Arrived in Budapest. About 16 hours to bet here. LAX CDG Budapest. Staying at a swanky modern Hilton in the Westend area. Sightseeing tomorrow. Will update more later.

Hope you two have a wonderful time, Todd! Let us hear from you. Lots of homebodies now on lct!

Will be looking forward to hearing from you Todd and have a wonderful time.

Thanks for checking in, Todd. Budapest is on my list of places to visit. We await your next report!

Cold and overcast in Budapest today. We hit some of the highlights in Budapest - Chain Bridge, Parliment Building, Opera House, and the Castle District. Had a nice lunch in a cafe along the Danube.

Tomorrow we need to pickup a shuttle at the Sofitel Hotel at the Chain Bridge to meet the ship. Was told we are traveling about 60 miles to meet the ship at a different location because the Danube is low In the Budapest area. We did see a Uniworld ship docked on the Buda side of the Danube today.

Have a great trip. We did the reverse this past June.

We are now at the Sofitel Hotel at Chain Bridge waiting to pickup our bus to meet the ship. We were told the ship is actually about an hour and a half by bus.

AMA has a beautiful hospitality room setup for us with snacks, bottled water, and various coffees and teas. Also free wifi here at the hotel.

Looking forward to getting to the ship. For me that's when the trip really begins.

Regarding the hotel we stayed at - the Hilton West End Budapest - it was a great location for getting around to see the sights. It was also attached to a very modern mall with shops, restaurants, cinemas and a grocery store. We got a great deal on the hotel on Priceline - $75 per night. The hotel iteself was modern, rooms very comfortable. The hotel also had a great gym with views of the city. Although our Priceline deal did not include breakfast - they did have a beautiful restaurant with buffet or a la cart. The eggs Benedict was quite good and reasonable at about $6!

Now on the ship. LOVE the free wifi throuout the ship. Had a great time talking with fellow passengers this afternoon. Captains reception and orientation at 7:15 tonight followed by a great dinner.

They did bring entertainment from Budapest tonight but we retired after dinner.

Quite a mix of international passengers on board.

Nite nite.

Cosmo King

Hope you enjoy your AMA cruise as much as we enjoyed ours in September - Budapest to Amsterdam. We found it very easy to meet people - mostly Canadians and Americans. Lee

Lee we do have some Canadians on board. Also Australians and Germans as well as Americans. Yes very easy to meet people.

Have a great time!

Doug

Yesterday was Vienna. The high temperature was 32! Went in town in the morning for a city tour for a few hours. Then back to the ship for lunch. We went back to town at 230 for more sightseeing, Then it was Christmas Markets at night (4:30). Then back to the ship by 5:30.

Some people went to town three times. There were a few optional tours in the evening. One was some sort of concert.

Having lots of fun despite the cold.

Last night we were also docked next to the Amadagio. We had to walk through it to get to our ship (AmaLyra). Debbie Tate of BandK had called me Thursday last week to tell me about the low level of the Danube and where to meet for the bus that would take us to meet the ship about an hour away. She also mentioned she would be on the Danube on AMA this week (but I could not remember which ship). Last night I checked with Reception on the Amadagio and sure enough Debbie was on board. We had a nice chat in Reception on the Amadagio.

We are back. Got home about 830 last night. Was posting on Facebook updates and pictures along the way. Friend me and you can see the updates.

Loved the trip, AMA, Itinerary and the fellow travelers. It did not rain the entire trip, however, it was cold about 30-32 degrees each day. The day the cruise ended, we has sunshine and it was in the 40's. Our previous trip on AMA in November 2008 we had weather mostly in the mid 40's.