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My wife and I just finished the Danube river cruise ending in Budapest with Tauck. Over the top fantastic experience. The ship was beautiful and our room was spacious with lots of storage space. The bathroom was also top notch. The larger room and fewer number of passengers made for a more intimate experience. This company really knows its clientele and makes sure you are all treated as a first class passenger. There was always a cruise director with us on the exceptional excursions making sure we never paid for anything (not even use of a restroom). Hotels at either end of the trip were 5 star. For a few more dollars we were treated to fabulous tours/events and our every need was attended to by super attentive friendly staff. The food was excellent and top notch local wines were always available. Really everything was always available. Best vacation travel experience we’ve ever had. When docked next to a competitors ship you really can’t see the difference. You did a great job highlighting the differences between cruise companies!

How wonderful. I so love learning -through your interviews! what all is possible. ...I had no idea! :D Thank you a ton, once again!

We've booked three Viking cruises for Thanksgiving of that year during their Labor Day sale. We've paid $199, $99 and $zero (yes, free) airfare and transfers. There's very limited availability of rooms. We've been waterline room (lower deck) two of the three cruises. But that's ok with us. We only shower, change and sleep in the rooms anyway.

I think it's a wonderful thing you're doing. But, unfortunately, I can barely afford a cruise for just me and my younger adult daughter, let alone also for my 24 y.o. adult daughter with autism, plus a service fee for her companion/buddy.

What about people with rollator walkers? I can walk short distances without mine, but I need it to get around at any decent pace and distance. I have one with larger wheels for outside use. However, it is difficult to store when folded . I have built my stamina up so that I can walk a mile. It can take me up to 45 minutes to go that distance with my walker. I couldn't do it with a cane or without any aid at all. I have been going to PT to build up my leg strength. Last Friday, I managed to climb up and down a large wooden box (16 inches high & 20 inches wide) 80 times. I am now confident I will be able to board a tour bus. Someone will have to store the walker for me.

Interesting Info!!!

Great 👍 show 🙏🙏🇨🇦

Azamara offers course by course in room dinning. They also go out of there way to celebrate special occasions.

Which is the best route to Alaska inside or outside passage

What port allowed this trip? I have looked on each of the cruses that visit New Zealand and none of them seem to have an excursion to Hobbiton.

What months are best. River wise and overall weather? Thanks for information.

When is the best time of year to cruise? Have heard of high or low rivers, busing, also rainy and cold months.. Looking for information on the preceding. Thanks.

Thanks for video. Forget all these. Silver Seas is WONDERFUl. Tauck is very expensive. Viking you have to pay almost a year in advance. The cheapest but not the best.

After watching this, very informative video where Bethe provided some very relevant information, we decided to call her office in Portland. We were surprised to find out that to engage them as our travel agent it would cost us $300. We’ve booked Cruises through travel agents in the past, and we were not charged a fee at all. We were under the impression that travel agents work on commission.

My wife and I have been to Portugal twice, and are going again on Ama in September. Enjoyed this show! We spent a week in the Algarve, and a week in Evora and Lisbon. Will be our first trip north of Lisbon. Fantastic people…most speak some, if not fluent English. (A requirement in schools currently!) Great food, fantastic scenery, a geography and history lesson around every curve.

I have not seen an expectation of more formal dress for the dinners on tauck. casual slacks and a collared shirt have always sufficed and in my experience that is the most common dress for men. Ladies usually wear a casual dress or skirt for these events Dinners in a castle in Vienna or Prague, or a large venue (university club if my memory is correct) in Budapest. Also for extended pre or post cruise stay, The have excellent hotels, such as the Four Seasons Gresham Palace in Budapest . All of these are gold choices, but, in my opinion,Tauck is head and shoulders above the rest.

i live there

Enjoying your videos. Please clarify the "Restricted Business Class" for Regent. Is it business class or ??? Thanks!

My view of the retreat within Celebrity is the opposite to yours. When you are not in the retreat area you have the benefits of a large ship. This means larger pools, especially the indoor solarium pool and great entertainment with reserved seats.

You do know Canada is in North America right?

We were next to someone with a child that woke crying (for a long time) every morning at 3 a.m. and 6 a.m., plus at 3 p.m. after her naps on sea days. I think the walls were made of paper. After that, it's adult only cruises for us.

I recently heard of a couple who booked a cruise sharing one cabin with their two toddlers. The woman was pregnant with a third child at the time of booking, and the baby was due to be born prior to the date of sailing. The cruise line was not notified of this. Months later, after the baby was born, all five of them showed up for embarcation and were shocked that they were denied boarding. The woman said she assumed that since her infant flew for free on her lap, it could go on the cruise for free, too. I don't know if there was a limit of 4 people per cabin regardless of age of what, but they were not allowed to board the ship.

We’re looking at a river cruise which would be a first time for us. This was really helpful. Thanks.

A few thoughts on Viking and Tauck..We took our first river cruise last year- Viking Rhine with a few days extension in Switzerland. My husband thought cruising would be slow and boring and was so surprised at how active it was that he immediately wanted to sign back up! Viking experience was very good, casual, superb food, friendly staff and fellow cruisers- we loved it. However, Viking wants full $$ way too early, IMO, over a year ahead. It is not fully inclusive and most included excursions are walking tours. We paid extra for interesting outings. We were also never able to dine on Aquavit Terrace, so had every meal at 8-10 person tables in Dining Room. It would’ve been nice to have a break. We had a suite, but were unaware of any room service. We are big fans of Tauck land tours and trying our first Tauck River cruise next year. It’ll be interesting to compare the experiences. It’s true what your guest said about Tauck’s founder wanting a pleasant, low maintenance group of travelers. Our first Tauck correspondence said something similar- basically, try to leave your “issues” at home, bring your cheerful self and be considerate of others - great advice no matter how one travels.

This seemed pretty balanced. Family members over three generations have used Tauck and raved about them, but your presenter doesn’t dismiss the positives of the others. Thanks to you and her.

Give me more of the ship, and less of you.

I have never paid more than $4000 for a Viking cruise, some with extra excursions, and all with airfare included.

Viking was world class service and food. The shore excursions were thoughtful and weighted by your capabilities. Our trip was beyond expectations.

As I research more and more, I really like what MSC, the company or corporation, is doing with its business/entrepreneurial success. These people really know how to put their gainful wealth to good use ... doing good for the environment (the Ocean Cay Marine Reserve and various other environmentally positive endeavors), develop passion projects (such as this Explora Journeys luxury line) ... all while still making good money. *Yea, this is capitalism at its best!!!*

Of course Avalon is going to be 40-50% more than Viking and Tauck is going to be 100% (double) Viking, for a similar itinerary/dates/state room.

Do we have to bring pig food from home?

Sounds like Explora Journeys' targeted "audience" is the ones with a palate for refinement (in addition to luxury).

Ref 16:00 - Haha, was the mind-reading guest entertainer Brent Webb? I saw him on my last NCL Getaway cruise ... yes, he was/is fascinating!!! 💯❣

We loved Viking unfortunately my husband died before we could go on our next 2, both had been canceled for Covid. Having extreme difficulty getting money back.

So very very helpful! AND organized: You have an awesome way to unfold the information in a very memorable way. Another BIG thank you to you, and Larry!!

And again, this was so inspiring. You have fantastic content, Ken! I would LOVE to get information about cruises with true sailships/Windjammers!

Vaccinated recommended? C’mon man!

I have been on a Tauck cruise. Everything she says is totally true.

Is there air conditioning?

If you are an older person who may have an unexpected medical event, can you get a refund or possibly buy trip insurance?

There have been a few times recently when guarantee cabins were double booked

Great video! My friend and I are booked on a Princess Cruise Tour for July/August 2024. Not only did we book through a Travel Agency, but 2 of the agents will be with us. In other words, it's an escorted tour. Since they have been to Alaska many times, they can give us real advice. Instead of onboard credit, they are paying for some of the land based experiences that are quite pricy. Not only does Princess give veterans on-board credit, they don't charge more for accessible cabins.

We’ve cruised with AMA and Emerald. We were very disappointed with the food on Emerald, and we weren’t the only ones. Complaints were plentiful about the food, not to mention the bronchitis that swept through the boat. The staff didn’t seem to know how to deal with the spread of germs. Of coarse this was pre-Covid and we know more now.

Looking into our first river cruise…am usually a generous ‘tipper,’ but I am intimidated at the idea of gratuities not covered then presented in bulk later. What does this generally run?

Just back from a cruise on the new Regent Grandeur, ship lovely, crew and staff lovely but will never do it again. Food average, wine great if you don’t mind 2023 wines and we still gave gratuities to the cabin staff. No guaranteed restaurant seating unless you book speciality restaurants (one booking in each of the three per cruise). Suites very average. Not a patch on Cunard Queens grill - guaranteed seating, food amazing much better suite for the price and the buffet has much more choice. Won’t be doing it again

The point about fear of heights is not so cut and dry. My husband has a pretty hard fear of heights while he IS a pilot of a paraglider, which is not bothering him at all. Also, flying with a balloon doesn't bother him. I heard that many pilots have fear of height: It is something very different than flying.

kn;'

great video guys thank you. We live in Daytona Beach Shores . will pay you a visit soon

Viking has real verandas, which she said were small, and their veranda suites are really two-room suites. Also, they were very accommodating with food requests…allergies, vegetarian, etc. Viking also has all kinds of excursions, just like the others. Avalon is also very nice, although we missed the full veranda a lot. Talk may indeed be good, but she sounds like she gets paid more from Tauk.