Just Back From Danube River Trip

[pixar mark]

There is a small workout room. Don't remember what equipment they had, but pretty sure there were a few cardio machines and some weights at least. There was a fitness instructor on board that handled that plus led several yoga and stretch classes on the pool deck in the morning and after the evening excursions. There are also bikes available for checkout most days and several organized rides, which he was a part of. Also a walking/jogging track on pool deck. So plenty of ways to stay fit.

Not sure about laundry. I didn't have any done, although I want to say that it was an option. I'm kind of doubting it's a self-use facility, as there probably isn't room for that. But I think I saw something about sending items away for cleaning/pressing etc. If that's a deal breaker for you, I would do more research or maybe someone else has used it.

 

[sayhello]

Not sure about laundry. I didn't have any done, although I want to say that it was an option. I'm kind of doubting it's a self-use facility, as there probably isn't room for that. But I think I saw something about sending items away for cleaning/pressing etc. If that's a deal breaker for you, I would do more research or maybe someone else has used it.

@DCLMP There is no self-use laundry, but you can send your things to the ship's laundry. They pick it up and return it to your cabin. It is *very* reasonably priced, and very quick turn-around, and they did a fabulous job on the items I had done.

Sayhello

 

[DCLMP]

@DCLMP There is no self-use laundry, but you can send your things to the ship's laundry. They pick it up and return it to your cabin. It is *very* reasonably priced, and very quick turn-around, and they did a fabulous job on the items I had done.

Sayhello

Thanks. I like to pack light. I'm used to doing laundry on the Disney ships. I just spent three weeks in Europe including a 11 night cruise with just carry- ons. It would have been hard to do without the laundry facilities onboard. I cruised Royal once and they did my laundry. It was nice I think I could adjust to that.

 

[tink1970]

Thanks. I like to pack light. I'm used to doing laundry on the Disney ships. I just spent three weeks in Europe including a 11 night cruise with just carry- ons. It would have been hard to do without the laundry facilities onboard. I cruised Royal once and they did my laundry. It was nice I think I could adjust to that.

When we were on the Danube in June 2019 it was MUCH hotter than I expected so I went through my clothes much faster-I sink washed some and sent some out to the laundry and I agree with @sayhello is was done well and definitely worth the cost!

The gym has a stationery cycle and treadmill and there are free weights as well. It's a pretty small room so not comfortable if there's maybe 3 people in there. That said, I was always the only one when I went. There's also a walking track and a tiny pool on the top deck-they do ask that running is confined to certain hours so you don't disturb the cabins below it. We had a very active family who would get up and run in the am and do every bicycling tour offered and they seemed to burn off most of their energy Hope this helps!

 

[DCLMP]

When we were on the Danube in June 2019 it was MUCH hotter than I expected so I went through my clothes much faster-I sink washed some and sent some out to the laundry and I agree with @sayhello is was done well and definitely worth the cost!

The gym has a stationery cycle and treadmill and there are free weights as well. It's a pretty small room so not comfortable if there's maybe 3 people in there. That said, I was always the only one when I went. There's also a walking track and a tiny pool on the top deck-they do ask that running is confined to certain hours so you don't disturb the cabins below it. We had a very active family who would get up and run in the am and do every bicycling tour offered and they seemed to burn off most of their energy Hope this helps!

I usually get off the ship to run in the am if it's not an container port and it's safe. Of course on a regular cruise you don't always have early excursions or excursions at all. The river cruises seem much more structured.

 

[sayhello]

The river cruises seem much more structured.

Not really. You can choose to make it more structured by signing up for and doing all the excursions ABD offers, but you can totally stay on the ship, skip a days' excursions, head directly into whatever town the ship docks at, whatever you choose. The only thing you need to worry about is when the ship leaves the dock, so that it doesn't leave without you.

Sayhello

 

[tink1970]

I usually get off the ship to run in the am if it's not an container port and it's safe. Of course on a regular cruise you don't always have early excursions or excursions at all. The river cruises seem much more structured.

Most of the places they port are very nice and not really industrial/sketchy IIRC. Budapest and Amsterdam (not that that's on the itinerary) are in more congested places but if you're up early early shouldn't be a problem. When I ran, I loved being up at 5 am before everyone else and seeing cities as they slept!

 

[AquaDame]

I agree, sunrises in a city are magical. Totally different vibe and you can look around easier since you aren't having to dodge as much!

 

[Donalyn]

okay - if the OP is still around, I have some questions. Your Danube was in the direction that we want to go, so I was curious about a few things:

1. Did you do more time in Vienna or did you go to Bratislava on day 5?
2. If you went to Bratislava - how did that day go? How did you get to Bratislava? What was the walking tour like? How much time did you have in Bratislava after the tour and lunch to look around on your own? How did you get back to the ship?
3. Did you go into Krems for the evening after dinner on day 3? If so, what'd you do in town?
4. What did you do for your excursion in Budapest?

 

[tink1970]

okay - if the OP is still around, I have some questions. Your Danube was in the direction that we want to go, so I was curious about a few things:

1. Did you do more time in Vienna or did you go to Bratislava on day 5?
2. If you went to Bratislava - how did that day go? How did you get to Bratislava? What was the walking tour like? How much time did you have in Bratislava after the tour and lunch to look around on your own? How did you get back to the ship?
3. Did you go into Krems for the evening after dinner on day 3? If so, what'd you do in town?
4. What did you do for your excursion in Budapest?

I'm not the OP and my two Danube cruises have been a while back ('15? and '19) but it looks like they're still listing the same options for Budapest so I can opine, having done them both.

Lazar Equestrian park is a well oiled (I'm guessing) tourist attraction with a farm, horses/stables and show. You'll tour the stables, make goulash, watch a demonstration of the csikos (horsemen) and have lunch. When I went at Christmas the warm goulash was welcome...had I gone in the summer, perhaps not so much!

The food tour was fun...as you can imagine, it covered several restaurants and the great food hall in Budapest and there was LOTS (at the time) of food and wine consumed so while the itinerary says "lunch on your own" it was definitely unnecessary---for the wine drinkers, a nap, perhaps!

An unintentional highlight was that Black Widow was being filmed in Budapest near where our river boat was docked so we saw film crew, craft services, lighting, etc set up and had to work around that during our walk to and from the ship.

Budapest is an amazing jewel of a city and any extra time you can spend there, if possible, I encourage you to do so. I keep wanting to return...so many places, so little time, it seems...