Roz

There are river cruise companies that offer the discount for cash option, and it usually has to be paid upfront. River cruises tend to be more expensive than ocean cruises, and I don't like having thousands of dollars of cash tied up like that. Plus I prefer the protection a credit card provides.

I'm confused....😵‍💫

@cresswindcruiser, I leave December 20 from Amsterdam. You'll love Tauck. Lots of nice little touches and attention to detail. Last year I got off the ship with a zero account balance.

The agents that work for the airlines aren't any better. I've spent hours on the phone with AA trying to sort out messes they created.

I assume solos pay $98 per day.

Easy to do with Southwest.

@TiogaCruiser, that was my interpretation. I was questioning why @ChinaShrek didn't want to put money down with no guarantee.

@BermudaBound2014, thank you for posting this. I wasn't aware of it. If I lived in or near a port city I would definitely take advantage of it.

You don't get the money back if you don't clear the list?

I don't see any reason why a Lyft or Uber driver can't drop you off at the proper area for your ship. Port Everglades is very well organized.

@Cruise NH, the transfer from Canada Place to Seatac isn't considered to be a shore excursion. Go into your booking and look for pre and post cruise. There you'll see the transfers and hotels. If you can't find it contact your TA and have them add it.

Uniworld used the Radisson Blu in Bucharest. Stayed there for 2 nights and really enjoyed it. Fabulous breakfast buffet. Where else can you get eggplant salad for breakfast?

On last year's cruise I enjoyed putting my shoe outside my cabin door, and the next morning finding Sinterklaas 🎅 had left me a chocolate. 😋

@Steerpike58, sorry your first river cruise was so disappointing. I did a Bucharest to Budapest cruise on Uniworld, and Eastern Europe is definitely different than Western Europe. It's not the same as visiting Germany, France, Switzerland, etc. You have to adjust your expectations. 50 years of Communist rule did them no favors. They're still trying to catch up with the West. I grew up in a large northern city with Croats, Slovaks, Serbs, Czechs, Poles, Hungarians, and other Eastern Europeans. I would hear people talk about their families still there and how they could never visit them, and in some cases, didn't even know if they were still alive. I assumed I would never get to see these fascinating, hidden countries. You have to take things at face value and not compare Eastern Europe to other parts of Europe. A half day in Budapest isn't nearly enough time and I'm sorry you didn't get to experience more of what it has to offer. I've been there twice, both times on a river cruise. I think a Budapest to Passau itinerary would have offered you more of what you were looking for.

I have b2b river cruises booked next month over Christmas and New Year's. The other day FedEx delivered a pkg. from Tauck. I was kind of surprised because my TA had just mailed me my cruise docs and luggage tags. Inside the pkg. was a small change wallet containing a 10 euro bill. The following message was on a card: "We hope you are looking forward to your upcoming river cruise. The enclosed wallet makes it easier to keep your foreign currency handy - take a look inside, and enjoy your first refreshment ashore on us. See you soon!" I've only done one other Tauck cruise and that was last year. Is this something new or is it something they do for repeat customers?

Even though I have a smartphone, and know how to use it 😜 , I would still prefer to use a website.

Got off the Noordam on October 1 and received my Welcome Back Offer yesterday. 🙄

On my last cruise I encountered many passengers who didn't have a grasp of how to perform basic tasks on their cell phones. This ought to throw them for a real loop. 😉

I also think Viking "brainwashes" their customers. In talking with Viking loyalists, they've told me they don't want to try other lines because they're afraid they won't include the amenities Viking does, such as shore excursions, airport transfers, wine at lunch and dinner, etc. When I've tried to explain that some of the other river cruise lines provide all that and more, they seem incredulous. I think Viking alludes to certain things, giving passengers the impression Viking is all inclusive when in fact they are not. As a singleton (in the words of Bridget Jones), I'll never sail Viking due to their insistence on a 200% single supplement. I can sail on Uniworld or Tauck with either no supplement, or a reduced supplement, and pay less than I would on Viking plus get more inclusions such as gratuities and all alcohol. But no one wants to hear that.

That is so true. People are surprised to find out there are so many other river cruise lines.

Me too! Graduated from HS in 1970.

My parents played big band music too, but it's not my preferred music genre. I'm finding more and more that HAL doesn't suit my cruising style. I need something with more activity and energy.

This is what I posted after my Alaska cruise on the Noordam: The contract and affiliate fees for Lincoln Center Stage, America's Test Kitchen, Rolling Stone Lounge, etc., along with port fees and taxes, are increasingly expensive. HAL hopes to bring back LCS and ATK in some form, but they will be called something different. Production shows and a ship band (remember the HAL Cats?) will be gradually brought back. One of the obstacles to doing this is that the musicians and performers that appear in the World Stage, Rolling Stone Lounge, and Billboard Onboard onboard can't perform in other venues according to the terms of their contract. What is "mild music", and how old ARE you? Anyone born from the late 1940s on up was raised on rock 'n' roll. 🤪

But we have to come home a day earlier. 😪

Good morning, @kazu. HAL changed the departure date for the Noordam's 28-day Coral Triangle, Volcanoes, and Great Barrier Reef cruise. We now leave Singapore on January 4, 2025 instead of January 5. Thanks!