laverendrye

Bonne Bay is is in the middle of Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO world heritage site. It's a very large park so what you can do will depend on how long your ship is there. Most ships use the village of Woody Point for disembarkation, so the most accessible parts of the park for cruise visitors would be in the southern half of the park. You might find the Parks Canada guide helpful:

http://www.pc.gc.ca/eng/pn-np/nl/grosmorne/visit.aspx

Woody Point is a pretty village, but it doesn't take long to see. I would check to see what excursions your ship is offering.

You should ask if they will serve a proper Bavarian breakfast--weisswurst with sweet mustard, a soft pretzel, and of course, a glass of weissbier. I try to have one whenever I have a morning transfer at Frankfurt airport!

Knowing Uniworld, I am sure they will try to accommodate your husband's desire.

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Be sure to inquire whether the train will have a baggage car, if you'll have more than a carry-on. We are traveling in September, and there are NO baggage cars on the trains. As a result, we have decided to take the bus.

Even without a baggage car, there is lots of room on each car to stow your baggage if you have more than a carry-on. There are limits under Via Rail's carry-on policy, but it is more generous than an airline:

http://www.viarail.ca/en/travel-info/baggage/carry-baggage

Here's more information on the service between Québec and Montréal

http://www.viarail.ca/en/explore-our-destinations/trains/ontario-and-quebec/montreal-quebec-city

You will dock at Wharf 22. This is the most convenient of all to Vieux Québec and when you disembark from the ship, you will be there.

Here's a map:

http://www.portquebec.ca/en/cruises/information-for-cruise-ship-passengers/access-to-docks

Hi,

 

Doing a river cruise in August to Vietnam and Cambodia. Can anyone advise about visas please? General information from travel company says you can obtain a visa onboard ship for Vietnam, but when I rang them today they said I should check with http://www.thevisatravel company. Do we need two visas one for each country? We travelled with Viking River cruises last year and they sent us all the relevant documentation which takes the worry out of it. Don't want to arrive and not be let in the country.

 

Any advise would be gratefully received.

 

 

daddynews.:)

As others have advised, I think you should start with the official websites for the Governments of Vietnam and Cambodia. If you search for on the internet for visas for either country you will find a host of non-official websites from agencies offering visa services. The Vietnamese government warns that the information on many of these websites may not be correct, and advises travellers that they should not use on-line or landing visas which might be offered. Here are the official sites with the relevant information:

Vietnames Embassy in London: http://vietnamembassy.org.uk/index.php?action=p&ct=Consular%20Services%20for%20UK%20residents#VISA

Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/

In my case, I obtained a visa from the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa as I live close by. It only took a couple of days from dropping off my passport to picking up the completed visa. One of our group did use an e-visa and it worked, but it took about an hour at the airport in Saigon on arrival. If at all possible, I would go with a regular visa. Note what the VN Embassy in London has to say:

"We do not recommend visa-on-arrival and online visa. These types of visa are issued by un-recognised websites with no connections with the embassy. We cannot verify the validity of such visa and cannot provide assistances to travelers in case they are refused entry while using these types of visa. Please read the updated Travel Advice by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/asia-oceania/vietnam)"

As far as I know, the e-visa for Cambodia works well, but there is a caveat. You are fine if arriving at an airport such as Phnom Penh or Siem Reap or a couple of land entry points. So this would work with a cruise/tour starting in Hanoi, flying to Siem Reap and then continuing to HCMC/Saigon. However, in the other direction, if you are entering Cambodia on the Mekong River, you will need to have a paper visa. as I did. Instead of spending $25 (now $27) on an e-visa, I had to use a local agent who sent my passport to the Embassy in Washington (which also serves Canada) and with agent's fee and courier charges it cost me over $250. If you do need a paper visa and can deal directly with the Cambodian Embassy in London you can save some money.

I hope that this is helpful. Enjoy your trip!

I just watched Avalon's promotional video, and they make a point of the fact that they do not have balconies, but rather have made their cabins bigger, with a larger sliding glass window.

 

I've always enjoyed sitting outside on a balcony when I'm on an ocean cruise, so am wondering if having the bigger cabin does make up for not having a balcony?

 

Any thoughts? I'm especially interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the Avalon cabins.

 

Thanks!

In general, I would choose a larger cabin over one with a balcony. Before paying extra for a balcony, here are some things to consider (others have mentioned some of these):

a. When will you be cruising and when will you be alongside? Many river cruises move from port to port at night, and are alongside during the day for excursions.

b. In port, ships are often tied up side by side, so that your view may be directly into another ship. When the ship is moored, one side, particularly for the lower decks, has a view of the concrete side of the jetty. Not very attractive!

c. When cruising, if you are interested in the sights, there is usually something worth seeing on each side of the river. For this reason, the top or forward deck is often a better vantage point than one's balcony.

d. For a river cruise, sometimes a French balcony (i.e. sliding doors) is a good compromise.

I've done five river cruises, all without a balcony, and have never missed one.

any suggestion where to eat in Lisbon tour on your own or with group?

When I took this cruise, on checking in at the hotel in Lisbon (Tiara) the Uniworld tour director for Lisbon gave each person a very useful guide with a number of recommendations for restaurants in the vicinity of the hotel, as well as attractions such as fado clubs in the city. The restaurant suggestions were very helpful if one wanted a good meal near the hotel as they can be difficult to find, unlike in the Baixa and Alfama districts for example. The morning tour of Lisbon ends at noon at Rossio and the guide had a number of good suggestions of places to eat for those who wanted to stay downtown and not return to the hotel. I and other travellers on the cruise found the recommendations to be very worthwhile.

One suggestion for sightseeing is Lisbon that is a must see is the Museu Gulbenkian--it's not on the tours but is a highlight of Lisbon.

Since Uniworld went all inclusive, do they still have additional tours that you can opt to do at an additional cost? I did not see any listed in their latest brochure.

See my reply on this thread:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2019744

Sorry I don't remember what the tour cost. I just recall that it was overpriced because of the poor quality of the restaurant.

 

And yes, Uniworld is all inclusive this year. I looked in their catalogue and saw no mention of tours that were extra. I also saw nothing about the Bratislava stop on the cruise that I took. We also did a optional tour to the Schoonbrun Palace in Vienna. I did not see it listed either.So perhaps no optional tours are offered now.

Uniworld still has optional tours at extra cost. You can find details of all the tours in the Cruise Companion for your cruise in the "Before You Go" menu on the Uniworld website. It's a bit confusing as the included tours are listed as "Your Excursion Options" while the extra cost tours are listed as "Optional Excursions". The costs are not shown in the Cruise Companion, but will be listed on a sign-up sheet when you board. In my experience on several Uniworld cruises, the extra-cost tours were not expensive and usually were good value. On my last Uniworld cruise the cruise director also personally led some free informal walking tours of cities along the way. These were at free times when no other tours had been scheduled. Of course this may well vary from ship to ship.

Has anyone taken the above mentioned tour? I am curious as to the price and if it is worth it. Any and all feedback is appreciated.

I see from the Uniworld itinerary that this tour is an option to cruising between Vienna and Budapest. I think it is worth doing as the Danube is not terribly scenic at this point. On my Uniworld cruise last year (River Princess: Giurgiu to Vienna) we actually docked in Bratislava and the tour of the city was included so I don't know the price of the optional tour. I see that between Budapest and Passau you also get dinner ashore, while the other way is simply the Bratislava tour so the costs will vary.

Bratislava's city centre is quite charming and fairly compact. It's well suited for a walking tour--although with our cruise Uniworld also offered a tour of the city by mini-train for those with restricted mobility.

I would take the tour. Bratislava (formerly known as Pressburg, Pozony, and Prešporok) is a city of historical importance and the old part of the city has been beautifully restored.

You might want to try Hotel Le Clos St. Louis on rue St. Louis in the Upper Town inside the walls. Most of the rooms should fit your budget and they are beautifully furnished in Victorian style--every one different. It's handy to all the sites and I found the staff very friendly and helpful.

http://www.clossaintlouis.com/index.php

Didn't want to start an new thread...So here is Aegean Odyssey entering Venice today:

I was on deck as we arrived just as dawn was breaking over Venice-what an incredible sight! Great cruise from Istanbul.

I am looking forward to going to Istanbul even with the current unrest. From what I have been able to find out, in Istanbul, it is isolated to Taksim square and the adjacent Gezi park. While the Grand Hyatt hotel faces Gezi park, I have talked to them and they say there have been no problems.

 

I hope the cruise line will continue on with the planned cruise. I am really excited about this trip.

 

Larry

I am booked on the VtoA cruise from Istanbul to Venice in September and do hope that things will be safe enough at that time. When I was in Istanbul this April I stayed in Sultanahmet, far from the current violence, but I did pass by the Grand Hyatt and it is indeed close to Taksim Square and Gezi Park. At the present time I don't think I would feel comfortable being there, but I have no plans to cancel yet.

Try Porter air we used them Toronto to Quebec City last fall for a cruise.

Bus and train are options as well.

I'm a great fan of Porter, but in this case there is no service between Montréal and Québec.

My preference would be Via Rail, but if you can find a good one-way car rental that would certainly work well.

The situation in Istanbul is going on right now because of a park that is to be turned into a mall/shopping center. We left the Ritz at 7am this morning. There was rioting all night long. The streets were full of rubble and many were blocked.

 

The police were shooting "something" from their guns.....? Tear gas? Or just smoke bombs, I don't know. Our driver had to move some of the rocks out of the street so that he could get through.

 

This will all be over soon. Maybe even today or tomorrow.

The protests and demonstrations in Istanbul which have spread throughout the country are not because of the plan to turn Gezi Park into a shopping centre. That, and the brutal response of the police, was merely the spark for protests by many Turks throughout the country against the government's increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial measures. This article may explain some of the background to the protests.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/03/taksim-square-istanbul-turkey-protest

I don't know how anyone can say "This will all be over soon. Maybe even today or tomorrow" except perhaps wishful thinking government propagandists --"Nothing to see here folks, just move along". Who knows at this point what will happen?

We just visited Istanbul on April 1 & 2, 2013. Others already provided plenty of advice on how to get around. I am only here to share my shopping experience there. We only shopped for half a day in Grand Baazar, and had only gone thru the streets that sells scarfs and some candy shops. At the entrance, they are more expensive, when we get to the end and some side streets, the prices are so good we ended buying many more than we planned to. Some of them are only 5 T.L. or less. I still regret I did not buy more to give to my friends. We also bought lots of Turkey Delights, but they are a total scam. The candies are nothing like what are shown on the pictures. On the ones they said have nuts do not have visiable nuts. You maybe able to taste a hint of nuts in them. So if you want to buy candies, buy them from the bulks in the store where you can see, sometimes even taste them.

If you want excellent Turkish Delights you should buy them at Haci Bekir which has been making them and other confectionaries since 1777, There are several shops around the city, including one near the Spice Bazaar and one on Istiklal, the big pedestrian mall in the New City.

I'm curious about a number of things.

 

What shots and/or medications are required or did you opt for. I've heard malaria medication--is that required or optional?

 

Was getting a visa for Vietnam easy?

 

Local beer and wine are included on the boat, but cocktails aren't, do I have that right?

 

Did you use "industrial grade" repellants or would Off Skintastic or similar be okay (hate this stuff, but know it's necessary.)

 

Last, and asked with some delicacy, how big a deal is the Vietnam War with the passengers? My husband was a draft resister--I think this trip would be very emotional to him since he lost many friends and was involved in the anti-war movement, but I'm wondering if being a dodger would make shipboard life uncomfortable at all.

 

I'm helping plan a business trip for him to Singapore in February and trying to plan some adventures for both of us around this, since flight will be covered.

For inoculations and medication, you should take the advice of your local travel clinic. I did take malaria tablets for a small portion of the trip, as most of the areas for Mekong Cruises are malaria free. In any event when I was there (Mar-Apr 12) there were very few if any mosquitos--either malaria or dengue carriers. If I am going to use insect repellents, I will use those that work, and that means DEET. But it's well to take professional advice on this.

Getting a visa was very simple for me as I turned in my passport, application and fee at the Vietnamese Embassy in Ottawa and had the visa in two days. It can also be done by mail. I don"t think it is at all necessary to pay an agency to obtain it for you.

Re drinks. I can't speak for Avalon, but with Viking, local liquor was free along with beer and wine. It was OK in mixed drinks and cocktails. The Vietnames and Cambodian beer was excellent. In the South, ask for Ba-ba-ba (222) beer!

The attitude of passengers towards the war will of course depend on the individuals, but I don't think you need to get involved in those discussions if you don't want to. On our ship, there was little discussion of the Vietnamese war, but certainly much about the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. I did have to walk away when an obnoxious woman declared "I know the war was terrible and all that, but the Vietnamese should be thankful for all the billions of dollars in infrastructure we left them--otherwise they would still be in the stone age." I would have lost it if I hadn't left. She was actually serious.

I haven't done a river cruise in Myanmar/Burma, but recently returned from a Mekong cruise on a Pandaw ship (in this case leased to Viking). Pandaw began its operations on the Irrawaddy and their ships are quite comfortable and a pleasant way to travel. Based on my experiences on the Mekong, I am considering a trip with Pandaw in Burma. They have a number of interesting itineraries.

https://www.pandaw.com/index.php

Has anyone used GV Tours in Puerto Montt, Chile? Their tours sound interesting but would like a recommendation.

GV Tours has been well recommended on this board, and we took a day tour with them last January based on these recommendations.

The tour was OK, and the price was right compared to ship's tours, but I can't say that it was outstanding in any respect.

The guide was not terribly communicative or informative and one of the guests actually complained to the management (Gail) about the standard of the guide which we had been assigned.

Out first stop was Frutillar, a scenic village on Lake Llanquihue, but we arrived (and left) before anything in town was open (except for one small gift shop). The German Colonial Museum was only pointed out to us as we left town. We were generally left to our own devices to wander along the lakeshore for an hour or so.

We next stopped in Puerto Varas. After a brief stop outside town for a panoramic view of the town, we were dropped off at the centre of town and given an hour or so to wander around . The guide gave us virtually no information on the history or the highlights of the town.

We then proceeded along the lake shore and as the clouds dispersed we had magnificent views of Mount Osorno. After a brief stop to see a few llamas, which our guide did point out are not native to the area, we stopped at a non-nondescript restaurant for lunch. The lunch (we had salmon) was OK, but nothing outstanding. Later on, our guide pointed out another restaurant on the shores of the lake which looked much nicer. He mentioned that this was the usual one used by GV tours, so I suspect that there were too many people on tour that day and a secondary restaurant had to be used as well for the overflow.

Our final stop were the waterfalls at Petrohue which were well worth seeing and here our guide was quite helpful and informative.

We then returned to Puerto Montt via Puerto Varas (no stops) where we were dropped off. We didn't tour Puerto Montt.

I don't know if this was typical of GV tours, but judging from the comments on this board, I suspect it was not. There were two cruise ships in port that day and probably their resources were stretched trying to accommodate as many guests as they could. I don't think that we had the best of their guides.