vada_9

Thanks for you reviews - we also have a hire car booked for August 2016 when we are in Honningsvarg. Good to see your maps with distance and times. We have booked a bird cruise(on a small boat). The more I look at recent photos - I can see how cold it will probably be. Will make packing fun as before our cruise we will be meeting our daughter in Italy (which should be hot).

Just be aware the Grotto tour may not go ahead. We were in Corfu last year (May) and had a private taxi tour and wanted to go out in the boats as well to the grottos. Our taxi driver asked many of the operators at Paleokastrica beach but they said no - water too choppy - looked fine to me. They said maybe later!! , but we were not there by then

Thanks Hoyaheel - I have no idea how to insert a link (I usually search on a persons cc profile).

I booked the houseboat stay independantly as part of a longer trip to Southern Africa. Cost was approx US $1000 a night for the 2 of us - all inclusive. You can find out information on the Ichobezi or Zambezie Queen web sites - there are 4 boats now owned by the Mantis group.

This was the last part of a months stay -so we were ready for a restful time.

We were on the Chobe Princess house boat back in June (sister boat to the Zambezi Queen) as part of a longer holiday in southern Africa. The wildlife viewing from the river is different from a land safari (we did quite a few different game drives/safaries in different areas. I would consider it a more relaxing way to view animals - you sit back in your boat (with a refreshment) and watch the animals come to the waters edge to drink etc. I have a write up a few pages back on this forum. We were woken by hippos of a morning.

Animals we saw from the houseboat/tender - elephant, buffalo, giraffe, impala, hippo, kudu, baboon, vervet monkeys, water monitor, warthog, many birds including fish eagles, african jacanas. You have the option to go fishing for tiger fish. Combined with stays at land based lodges this gives you another experience.

If you are talking about "The Secret Itineries" tour - just remember that when the official tour ends you then have free time to wander through the public rooms on your own (included in ticket price) at your own pace. Think you may be cutting it a bit fine.

Wow! Thanks for the info - We intend to do the glacier this way next year and have found only 1 other report for this. Azamara are charging $141 Aus each for this (price has probably risen since I last downloaded brochure). thanks again for the great photos.

Have you thought of doing the China tour as a private tour. I would think that teenagers would probably hate the whole "group tour" concept. When we went to China we had a travel agent organise a private tour through a well known company (we are in Aust). Turned out the price difference between group package tour and our private tour was about the cost of the airfare. We chose the locations we wished to visit (included a Yanghtse cruise - excursions are part of the cost) had our own private guide and driver in each location

For something very different have a look at Row Venice. - Private stand up rowing lesson in the back canals and out into the lagoon can't remember the name of the type of boat but they are bigger than a gondola. We really enjoyed this activity.

Thanks I-cruiser for all the info and the updated photos. Even though we are not coming till next year - makes me rethink my packing list. It looks cold for those of us down under. It's winter here and temp is about 20 degrees.

Some background info - When planning our African holiday we wanted to finish with a river cruise - we like river cruising. Tried to book the Zambezi Queen - but were booking about a year out and they said come back in 6 months and we will let you know what is available. That wasn't what we wanted to hear - like to know where we will be when booking airfares etc. Looked around and found the Ichobezi safari boats (now called Chobe Princess safariboat) in the same location on the Chobe river and were able to book straight away. Incidentally, all 4 river boats are now owned by the Mantis group who own the Zambezi Queen.

This turned out to be the perfect end to a very hectic holiday. Very laid back and relaxing. We were met on time at the Kasane (Botswana ) immigration post and our luggage and ourselves were placed in a runabout (this would be our boat and guide for the duration on our stay) taken downstream to the Namibia immigration post - 100 meters up a dirt track - passport stamped and back to the runabout for the trip to where the houseboat was moored. All 4 boats are registered in Namibia (River is the border) so everyone has to do this.

When we arrived at the boat we were shown our cabin -there are 4 on this boat ZQ has 14 and Zambezzi princess somewhere in between. We were shown our lifejackets and told -you won't need these -too true -who wants to be bobbing around with crocs and hippos in the water.

Lunch was ready and the other guests said help yourself to a drink from the fridge/bar. the bar was stocked with local beer/wine and ciders and softdrink/mixers and 10 or so different spirits -it was help yourself. There was also a thermos with coffee and hot water available. Lunch was served - no choice but plenty of good basic food - lasagne, salad, bread and dessert. During lunch the boat moved to a new mooring spot. there are no ports etc just different spots to moor along the river (on the namibian side) Chobe Nat park is on the opposite bank of the river.

Activities were a game drive, village visit or fishing - all on your private runabout. and that is how the days panned out.

Cabin had a king bead or could be king singles own bathroom, air con, large window. we were woken by hippos in the morning.

Animals seen elephants, buffalo, impala, kudo, baboon, vervet monkeys, hippos, crocs , monitor lizards and many many birds - did I mention elephants and buffalo?

Have not yet been to The Netherlands - but, last year was in Istanbul on two different dates. The first approx 22nd April all the flower beds were full of flowering tulips and they were magnificent - returned on the 5th May to start a cruise and every flower bed had been dug up.

Sounds like you guys are doing it the same way we did.....do the strenuous ones first before your legs go. I think you'll find Europe to be every bit as wonderful as Asia and Africa and a lot easier on the body. :D

Yep, we didn't plan on too much Europe at present - but our daughter is thinking of moving there for a couple of years - so we can kill two birds - short visit and an extra holiday.

So true.....river cruising easily becomes an addiction!!

We have booked our Cat E cabin for next year. - see my updated signature.

Yes, river cruising is addictive this will be our 6th, but first in Europe.

Thanks again everyone - there has been quite a bit of response to my post.:)

Thanks for the quick responses. I know no-one can answer that question, but was after some balanced arguements. Most brochures etc only show the balcony cabins. Being winter daylight should be from 8 am to 4pm approx so don't really think I would be wanting to sit outside too much.

Hi all,

Will I be happy with an "Aquarium class" cabin on a European Christmas market river cruise?

Many corner stores will sell takeaways. They will have an Efes sign outside (blue). We collect beer cans and have Efes pilsen (blue),Dark, draught,fici,malt and Xtra.My husband liked the Xtra as it was very strong. Also cans of Marmara -red and green, think we also bought Tuborg and Miller there. some restaurants serve alcohol others not. Quite a few local wines. and Raki of course -drunk with water.

We walked Fira to Oia. There is probably less uphill this way. We managed to get on the first tender and caught the cable car (maybe 5 - 10 min wait). We were 2nd ship in. In Fira about 10. when we reached Oia had lunch and a wander around and then caught the public bus back to Fira(Taxi's also available). We were in port 9 till 6. It is a lovely walk but gets very hot climbing the last hill before decending into Oia.

Have a look at the Pandaw web site. They are bringing out shorter cruises on their smaller boats.

Cruised on the Mekong Explorer (Jayavarman) Heritage Lines's first boat back in 2010. Our first Asian river cruise. Cruised down stream in August (the rainy season). There were about 5 boats doing this back then. We all called into similar places. From memory mostly Aussies with some New Zealanders and British and French and Germans. Feel free to ask any questions. Boat was new back then and to us it was rather luxurious. Think the newer boats are more so. Service was great. Drinks were not included in the fare but you had a fridge in your room and no problems bringing on drinks to consume on your balcony.

Not so sure it is really a bargain. Had been looking at a 2017 sailing. Prices in Aus$ mid March Ins $6632, Oce $7222, Bal $8152. Yesterday 1/4 Ins $8579, Oce $9169, Bal $10099. Almost $2000 increase per person in each catagory. If prices had remained the same would have booked today, but alas no.

Cruised the Irawaddy in 2013 on Pandaw II from Yangon to Mandalay (14 nights) . either side is fine - spent most of our on board time either on the open sundeck or in the air conditioned lounge so can see both sides of the river. Depending on season river can be very wide. If you miss one stupa there is always another just around the next river bend. Staff were brilliant - we had a couple of people with mobility issues - an alternative was often offered to them along with a dedicated helper. This is a very relaxed cruise - you could do as much or as little as you liked - there were several people that rarely left the boat (they had cruised the area before). Local villages were charming - I bought a local hat for 30 cents and my biggest mistake was procrastinating over a pair of sparkly thongs(shoes) only bought 1 pair instead of 2 - $2 and the stall holder then gave me a discount.

Your directions are correct. Tram to end of line (it is only 1 or 2 stops depending where you are docked) then swap over to the funicular up to Taksim. Make your way up to Taksim Square - travelators/lifts. Itikail street is off Taksim square. The historic tram goes down it. From memory, You need a seperate ticket for each journey. Depending how long you are in Istanbul - we had bought a travel card (up to 5 people can use the same card) and loaded it with some Lira. Tap on and off. You get a discount on each consecutive trip. If you then catch the historic tram to the end you can then either walk down to the Galata Tower and Galata bridge and back to the cruise ship terminal or there is another funicular down to the Galata bridge area. We did this our last morning plenty of time to be back on ship for lunch.

Have a rowing lesson with Row Venice

Hi Bonnie,

When you come to Australia - a great place to view platypus in their natural environment is at Broken River in Eungela national Park about 1 hours drive inland from Mackay in central queensland. You can stand on the bridge and watch them swimming around.

Not sure of in Europe, but in Asia most meals take place whilst you are cruising from place to place. Always have had choice at meal times. 3 different cruise lines.:)