Barrheadlass

There will be a suggested per person per day gratuity for the ship staff. There will also be a suggested gratuity for the program director...I think usually $7-10 per person per day for the program director. I’ve got 16 trips with OAT or GCT and only once did I not think the maximum was deserved. Cash will be required, either local or US currency, I often do a combination. Laundry is reasonably priced. Pillows were fine but I’m not fussy.

Ella, I’m so looking forward to reading more about your trip!

I’ve done 5 river cruises with GCT ( and two with Uniworld). Do you have any particular questions? I’ve not done the cruise you’re booked on, though.

Oh, I can’t wait to hear about it! Thank you! As I mentioned in another thread, I’ve taken many trips with OAT and have never been disappointed. I’m a solo traveler and have always had a great time. I’ll be interested to hear your impressions.

Funny, I just posted on a thread about Egypt cruises. I’m going in March with Overseas Adventure Travel. My ship is the Aida Dehabeya. I’ll have to report back after my trip ( I’ve traveled about 17 times with the company).

I’m going to Egypt and Jordan with Overseas Adventure Travel in March, it includes a cruise on the Nile.

I was booked for that cruise on GCT for last October...they cancelled all cruises after June and offered us a deal to go earlier. We went in May. Having done 6 or 7 river cruises ( with Uniworld and GCT) I have to say this one was a disappointment. Just plain blah, in my view. We were told the ship was being moved to Provence, where the demand is much higher.

I tried to upgrade from economy to comfort + for a Delta flight from Boston to Edinburgh recently. They wanted $370 extra round trip, which is nuts. I’ve got over 100,000 SkyMiles because of my Amex Delta card...and could not use them because of my fare bucket ( or some such thing.).

I would not accept that flight. I was in CDG 3 weeks ago for a connecting flight, , and getting through passport control took close to 45 minutes. I’ve flown through there on connecting flights many times, and would not be comfortable with less than 2 hours. I do admit, though, that I’ve never needed 2 hours!

Things do change! We took a Uniworld cruise about 10 years ago, and for the captain’s dinner there was exactly one man without a sport coat!

Loved my cruise on the Douro on Uniworld.

I just returned from a river cruise where my cabin was the last one before the door that led to the crew area. I never heard a single noise and actually saw a crew member enter the area exactly once.

I appreciate everyone ‘s advice!

I do have an issue, and it is a big one. I take a lot of trips with a company that gives a 7.5 percent discount if not paid with a credit card. And my flights are usually booked through the company. And I don’t think this company takes American Express if I wanted to pay that way!