Roll-Calls Amadeus Symphony Christmas Time cruise 12/18R/05 Prague to Vienna

[Live the good life]

Our family of 3 will be going on a 10 day Christmas cruise Prague to Vienna on the "Amadeus Symphony Dec 18R, 2005". This will be the first River cruise for DH and our teenage daughter. Last one I did (with my mother) on the Danube through Germany and Austria (not Prague) was about 16 years ago! We will also be spending an additional 2 nights in Prague (4 nights total pre-cruise), and 3 nights in Budapest post cruise...

 

Anybody else from this cc board on this cruise? Hopefully there will be other teenagers as well...

 

FYI: We booked our cruise directly through http://www.amadeuswaterways.com or phone 1-800-626-0126, as we find that the manager Mr. Jon B. (who used to be a licensed tour guide throughout Europe), extremely helpful in assisting us with information on the areas...He had also been on these cruises himself and able to give us answers to specific questions.

 

Kim

[Live the good life]

Wondering what the weather would be like during this time of the year in Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, and Budapest? We have only been to Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, and Whistler Ski resort in Canada during X-mas times past years (usually in warm places during X-mas season)...

 

Wondering whether there will be Snow? whether the river will be partly frozen? Will the monuments be covered in snow or only for a few hours in the morning?

 

The average weather record for these regions indicates an average of about 37 degree F, and one hour of sunshine average a day during December. Will one still be able to take photos of monuments (color of tiles and domes still clearly seen) during the day time? Also, will there still be musicians on the street performing, and activities at outdoors shops/cafes (besides X-mas markets), or will most activities be limited indoors?

 

Thanks for any input,

 

Kim

[Live the good life]

Hi Kim,

I have not been on a river cruise on the Danube during this time of the year, however I have been to Salzburg, Munich, Vienna and Budapest during Christmas. Yes, it can be cold and you better bring thermo underwear along. I am also from So California and I liked a picture book Christmas scenery I never expected or experienced before. A certain melancholy hang over the landscape, which put my mind into a Christmas mood I am unable to encountered here.

Monuments and buildings can be sprinkled with snow and I think there was more than just one hour sunshine per day. In fact there were days where one could clearly sea the snow covered peaks of the Alps rising into a crisp blue sky, especially if you go to Salzburg. Sidewalk cafes are limited to inside and I did not sea any musicians playing in the streets. The outdoor Christmas Markets are absolutely fabulous and the Gluehwein (hot spiced wine) which is available in abundance lifts your spirits and warms you inside out. if you are in Vienna on Dec.24 don't miss the Christmas midnight mass in St. Stephens cathedral. It is worth the experience - no matter which religious orientation you follow.

We have been on the Symphony from Prague to Budapest last summer and loved the cruise. I am sure you will have a geat time. Enjoy it !

 

Anan,

 

Thank you very much for the infos...My daughter and I read the post and we are beginning to be excited about the cruise! After having read your post, we also did a yahoo search for "images of Prague, Budapest, Vienna, Nuremberg in December" and were able to see lots of beautiful photos of the buildings/bridges being all lit up at night, the holiday seasons decorations, and the X-mas markets in many places...DH is finally agreeing with us that it would be an interesting and special experience (to take this river cruise for X-mas). We will just do a Bora Bora/Tahiti ocean cruise during a later X-mas!

 

Also thank you for your review on the Symphony...We would take yours and others' advices and take the Salzburg optional excursion...

 

We do also have a few follow up questions: (1) was the mini-bar refrigerator in the cabin large enough so we could store food purchased from shore? (2) Also, was there a microwave oven that we could use on the ship to heat up our food? (we have been spoiled on Ocean cruises where we could have pasta/pizza even at midnight...) (3) Any other tips with regards to the cruise ship or the must see sites...We love beautiful architecture, music, and food...

 

Kim

[DCGirl8]

Kim,

 

My parents, sister (age 25) and I (age 28) are also on the December 18 departure of the Symphony - we booked through our travel agent a few months ago. It is the first cruise for my sister and I, and the first river cruise for our parents, though we've all traveled extensively in Europe. I had read elsewhere that the average age on these cruises is 70, so it is good to hear that there will be other younger folks on board! We are looking forward to it and hope that it will be a nice, relaxing way to spend the holiday - our travel agent had very good things to say about Amadeus/Avalon.

 

-Heidi

[Live the good life]

Kim,

 

My parents, sister (age 25) and I (age 28) are also on the December 18 departure of the Symphony - we booked through our travel agent a few months ago. It is the first cruise for my sister and I, and the first river cruise for our parents, though we've all traveled extensively in Europe. I had read elsewhere that the average age on these cruises is 70, so it is good to hear that there will be other younger folks on board! We are looking forward to it and hope that it will be a nice, relaxing way to spend the holiday - our travel agent had very good things to say about Amadeus/Avalon.

 

-Heidi

 

Hi Heidi,

 

My daughter and I are very glad to learn there will be at least some younger folks on this ship...My daughter is very mature for her age, but at the same time very attached to us. She enjoys Europe a great deal and especially France and Italy. After our recent Baltic cruise, she now also enjoys St. Petersburg. It is great that you and your younger sister will travel with your parents during the Holiday Season, especially to a destination with special ambience and European X-mas market ...I also noticed that this was your first post; glad you have found out about this message board!

 

Kim

[Live the good life]

Kim,

 

... our travel agent had very good things to say about Amadeus/Avalon.

 

-Heidi

 

Addendum: We have heard that Amadeus/Avalon is a 5 star river cruise line just like the Peter Deilmann cruises. We had originally looked into the Deilmann river cruises but found out that they did/would not offer cruises during X-mas time in this region. We might check out the Deilmann's Mozart or Princesse de Provence for our river cruises of Southern France (Rhone/Saone) some time in the future, depending on how this one turns out... Our thoughts are even if the ambience would not be as lively as those on the Ocean cruises, it would be fun being with a group of people; also there will be less of a need for packing and unpacking...My mother and her sister are already planning to do a 20 day "Grand Black Sea" on the Amadeus Artistry next Summer that has not only the stops from our cruise but also stops in Bulgaria, Romania, and Bucharest!

[DCGirl8]

Hi Heidi,

 

My daughter and I are very glad to learn there will be at least some younger folks on this ship...My daughter is very mature for her age, but at the same time very attached to us. She enjoys Europe a great deal and especially France and Italy. After our recent Baltic cruise, she now also enjoys St. Petersburg. It is great that you and your younger sister will travel with your parents during the Holiday Season, especially to a destination with special ambience and European X-mas market ...I also noticed that this was your first post; glad you have found out about this message board!

 

Kim

 

Thanks, I found this board when I was researching for our trip - I found lots of helpful info here. We planned this trip as something different over the holidays - to cut down on the usual stress of cooking and baking and decorating, etc. It was my idea - I saw the river cruise ships on trips to Prague and Budapest, and always thought it looked like a fun way to travel, especially once I read about the Christmas markets. I also expect that it will be pretty laid back, but it also sounds like we separate from the group if we wish to go off on our own. I wish we had booked an extra night or two in Prague (I am the only one who has been there before), but I didn't think of it until we'd already booked all of our flights.

[Live the good life]

We have just paid for the balance of this river cruise a few days ago, which means we will be going for sure despite our daughter's complaint's that this winter vacation will take away her time to study and to volunteer at the hospitals. We actually have already bought non-refundable air tickets more than a month ago. Our daughter did admit she is "somewhat" excited to be visiting Prague, Nuremberg, Vienna/Saltzburg, Budapest for the first time. We actually all are excited to be experiencing X-markets...

 

Since the river cruise ends in Vienna, we will have to buy our own air tickets to fly from Vienna to Budapest or use the train. Air time won't be too bad, just about an hour flight...We are planning to take all the optional excursions organized by this river cruise as well, since we won't have time to research for private tour guides, and given the short duration of the cruise, it would be fun to go on the excursions with fellow cruisers...We plan to buy plenty of food from shore to bring on board for evening/midnight meals!

 

The only place we will probably look for our own tour guide is Budapest, where we will be on our own. We are excited to be trying out the Four Seasons at both Prague and Budapest, both in river view rooms. Anybody has had experience with tours in Budapest or the Four Seasons, please let us know!