twototravel

So how does the snow affect river cruising? We leave on Monday arriving in Vienna on Tuesday for the start of our Xmas market cruise on the Monarch Queen. We are scheduled to be onboard 5-17 Dec, so I hope they get her repaired. Anyone with updated info?

For our March 2025 trip Transylvania extension, our paperwork says we are in the Radisson Blu in Bucharest and the Kronwell in Brasov.

@Steerpike58 Thank you for your detailed review. Hubby and I are on the Rinda taking this same trip in Feb 2025. Viking would not be our first choice in Europe (we love Gate 1) but the itinerary of this trip is exactly what we were looking for. We will be going Vienna to Bucharest to include the post trip to Transylvania. Although the optional excursions for our trip are not available for booking yet, these are the ones we are considering - Schonbrunn Palace, Budapest Thermal Bath, Hungarian Folklore Dinner, Wines of So. Hungary, Town of Ilok and wine tasting, Belgrade Bohemian Quarter, Highlights of Sofia and No. Bulgaria, Wines of So. Romania, and Sights and Flavors of Bucharest. Any comments about these? We booked cabin 209 which is a veranda stateroom. Just a comment about dining room seating. I think the two person tables are disappearing from most all river cruiselines. While we do enjoy meeting our travelmates over a meal since we don't do the happy hours, our preference (if available) would be to go for the two seat tables. We took one of Vantage's last cruises and the sides of the dining room by the windows were all two person tables, which was wonderful.

Gate 1 usually has Black Friday discounts that can be used on their river cruises.

Check out Gate 1 for European river cruises. They are cheaper than Viking, and I really didn't see much difference. Yes, Gate 1 has less ships, but they are very nice. Cabins only have French balconies on the 2nd and 3rd decks. Complimentary wine and beer is served with dinner only. Food is great, and so is the crew.

@jpalbny Ref your comment about taking the train from Munich to Regensburg. We are on B2B river cruises in Dec, disembarking the first one and embarking the second one in Regensburg. Instead of going on the tour of Regensburg twice (last day of first cruise and first day of second cruise), we thought we would take the train to Munich from Regensburg one of the days. Is it easy to walk to Marienplatz from the Munich train station? I agree that it doesn't look very far from where the ship docks in Regensburg to walk to the train station.

We are taking two Gate 1's B2B Xmas market river cruises. We embark on the first one on 5 Dec in Vienna stopping in Passau/Salzburg and Regensburg. Second one starts in Regensburg, with stops at markets in Nuremburg, Bamberg, Wurzburg, Wertheim, and then ending in Frankfurt. Both are on the Monarch Empress, a wonderful ship and crew.

@bob brown We were booked on the Pearl Mist to cruise the St Lawrence River but it got cancelled due to Canada being closed for Covid. They transferred our money to ACL and we cruised with them instead. The ship has recently been renovated which is good because the reviews about the interior were not so good. Their Canada itinerary still appeals to us but the trip is very pricey.

Does anyone know why Gate 1 will not be using the Monarch Empress river cruise ship in 2024? Based on their posted cruises for 2024, the last date for this ship is a cruise departing 16 Dec 2023 out of Frankfurt with no departures in 2024. This has been their premier ship for several years. All I could find were sailings for the Baroness and the Queen. I'm not looking to book, but curious. We are on the Empress for B2B cruises ending on the 16th.

Check out Gate 1 river cruises. They do several Christmas market cruises on different rivers, but they all occur in late Nov/early Dec.

@caradara Any of the optional excursions you would recommend? We have been to Budapest before, so we were thinking of doing the thermal spas. Is there time to do the included tour plus an optional, or do you have to choose one or the other?

We just booked this river cruise with Viking for 2025. Looking at reviews it appears the Rinda is one of their older ships. Anyone have recent experience with this ship or route? The cruise route looks great, hitting Romania and Bucharest which was of special interest to us.

@JordanF Laura (if the same person) was our activities director on the Empress several weeks ago. She said she was moving to another ship; maybe yours?

@JoyMBee Check out Gate 1 cruises. They too add additional days at the beginning and end of cruises. We have b2b river cruises booked for Dec. Only fear is that the rivers may be too high. We just got back from a Rhine cruise it was close, but had no issues. All depends on weather. Viking, one of the costlier ships, has many ships in Europe and if there was ever an issue with the river, they can easily move you to a different ship on the other side of the impassable bridge.

@Thompsam

All, we are in Lake Como now. Our guide said reason for change was due to hotel availability only. There is construction but it doesn’t affect tours.

@notamermaid We have B2B Xmas cruises booked for December - Vienna to Regensburg then Regensburg to Frankfurt on the Danube and then Main rivers. Any thoughts on possible river issues that time of year?

@saku We embark on the Empress on 14 May from Basel heading to Amsterdam, where it appears you will then get on the ship.

During our time on the Odyssey back in Feb 2023 we had an extra day at sea and a snorkeling excursion cancelled due to rough seas. The crew felt it was too dangerous for the passengers to try to get on and off the zodiacs.

@Dennis_USA Check out Gate One's Rhine river cruises. I think you will find most river cruises do the same 7 day cruise Basel - Amsterdam with very similar excursions. Whether they include city stayovers before or after and the amenities on the boat will differ slightly.

@notamermaid In addition to shipping, wouldn't this affect river cruise ships too? The Basel - Amsterdam route is very popular. Do you think the protests will last more than a day or two?

@jeandugan The August 2017 date is the date you joined cruise critic.

That’s probably why our hotel was changed. We were originally booked at the Hotel Metropole Suisse and now our reservation shows the Barchetta Excelsior. Although basically located around the same spot on the lake, the new hotel is a couple blocks back.

@sfm629 I'm surprised you don't have a cabin number. When Vantage rescheduled you to this cruise they didn't assign you a cabin? Have you checked your online account? Since you are 19 days out, you should definitely already have your air booked. I would call them for sure, and just wait it out until someone answers. Their website does have an online chat function but I have had poor experiences with the agents that respond...they don't seem to know any current info.

We've done two ACL cruises in the US, both while covid was still around. We thought the ships were fine, although their decor seemed a bit dated. However, they are currently (and have already) introduced brand new ships that I hear are fantastic. You will find the cabins and balconies bigger on these ships and the crew are all American, which could be good or bad. On our two cruises, both were short staffed and their were supply issues. It's very easy for unhappy crew to just walk off the ship since they are in the US. Passengers are older, I would say generally over 65 and most over 75. Their prices are high, but you are paying for USA cruising, USA crew, and bigger cabins.