JohnKen4

We went second week in January (first week without New Year’s Day in the week. We found there were no crowds at the temples. Also temple excursions start a bit later as it takes more time for the desert to warm up and the sun to rise. We had full attention and great service from the staff (bar/restaurant)as the river boat was hardly full.

Those are the elements to consider not just the heat.

One downside, more peddlers will shove stuffed camels in your face for a sale as there are fewer tourists to sell to. Remember, Egypt has had tourism since before the Christian Era started.

http://www.seatrade-cruise.com/news/news-headlines/ponant-cruise-cut-short-as-le-soleal-propeller-damaged-in-chile.html

These things happen.

Wonder if the local pilot was insured or if this hits Ponant’s insurance. 

Friend was booked on the 20 Nov cancelled cruise

I was  very shocked and horrified to see one guest on my Mozart river cruise throw her rather wet walking shoes into a tumble dryer after getting soaked in Budapest on afternoon.

On 1/14/2018 at 1:09 AM, Psoque said:

Quote

 

1. Where on the Danube does Mozart dock in Budapest? Is there a way to look up what has been the case, for us to get a rough idea?
 

 

If you look at Google maps, look for the Intercontinental Hotel/Four Seasons. Cross the road to the river bank. Go along the river past the Marriott Hotel and possibly a bit further.

All the river boats tend to dock along this stretch. It is busy so it is up to the river authorities where the various river boats dock. Priority is given to river boats with passengers disembarking or embarking against the river bank since they know that luggage have to be loaded/unloaded.

In short it is very central. Have you decided which hotel you are likely to base yourself?

The issue is that the road between the hotel and the river banks tends to be busy making it difficult to drag bags across the road unless you are fairly fit.

Quote

Quote

 

2. I know that Crystal has "complimentary" transportation from Budapest airport to the boat, only on the day of embarkation. We are planning to arrive in Budapest the day before embarkation. Does this mean we are "on our own" to get to the boat? That was exactly the case, sort of, when we did a cruise on Crystal Esprit out of Dubrovnik. However, I was able to negotiate a complimentary transportation arrangement with Crystal. My argument is that even Crystal would prefer that we get to the port a day early, to avoid the hassle of our flight delays causing them inconvenience. Who knows how that would fly with a bigger boat like Mozart?
 

 

 

Crystal uses four large 40-50 person buses. Crystal seldom fill them up but it is a volume exercise.

These busses are not going to drive around the narrow streets of Budapest to the various hotel not knowing if passengers will be on time or not. All ocean/river cruises lines offer transport (paid or complementary) from the airport. 

If you really want free travel, then take a taxi from the hotel back to the airport and meet the Crystal Representative at the Arrivals Hall. Your hotel maybe just across the road from where the Mozart is docked. The choice is your. Taxis are cheap. This is Eastern Europe.

This assumes that the Danube water levels are back to normal (very likely and the Mozart can sail to Budapest. Otherwise, the Mozart is likely to stay up in Vienna. This is when the fun starts. Its a 2.5 hour drive from Budapest to Vienna.

Just hope for a cold winter leading to lots of snow melting to restore the rive levels in April.