Read The Summer Issue of Avid Cruiser Magazine For Free

Wednesday, August, 6, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Click here to read the summer issue of Avid Cruiser magazine in digital format -- an $18.95 per year value now made free to you, courtesy of Cruise Specialists. The digital issue is GREEN, immediate, up-to-date, portable, features embedded video, spans 100 pages and has no international borders. Anyone, anywhere, can [...]

Tips & Advice: Cruising The Danube On River Empress

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Cruising or considering cruising the river Danube on Uniworld's River Empress? This "know before you go" guide will enhance your journey and perhaps help you avoid making costly mistakes. It goes without saying that you should check your documents before departing home, but some people miss the fine details even [...]

Getting To Know River Empress

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Uniworld's River Empress isn't the newest vessel on the Danube. She was built in 2002 and refurbished in 2005. There are no balconies gracing the 63 double cabins and four suites. Cabin sizes are fairly standard for river cruisers: 151 square feet; and 214 square feet for the suites. Generously sized bathrooms [...]

Check Into The Hotel That Floats

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

I checked into my hotel in Budapest, Hungary, and checked out a week later in Passau, Germany. Each evening, sometimes after I had fallen asleep, my hotel moved, from Budapest, to Bratislava, to Vienna, to Durnstein and Melk on the same day, to Linz and finally Passau. If [...]

Choose To Cruise The Danube

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Video Slideshow Immortalized by Johann Strauss in Blue Danube Waltz, the Danube winds from Germany’s Black Forest through Austria into the Balkans before dumping into the Black Sea. The romantic river flows through six countries and meanders for nearly 1,800 miles. Some of Europe’s most-fabled cities — Regensburg, [...]

When Rudy Does Nothing, You Can Count On A Great Cruise

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Of all the jobs in the world, surely Rudolph van der Meulen's must be among the best. His job, as instructed by his bosses, is to cruise on a river boat and simply to do this: nothing. While most people might call that a vacation, it's a tall order for the [...]

Pedaling Along The Danube

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

My river cruise has turned into a cycling tour. Each day during this journey up the Danube on Uniworld's River Empress, I have had the opportunity to straddle a saddle and pedal along the river — or out into the picturesque countryside  —  with the River Empress serving [...]

Putting Off Europe?

Wednesday, June, 11, 2008

by Ralph Grizzle

Click The Image Above To Play Video If the lousy exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro has you thinking twice about traveling to Europe, you may want to think again. And this time, think river cruising. On a river cruise, you're isolated from much of the expense of [...]