Rebel54

Very interesting 🙂

It wasn't meant in a negative light. I hate ocean cruises for that very reason. I think it's also a difference in the clients that come on board river vs ocean cruises. Don't think you will ever see the need for full time drug sniffing dogs on a river cruise :).

1. Very affordable and wonderful. I'm doing a 20 day cruise and thankful for that. 2. No room service charges. I never had meals delivered, preferred to go to the food so it was hot and fresh. I did get coffee and juice delivered a couple times. 3. I believe you get a bottle of Champaign (at least the last time we sailed we did) and there is a nespresso machine in your room. Kind of a waste of space to me because you could go make a fresh coffee in the lounge anytime you wanted. 4. They had waffles that you could order for breakfast and they had the pearl sugar so they had a nice sweet crunch to them. If you love olive oil and balsamic vinegar with your bread...they have the BEST at the table. 5. Just unpack, relax and enjoy the ride. There's not a LOT of on board entertainment and the majority of people (on my two that I've done) tend to turn in earlyish so this is not the hopping nightlife that you get on ocean cruises. This is a nice time to journal, read, or just chat with new friends 🙂 6. I love the relaxed atmosphere. No pushy sales, no long walks off the boat to face pushy photographers trying to sell you photos, no pushy sales people as you walk out of the cruise owned port (because you don't have those). No one checking your bags coming back on the boat. Want to bring back wine and cheese or whatever you prefer...no problem. No one cares. Want to walk off the boat, scan your card and with a quick walk you are in a village. Staff are amazing. No request too big or too small. They want to make sure you enjoy your time and there's less than 200 people for them to take care of ... they will know you by name instantly.

Which cabin did you go for?

When packing, remember that if you have internal country flights they are VERY strict on checked luggage. If you don't mind paying, don't worry. We had several people in our group that had to pay over $100 for overweight bags and were mad.

We went in March a few years ago and it was H O T. Bring light weight breathable clothing. I wore Teva type shoes to be able to rinse them easily from the dust. I do recall that with Avalon we left our shoes at the door when we returned from shore trips and they returned then to us clean. (I'm old so I could be remembering that incorrectly). Make sure that you have something to cover knees and shoulders when entering temples. "Cool towels" are a life saver.

I was going to tell you to look at Viking's payment Policy. They want all that money up front. I prefer to keep my money in my account until I am ready to pay and earn interest rather than let them grow my money for themselves any sooner than necessary. Look at Avalon's cabins. I think the itineraries are pretty similar, just looking at the cost, cabins, and all that for differences. I love the space in Avalon's cabins. The mid range cabin is 200 sf with the wall opening up to make your cabin a balcony vs loosing cabin space for a balcony. Their crew are outstanding, food is great and I love the relaxed atmosphere. 🙂

Just curious what is it about those two companies that you are attracted to.

@Tardis42 Not sure if you know, if you go to your cruise on the main Avalon page and go to the day to day itinerary and open it up they will have/add the daily excursions and optional excursions there so you have an idea of what will be available after you make your final payment/the last day you can make a payment.

Hey Tardis. I like to sign up for what I want to do ahead of time. You will see optional excursions that you might want to do that you will have to pay for. I like to sign up and pay for those ahead of time. If you aren't sure what you want to do, don't stress. Things are pretty flexible on board. They are not likely to run out of space for the included excursions. If there is a MUST do for you, sign up early so you are sure to have it on your plan.

Maybe consider other lines besides Viking. Also, companies are just clearing 2023 and adding 2025 so check back. You can look at what is offered in 2024 to get an idea of what 2025 might look like. https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/burgundy-provence-southbound/WJL/dates-and-prices/?season=2024

I do believe Avalon also allows children 9 and up. Also, Viva allows children with no age restriction.

Doing some googling to try to find out more on the actual ship and found this. More info on the cruise but can't find anything on the draft of her. She's a beautiful boat. https://www.teemingrivercruises.com/ships/ms-swiss-ruby/

They literally just posted today. It's such a small boat I didn't want to wait. Only have to put down 20% and the remainder is due 30 days prior to departure. 2024 was booked up pretty fast. No coaches. We will meet them in Berlin and end in Prague. I am very excited.

I'm excited, booked Berlin to Prague for Nov 2025. I know it's a ways out but I don't care. I can't wait. 🙂

If you are the sort of person that likes to use your room to sleep and shower, save yourself the money and book the cheaper room. For me, I need to be able to open up the room and get the fresh air and I enjoy my space and peace while I see the scenery go by. I need my quiet time and love the panoramic suites for that reason. Another cruise line you might consider is Viva-Cruises. They are a newer line, their prices are more reasonable and their boats are nice. They are also all inclusive from drinks to tours. Search them on YouTube for some reviews.

I will be on Avalon Envision Aug 2024 and will update and let you know what we have. I have the bluetooth transmitters for our flights so hopefully I can test drive it. 🙂

That's it. Planning on going with a friend and my daughter and her family. I'm looking forward to it.

Just put out on the pier and told to figure it out? Seriously? What company were you with? Want to make sure I never sail with them.

I suppose anything is possible. I've known Navy people that got seasick standing on the pier so .... there's that. However, I tend to get a little sick on small boats (snorkle or catamaran) and not a single issue with river boats. I think it's rather unlikely. Might be good to have some non-drowsy motion sickness meds or even an anti nausea stick to smell when feeling a bit off. For me mint gum and the anti nausea sticks are awesome.

Thank you. I was starting to rethink doing a Christmas cruise with all the flooding happening.

Looking to do a cruise with Viva from Berlin to Prague for Christmas. How are the levels, on average, in the winter?

Prague is very easy to get around on foot but there are a lot of cobblestones so not sure how they would be with a wheel chair. There is public transportation ... not sure how well they handle wheelchairs. I am pretty sure some of the underground metro's are not accessible. Check out this link: https://wheelchairtravel.org/prague/public-transportation/ There is Bolt (there's an app for that) which is similar to Uber which is very affordable and might be a good option for getting to places a bit farther way (the Castle complex, etc). More than likely the hotel that Viking provides will be near the Old Town Square so that will be nice for seeing the that, the Astronomical clock, some of the churches on the square. There is a nice pathway along the Vltava which would be nice to stroll along for a great view. The Charles bridge is a must see too. My biggest recommendation would be to go out as early as possible to enjoy the sites without the crowds which would make navigating a wheelchair easier as well. I don't know Viking but I know that Avalon includes a good tour at each stop which is included in the cost of the cruise. As far as optional tours I look at Viator. Viator is a little more expensive than direct with the vendor but it's just a nice easy way to schedule if budget isn't your main concern. You can schedule tours in advance and pay for them closer to arrival and cancel for free at a certain point. You can probably also book while you are on the cruise...the day before or so which would be better in case you have a change in route or schedule due to water levels. For example, I have booked a TukTuk tour in Budapest for when we arrive. It will get us around to see some of the sights that I can't easily walk to and it will pick us up right at the ship and return us there as well. I can cancel it up to a couple days before with no penalty. I hope you have an amazing trip.

I didn't realize until I was part way through, I had already watched it. So sad but very well done. I used to live in Munich and have been to many of the camps and memorials. I can't understand how anyone supported any of that. Hurts my heart. I agree with you on the lard. YUCK. Makes me cringe just thinking about it. Back in my Navy days I may or may not have eaten a vaseline and chocolate syrup sandwich as part of an "event" I was going through. I survived but the thought makes me ill. Smelling fish does as well, for the same reasons. 🙂

Ah thank you so much 🙂 We (my daughter and I) are going with Avalon. I lived in Germany for 3 years when she was a young girl so I'm excited to share this with her as an adult. I am new to the Messianic faith and learning to follow the principles. Giving up unclean foods was easy but traveling and eating out has posed a challenge. I know that Avalon is great about addressing food concerns so I have some relief there. The last time I was in Europe I was eating pork so no challenge, I ate everything. So excited about this trip. Spending a week in Prague ahead of the cruise on our own. My 8th time there. 8 months to go!