the to-do list...Hope the weather is as bright and sunny when I am there...

Anne

I just figured out how to post pics on here (after wondering how people did it for years!!) so thought I'd post a couple from my current home town

Burj Al Arab (taken from a boat)

and a Dubai sunset

Anne

Crystal Symphony in La Coruna

Wow, I've wondered for years how people did that!!

Anne

Anybody have any suggestions as to how to best spend the day (6-7 hours) in Palma de Mallorca :) :). What are the highlights and can we do this on our own or do we need a guide? Thanks for any advice.

I was on a cruise last summer that spent a Sunday in Palma de Mallorca and I arranged a surprise day out for a couple from Florida that I 'met' through CC. In the morning we took a cab from the pier and then did a return trip on the Tren de Soller which is a very old narrow guage railway that runs through the mountains from Palma to the west coast port of Soller - well almost the last few kms of the journey from the train terminus to the actual port town is by tram. When we got back in the afternoon we did the hop-on hop-off open top bus tour of Palma, which we hopped off back at the pier to reboard the ship around 5p.m. As a Brit I had been to Mallorca several times before but this was a first for my American friends and they thoroughly enjoyed the day doing domething completely different to the usual bus/taxi/guided tour of the island.