July is River Cruise Month!

by Don McCann

River Cruises, primarily in Europe, have exploded in popularity in recent years and there is a very good reason:  They are WONDERFUL!  As we have mentioned in past posts, they carry between 130 to 190 guests and dock in the heart of the city in many ports of call.  A very good industry friend told us “on an ocean cruise, you cruise TO a country; on a river cruise, you cruise THROUGH a country“.  Simple observation, but yet so true.

So we take July as River Cruise Month for several reasons….

1. Now is the best time to book for next year, 2017; river cruises fill far in advance
2. Most lines have advance booking discounts which will expire soon
3. Crystal River Cruises has their inaugural cruise in July; an exciting, new product

This month we’ll be sending out examples of special offers for River Cruises, but we’ll also be sending out some photos and observations on our own past River Cruises.  Watch for more posts and remember to THINK RIVER CRUISES all month long!!!

River Deal?

by Don McCann

European river cruises continue to gain in popularity, but the limited availability is difficult for some experienced cruisers to comprehend. When we’re all used to taking ocean cruises with hundreds and many times thousands of passengers, a river cruise with about 150 people is quite different. The first difference of note is how soon they fill up! With so few cabins and such high demand, they are filling up farther and farther in advance. However, there are always some exceptions. Emerald Waterways is still relatively new and so they have some space for 2016 which is, not only available, but currently on sale! So if a river cruise is on your travel radar for this year AND if you’d like a great deal, then we suggest that you might want to consider Emerald – but act quickly.

For an example of Emerald Waterways reduced fares, click here, then call us for details.

It Was Only a Matter of Time

 

by Don McCann

With all of the growing popularity of European river cruises, it’s not too surprising that one of the major ‘ocean’ cruise lines has decided to launch their own river cruise division. Recently, Crystal Cruises announced that they will begin river cruises within Europe in 2017. At the time, they released virtually no details, but earlier this week they announced some date information and even showed us a couple of renderings!

Crystal Cruises will begin European river cruises in March, 2017 and reservations will open in December of this year, in 2015. That far in advance, you might ask? Yes! With the demand for river cruises and the limited number of cabins onboard, they sell much further in advance than many ocean cruises.

The river vessels from Crystal will each feature standard ‘suites’ at 250 square feet, as well as two 500 square feet penthouse suites. Accommodations will have walk-in closets, king-size beds and the bathrooms will have double vanities. As with their ocean ships, the river ships will include their signature Palm Court, which will have a glass roof & dance floor and there will be a fitness center and spa. The ships will carry only 140 guests.

The other lines in the luxury arena of European river cruises (Uniworld, Tauck, and Scenic) will surely be interested to see how Crystal will create their own style of luxury river cruises and we’ll all be interested to see at what price point, as well. Stay tuned for more info!

River Cruise Month

by Don McCann

More river cruises are booked in July than in any other month of the year and most of those bookings are for sailings far into the future.  “So what is it about river cruises anyway?” you might be asking.  One of the best features of river cruising is the very issue which begs advance bookings.  You see most river vessels only hold from 130 to 190 guests, so it makes for a wonderful ambiance onboard, but makes inventory scarce unless you plan AHEAD!

So since now is the time many are thinking (or should be thinking) of river cruise reservations for next year, we thought we’d remind you that we have a separate site exclusively for river cruises.  Take a look and contact us with any questions and/or your preferred dates for a reservation……….RiverCruiseEscapes.com .

Something Different

by Bill Edwards

Looking for something different next year?

Consider a rivercruise on Portugal’s Douro River.  While it’s not exactly a forgotten part of Europe it is certainly one less traveled by most Americans and is “off the beaten path” compared to cruising the Rhine, Danube and the rivers of France.

Who will enjoy this cruise?  Those wanting to discover a well-kept secret, a region with spellbinding natural beauty and cultural heritage.  And wine connoisseurs will certainly enjoy indulging in the region’s most celebrated beverage, Port.

Although a Douro cruise sets a pretty leisurely pace, there are some wonderful experiences along the way.  Most packages will begin or end in Lisbon with time to explore this city which launched a host of renowned navigators, including Vasco da Gama.  On the way from Lisbon to Porto (via motorcoach) a stop is made in Portugal’s 3^rd largest city, Coimbra, to visit one of the oldest universities in Europe.  The rivercruise portion of the trip begins in Porto, birthplace of Henry the Navigator and longtime hub of the Port wine trade.   Along the way visits are made to some of the big port-growing dynasties, and folkloric music and dance performances add to the cultural immersion of this region.  Another highlight is to visit Salamanca, nicknamed the “Golden City” for it’s sandstone buildings that give it a golden glow.  This town across the border in Spain, boasts monumental churches, and a historic university attended by one very famous Christopher Columbus!

AMA Waterways, UniWorld and Viking River Cruises are all excellent choices for exploring this unique area.  Their ships generally carry just slightly more than 100 guests so hence the need to plan NOW for next year!

Vienna!

by Don McCann

Viking River Cruises – Danube Waltz – onboard Viking Magni, November 19, 2013

The third port on our recent Danube cruise was Vienna.  This was to be our most activity-packed day and it all worked out perfectly!   The day before we arrived, we were given the option to change our included city motorcoach tour to an ‘upclose tour’ via subway.  As we’d planned to stay in town after the tour to visit the Christmas market and we prefer walking tours, this seemed perfect for us.  Our group of 14 was met at the gangway to the ship by our tour guide, Erika, then we walked a couple of easy blocks to the nearest subway station.  Once at our stop, we began our walk past the fascinating and classic architecture of the streets of Vienna.  The temperature was quite brisk, but not cold enough to create any problems, nor deter our enjoyment of this wonderful city!

The Opera, Hofburg Palace, the Lipizzaner stallions (who were in their stalls, on break at the time), St Stephan’s, and everything in between, seems we saw it ALL and in a very short time.  At the conclusion of the tour, we parted ways with our guide and made our way to the Christmas Market at Rathausplatz (which is City Hall).  Here we carefully went from stall to stall, careful to miss nothing.  Half way through our Market adventure, we stopped for lunch in the adjacent park.  The Markets usually have great selections of wonderful smelling treats (OK, maybe not too healthy, but delicious none the less!).  We shared a braut, some roasted sliced potatoes, a chocolate covered pretzel, and of course, some glühwein.  We had looked forward to the Christmas Markets on this trip for months and, I’d have to say, this one was excellent.  It was very well laid out, it was very clean and not cluttered, and was in a super setting with the historic hall as the backdrop.  Once we concluded our stay, we asked the information desk about the closest subway station, then we easily found it about a block away and made our way to the station.  Our routing required one change of trains, which we figured out and executed all on our own, arriving safely back at the ship before dinner.

Speaking of dinner, it was offered earlier on this day to accommodate those who had signed up for the evening Mozart & Strauss Concert, which included us.  After dinner, we boarded our motorcoach for about a 20 minute ride back through the streets of Vienna to the former Stock Exchange building.  Seems this building has great acoustics and it is used for concerts these days.  The performance was thoroughly enjoyable and the experience of a lifetime; I recommend it to anyone on a stop here.  Once it was over, we headed back to the ship in a very light rain and enjoyed the buildings lit up in their Christmas & holiday lights.  To summarize, I found Vienna to be a delight from beginning to end, from outside to inside, and all in between!

 

 

 

 

check back for our next post on Durnstein & Melk!

First Stop: Bratislava

by Don McCann

Viking River Cruises – Danube Waltz – onboard Viking Magni, November 19, 2013

After sailing from Budapest, we were treated to a “Bratislava preview” with our Onboard Tour Director, Marek.  He is originally from Slovakia and he even dressed in traditional ‘costume’ to present his talk on the homeland.  Many are unaware that, after the fall of the iron curtain, Czechoslovakia actually split into two separate countries: The Czech Republic and Slovakia.  Marek told us that they simply parted ways with a friendly divorce!  Bratislava is one of the capital cities featured on this Danube itinerary.  He then ended his presentation by suggesting that we all “spend our money” in Bratislava!

Since we were arriving in the afternoon, that left time in the morning for an Apple Strudel Demonstration in the Lounge.  It was actually quite interesting to see the chef, with her two volunteers, roll out the pastry dough, work it into the right shape and thickness, and then to add the filling mixture.  Of course it looks to me as if it is one of those classic “do not attempt this at home” type of exercises.  I mean they made it look easy enough, but I doubt it would work out quite as easily in our own kitchen.  Regardless, the best part is that they passed out finished product samples during the demo and then gave us nicely printed recipes to take with us.

Arriving in Bratislava we were reminded just why we brought those umbrellas with us; yes, it was sort of rainy; not really ‘coming down’, but enough to warrant the umbrella, none the less.  Because of the weather, Bratislava was not nearly as enjoyable as it would have been with more favorable weather.  Don’t get me wrong, we made the best of it and we really liked it, but the first stop on the tour was at Bratislava Castle, up on a hill which overlooks the town down below.  This would have been a lovely view on a clear day, but for us it was a bit misty.  Regardless, we enjoyed seeing the restored exterior of the castle (which looks a bit more like a stylish fortress) and the very impressive gates at either entrance.

Once back in town, our tour continued on foot, through the cobblestone streets of charming Bratislava.  Even with the light rain, we found the old town to be delightful and interesting.  Since the Christmas Markets here were only just being set up for opening a few days later, we opted for some browsing in a few local shops.  One shop in particular converted our ‘browsing’ into ‘buying’:  ULUV Slovak Folk Art & Crafts.  Our few handicraft souvenir purchases may not have been enough to Marek truly happy, but we were quite pleased with them.

A short walk back to the ship included a few moments of confusion about how to cross the busy street using the foreign crosswalk lights, but some cars eventually stopped for us and we were back on the ship in a jiffy.  We freshened up, went in for a talk on our next port, Vienna, had some fantastic chateaubriand for dinner, then finished the evening with a folkloric show onboard in the Viking Magni’s Lounge.  So a day with a little rain, yes; an enjoyable day, ABSOLUTELY!

 

 

 

check back for our next post on Vienna!

“Danube Waltz” River Cruise

by Don McCann

Viking River Cruises – Danube Waltz – onboard Viking Magni, November 19, 2013

It would have been nice to have made blog posts about our recent Danube River cruise during the cruise each day.  However, the wi-fi signal was erratic, inconsistent, and let’s just say too poor to actually work!  Therefore, I’m going to post about each day, one day at a time, to the best of my recollection.

Our cruise began in Budapest.  To fly from DFW to Budapest there are many, many options and all involve at least one connection.  Ours actually involved two connections, in Detroit and Paris, and I have to say that all flights went very well AND that our checked bag arrived with us (not always the case these days).  With an arrival time of 3:00pm in Budapest, once our cruise line representative met our flight, gathered the other couples, and directed us to the waiting minibus, it was about 5:00pm when we arrived at the ship.

The Viking Magni was docked in the very heart of Budapest, directly under the iconic Chain Bridge and across the Danube from the Royal Budapest Palace.  In other words, a very exciting setting in which to begin our Danube River cruise!  We walked onboard, gave the front desk our names, were quickly given our room keys, shown to our cabin just down the hall, and voila – we were in our cabin; so easy and relaxed, compared to traditional ocean cruises.

Having been introduced just two months ago, the Viking Magni is brand new and is the latest in Viking Cruise Line’s “long ships”, their exclusive design for modern river cruising.  She carries 190 passengers and has such attractive features as the Aquavit Lounge & Terrace overlooking the front of the ship, many cabins and suites with balconies, and an overall open & airy feeling with great views throughout.  Our cabin was a Category D French Balcony room at 135 sq ft.  What – only 135 sq ft?!  Yes, I have to admit that I was concerned about the cabin size prior to sailing, but it actually is designed very well and was quite comfortable.  There was ample storage space, including a safe and fridge, and the bathroom had a great design for the space provided AND included a heated tile floor!

 

Still having a bit of jet lag, but excited about our new surroundings, we decided to put on our jackets and venture across the Chain Bridge for a quick stroll over and back before dinner that first night.  There are those who say that Budapest is more beautiful at night, than in daylight, because of they way they masterfully light up the buildings & bridges.  As we made our way across, we could see the palace just ahead and from the other side we saw the famed Parliament Building down the river; all of which are no less than stunning the way they are lit at night.  Returning to the ship for dinner, I ordered the lamb chops and have to say it was the best I’ve ever had; a great first dinner onboard!

The next morning we took the included city tour, which began on the “Pest” side of the river.  The city was originally separated into two sections, “Buda” and “Pest”; a little fact of which many are unaware.  This perfectly sunny day began at Hero Square, then past the impressive local architecture to continue over the Danube to the more hilly “Buda” side.  Here we were treated to a tour inside Matthias church and the wonderful views from Fisherman’s Bastion.  The tour ended back at the ship, in time for lunch.  The sun had given way to clouds in the afternoon, but the weather was still quite agreeable for our long walk as we explored the surrounding neighborhoods and ended at the very impressive and sobering Shoes on the Danube Memorial site.

After dinner, the ship departed as almost everyone gathered up on the top deck to photograph and enjoy the nighttime sights of Budapest as seen from the Danube.  We found Budapest to be a wonderful city which is deserves a visit of more than the 30 hours we had; will have to plan to stay longer next time!

 

 

Budapest Parliament at night

 ……. check back for our next post on BRATISLAVA

Paris to Prague with Avalon Waterways – photos by Bill

Continuing with our Cruise Week features, Bill Edwards is sharing his photos of his recent Avalon Waterways Paris to Prague itinerary in Central Europe:

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the many castles along the Rhine

Ruins along the Rhine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The beauty of river cruising: the peaceful Moselle

Vineyards along the Moselle

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information on Avalon Waterways, click here>

French Waterways with Tauck River Cruises – “Show ‘n Tell”

Our recent blog posts by John Lane featured some of his ports along the French Waterways cruise with Tauck, but in honor of our “River Cruise Week” we thought we’d put together some more photo highlights to illustrate this outstanding itinerary:

John’s itinerary was from Arles to Lyon, then TGV to Paris

 

 A very FRENCH side street in Arles

 

                             

 Cafe Van Gogh in Arles – how perfect is this?!!

 

 The beauty of Arles – inside & out!

 

Avignon Bridge

 

 

Chateauneuf du Pape near Avignon

Vineyards near Avignon

 

 

Tree-lined street in Viviers

 

 

Tauck exclusive tour to the Laurent Family Ranch and the Camargue horses

John, overlooking Vienne

 

 

St Maurice in Vienne

 

 

Roman ruins in Vienne

 

 

Festive colors of the produce & flowers in Vienne

 

 

Farewell dinner setting onboard Tauck Swiss Emerald

 

 

Paris:  The perfect ending to any visit to France!

 

For more on Tauck River Cruise, click here>