Danube River Cruise Meets Thread

[SCFamily4]

How has the weather been? As it relates to clothes?

Sayhello

Weather has been lovely - rather "cool" (for this SC girl), with temps for most of the cruise so far in the upper 60s and 70s. We've had maybe two or three periods of rain, but nothing lengthy. That said -- I understand last week was MUCH warmer, and some of the excursions were hot (example: biking and @90 degree heat). We have been quite lucky with the weather. It is warming up as we start to wrap up the cruise -- @83 in Bratislava today, and 83/85 in Budapest to end the week.

 

[SCFamily4]

This may have been mentioned previously, but while I am thinking about it ....

There are free postcards in the lobby of the AmaViola. Four scenes are available (Passau, Budapest, Bavaria, and a Castle along the Danube - Austria, I believe). If you use these postcards, the postage is free! You just hand it over, and they will post for you. If you give them one of your own postcards to mail, they will charge your room for postage. Still a good deal in my opinion!

The wifi has been good, somewhat spotty at times (totally understandable). Haven't been able to send or load huge files, but emails and a few pics have posted without any problems.

 

[sayhello]

Weather has been lovely - rather "cool" (for this SC girl), with temps for most of the cruise so far in the upper 60s and 70s. We've had maybe two or three periods of rain, but nothing lengthy. That said -- I understand last week was MUCH warmer, and some of the excursions were hot (example: biking and @90 degree heat). We have been quite lucky with the weather. It is warming up as we start to wrap up the cruise -- @83 in Bratislava today, and 83/85 in Budapest to end the week.

Ah! You got my favorite weather!

Sayhello

 

[nifferearly]

I went to the classical concert. There is no AC in the room and it is warm. I saw one man in a jacket, but I wouldn't recommend wearing one. Some were dressed up some were in shorts and tees and it seemed fine whichever route you chose to go. I had DH wear a dress shirt and I dressed up my outfit a bit with accessories and flats. Some women were in skirts or a dress. Totally not necessary. If I were to go again tomorrow I would not worry about dressing up anything and would pack less and be more comfortable. I also would not feel out of place which was my main concern and the reason I even packed outfits for dinner. Don't do it. You really don't need to. I'd only bring one outfit that was a step above jeans, shorts and t-shirts to wear. I'd wear it for the chef's table dinner and that would only be because I wanted to have one dinner that was kind of like being at Palo on DCL.

Thanks for your response - that's very helpful!

 

[sayhello]

In Budapest, at the Marriott! Saw the AmaViola tied up (2 deep, with at least 7 other ships. ) Was too pooped after a long walk to keep going & see if anyone was there. Flight from Paris to Budapest wad *horrid* (crowded, hot, no aisle seat and my suitcase is still in Paris... ) Trying really hard to stay awake to help with the jetlag. Tummy not happy with me. But it's sunny and beautiful, and I'm hopefully meeting up with folks in a little over an hour, so it's allhi

Sayhello

 

[tgeorge]

Oh no! That sounds like a bad way to begin the trip, but you made it and hopefully your suitcase gets to you quickly. Have a fantastic trip!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

In Budapest, at the Marriott! Saw the AmaViola tied up (2 deep, with at least 7 other ships. ) Was too pooped after a long walk to keep going & see if anyone was there. Flight from Paris to Budapest wad *horrid* (crowded, hot, no aisle seat and my suitcase is still in Paris... ) Trying really hard to stay awake to help with the jetlag. Tummy not happy with me. But it's sunny and beautiful, and I'm hopefully meeting up with folks in a little over an hour, so it's allhi

Sayhello

Glad you are there safely but bummer about the bag! Hopefully it arrives quickly!

 

[Tiggerina]

Me, DH and DS 10 will be on the July 28th - August 4th Trip.

I was just reading some of the Post here. Thanks for the 411 !

 

[carpenta]

Sorry about your bag(s) also but that is the reason why I never fly through Paris. Hope your "tummy" gets better. Maybe some paprika chicken would help.

 

[SCFamily4]

In Budapest, at the Marriott! Saw the AmaViola tied up (2 deep, with at least 7 other ships. ) Was too pooped after a long walk to keep going & see if anyone was there. Flight from Paris to Budapest wad *horrid* (crowded, hot, no aisle seat and my suitcase is still in Paris... ) Trying really hard to stay awake to help with the jetlag. Tummy not happy with me. But it's sunny and beautiful, and I'm hopefully meeting up with folks in a little over an hour, so it's allhi

Sayhello

So glad you made it to Budapest -- and hope your bag isn't far behind. We disembark from the AmaViola @9am, heading to the Marriott. Perhaps we will cross paths! Hope you are feeling a bit better -- you will love the River Cruise!! Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

 

[sayhello]

Oh no! That sounds like a bad way to begin the trip, but you made it and hopefully your suitcase gets to you quickly. Have a fantastic trip!

Thanks! It showed up overnight. Got it around 8 this morning. Yay!!!

Glad you are there safely but bummer about the bag! Hopefully it arrives quickly!

It wasn't a great way to start, but I got my bag this morning, and met with the Adventure Guides, and things are looking up tremendously.

Sorry about your bag(s) also but that is the reason why I never fly through Paris. Hope your "tummy" gets better. Maybe some paprika chicken would help.

Absolutely my last time through CDG. Blech! I *did* have paprika chicken last night, and my stomach is much better. Hmmmm....

So glad you made it to Budapest -- and hope your bag isn't far behind. We disembark from the AmaViola @9am, heading to the Marriott. Perhaps we will cross paths! Hope you are feeling a bit better -- you will love the River Cruise!! Can't wait to hear your thoughts.

Thanks! Wish I'd read this earlier. I'm still at the Marriott, leaving in a few minutes. Darn!

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

Glad to hear you are feeling better and got your bag back. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the river cruise. We are so tempted to do it again!

Please tell Hanni and Zoe that Wally and Terrie send hugs and said, "Love you, mean it!"

Have fun and let us all know how your adventure is going! Oh especially the apricot farm since we didn't do that one!

 

[Cousin Orville]

@sayhello Sorry to hear about your luggage, but glad you got it somewhat quickly. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the cruise.

 

[Calfan]

We used to get it haphazardly, but since we've gotten global entry (2 years ago) whole family has been 100%. Now I better not have jinxed us

Our experience has been the same.

 

[sayhello]

Glad to hear you are feeling better and got your bag back. Can't wait to hear your thoughts on the river cruise. We are so tempted to do it again!

Please tell Hanni and Zoe that Wally and Terrie send hugs and said, "Love you, mean it!"

Have fun and let us all know how your adventure is going! Oh especially the apricot farm since we didn't do that one!

Hanneke & Zoe both say "Hi!"!!

Sayhello

 

[MKMK]

Just returned back from July 14th trip. We had a wonderful time -- as always, Disney knows what they are doing Continually impressed how they do such a great job of catering to all age groups. One thing i would emphasize -- we packed for warm weather, but it was cool (cold in my book) and rainy for the first half. It warmed up as we got closer to Budapest. If I was doing it again, would "pack for all seasons" and as other posters mentioned, don't feel the need to bring dressy clothes for dinner or the concert unless you personally want to. It is very casual.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Hanneke & Zoe both say "Hi!"!!

Sayhello

You lucky lady!!! I can't believe you have them. Say "hi" from us as well. Love those ladies.

 

[TexasMouseFan]

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been stressing about the dinner clothes (mostly because my husband gets annoyed at me every time I mention him bringing dress clothes). Any chance you went to the classical concert? If you did, how dressy was that? Would women need a dress or skirt? Would men need a jacket or would pants and a dress shirt be appropriate?

We did go to the concert (it was very nice!). First thing to know is that the concert hall (greenhouse) is not air conditioned. They only have a few oscillating fans going but I believe they turned them off during the actual concert. Our ABD group wore a mix of lightweight dresses and slacks/ capris for the women and slacks/ kakis with polo or short sleeved shirts for the men. I do not remember anyone with a jacket. There were people in jeans but I don't remember anyone in shorts.

 

[TexasMouseFan]

We have returned home from the July 14th cruise. I have to say the river cruise experience was wonderful! I'm so glad that ABD has introduced this adventure to us! The guides (Hanni, Zoe, Danny, Daniel, Birte, Yeti, Katka, and Jennae) were excellent and worked seamlessly together. Trying to manage and coordinate 148 people and keep everyone happy is no easy feat. ABD definitely selected the best of the best for us!
General feedback:
Don't worry about dressing up for dinner. Save the suitcase space for souvenirs.
Plan on busy, fast paced days.
Do the Prague pre-cruise add on if possible (ABD should add a Budapest post cruise add on because there is so much to see - add extra time on your own if you can).
Remember this is not a DCL cruise. There are no youth counselors on the ship to watch your kids. There are no youth activity spaces to let your kids play in. Enjoy your family time together.
Be prepared for a wonderful, habit forming experience!

 

[Skelling]

Inaugural member cruisers, I heard that there was a code or something from the guides, with all the pictures they took. Is this true?