Roll Call: May 11th AMA Blue Danube Discovery

[letsgo39]

Thanks, Letsgo39 & Franski.

 

I'm concerned about the ATM at the airport because I've read a few threads about it being out of comission or extremely busy. I hope I can get a bit of cash ahead of time at the mall kiosk just to pay for the cab to the hotel, and maybe a bite to eat. The first thing on our list after unpacking is to find a local ATM.

 

You could get some Euros at your departure airport exchange booth but the fees are usually pretty high.I've had good luck at the ATM's at my arrival airport so far.(6 trips) Just do whatever makes you comfortable.

[SBDriver]

You could get some Euros at your departure airport exchange booth but the fees are usually pretty high.I've had good luck at the ATM's at my arrival airport so far.(6 trips) Just do whatever makes you comfortable.

 

 

 

If I can't get it at the mall kiosk beforehand, that's my "plan B"!

[KCcruisin07]

Franski,

You have given a lot of helpful tips from your cruise. I am already thinking about clothes and packing.:) What do people wear for dinner? Also for the Captain's Dinner? I am hoping that this is less formal than a regular cruise, especially in terms of packing. This time I hope to fit everything into one large bag and a carry on that can be slung over the top, so it can be rolled when we are moving around.

Thanks,

Kathy

[franski]

Hi Kathy - Dress at dinner is much more relaxed than on a big ship cruise. Business casual (ie: khakis/golf shirt for men, pants or skirt and blouse/sweater for women) works really well. On both of our river cruises, I did take something a bit dressier (long skirt, nice blouse) for the captain's dinner.Easy to pack, nothing that wrinkled... Yes - I did make my husband pack a suit coat, but not a tie --> and he was about "middle of the road" as far as dress that night (a few gentlemen wore a jacket/tie - some just a shirt or nice sweater and dress pants). Very few "dressy" dresses - it is so easy now to dress things up with a nice scarf, a top with a bit of sparkle etc. Again - if you didn't take anything "fancy" you shouldn't feel out of place.

 

Noticed quite a few beautiful scarves/pashminas at dinner - and in talking with some of the women, it appeared that many were purchased in Budapest after we arrived. A good way to vary an outfit - and it doesn't take up much room in a suitcase!!!

 

Fran

 

P.S. I understand about the packing... I am already thinking about packing for our next one - and it isn't until November!!!

[KCcruisin07]

Thanks, Franski. My husband usually has room to spare in his suitcase:rolleyes:, so he can probably fit a suit in if he wants to. I gather a collared shirt would work for other dinners? I think I can fit in a dressy pants outfit into a small roll, and I have a couple of tops that I think will work for dinner.

[letsgo39]

Thanks, Franski. My husband usually has room to spare in his suitcase:rolleyes:, so he can probably fit a suit in if he wants to. I gather a collared shirt would work for other dinners? I think I can fit in a dressy pants outfit into a small roll, and I have a couple of tops that I think will work for dinner.

 

 

It is a good idea to cross pack with your sig other. That way is someone has a missing suitcase everyone will still have something to wear. You usually do not see any suits.It is very casual. I have found that just a nice pair of black slacks with different tops is all I need for dinners.

[franski]

I do agree with letsgo39 that there aren't many suits - although there were lots of blazers/sport coats. A collared shirt would work for all other nights.

 

Your pant suit with various tops would be fine. I actually enjoyed the opportunity to dress up a bit - but glad that it isn't as formal as on a big ship cruise. I have a couple of long skirts that don't take up much room - and they are always good padding for my purchases when I am packing to come home!!!

 

I do agree with the suggestion to cross-pack. We have not had an issue, but I have heard of some who have. (Mind you, it wouldn't take much to convince me to shop!!! :D) Just one spare pair of pants/top/underwear is usually enough.

 

Also - if you think you might buy something breakable - it is a good idea to take some bubble wrap with you.

[doreen22]

Welcome to the Roll Call Kathy & Cliff.

 

Thanks Fran for the packing advice, I am a notorious overpacker, but am really going to try to restrain myself this trip. Hopefully I can cut back the shoes to 3 pairs max:D.

 

My dh is really happy not to have to endure formal nights, I kind of like wearing dresses, usually by the end of the cruise my pants are so tight:D.

 

Susan

[KCcruisin07]

My husband would be happy to be casual too. Doreen, I never thought about needing bigger clothes at the end of the trip! I don't know about 3 pairs of shoes though if I need to bring heels! I would like to simplify packing once though.:) I will look for the pashmina scarves in Budapest...sounds like a nice souvenir...

[franski]

Lots of scarves/pashminas on the Vaci Utca --> prices are a bit better on the Market end (ie: away from the Chain Bridge). Although the currency is the forint, some merchants will take euros --> but make sure you pay attention to the exchange rate (ie: the signs will list both forints & euros, but the better price is usually in forints).

[KCcruisin07]

Franski, As we will be there for three days, we plan to use forints there and save Euros for the cruise. Thanks for the tip about the exchange rate.

The market sounds interesting. You mentioned strudel (DH will love that!) and paprika. Did they have other things there? Did you eat there at all? How did you communicate with the merchants, i.e. did they speak English or...?

[franski]

We had no struggles with the language... One person on the Vaci Utca struggled a bit with English - but was very willing to try. We managed to complete our transaction (I bought a scarf) although her English was limited, and I do not speak any Hungarian.

 

The market is very much a working market... Meat, vegetables. spices etc on the main floor --> crafts on the upper floor (linens etc). I already had my paprika, so didn't buy any there - but the prices appeared as good or slightly better than the other places that I had looked.

 

We bought the strudel on the way out of the market, and ate it as we wandered back towards our hotel.

 

We also enjoyed the Gelato/ice cream that we found at a couple of stalls close to our hotel. We walked around the hotel and down the banks of the Danube - the lights on the buildings are lovely - just eating ice cream, and stopping to sit and "people watch". There are quite a few benches, so it is fairly easy to find somewhere to sit.

 

I enjoyed Budapest so much... was not expecting to find such a lovely city. I am sure you will really enjoy your visit. (I am trying to figure out a way to go back!!! :D )

[KCcruisin07]

Gelato? I love gelato!! I love what you said about how beautiful it is at night. When my mother went to Europe, Budapest was her favorite. There is some allure about going there and then after you've been, I gather you want to go back. How did your husband like it or what was his favorite part?

I'm glad to hear the language was not a struggle there. I was imagining wanting to buy something and going through the tourist pantomime.

[scranger]

Susan - re: money....

 

We also used our credit cards quite a bit.

 

Fran

 

FYI, when deciding which card(s) to take, check the issuer's foreign transactions fees (under "Terms & Conditions"). Most charge 3% USD for each transaction. A pleasant exception is CapitalOne, which charges nothing for foreign transactions. Guess what we have in our wallet when we cross the pond:)

[franski]

KCcruisin07 - hard to say what my husband's favourite part was... He enjoys the history of most places. He found the history surrounding the bridges in Budapest fascinating --> they were all destroyed during WWII - to prevent the "enemies" from crossing from Buda to Pest - so, all have been re-built.

 

It was a bit of a challenge to get him to agree to the 1st river cruise... I wanted to cruise the south of France (Burgundy & Provence) but he thought it would be boring. So - I kept looking, and finally enticed him with the Paris/Normandy itinerary --> the beaches in Normandy were the clincher there. All it took was one river cruise, and he is hooked. There is so much history in Europe - that he can find something to keep his interest at every stop. Lots of WWII history along the Danube - and he is pretty good about shopping with me if I can find a museum that interests him. We went to the House of Terror in Budapest, and the Museum of Communism in Prague. Not the usual museum stops, but they were quite interesting.

 

One thing we both have found is that there is so much to see along the way that you really don't take it all in while you are there. I keep looking back at my pictures to remind me of the wonderful experiences we have had. And, it is quite surreal when you look at travel brochures - and can point out so many places that are featured (ie: the Chain Bridge in Budapest, the Schonbrunn palace in Vienna etc) and say "I was there!!"

 

I am attaching a couple of shots taken when we walked across the Chain Bridge after dinner one night... I don't have a great camera, but you do get a sense of what we saw.

 

I understand the worry re: the tourist pantomime. We ventured out of the tourist area in Bratislava, and found a sports store. We wanted to get a t-shirt for a friend (his mother, as well as my husband's grandparents were Slovak) - but the tourist ones weren't great. We found official team merchandise for the Slovak hockey team - at pretty much the same price as the tourist shirts --> but the girl spoke no English. We were successful in buying hockey shirts (*NO* one has shirts like those here!!) - but it was touch and go on finding sizes.

[KCcruisin07]

Hi, Doreen,

Loved the pictures, especially the Chain Bridge and the lion's head. I kid my husband that he is reluctant to go some of the places where I want to go in the beginning, but when we get there, he gets more out of it than I do! On our first cruise he was really not sure what we were getting into, but he liked it, and now he has begun to get interested in some of the places where we are going. I try to find something unusual to do or see that appeals to him more. He really likes history, especially WWII, so I think that a lot of Budapest and Prague will interest him. Also there is the fact that they changed from Communist rule relatively recently, so I hope we can see Statues Park.

For the river cruising I think that gliding along on the water while seeing things on the shore will be interesting to him too.

[KCcruisin07]

Hi, Doreen,

Loved the pictures, especially the Chain Bridge and the lion's head. I kid my husband that he is reluctant to go some of the places where I want to go in the beginning, but when we get there, he gets more out of it than I do! On our first cruise he was really not sure what we were getting into, but he liked it, and now he has begun to get interested in some of the places where we are going. I try to find something unusual to do or see that appeals to him more. He really likes history, especially WWII, so I think that a lot of Budapest and Prague will interest him. Also there is the fact that they changed from Communist rule relatively recently, so I hope we can see Statues Park.

For the river cruising I think that gliding along on the water while seeing things on the shore will be interesting to him too.

[franski]

If your husband is interested in WWII history, there is lots to keep him interested on this cruise. Often the politics of the area affected how/when the Germans chose to bomb areas - and if you have a good guide on the included excursions then much of this will come out. It is fascinating to see how things have been rebuilt since the war.

 

In Nuremberg, your husband may like the WWII tour. Some reviews by fellow CCers who had taken the tour were not great, so my husband wasn't sure he wanted to go - but was glad that he did. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday, so we couldn't get into some of the buildings (ie: Palace of Justice) - but we hope to go back some day.

[KCcruisin07]

Hi, Doreen,

Loved the pictures, especially the Chain Bridge and the lion's head. I kid my husband that he is reluctant to go some of the places where I want to go in the beginning, but when we get there, he gets more out of it than I do! On our first cruise he was really not sure what we were getting into, but he liked it, and now he has begun to get interested in some of the places where we are going. I try to find something unusual to do or see that appeals to him more. He really likes history, especially WWII, so I think that a lot of Budapest and Prague will interest him. Also there is the fact that they changed from Communist rule relatively recently, so I hope we can see Statues Park.

For the river cruising I think that gliding along on the water while seeing things on the shore will be interesting to him too.

[KCcruisin07]

If your husband is interested in WWII history, there is lots to keep him interested on this cruise. Often the politics of the area affected how/when the Germans chose to bomb areas - and if you have a good guide on the included excursions then much of this will come out. It is fascinating to see how things have been rebuilt since the war.

 

In Nuremberg, your husband may like the WWII tour. Some reviews by fellow CCers who had taken the tour were not great, so my husband wasn't sure he wanted to go - but was glad that he did. Unfortunately we were there on a Sunday, so we couldn't get into some of the buildings (ie: Palace of Justice) - but we hope to go back some day.

 

Oh, that double posted. It was still on my screen later, so I hit submit. Sorry, I didn't see your answer. I believe he would enjoy the WWII tour and all the information about the war. Some parts will be extremely sad, like the shoes in Budapest, but we will still go. (I wish you could go too.)

[doreen22]

Hi Kathy,

 

I thought it would be better to reply on our roll call rather than the "saving money" thread. Don't think too many others are interested in what our dh's look like:).

I will watch out for a tall guy with shorts:D,

My dh also has a beard, mostly grey, and is also almost a foot taller than me.

 

Are you taking a few days in Paris?....wish we could spend more time in Europe this trip, but I have to save enough holidays to go fishing with dh and keep him happy so he will cruise with me:). We "rv'd" last weekend and the high was a balmy 48 degrees F. He owes me!

 

I am going to start my "to do" list re the trip today, time will really fly now!

 

Susan

[KCcruisin07]

Hi, Susan,

Yes, I was thinking I was off topic on the other thread.:rolleyes: I am beginning to do things you usually have to do at the end too. I ordered some map guides from Amazon and another bookstore last night. I don't want to carry the guide books or a large map around with me, but I know I could just get one from the hotel or tourist information.

We are going to Paris on the way. I found something fun to use there. It is called Paris: City Walks 50 Adventures on Foot. You pick a card and take it with you. It should help to organize sightseeing by area. I don't know if we should take a city tour, the Hop on Hop off Bus or something else.

I still need to make reservations for the transfers! That is moving up on the list.

[SBDriver]

I just got our e-docs from the TA!!!! It's less than 4 weeks away now. They have confirmed the Hotel Sofitel in Budapest and Hilton Old Town in Prague.

Whoo Hoo!! Can't wait!!! See you all soon.

[doreen22]

Yes, I am definitely counting the days:D..hopefully we get our documents soon, our TA is watching for them.

Perhaps you may want to give a brief description of yourselves so we will be on the lookout for you.

We have determined that Kathy and I both have dh's almost a foot taller with beards, Kathy's dh wears shorts all the time, mine has glasses and a grey beard and very little hair:D.

 

Susan

[SBDriver]

Well, my DH is about 3-4 inches taller than me, and has black hair with a touch of grey. I wear glasses with blue frames. We'll be the ones with the huge smiles on our faces!!!:D

 

Wendy