Black Sea to Budapest May 18 2021
Ok I’ve tried to find a discussion on this cruise and mistakenly inserted myself twice into the wrong discussions. Is anyone on this cruise. I’m going solo. Anyone else?
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Ok I’ve tried to find a discussion on this cruise and mistakenly inserted myself twice into the wrong discussions. Is anyone on this cruise. I’m going solo. Anyone else?
Comments
Thomas, hang in there, someone may eventually weigh in. Only a small percentage of Tauck travelers participate in the forums.
Thanks much. I’m hoping someone else is on their own. I’ve done several trips alone, cause my travel friend doesn’t want to travel as much as I. But it’s fun to have someone to spend time with at meals etc. I don’t know if the “basement”: no single supplement are for singletons only or if couples book them too.
If two people book a Cat 1 cabin, both pay the single rate. Some couples/pairs do so to save money compared to other cabin categories and/or because they don't really see the value of spending more when they only plan to be there for sleeping or dressing. Also the lower deck has some other cabins slightly larger. Each ship class is different. My husband and I will be in a Cat 2 on the Douro later this year having decided to spend the savings to stay longer in Spain.
Even if there aren't a lot of other singles on your cruise, there will be plenty of pairs who don't know anyone else on board and happy to get to know you. Best of luck.
We always invite singles to join us or dinner. It is a great way to meet interesting people.
I hope people are friendly. I’ve only done one Tauck tour before, and though people were pleasant I did have to spend the free time on my own. Perhaps it’s different on cruises.
Thomas,
On my Nov 2021 Douro River cruise, we had about 25 single women, not all of who were traveling solo. Nonetheless, don't worry about having to eat or participate in activities on your own. The best thing to do is to circulate during the reception meet-and-greet cocktail party. You will meet the solo travelers at that time and will find that many couples will inevitably ask for you to join them at dinner. During these uncertain COVID times however, some individuals may prefer to limit their social interactions.
Have a wonderful tour and please write a review afterwards. Safe and fun travels!
Thomas, I'm a solo traveler who has met many lovely people on my Tauck tours. My favorite line is "May I join you?" at breakfast or in the lounge. Only once in many trips have I had someone say "no" because they were waiting for friends, but they later invited me to join them at dinner. That said, I've had my share of dinners alone, but I'm fine with that. I usually go to the hotel bar and get something light to eat (and something not-so-light to drink!). I'm looking forward to reading your report. This is a tour that I've thought of taking. I am very interested in eastern Europe. I've gone in the other direction on the Danube to Budapest, and will be doing "The Royal Danube, Berlin & Krakow" this summer (Covid permitting).
I too am fascinated by this trip. When my husband was alive, we did a Russian river cruise and it was really interesting. I want to do the Ukrainian river cruise but things are too dicey in Kiev at the moment. Booked 2020 and 2021 on the Eastern Europe cruise. Both failed to go, so I’m hopeful this will. I will be sure to report on my travels if this proceeds.
Thomas: I did this trip back in 2016, a definite favorite of mine. I love Eastern Europe. My trip started in Budapest. I had a friend travel with me on this trip, however, I took a Solo River Cruise back in 2014 , a couple of years after my husband had passed away. It was a bit scary traveling overseas on my own but I am so glad that I took the "plunge". I was a bit worried about being alone all the time but as it turned out, the cruise I took was a maiden voyage that year and there were over 40 Travel Agents on board many of them solo. I had so much fun and ended up hanging out with one of the Agents on our free time as her husband wasn't interested in leaving the ship. I had 2 days in Paris prior to departing on the actual river cruise. Since I didn't really know anyone, I made sure to read several travel books ahead of time and made a list of sites to see. The Rick Steves Guidebooks are great for suggested places to visit and logistics. If you don't wish to purchase the book, you can also go to his Website. I also booked a private 2 hour tour to take me around the City with information I found in a Rick Steves book. I atr dinner in one of the bistros by myself near the Hotel, while a bit uncomfortable being solo, I wanted to have this experience. I also seem to recall on the 2016 trip, once on the ship, the Maître d' asking us if we minded if they seated other guests at our table. So, I am sure the Maître d' will take the responsibility of seating you with others which will give you a chance to make some friends. On the ship you will not have to be alone during meals unless you choose to be. On the excursions, you are usually in a group. If you do happen to have some free time, it is sometimes nice to be by yourself for a bit to relax or just wander around a town or City. I agree with MCD with asking "May I join you?" as an opening line. It doesn't hurt to ask. You can also let the Tour Director know that you are solo and they may be able to connect you with other solo woman travelers. Enjoy your trip.
Thank you Travel Maven! That is encouraging. This will be my second solo with Tauck, but my first river cruise with them. I will be sure to ask to be seated at meals with others, unless the pandemic makes that impossible.
On my most recent trips, for each meal that was "on Tauck" but not scheduled, the TD sent around a paper asking what time we would like to eat, and whether we would like to eat with specific people. I gave a range of times, and said that I would be happy to be seated with anyone. It was a great way to meet different people.
Very nice!
This thread reminds me of something that happened on our Normandy tour last Sep. Our tiny group of 9 had 4 couples and one single female. Our group bonded well and for every dinner Tauck provided we were seated in two groups of 4 and 5 so our singleton generally had someone to dine with. One evening when dinner was on our own my husband and I bought a bottle of wine and a take out sandwich. We invited our singleton to join us on our tiny patio for some and cheese. The three of us also had lunch together at Giverny. I didn't give it much thought - just enjoying the tour with a new friend. But at the end of the tour she came up to us and thanked us for the effort to include her.
Moral of the story, if you have a singletons on your tour, invite them to join you. Some may want to stay on their own but those who don't will be grateful for your thoughtfulness.
❤️people who are on a trip with you are fortunate! Kindness is too uncommon during this pandemic. Thanks for the guidance you’ve provided to me and to whomever else is reading this. It’s honestly very helpful. And thanks to everyone who has responded. It’s nice to know there are people who hold out their hands with support. The unofficial moderators, too, are so informative and fun. I wish more travelers would check into this forum.
Hi Thomas, we are on this same cruise and it will be our fourth river cruise with Tauck. In the past we have always invited singles and other couples to join us both for tours and dining. We have met many wonderful people on our cruises and have remained in touch with them throughout the years. My husband Steve and I look forward to meeting you.
Oh wow! Thanks a million. So excited. Can’t wait to meet y’all. Napa, eh? We will have lots to talk about for sure. I went to college near there so know the Bay Area well. Let’s hope the pandemic cools down enough for us to enjoy this cruise.
So what excursion are y’all taking in Bucharest? Sinaia or Bran?
Didn’t get any feedback so I’ve signed up for Sinaia and Peles Castle
You can change your selection once on tour.
Ahh, didn’t know that. Well I did some reading and it sounded like a trip into the carpathian mts and Sinaia will be nice. I’m so fascinated by this part of the world, but I wonder how the upheaval next door will affect this tour. Maybe I’ll have to postpone a third time. 🤷♀️
Part of the reason you can change excursion choices once on tour is because the excursions oftentimes change in some way from what was published/distributed pre-tour.
As Sam said, you can change your mind on tour. The first day of our Budapest to Amsterdam cruise they gave us a form with the published excursion choices and some others like one of the off-ship meal choices. They had a briefing session in the lounge to answer questions before collecting the forms. We did change one of ours based on the briefing.
That’s good news. It looks like we have mainly the Bucharest choice. The only other two days are a choice between a bike tour and a walking tour. Walking for me definitely!! But it’s great to know we can hear more about the two tours ( Brasov or Sinaia) once in Romania to help make a clearer choice.
Anyone have suggestions on what to see in Bucharest the first day when we are on our own after arriving the previous day. I don’t know if I want to venture too far on my own where I can’t speak the language.
Check Viator for tours in English. Just google "things to do in Bucharest."
Thanks. I don’t know why that didn’t occur to me. A local tour is probably much better than setting out on my own.
Does anyone know if the wines served on this cruise are local. Only I worked in the wine business and know there are excellent wines made in Eastern Europe these days. Wonder if they just serve the same wines on all the cruises or choose local varietals.
Thomas,
Yes, the riverboats will have local/regional wines and the "better" ones are usually reserved for the dinner meals. If you discover one that you particularly enjoy and if you become friendly with the bartender, you just might be able to enjoy that wine at times other than dinner. This happened to us on a recent tour and we were able to enjoy our favorite Portuguese wine whenever we requested it. Actually the bartender would start pouring as soon as he saw us walk into the lounge!
I look forward to reading your trip review. Have a marvelous time.
On our Seine cruise I got to chatting with the sommelier about the wines. I'm in no way an connoisseur but was interested because they really made a thing of the wine on the cruise with the sommelier coming up during happy hour to talk about the wine featured at dinner each night. I was kind of curious about how much control he had and he told me they gave him a budget and he got to pick out the wines. I've noticed over the years that the Scylla a crew does more and more to tailor the food and drink to the specific cruise you're on.
I also use my phone each day to take a picture of the menus which also list the wines. They usually post the lunch menu in the lobby before lunch and the dinner menus in the afternoon. Gives me a chance to read unhurried and helps me remember details later.
Oh boy this is very exciting. It looks like we will have some interesting choices. I’ll definitely report on what’s happening. Is this the place to post once I’m on the cruise. I know some cruises do “live from…” whatever cruise on cruise critic.