River Cruise--Holiday/Vacation

[canuk-gal]

Rubies-R-me....you are a genius! I will now pick cruises that have cities with major jewelers! That never crossed my mind, believe it or not!

Wouldn't it be awesome if some of us could plan to be on the same cruise? That would make it even more fun!

Oh my gosh DS, are you well?

cheers--Sharon

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lol! I just didn't think of the major jewelry houses having a presence in the cities I was seeing along those routes! Like Prague, Nuremberg, and Budapest, for example! But I will now check Cartier and VCA locations and then choose my cruise based on those cities! I will try never to make that mistake again !!!

Sometime this fall I am going to narrow down our trip for 2017, and I am telling you girls just in case you want to make a group trip!

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Hi DS!
Well luckily there definitely is a Cartier, Chanel, Bulgari in Zurich and in Amsterdam and the cruises from the Rhine usually leave/end in either of those cities depending whether it's a northbound cruise or southbound. You might also want to fly there or home a day or two before the cruise or a day or two after it's over so you can have a full day of shopping and not be rushed. When there is a will there's a way!

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Oh.. one other thing.. as I have researched this carefully..
The best country to buy European luxury goods in is Spain. They have the largest VAT refund so even though the price in Euros is the same all over Europe you get a bigger refund.

 

[canuk-gal]

Oh.. one other thing.. as I have researched this carefully..
The best country to buy European luxury goods in is Spain. They have the largest VAT refund so even though the price in Euros is the same all over Europe you get a bigger refund.

And the tapas divine! But it was scary driving tho, but don't tell DS....


cheers--Sharon

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Lol! I will remember Spain, but I am extremely hopeful about loving river cruises and that just may be what we do for the next few years! I did see the Russia cruise, Sharon, and I think it looks fantastic! Viking has some enticing videos!

I can see the preferred months due to the pricing, but does anyone have recommendations about the next best months particularly in terms of weather? I have only been to France and surrounding countries and that was in the summer, so I am not sure when the best time to travel is.

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Hello again!
We have cruised the Mediterranean a few times.. all between the end of September through October to the first week of November. It's a lovely time of year to go.. crowds and prices are low and the weather is still scrumptious.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Awesome! I was thinking I'd love October as long as it was not too cold to enjoy sitting outside on the boat as well as walking in the cities and towns we stop in. It looks like May and September are most popular, so those might be good months to avoid!

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Oh October is the finest time to go.. September could be a tad too hot and November could be a tad too chilly.
October is ideal.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

Well, I have been hesitant about Europe already after the Paris incidents and now Brussels. I am just not sure about travel in Europe which makes me very sad.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/22/europe/brussels-explosions/index.html

 

[Sundial]

What happened is very sad, but it would be sadder still if people let these events keep them from living their lives and doing the things they want to do. Attacks can happen in our own backyard.

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Yes.. it is so tragic for the victim's families. I totally agree.
However.. I feel since I live in New York that traveling in Europe isn't any more dangerous then going about my business here.
Sad but true.
I guess everyone has to do what makes them feel comfortable because being on vacation and looking over your shoulder isn't very relaxing or fun.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

True, I would certainly have concerns living in a major city here. I guess one can look at the cities on the river cruise routes and try to avoid the known cities which seem to have higher levels of risk than others. Obviously you can't account for totally random acts of violence anywhere, but there are areas where there is higher risk of terror cells in Europe. Brussels has been known to be higher risk since the Paris attacks. I do think the river cruises might be a safer choice than some travel choices, however. On the other hand, there are a lot of places in the US that I haven't visited.

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Hi DS!
It's such a shame that vacation planning now includes weighing where terror attacks are more/less likely to occur instead of just weighing your bag so it doesn't go over 50lbs.
Abroad or at home a trip is a vacation from our norm and that's always good!

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

The recent events give us pause in so many ways--so much sadness that makes us want to cocoon. I also reflected that I was in Italy on vacation during the Aldo Moro kidnapping and in Greece on my honeymoon during the Achille Lauro hijacking near Egypt. Those sensations of unease feel the same today as they did all those decades ago.

I know we all have to find our comfort levels with travelling, but I won't be held hostage by fear and allow my world to shrink.

kind regards, Sharon

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Oh my.. The Achille Lauro.. I have not thought of that in ages.
What a difference 25 years makes. Incidents like that you could count on one hand.. now so much more.

 

[Sundial]

I just wanted to revive this thread to say that we took our Tauck river cruise on the Danube last month and had a wonderful time. The boat was brand new and our cabin was nice and roomy. We spent extra time on each end in Budapest and Prague and loved both cities. We also spent a few days in Paris at the beginning of our trip and encountered no problems whatsoever.

 

[canuk-gal]

I just wanted to revive this thread to say that we took our Tauck river cruise on the Danube last month and had a wonderful time. The boat was brand new and our cabin was nice and roomy. We spent extra time on each end in Budapest and Prague and loved both cities. We also spent a few days in Paris at the beginning of our trip and encountered no problems whatsoever.

Hello Sundial! Share as many deets as possible!! Was it busy? Age groups of fellow travellers? Do you have a link to your itinerary??

cheers--Sharon

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Oh yes Sundial.. I totally agree with Sharon!!
I would love to hear all about the details of your cruise.
We are going on our first river cruise in November.. on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam on Avalon Waterways.

 

[Sundial]

I just wanted to revive this thread to say that we took our Tauck river cruise on the Danube last month and had a wonderful time. The boat was brand new and our cabin was nice and roomy. We spent extra time on each end in Budapest and Prague and loved both cities. We also spent a few days in Paris at the beginning of our trip and encountered no problems whatsoever.

Hello Sundial! Share as many deets as possible!! Was it busy? Age groups of fellow travellers? Do you have a link to your itinerary??

cheers--Sharon

Hi Sharon. The cruise we took was the 12 day Blue Danube although we did an additional two nights on each end through Tauck and went to Paris on our own.

http://www.tauck.com/tours/europe-tours/central-and-eastern-europe-tours/blue-danube-river-cruise-rdw-2016

August is a busy time to visit Europe, but we mostly only noticed it at major tourist attractions in the larger cities. The trade off is that we had excellent weather which could be more unpredictable in the fall. Our fellow passengers were a nice mix of forty to seventy year olds. There was only one child onboard who seemed bored to death and one college student traveling with her grandmother who was a delight to the entire ship and was having the time of her life. There is a lot of walking on the tours but most of the passengers seem to handle it just fine. The special evening events that they arrange onshore were outstanding.

 

[Sundial]

Oh yes Sundial.. I totally agree with Sharon!!
I would love to hear all about the details of your cruise.
We are going on our first river cruise in November.. on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam on Avalon Waterways.

How exciting! This was our first river cruise. I've heard good things about the Rhine itinerary and about Avalon so I bet you will have a wonderful trip.

 

[Rubies-R-Me]

Oh yay!! Sundial. I'm so glad you had a wonderful time and that you heard good things about Avalon.
Thanks for checking in.. it made me even more excited about our cruise in November.