reeves35

What country are you from?  There are a few cruise lines that offer good value cruising such as TUI (if you are UK based) or Gate 1 Travel (US Based).  Obviously, at this point, you are giving up some included extras but that may suit you.  The next level up are lines such as Emerald or Travelmarvel which include more and are operating newer ships but the price-point is higher.

On my Travelmarvel cruise in August, there were a number of Brit seniors who bought their cruise on a last-minute deal which appeared great value, included flights and no single supplement was charged so maybe that is also an option for you if you can afford to book late in the process.

We had a French Balcony on Travelmarvel and probably used it less than we expected.  As has been said, rafting happens quite a bit and sometimes a dock or lock is right beside you so you prefer to keep it closed.  The window was nice to put down to bring in fresh air if we were having a brief afternoon rest but, it it was a nice day, we'd prefer to sit on the sun deck.

The room aren't huge; the ships are only 11 metres wide and, after allowing for the hallway, it means the cabins are only around 5 metres long including the bathroom and balcony.  The advantage of the French Balcony is that the chairs you sit at when the balcony is open are also chairs you can use when you're not.  Viking partially gets around this by using its asymmetric layout which means there is more space for the outdoor balcony but the cost of this is a tiny French Balcony cabin much smaller than you would find on any other line.

11 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Did you know that 38 companies operate ships on the Danube? I certainly did not. That is of course not ships owned but ships leased, chartered or owned.

 

notamermaid

 

38 is a surprisingly large number but there are so many lines targetting particular segments.  Many of the lines are just addressing one language so, here in Australia for example, we will only ever be exposed to a limited range and, even then, there are English language lines that limit their marketing to particular countries.  For example, TUI doesn't advertise its English language cruises outside of UK and APT/Travelmarvel doesn't target the North American market.  There will be plenty of other examples possible.

It would be good to see a matrix of cruise lines split between language on the horizontal axis and market position (luxury, premium, etc) on the vertical.  From that, you could actually see what cruise-lines are actually participating where.  

The high incidence of low water on the Danube this year, particularly between Nuremberg and Passau, will undoubtedly mean cruise lines look at their schedules for their future 14 day Grand European (European Gems, Splendors of Europe, etc) classic cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest and try to time them so they have a cruise leaving from each endpoint on the same day so, if a ship swap is needed toward the midpoint continental divide, they have an easier time handling it.

I was fortunate that on my Travelmarvel cruise on Vega departing from Amsterdam in August there was a corresponding cruise on Polaris that left from Budapest on the same day.  When a swap became necessary due to  low water, it was relatively simple with only one day of the itinerary really changed. 

Unfortunately, those on Capella, three days behind us, were also delayed at a similar point, though ironically by high water, and there was no ship to swap with so they were stuck for 3 days and the cruise itinerary altered significantly. Since then, I believe this has happened again though, this time, Travelmarvel swapped with an AMA ship operating for sister line APT. 

2 hours ago, notamermaid said:

The Vikings at Passau:

 

The TUI Maya with her 135m has left Passau and has just gone through Kachlet lock as I write. Question is: will she sail to Vilshofen and turn or go to Regensburg?

 

notamermaid

 

Viking's docking location in Passau is a fair way out of town.  Most ships, except Viking, dock along the promenade so are right on the edge of the city.

30 minutes ago, Kristal Blade said:

I got my “tickets” for my holiday today. 
An online booklet with some info about the destinations. It looks as if there is only one trip with an additional charge; the church of the rocks in Budapest. Everywhere else seems to be a guided walk or coach trip.

 

APT have really tied themselves in knots with all these labels! Is Travelmarvel owned by APT? Are the Travelmarvel ships owned by APT or just chartered? I assume AmaStella was chartered by APT as I have seen Ama waterways cruises which can be booked direct with them, rather than via APT.

 

Thanks for trying to explain all the intricacies, one day I might understand what is going on! 🙂  

Travelmarvel is owned by APT. Well, technically, they are the same company but two brands.  This is not unusual given the brands are targetted at different market sectors.  For example, it is very common with ocean cruise companies such as Carnival having many brands; hotel companies such as IHG and Marriott do likewise. 

The Travelmarvel ships are bespoke designs built for Travelmarvel.  I believe the ships themselves are actually leased from a European investment company but that is not unusual just as it is typical that the marine and hotel staff actually work for European companies and are engaged by the cruiselines on a labour hire basis.

APT charters AMA ships for APT branded cruises and the ships have APT branding on them.  Given so much of an AMA ship's life will be with APT, the latter has a significant say in the AMA designs.  To add to the confusion, APT has a significant shareholding in AMA Waterways.

2 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Hiya BillY,

yes to a good credit card that is fee free. Good old Halifax.

 

Extra excursions? Everything was free on AmaStella, are there excursions you have to pay for? 
I can understand going paperless. On sea cruises we chuck so much stuff in the bin, but that is the ads for the spa that we never use plus future cruise info. I would like the daily info as a hard copy but will have to learn to look on the tv.

We had APT maps on Stella and they were really good. I kept my Budapest one, ready for my next cruise!

As has been said, there is always a hard copy of the daily planner on the wall near reception.  Some people just took a photo of this on their smartphone so they could keep a copy.  

Travelmarvel is positioned one step below APT (and, by definition, AMA) and priced accordingly.  I'm surprised you didn't realise that optional excursions were an extra cost; it is clearly shown in their brochures. 

The price differential between APT and Travelmarvel (or Scenic and Emerald) is quite significant; for our cruise, the difference was over AUD3000p.p. for the same cruise itinerary.  You need to assess if the all-inclusive features of APT and Scenic (all excursions, full drink package, single laundry bag, butler to unpack clothes) justify the difference.  Everyone will have a different viewpoint depending on their wants.

3 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you BillY,

good to know there are additional lunch options. I was brought upon soup so I will be hoping for that every lunchtime!

I was hoping that we might get a couple of laundry bags provided. It was terrific to get a free laundry service on AmaStella, but I will wash out the smalls and pack strategically.

We are on deck 3 so it shouldn’t be so much of a walk for us to reach the bar. 
 

We aren’t expecting great weather, seeing as it will be November when we visit most destinations. But we can layer up and I always pack gloves and scarves. 
 

Are there daily puzzles? I think we had a crossword and Sudoku on Stella.
 

What is the currency on board? I’m expecting it to be Euro, but I know none of our destinations use Euro!
 

Thanks for any answers. 
 

I will definitely try to do a review after our trip. If the wifi is any good I might even put some live-ish posts on. 

Yes, there is soup every day at lunch and dinner.  Just ask for the menu at lunchtime.

There are no free laundry bags but laundry onboard Travelmarvel is great value.  It is much less than you'd pay in a hotel or onboard an ocean cruise ship; most items are between EUR1.50 and EUR2.50.  I did wash smalls in the shower but you will need to take a travel clothes line with suction cups at each end with you as there is no retractable clothes line installed.

Nothing is far away onboard so, from a Deck 3 cabin, you'll be able to get anywhere you need to be in a minute or two.  McGeary's is not open during the day so, if you want a drink, you'll need to head to the main lounge forward.

There are no daily puzzles as there is no daily newsletter with everything now on the screens in your cabin or around the ship.  It is claimed to be an environmental measure though probably cost-cutting also.

Onboard currency is Euro.  It is completely cashless though you can pay for your account with Euro notes if you prefer that instead of registering a credit card.

10 hours ago, rcaruso said:

Yup we did the exact same thing in July.  Half way through they got the air working, we were in the middle of the bus and not bothered by it.  The McDonalds!  What do I say, yes we had the same 80 lady pile up, but the espresso was good and the lady making the espresso drinks was fast.  I did mention to our Program Director that it would be nice to be in a more German place.  She said they all charged to use the bathroom, so they picked McDonalds----oh well......

During our ship swap between Nuremberg and Passau, our bus stop was at the Seidl Chocolate Factory near Regensburg.  The toilets were free and there was an opportunity to buy from their store or grab a fairly good coffee.  It sounds preferable to Macca's.

5 hours ago, Kristal Blade said:

Thank you, this made for interesting reading as we had done this cruise in April this year. We cruised on AmaStella. We hadn’t realised APT was an Australian company but were delighted to have so many Australian and New Zealand passengers on board. We had a really fun time.

We cruise on Capella later this month so good to get some more info about the ship layout.

Happy travels reeves35. 

Glad you had a great experience on APT and are going on Capella later this month; I will be interested to hear your comparison thoughts.  I imagine the cabins on Capella will be a bit smaller though they are well designed and we never felt cramped.

APT is a long-standing company here in Australia.  When I was young, it was called Australia Pacific Tours and specialised in coach tours to places like NZ, Central Australia and North Queensland.  They smartly identified about 15 years ago that their target demographic were moving towards river cruises in Europe, Asia etc and moved into those markets.

9 hours ago, Bill Y said:

A good review, mirrors our experience on Travelmavel Capella at the end of July, fortunately we avoided a ship swap but is was touch and go. We were not as lucky with the weather as you as it was drizzling on and off through the Rhine gorge but it could have been worse. This cruise was different from other river cruises that we have done where sailing was only done during the day, due to the distance travelled sailing had to be done through the night. The scenic highlights, Rhine gorge and Wachau valley were timed to be during the day. The other difference being the number of historic and capital cities visited. This resulted in excursions that were intense with a lot of historical and cultural facts on most days and included walking tours which are unavoidable in pedestrianized areas. Each excursion was led by a local guide.

 

We too found a bit of an overload at the end with visits to Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest on consecutive days, but there is so much to see and learn about these places and people. The comments we heard outboard was one should have done Budapest to Amsterdam while we were fresh. We actually chose Amsterdam first as we had visited Amsterdam before but not Budapest so wanted more time there. Another comment was that people did not know of the amount of walking required. Your 13,000 steps a day gives others an idea, in fairness to Travelmavel they do suggest starting walking three times a week to prepare for the trip but many had not read this and certainly not before they booked. People did have covid in the second week although it was not talked about, they seemed to isolate in their cabins and their partners wore masks, I don’t believe anyone was seriously ill.  The only criticism we had was that the excursion in Budapest did not go to the Buda castle district or mention much about it, although you could visit it in the free afternoon if you knew it was a priority visit IMHO.

Thanks for your comments.  Whilst there was a lot of walking, Travelmarvel do offer a group for more restricted walkers "the gentle group" which walks less distance, goes slower and, where possible, avoids steps.  Of course, there is also the option to not do the included walks.  It is not school-camp so, if you are happy to just do your own thing in a town or even just stay on the ship and rest, no one will query your choice.

You are correct that the Budapest tour doesn't spend much time on the hillier Buda side.  I was thoroughly "castled-out" by the time we reached Budapest so didn't really miss touring another castle/palace.

17 hours ago, ural guy said:

Great write up, sounds like you had a great time.

 

I do agree with your comment about Maria Theresa.  I would have liked to have heard more modern history when we've cruised through this region, but no, people are fascinated with her story.

 

It sounds like the Irish Pub was used as a less formal dinner spot, is that the case?  If so, what was that menu like.  Between Viking and Vantage, we like the shorter, less formal dinners, so it would be nice to have that option.   Thanks for posting.

The menu in the Irish pub was disappointing.  It only had a soup and 3 main courses.  The mains were cottage pies, a pulled pork burger and one other thing that I can't remember.  It never changed and, once passengers worked this out, they never returned.

For anyone who is interested, I have now posted my lengthy review of my August cruise with Travelmarvel from Amsterdam to Budapest. https://www.cruisecritic.com.au/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=706433

7 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Yes, North of Passau, or rather Vilshofen. December fine normally, but can get a bit of flooding.

 

Not sure about the intricacies of sailing a ship but I think this could be the squat effect: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squat_effect

 

notamermaid

 

10cm and 50cm both sound weird.  From what I understood, most riverships require about 1m under the keel to allow for both squat as well as sufficient water to push through.  I'm not a hydrologist so don't understand the physics but 1 metre does seem to make sense.

37 minutes ago, DM314 said:

We are on the Viking Skirnir, traveling Amsterdam to Budapest on the Grand European Tour, and received news last night (Sept. 29) that due to low water levels in Pfelling, we will be swapping ships Monday Oct. 2nd. Moving to the Modi…which was our originally assigned ship, but we were shifted to the Skirnir a week before embarkation due to an earlier ship swap. It does impact some optional Nuremberg excursions, and requires a 3.5 hour bus ride on “swap day”, but once on the Modi we will be back on track for the remaining week of sailing. As a whole, all onboard seem a bit disappointed by the news, but taking it in stride. 

I did a ship swap last month between Nuremberg and Passau due to low water approaching Regensberg.  The cruise lines handle it really well and the ship you transfer to will probably be identical so you'll barely notice the difference.

21 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Closure of the case of the horrible accident in Budapest? It may finally be but the captain can appeal. Just for your info (I decided against dragging up the thread from five years ago): https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tourism/river-cruise-ship-captain-jailed-after-fatal-danube-crash

 

notamermaid

 

On our recent cruise, the cruise director said we were the first Travelmarvel cruise to do the evening sightseeing cruise in Budapest since the accident.  It was truly spectacular.  Obviously, there have been some changes to operations with the ships now cruising well out of Budapest before turning around.

2 hours ago, ohiolovescrusing said:

On way from Passau to Regensburg. Will be slow overnight due to water levels but they hope all goes well.  Plan to stop b4 Regensburg and do buses for 45 min.  Then hopefully boat goes very slowly and meets us there to continue on.  We r happy if goes to plan. Would hate to switch ships but will go with flow…Onward to Amsterdam…

We did a ship swap last month due to low water between Nuremberg and Regensburg and, whilst a minor disruption, it wasn't really that bad.  

We had to pack up obviously and tag our bags but then the crew organised our luggage to be loaded onto our busses and we did our scheduled tour of Nuremberg.  Then, instead of returning to the ship after lunch and cruising to Regensburg, we travelled the 200km to Passau by coach, including a stop for a coffee at chocolate factory along the way and boarded our new ship, Travelmarvel Polaris. 

The ships were identical so, whilst we enjoyed a free welcome drink in the lounge, our luggage was taken to our cabin and then we unpacked everything in exactly the same spot it had been on Vega.

Of course, we had a new crew but they were still excellent.  The cruise director and the 2 onboard entertainers came with us though.

Obviously, we missed Regensburg but we got to spend an unscheduled full day in Passau including a walking tour and it was a fascinating city. 

3 hours ago, jwohio said:

Hi, I'm new to this forum today. Will be on Viking from Budapest to Passau starting 4 Oct. and concerned about water levels and whether we should expect to change ships at any point. What's the experience been with the first part of October on that stretch of the Danube? Thank you!

I think you would be OK.  I recently had to do a ship-change but the low water was between Nuremberg and Passau. 

I'm currently on Travelmarvel Polaris in Budapest.  We arrived from Vienna overnight and the current has definitely eased off from what it was a couple of days ago.  There are a number of ships that have departed Budapest today heading upstream so they must be confident they will be able to get through by the time they reach Passau in a few days.

Polaris heads back towards Amsterdam tomorrow after we disembark.  Regardless of conditions, passengers boarding tomorrow will have a ship-swap in Nuremberg next Friday where they will board Vega which was the ship we were on until the low-water ship swap last week.  Apparently this is necessary for ship positioning purposes.  Whilst a bit of a hassle, I assume the logistics will be quite easy as the ships will basically be parked next to one another and passengers luggage will be moved to their new ship whilst they are on a shore excursion.  Last week, pax from both ships had to be moved by coach between Nuremberg and Passau for the swap.

I'm currently on Travelmarvel Polaris at Durnstein.  We had a ship swap in Nuremberg last week due to low water.  Cruise Director advised that things have changed radically since last week and it is considered cruises will be disrupted at Passau due to high water meaning bridge is unable to be passed.  It won't affect me but will definitely affect those currently departing Budapest for Amsterdam or on their way to Budapest and currently on the Main.

We are on Travelmarvel Vega and departed Wurzburg this evening.  Cruise director confirmed tonight that, due to Danube water levels, we will have a ship-swap on Friday once we arrive in Nuremberg.  We will do a tour of Nuremberg and then be bussed to Passau where we will join identical sister Travelmarvel Polaris for the second half of our 14 day itinerary to Budapest.  Obviously pax doing the reverse itinerary to Amsterdam will leave Polaris in Passau and be transferred to Vega in Nuremberg.

The cruise director and 2 onboard entertainers will transfer with us.  It'll be sad to leave the remaining excellent crew of Vega.

I'm currently on Travelmarvel Vega on the Main heading towards Budapest.  Cruise Director advised tonight that there is a very high chance of a ship swap before Nuremberg on Friday.  Travelmarvel Polaris is currently coming upstream from Budapest and is likely to be stranded on Thursday.  We should receive confirmation of the ship swap tomorrow though warm dry weather means lower water levels are inevitable.

All crew will remain with the ship except the cruise director who will transfer with us.

Travelmarvel's new ships have a draft of 160cms.  Apparently Viking have a draft on their longships of 200cms and are already affected.  Critical figure for us is 260cms though director told us chance of ship swap is over 90% with no significant rain likely in the catchment before Saturday

Hi  I'm currently on Travelmarvel Vega at Rudesheim and went through the Rhine Gorge this morning.  Water levels are fine.  We have seen no issues anywhere.

It is a beautiful part of the world and the weather at the moment is amazingly good, about 30 every day.

42 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Do you see all the sailings of the AMA ships?  There are evidently APT-centric sailings that show up as gaps in AMA's US website.

Not sure but potentially they do.  I have seen photos of AMA ships with APT decals on them; maybe these are exclusive fully all-inclusive APT sailings targeting APT's core AU, NZ and UK demographics. 

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

All the other things you mention are optional and many people won't pay for them at all, but tips is the biggie.  It adds quite a lot to the fare, and hurts AMA in cost comparisons.  I love AMA, but I think they should roll tips into the fare.

In Australia, AMA is sold as APT ( APT has a significant shareholding in AMA).  APT is sold as all-inclusive in Australia and this includes gratuities.  We do not have a tipping culture so having gratuities added in later on is a major turn-off. 

Like Scenic has Emerald as a second level slightly below the premium brand, APT operates Travelmarvel as more a value oriented offering with inclusions more similar to what you'd see on Viking.  The one difference is that, as Travelmarvel is targetted at Australians, New Zealanders and Brits, all fares are always inclusive of gratuities.