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Double Docking

flynnsky

By flynnsky,
in River Cruising

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CPT Trips

CPT Trips

Posted
Posted
What is the alternative/solution to double docking?

 

Wouldn't you need to find a suitable large area where every river cruise ship could have its own berth?

I don't think you could find that area in any of the current downtown ports.

You would end up in an area far removed from the downtown. Double docking has it’s regrets but it keeps us in a downtown area. That’s the way I look at it.

 

An easy walk is what I want from a docking location.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted
An easy walk is what I want from a docking location.

 

Me too and if I have to walk through another ship or 2 in order to be that close to the "downtown" area, I'm ok with that. Keep in mind, when you're under way you're not tied up to another ship and when you are rafted, it's usually over-night, early morning or late afternoon....and the only time the view will be obstructed is if you're in the dining room or in your cabin. If you go to the top deck, you'll be able to see out both sides...yes, you might have people crossing your ship on the sun deck (as opposed to walking through the lobby) but even that is only really disturbing in the morning when they're all leaving and in the afternoon when they're all returning....the rest of the time you can still enjoy the view.

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JVilleGal

JVilleGal

Posted
Posted (edited)

I loved walking thru the other ships we Rafted with! While I am not a Viking fan I have to say I saw some gorgeous Viking boats, the interior of the public spaces were very lovey. On the other hand the cabins just inches from my French window were pretty but considerably smaller than my regular cabin.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited by JVilleGal
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Capt_BJ

Capt_BJ

Posted
Posted

on a real live cruise ship, they sometimes park on a 'narrow' pier and there is a ship on the other side of the pier ..... SO, out your balcony or window all you see is the other ship. True, not close enuf to hold hands but the view is nil.

 

Entitled to a refund?

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted (edited)
on a real live cruise ship, they sometimes park on a 'narrow' pier and there is a ship on the other side of the pier ..... SO, out your balcony or window all you see is the other ship. True, not close enuf to hold hands but the view is nil.

 

Entitled to a refund?

 

Yes! Yes! My vacation was ruined! I want my refund. :p

 

Me too...Me too....I had such anxiety I had to drink to ease the pain...please send check to my PO Box. Thank you!!

 

Oh and I'd like to use the refund to book another cruise....OK? :D

Edited by Hydrokitty
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CruisingAlong4Now

CruisingAlong4Now

Posted
Posted

Had to keep curtains closed every night. Rafted many times on Danube cruise. Got balcony for early morning coffee in fresh air whilst wearing jammies. Instead sat in room.

 

Won't get balcony again. Most cruising was at night, hence I like open curtains while falling asleep. During day, usually in port, so no balcony needed. For daytime cruising, sundeck is the best spot.

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Got2Cruise "Live from...." Rare

Got2Cruise

Posted
Posted

Yes. That's my thinking. I know on the cruises I looked into you would save $1000 per couple per week. It's not that the cruise is ruined, it's that you can spend those dollars someplace else. Perhaps private guides and transfers. Or a nice piece of jewelry

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Cyber Kat

Cyber Kat

Posted
Posted
Had to keep curtains closed every night. Rafted many times on Danube cruise. Got balcony for early morning coffee in fresh air whilst wearing jammies. Instead sat in room.

 

Won't get balcony again. Most cruising was at night, hence I like open curtains while falling asleep. During day, usually in port, so no balcony needed. For daytime cruising, sundeck is the best spot.

 

 

We have a balcony and I'll sit outside - probably not in my jammies :) Maybe I'll make some new friends! But I knew about rafting before I booked the balcony and booked it anyway. The room is bigger than the French balcony ones across the hall (the hallways on Viking are not down the middle), and I couldn't do the aquarium ones - I got to have those big windows even if I'm just looking at other windows.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted
We have a balcony and I'll sit outside - probably not in my jammies :) Maybe I'll make some new friends! But I knew about rafting before I booked the balcony and booked it anyway. The room is bigger than the French balcony ones across the hall (the hallways on Viking are not down the middle), and I couldn't do the aquarium ones - I got to have those big windows even if I'm just looking at other windows.

 

Do you think it's our cat instincts? I know I get real squirrely if I can't smell outside as well as see it. :D

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pacmom

pacmom

Posted
Posted

In Egypt we experienced rafting in Aswan. When we went out in the morning we were on boat number 3 with a boat only on one side of us. When we came back, we walked about for a bit then went to boat #3. It wasn't ours!! A few questions later we found out that we were now boat #5--again with another boat on one side.

 

We were on the Rhine and waiting in the lounge for our tour and looked out the window at the boat next to us. The woman in the adjoining cabin must not have realized that her boat was rafted. She was VERY surprised and we had a look at a streaker as she dashed to the bathroom.

 

We do love river cruising and know that on our cruise in Oct there will be no rafting. The Loire Princess is the only cruiser on that river. Pat

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Cyber Kat

Cyber Kat

Posted
Posted
In Egypt we experienced rafting in Aswan. When we went out in the morning we were on boat number 3 with a boat only on one side of us. When we came back, we walked about for a bit then went to boat #3. It wasn't ours!! A few questions later we found out that we were now boat #5--again with another boat on one side.

 

We were on the Rhine and waiting in the lounge for our tour and looked out the window at the boat next to us. The woman in the adjoining cabin must not have realized that her boat was rafted. She was VERY surprised and we had a look at a streaker as she dashed to the bathroom.

 

We do love river cruising and know that on our cruise in Oct there will be no rafting. The Loire Princess is the only cruiser on that river. Pat

 

We were on a cruise to NE/Canada a couple of years ago and we were leaving the ship in Saint John. If you've been there, you'll know they have special ramps that go up and down depending on their extreme tides. We were zigzagging down past some of the Ocean View rooms and we all got quite a view of a guy sleeping late, buck necked with the cover just barely covering the naughty bits :D

 

Everyone was laughing and it woke him up. He scrambled for those covers!

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted
We were on a cruise to NE/Canada a couple of years ago and we were leaving the ship in Saint John. If you've been there, you'll know they have special ramps that go up and down depending on their extreme tides. We were zigzagging down past some of the Ocean View rooms and we all got quite a view of a guy sleeping late, buck necked with the cover just barely covering the naughty bits :D

 

Everyone was laughing and it woke him up. He scrambled for those covers!

 

My turn to be ROTFL! :D I'll keep that in mind on our NE/Canada cruise in Oct.

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Cyber Kat

Cyber Kat

Posted
Posted
My turn to be ROTFL! :D I'll keep that in mind on our NE/Canada cruise in Oct.

 

 

Yes I guess the rule of thumb for cruising - either river or ocean is to keep your clothes on or your drapes closed : D

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Forums

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted

It's all up to the harbor master and IMHO it's largely based on who's leaving when. The one time I stayed on board in Egypt we started out rafted in the middle of three boats. The first one was leaving and we along with boat #3 moved away till he left...then boat #3 went in first and we were still boat #2 because we were the next one leaving and boat #2 was staying over-night. But none of the cruise companies get to determine where they will be docked and who, if anyone, they will be rafted with.

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dan4182

dan4182

Posted
Posted
Do ships from different companies "raft" together? I might want to sample a different lines lunch buffet on our upcoming trip!

 

 

We triple rafted next to a Scenic ship in Vienna and another Ama ship was on the inside.

 

No big deal, we all got along very well and got to see each ship from the inside.

 

The captains try to make sure that the ship that is leaving port first is on the outside.

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted (edited)
Do ships from different companies "raft" together? I might want to sample a different lines lunch buffet on our upcoming trip!

 

Yes, ships from different companies can raft together...but alas, No, you will not be able to sample their lunch buffet or even see their dining room. However, we were rafted next to a Croisi ship and I asked the receptionist if I could see parts of the ship since we were interested in a Spanish cruise that Croisi did and she gave us a set time to return and she showed us the lounge and dining area. Keep in mind that where the ship is rafted is up to the Harbor Master, not the Captain...but previous poster is correct they do seem to group them according to departure time. If you get a chance to watch them "shuffle" the ships around it's fascinating.

Edited by Hydrokitty
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ang293

ang293

Posted
Posted

In China and Egypt there were often 3 or even occasionally 4 ships rafted together. It was always a guessing game if you went to bed on the outside of the raft if you'd have a neighbour or not by morning. Like others I used to love having a peek at the other ships on the way through

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Hydrokitty

Hydrokitty

Posted
Posted
In China and Egypt there were often 3 or even occasionally 4 ships rafted together. It was always a guessing game if you went to bed on the outside of the raft if you'd have a neighbour or not by morning. Like others I used to love having a peek at the other ships on the way through

 

It's kind of like free advertising, isn't it? :D

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not-so-ancient mariner

not-so-ancient mariner

Posted
Posted

We knew our July cruise with Scenic on the Danube would have rafting and that factored into our decision to book the panorama suite (450 sq ft at the back of the boat).

 

It worked perfectly. Although we were rafted four times (out of 7 nights) we were on the dockside once and on the other times were able to have a clear, private view out the back.

 

Scenic's provision of a privacy netting for the balcony window meant we could also have light coming in from the rafted side 9 with privacy as long as we didn't turn on lights.

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