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Amsterdam to Budapest questions
Okay, first time cruiser, totally lost even on the community page. Can anyone answer these questions, do we go through a customs check each time we depart ship in a new country? Do we carry our passports everywhere? Is there housekeeping serivce in the staterooms? Is there bar service open during the day or just at meal times? Are the coaches icky for the tours? Is the sun deck open to roam around on at night, like when going through the locks, I love doing that! How dressy do people really get for welcome dinner and Vienna palace dinner? I want to bring the appropriate dresses. Ma y thanks, looking forward to our October 18 cruise.
MAE
MAE
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My wife and I took this excellent cruise in the Spring. First oa all - RELAX. You will be traveling with Tauck. Tauck takes care of everything. Everything is done wonderfully! The boat will hold your passport and deal with local Customs Officials who will come on board and do their thing. No muss, no fuss. Your cabin will be very well taken care of, in the morning and again while you are at dinner, by a steward/ess who is assigned to several adjoining rooms. If there is anything you need just let the attendant know and s/he will take care of it. The bar is generally open when the boat is cruising. It is on a different level and is unconnected to the restaurant operations. You will travel on very nice coaches when one is required for your excursion. I never went up on the sun deck at night so I can't say whether it closes at night. On our cruise, the River Gods provided abundant water and the sun deck was sometimes closed since it had to be lowered so the boat could sail under low bridges.
You will find some disagreement on this forum about appropriate attire for the fancier dinners. After having attended what is really a pretty special event in Vienna, I would say that the venue and the occasion warrant a jacket and tie. A large majority of the men on our cruise wore them. My wife says she thinks that a cocktail dress or pants suit would be appropriate.
I hope you are blessed with great weather and smooth sailing. My wife and I had a great time on this cruise.
Greg Jones
On the Rhone, the bar was pretty much open every afternoon that I remember whether we were underway or docked. If you sit in the lounge or even topside on the sundeck, passing wait staff will ask if you want something. The only difference I could tell between that and Happy Hour (time noted in the daily schedule) was that the staff brought round special appetizers. Yummy.
On wardrobe, the first cruise I over packed on the dressy clothes - several items never got worn. What I'm packing right now for the welcome/farewell dinners is - 1 nice pair of dressy-ish black shoes with med heels, 1 pair dressy black Ponte knit pants, and a couple of tops that have a bit of bling. For the rest of the time, it's black casual pants, casual knit tops that can be dressed up a bit with a scarf or bling if needed. Basically items that are comfortable enough for daily touring but nice enough to go right into dinner. My husband isn't bringing a jacket this time - just a couple of long sleeve dress shirts, 2 ties, and some pullover sweaters. Again, we don't have the Vienna dinner to worry about.
They took our passport briefly when we checked onboard and gave them back by the next morning. Until we left, they stayed in our in room safe - you get to pick a combo that you can remember. We do have laminated copies to take with us. No one off the ship every asked to see them.
The Tauck coaches are very nice. The only tricky item was the restroom which had limited headroom and oddly enough, the toilet flush was triggered by opening the door. Wasted a few minutes trying to figure that one out. You gotta love the quirks of European plumbing.
As was said, sometimes the ship goes under bridges that can be very low but it goes by pretty quickly. We went under one where we were allowed on deck and you could literally touch the bridge as you passed. Just remember it can be very cool on the top deck especially at night so bring a wrap. I found a lovely black and silver ruana - works for cold airplane wrap as well.
If you haven't already, be sure to read the Before You Go and Packing Tips tabs for your cruise. Tons of good information.
Bon voyage.