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#21
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Rhein cruises
Happy.Hobo wrote:
On 08-29-2016 13:54, poldy wrote: Not to mention, in this day and age, being cut off from Internet, phones, etc. for swaths of time? Internet may be a bit slower if you use the ship's satellite connection. But on a river cruise, you have at least as good a connection as you would driving the roads that follow the river. Besides, if you're addicted to internet, you should buy a house and not leave it. But here's a tip: I've been off-line for more than a week MANY times since I hit the road two years ago. And believe it or not, I'm still breathing. Same here 8-). My iPad has a couple excellent off-line map apps and GPS, as well as a varied library of books to read. I don't really need constant internet availability, particularly when traveling. -- biblioholic medievalist via iPad |
#22
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Rhein cruises
On Sat, 27 Aug 2016 16:10:51 -0500, Erilar
wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that seem to race from Amsterdam to somewhere in Switzerland or vice versa, stopping briefly in the wrong places. I'd really prefer one that covered less river unless part of it was also along the Mosel. Beginning or ending in Köln, Koblenz, or Mainz(or Frankfurt) would be even better. If excursions were wheeled, it wouldn't matter if they were in German, because I could translate for her, but if much walking is involved, they'd have to be in English so she could go without me. I'd like suggestions of lines I may have missed. Note: I could be the tour guide if I could hike the way I could a few years ago 8-/ I'm coming along late to this thread, but you might try Uniworld. |
#23
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Rhein cruises
"poldy" wrote in message ... On 8/29/16 2:26 AM, tim... wrote: "Happy.Hobo" wrote in message ... On 08-27-2016 16:10, Erilar wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that I'd bicycle from port to port rather than pay cruise prices. And I'll get there before my friends on ship. Unfortunately a large amount of the "value" of a cruise is seen to be the on board activities and they are timed, and priced accordingly Personally, I don't see any value in that at all, and as soon as someone starts up cruises where the focus is on the on-shore attractions with no need to pay for on board activities that I have no interest in, I will sign up but on the odd occasion when companies have tried that approach, they have failed to be profitable tim Some people have rationalized cruises, not river cruises, as being cheaper if you consider that cost of accommodations and transportation over a similar period, not to mention the included meals. I have one on my living room table right now It talks of 130-150 per day for accommodation, meals and transport but that's per person so it's 300 quid for a couple Personally, I find that in the sort of location that cruises stop at 100 pounds per night, per room is more than adequate and certainly a lot better than an inside 2 berth cabin) As to the food, well I simply don't want three full meals a day and I certainly don't want a 5 course banquet *every* night - that is part of the entertainment, that I alluded to earlier that I didn't want to have to pay for. A coffee/juice/couple of croissants is fine for breakfast - for medical reasons I'm no longer allowed the fry up (something which I probably share with a large number of cruises target market) and I'm not a fan of muesli and yogurt. A quick sandwich lunch and a standard three course dinner is all I need (and want). And self services is fine. I don't need to have a troupe of penguins (that I am forced to tip 300 quid) running after me, I am perfectly capable of fending for myself. And NO, it isn't a necessary part of a THE holiday to include this level of service, if I'm on a touring holiday then the attraction is the places that it goes to, not a ridiculously OTT level of service. And then there's the extortionate price of the tours at the stop-overs, I've seen cases of 4 times the cost of arranging the same thing locally. And those onboard activities sound hellish, forced participation in activities when presumably your main interest is to tour the cities. I wasn't referring to any forced participation Just the bar, disco and other evening attractions. I don't need any of that, my holidays a Do the sights during the day, have dinner, go back to room to sleep - rinse and repeat tim |
#24
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Rhein cruises
"Erilar" wrote in message ... poldy wrote: Some people have rationalized cruises, not river cruises, as being cheaper if you consider that cost of accommodations and transportation over a similar period, not to mention the included meals. Convenience more than cost. you can get that same convenience on a normal holiday just eating in the Hotel restaurant each night (some hotels base their prices on expecting it), But I personally don't do this, I like to go out and experience a different restaurant each day, it adds rather than detracts from a holiday And those onboard activities sound hellish, forced participation in activities when presumably your main interest is to tour the cities. I'm very good at avoiding forced participation. but you will have already pre-paid for it, even if you don't use it or in the case of the bar service that you aren't using, pay for it via the compulsory tip tim |
#25
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Rhein cruises
"Erilar" wrote in message ... tim... wrote: "Happy.Hobo" wrote in message ... On 08-27-2016 16:10, Erilar wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that I'd bicycle from port to port rather than pay cruise prices. And I'll get there before my friends on ship. Unfortunately a large amount of the "value" of a cruise is seen to be the on board activities and they are timed, and priced accordingly Personally, I don't see any value in that at all, and as soon as someone starts up cruises where the focus is on the on-shore attractions with no need to pay for on board activities that I have no interest in, I will sign up but on the odd occasion when companies have tried that approach, they have failed to be profitable tim Actually, I have taken a couple river cruises--one German, another an English company-- that did NOT require prepaid required excursions, though one COULD book and pay for them in advance. Both stopped in a number of places for the excursions I did not join where I could just go ashore and entertain myself at a pace I could set myself. I would like to find something similar along the Rhein and possibly a bit of Mosel. I wasn't referring to whether or not the excursions were included in the price I was referring to the on-board activities being included in the price. The disco, the all night bar, the ridiculous OTT amount of food served up, and then there are the tips that you have to give the staff for providing these things, even though you didn't want them in the first place. And they STILL nickel and dime you by charging extra for water because what comes out of the taps is undrinkable. tim |
#26
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Rhein cruises
"Erilar" wrote in message ... tim... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... Martin wrote: On Sat, 27 Aug 2016 16:10:51 -0500, Erilar wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that seem to race from Amsterdam to somewhere in Switzerland or vice versa, stopping briefly in the wrong places. I'd really prefer one that covered less river unless part of it was also along the Mosel. Beginning or ending in Köln, Koblenz, or Mainz(or Frankfurt) would be even better. If excursions were wheeled, it wouldn't matter if they were in German, because I could translate for her, but if much walking is involved, they'd have to be in English so she could go without me. I'd like suggestions of lines I may have missed. Note: I could be the tour guide if I could hike the way I could a few years ago 8-/ I've done it by travelling with KD and staying in small hotels overnight. http://www.kdrhine.com/ How can anybody charge you for a hike? Viking requires all excursions be paid for along with the cruise price. It took a mess of emailing to get all the details. There is no provision for non- hikers. Presumably that's a special "hiking cruise" Viking have a list of weekly river cruises for "normal" tourism. tim A long email exchange with Viking gave me the information that any river cruise I might be interested in includes mandatory prepaid "excursions" with no exceptions for non-hikers, just some groups that might hike slower than others. Oh so you are referring to any city tour as a "hike" I thought you were just using it in its normal, countryside, sense tim |
#27
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Rhein cruises
tim... wrote:
"Erilar" wrote in message ... tim... wrote: "Happy.Hobo" wrote in message ... On 08-27-2016 16:10, Erilar wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that I'd bicycle from port to port rather than pay cruise prices. And I'll get there before my friends on ship. Unfortunately a large amount of the "value" of a cruise is seen to be the on board activities and they are timed, and priced accordingly Personally, I don't see any value in that at all, and as soon as someone starts up cruises where the focus is on the on-shore attractions with no need to pay for on board activities that I have no interest in, I will sign up but on the odd occasion when companies have tried that approach, they have failed to be profitable tim Actually, I have taken a couple river cruises--one German, another an English company-- that did NOT require prepaid required excursions, though one COULD book and pay for them in advance. Both stopped in a number of places for the excursions I did not join where I could just go ashore and entertain myself at a pace I could set myself. I would like to find something similar along the Rhein and possibly a bit of Mosel. I wasn't referring to whether or not the excursions were included in the price I was referring to the on-board activities being included in the price. The disco, the all night bar, the ridiculous OTT amount of food served up, and then there are the tips that you have to give the staff for providing these things, even though you didn't want them in the first place. And they STILL nickel and dime you by charging extra for water because what comes out of the taps is undrinkable. I've only had to pay extra for charged water, and not always that. I don't use the bar and avoid most ship- provided "music" except when it's a local folk group. And I'm a breakfast addict 8-) -- biblioholic medievalist via iPad |
#28
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Rhein cruises
tim... wrote:
"Erilar" wrote in message ... tim... wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... Martin wrote: On Sat, 27 Aug 2016 16:10:51 -0500, Erilar wrote: Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that seem to race from Amsterdam to somewhere in Switzerland or vice versa, stopping briefly in the wrong places. I'd really prefer one that covered less river unless part of it was also along the Mosel. Beginning or ending in Köln, Koblenz, or Mainz(or Frankfurt) would be even better. If excursions were wheeled, it wouldn't matter if they were in German, because I could translate for her, but if much walking is involved, they'd have to be in English so she could go without me. I'd like suggestions of lines I may have missed. Note: I could be the tour guide if I could hike the way I could a few years ago 8-/ I've done it by travelling with KD and staying in small hotels overnight. http://www.kdrhine.com/ How can anybody charge you for a hike? Viking requires all excursions be paid for along with the cruise price. It took a mess of emailing to get all the details. There is no provision for non- hikers. Presumably that's a special "hiking cruise" Viking have a list of weekly river cruises for "normal" tourism. tim A long email exchange with Viking gave me the information that any river cruise I might be interested in includes mandatory prepaid "excursions" with no exceptions for non-hikers, just some groups that might hike slower than others. Oh so you are referring to any city tour as a "hike" I thought you were just using it in its normal, countryside, sense tim My walking ability has deteriorated drastically in the last few years. No guide is slow enough for me. -- biblioholic medievalist via iPad |
#29
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Rhein cruises
Martin wrote:
On Mon, 29 Aug 2016 15:20:54 -0500, Erilar wrote: Martin wrote: On Sun, 28 Aug 2016 14:15:26 +0100, "JohnT" wrote: "Erilar" wrote in message ... Looking for suggestions. I've been playing around with river cruise websites, for a future(2018?)trip with a friend who does not speak German along the river I know best, but she is a much better walker than I am. Viking requires everyone to pay in advance for all their hikes(aka "walks"), so they're off my list automatically. I've found several that seem to race from Amsterdam to somewhere in Switzerland or vice versa, stopping briefly in the wrong places. I'd really prefer one that covered less river unless part of it was also along the Mosel. Beginning or ending in Köln, Koblenz, or Mainz(or Frankfurt) would be even better. If excursions were wheeled, it wouldn't matter if they were in German, because I could translate for her, but if much walking is involved, they'd have to be in English so she could go without me. I'd like suggestions of lines I may have missed. Note: I could be the tour guide if I could hike the way I could a few years ago 8-/ You really want this one: http://www.tauck.co.uk/tours/europe-...Page=Itinerary For Erilar the Francophile? :-) They have Rhein cruises, too. But they don't seem to stay on the river, and what I like about river cruises is that my hotel and restaurant travel with me. What we liked about doing it with KD and staying in hotels is that we had a different restaurant every night and that we could spend as long as we liked and walk when ever we wanted at each stop. When I could easily walk as far as I wanted to, my travel requirements were similar. -- biblioholic medievalist via iPad |
#30
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Rhein cruises
On 8/29/16 12:54 PM, Happy.Hobo wrote:
On 08-29-2016 13:54, poldy wrote: Not to mention, in this day and age, being cut off from Internet, phones, etc. for swaths of time? Internet may be a bit slower if you use the ship's satellite connection. But on a river cruise, you have at least as good a connection as you would driving the roads that follow the river. Besides, if you're addicted to internet, you should buy a house and not leave it. But here's a tip: I've been off-line for more than a week MANY times since I hit the road two years ago. And believe it or not, I'm still breathing. You hit the road, on a horse and buggy? |
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