Due to covid cancellations being rebooked, a bucket list trip coming available and a last minute "fill in the gap" cruise, DH and I spent 6 weeks in Europe in June/July doing 3 very different cruises and two land based trips. Our cruises:
Dining-
Entertainment -
No need for comparison here. Disney wins hands down. The Savor had a pianist and occasionally local entertainment but it was not a big thing. The Rotterdam had a lot of entertainment venues. One was a dualing piano bar but only one pianist/singer. I joked that someone needed to get him a bucket so he could carry a tune. But he made up for it in volume. Then there was a Rolling Stones wanna-be band. In our second week, we found a Mo-Town group that was great. There was a modern dance troop but we left after the second dance. There was a two-part BBC documentary series shown in the theater that was interesting but they showed the same thing the second week. There was also a documentary about the history of Holland America. The Magic had the usual complement of Broadway style shows, musicians, a violinist/fiddler who brought down the house, a juggler, a magician. We enjoy the Cadillac lounge.
Random thoughts:
The Tauck trip was all inclusive, as in tips, alcohol, excursions and many, many little extras. There were three wonderful cruise directors who got to know everyone. In each town were 4-5 licensed local tour guides, depending on excursions. They stood on shore with colored signs and you self-selected a guide. One sign was always yellow...the "mellow yellow" group who want/need to walk a bit slower, like to stop for pictures or to read signs. Often on our excursions we would stop at a cafe or kiosk and our cruise directors would be there with a local refreshment. In most of Europe, you pay for public toilets. Often a director would be standing near the toilet area and give us the local coin needed to use the facilities. One day we had an afternoon free after our tour. They gave us each a 20 Euro bill for lunch money. They truly pampered us. I will be cruising Tauck again.
Our trip on the Rotterdam was booked through a travel agent. We don't usually use one but it was a trip with a group. The TA gifted us a drink package. We don't drink a lot of alcohol but it also covered sodas, sparkling water and other drinks that have a charge. For alcohol, it only covered drinks costing $11 or less. Often only one wine or cocktail on the menu was $11 or less. If there was an itinerary I wanted to cruise, I'd go on the Rotterdam again. But, I wouldn't go looking for it.
A final note on the other passengers. The river cruise was a bit older, affluent crowd - children are not allowed except for special "bridges" sailings. Men wore khakis or dark pants and collared shirts, women dresses or nice pants/tops.
The Magic was an "older than Caribbean" crowd. There were children but not as many. It's a grueling itinerary for a kid.
The Rotterdam was a mixed group. Probably about a third to half Americans, a third Europeans and a smattering of Asians. The age probably skewed 40-70. There were children but not a lot. While the attire was not "dressy" it was more put together. Very few baggy t-shirts with cartoons or political statements. More tailored outfits, polo shirts, better athlesure outfits.
- 9 night Danube River Cruise on Tauck's MS Savor (included 2 pre-nights in Budapest and 2 post-nights in Bavaria and 2 in Munich)
- 8 night Disney Magic cruise from Rome around Greece and Pompeii
- 14 night Holland America cruise on new ship Rotterdam from Amsterdam around Norway's fjords.
- The Danube passes lovely river communities Bratislava, Vienna, Wachau Valley, Linz. For most, you walk off the ship to the heart of the town. For some, like Salzburg, there is a short bus ride. They are still living with the history of the Nazi occupation and their freedom from it. It is in all their stories, their architecture, their statuary. Made me wish I'd paid more attention in European History class.
- Greece disappointed me but I think it was my fault. This was our last minute fill-in cruise and I didn't do my homework. Summer is hot, dry and windy in Greece. Plus, we had the worst tour guides here of the entire trip. All I got was that a lot has to do with Greek mythology. And you party a lot on Mykonos.
- Norway was amazing. If you loved Alaska, Norway will steal your heart. Similar to the river cruise, we docked right at the "downtown" of the sometimes tiny fjord villages. The Norwegians love their outdoors, hiking, camping. They are far ahead of us on the environment and conservation, windmills and harnessing water power. The people are so gentle and nice with wry sense of humor.
- The Savor has a capacity of ~130, we sailed with 90. There was one main restaurant and a smaller one with a limited menu. There was an inside lounge and lots of seating topside. Also a pool, putting green, etc. Riverboats are long and narrow with one center hallway and the rooms are all on the outside and run lengthwise with the ship. Our room had a walk-in closet with hanging and shelf areas, a sitting area with a coffee table and mini-fridge. The bath was a nice size -similar to a hotel room. The bed faced the floor-to-ceiling windows. They were covered with heavy draperies but those slid away easily and the windows opened. The public areas were very nice.
- The Magic is my first and favorite ship. We love that she has been well-maintained. We had a veranda room on deck 6. We love the split baths and the ability to close the center drape. I never heard how many were sailing but it definitely did not seem full. The main dining rooms were not as full as pre-covid but more full than when we sailed the Wonder WBPC. We had a dining table to ourselves.
- The Rotterdam is HA's newest pinnacle class ship. She is about the same length as the Magic, a few feet broader and two decks taller. The capacity is about the same as the Magic and she did not feel full. Our room was about the same size as on the Magic but without the split bath and dividing curtain. The layout was reversed with the sitting area first then the sleeping. DH thought that made it seem larger. The public areas of the ship were beautiful, very modern and colorful. There is a casino but it is placed so it is easy to avoid. The main pool is quite a bit larger than the Magic and has a retractable roof. While the public areas are lovely, the passageways on the residential decks are more utilitarian -no real theming. It took me a beat to find my way around.
Dining-
- The Savor offered breakfast, lunch and dinner in the main dining room. It was open dining over a span of time so you could come when you wanted. Breakfast and lunch were a combination of buffet and special orders. Dinner was a menu with a few choices. The second smaller venue was by reservation only and had a limited menu. Supposed to have a killer burger but we never made it. Whenever we came back from an excursion, a snack and drink were waiting for us in the lobby.
- The Magic, of course, has the rotational dining and we always enjoy getting to know our servers. We are platinum and ate one dinner at Palos which was excellent. We generally like the food offerings on the Disney ships except for those white, dry "tennis balls" they call rolls. We like the shrimp and crab claws in Cabanas for lunch and the fruit at Daisies for snack.
- The Rotterdam has one main dining room and 5-6 extra pay dining venues. The dining room protocol was a little confusing. It seems that it can be by reservation or walk-up. There was often a line at walk-up. Not sure why everyone doesn't make a reservation. Additionally, there is a large buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner and a couple of fast-food type places near the main pool. The food was good, maybe a notch better than Disney, especially the bread which was served warm and varied. We ate in three of the specialty restaurants. The seafood one and steak one were good. We're pretty sure the food for the Italian one came off the buffet. We had different tables and different servers every night. A couple of nights we just didnt want to deal with it and ate at the buffet.
Entertainment -
No need for comparison here. Disney wins hands down. The Savor had a pianist and occasionally local entertainment but it was not a big thing. The Rotterdam had a lot of entertainment venues. One was a dualing piano bar but only one pianist/singer. I joked that someone needed to get him a bucket so he could carry a tune. But he made up for it in volume. Then there was a Rolling Stones wanna-be band. In our second week, we found a Mo-Town group that was great. There was a modern dance troop but we left after the second dance. There was a two-part BBC documentary series shown in the theater that was interesting but they showed the same thing the second week. There was also a documentary about the history of Holland America. The Magic had the usual complement of Broadway style shows, musicians, a violinist/fiddler who brought down the house, a juggler, a magician. We enjoy the Cadillac lounge.
Random thoughts:
The Tauck trip was all inclusive, as in tips, alcohol, excursions and many, many little extras. There were three wonderful cruise directors who got to know everyone. In each town were 4-5 licensed local tour guides, depending on excursions. They stood on shore with colored signs and you self-selected a guide. One sign was always yellow...the "mellow yellow" group who want/need to walk a bit slower, like to stop for pictures or to read signs. Often on our excursions we would stop at a cafe or kiosk and our cruise directors would be there with a local refreshment. In most of Europe, you pay for public toilets. Often a director would be standing near the toilet area and give us the local coin needed to use the facilities. One day we had an afternoon free after our tour. They gave us each a 20 Euro bill for lunch money. They truly pampered us. I will be cruising Tauck again.
Our trip on the Rotterdam was booked through a travel agent. We don't usually use one but it was a trip with a group. The TA gifted us a drink package. We don't drink a lot of alcohol but it also covered sodas, sparkling water and other drinks that have a charge. For alcohol, it only covered drinks costing $11 or less. Often only one wine or cocktail on the menu was $11 or less. If there was an itinerary I wanted to cruise, I'd go on the Rotterdam again. But, I wouldn't go looking for it.
A final note on the other passengers. The river cruise was a bit older, affluent crowd - children are not allowed except for special "bridges" sailings. Men wore khakis or dark pants and collared shirts, women dresses or nice pants/tops.
The Magic was an "older than Caribbean" crowd. There were children but not as many. It's a grueling itinerary for a kid.
The Rotterdam was a mixed group. Probably about a third to half Americans, a third Europeans and a smattering of Asians. The age probably skewed 40-70. There were children but not a lot. While the attire was not "dressy" it was more put together. Very few baggy t-shirts with cartoons or political statements. More tailored outfits, polo shirts, better athlesure outfits.
