|
Frequently Asked
Question
Q: What are meals like onboard?
A: In Europe, all meals aboard are prepared by European chefs
and consist of European-style food, we ensure your meals
onboard and ashore meet our high standards of quality and
choice. Generally, breakfast is a substantial America-style
buffet. Lunch offerings are generally lighter and may include
soup, salad, sandwich bar and/or a pasta dish, choice of
entrée and dessert. Dinner is a multi-course meal with a
selection of entrées.
Many of our Cruisetours in Europe, include one or more festive
meals featuring regional specialties.
Q: Can I sit wherever I want in the ship restaurant?
A: All of our ships' restaurants are open-seating. No table
reservations are accepted, so that you may sit wherever you
like to meet new people.
Q: What is the dress code onboard?
A: Dress aboard and ashore is casual, and we suggest you dress
comfortably. You should bring sturdy walking shoes for
sightseeing excursions. Dinner attire is “evening casual”:
open-neck shirts, slacks, dresses and sport outfits. Captain’s
Welcome and Farewell Nights are dressy, but not formal.
Q: What if I have special dietary needs?
A: Passengers requiring special diets such as vegetarian, low
salt and low cholesterol meals should alert us prior to
departure as well as informing the Maitre d’Hôtel when
onboard. The chefs will make every effort to accommodate
special dietary requests.
Q: What amenities will I find in my cabin?
A: All of our rooms include private bathrooms with showers and
air conditioning/heat. Most ships have hotel-style beds and
windows that open. All ships in Western Europe have in-room
televisions with English language programming. All ships have
in-room phones for calling cabin-to-cabin; cabin phones on
European can also dial outside the ship. Hairdryers and
in-room safes are also provided on most ships.
Q: What is the electrical current onboard?
A: Onboard electricity is 220v. Most rooms have hair dryers.
You will need an adapter or converter to use any small
personal items such as a razor, curling iron or alarm clock.
Q: What kind of entertainment is onboard?
A: We offer programs to further enhance your understanding and
knowledge of your selected European or Asian destinations.
These include, lectures, demonstrations and theme dinners.
With highlights featured both ashore and onboard the ship,
it’s a wonderful way to enrich your adventure with an offering
of cultural and historical experiences you won’t find anywhere
else.
Q: Is smoking allowed on the ships?
A: Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside our European and
Russian ships. It is only permitted on the walk-around
Promenade Deck outside the lounge and on the Sun Deck.
Q: Is there Internet access onboard?
A: Internet is currently unavailable on all ships,
Q: Is there medical service onboard?
A: Staff are trained to care for passengers in need of medical
assistance. While there is no doctor on board the European
ships, due to the ships’ constant proximity to land, medical
services can be called from shore rapidly.
Q: What is the policy regarding tipping and gratuity?
A: Gratuities onboard and on land are not included in your
Cruisetour price. Tipping is a personal way to show
satisfaction for good service and is always appreciated. You
may tip in cash, and all tips for shipboard staff may be
charged to a credit card. In Europe, the suggested amount is
$10 per passenger per day, which will be distributed among the
ship’s staff, including your Cruise Manager.
Additional tipping is at the passengers' discretion. Your
pre-cruise information will include further guidelines for
other service people (taxi drivers, waiters, porters, etc.)
you may wish to tip as well as information on where there is
no need to tip.
Q: Are your ships wheelchair accessible?
A: Europe: We welcome guests with special needs. Guests who
have any medical, physical or other special needs must contact
us to obtain our Policy Statement. Our vessels and
motorcoaches are equipped to European standards. We will,
under appropriate circumstances, permit its passengers to use
motorized scooters and wheelchairs which satisfy the criteria
stated in our Policy Statement, based upon a full
understanding and appreciation by its passengers and their
companions that our vessels do not have elevators which would
permit easy access from deck to deck and that some decks are
multi-level or contain significant thresholds. Accordingly, a
physically challenged passenger will require the services of a
responsible adult since crew availability is severely limited
in most circumstances. For your safety and enjoyment, we
recommend that all passengers be in good physical condition,
so that you may participate, enjoy and benefit from all tours
and shore excursions, as well as the cruise experience.
Q: Are pets allowed onboard?
A: We regret that pets are not allowed onboard.
Q: Is there laundry service?
A: Laundry and pressing services are available aboard for a
fee; price lists are in your cabin. We regret that clothes
cannot be dry cleaned onboard. For safety reasons, we ask that
passengers do not iron their clothes in the cabins.
Q: Is childcare available?
A: Due to the nature of our cruise itineraries, we not
maintain facilities or services for children aboard our
vessels. On all cruises minors under the age of 18 must be
accompanied and share a cabin with a parent, legal guardian or
other responsible adult over the age of 21. We regret that we
cannot accommodate children under 12 years of age, and we
reserve the right to limit the number of minors on board under
the age of 18 years.
Q: Can I get married onboard?
A: We regret that marriage services are not available.
Q: Can I send mail onboard?
A: Stamps and postcards are available for purchase at the
reception desk, and mail will be sent from port each day.
Q: What about shore excursions? Do they cost extra? Are they
mandatory?
A: All sightseeing tours and shore excursions are included in
your cruise (“Cruisetour”) price unless noted as “optional”
and sold aboard. These are noted in the itineraries, and
described in full (including prices) in your Final Documents.
TYPICAL EXCURSIONS: Some of your excursions are designed as
panoramic tours or are shorter walking tours to give you an
overview of a town or site. Other excursions may be more
in-depth or concentrate on one particular site or attraction.
Included meals, including lunch, are generally served onboard
ship or in a local restaurant.
Depending on the day's schedule, you may be able to choose to
remain behind in a city center or at an attraction for more
in-depth independent exploration while the rest of the group
returns to the ship or hotel. Your Tour Escort will make clear
where you have this option. On some tours, coaches will let
passengers off for the walking portion of the tour, returning
later to collect them; passengers may not be able to remain on
the coach.
You are always free to forego a tour and explore on your own;
ask your Cruise Director for suggestions. There are no refunds
for unused tours, meals or other portions of the program that
you choose to forego.
Q: How physically demanding are the sightseeing tours?
A: Sightseeing programs are walking tours, panoramic coach
tours or a combination of both. Many include a fair amount of
walking, since many of Europe's areas of interest are best
accessed on foot. Some tours may require that you be on your
feet for an extended period of time.
Q: What is a typical day onboard?
A: Day-to-Day Itinerary: Your final day-to-day land/cruise
itinerary will be sent to you with your Final Documents. It
will describe each day’s activities in depth, including
cruising time, excursion logistics and free time. Typical
Cruise Day: All of our cruise itineraries have been designed
to give you the best possible balance of shore excursions and
time cruising past riverside scenery. Depending on your cruise
itinerary, you may have a tour in the morning, return to the
ship for lunch, and have another tour in the afternoon. On
some days, you have only one tour in the morning or afternoon
and cruise for the other portion of the day. Some cruising is
done during the night. Some itineraries contain one or more
full days of cruising due to the exceptional quality of the
river scenery and restrictions of local river authorities.
Itinerary Subject to Change: In all cases, your day-to-day
itinerary may be subject to change due to local circumstances
such as moveable holidays, museum/site closing days, safety
considerations, river and weather conditions, local river
authorities and border entry/exit formalities. Our brochure is
printed many months before your departure. Occasionally,
circumstances subsequently change—for reasons ranging from a
hotel being closed for renovations to an unscheduled
conference in a certain city. We make the best possible
alternate arrangements based on the circumstances. When
possible, we notify you of these changes as we learn of them.
Q: What is a shipboard account?
A: For your convenience, all purchases and paid services
aboard are billed with a guest check and added to your
personal shipboard account. At the end of the cruise, you will
receive a total which can be paid with cash or charged to a
credit card.
Q: Are there telephones available on board?
A: All ships have in-room phones for calling cabin-to-cabin.
Cabin phones on European ships can also be used for
ship-to-shore calls. On other ships, ship-to-shore calls can
be placed with the Reception Desk. The Reception Desk on all
ships can send a fax for you. Charges for faxes and
ship-to-shore calls will be added to your shipboard account.
Q: What time is disembarkation?
A: All passengers are requested to disembark by 10:00 a.m. If
we are providing your transfer to the airport on
disembarkation, we will transfer you at the appropriate time
to catch your flight.
|
