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The River Cruise Lady

River cruising and small ship luxury cruising

AmaWaterways River Cruises

Is River Cruising for older people? Not at all!!

September 22, 2024 by River Cruise Lady Linda Leave a Comment

Most people used to think that river cruising was for older people because they thought there was nothing much to do other than walking tours.  Well let me tell you that times have sure changed!  I did an Active & Discovery river cruise on the Rhone river in France and it sure lived up to its name.

On day 1 before we left for a bike tour, there was a yoga class going on …

Yoga class on my river cruise ship

We started out on our biking tour to a nature reserve but first utilizing a local ferry to cross the river

Biking on a river cruise

Then passed some massive salt mines along the ride

Salt mines in Arles France

 

 

After riding for 2 hours we reached the nature reserve and got off our bikes to walk around to see the wildlife and floraPicture of the Nature reserve

Then another couple of hours riding to get back to the ship where I was ready for happy hour and some snacks!

The next day we were off on a big hike which gave us fantastic views over some vineyards, villages and ruins

River cruise hike excursion

Vineyards in France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were also given some free time to tour around Arles so we walked through the city and climbed all around the amphitheater

Arles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next day in Avignon we were given quite a few choices for excursions and since I had already been there and toured the city, chose to go out to Mas en Provence to learn more about how they make their famous perfumes and other types of oils.Perfume grower

 

 

 

 

 

 

After dinner, we went for a stroll through the streets of Avignon to see it all lit up.

Avignon at night

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Enjoyed the lovely weather sailing along the river to one of the biggest locks that I’ve ever gone through

Lock on the Rhone river

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our next adventure excursion took us kayaking down some easy flowing rapids (one couple did lean too far over and tipped 🙂

Kayaking in France

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Viviers, they took us on a fun Ghost walk through the alleys with a colorful decorated guide.

Ghost walk in Viviers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our truly unique experiences was in Arlebosc where we went on these train cars that we had to pedal through the mountainous scenery. We had so many laughs and everyone really enjoyed it.

Train cars in Arelbosc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished off the cruise in Lyon and after touring around, participated in a fabulous french cooking class where we got to eat what we made paired with a glass of wine.

Lyon

 

 

 

 

 

 

So as you can see, river cruising is for anyone who loves to be active (or rest if you need a day off 🙂 ) while enjoying amazing food, drinks, scenery and unique experiences – there is something for everyone!

Filed Under: Active and Discovery, Avalon Waterways, Europe, Featured Post, Rhone River, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising

AmaMagna Gems of Southeast Europe river cruise

February 6, 2023 by River Cruise Lady Linda Leave a Comment

How would you like to sail on the most unique river cruise ship in Europe?

Then it’s time for you to sail on the stunning AmaMagna ship which is double the width of a regular river cruise but yet carries only 30 more passengers!  Enjoy your large balcony stateroom and variety of 4 restaurant choices as you sail along the exotic lower Danube from Romania to Budapest Hungary.

You will visit the medieval towns and grand cities along the Danube’s famed Iron Gates which are the showcase of eastern Europe. From fortress hikes to walking tours to bike rides, you will get to choose from the many excursions offered every day.

Nature lovers will enjoy the chance to see Bulgaria’s natural wonder, Belogradchik, a fairytale stone world of fantastic shapes associated with interesting legends. Wine connoisseurs will have a opportunity to taste history from the centuries­ old wine ­growing hills dating back to the Romans in one of the visited towns.

Grab some friends and let’s sail together!   Drop Linda an email to linda@therivercruiselady.com to ask about her special discounted rate.

AmaMagna

 

Filed Under: AMA Waterways, Danube River, Europe, Featured Post, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising Tagged With: amamagna, AmaWaterways, Danube River, river cruise, river cruising, rivercruiselady, southeast europe

Covid Protocols for River Cruising

May 13, 2021 by River Cruise Lady Linda Leave a Comment

Now that European river cruising is starting to become operational again (so exciting!!) there are going to be some new Covid protocols going forward in order to keep both the passengers and the crew safe.

I looked at the top river cruise companies that I book and they all will require that you have either a Covid-19  vaccination certificate or a negative Covid test done right before you board the ship.

Each line will also require that passengers fill out some pre-departure documentation forms which can be viewed at their links below:

Ama Waterways – Prior to boarding, an online health and contact screening questionnaire will need to be filled out.

Avalon Waterways – Have 3 pdf forms you can view, the first being the Pre Trip Health Screening form – click Avalon-Health-Screening to view.  The next is their Health & Safety Covid-19 Waiver – click Avalon Health-Safety-covid-19 and lastly is their onboard safety protocols which you can view Avalon Onboard-Protocols

Emerald/Scenic – Have their cruise with confidence program viewed at River Cruise with confidence | Our commitment to your health & safety – Scenic°

Tauck River Cruises – Have two documents that need to be signed for their Travel Well Pledge – view at Taucks Travel Well Pledge

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises – They require a Travel Declaration to be signed – view at Uniworld Travel Declaration

Viking River Cruises – Passengers will have to complete a Digital Health Survey online at their MyVikingJourney.com once they have booked their trip.

Filed Under: AMA Waterways, Avalon Waterways, Crystal River Cruises, Featured Post, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising, Scenic River Cruises, Tauck River Cruises, Uniworld, Viking River Cruises, Virtuoso Travel

Renew your vows on a River Cruise

January 14, 2019 by River Cruise Lady Linda 6 Comments

Do you have an upcoming milestone Wedding Anniversary?  Whether its ten, twenty-five, thirty, forty, fifty years or something in between – how would you like to renew your vows with your loved one ?  If your wedding day was a long time ago and you would love to re-marry your spouse all over again but with a romantic European town in the background, I have an amazing ‘proposal’ for you 😊

One of the river cruise companies that I partner with has a Renewal of Vows Package on their Danube River Cruise itinerary.

This romantic package includes:

  • Symbolic Renewal of Vows Ceremony led by a designated official
  • Two 1-hour massages PLUS one manicure/pedicure or hair salon service
  • Bottle of champagne
  • Romantic turn-down service with rose petals
  • Special custom-made dessert by the onboard chef
  • Sundowner excursion with champagne

The cost of this package is $500usd or $599cad but if you bring 2 other couples to go with you, I will pay the cost for you!  If you bring 5 other couples with you, one of you will sail for free!  Know a group of people? if you bring 10 other couples, you both sail for free!

Here is the Romantic Danube itinerary and the river cruise pricing starts at $5820usd/$6820cad per person for a French Balcony category (based on May/June 2019 dates) Extra nights in Budapest, Prague or Munich can be added on for a longer stay.

I look forward to helping you and your partner celebrate your Anniversary just the way you deserve!

River Cruise Lady Linda's Romantic Danube River Cruise Itinerary

Perhaps you could write your special date on a lock and add your own Love Lock to one of the bridges you’ll visit!

Love Locks on a Bridge
Love Locks on a Bridge

Filed Under: Cruises, Danube River, Europe, Featured Post, Quaint Villages, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising, Vow Renewal Tagged With: Danube River, river cruise, River Cruise Lady, river cruising

Cruise cabin night light

August 18, 2015 by River Cruise Lady Linda Leave a Comment

As we all get older (which seems to bring on more trips to the bathroom), I have found this great night light that I’ve been taking on all my river and ocean cruises lately (also works great for hotel rooms too) so thought I would share a quick video with you on this handy little device.
I brought it with my on my last trip and my roommate commented on what a smart idea it was and enjoyed the soft glow it projects rather than the typical blinding bathroom light in the middle of the night.
You should be able to find it at any hardware or drug store selling night lights and this flat style one seems to work the best. Then the only thing you need to remember is to pack it with you when you go!

Filed Under: AMA Waterways, American Cruise Line, Avalon Waterways, Cruises, Featured Post, Mississippi River Cruise, Regent Seven Seas, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising, Scenic Tours River Cruises, Seabourn Cruises, Silversea, Small ship cruise, Tauck Tours, Uniworld, Viking River Cruises

The highs and lows of River Cruising

June 23, 2015 by River Cruise Lady Linda Leave a Comment

High water, low water – not too long ago I was asked by a reporter if I warn my clients about the possibility that the water levels on the river could affect their river cruise. I replied honestly that I didn’t and it got me thinking about whether or not I should.

However I also book their airline tickets and does this mean that I should be warning them about the possibility of the flight being delayed or being re-routed or worst of all, cancelled ?

United Airlines has been in the news lately for a couple of unexpected re-routed flights where the passengers were stranded in foreign airports overnight, some having to sleep on the airport floor with no access to their baggage. The key here is “unexpected” because even if these people were told in advance that this could happen, no one thinks it will ever happen to them.
I believe it comes down to how the situation is treated as in the United’s case, most passengers were very angry about the lack of support and no communication.

This is where it differs from the river cruise lines (and I do realize the they are dealing with much smaller numbers) but our company had some passengers who were to get on a Rhine river cruise in Basel and due to high water, the ship was not able to get under the bridge into the city. The company had staff on hand to assist guests, they ordered extra coaches to bus people up the river to where the ship was located and generally tried to keep people informed and the disruption to a minimum. In speaking with our clients when they returned, they said they felt well taken care of.

Now I know that many will say, well the airlines could never be like that but I had a scenario with Singapore Airlines that I will never forget. I boarded a flight once in Bali and then the power went out in the terminal so we sat on the tarmac for quite a while before we were able to depart. I was supposed to connect in Singapore for a flight to Hong Kong, however after our delay, realized that I was going to miss my connection. So I was dreading getting off the plane not knowing when I could catch another flight. However, this is where superior customer service came into play as an airline representative was waiting with my name on a sign & when approached, was handed my new ticket for a flight three hours later, a meal voucher and offered an apology for missing my connection. I was absolutely astounded and kept looking around thinking I was on TV or something because I had never seen anything like it.

So instead of warning clients about the possibility of disruptions, will always try to book them with companies that will take care of them with some old fashioned customer service.

High water mark level in Passau Germany

High water mark level in Passau Germany

This was a picture that I took in Passau Germany in 2011 which shows the high and low water mark level from the Danube River. In 2013, they suffered the highest water levels in 500 years and it went up over the top mark shown by at least another foot, it was an unbelievable sight.

Filed Under: AMA Waterways, Avalon Waterways, Cruises, Danube River, Europe, Featured Post, Rhine River, River Cruise Lady, River Cruises, River Cruising, Uniworld, Viking River Cruises

How to pack a carry on suitcase for a 3 week trip

November 21, 2013 by Linda Leave a Comment

When I met my travelling companion before the start of our Rhine river cruise and she showed up with this small carry on bag and backpack, was thinking that wow she’ll be wearing the same clothes every day. Well was I wrong and you can see in the video how much stuff she actually fits into this carry on. I was so amazed that I had to share this with to show you that it can be done and I’m going to try her ideas when packing for my next trip. Enjoy !

Filed Under: AMA Waterways, Avalon Waterways, Danube River, Europe, Featured Post, packing a suitcase, Rhine River, Rhone River, River Cruise Lady, Scenic Tours River Cruises, Seine River, Tauck Tours, Uniworld, Viking River Cruises

Seabourn, Seabourn, Seabourn

October 30, 2013 by Linda Leave a Comment

Wondering why I repeated the Seabourn Cruise Line name three times ?   After just returning from an Athens to Barcelona sailing on the Seabourn Quest, couldn’t believe how many repeat guests were onboard who had sailed with them many, many times.  The ships officers and staff held a reception one night for these repeaters and gave out a few “milestone” awards when a certain number of sail days were achieved. One family had accumulated so many club points that even their teenage daughter hit the 100 days milestone – very impressive!  One couple that was awarded the 500 days milestone looked to be still under seventy so have plenty more years ahead to increase that amount.

SeabournShipIt’s easy to fall in love with Seabourn and small ship cruising.  There are so many benefits, here are just a few:

1)      Unique itineraries which include smaller ports that the big ships cannot dock at.

2)      Intimate ships with less than 230 suites (compare that with your last ocean cruise)

3)      Spacious suite accommodations with sweeping ocean views — many with verandas

4)      Open bars, all dining venues complimentary and no tipping expected.

Even the lead in ocean view category cabin is just under 300 sq feet (27.5 sq m) and has a walk in closet!

A fun highlight is if they do the galley market lunch where they set up different stations right inside the galley and you walk through the kitchen area gathering from a culinary feast and getting a behind the scenes look at the same time. The ice cream sail-a-way was also a big hit plus dancing under the moonlight on the promenade deck made for a very memorable evening.

Have included a few pictures from the voyage and if you’re on the fence about whether or not to try a Seabourn, my advice would be to jump right in and join the ranks of the other repeaters and start building your own milestone!

www.seabourn.com

Seabourn Club Video

Filed Under: Cruises, Featured Post, Seabourn Cruises

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