Returned from an Amadeus Symphony River Xmas cruise Prague to Budapest.Any questions?

[Live the good life]

We had a great experience on our first river cruise and at a very special time of the year. We would highly recommend the cruise line as well as the route. The crew were international (Austrian, Hungarian, etc..) courteous and provided good services. At the ports, we saw a few other cruise lines, which also looked very nice and even had more x-mas decorations than our ship!

 

Destinations:Prague and Salzburg were our favorite destinations, but the X-mas markets at both Nuremburg and Regensburg were also very unique. Like everybody else, we enjoyed sipping hot wine and eating hot sausages outdoors at the X-mas markets in all destinations. It was snowing for some of the days at each destination, making it a very interesting experience. In Prague, we stayed at the Four Seasons which allowed a great view of the Charles bridge. Even if one doesn't stay at the FS, one can also walk to the park in front of it, and admire the view. From our suite's window, we could see a few people walking along the river at 10:00 p.m. under the snow. The castle turned off the bright light at around 10:30 p.m.! Budapest was our last stop. We stayed at the Four Seasons Gresham Palace which had even a more amazing view of the bridge. Here, our suite had a balcony on which we could stand and admired the view of the Chain bridge and Castle. We had a very entertaining evening with dinner and Hungarian music at the Kiralys across from the bridge. On one evening, we also walked along the bridge to the Castle side. Behind us we could see the FS Gresham Palace lit up at night! In Austria, although we enjoyed our Strauss concert in Vienna , we preferred the experience of walking around the X-mas market in Salzburg. It was nice to return to Austria after about 15 years!

 

Cruise: Entertainment on a river cruise was however nowhere close to those on the Ocean cruises, but we were content to use the River Cruise as a mode of transportation to the different destinations. We made sure we had a big dinner as there were no midnight buffet like on the Ocean cruises. The experience was special since we had met many wonderful families, one of which had 16 members (from many different states) on board! We had also met a few great couples and gotten to know them well through the daily excursions organized by the ship and the daily breakfasts, and dinners. Since there were only about 100 passengers, one got to interact with the same people many times during the cruise!

 

Anybody has specific questions about the cruise or destinations, feel free to ask!

 

Kim

[richardgail]

Thanks for the great info. We are on the Symphony Legendary Danube Prague to Budapest from 4/27 - 5/7.

 

How did you pay your tips at the end of the cruise? We would prefer to use our credit card. Also, what was the tip guideline. We have not received our cruise documents from Amadeus yet.

 

Was the dinner & entertainment at Kiralys in Budapest an optional tour?

 

This is our first river cruise after many ocean cruises & all we have read has prepared us for the difference between the two.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Live the good life]

Thanks for the great info. We are on the Symphony Legendary Danube Prague to Budapest from 4/27 - 5/7.

 

How did you pay your tips at the end of the cruise? We would prefer to use our credit card. Also, what was the tip guideline. We have not received our cruise documents from Amadeus yet.

 

Was the dinner & entertainment at Kiralys in Budapest an optional tour?

 

This is our first river cruise after many ocean cruises & all we have read has prepared us for the difference between the two.

 

Thanks for your help.

 

This was what printed on the Amadeus Waterways's brochure:" Gratuities to your cruise director and ship crew's crew are not included in the vacation price......For a good job, we recommend 3 euros per passenger per day for the cruise director and 12 euros per passenger per day for the crew, which will be divided among all the ship's personnel. It is also customary to acknowledge a good performance of a local guide by leaving a tip of 1 Euro per tour".

 

One-two days before the end of the cruise, we were given a questionnaire and 2 envelopes for tips (one for Cruise Director, the other for the crew) for each cabin. We were told that they prefer cash for gratuities, so we gave euros in cash to the Cruise Director directly and also to the personnel at the reception desk (for the crew). Perhaps one can also pay by credit card by adding the gratuities to one's shipboard's account.

 

Kiraly Etterem King Restaurant was not an optional ship tour. It was recommended to us by the concierge as "a fine dining Hungarian and international cuisine restaurant with live gipsy music and an unforgettable variety show with a selection of the most famous Hungarina operett performance". We were glad that we tried it out and would not mind returning in the future. It was a small restaurant on the Buda side(http://www.kiralyrestaurant.hu) near the Hilton hotel and Mathias church. The performers were not on stage;they were performing about 10 feet away from us! In addition to this restaurant, there were also many highly recommended restaurants in Budapest, such as the Duck restaurant.

 

The optional ship tours included the Tour to Terezin from Prague, Grand Bohemian Evening at the Klasterni restaurant in Prague, Salzburg Optional Excursion, Hofburg Palace Optional Concert in Vienna (evening performance), and Schoenbrunn Palace Optional Excursion in Vienna. We took these optional tours and thoroughly enjoyed them. Other City tours were included such as the Prague City Tour, the Nuremberg City Tour, the Regensberg City Walking Tour, Passau Walking Tour (if you don't take the Salzburg optional excursion), Abbey Tour in Melk, and Vienna City Tour (if you don't take the Schoenbrunn Palace Optional excursion). Our X-mas cruise did not include Budapest. We took a train from Vienna to Budapest and spent 3 nights there. The good thing about Budapest is there were lots hotels with the river/Chain Bridge/Castle view beside the Four Seasons (In Prague, I believe only the Four Seasons had river/Charles Bridge/Castle view).

 

In terms of the evening optional tour, we had a good time at the Grand Bohemian evening at the Klasterni restaurant on Castle Hill. Although it was a casual place with very casual local food (three course menu with unlimited drinks), we enjoyed the live performance by the Czech musicians, singers, and dancers. They played mostly romantic melodies in Czech that were translated from French songs of the 40's and 50's. In addition, there were also a few Bohemian rhapsodies.

 

We actually also thoroughly enjoyed the included ship tours as well, but highly recommend others to take all the Optional excursions that will be offered.

 

Enjoy your experience. We would not mind returning to Prague in the future during Spring or Summer time and attending some of the many evening Classical concerts offered!

[richardgail]

Thanks for all the pre-cruise document information. Knowing about all the optional tours this soon will give us more time to plan.

[richardgail]

Thanks for all the pre-cruise document info on the optional tours. This gives us more time to plan.

[bunkiew]

Live the Good Life: Thanks for all the good information. I'm getting really excited about our trip. We are doing the Prague to Budapest route starting May 11 in Prague. We are spending 4 additional nights in Budapest and we will definitly try the Kiraly restaurant. If you can remember the names of any other restuarants you enjoyed, I would love to have the names of them also. I hate going to a new place and spending hours trying to find a good place to eat.

 

Richardgail: I will be anxiously awaiting your review too!!!

 

Bunkiew

[Live the good life]

Hello Bunkiew,

 

I just got back from New York. Had great fun in Times Square, China Town etc.. and great dining there! I will definitely post the names of all the good restaurants (both casual and formal) in all the ports from Prague to Budapest that were highly recommended to us, and especially the ones we have tried and enjoyed.

[richardgail]

Did you need an adapter or converter on the Symphony for your personal hairdryer, razor, etc?

[richardgail]

Did you need an adapter or converter on the Symphony for your personal hairdryer, razor, etc?

 

Also, is the Symphony able to make change in Euros? We will be taking notes, but need coins for restrooms & tipping.

 

Thanks for your help!

[Jancruz]

Did you have a guide in Budapest that you hired on your own?

Thanks,

Jan

*****

[richardgail]

Did you need an adapter or converter on the Symphony for your personal hairdryer, razor, etc?

 

Just received our cruise docs & this question was answered.

 

Still would like to know if the Symphony is able to make change in Euros? We will be taking notes, but need coins for restrooms & tour guide tipping.

[maryella]

We are thinking about the Symphony or the Amadagio this July for a first time river cruise. We are bringing our 2 teen daughters aged 14 & 16. Any families with kids on the Christams cruise? I know there are no activities planned for kids so we were just hoping others would be in board in July. The kids have traveled the world with us and have been on a barge trip in France a few years ago so they know what to expect in the area of enetertainment.