Prague to Budapest, July 1 2009

[Supplyman]

have just booked this with Globus and Avalon. Lets start a aroll call.

 

Supplyman:cool:

[gooselace]

have just booked this with Globus and Avalon. Lets start a aroll call.

 

Supplyman:cool:

 

That's a wonderful cruise. Sorry I can't join your roll call, but just returned from the Collette trip on CroisiEurope's Rhone Princess. Very nice ship with an excellent crew/staff. About half the passengers were French, most of the rest from U.S.A., plus a few from other countries.

 

Loved Prague, especially, where we spent a couple of days prior to departure. Strongly recommend it. Vienna and Budapest were good, too, but somewhat more difficult to navigate on one's own if not doing bus tours. Vienna by night tour was lovely, but the day tour was basically similar - even the narration. Get out and do some things on your own. Had we known we would have skipped the day tour and gone to an art museum or concert.

 

I recommend getting Euros before you go. Easier to use and accepted in most of these countries.

[Maggie Mae]

We will be there the same time but traveling with AMA on the Amalyra. We are going early and doing Prague on our own and meeting the ship in Nuremburg on the 6th. I'm sure we will be docked together along the way.

[Supplyman]

Do you recommend only euros, or is it a good idea to have the local currency for Czech Republic(koruna) and Hungary (Forint)?

Euros you can get anywhere but the other currencies maybe more difficult.

[jacksonnh]

I just returned from Germany and the Czek Rep last week. Some places in Prague do not accept the euro as of yet although it is slowly changing. You will get the best exchange rate using the bank o mat (atm) located in various places in the cities. You'll also find many at the airport when you arrive. If you intend to use your atm card, please notify your bank of the dates for your trip as well as your credit card company so they won't suspend the use of your card. You will need a 4 digit pin in Europe. Hope you have a great trip!

[Maggie Mae]

My friends told me the same thing, many small cafes and shops in Prague will not take Euro only bigger restaurants and hotels. She also told me that her credit card company added a 1 -2% tax on all her purchases while away. - this was above and beyond the VAT. Not a huge amount but it was a surprise to her.

[gooselace]

Do you recommend only euros, or is it a good idea to have the local currency for Czech Republic(koruna) and Hungary (Forint)?

Euros you can get anywhere but the other currencies maybe more difficult.

 

Yes, I should have been more specific. My friend and I shared about $100 each in korunas and florints to use for tips and small purchases, but found that the larger shops and restuarants accepted euros, and since we could use them in Germany, Austria and on the ship, it saved us ending up with a whole bunch of small souvenir coins. Also some of the korunas and forints were very worn and hard to read.

 

Also, unlike the Baltic, almost no one was willing to accept U.S. dollars.

[WIT]

Yes, I should have been more specific. My friend and I shared about $100 each in korunas and florints to use for tips and small purchases, but found that the larger shops and restuarants accepted euros, and since we could use them in Germany, Austria and on the ship, it saved us ending up with a whole bunch of small souvenir coins. Also some of the korunas and forints were very worn and hard to read.

 

Also, unlike the Baltic, almost no one was willing to accept U.S. dollars.

We used the surplus currency as part of our tip.

 

WIT

[Supplyman]

Okay, who ever is out there. It is now time to start thinking about this river cruise. If there is anyone going on this trip lets start a conversation. It just a little over 90 days away and time to get organized. Looking for anyone.:D

[letsgo39]

It is really unusual to find others cruising on the same river cruise as the ships are really not very big.

Dh and I cruised on the Avalon Tranquility Budapest to Amsterdam in July 2007.The ship is beautiful and the service was excellent.

 

We used ATM's to obtain cash in each country as needed. You will need mostly Euros with the exception of Budapest and the Czech Rep.where you will have to get some local money.The ATM's are everywhere and in each port your cruise director will hand out local maps indicating important things like WC,ATM etc.They did exchange USD for Euros on the ship if needed but the rate was not as good as the ATM's.We only did that once when caught a little short!:o

You are going to have a wonderful time on The Tranquility. Avalon/Globus really know how to do things right.

[Supplyman]

Thanks for the information. We are really looking forward to this trip. We are veteran big ship cruisers but this will be the first riverboat. Any suggestions for dinner in Prague?

 

Ed Ring