FANTASTIC!!!!!! XMAS MARKETS HERE WE COME!!! and bar on the lovely boat :lct:

I can't wait.......thank you Joanna. my kids will be getting only Christmas market trinkets this year. they will be thrilled.

oh, and the bar on the lovely boat.....

Looks like the bar is going to have to expand a bit to hold this crowd. Welcome aboard City and Dave, this is great news!

It will be terrific to see you both again!

Tom and I are so excited that you and David are coming with us...what a fun cruise this will be.

Yippe!! :banana:
Wonderful news! :woh:
I have you on the roll call. :D

thanks all! Jim, we are in cabin 305!! AND I just called united, we are all set coming back on Tues for an additional night. Somehow I managed to get business class seats with award points!
yeah. :app:

Good job Cindy with the biz seats - on my you are across the hall from "trouble" cabins :hug:

that is a good kind of trouble!

Delta, of course changed my return flight the 13th - PITA - was to leave at 1:30 pm? now 10:30 am - anyone going out at this time the 13th?

Joanna, we will be taking the train home that morning. Maybe we can coordinate train schedules as the train to Brussels stops at Schiphol on the way.

Thanks Marc - sure there may be others flying out at our time. I was disppointed to have lost the 1:30 PM departure flight BUT I get back to Jax at 5 PM vs midnight -

Interesting you have had so many changes with Delta
for this trip. (knock on wood). So far the only change we have had is a 5 minute change in departure time fro ATL to SLC on our return trip.
Did not effect our seat assignment either so no big deal. So far so good.

Wednesday 08/05/09
OH oh! I spoke to soon.
I noticed they have done some changing of seat assignments and of course when I go to the web site it won't let me make changes. @#*!

Unfortunately, Bert and I have had a change of plans and have had to drop out. The timing was just not good but we will hopefully see many of you in Dallas in November.

Sorry to hear that Mitch. :(
Hopefully we can cruise together some time.

We are so disapointed Mitch! At least we will see you and Bert in a few days on Sea 2 Sea. "Paris" won't be the same without the two of you.

We just got back from a river cruise on AMA Amalyra "Europe Heartland" Cruise where the 1st half is very similar to PARIS. I will write up a more detailed review for the Reviews section but wanted to give some specific suggestions here for people on PARIS.

1. Transfer in from CDG - Cab/Taxi is probably the easiest (with bags). Cost isn't really anymore than JimB's shuttle and you don't have to pre-reserve/pre-pay. If you're lucky enough to get a larger cab (and don't have a lot of luggage), 3-4 can fit into one of the larger cabs and the cost to the hotel with tip should be no more than 50 Euros.

2. Paris Hotel - Now this is going to be a bit controversial and make more work for Ngaire if people take the suggestion. The Crowne Plaza Republique is not in a really good area without any sites of interest nearby. The effective "cost" that AMA is charging for a room (assuming double occupancy) is $400 a night. With that charge, you also get a 1/2 day tour of Paris (I assume that most of you have been to Paris and the 1/2 day overview is of limited value anyways) and the transfer to Trier (which they would charge $75 per person otherwise). My suggestion would be for people to take the credit from AMA for deleting the hotel in Paris and booking Denise's Intercontinental Friends rate at the Paris-LeGrand Intercontinental which for those dates range from 187.50 Euro for a "Classic Room" to 216.75 Euro for an "Executive Room" tax-inclusive. This is a much better hotel in a much better location and saving each couple some money as well (savings of $100 per night less $150 (per couple for the transfer) - so net of $150). Just take a cab over to the Crowne Plaza the morning of the transfer (cost should be about 10 Euro which we paid from the Park Hyatt which is within 2 blocks of the Intercontinental).

3. Electrical Plug on the ship - We were on Amalyra (but assume that its really the same as Amacello). None of the electrical plugs in the cabin (and in the hotel in Paris) is compatible with the standard US plugs. If you have stuff that needs to be plugged-in / recharged, you'll need to get an International Plug adapter (not converter so if the "stuff" is 110/120 V only you'll need a converter also). I would recommend Kensington 33117 (some of the really cheap ones don't work). This is usually available on Ebay for $10-20 (for example click here ). If you don't have an adapter, you probably won't be able to charge / plug-in any of your electrical stuff.

4. Amalyra now has Wi-Fi throughout the ship (don't know about Amacello) on a complimentary basis. You can access the internet without a laptop/netbook via the monitor with keyboard in the cabins. However, the internet connection is painfully slow (probably slower than old dial-up) and is often not funcitoning due to them having to lower the "satellite antenna". Related to internet access is the satellite phone which is charged for both outgoing and incoming calls at 1 Euro per minute (quite reasonable) but we weren't able to get it to work at anytime during the trip.

Please feel free to post any specific questions, and I'll attempt to answer them.


Edited by Karen to fix the long link :)

Peter, thanks for the helpful information. I just bought the Kensington All in 1 Travel Adapter on ebay. Thank you!

We don't know the layout of Paris well at all and haven't been there in 14 years. As a back-up, I booked The Westin Paris @ 3 Rue De Castiglione, Paris 75001 for 3 nights. There was another Starwood Property but I kind of remembered that maybe staying on the Champs-Elysées area might not be the most "walkable" of locations. ???

I was able to book under "cash and points" for 24,000 points plus $450. TOTAL for all 3 nights so this is a good deal. My concern with the Intercontinental Hotel and Denise's friends and family deal is that it is non-refundable. Didn't want to take that leap....at least for now. Starwood can be cancelled up until 6:00pm day of arrival.

Of course, a lot of this will be hinging on whether or not there are AMA cancellation fees for cancelling the land portion of this trip and doing our own thing. I like always having a back-up plan.

Anyone else familiar with Paris that has info to share ?? Thanks again Peter.

My favorite area for staying in Paris is the St. Germaine de Pres area. It is the most convenient area for those staying for a few days and for those staying in the wintertime, when the weather is often cold/inclement. It is close to many fine neighborhood restaurants of all price ranges, metros, all the museums, shopping, Christmas markets, central to tourist sites, etc. There are a number of nice hotels to fit your budget in that area. My favorite is the Hotel d'Aubusson.

I like the Victoria Palace as well, but it is a little farther north in Montparnasse and more inconvenient. I like to stay away from the Arc de Triomphe area or Champs Elysee as it is too touristy. The Marais area is better in the summer/spring..The Opera House area is very nice, but hotels are often pricier and the restaurants are more expensive and not neighborhood restaurants. The Eiffel Tower area is nice but more of a residential neighborhood and I felt I had to walk to more places for dinner and sightseeing. It is better in the warmer months.

Most of the hotels will have adapters to lend you and there are lots of stores where you can buy them if you forget them. The French have the latest in electronics stores. I usually just buy a new hairdryer or flat iron there and don't worry about converters. If you have an iphone, just buy a different plug there at their Apple store.

If anyone needs a tour guide for a walking tour, I have a fantastic one for Paris.

I can also share some favorite restaurants.

Hope this helps.

Marcie to answer your question we are in a cancellation period now of 15% on the land which is about $200 so that would negate the savings by moving to the friends and family deal at the hotel that Peter is suggesting.

This is where we are now within 120 days before sailing

120-90 days before departure 15% of the land and cruise price
89-60 days before departure 35% of the land and cruise price
59-30 days before departure 50% of the land and cruise price
29-07 days before departure 80% of the land and cruise price
6 days before departure 100% of the land and cruise price

I figure since we are all together, (most of us anyway), at one hotel it has got to be fine.
Let the party begin!! LOL

We just returned from Paris and while there we were in the need of more adapters. The BHV store on rue de Rivoli has all the adapters and converters you will need. I also bought a hair dryer while there. It makes it so much easier not needing an adapter. We stayed a few blocks from the Champs on the Arc de Triomphe end and found it not to touristy and great for walking, and great shopping.

We did a wonderful walking tour of the Marias with Eye Prefer Paris Tours. If anyone is interested I'll post their link.

Please post Doris thanks

Marcie - The Westin's location is terrific (right across from Tuilleries Gardens - about 4 blocks down toward the river from the Intercontinental. Your deal is quite reasonable although if you value a Starwood point at $0.03, you're effectively at about $1200 for 3 nights). For this hotel, reviews on Flyertalk seem to indicate that some of the rooms are quite small and will not have a view.

A friend raves about the Intercontinental but he's a Royal Ambassador with Intercontinental so was upgraded to a suite.

Paris is one of those cities where redeeming points works out very well. We stayed 3 nights at the Park Hyatt Paris in a 700 sq ft suite using 81,000 points total while the rate for that suite would have been close to $2000 a night.

Crowne Plaza would probably be ok if you didn't want to walk around and only take a cab to whereever you're going especially in the wintertime. With the cancellation/change policy that Ngaire has posted, the penalty will increase on September 2 or a day or 2 around there. So keep that in mind for final decisions.

I just checked Denise's Friends rate for the Crowne Plaza for the dates of the stay and the rates range from 107.25 euros ($160ish) for standard room to 219.75 euros ($330ish) for a 2 room suite - compared to $400 "through" AMA.

I know, I'm going to start getting the reputation around here of being difficult with hotel choices but I've managed to snag properties that are amongst the very best in their respective cities for a very reasonable cost and the Crowne Plaza doesn't make the cut :)

Joanna
If you scroll down you'll see a small writeup with pictures of us with Richard. We thought he his knowledge of paris was amazing. We spent two mornings with him and will do it again next summer.
http://www.ipreferparis.net/2009/07/index.html

Thank you Peter and Doris

Going to chime in here.

The InterContinental Le Grand is one gem of a property. My Friends and Family rate is a fantastic deal. Miriam stayed there a couple of months ago, using my F&F link and was quite pleased.

We stayed at Le Grand in 2006, prior to our Deilmann Seine river cruise. I received the incredible employee rate of $59 USD, thanks to a connection and we were upgraded to a spectacular suite. We'd return there in a heartbeat. Service, amenities and location are excellent.

For anyone who can take advantage of the F&F promo, this would be a great opportunity to stay at Le Grand - C'est magnifique! Unless one has a connection or is an employee of IHG, rates such as these are extremely hard to come by.

For those of you planning on using Denise's Friends and Family during the year, you may want to consider purchasing the Royal Ambassador for $100. With that you get a free weekend night during the year, late check out, one free movie per stay, a welcome gift, free bottled water, fresh fruit upon arrival, upgrades and other amenities per location (e.g., free breakfasts or internet). It is a nice deal. This is the Intercontinental deal..other properties have other deals...Crown Plaza gave me a confirmed reservation in a sold out situation.

Slight correction - purchasing the Ambassador status is a good idea - you cannot purchase the Royal Ambassador status (only way to get it is by referral or staying 50 nights in Intercontinental properties - other Priority Club flags don't count).

Hi Peter,

Thanks..you beat me to it. You are correct (of course :) ).

My Aunt and Uncle are joining us on the Paris portion of the trip. They are staying in the same hotel in an upgraded room for approx 175 US per night. They do not have the 1/2 day tour or the transfer however.

My Aunt and Uncle are joining us they are staying in the same hotel in an upgraded room for approx 175 US per night. They do not have the 1/2 day tour or the transfer however.

That is neat your Aunt and Uncle will be there
for you to meet them.

Just thought I would mention that everyone that was booked at the AMA hotel, the Crown Plaza, has confirmed that this is where they will be staying. Ken and I will be at the Crown Plaza too of course. Looking forward to everyone getting to know each other before we embark on the ship. Payment time is upon us and that always means the trip is getting CLOSE. Very much looking forward to this first group river cruise I think we will have a great time.

I can't remember...does the riverboat have laundry facilities or send out service?

Marcie, this from Ngaire's website about AMA

Laundry
Laundry services are available onboard for a fee, except for the MS Amadouro. Price lists will be available in your stateroom. Please note that clothes cannot be dry cleaned onboard.

Thanks O !!

On page #1 "roll call" I added flights
times into Paris but don't have very many.
Getting close to the 90 day departure date and
was wondering if anyone has there arrival times
that I can post?

Jim, I'm getting into Paris in the morning of whatever day we are supposed to arrive, Dec. 3? But I've booked transfer to hotel with AMA, so it wouldn't help anyone with sharing rides. See you all at the hotel! Going to be a great cruise, and wonderful opportunity for all of us to see how we like the river cruise concept!

We get in the morning of the 3rd at 6:10 am Delta..

FV