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I could not do this, I am more into cookies.  My Christmas decoration for DHMC Children's Hospital, I am behind I should make one next year!

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We will be on Uniworld's River Queen doing the Castles on the Rhine.  We sailed on this ship years ago before an update.

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1 hour ago, MsCrystalina said:

I am going on my third Uniworld cruise next month.  I find their decor much to my taste.  From the pics of Viking and some others- they look like a dormitory room or a Holiday Inn of years past.

The service has been excellent, food and front desk exceptional.  On ocean cruises Crystal was my favorite and I find the food and atmosphere on Uniworld comparable to Crystal. 

I’m going on my 9th Uniworld cruise in a few weeks and I agree with MsCrystalina! I enjoy the decor while in Europe but not what I have in my home.

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On 4/11/2022 at 9:13 AM, Coral said:

I ended up cancelling my Med cruise due to medical reasons 😞 . Disappointed as I had a great itinerary, great price and great upgrade.....

Coral,

I hope you are cruising again soon!

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7 hours ago, worldtraveller99 said:

Where are you staying in Leiden, Second seating? We are thinking of a Dutch holiday there.

Golden Tulip Inn close to Central Station when we arrive and depart to Amsterdam to catch the ship.  Everything appears to be walkable.  Not a fancy hotel but good for what we need. I will make my second trip to Keukenhof Gardens and a first trip to a bulb farm (my husband goes to museums)!!!  Also from Leiden it is a quick trip to one of my favorite museums in Den Haag.

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12 hours ago, Gopherpharm said:

For anyone arriving in AMS in the near future, everything was very simple for us in terms of covid restrictions. We uploaded our vaccine cards and health declaration forms to the United app and after that, only our passports were checked at both ORD and AMS. No one has asked to see any other documents at all. 

Thank you for the info!  We arrive in early May flying into Schiphol but staying in Leiden before the cruise starts (we have been to Amsterdam many times)!  Have a great trip!!!

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5 hours ago, Gopherpharm said:

Thank you that is helpful! I’m trying to only bring a couple colors (yes, mostly black…it’s my staple) for ease in mixing it up, and for laundry purposes. I think I have some color catcher sheets!

Nothing wrong with black or as my husband says I travel with "Morticia's wardrobe"!

55 minutes ago, beesKate said:

@Gopherpharm All the more reason to go on multiple Uniworld cruises.  After you're a member of the "Heritage Club" a free load of laundry is a perk.  It's amazing how much you can fit in that fairly small bag!  Especially helpful if you do a pre-trip or are planning a post-trip on your own.  

The Guest Laundry (going on my 9 Uniworld in May) is wonderful, read the instructions to make sure you do not set the long time!!!  I take Color Catcher sheets with me, you can wash dark and lights in cold water (one wash)!  I do get one free bag of laundry but I have a few Eileen Fisher items I like to wash myself.

1 hour ago, Gopherpharm said:

My husband and I both decided to get new walking shoes and break them in before this trip. Ours were getting worn for sure. While I know European style tends to be a little less sporty, I gotta have my sneakers for all that walking!

Make sure they are waterproof!

The bedding on Uniworld is the BEST, I do have them remove the duvet.

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I have been on 4 Uniworld Christmas Market cruises and I promise their excursions are much better than you described.  I only remember a few excursions that were extra $ and never were full ahead of the cruise.

River cruisers are very different than ocean cruises.

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28 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

It's too bad--years ago I was first exposed to St. Petersburg watching the Amazing Race and was wowed by the city!  A former colleague visited the gardens at Peterhof (sp?) and again the photos blew me away. 

 

Maybe someday a Baltic cruise will be possible again.  Being a fan of NOT broiling in the heat/sun, that would appeal to me.

The Catherine Palace in July 2018, glad we went then!

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Thank you Coral.  Plan B is working out, changing airfare again!!!  Now I hope our August trip on SeaDream goes as planned!

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This is the explanation we received for our May trip being cancelled.

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"We are sorry to inform you that due to fleet scheduling changes your clients’ cruise has been canceled. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has impacted our bookings for spring sailings in Europe, and we must adjust accordingly. Star Pride will launch in June, and Star Legend will pick up select Star Pride sailings in April and May. We apologize for the inconvenience and invite your clients to join us on an alternative cruise itinerary."

On 2/24/2022 at 8:42 AM, notamermaid said:

@Second seating Sorry to hear about the cruise. Bordeaux to Amsterdam is a normal itinerary that sounds perfectly doable by May with few to no restrictions. Any idea what made them cancel?

 

Castles along the Rhine is a great itinerary. I prefer the Uniworld one to the Viking Rhine Getaway. I hope Uniworld still have that break in the Rhine Gorge sailing, i.e. dock in Boppard.

 

Should be fun wherever you stop. Enjoy.

 

notamermaid

 

This is the reason for cancellation

"We are sorry to inform you that due to fleet scheduling changes your clients’ cruise has been canceled. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has impacted our bookings for spring sailings in Europe, and we must adjust accordingly. Star Pride will launch in June, and Star Legend will pick up select Star Pride sailings in April and May. We apologize for the inconvenience and invite your clients to join us on an alternative cruise itinerary."

We are looking forward to seeing the Rhine again, our last visit was in December maybe 2009 on a Uniworld cruise.

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Our Star Legend trip in May from Bordeaux to Amsterdam was cancelled by Windstar!!! We are now taking a Castles along the Rhine with Uniworld!

JP have a great trip, we hired a driver and guide for our 2 days in St. Petersburg years ago and it was perfect!

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We did Venice to Rome a few years ago and only took Windstar excursions and they were all excellent.  Some of the stops we only walked around the towns.  In French Polynesia did we book other excursions and in St. Petersburg we booked a guide and driver for 2 days to see what we wanted. Hope to take our 5th Windstar cruise this spring.

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I made gluten free mince pie’s for the first time! They were really good!!!

My take on the German Elisenlebkuchen! I make small cookies for giving away and leave them plain (my favorite).

On 12/12/2021 at 6:04 PM, Ritabob said:

May I start a new tangent here at the water cooler?

As we are now in the Christmas season and many of us are unpacking decorations,  show us a favourite ornament,  preferably one you purchased during your river cruises. 

These metal balls were made in Linz , and purchased during our Grand Christmas and New Years cruise with Uniworld. 

RB 

This one was bought on our first December in Rothenburg we stayed at the Romantic Hotel Markusturm before a river cruise from Nuremberg to Vienna. 

We have friends in the Netherlands and they suggested mid April and it was excellent!  I loved Keukenhof Gardens https://keukenhof.nl/en/.  I will prepare you it will be very cool, some southerners on the trip nearly froze to death take hats, scarves and gloves!  Bulbs do not bloom in warm weather!!!  For an avid gardener Floriade and Keukenoff was spectacular, also there will be a lot of walking.

Of my eight river cruises a few stand out, Venice to Venice (I loved this one but my husband did not) and Tulips and Windmills during Floriade (husband did not go on this one). I love Christmas Markets on river cruises, especially on the Main and land trips!

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I tried to remove one of the pictures!!!

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No Belgium Christmas Markets for us this year!  Elisenlebkuchen and Sinterklaas cookie dough is in the freezer! Also plan to make white Gluhwein later this week as we are going NOWHERE!  🐾 crossed for our May and August cruises!

4 hours ago, Second seating said:

Just saw this on a Belgium travel forum.

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Christmas market and NYE forwards in Antwerp cancelled.
The ice rink, the Ferris wheel and the Winterfoor just take place.

 

I copied this and it did not copy well forwards should be fireworks!