jojocmcla

Very helpful to us were the TripAdvisor phone apps for specific cities. I downloaded Prague, Vienna, & Budapest. They list most important sites in each city, restaurants, street maps, metro maps, tour itineraries.

tipsygirl, can you tell us the name/or order number for the boots you bought from Clarks....or give us an online link?

For our 2 wk Danube cruise, I took 3 pr. slacks...one black, one black jeans, one gray. I wore the jeans on flights. I took 3 short sleeve tops...one a little dressy...and 4 long sleeve tops. All tops were either solid red, black, or white and prints of those colors. I roll several tops together. I took 2 scarves to pair with tops. I took 1 pr. of "dressier" shoes and 2 pr. of Skechers "athletic-type" shoes. In my carry-on, I had make up (Bare Minerals powdered kind) and jewelry; other toiletries in a smaller bag in check-in bag.

Whenever we travel, I almost exclusively use the black/white/red/gray palette...that way, everything matches.

I had Rick Steves Budapest/Prague on my phone; but the TripAdvisor city apps are the things I used the most. You can look up attractions and restaurants...maps given. It will tell you which metro station and stop to take for different things to see.

Catskier, several of us ate at Cafe' Kor in May. We all thoroughly enjoyed it. But, be aware that they do not take credit cards...cash only.

I'm enjoying your travels in Porto. Thanks for sharing.

We appreciate good food, well-prepared and presented. We were certainly pleased with our meals onboard AmaLyra in May. At a couple of the meals, we each ordered the entrée we preferred; but, since the vegetarian option looked interesting, we had our waiter bring us one of those to share. No problem. We also thought the complimentary wines served were quite good.

I believe if you check with the various cruise companies, some of them offer a "cruise only" option. I think that you would just join on the day of embarkation.

I'm "re-living" our May cruise on AmaLyra by reading your review. I also toured the Doheny St. Synagogue. Our guide Peter was wonderful.

Now, you know you can't talk about recipes without sharing! :)

And, what spice were you talking about?

Thank you for those of you who read my previous posts during the cruise. I have created a great journal of our experiences. I'm surprised at how much I had to say! For those that are interested I'll share the highlights of each day in the following posts.

Though the weekly itinerary is pretty much what we expected, it can change with the tides. For example we cruised back to Bordeaux on Tuesday evening and had Wednesday morning had the bus/walking tour. That seemed a positive change. Enjoyed learning and seeing more of Bordeaux.

We had to leave for Cadillac exactly at the right time to go under the "famous" historic bridge. A bit of history, Napoleon XIV built the bridge in order for his troops and supplies to cross the river without having to pay "the ferryman's outrages fees!" It was quite exciting to be out on deck to witness the care it takes for the "tight squeeze." We waited about 15 minutes for the okay to proceed.

Cadillac (pronounced Cadiac) Tiny dock, as yet undeveloped and a small village.

A delight: The Castle; French history coming alive!

A magical moment to share: As I entered the dining room that night, I was holding a copy of the recipe I'd requested for the Lamb Stew from earlier in the week. Chef Pascal greeted me and asked what recipe I had! He shared with me that he had added some lemon to the recipe this time which he really liked. I asked him about a specific spice that I was not familiar to me and he disappeared to the back of the dining room and into the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of the spice and we discussed its exact taste and possible substitute. We found the staff to be accessible!

I'm looking forward to reading your comments. My husband and I are interested in cruising the Douro soon.

Sounds like you've had a nice cruise, so far. So glad to hear you enjoyed Kolkovna in Prague. We did, too.

So glad to hear that you're enjoying your cruise as much as we enjoyed ours in May...basically same itinerary, except we boarded in Nuremburg.

St. Stephen's in Passau was beautiful. I'm an organist; so I was thrilled to see the largest pipe organ in the world.

Guess you're on to Vienna....have fun!

So glad to hear that you're not cancelling. We've been on 2 river cruises on our own. We enjoy meeting new people. If there is someone you just don't care for, you don't have to sit with them or be overly friendly. But, on our last cruise in May, we met 2 lovely couples; and the 6 of us just 'hit it off right.' We thoroughly enjoyed being with them.

We were on AMA Lyra in May, Prague to Budapest. I think the times of tours will depend on what time you dock in each city, which may not be precise because of river levels, river traffic, etc. There were a few cities that I wish we'd had a little extra self-touring time.

After much thought, I opted out of the Salzburg trip, which was a very hard decision, because I love everything "Sound of Music." But, (1) I wanted to see the largest pipe organ in the world at St. Stephen's in Passau, and (2) I wanted to cruise the Wachau Valley, because, like you, I love my photos! I don't really regret not going to Salzburg. I really enjoyed the afternoon of lazily cruising down the Danube with a glass of wine.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying the trip, so far. Sorry the weather is so chilly...very unusual for July, it seems. We had a couple of cool mornings in May...but not what I would call uncomfortable.

Keep us posted.

Thanks for your insight. We sailed the Danube w/ AmaWaterways just this past May, on the AmaLyra. We were very well pleased with everything.

Thanks. We'll definitely look into this cruise for the future.

Has any one taken any of the Duoro cruises with AmaWaterways? My husband and I are thinking about this for 2016 and would like some input as to the sights, food, time on the river as opposed to time traveling by bus, and the cruise, in general.

Joybug, how was the weather along the Douro in October? My husband and I are thinking of doing this cruise, probably 2016.

So glad to hear you made it without any problems. Oh...I could go for a good French baguette, cheese, & rabbit pate'...and, of course, a glass of wine! Have fun. Keep us posted when you can.

I also recommend Rick Steves podcasts. I got them for Vienna, Budapest, and Prague.

Another thing that came in really handy was TripAdvisor's apps. It really helped getting around on the subway in Budapest. It recommends tour itineraries, lets you search attractions and restaurants.

Great to hear! We thoroughly enjoyed our Danube cruise on AmaLyra last month.

You'll love the Loire Valley. We toured it on bikes about 6 yrs. ago. It was so beautiful. Loved touring all the wonderful castles. Sometimes we would ride our bikes right through a vineyard. Of course, then, we had to stop and sample some of the wines...buy a bottle or two and put them in the saddlebags of the bike!

It's worth doing your homework. My group of four is on the Viking Pride, Paris/Normandy 7/16. The original plan was to spend three or four post-cruise days in Paris. The hotel prices are very high, plus daily activities and meals. I went to Plan B and found a great wine & chateau tour package (4D/3N) in the Loire Valley for about the same amount as just the Paris hotel. We chose the 5 star hotel, YOLO :) and the tour company arranged the train reservations and just added the fare to our balance. I'm as excited about the Loire Valley as I am about the cruise! Bonus - while checking flights I saw a return through Madrid, so I extended for another 3 days for same airfare! I'm getting 3 trips in one! Three weeks away, can't wait!!!

That's exactly where we were docked in Budapest last month. We stayed @ the Intercontinental and we could have easily walked. You'll love Budapest.

QUOTE=sippican;43147195]The Welcome Aboard Booklet has a ton of information!

In the back section it lists each port and contains docking details, both written directions as well as a clear map.

There is a statement that some ports contain more than one docking area so you should refer to your cruise voucher for the exact address. Docking locations may change without notice. "For guests making their own way to the ship, please contact the ship on your day of your embarkation to verify it's exact location."

Regarding Budapest it says this:

"Docking Area: Mahart - International Passenger Port

Street Address: Belgrad Rakpart

The ship is located on the Pest side betrwwe the Elizabeth Bridge amd the Liberty Bridge"

Hope that is helpful.

I do plan on providing updates during the trip - but knowing how we jam pack our days, I can't promise how frequently or thorough they might be. The good thing is knowing we should have internet most of the time!