Anybody Back From The Amadeus Amadante?

[Trash Queen]

Six of us will board the Amadante in Budapest on August 10, arriving in Amsterdam two weeks later.

 

We spent five days in Budapest on a previous trip and saw many of the sights, but were wondering exactly what is included in the half-day tour that Amadeus provides. What we received simply says that "we'll see..." but there is nothing to indicate that we'll get off the bus and go into any of the places.

 

Please tell us about that tour and if you just drove around or if you actually got off the bus and went into any of the places.

 

Thanks,

Charlotte

[TwoFortwo]

We were on the Amacello from Prague (Nuremberg, actually) to Budapest last month. I imagine that the half-day tour that we got of Budapest was the same one you will get, and it was definitely not as interesting as the other tours on our cruise, which were mostly excellent.

 

We boarded the buses at the ship and drove across the Danube through central Pest to the Varosliget (City Park). We got off the bus at a large square where the guide referred to a number of statues and told about the history of Hungary and Budapest. We got back on the bus and drove back through the center of the city, over the Chain Bridge, and up to the Castle District. There we got off the bus, where the guide led us a couple of blocks to St. Stephen's and the Fisherman's Bastion. After the guide finished, we had 45 minutes or so to look around, shop, or whatever before the buses left to return to the ship.

 

Our guide was very earnest and knowledgeable, but we got a lot more history than most were interested in. It was Friday afternoon, the traffic was bad, and most people were thinking about packing up to disembark on Saturday.

 

The Budapest tour is included and won't cost anything more, but if you have specific ideas about things to see for a half day it's one you could skip without missing too much.

 

Randy

[nyfeds]

Hi Randy,

 

How many hours was that half day Budapest tour?

 

Did you take the optional Schoenbrun Palace tour while in Vienna or attend the concert while in Vienna?

 

What is your overall impression of Amadeus, Amacello, cuisine, on-board entertainment/lectures (if any), quality of tour guides, cabins, and service?

 

Thanks!

[TwoFortwo]

nyfeds,

 

I wrote a sort of mini-review about our cruise which you can find in the thread where I posted a link to my photos, titled "Photo Travelogue" from a few days ago.

 

I didn't say anything there about the on-board entertainment, which was generally good. We skipped the Bavarian oompah band, but really enjoyed an a capella male quartet and a group with a pianist and several opera singers. The onboard musician was also good, especially when he played the saxophone, which was obviously his real instrument.

 

We didn't go the Schoenbrun Palace in Vienna because an Austrian photographer friend drove to meet us in Vienna. She went on the morning tour with us (and added some interesting details the guide missed), and we went around together in the afternoon to several coffee shops, a pastry shop, and the Habsburg crypts. As I said in my mini-review, we did attend the evening concert, and it was one of our favorite events.

 

Randy

[Trash Queen]

Thanks. We had not wanted to duplicate anything that we'd see on the tour, but it sounds like we won't get much on the tour so we might as well do what we want. We'll be in Budapest several days and might skip the bus tour altogether since we'll be staying in the castle district for the second time, and it sounds as if that's the majority of the included tour.

 

Charlotte

[nyfeds]

Randy,

 

I read your review and found it informative. Thanks so much for posting it. Sounds like you had a wonderful cruise and favorable Amadeus experience.

 

Your photos were great!