Well I messed up that Ticker!! Zero days indeed!! Here, I'll try again:

Oh yes PamSheldon! A fan of Dionne Warwick and Helen Hunt too? One of the greatest female singers and one of the best improv comediennes.

Getting so excited here that I have been looking into currency that we need to get for this trip. Thought I would share the info. I got the exchange rates from FX Converter at www.oanda.com/convert/classic

General info I got from www.TripAdvisor.com as, in the past, I have found info posted there to be reliable. Also from tourism sites for each country.

OK:

Germany & Austria (Also Netherlands, for those of us flying via Amsterdam!) 

Currency is Euro. Current exchange $1 = .63 Euro

                                                   1 Euro  = $1.58

There are exchange desks at airports & train stations. Also can use ATMs (Geldautomat)...this is something I want to verify with my own bank though.

Bank exchange rates are the most reasonable.

Visa/Mastercard are accepted at most places but check before you buy or sit down for a meal. ( It seems that AmEx & Diners Club are not popular in Europe)

Czech Republic (For those of us on the pre cruise package)

Currency is Koruna (Crown) Current exchange $1 = 16 Koruna

                                                                         1 K = 6 cents

ATM's are available everywhere. Credit cards widely accepted but, again, check before buying or eating.

However, the Euro is widely accepted here.

Hungary

Currency is Forint (FT) Current exchange  $1 = 163 FT

                                                            163 FT = $.006  

I haven't yet found any site that says they accept Euro.

We think that we will probably get some Euro's before we leave since we've always found exchange rates better at home. Euro seems to be the most commonly accepted currency for the countries we are visiting (Except Hungary). This would be for small purchases. Credit cards for larger buys.

That's my research so far. If anyone finds anything different please let me know.

Jill might be able to add to this since she already did the pre cruise trip.

All for now.

Julie

> ^..^ <

We are getting very excited for this upcoming cruise.  We are coming approximately 10 days early and will spend time in Germany prior to the cruise.  Lots of planning occurring right now. 

We have been on two other Olivia cruises...Alaska and Scandinavia.  We had a great time.  We travel with another couple who we have known for many years.

See you soon.

Yes, I am!  :-)  (I always am)

 Jill

Hello. Anyone else starting to get excited about this cruise that is approaching really fast : 

We arrive at 2:40 pm so it's too late to share with you. I'm sure there will be many others arriving with you though.

Julie

> ^..^ <

We're arriving in Prague around 11 AM on July 24th. When are the rest of you arriving? Want to share a cab to the hotel? Or, is it too much hassle trying to meet up at the airport?

 Donna

My wife (Catherine) and I are looking forward to cruising with all of you.  We are doing the Prague pre-trip and the Budapest post-trip.  I just finished making the airline reservations and now we'll proceed to get signed up for the add-ons.  This will be our second Olivia cruise - we went on the Alaska cruise in 2006. 

We're enjoying our dreams of the Danube, they are getting us through this incredibly challenging winter in Wisconsin.

Marty 

Hi Donna - So sorry to hear about Jean. And thanks for sending the link. I will read up on it to have a better understanding. We knew something was up last year. We love you both and have the patience of a Saint. She can tell me the same story 100 times, and it would be better than no story at all :-) So, send her my way!

The entertainment on the Danube will be Roxanna Ward and Vickie Shaw. And, we know the site is not at it's best yet. This last cruise Brewmax, Julie and others were involved with one of our website techs, Lea, for some hands-on "testabilities" to help us get the site more user-friendly, so this year you will be seeing some improvements.

Looking forward to seeing you both. Sending a big hug your way.

Jill

Donna. Sorry I didn't reply to your note . We were on the Caribbean Dreams cruise & just got home tonight.

So sorry to hear about your partner. I do hope that you will both enjoy your trip in July. See you there.

Oh, we are doing the Prague pre-cruise.

Julie

Evergreen, never mind my message. I finally found the reply button. I'm still nonplussed about the change in the message board software. This format is definitely NOT user-friendly! I taught college courses online for several years. So, I'm familiar with online software for connecting people asynchronously. This system sucks, IMHO.

Entertainment on the Danube?????

Who's doing the pre and post cruise packages? We are, at least I hope we are. I'm mailing the form and a check today.

My partner, Jean, and I have been on eight Olivia cruises. Our most recent trip was to The Netherlands on the river boat. We've been together for 13 years and had some devastating news recently. Jean was diagnoses with Pick's disease. So, this may be our last Olivia trip.

I'm concerned about Jean getting confused and driving others on the trip crazy with her repeating the same statements and telling the same stories over and over. She did some of this on The Netherlands trip, but it may be worse this year. It's hard to predict, but she may have only 5-6 years left to live. She will end up in a vegetative state.

Well, on that cheery note, I'll say ado. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the group.

Donna

We got the vacation Add-On info. We booked for the Prague pre-cruise. Anyone else?

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You gals are going to have such fun on this trip -- wish I was going to be going, too.  It's beautiful in that area of the world.  My partner and I have been to the Abbey at Melk, which is pictured at the first page of this group site.  We went to Vienna for our 15th anniversary a few years back and took a train to Melk and then a river boat back to Vienna.  Nurenburg has been a favorite city of mine for years.  

There are so many possibilities for add on trips on either end that I don't know how Olivia will choose.  But don't hesitate to do some adding on of your own.  Travel is easy in Europe with great public transportation!

Here's hoping that the exchange rate will recover some before your trip!  The dollar to euro rate sucks now -- at historic lows!