cole

We are scheduled to do this route with Vantage and our Madrid tour seems to be a morning bus ride through the city with possibly a couple of stops for photos. Madrid itself it not the kind of city that lends itself to "tours" per se. We are also arriving a day early and after checking into the hotel, taking the Hop On bus tour which will allow us to get on and off at the different stops and linger as long as we would like. We have done this before and it really was the perfect way to enjoy beautiful Madrid. The afternoon tour with Vantage is to Toledo, which we will also take. Hope this helps.

Cole

We booked the Movenpick at the Zurich airport, which was Avalon's hotel at that time (you might check to see where they are booking the passengers that book airfare with them) and then took the pre-cruise transfer with Avalon through Lucerne, Mt. Pilatus and then to the ship. It worked out great.

Cole

We sailed on the Elbe with Vantage a couple of years ago and began in Berlin. Absolutely loved it and the Vantage ship and staff. We were lucky that we had no problems with the level of the river so cannot address that aspect of the trip, but it is definitely worth taking this trip.

Cole

We did the Douro with Uniworld 3 years ago and loved it. Loved it because so much of the sailing is during the day and the scenery is beautiful. Started in Lisbon and ended in Lisbon. At that time, we flew to Madrid for an overnight and really thought Madrid was beautiful. We are booked with Vantage in October of this year to return to the Douro beginning with a 2 night pre-cruise in Madrid and ending in Lisbon. This particular tour is a Harvest Theme giving us the opportunity to experience harvesting of the grapes and making the wine and port. October should also be even more beautiful with the fall colors. Highly recommend this cruise.

Cole

I'm planning a trip to Iceland for 2019 also, and I agree that the country has enough varied and interesting aspects to easily fill a 7-night circumnavigation. But I don't think I'll be booking Vantage, because reviews of this ship aren't very promising.

 

I should also point out that this thread isn't about River Cruising. Vantage is one of those companies that has several divisions including River Cruising, Small Ship Ocean Cruising, and others. This thread should be on the "Other Cruise Lines" forum:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=218

You should cross-post over there, as you will reach a completely different group of Cruise Critic members.

You are correct. I just saw the thread "All Things Vantage". Guess this doesn't qualify for "all things". Will move to the small ship thread but I thank those who did respond.

Cole

Some years ago I did a 14 day coach tour of Iceland, and scenically it is truly varied and unique.

 

It helped that we had an Icelandic guide who knew the island like the back of his hand.

We also looked at a coach tour, but didn't want to pack and unpack as we went from hotel to hotel. But I am sure it was a great scenic trip.

Cole

Cole. My only issue with that far in advance is that Vantage has a Non-refundable deposit. I'd suggest you buy insurance for that amount (it's cheap) - not the whole cruise but the non-refundable portion. Use insuremytrip website. And with that far out you may not be able to get pre-existing condition. (JMHO)

 

We were in Reykjavik overnight on a wonderful RCI cruise from Harwich, Emngland. Honestly 2 days there was plenty for me. And it was MUCH cheaper than Vantage of course.

Insurance has been purchased. Yes RCI is less expensive but we wanted to circle the entire island and not spend time getting from England to Iceland. But you point is well taken.

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It is a little scary to have booked so far in advance( 2019), but Iceland has been on our "bucket list" for a couple of years and have recently booked the cruise with Vantage that circles the island with a couple of days in Reykjavik. Anyone else brave enough to join us?

Cole

Agree with all of the responses so far and one other thing I always take into consideration is the payment for the cruise. Viking wants their payment way in advance while Uniworld is more "user friendly" with their payment plan if that is an issue for you.

Cole

We didn't use a shuttle but used a private driver we booked in advance both from and to the airport. We stayed at the intercontinental and it was $35 Euros. Extremely convenient. I think it was a 20-30 minute drive

Same here. It is great to have someone waiting for you as you exit with your bags and transport you to your hotel. There are many reputable services available. Just Google Airport Transportation - Prague and many will pop up. Read the reviews.

Cole

Has anyone returned from this years Douro on Vantage? If so could you share a detailed itinerary as to when you docked in the ports and departed. We are trying to book one or two private tours and don’t want to conflict with Vantage. Thanks in advance.

Cole

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This is another itinerary that really interests us, especially having just done one that ended up in Budapest. I'd like to go the rest of the way.

We did that itinerary just last year, but not with Tauck, but would imagine it is very similar. We enjoyed it very much, but it is totally different that other itineraries due to the fact that from Budapest to the Black Sea, countries are continuing to recover from years of depression under communistic rule. There are many buildings left in ruin because no one can determine who they now belong to since the dictators took them from the original owners and gave them to other people. We were told that there are currently 40,000 lawsuits alone in Bucharest trying to sort out that problem. But having said that - I would definitely recommend taking that cruise, particularly if you are interested in history. The ports were not the focus, but short bus rides to other sights was what we experienced.

Cole

My friend and I have done 3 river cruises with AmaWaterways - Tulip Time, the Danube, and the Paris to Normandy. All have been spectacular. We want to book a 4th and several folks on our Seine cruise, including the Cruise Manager, raved about Lyon to Arles (the Rhone). We have never been to Portugal, so the Duoro is in the mix, as is the Rhine. Thoughts?

 

Allyson

Also should have mentioned that the Rhine is a spectacular river with multiple castles along the Rhine Gorge. If the ports are most important to you I would choose the Rhine.

Cole

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Hmmm. Interesting question. Both great but totally different. The France trip docks at picturesque ports with interesting tours and traversing from one port to the next is mostly at night. The Douro cruising does a lot during the day with beautiful scenery plus great ports. Whatever you choose be sure to have the one you didn’t choose on your bucket list. We are returning to the Douro in 2018 because we loved our first cruise on that river.

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When we were there, cold weather clothing was a must! Snow boots, cuddle duds (insulated undies), sweaters, stocking caps, gloves, etc. Maybe you have some friends who are ski bunnies you could borrow some clothing from.

Cole

We've only been on big ocean cruises or very small (10 cabin) specialty cruises, so this will be our first river cruise. We're also a group of 18 people who doesn't do everything together, so sometimes there will be 6 of us on a tour and sometimes 18.

 

On the big cruises, we usually book our own private tours because we don't like the big "cattle call" tours of 60 to 100+ people. My question is about the optional tours on our upcoming Gate 1 river cruise. Does anyone know how many people are generally in each group? Do you travel on big buses? Can you hear the guides? Basically, should we do our own private tours or will it be fine to go with Gate 1?

 

Thanks!

Most tours are generally broken into manageable groups 15 - 20 maybe and if the sights are a distance away from the ship, you will be transported in very nice buses. Your tour guide will talk to you as you are traveling to the sight and when you arrive, you will use Vox hearing devices into which the guide will talk. You will have no trouble hearing any description and you can even wander a pretty long distance from the guide if you want to check out something you would like to take a photo of, etc. and still hear him/her speaking. You always have the option of doing your own thing in the ports if you choose, but we have never been disappointed in the excursions that were included on the many river cruises we have taken.

Cole

has anyone been on the scenic cruise on the Douro? How long does it take to get from Porto airport to the ship? If you are flying back to the UK what time do you have to leave the ship and what time did Scenic book you for the return flight?

You might find this information regarding the airport helpful:

http://portoportugalguide.com/porto-guide/porto-airport.html

Cole

I assume you mean Portugal :)

OOPS! Yes - Portugal.

Cole

It will be interesting to hear if you have had any impact from the wildfires that they have been reporting on in both Spain and Portland.

Cole

Looking at Avalon - 13 days Danube or possibly 15 days. Did you like Avalon - any recommendations - thoughts or tips. Would you book again?

Many thanks.

With regard to Avalon, absolutely would recommend this line. Have also traveled with Uniworld and loved them also, but the suite ships of Avalon make time spent in the cabins very nice. You will need to decide if 13 - 15 days is to your liking, but the Danube is full of picturesque ports.

Cole

My husband travels with a CPAP machine when we have traveled on a river cruise, he always takes an adapter, converter and extension cord. For such a short period of time, he uses the water on the ship and never had any negative effects.

Cole

To fly back to the U.S. (ORD), is the Zurich airport the best option from Lucerne? I understand that the train goes directly to the Zurich airport. TIA

We have flown into and out of Zurich airport several times and the last time was before a pre-cruise option to Lucerne and I would say you won't be sorry to book that airport.

Cole

I am thinking of doing a cruise on the Douro river for fall of 2018

I have done many ocean cruises (30+ on Princess alone)

I want something that starts in Lisbon and ends in Madrid

so far I'm looking at AMA and Vikking

I will be traveling solo

any suggestions? recomendations

anyone gone solo on a river cruise (I've done many ocean cruises solo)

We did our initial cruise on the Douro on Uniworld in the spring of 2014 and loved it so much that we are returning in October of 2018. This time we have chosen Vantage (which has a brand new ship on this river) and we start in Madrid with a couple of days pre-cruise and end in Lisbon after spending 2 days in Porto. We chose October 13 departure because it is a Harvest focused cruise, which should be a lot of fun. We have traveled with Vantage once and have nothing but compliments for that cruise line. In addition to Uniworld we have cruised with Avalon and have loved all three. Look at this itinerary and see what you think.

Cole

New Article on Cruise Critic [about U by Uniworld]:

From the Bridge: Will Millennials Change the Way We Cruise?

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8018

Love these ideas and I have commented in the past about those of us who are repeat river cruisers - offer different experiences in the ports for those who have done the routine tours (museums, churches, etc.) so we don't feel like we are paying for a deja vu cruise.

Cole

Leaving for BUD next week and am still deciding on the Hungarian Horsemen excursion or the Vienna Spanish Riding School ....

any comments, opinions or suggestions much appreciated!

We did the Hungarian Horsemen excursion (with Avalon, but other buses were there, so I am sure some were Viking) and also have done the Spanish Riding School (two times). Both are spectacular and totally different. By the way, the lunch at the Hungarian excursion was unbelievable. Never have we see so much food! You won't be disappointed.

Cole