DVC exclusive Danube River Cruise

[sayhello]

In the handbook where the tip envelopes are normally kept, I had a foldout document / schedule for the shore excursions. I think that is what we are supposed to use to indicate what we want to do.

Oh, now that you mention it, it *does* say "Please circle choices" in teeny-tiny letters on the bottom of that document. Thanks!

Sayhello

 

[Cousin Orville]

Oh, now that you mention it, it *does* say "Please circle choices" in teeny-tiny letters on the bottom of that document. Thanks!

Sayhello

I'm curious how this works out. Can you change your mind? Does it still have an ABD "feel" since you're with different guides on different tours? Regardless it sounds like a lot of fun. Those cabins look very nice. Small to be expected for a river cruise, but they're appointed quite well. That must be something else sitting out on your balcony watching the scenery go by.

 

[hilarys]

Wow we are only one day into your trip and I am all ready trying to figure out when I can do one of the river cruises. This seems like it might be a perfect combo of DCL and ABD. The cabin looks really nice and I agree with Cousin Orville that it must be great to watch the scenery go by.

 

[calypso726]

How did this work? When did you get the form to fill in with your excursion choices?

Sayhello

In the handbook where the tip envelopes are normally kept, I had a foldout document / schedule for the shore excursions. I think that is what we are supposed to use to indicate what we want to do.

Texasmousefan is correct. The form is in our booklets. The guides will also have extra forms in case the form is lost in the luggage, or completely illegible due to changing the choices and one's mind 26 times

This is also the opportunity to discuss what each activity is like with the guide and what alternate choice would be available. The guides have experienced all of the excursions.

 

[calypso726]

Wow we are only one day into your trip and I am all ready trying to figure out when I can do one of the river cruises. This seems like it might be a perfect combo of DCL and ABD. The cabin looks really nice and I agree with Cousin Orville that it must be great to watch the scenery go by.

We have barely begun and I am already so impressed that I think we will need to be doing more river cruises. I'm glad ABD added the Rhine and I hope they will add more destinations.

 

[calypso726]

Be aware that the times listed on the daily adventurer for activities may change at a moment's notice. This morning we opted to go for the 10 am tour to see Lazar equestrian park and skip the market because we went there yesterday. This gave us an extra amount of time to sleep in and recuperate from the last week of living out of a suitcase and changing hotels every night with the exception of Ashford Castle where we stayed 2 nights.

An announcement was made at 9:25 am that the bus would be leaving at 9:45 am. At 9:35 am another announcement that it was the last call for the tour. At 9:42 the bus left. We are on it but I have not had coffee yet, did not get a chance to apply sunscreen or grab a bite of anything to go. Let's just say I am not exactly a happy camper right now. I am a very punctual person and will give myself the time I need to get ready and be anywhere 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Had we been told before going to bed that the time changed that would have been fine and I would have adjusted my timing.

 

[calypso726]

Despite this morning's unexpected announcement we have had a very lovely day so far. Our trip to the park was about an hour and our local Hungarian expert told us a bit about the city and the sites we were driving by as well as the history. The architecture is outstanding!!! I thought Paris was nice but this is way nicer in terms of design and details on the buildings.

Once we got to the park we were greeted with scones, biscuits, white wine and flavored vodka. Vodka in place of coffee seems to work for me LOL We were able to choose what activities we wanted to do. Time permitting, you could do all of the activities. We did the carriage ride, visited the little petting zoo and visited the stables to see the World Champion Lippizaner carriage horses. The room with carriages, trophies and medals is very impressive. We didn't do the goulash cooking lesson and chose to spend more time at the stables instead.

The horsemanship show was very entertaining and also quite impressive! After the show we had an amazing lunch served family style. Once again, the food was phenomenal!!!!












More pics to come later

 

[tgeorge]

I looked at the Rhine river cruise itinerary last night and it sounds like it will be amazing. Hmmmm, is it possible I have yet another trip to add to my growing list??

I'm already loving this trip report, and as hilarys already stated, it has just begun!

 

[calypso726]

 

[sayhello]

Be aware that the times listed on the daily adventurer for activities may change at a moment's notice. This morning we opted to go for the 10 am tour to see Lazar equestrian park and skip the market because we went there yesterday. This gave us an extra amount of time to sleep in and recuperate from the last week of living out of a suitcase and changing hotels every night with the exception of Ashford Castle where we stayed 2 nights.

An announcement was made at 9:25 am that the bus would be leaving at 9:45 am. At 9:35 am another announcement that it was the last call for the tour. At 9:42 the bus left. We are on it but I have not had coffee yet, did not get a chance to apply sunscreen or grab a bite of anything to go. Let's just say I am not exactly a happy camper right now. I am a very punctual person and will give myself the time I need to get ready and be anywhere 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Had we been told before going to bed that the time changed that would have been fine and I would have adjusted my timing.

OK, this makes me VERY unhappy! I don't think I'd've made the tour if they left 25 minutes early! I am NOT a morning person, and not the most punctual person in the world (although I'm rarely more than 5 minutes late). I'd've been seriously pissed. I'm going to have to call ABD and express my displeasure with this practice. NOT a good precedence to set!

That said, the rest of this looks fabulous! I'm getting quite excited! How did they split up who went with whom?

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

OK, this makes me VERY unhappy! I don't think I'd've made the tour if they left 25 minutes early! I am NOT a morning person, and not the most punctual person in the world (although I'm rarely more than 5 minutes late). I'd've been seriously pissed. I'm going to have to call ABD and express my displeasure with this practice. NOT a good precedence to set!

That said, the rest of this looks fabulous! I'm getting quite excited! How did they split up who went with whom?

Sayhello

To be fair, I did see on the daily adventurer later on where it did say that times of events could change due to distance from a lock or the water level etc. I don't think that was the case here as we were still in the same spot. I was also informed that an announcement was made to those who showed up for breakfast this morning as well. That said, we skipped breakfast and were unaware until we heard the announcement in the room. It was a close call. I hope this was a one off and doesn't happen again.

 

[carpenta]

Love the pictures. I guess it would behoove oneself to check in with a guide the night before to confirm the time.

 

[calypso726]

Love the pictures. I guess it would behoove oneself to check in with a guide the night before to confirm the time.

Thank you. Well, no need to worry. I did get confirmation that this was a one off due to a miscommunication that was not realized with sufficient time to let everyone know the night before. So, I am sure this was a one off. Things happen and we are the first sailing. I doubt something like that will happen again on our trip and less likely on the next sailings.

 

[sayhello]

Thank you. Well, no need to worry. I did get confirmation that this was a one off due to a miscommunication that was not realized with sufficient time to let everyone know the night before. So, I am sure this was a one off. Things happen and we are the first sailing. I doubt sown thing like that will happen again on our trip and less likely on the next sailings.

Good to know! Thanks for doing the leg work!

Sayhello

 

[calypso726]

How many peopl are on your cruise? So excited for you! I'm heading out on the ABD Prague, Germany & Austria trip in a few weeks. Also booked on the Rhine 2017

I think when I called in to find out the break down it was about 130+ that were booked. Have fun and safe travels!

I'm curious how this works out. Can you change your mind? Does it still have an ABD "feel" since you're with different guides on different tours? Regardless it sounds like a lot of fun. Those cabins look very nice. Small to be expected for a river cruise, but they're appointed quite well. That must be something else sitting out on your balcony watching the scenery go by.

I don't know for certain if changes can be made but I would imagine so with sufficient notice. I am guessing they need to know how to break up the group's for each activity in advance.

It is different than the regular land based trips we are used to with ABD. Not bad, just different. Today was the first full day that involved touring. We did opt out of the morning market tour so I can't really say what that was like. When we got to the equestrian park everyone kind of just chose what activities they'd like to do first. The guides were always around and able to direct or escort us to locations of a different activity.

The cabins are very nice! I've never been on a river cruise before so I can't really say. We've been on 15 Disney cruises though and usually in a category 7A navigator verandah which is 268 sq ft. I love our cabin on the AmaViola and I think the AA category which we were so lucky to get upgraded to is 235 sq ft. It doesn't feel smaller and they make great use of the space. The luggage fits under the bed like on a Disney cruise too.

Watching the scenery go by on the balcony is really awesome! I was able to FaceTime my mom and show her some of the sights we were sailing by.

I looked at the Rhine river cruise itinerary last night and it sounds like it will be amazing. Hmmmm, is it possible I have yet another trip to add to my growing list??

I'm already loving this trip report, and as hilarys already stated, it has just begun!

Yeah, I keep adding ABD trips to my list.
I wasn't sure if I'd like river cruises or not. So far, I do and I think ABD has done an outstanding job putting this together. Everything has been top notch!

 

[calypso726]

Some of the views from this evening are pictured below. When we got back to the ship from the Equestrian park we were treated with Gyspy musicians and traditional Hungarian folk dancers. They were wonderful to watch. Dinner once again was phenomenal!

 

[Theta]

Calypso, did your luggage tags have your deck and cabin number on them so they knew where to deliver your luggage?

I received my tags and they have a big V on the tag. I am not sure if that means "V" Violin deck or "V" for AmaViola.

 

[calypso726]

Calypso, did your luggage tags have your deck and cabin number on them so they knew where to deliver your luggage?

I received my tags and they have a big V on the tag. I am not sure if that means "V" Violin deck or "V" for AmaViola.

Ours have a big A, name and reservation number. No room number but they arrived just fine to the room.

 

[calypso726]

This morning was our walking tour of historic Bratislava. We picked up our security card, which is like a key to the world card on DCL but not RFID enabled. This is how they know whether or not all guests are on board before departing. We were also given an additional colored card which let us know which guides we would be following. There are multiple "paddles of power" in different colors and you follow the paddle with your card color. The waking tour was wonderful and our local guide was great.

After the walking tour we boarded a bus and headed to Devin Castle ruins. There were a number of medieval themed activities and demonstrations in different stations that ABD had available exclusively for us while we were on the grounds. Archery, calligraphy, candle making and coin making to name a few. I thought this was a fantastic idea and complete surprise. At first I thought that the activities and stations were there as part of the visit for anyone who is going to see the castle. I found out later that it was all for us. Well done ABD!!!!

 

[calypso726]