marksind

I think I've figure out Nuremberg.  The included excursion is a walking tour from 9 am until 1 pm.  Boat departs Nuremberg at 2:30 pm.  But there is an optional excursion, "Surviving the War, Art in Nuremberg," that goes from 2:15 pm until 5:15 pm.  Those folks no doubt get bused to Roth, while those not doing it presumably board for the short sailing from Nuremberg to Roth. 

Anyone who has done Viking have any idea whether it would be possible to remain in Nuremberg and hook up with that bus if not going on the afternoon tour?  Thanks.

We're on the Grand European cruise, Amsterdam to Budapest, starting November 27th.  Nuremberg is supposed to have one of the best Christmas markets in Germany.  Looking at the port schedule Ukalady posted, there are two docking locations listed under Nuremberg - Nuremberg (9 am until 2:30 pm) and Roth.(6 pm until 6:30 pm).  Roth appears to be a bit downriver from Nuremberg and not on the waterway.  Can someone who has done this cruise comment on this?  We'd like to spend more of the day in Nuremberg, but it doesn't look like it would be easy getting from Nuremberg to Roth to pick up the boat there again.  And with only a half hour there, does Viking even allow disembarkation/embarkation in Roth?  Thanks for your help.    

We are also on the Edgir, leaving Amsterdam on the 27th.  Main interest is the Christmas markets.  I called Viking and asked if there's any recognition of the season and markets, since this isn't sold as a Christmas markets cruise.  They said there'd be some activities and perhaps decorations on the boat, but it didn't sound like a major focus.  

We did an Ama Rhine cruise two years ago the same time of year, Basil to Amsterdam.  Not marketed as a Christmas markets cruise, just something like "Treasures of the Rhine."  But they decorated the boat so heavily I thought it would sink.  Really did everything up first class, inside and out.  The crew seemed to enjoy it.  We visited markets in several towns/cities, including Cologne.  If Ama had the same itinerary as Viking we'd be with them.  We've also done the Danube, Black Sea to Vilshofen, Germany last fall on Avalon.  So for us the only thing we haven't done is the canal connecting the two rivers, which has endless locks.  Both Avalon and Ama offer a wider range of included excursions, at various activity levels, than Viking.

As an earlier poster said, the Christmas markets can start to seem similar, but the surroundings and city decorations are always different and most markets have mugs you get your hot mulled wine in that you can buy for a Euro or two.  They are fun to collect, as each market has it's own unique design.  We're doing a flight deviation and flying into Brussels to visit Bruges for a few days before going to Amsterdam, and staying in Budapest for a couple of extra days at the end.  When we go to Europe we like to make the travel time and jet lag adaptation worth it!

ceilidh1,

Thanks for all the posts!  Any thoughts on favorite bars?

We'll be following your observations closely, as we are taking the first cruise ship cruise out of Seattle this season on the Bliss, leaving April 6 for a week doing the Alaska panhandle.  Horrible time to be going that way, but we live in the Puget Sound area, the price is right, and we've been to all the stops but Sitka.  We're mostly curious about how we'll enjoy Norwegian and such a large ship.  May not get off all week!  Enjoy your cruise and please share +/-'s freely.

Anyone out there done the Danube Black Sea to Budapest or beyond this year (or vice versa)?  We're doing Black Sea to Munich (Vilshofen) in October.  Haven't done an Avalon cruise, but have done different river cruises on Viking and Ama.  We're very interested in the lower Danube itinerary.  Any comments, thoughts, hints, etc.? I haven't seen any regarding that route.

franksi,

Thanks so much.  That's very helpful.  We've got a checking account that covers ATM fees and gives a spot rate on foreign currency, so as needed withdrawals probably make the most sense.

We are cruising on the Avalon View from the Black Sea (Romania) to Vilshofen, Germany, 17 nights embarking October 14th.  The cruise goes through Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria and Germany.  We're excited to do this cruise as it seems likely to be more exotic than the Amsterdam-Budapest route.  However, the multitude of currencies that are not useable outside the host countries makes planning complicated.  Anyone done this route?  If so, how did you manage transactions?  Even using credit cards it seems some cash might be good to have on hand.  Thanks for any advice.  

I've got the opposite.  I do all the trip planning, but Seabourn sends everything to my wife.  I booked our recent cruise, our first with Seabourn, and we both opened online accounts with them.  They put the cruise and everything since in her name. I get nothing.  Doesn't matter since she just forwards it.  

We just sailed with Seabourn for the first time in June.  Greece/Turkey.  Nice cruise on the Seabourn Encore.  We're not foodies, but all in all thought the dinners were the only meals that stood out.  For some reason it didn't matter the meal or restaurant, it was almost impossible to get a water glass refilled.  On the last day I found the manager and mentioned it to her.  She was surprised, so hopefully that improves.  Overall the cruise was a pleasant experience.  

It's been soured by a mistaken $1000 charge to our credit card mid cruise.  We found out when we got our credit card statement after returning home.  We then learned you can only communicate with Seabourn about billing issues via email.  They will not talk about them over the phone.  Took about a week to get a response to our emails.

The customer service rep first claimed they could find no record of a charge.  I said "Look at the credit card statement I attached in the email and you'll see it."  A few days later she got back to us and said they found they'd accidently billed someone else's future cruise credit to our card.  She said they were sorry and embarrassed and offered us some credit toward a future cruise.  Great, but how about crediting back the $1000?  Over a month later and we're still waiting.  Heard from her again today after two more inquiry emails from us.  She said she hadn't seen the first one, but will send an "urgent" request to credit our account.  Seems this may go on forever.  We've disputed it via our credit card issuer, so we'll see.  I'd say service after the sail (pun intended) is definitely lacking.