ShannonSC2

Enjoying your review so far.

Sounds like a trip you won't forget anytime soon!

We were on the Getaway a few years ago when the NCAA Basketball championship took place and they showed it up on the big screen in the atrium. A lot of people watched the game and everyone was having a great time.

This past December we were on the Sky and some good football bowl games were scheduled. We asked if they would be showed and they said no because they didn't have the rights. Only to the big games did they have rights.

So I am not sure if they are only granted rights to certain games.

The PTZtv tweet says that the webcam went off line just after 7:53AM EST.

When I looked earlier this morning it was raining pretty bad and the palm trees on the beach were bending. Praying for those in the path of the storm.

I paid special attention to al the alleged nickel and Diming as well as pushy sales attempts that occurs on board the evil NCL craft these day.

 

We were asked once if we wanted our picture taken. We had not a single expense that we didn't want or for which we were not prepared with the exception of the trip to Doctor Dreamy...

 

I did hear one gent complaining that there was sales tax on our drinks in Miami and he claimed that it was the bartenders just "stickin' it" to the guests. If looks could vaporize this gent would be no more, as the bartender was not pleased. NEither was I so I just HAD to educate the man but another guest beat me to it.

 

We didn't play Bingo, Deal or No Deal no hubster bought only one pack of the lucky winner strips ( woo-Ho! 4 dollars on a 20$ investment!) but none of that should be included anyway.

 

Our drinks were never charged over the 15$ limit because I don't think we ordered anything pricey.

 

We received one bottle of water I our suite and then actually ARGH!!! Purchased one on the way out to an excursion.

 

I can say with complete honesty that there was not a single expense that we felt cheated by paying or found ridiculous. We have been on other cruise lines and the same items are a charge on those vessels as well.

 

We spent plenty of money but not on hidden fees or on unscrupulous practices. No pressure to buy...and then there is the SPA

I have been on several NCL cruises and I have never felt like I was nickeled or dimed either. We don't spend on BINGO or Deal or no Deal. We like to watch though. We usually always buy the next cruise deal but we plan for that ahead of time. I have a certain budget for pictures or for drinks if I don't get the drink package. We normally don't eat at the Fancy restaurant because I can either eat at the buffet or the main dining room and the food is just as good.

If that person was upset about the sales tax in Miami I guess they haven't read any postings on Cruise Critic. Shame on them. :)

Love your review.

Morning coffee on the balcony...🙆 Can't wait!

Stacynray: From your countdown we will be on the Oasis at the same time. Looking forward to it and I am hoping to "scope" also but not sure yet. My husband may be doing it instead. :(

I felt like I was writing at the beginning. I have 2 teenage daughters and I hear the same thing

"No Internet for a week! What about my Snapchat streak!" I say "who cares you are on vacation." Then I get the rolling of the eyes and the sigh!

Oh well I am on vacation and I don't want any drama from back home (I am a preschool teacher who deals with 100 parents and if their child got in trouble I will either read about it on Facebook or get a nice email).

I am glad your parents made it! I would have been stressed!! Hopefully the rest of your vacation will be great.

I hope you liked Savannah. I haven't been there in a long time (I tend to favor Charleston, SC more since it is only 2 hours from where I live).

I would avoid the entire European continent! :eek:

We just got back on Sunday from visiting 8 European countries for 2 1/2 weeks. We never felt unsafe during our time visiting (only in Athens, Greece where a teen age girl grabbed my husbands shirt begging for money). Of course you have to be aware of your surroundings and make sure you know what is going on around you. But you have to do that in the USA! There are parts of the USA I wouldn't visit right now and feel at risk in certain parts of my own country.

If you are afraid to travel anywhere and live in fear you are just giving in to the "bad" guys! They want you to feel fear!

If you don't travel to European continent you are missing out on some great opportunities.

Just my 2 cents! :)

Trying to get back on topic ("Unrest in Europe") ...

 

Celebrity website now has this banner alert:

 

Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey - Advisory

 

Celebrity Cruises is aware of the bombing at Istanbul Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. We are monitoring the situation and considering modifications to upcoming sailings. As always, our decisions are driven by concern for the safety and wellbeing of our guests and crew members.

 

They had already pulled all port stops in Istanbul, but this implies they make the more difficult decision to reschedule cruises starting or ending in Istanbul. This news should be relevant to those few river cruises that sail down the Eastern Danube and end in Istanbul.

We just got off the Seabourn Odyssey cruise in Athens, Greece doing the 7 day. It was a 14 day cruise disembarking in Istanbul on Saturday. I just read that they will be going back to Athens but I haven't seen anything on their site yet.

I look at it this way. Bad things can happen any where, any time. You could be minding your own business in a night club in a city in the USA and next thing you know you are a statistic. You could be in a mall, a movie theater, a fast food joint...all in the good ol' USA....and become a statistic. You can let fear keep you from enjoying life....or you can practice common sense, do your best not to make yourself a target and go out and enjoy life. I have lived through some pretty crappy stuff that happened in the "safety" of my own home...I refuse to let the bad people in this world prevent me from exploring this amazing creation that is our world.

 

Grab life ... don't let it escape you due to fear.

Awesome post! AMEN!!

Uh, what?

 

I've lived here in Atlanta (in a very urban part of Atlanta, not the 'burbs) for about 30 years. I have never heard of such places. :cool:

 

Sure there are areas where one would not and should not wander alone at night. But as for 'police no-go zones'? I highly doubt it.

That is funny because I live in SC and I have heard of areas in Atlanta to not visit at night because cops won't go there. :) That was years ago though. Once again I think you have to be award of your surroundings.

I do like Atlanta though. One of my favorite places to go.

Can anyone just off a cruise comment on the current unrest in Europe did it affect your cruise at all .was there a time when you didn't feel safe or saw evidence of this happening or am I being over cautious.

I just got back from 2 1/2 weeks in Europe. We went from Budapest to Nuremberg, down to Venice, Italy to Athens, Greece. I never felt like I was in any harm whatsoever. The only place I was a little uncomfortable was Athens, Greece but that was because this teenage girl grabbed my husband's shirt, begging for money. We even rode the metro(subway) in Athens and I never felt afraid.

I live in the US and there are places here I feel uncomfortable going to.

I think you have to be aware of your surroundings and know what is going on. We tried not to look like tourist (especially American tourist). We would pull the map out in Athens in areas we felt safe.

Some ports we visited in Greece were very friendly. Locals greeted us and welcomed us to their town.

You can't let fear stop you from doing the things you like doing. That means the "bad" guys have won. :) Just keep on eye out and enjoy the surroundings. Stay in areas that look good and be aware of any issues happening around you (large group surroundings)

Jus got off Emerald Sun today. Our ship was clean and sparkled. Just like you guys our staff was amazing! Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

Our trip was from Budapest to Nuremberg.

I will write my reviews in a few weeks when I get home.

I am trying to figure out why he keeps trying to divert my business to avalon/uniworld? Am I missing something? Will the t/a make a bigger commission from them or is Viking difficult to work with?

Rentlady: My husband and I are TA's and just experienced our first River Cruise on Emerald Waterways. We had been told by others to stay away from Viking because they are the low end of the ships.

I must say while we were in Vienna we walked through a Viking ship and we were pleased with what we saw. Everything looked very nice and spacious. I would say a 3.5-4 star. Of course we didn't get to see a room so I am not sure what they look like.

As fas as your TA goes: It is your vacation. If you want to go on Viking let your TA know what you have found out and why. Do make sure you do your research before and make sure you get what you want out of the ship? Your TA should have a river cruise comparison sheet that compares different river cruise lines. I would never advise my clients against any cruise line even the ones I have bad experience with. I am not a huge Carnival Cruise line person (we had the worse experience with them) but we book clients on them all the time. I just give them a little heads up but I let them make their own decisions. Now if I find a better a deal on another cruise line that is going to save my clients some money I will advise but they make the decision. :) Good luck!

Just got off the Emerald Sun today and we were beside the AmaViola going through one of the locks. The people on there were talking about having to get up early for their Christening. How exciting that must have been to experience.

They were also with us in Vienna.

notamermaid, I hope you're having a good day and the stormy weather pattern has left your area.

 

I was wondering... are mosquitoes a problem in Germany?

They luv me - please tell me I won't have to worry.

I was wondering the same thing. Especially with all the rain in the area.

Notamermaid I hope the weather patterns will shift. Is it normal for all the rain you guys are experiencing?

Before I go on with a day by day report and pictures, I have to ask this.

 

Does anyone else get swollen legs/feet/ankles while on a cruise?

When I got home from my previous 2 cruises, I noticed my ankles and feet were swollen. Not too bad, but still swollen. It went away after a few days. During this cruise, by the 3rd day my ankles and feet were swollen. Later on that night, they were really bad and the swelling went all the way up to my knees. There was points where I felt like my upper legs were a bit swollen too. It was an awful feeling. It never went away throughout the cruise. Some days it would be a bit better, then get worse then a bit better again on and off. I tried not to let it get in the way of my fun, but it was uncomfortable, and I was disappointed it happened during the cruise this time! We got home on Sunday and I am just back to normal now and its Friday. Now that I'm back to normal, I'm realizing just how swollen I was. I feel like I lost 20 lbs on my legs alone since I've been home lol.

 

I now worry that this will happen to me every time I cruise. Any tips on what I can do next time to prevent this or at least help it not get so bad? Does anyone know what causes this? I thought it could of been too much salt in the food or something. Or does it actually have to do with being at sea?

My ankles and fingers will swell sometime but I think it has to do with heat. Even though we live in a very humid area (SC) we always go in the spring before it gets humid. I usually try to drink a lot of water weeks before going on my cruise because I know that I will be eating more food than I do at home and the heat and humidity is different. I usually wind up having to take my rings off and put in the safe during my cruises.

I also think it can be salt related. When I get home and get back on my normal schedule especially with eating the swelling goes down and I am back to normal.

They are saying more storms this weekend for Nuremberg/ Passau.

We are due to depart Nuremberg on Monday for weeks cruise to Budapest with Scenic. They are still at this moment not giving much away, just saying that they are aware that there might be a problem at Passau.

Our problem is that we do not want to go on with the trip if it ends up a coach trip! Not what we had signed up for.

Anyone due to depart on another cruise line for next week who has any more info to share would be most appreciated.

We are leaving out on Thursday, June 9th. We haven't heard or seen any updates from Emerald as of yet. We are doing Budapest to Nuremberg. We will be monitoring the situation this week.

Thanks for all the tips and information.

I know my MC has an international transaction fee. I need to look at my "emergency" card to see what the fees are. I will probably stop at the ATM before heading out of the country to just have some cash and can exchange if needed.

[YOUTUBE][/YOUTUBE]

Just be aware that you need to use a bank ATM, not an exchange machine that looks like an ATM, such as Travelex. Also don't accept the exchange rate at an ATM, it will cost you more. Similarly, do credit card transactions in the local currency, not US dollars.

Thank you for that tip!

I would like to see something also. We are going on our first Seabourn cruise in a couple of weeks and I am not sure what are good excursions and what I should avoid.

We are taking our first river cruise in 2 weeks on the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg. We chose Emerald Waterways which is the sister company to Scenic. We wanted to try them because we liked some of the features they offered (like the pool becoming a movie cinema at night). We also liked the itinerary.

Good luck! There are so many different options as river cruising is becoming more and more popular.

WE DID COMPARISON AND ENDED UP CHOOSING EMERALD FROM NUReNBERG (& Prague precruise) TO BUDAPEST. Their ships are all new, cabin sizea are larger than most, transfers, gratuities, Wine & beer included at lunch & dinner, bicycles, tours etc. all at a reasonable price. Their ships have a pool that converts to a cinema at night and although a new cruise line, has gotten very good reviews recently.

We are doing Emerald Waterways but doing the opposite from you (Budapest to Nuremberg). We really like all the different options that were available. We leave in 2 weeks and reading up on some of the places and seeing pictures I can't wait to see everything in person.

Wow I loved every bit of your postings. We leave in 2 weeks for the Danube from Budapest to Nuremberg but going on Emerald Waterways. I loved the pictures, the descriptions and everything.

Thank you for sharing! I felt like I was traveling with you.

We are going on our first river cruise in 3 weeks on Emerald Waterways from Budapest to Nuremberg. Do each ports have a place to exchange your Currency or should we do this at home? Also do most cities take credit cards?

TIA

Hello! My husband and I are taking our first Seaboard cruise in 4 weeks. We will be on the Odyssey. I have several questions.

1. Does each cabin have shampoo and body wash in the showers?

2. What is the dress code like at night?

3. Is there a formal night? If so how formal?

4. What type of entertainment is available at night?

5. We have a marine day. Do we have to book in advance?

I am sure I will have more questions as time gets closer. We are excited!

TIA!!