What is the best cruise tour for the Danube?

[LewiLewi]

We are planning a Danube cruise and would like it to include some land tours as well; ie Prague/Warsaw. Any recommendations?

Thank you.

[bphman]

We just did the Blue Danube Discovery with Ama and had a fantastic time. We spent 2 nights in Budapest followed by a seven night river cruise and three nights in Prague. Every detail was taken care of. We loved the Amalyra so much that I wrote a review. I would do it again in a heartbeat. Ama did a great job with Air as well including all transfers.

[franski]

We did Budapest --> Prague with AMA - and quite enjoyed it. If you visit http://www.thepriesmans.com - Mike has documented their trip. This was a huge factor for us when we booked that part of the Danube.

[kuldalai]

Apart from the Optional Prague extension offered by most cruise lines; allow 3 days each in both Amsterdam and Budapest before/after your river cruise . Both are sensational self explore cities.

 

On your actual river cruise our highlights (tour wise whether included or extra cost ) were :

 

1. Schonnbrunn Palace in Vienna

2. The side trip to Cesny Krumlov in the Czech Republic offered out of Passau or Linz depending on direction of travel.

3. The evening Mozart / Strauss concert offered in Vienna .

4. Riding bikes alongside our boat between Melk & Durnstein .

5. The spine chilling site of the Feuhrer's former rallies in Nurenberg .

[Talisker92]

I agree with all the others. We did a cruise from Budapest to Passau in 2007 and a Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in2010. Both were on Vantage and we enjoyed them thoroughly. The stories and pictures of both cruises are on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

We will be happy to answer any questions

[MVPinBoynton]

LewiLewi,

We just returnded from an AMA Rhine, Mosel, Maine cruise. Absolutely wonderful. The AMA Danube cruise we took started in Budapest and finished in Prague. I would highly recommend just adding some additional days to those to wonderful towns.

[LewiLewi]

Thank you all for this great information. Did you book it thru AMA or through a tour company?

[ann1bell]

We ust returned from the Blue Danube Discovery on the AMA Amalyra. It was the greatest! The sailaway in Budapest is a once in a lifetime experience. We did our pre and post cruise on our own, saving quite a bit of cash. We stayed in the Opera Garden Hotel in BUD for 5 nights before the cruise and 5 nights at the Unitas Hotel in Prague after the cruise.

 

Peter Whitehead was our wonderful cruise director. The staff onboard was great, very fluent in English and treated us like royalty.

 

We made a deposit onboard for a future cruise. Good luck with all your planning. Happy travels.

[MVPinBoynton]

We ust returned from the Blue Danube Discovery on the AMA Amalyra. It was the greatest! The sailaway in Budapest is a once in a lifetime experience. We did our pre and post cruise on our own, saving quite a bit of cash. We stayed in the Opera Garden Hotel in BUD for 5 nights before the cruise and 5 nights at the Unitas Hotel in Prague after the cruise.

 

Peter Whitehead was our wonderful cruise director. The staff onboard was great, very fluent in English and treated us like royalty.

 

We made a deposit onboard for a future cruise. Good luck with all your planning. Happy travels.

 

You are right about the sailaway. It was awesome! I am glad that you had a similar experience to ours on the Amalyra.

[nole62]

We just returned from a cruise with AmaDolce from Prague to Budapest. Fantastic trip!!! Kriss, our cruise director was amazing! Highly recommend AMA waterways!

Made even better by seeing Mike and Carol for dinner in Prague!!!

[MVPinBoynton]

Helen,

I am so glad you enjoyed it. We knew you would. Talk to you soon.

[Ozjohnno]

We're in Rome at the moment and will be home in around 5 days and I'll post my review on our Tauck Amsterdam to Budapest cruise 6-20 September. I realise we all have our favourite companies but as you'll see in my review it's impossible to beat Tauck's overall value. If you didn't want a pre-dinner drink then you'd have absolutley no bill to pay at the end of the tour. When Tauck says everything is included they really mean it. If I ever save up enough money for another European River cruise I'll certainly use Tauck again.

[PCruzer]

We're in Rome at the moment and will be home in around 5 days and I'll post my review on our Tauck Amsterdam to Budapest cruise 6-20 September. I realise we all have our favourite companies but as you'll see in my review it's impossible to beat Tauck's overall value. If you didn't want a pre-dinner drink then you'd have absolutley no bill to pay at the end of the tour. When Tauck says everything is included they really mean it. If I ever save up enough money for another European River cruise I'll certainly use Tauck again.

Did they include laundry services in the price?

[Ozjohnno]

Did they include laundry services in the price?

 

No they don't. Scylla owns and crews the boat and they charge for laundry as I believe all cruise lines do.

[RachelG]

We just returned from a cruise with AmaDolce from Prague to Budapest. Fantastic trip!!! Kriss, our cruise director was amazing! Highly recommend AMA waterways!

Made even better by seeing Mike and Carol for dinner in Prague!!!

 

Totally agree--Kris is amazing. She absolutely made the cruise for us, including carrying off our suitcases herself at the end.

Agree that AMA was really great for this cruise. I have heard some not so good stuff about their Russia cruises, but the Danube was perfect.

[marco_polo11]

My wife and I and a group of friends are booked with Gate 1 (MS Sound of Music) next April 5 for Budapest to Prague. Has anyone done it with Gate 1 before?

[cruisingmad]

We just returned from a cruise with AmaDolce from Prague to Budapest. Fantastic trip!!! Kriss, our cruise director was amazing! Highly recommend AMA waterways!

Made even better by seeing Mike and Carol for dinner in Prague!!!

Hi,

 

I'm booked on the November 10, 2011 sailing on this cruise and was wondering if you will be posting a short review. I had one specific question regarding day 7 (Linz), where you have an option to visit the Lake District or Cesky Krumlov. Which did you opt for and what were the general comments from your fellow passengers?

 

Thanks,

 

 

Sergio

[CasaM]

MYPinBoynton, we're staying 4 nights in Prague at Unitas in Nov before we sail. Did the hotel meet your needs? What can you tell me about it? Any tips on Prague...where to visit...where to eat?

[ann1bell]

We stayed in the Unitas Hotel. It was wonderful. The room was very spacious and the robes were the best yet. The breakfast was fine. We took our clothes to be washed and dried at a laundry on Karoliny Svelte, just a step away from the hotel. Our favorite restaurant near the hotel was the Kabul Restaurant on Karoliny Svelte. We also liked the Stoletti which was near the hotel. Both were close by and had good food with fair prices. The Kabul is rather small but we were able to get a table. There is the New Kabul nearby too which is owned by the same folks. We liked the pasta and pizzas at the original Kabul.

 

If you are interested in Terezin as a half day trip out, go with Wittman Tours. They were very good. It is a very moving experience. We did have to book two days in advance to get a tour. We had a private guide for 2 mornings, Jana Hronkova, but I am not sure if she will be in town when you are there.

 

We did not use the Metro, walking everywhere. The location was 5 or 10 minutes to the famous clock and about the same to the Charles Bridge. We loved Prague. There are lots of folks out at night.. just watch out for the cobblestones.

 

Ask any other questions. Have fun.

[franski]

No they don't. Scylla owns and crews the boat and they charge for laundry as I believe all cruise lines do.

 

Actually, as past passengers of Uniworld, we were offered complementary laundry service (once/week) on our Christmas market cruise last December. Those passengers that had not travelled with them before could use the washers/dryers free of charge --> just needed to provide their own detergent (or purchase from the front desk...) Not all ships have self-serve laundry facilities - but laundry for past-passengers is one of the benefits of their River Heritage Club.

 

 

Fran

[shoshona2]

To Ozjohnno,

 

So so happy that you enjoyed your Tauck river cruise!! We just booked another one for 2012 -- Bucharest to Budapest!

 

Sheila

[MVPinBoynton]

MYPinBoynton, we're staying 4 nights in Prague at Unitas in Nov before we sail. Did the hotel meet your needs? What can you tell me about it? Any tips on Prague...where to visit...where to eat?

 

CasaM,

The Intercontinental was quite nice and a slightly better location than the President, that we stayed at last time, just down from it. I just posted our recently completed Paris to Prague river cruise review which should be quite useful for you. The Danube cruise review we did two years ago has even more info on Prague, because we were there three days. Both reviews are on our website www.thepreismans.com.

[kaudreamer12]

My wife and I and a group of friends are booked with Gate 1 (MS Sound of Music) next April 5 for Budapest to Prague. Has anyone done it with Gate 1 before?

 

To:marco_polo11

How was your trip? We booked for Aug/Sept 2012 as May 2012 was sold out on w/gate1 (MS Sound of Music). Please give us any feedback on how the ship and itineries were. Thanks!

[at_nyc]

Ooops, old thread.

[kaudreamer12]

Is the date April 5, 2012? If so let us know how you like the NS Sound of Music through Gate1 Travel. We are booked with them for August. Munich to Budapest.