River Cruises

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@FJB I'm curious if your daughter saw a spot for Kangaroo steaks while in Australia! I can't imagine that would be appetizing for a tourist interested in potentially meeting a beloved kangaroo. 

@LukeJ An Australian night is a brilliant idea! Australian wine pairings with popular dishes would be so delicious. PETA would have a very hard time with Kangaroo steaks on cruises. They would likely be more excited for kangaroo-shaped steaks made of grasshoppers. That joke is mostly geared towards @FJB. I have heard koalas can be quite mean, maybe those could be a pairing option. The evening could be called "Koalas and Carafes."  

[FJB]

1 minute ago, Kendall James-Vargas said:

@FJB I'm curious if your daughter saw a spot for Kangaroo steaks while in Australia! I can't imagine that would be appetizing for a tourist interested in potentially meeting a beloved kangaroo. 

@LukeJ An Australian night is a brilliant idea! Australian wine pairings with popular dishes would be so delicious. PETA would have a very hard time with Kangaroo steaks on cruises. They would likely be more excited for kangaroo-shaped steaks made of grasshoppers. That joke is mostly geared towards @FJB. I have heard koalas can be quite mean, maybe those could be a pairing option. The evening could be called "Koalas and Carafes."  

She was in Austria, not Australia.  I’m not sure kangaroos are native to Austria.  

[Kendall James-Vargas]

@FJB I clearly misread the post above! Thanks for correcting me. I did a search to see if kangaroos are native to Austria, but they are not a part of the native landscape. Austria typically hosts foxes, deer, and rabbits. I discovered that kangaroos are only native to New Guinea and Australia. I would be surprised if your daughter encountered kanagroo steaks in Austria, but you never know!

[LukeJ]

@FJB no it was my fault, we were in discussions in which theme nights may work as Italian theme night has been done so much and I suggested an Australian theme night in it's place. 

[3Sisters]

@LukeJ I love how courteous everyone is on the boards! To be honest, Austalia and Austia are spelled quite similarly, the catch is they are totally different places. I don't know much about Ausrian culture. I haven't heard anything much about their cuisine either. My friend just got back from her honeymoon in Australia and told me she had kangaroo wagyu, ox tail, ostrich, and venison while there. Apparently, all of it was amazing (and she's a chicken tender/mac and cheese type of girl). She also met Sir Richard Branson while there on a safari! She's a nurse in Florida and after a 3-week honeymoon in sheer luxury, she said this week has been a brutal adjustment. 

[LukeJ]

@3Sisters there is enough cruelty in the world without us being rude on the forums. Thats why I love these boards, a chance for single minded people like us all to get together and share stories and thoughts and opinions on themes which we all share. Austria I've always envisioned to be a winter Christmas feel. I've seen photos and the country looks breathtaking, yet it's the winter season I would love to visit.

[3Sisters]

@LukeJThat's right! I appreciate those kind words. The world can be such a cruel and cold place, especially on social media. Those sites can be so brutal. I stay off of many of the social media sites and tend to just have something negative to say about everyone. I'm so glad there are others out there that feel the same as you and me. I agree that Austria has more of a winterized scenery in my head. That's likely another reason why I told @FJB Australian instead of Austria! The photo of his daughter looked hot and sunny. Since I don't know about many places across the globe, I really only have the media and friend's experience to rely on. Now I am researching the current weather in Austria to become more knowledgeable about the area. In fact, this week's forecast seems pretty cold and rainy. I guess we share the same seasons. It's cold and snowy where I am in the US too! 

[Laurie214]

My husband and I will take a two-week Danube River Cruise in October with some friends of ours. I have never taken one, but our friends have and loved it and the cities they visited. We all booked through Gate1 Travel because they have used this company before and were very pleased. Gate1 will make your plane travel reservations (were cheaper than I myself could find) as well as book the two-night stay in Budapest before the cruise and the three-night stay in Prague prior to our return. The pre- and post-cruise nights were included in the quoted price, as were transfers between the hotel and boat each way  Also, Gate1 prices are MUCH cheaper than Viking's, actually most are cheaper than Viking from the research I did. We're looking forward to the trip. 

[Cruising Caribbean]

@Laurie214 That sounds like an amazing cruise itinerary! Have you taken Danube River Cruise in the past? These Gate1 prices do sounds really good. Does this company provide travel protection for you? If a flight gets changed or delayed, will Gate1 cover those additional costs? When booking with Viking, you have great reassurance that you will be compensated in case of incidentals. How does Gate1 handle their incidentals? Unfortunately, I have become so skeptical of travel/booking agencies because they don't always pay out and cover incidentals like the actual cruise line would.