May 30, 2024 • 38 mins
Imagine setting sail on a voyage where every corner turned unravels a new dimension of wellness and luxury—that's the promise of our Wellness River Cruise. Join us in this episode as we dive into the Wellness River Cruise I'm hosting, a journey inspired by my love for travel, adventure, and wellness. This river cruise is designed for like-minded individuals who seek to enrich their lives through new experiences and holistic well-being.
Adventure and challenge are fundamental to our happiness and well-being. Whether it's trying a new restaurant, exploring a different route to work, trail running in the Faroe Islands, or going on a wellness river cruise, novelty keeps us grounded and expansive.
This episode will explore how the Wellness River Cruise offers a unique blend of travel and holistic wellness. Discover the details of this transformative journey and learn how it can enhance your well-being. Join us and prepare to set sail on an unforgettable adventure that nurtures both body and soul.
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Wellness Riverboat Cruise
Magna On The Danube: https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2025/magna-on-the-danube
AmaMagna: https://youtu.be/23-5Qy3skM0
AmaMagna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fM1GHLA2EF4
Tami Hiroka
281.336.7374
contact@fresitravels.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Hello, wellness warriors.
Welcome back to another episodeof the wellness inspired
podcast, a place where you canfind inspiration, motivation and
empowerment in the pursuit of awellness lifestyle.
I'm your host, sherry Davidson.
I'm a wellness coach andacupuncturist in Houston Texas
and I am deeply passionate abouthealth and wellbeing.
And, as always, I'm here withmy cohost, finn.
(00:41):
And if you're new to thepodcast, finn is my Terrier, mix
, rescue Dog, trail runner andloyal companion.
He is also a therapy dog andgreeter at Element 5 Acupuncture
and Wellness.
What about what activities?
(01:05):
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe activities, the excursions.
Okay, something for everybody,right?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
something for everyone.
So you know.
Going over the itinerary, Iknow tammy's got a list of um
the dailies on board, which wedo have an app that you can use
for the dailies.
You'll see the daily excursionsevery day.
It's loaded the night before soif you've got to be back on
(01:30):
board at you know five o'clockfor the sip and sale or six
o'clock and you need to knowwhat time dinner is, you've got
all that on the app and it doesshow all the excursions and the
meeting points.
So you do have always you leavethe vessel with a key card that
has the phone number to thevessel and the location of the
vessel because, yes, remember,we don't traverse that far.
(01:53):
Sometimes it could be 20 milesbetween port to port, 30 miles,
or we do a scenic sailing.
That would be a little bitlonger, could be 46 miles, but
you always have the informationof where to meet the vessel back
and, of course, the guides.
When you're on a tour they getyou back on board when you need
to.
So there's going to be quite afew interesting excursions along
(02:20):
this itinerary and somebeautiful cities.
So you have anything from abicycle tour to a hike wine
tasting.
You're going to get to MilkAbbey, which is beautiful, in
Dernstein.
Some of these cities are iconic, like Vienna, budapest, but
(02:41):
some of these are very smalllike Dernstein.
You only have 250 people thatlive there.
They're all related somehowbecause it's a large.
It's two families brothers,married, sisters, and so
basically they're all related,but they all have the vineyards
(03:01):
in Dernstein and it's afantastic little small community
.
So, like I said, you're goingto have those larger iconic
cities like Vienna, bratislavia.
You get to do the coronation ofthe City of Kings, these are,
you know, the Danube has theVakav Valley, which you're going
to be able to do a scenic sailthrough, to do a scenic sail
(03:22):
through.
So lots and lots of differencesin the valley, the Vakav Valley
, all the wineries that arealong or the vineyards that are
along the banks of the Danube,and then anything from small to
large cities.
Passau is this confluence of allthree rivers the eel, the inn
(03:47):
and the danube.
So you have very colorful,vibrant colors, pastel colors
city.
You can walk along the banks ofthe danube, but you can also
bike along or even take a hike.
So there's different levels,different activities and of
(04:07):
course, you're broken down intothose small groups of things to
do.
One of my favorites is reallyMilk Abbey and the Abbey tour.
Hopefully you're you will beable to hear a concert they have
.
Well, they're probablypracticing the concert, but you
get to experience the pipe organand in Passau, at St Stephen's
(04:31):
Cathedral, you have the largestpipe organ in Europe and when
they're playing these pipes it'sloud, but it's also it gives
you chills.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
It really does.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So those are just some of the things that you'll
be able to do.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, so I have a question.
Listen up runners.
There's places we can run.
You mentioned yes.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
From city to city.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I know one of them.
You said it was 25 miles orsomething like that.
I told one of my friends and Iwas like maybe we don't need to
do a marathon.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Absolutely, absolutely.
But from point A to B, insteadof taking the vessel on the Vaca
Valley, and that's pretty andgood for the runners.
It's not hilly as much, there'ssome slight hills but you could
run that, and along the theriver you have this bike run
(05:29):
path that's really along, andthen, of course, on the right
hand side is going to be the carpath um and it depends on if
you know which which directionwe're going.
but it's a great way to have youknow you're sheltered from all
the cars, but you get to see theview of the river and you
probably will wave to the shipas it goes by.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yes, you hear that runners.
I don't know how many runnerswe're going to have on there,
but so far it's just me, or if?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
you want to take an extended walk and the wellness
host would join you.
So that's something that theyneed to plan ahead.
So if you do want to do a runor you do want to do a longer
walk or even bicycles, they willmeet you.
Our owner one of our owners,gary Murphy actually did the
bike trip and biked it from,because that's a 27-mile bike
(06:22):
ride, and he said it was justmagnificent.
At one point they passed up thevessel and waved to it and met
it on the other side.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I could probably bike it.
I'd be open to biking it.
We'll see.
We'll see if any runners come.
If they don't, I'll probablyjust do my own little, maybe run
in a city somewhere or aroundthe track.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's a possibility as well, but I think that
there's something on the boatfor everyone, and I think that's
what we're talking about.
So, if you're a runner, ifyou're a walker, or if you don't
want to do any of it, yeah.
Absolutely.
There's yoga, there's relaxingby the pool.
How about reading a good book?
Reading a good book?
Whatever you want to do, yeah,there's something for everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Absolutely, and there's so many little nooks and
crannies I call them on the umMagna.
You have little libraries thatyou can go.
We do have a cinema on boardand it's a.
It's a wonderful way um to justrelax.
Sometimes when there's no onein there, you have the whole
cinema to yourself.
We do have where we go intoSalzburg we do a Salzburg Sound
(07:35):
of Music tour and you can comeback and watch the Sound of
Music if you'd like.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Okay, the upper deck is also beautiful.
You have really great weather.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Oh, right, and pickleball.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yeah, next to the pickleball well, I.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Next weekend.
It's a friend of mine'sbirthday and that's what she
wants to do for her birthday, soit's gonna be my first time to
ever play pickleball so I'mtaking a private lesson you know
, it's
Speaker 2 (08:04):
just something that, like it, came out of nowhere it
did, and it's been around forvery long time, but it's just
picked up in and and I peopleplay it.
We do have paddles on board.
No worries about bringinganything, any equipment, Unless
you know you're a diehard pickleplayer, then you're a
pickleball player.
You probably bring your ownpaddle, but we do have those on
board and the wellness host willallow you to.
(08:28):
If you need to learn how toplay, can teach you.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Oh, the golfing.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
So we do have a concierge golfprogram which is white glove
from start to finish.
We have a private van thatpicks up our golf players.
They're going to play 18 holes,have lunch and cocktails at the
clubhouse after, and thesecourses were designed.
(08:57):
They're not right on the river.
They do have to be bussed out,but these courses were designed
somewhere the Lexus Open or theBMW Open.
These are world championshipgolf courses.
So if you've ever wanted toplay at some of these courses,
we set up the tee times for youand, of course, that golf
concierge is with you.
(09:19):
So it is a white glove serviceand we can do that.
That is not included and it isan extra cost.
But you can choose if you'dlike to play five, four, three
or even two courses, two coursesat the minimum you can play.
You can bring your own clubs,um, but I recommend just renting
the clubs, because you can rentanything from the top of the
(09:39):
line clubs okay, I like that.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
do you know?
My mom worked at a golf coursepretty much my whole, my whole
life, you know, like a younglife, you know when was young?
So from the time I was probablyfive, six, to the time I
graduated from college, uh, andI never picked up a golf club me
or my dad.
I drove the beer cart once.
That's a fun thing to do aswell, but you know.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Hey, and talking about beer, um, you know wine
enthusiasts because we serveregional wine on board with
lunch and dinner.
But we also serve beer andthere's some fantastic beer
along the Danube.
Remember, in the medieval timesthe beer and wine were safer to
(10:30):
drink than water.
So a lot of these monasteries,a lot of these recipes are over
two, three, 400 years old andthey're still producing
fantastic beer.
So kind of a beer snob so Ilike my beer just as well as
like my wine, so you can haveboth.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Yeah, I like that.
I like beer after a run, aftera workout.
Oh, that's fantastic,especially if it's hot.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah, I like that, I like beer after a run, after a
workout oh, that's fantastic,especially if it's hot,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's just one of the most refreshing, refreshing
things.
Well, excellent.
Should we talk about cost anddeposits and refunds and not not
?
Well, I guess I say refund inthe in, and I say that because
it was mentioned to me.
You know it's a year away,right, and you never know what's
going to happen, absolutely.
(11:17):
So, I kind of want to addresssome of those things.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So when you book and you hold your stateroom, there's
a $400 deposit that's duewithin seven days of holding it
and Tammy handles all of thatfunction of it, and then final's
not due till 90 days prior, sothat $200 of that $400 will be
refundable.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Okay, 200 of the 400 is refundable.
And no matter when.
If you have to cancel, nomatter when.
You cancel the two, only 200will be correct.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And then penalties start at 35% at 121 days.
Okay, so you pretty much needto know if you're going to be
going or not, at least 121 daysbefore final payments due.
What is that?
How many months?
Is that?
Four months?
Four months, we'd say fourmonths, which most?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
people know, four months ahead of time, a little
less than four months.
Yes, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yes, and you know we do a good job with trying to
accommodate.
We know you don't want tocancel, so maybe we can move it
to another date.
Those are just one-offs andTammy works with me on that.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Good to know.
Of course, we also recommendtravel insurance.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Not only for the medical side, but to cover the
cost just in case you're lessthan 120 days.
Okay, then it will cover.
You sent that to me and Ihaven't looked at it.
Yes, but that's what we highlyrecommend.
It's not mandatory to havetravel insurance, but we do
highly recommend to anybodytraveling not only taking a
(12:54):
river cruise, but a generaltravel insurance.
But we do highly recommend toanybody traveling not only
taking a river cruise, but ageneral travel insurance,
anything yes.
It will cover the cost if youhad to cancel for a cover reason
and also if you happen to havean unfortunate situation on
board Yamaha Waterways medical,then it will cover also the
(13:16):
medical side of it.
And uh, how much does that run?
It depends on age and state.
Uh, so I'll have to have tocalculate based on on what state
you live and also the age andwhat do you want to call like
the cost that you're covering.
Yes, that's pretty much all theinformation that I'll need to
(13:41):
calculate, but it depends.
So it will be different fromclient to client and also what
they want to cover.
For example, if they're doingan extension or there just
happened to be a couple of daysprior somewhere else and they
want to cover that part of theirtrip, that will also extend the
number of days that they willbe traveling.
So that will be more expensivethan if you're just covering one
(14:04):
side of it.
So, yes, it's like a one-to-onesituation.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Okay, I need to look at that, I got it.
I just haven't.
Okay, I need to look at that, Igot it.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
I just haven't.
I think Lori will agree with methat we do have travel
insurance.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Absolutely.
You just never know.
It could be something happeningin your home state and you
can't make it to the airport.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I mean that happens as well.
Yeah, because that's anotherthing to think about.
The boat leaves Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Absolutely yes.
Unfortunately, we can't waitfor everyone.
But, you know, and if you arethinking about a pre-extension
in Budapest, you can't go wrong.
We do.
That is that would not beincluded.
But we do have a two nightBudapest extension Cruise
managers with you in thatextension.
So meet you in the hotel,greets you.
You have a two night Budapestextension cruise managers with
you in that extension.
So meet you in the hotel,greets you.
(14:57):
You have a welcome reception.
You have touring every day.
So it is a.
It's not just a hotel and tax,it's really the cruise manager
breakfast touring every day inthe hotel.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And Budapest is one of those cities that you could
really spend some time in youknow Buddha and Pesh.
The Danube flows right throughthe old part of Buda and Pesh
and lots of things to do.
The Jewish quarter there isincredible.
For food.
I eat my way through ouritineraries.
But the market hall has paprika.
(15:31):
You know Budapest is known forpaprika and just a lot of
inexpensive souvenirs as well.
Just found a gelato shop thatdesigned your ice cream in
flowers, but incredible becausethe different petals could be
different flavors.
So I've never experiencedanything like this.
You need to look for this shop.
I have a picture I'll send toTammy.
(15:52):
But incredible flavors ofgelato especially it wasn't just
your plain gelato, and theycreated this beautiful floral
design with my gelato sofantastic.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
This can be added even though they already paid
their deposit.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Absolutely, and how?
Let's what's my question here?
Let's say, you know, threemonths before we take off, I'm
like, oh, I would like to dothis.
Can you add it?
You?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
can?
Yes, you can.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
If we have space, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We're limited with space.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
That we have, but we do have two hotels and they're
four plus five store.
We always stay in city center,so it's walkable to restaurants
and anything that you would like, but Budapest is a great
walking city.
It really really is.
It's something that you need toput on your list to do and, of
(16:50):
course, we spend some time thereprior, but you'll definitely
want to spend some extra timethere as well.
And then we do have a postextension in Prague, and that
post extension is um threenights, and of course those
transfers to get from um umVoschoffen to uh Prague and you
get to see uh Regensburg as well.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Okay, um, yeah.
So when I, when I went toIceland, uh, I was.
It was the same situation forme.
I was going to the FaroeIslands and I had to take a
flight from the, from Iceland,to the Faroe Islands.
That flight was not a frequentflight and so if I missed that
(17:34):
flight, I missed my race.
And so I think I got to Icelandmaybe three days before or four
days maybe before my race and Iwas thankful because our flight
got delayed because of thewinds.
It got delayed by almost 20hours and people were super
(17:56):
upset because they were hittingthe ground running and they
missed their excursions.
And I was like I don't, I wasjust so grateful that I did that
.
So I, I can see, you know,taking that time in Budapest.
You know, it's kind of awin-win situation because you
get there a few days early, youget to explore the city and then
you make, you make the boat.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And jet lag is a real thing right.
It is, and it allows you thattime to kind of get over jet lag
and then you're prepared to,you know, get on board.
So give yourself some time,think about it.
And it is one way flights.
So, wherever you're coming from, you would fly into Budapest
and then out of Vilsoffen, andVilsoffen is going to be Munich,
(18:42):
is going to be your um, orPrague, whatever extension
you're doing, but that's goingto be your um, closest port to
departing.
Excellent.
And we can't do flights untilabout 325 days prior.
295 is really the limit and wedo have options for that.
We do have a fixed air cost orwe do customized air.
(19:03):
Maybe you are flying a certaincarrier that you want and you
would like a premium economy.
Maybe you would like to upgradeyour seat, maybe even to
business.
We can certainly Tammy can doall of that for you.
So are these the?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
flights to and from.
To and from, because that's notincluded in the form.
No, that's not included.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
You can do it on your own or we can do it also
through Ama Waterways, and ifyou purchase the flights with
Ama Waterways, the transfer isincluded.
Right, yeah, correct.
The flights with Amma Waterwaysthe transfer is included.
Right, yeah, correct.
Because from Vosthofen toMunich it's a long drive or a
train ride yes, Train ride ordrive.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I don't know how long was it from Munich to Vosthofen
, Probably two and a half hours,you know transfer, However,
from Vosthofen you can take thattransfer.
From Prague you can fly out ofprague if you do the uh post
transfer, uh extension okay,okay, that's good to know yeah,
tammy can definitely help youwith all that air tammy's
(20:07):
amazing thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I've referred her to people and they're just like
thank you so much Very thorough.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Yes, she is.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yes, she is.
I want her on my side when Itravel, absolutely, absolutely
Okay.
I have another question fromsomeone, and they asked about
pairing up with other guests ifthey go as a because the I'll
tell a traveler yeah, up withother guests if they go as a
(20:38):
because the yeah, the travel,yeah.
So if someone wants to go as asingle, um, what options do they
have?
Will, will we be able to, youknow, match them with somebody,
uh, in a room?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
actually that is something that we don't do, okay
, but that would be somethingthat you could possibly do.
But we do have solo options andthose solos would pay not 200%,
but 1.50%, um, percent, um,sometimes 1.25, depending on the
(21:08):
stateroom that they're they'rethey're booking.
So anything from 1.25 to 1.50,never unless they want a suite.
If they want a suite, oursuites are 200% for a solo, but
it would.
It would behoove them to maybetalk to you you know, sherry,
(21:29):
about maybe finding someone ormaybe someone else showed an
interest in a solo and maybe youcan pair them together and they
don't mind sharing.
But we don't do it as a company, um, we, we just offer the solo
rates.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
So explain the solo rate.
I I was a little confused.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You said it's a hundred a hundred percent, of
course, for that one passenger,then it's half of another person
, so 150%.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
So they're paying, so it would be six, so one person
and a half they're paying.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yes, one and a half person, correct so every room is
a double.
Yeah, we base everything.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Oh sorry If you, every room is double the price
is per person, but it'sconsidering two people.
So if you have a single, ofcourse that person has to pay
100% of one person, but sinceit's taking the space for
another person, that is notthere it will cost them 50% of
(22:29):
that second person I see.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
But they would be in the room by themselves.
Yes, I see that's a benefit ifthey don be in the room by
themselves.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah , I see that's a benefit if they
don't want to share withsomebody, right?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Absolutely, and so is the bathroom right, because we
only have one bathroom, andsometimes women sharing
bathrooms is just.
You know, we want our ownbathroom and our own space to
get dressed.
But you know we have a lot ofpassengers that travel solo
because they do want thatstateroom to themselves.
Yeah, sometimes we have twowomen traveling together that
each take a stateroom, right,they just want that.
(23:00):
I like my own space too, my ownspace Exactly, but I'll share.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Ok, so we talked about the refund deposit.
Anything else likeentertainment?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Oh entertainment.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Yeah, I saw music.
Yes, deposit Anything else likeentertainment.
I saw music.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yes, so in each episode destination, in each
city or each port, we call itthere we bring on entertainment
from that destination.
So it could be a dance troupe.
There's a fantastic, veryvibrant, lively dance troupe
that comes on from Budapest eachevening.
It could be classical music, itcould be opera singers.
(23:40):
I know in my last day in YubCruz we were in Vienna and we
had three opera singers thatcame on and they were absolutely
incredible.
So we really bring thedestination to you and they
started on one of the songs fromthe Sound of Music.
And of course, the day beforewe had just done the Sound of
Music tour in Salzburg, so wedid the entire soundtrack, it
(24:03):
felt, of the Sound of Music andI think we had to sing along
till three o'clock in themorning.
And uh, you know I I think weprobably um overextended their
voices for them, but it was anincredible evening and it could
be a cooking demonstration.
We could possibly make strudeland you know, but it's always
something from that destinationand the entertainment's quite
(24:24):
lovely and we do have a pianoplayer that plays all other
times and different genres ofmusic, but also maybe you can
dance till 1 o'clock in themorning if that's what you like.
All right?
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, they do have like a piano slash DJ.
We dance one of the nights, didyou yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Your mom was out there dancing away.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, my mom was dancing away and they also have
like.
Well, at least for theChristmas market, we had like
contests.
So we participated in some ofthe contests.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
That sounds like fun.
I love it.
Well, I'm excited.
This is just.
It sounds so amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I know I want to focus a little bit on the dining
aspect especially for yourclients that maybe have picked
up a different lifestyle right.
There may be vegan orvegetarian, um, you know, low
salt or maybe, um, no sugar.
We can accommodate all of thosedietary restrictions with the
dining.
(25:24):
The only thing we cannotaccommodate is kosher and, of
course, celiac.
If it's a really differentforms of celiac we can
accommodate.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
But I just wanted to point that out.
Yeah, thank you for that,because there are more and more
vegans these days, more and morevegan vegetarians these days,
or pescatarian um and uh,whenever they sign up through me
.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I have a form uh for every client where they have to
fill out their information andone of the questions that I ask
if they have any allergies ordietary restrictions.
Actually, my mom is allergic toshellfish and I communicate
that to.
I'm a waterways and of coursethey were always telling her
like, are you okay?
Do you want to change something?
(26:08):
They were always explaining toher the menu and what,
especially for um, the tastingmenu that we had, um, what was
replaced for her?
and how they prepared the mealfor her so that she wouldn't
have any issues.
Also for the dining experiencethe menu it's awesome.
(26:28):
It has very local food cuisinethat you can taste, so something
different, but they also havedaily I think they have the
steak, the grilled chicken andthe grilled salmon.
If you just want to go on thelighter side with vegetables or
salad, so you always have thatchoice and I think hamburger as
(26:52):
well, which is not as healthieras the chicken.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
It's something for everybody.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
But it's not only like local cuisine, but you also
find other alternatives.
If you're looking for something, you also find other
alternatives if you're lookingfor something kind of the
healthier side.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I promise.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
And that's a promise.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I can keep.
You will not go hungry on ariver cruise.
There's just so many things.
And, of course, when you getinto the destination as well,
maybe you find, maybe you're inVienna and you go to the Saka
Hotel and get that fabulouschocolate tart, you can pick it
up, bring it back on board, haveit.
You can have it there, or youcan bring it back on board and
(27:34):
that's with any wines or evenliqueurs that you find.
We don't have a corkage fee, soyou can bring back those lovely
items and experience them onboard.
We do have a mini fridge ineach stateroom, so if you have
to put any kind of medicines oranything in it, I always say
fill it with chocolate,especially on this itinerary or
(27:55):
gelato.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Or gelato, or gelato.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Well, yes, but I want also to mention that experience
.
I know that maybe a lot of yourclients have not done a river
cruise, but they have done likeocean cruise.
So it's a little bit different,especially when you're coming
in and out of the ship.
(28:17):
The river cruise feels morelike you're coming in and out of
a boutique hotel, feels morelike you're coming in and out of
a boutique hotel.
There's no big lines and bigsecurity lines that you have to
normally go through if you're onan ocean cruise.
So you just go in and out withyour room key and that's it.
(28:39):
You do have to check in and outbecause they want to know who's
coming in and who's out, butother than that, there's not a
security like in ocean cruises.
So it's just like a hotel,boutique hotel, because it's
small.
So that's one of the bigdifferences.
As well as bringing likealcohol and food from outside
into the ship, it's not thatrestricted, I think.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, that's one of the biggest.
I didn't realize you couldn'tdo that on cruise ships.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Some of them they don't allow you to bring because
alcohol might not be includedin the cruise.
So if you're bringing alcohol,that might be a restriction.
So it depends on the oceancruise but in the river cruise
it's more relaxed and also aboutrelax the dining experience.
(29:27):
It's very the dress code is notlike a gala that may be on
other ocean cruises that youhave to be with like a special
suit and dress.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
It's more relaxing type of like yeah, as far the
dress code, like or not dresscode.
But what do people wear onriver cruises?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Well, your excursions .
You want to be comfortable, andI always say comfortable shoes,
comfortable shoes and no, andchange your shoes often because
you want to be comfortable,cause remember, you're walking
on cobblestone streets.
So, there is some, you know, anevenness and levelness to the
ground.
But also, when you're dining,we want you to be comfortable.
(30:13):
In the chef's table and thecaptain's gala you'll see some
women in dresses maybe a blackdress, a little black dress but
we ask no shorts and no jeans inthe dining room at night.
But during the day you're goingto be experiencing, you know,
you're going to be walkingaround putting some models on
(30:33):
your feet, active.
So you want to be an activelifestyle, clothing, right, um,
and very casual and um, you know, uh, tammy was saying that
there are no lines and that'sthe beauty of river cruising.
But remember that if you'vetaken an ocean cruise, oceans
take you to all these countriesand rivers take you right
(30:54):
through them.
So we dock in the heart of thecity where you can just
sometimes hop on and off andabout four of the ports that
you'll be in, you just get towalk right off and that's the
beauty of it.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
No lines.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
No lines no lines yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Well.
I get, really I get, I get.
This might be a question, Um,if it's rough, I get motion sick
Never experience river no nonever on the river.
How rough did those rivers get?
Not rough at all.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
You will not feel any movement whatsoever.
Even if a big barge passes, itjust doesn't because of the
design of the vessel.
And when we're going throughthe lock system that is such a
unique thing to see Everyonegoes to the top deck and there's
no movement there as well.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Okay, good to know, because maybe I need to get some
Dramamine or something, no, nono, not at all.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Okay.
Yeah, my mom normally getsseasick motion sickness.
She didn't even know that westarted moving the first day she
opened the balcony.
She's like where are we?
We're like okay, we startedmoving.
She's like I didn't feelanything.
Oh, and I said like, yeah,that's the beauty of river
(32:08):
cruising, because you're not inin super open space either like
in the ocean, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So there's some rivers and lakes get pretty
rough.
Yeah, but the one at my parentsnot on the european rivers.
They they live on the SanBernard river uh, not far from
here about an hour, and uh, itcan get pretty white cap
sometimes.
Absolutely Not here.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Um, amsterdam is the only really um the the Rhine at,
because, uh, we have a littlearea that we go actually out to
the sea but it's all protectedand remember, on the rivers you
can see both sides of the river.
Yeah, Some are more narrow thanother places, so both sides.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I'm safe, you'll be okay.
Okay, what else?
Is there anything else that weneed to?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
inform people about.
I think if you have any doubtsabout river cruising or what
it's like, we do have someYouTube channels that you can
see.
Um, I know that, uh, Sherry andTammy can send you some links
to just life on board and someof the inclusions.
Hopefully, we we prepared that,but we'd invite you to the
(33:27):
Total Wine.
I will show some beautifulpictures.
I will talk about the itineraryagain, all the inclusions and
hopefully that'll come withquestions and if it's your first
time, I don't have anyone I'venever heard of anyone say they
do not like a river cruise orthe experience.
They didn't have to take avacation after their river
(33:49):
cruise because it's so relaxingand they love the experience,
especially getting so manycountries in one sailing.
And that's really the beauty ofriver cruising.
Part of the destination is whatwe focus on, and especially
with Alma.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
So can't have.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Can't wait to have you on board.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
No, I am.
I am super excited.
And every time somebody comesin and they're just like I've
heard good things about theseriver cruises or they'll talk
about ama waterways, and everytime somebody comes in and says
that I'm like, okay, let's go.
Why wasn't it october?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
and it's very flexible, so you can kind of
tailor your river cruise as youwant, like level, fitness or
relaxation.
It's not like from 8 to 5 thatyou don't have any free time, so
each person can design theirown river cruise trip really
(34:42):
when you're there.
And you can design it by day,day by day.
Maybe the first day you want todo a more leisure pace walk,
but then the following day youmight want to do a hike or a
bike, and the bikes are there.
Even if you don't want to takea tour, you can take the bike if
you just want to bike around.
So if you need some alone timeto go around and tour on your
(35:08):
own, that's also welcoming there.
So it depends on each person, Ithink.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, I agree with you and I will be bringing my
little signature on this cruiseand I'll be doing some wellness
talks.
I'm thinking right now I don'thave it all worked out, but I'm
thinking about doing some talksaround holistic wellness.
So I'm generating some contentfor a class right now.
So I'll probably be bringingthat with me and giving some
(35:35):
talks and then we'll have as agroup, we'll do, hopefully, some
mindful meditation and thenwe'll have the dinner at the end
.
We'll come together as a group.
But, yeah, you don't have tostay with the group the whole
time, but we will have momentswhere I want to come together
and meet, greet and just talkand, yeah, community.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I'd like to go now.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
So I generated a PDF file or document and it has all
the information in there, allthe links you sent me.
It has the registration for thetotal wine, it has the videos,
it has your information,everything I could gather that
we've talked about so far, and Iput it in a PDF file.
(36:24):
So if anybody is interested, Iwill put that PDF file in the
show notes.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Perfect.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it I can't wait tohave all of you on board.
I hope you choose an AlmaWaterways cruise, a river cruise
especially.
You will never regret itespecially.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
You will never regret it.
Well, I'm excited and excitedto have Tammy and both of you,
or excited to have Tammy andLaurie to be a part of this team
.
You can't go wrong with Tammy.
She's amazing.
Thank you both for being here.
Thank you for having us, andwe'll see you in a few weeks,
june 17th, 5.30.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
Sounds good.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Thank you.
If you like what you hear,please subscribe to the podcast
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(37:27):
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(37:49):
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(38:09):
the show notes.
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Reach out to us and we'll getyou on the schedule and, as
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Thank you so much for listening.
We'll meet here again next timeand remember never stop
(38:30):
exploring, learning, loving andbeing you Bye.
Hello, wellness warriors.
Welcome back to another episodeof the wellness inspired
podcast, a place where you canfind inspiration, motivation and
empowerment in the pursuit of awellness lifestyle.
I'm your host, sherry Davidson.
I'm a wellness coach andacupuncturist in Houston Texas
and I am deeply passionate abouthealth and wellbeing.
And, as always, I'm here withmy cohost, finn.
(00:41):
And if you're new to thepodcast, finn is my Terrier, mix
, rescue Dog, trail runner andloyal companion.
He is also a therapy dog andgreeter at Element 5 Acupuncture
and Wellness.
What about what activities?
(01:05):
Let's talk a little bit aboutthe activities, the excursions.
Okay, something for everybody,right?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
something for everyone.
So you know.
Going over the itinerary, Iknow tammy's got a list of um
the dailies on board, which wedo have an app that you can use
for the dailies.
You'll see the daily excursionsevery day.
It's loaded the night before soif you've got to be back on
(01:30):
board at you know five o'clockfor the sip and sale or six
o'clock and you need to knowwhat time dinner is, you've got
all that on the app and it doesshow all the excursions and the
meeting points.
So you do have always you leavethe vessel with a key card that
has the phone number to thevessel and the location of the
vessel because, yes, remember,we don't traverse that far.
(01:53):
Sometimes it could be 20 milesbetween port to port, 30 miles,
or we do a scenic sailing.
That would be a little bitlonger, could be 46 miles, but
you always have the informationof where to meet the vessel back
and, of course, the guides.
When you're on a tour they getyou back on board when you need
to.
So there's going to be quite afew interesting excursions along
(02:20):
this itinerary and somebeautiful cities.
So you have anything from abicycle tour to a hike wine
tasting.
You're going to get to MilkAbbey, which is beautiful, in
Dernstein.
Some of these cities are iconic, like Vienna, budapest, but
(02:41):
some of these are very smalllike Dernstein.
You only have 250 people thatlive there.
They're all related somehowbecause it's a large.
It's two families brothers,married, sisters, and so
basically they're all related,but they all have the vineyards
(03:01):
in Dernstein and it's afantastic little small community
.
So, like I said, you're goingto have those larger iconic
cities like Vienna, bratislavia.
You get to do the coronation ofthe City of Kings, these are,
you know, the Danube has theVakav Valley, which you're going
to be able to do a scenic sailthrough, to do a scenic sail
(03:22):
through.
So lots and lots of differencesin the valley, the Vakav Valley
, all the wineries that arealong or the vineyards that are
along the banks of the Danube,and then anything from small to
large cities.
Passau is this confluence of allthree rivers the eel, the inn
(03:47):
and the danube.
So you have very colorful,vibrant colors, pastel colors
city.
You can walk along the banks ofthe danube, but you can also
bike along or even take a hike.
So there's different levels,different activities and of
(04:07):
course, you're broken down intothose small groups of things to
do.
One of my favorites is reallyMilk Abbey and the Abbey tour.
Hopefully you're you will beable to hear a concert they have
.
Well, they're probablypracticing the concert, but you
get to experience the pipe organand in Passau, at St Stephen's
(04:31):
Cathedral, you have the largestpipe organ in Europe and when
they're playing these pipes it'sloud, but it's also it gives
you chills.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
It really does.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
So those are just some of the things that you'll
be able to do.
Speaker 1 (04:48):
Okay, so I have a question.
Listen up runners.
There's places we can run.
You mentioned yes.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
From city to city.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
I know one of them.
You said it was 25 miles orsomething like that.
I told one of my friends and Iwas like maybe we don't need to
do a marathon.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
Absolutely, absolutely.
But from point A to B, insteadof taking the vessel on the Vaca
Valley, and that's pretty andgood for the runners.
It's not hilly as much, there'ssome slight hills but you could
run that, and along the theriver you have this bike run
(05:29):
path that's really along, andthen, of course, on the right
hand side is going to be the carpath um and it depends on if
you know which which directionwe're going.
but it's a great way to have youknow you're sheltered from all
the cars, but you get to see theview of the river and you
probably will wave to the shipas it goes by.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
Yes, you hear that runners.
I don't know how many runnerswe're going to have on there,
but so far it's just me, or if?
Speaker 2 (06:00):
you want to take an extended walk and the wellness
host would join you.
So that's something that theyneed to plan ahead.
So if you do want to do a runor you do want to do a longer
walk or even bicycles, they willmeet you.
Our owner one of our owners,gary Murphy actually did the
bike trip and biked it from,because that's a 27-mile bike
(06:22):
ride, and he said it was justmagnificent.
At one point they passed up thevessel and waved to it and met
it on the other side.
Speaker 1 (06:30):
I could probably bike it.
I'd be open to biking it.
We'll see.
We'll see if any runners come.
If they don't, I'll probablyjust do my own little, maybe run
in a city somewhere or aroundthe track.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
Absolutely.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
That's a possibility as well, but I think that
there's something on the boatfor everyone, and I think that's
what we're talking about.
So, if you're a runner, ifyou're a walker, or if you don't
want to do any of it, yeah.
Absolutely.
There's yoga, there's relaxingby the pool.
How about reading a good book?
Reading a good book?
Whatever you want to do, yeah,there's something for everybody.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Absolutely, and there's so many little nooks and
crannies I call them on the umMagna.
You have little libraries thatyou can go.
We do have a cinema on boardand it's a.
It's a wonderful way um to justrelax.
Sometimes when there's no onein there, you have the whole
cinema to yourself.
We do have where we go intoSalzburg we do a Salzburg Sound
(07:35):
of Music tour and you can comeback and watch the Sound of
Music if you'd like.
Speaker 3 (07:39):
Okay, the upper deck is also beautiful.
You have really great weather.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
Oh, right, and pickleball.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Yeah, next to the pickleball well, I.
Speaker 1 (07:51):
Next weekend.
It's a friend of mine'sbirthday and that's what she
wants to do for her birthday, soit's gonna be my first time to
ever play pickleball so I'mtaking a private lesson you know
, it's
Speaker 2 (08:04):
just something that, like it, came out of nowhere it
did, and it's been around forvery long time, but it's just
picked up in and and I peopleplay it.
We do have paddles on board.
No worries about bringinganything, any equipment, Unless
you know you're a diehard pickleplayer, then you're a
pickleball player.
You probably bring your ownpaddle, but we do have those on
board and the wellness host willallow you to.
(08:28):
If you need to learn how toplay, can teach you.
Speaker 3 (08:31):
All right.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Oh, the golfing.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
Yes, yes, absolutely.
So we do have a concierge golfprogram which is white glove
from start to finish.
We have a private van thatpicks up our golf players.
They're going to play 18 holes,have lunch and cocktails at the
clubhouse after, and thesecourses were designed.
(08:57):
They're not right on the river.
They do have to be bussed out,but these courses were designed
somewhere the Lexus Open or theBMW Open.
These are world championshipgolf courses.
So if you've ever wanted toplay at some of these courses,
we set up the tee times for youand, of course, that golf
concierge is with you.
(09:19):
So it is a white glove serviceand we can do that.
That is not included and it isan extra cost.
But you can choose if you'dlike to play five, four, three
or even two courses, two coursesat the minimum you can play.
You can bring your own clubs,um, but I recommend just renting
the clubs, because you can rentanything from the top of the
(09:39):
line clubs okay, I like that.
Speaker 1 (09:43):
do you know?
My mom worked at a golf coursepretty much my whole, my whole
life, you know, like a younglife, you know when was young?
So from the time I was probablyfive, six, to the time I
graduated from college, uh, andI never picked up a golf club me
or my dad.
I drove the beer cart once.
That's a fun thing to do aswell, but you know.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
Hey, and talking about beer, um, you know wine
enthusiasts because we serveregional wine on board with
lunch and dinner.
But we also serve beer andthere's some fantastic beer
along the Danube.
Remember, in the medieval timesthe beer and wine were safer to
(10:30):
drink than water.
So a lot of these monasteries,a lot of these recipes are over
two, three, 400 years old andthey're still producing
fantastic beer.
So kind of a beer snob so Ilike my beer just as well as
like my wine, so you can haveboth.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Yeah, I like that.
I like beer after a run, aftera workout.
Oh, that's fantastic,especially if it's hot.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
Yeah, I like that, I like beer after a run, after a
workout oh, that's fantastic,especially if it's hot,
absolutely.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
It's just one of the most refreshing, refreshing
things.
Well, excellent.
Should we talk about cost anddeposits and refunds and not not
?
Well, I guess I say refund inthe in, and I say that because
it was mentioned to me.
You know it's a year away,right, and you never know what's
going to happen, absolutely.
(11:17):
So, I kind of want to addresssome of those things.
Speaker 2 (11:21):
So when you book and you hold your stateroom, there's
a $400 deposit that's duewithin seven days of holding it
and Tammy handles all of thatfunction of it, and then final's
not due till 90 days prior, sothat $200 of that $400 will be
refundable.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
Okay, 200 of the 400 is refundable.
And no matter when.
If you have to cancel, nomatter when.
You cancel the two, only 200will be correct.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
And then penalties start at 35% at 121 days.
Okay, so you pretty much needto know if you're going to be
going or not, at least 121 daysbefore final payments due.
What is that?
How many months?
Is that?
Four months?
Four months, we'd say fourmonths, which most?
Speaker 1 (12:10):
people know, four months ahead of time, a little
less than four months.
Yes, yeah, okay.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yes, and you know we do a good job with trying to
accommodate.
We know you don't want tocancel, so maybe we can move it
to another date.
Those are just one-offs andTammy works with me on that.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Good to know.
Of course, we also recommendtravel insurance.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Not only for the medical side, but to cover the
cost just in case you're lessthan 120 days.
Okay, then it will cover.
You sent that to me and Ihaven't looked at it.
Yes, but that's what we highlyrecommend.
It's not mandatory to havetravel insurance, but we do
highly recommend to anybodytraveling not only taking a
(12:54):
river cruise, but a generaltravel insurance.
But we do highly recommend toanybody traveling not only
taking a river cruise, but ageneral travel insurance,
anything yes.
It will cover the cost if youhad to cancel for a cover reason
and also if you happen to havean unfortunate situation on
board Yamaha Waterways medical,then it will cover also the
(13:16):
medical side of it.
And uh, how much does that run?
It depends on age and state.
Uh, so I'll have to have tocalculate based on on what state
you live and also the age andwhat do you want to call like
the cost that you're covering.
Yes, that's pretty much all theinformation that I'll need to
(13:41):
calculate, but it depends.
So it will be different fromclient to client and also what
they want to cover.
For example, if they're doingan extension or there just
happened to be a couple of daysprior somewhere else and they
want to cover that part of theirtrip, that will also extend the
number of days that they willbe traveling.
So that will be more expensivethan if you're just covering one
(14:04):
side of it.
So, yes, it's like a one-to-onesituation.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Okay, I need to look at that, I got it.
I just haven't.
Okay, I need to look at that, Igot it.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
I just haven't.
I think Lori will agree with methat we do have travel
insurance.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Absolutely.
You just never know.
It could be something happeningin your home state and you
can't make it to the airport.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
I mean that happens as well.
Yeah, because that's anotherthing to think about.
The boat leaves Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Absolutely yes.
Unfortunately, we can't waitfor everyone.
But, you know, and if you arethinking about a pre-extension
in Budapest, you can't go wrong.
We do.
That is that would not beincluded.
But we do have a two nightBudapest extension Cruise
managers with you in thatextension.
So meet you in the hotel,greets you.
You have a two night Budapestextension cruise managers with
you in that extension.
So meet you in the hotel,greets you.
(14:57):
You have a welcome reception.
You have touring every day.
So it is a.
It's not just a hotel and tax,it's really the cruise manager
breakfast touring every day inthe hotel.
Speaker 1 (15:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
And Budapest is one of those cities that you could
really spend some time in youknow Buddha and Pesh.
The Danube flows right throughthe old part of Buda and Pesh
and lots of things to do.
The Jewish quarter there isincredible.
For food.
I eat my way through ouritineraries.
But the market hall has paprika.
(15:31):
You know Budapest is known forpaprika and just a lot of
inexpensive souvenirs as well.
Just found a gelato shop thatdesigned your ice cream in
flowers, but incredible becausethe different petals could be
different flavors.
So I've never experiencedanything like this.
You need to look for this shop.
I have a picture I'll send toTammy.
(15:52):
But incredible flavors ofgelato especially it wasn't just
your plain gelato, and theycreated this beautiful floral
design with my gelato sofantastic.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
This can be added even though they already paid
their deposit.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
Absolutely, and how?
Let's what's my question here?
Let's say, you know, threemonths before we take off, I'm
like, oh, I would like to dothis.
Can you add it?
You?
Speaker 2 (16:24):
can?
Yes, you can.
Speaker 1 (16:26):
If we have space, okay.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
We're limited with space.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
That we have, but we do have two hotels and they're
four plus five store.
We always stay in city center,so it's walkable to restaurants
and anything that you would like, but Budapest is a great
walking city.
It really really is.
It's something that you need toput on your list to do and, of
(16:50):
course, we spend some time thereprior, but you'll definitely
want to spend some extra timethere as well.
And then we do have a postextension in Prague, and that
post extension is um threenights, and of course those
transfers to get from um umVoschoffen to uh Prague and you
get to see uh Regensburg as well.
Speaker 1 (17:12):
Okay, um, yeah.
So when I, when I went toIceland, uh, I was.
It was the same situation forme.
I was going to the FaroeIslands and I had to take a
flight from the, from Iceland,to the Faroe Islands.
That flight was not a frequentflight and so if I missed that
(17:34):
flight, I missed my race.
And so I think I got to Icelandmaybe three days before or four
days maybe before my race and Iwas thankful because our flight
got delayed because of thewinds.
It got delayed by almost 20hours and people were super
(17:56):
upset because they were hittingthe ground running and they
missed their excursions.
And I was like I don't, I wasjust so grateful that I did that
.
So I, I can see, you know,taking that time in Budapest.
You know, it's kind of awin-win situation because you
get there a few days early, youget to explore the city and then
you make, you make the boat.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
And jet lag is a real thing right.
It is, and it allows you thattime to kind of get over jet lag
and then you're prepared to,you know, get on board.
So give yourself some time,think about it.
And it is one way flights.
So, wherever you're coming from, you would fly into Budapest
and then out of Vilsoffen, andVilsoffen is going to be Munich,
(18:42):
is going to be your um, orPrague, whatever extension
you're doing, but that's goingto be your um, closest port to
departing.
Excellent.
And we can't do flights untilabout 325 days prior.
295 is really the limit and wedo have options for that.
We do have a fixed air cost orwe do customized air.
(19:03):
Maybe you are flying a certaincarrier that you want and you
would like a premium economy.
Maybe you would like to upgradeyour seat, maybe even to
business.
We can certainly Tammy can doall of that for you.
So are these the?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
flights to and from.
To and from, because that's notincluded in the form.
No, that's not included.
Speaker 3 (19:23):
You can do it on your own or we can do it also
through Ama Waterways, and ifyou purchase the flights with
Ama Waterways, the transfer isincluded.
Right, yeah, correct.
The flights with Amma Waterwaysthe transfer is included.
Right, yeah, correct.
Because from Vosthofen toMunich it's a long drive or a
train ride yes, Train ride ordrive.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I don't know how long was it from Munich to Vosthofen
, Probably two and a half hours,you know transfer, However,
from Vosthofen you can take thattransfer.
From Prague you can fly out ofprague if you do the uh post
transfer, uh extension okay,okay, that's good to know yeah,
tammy can definitely help youwith all that air tammy's
(20:07):
amazing thank you.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
I've referred her to people and they're just like
thank you so much Very thorough.
Speaker 3 (20:16):
Yes, she is.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yes, she is.
I want her on my side when Itravel, absolutely, absolutely
Okay.
I have another question fromsomeone, and they asked about
pairing up with other guests ifthey go as a because the I'll
tell a traveler yeah, up withother guests if they go as a
(20:38):
because the yeah, the travel,yeah.
So if someone wants to go as asingle, um, what options do they
have?
Will, will we be able to, youknow, match them with somebody,
uh, in a room?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
actually that is something that we don't do, okay
, but that would be somethingthat you could possibly do.
But we do have solo options andthose solos would pay not 200%,
but 1.50%, um, percent, um,sometimes 1.25, depending on the
(21:08):
stateroom that they're they'rethey're booking.
So anything from 1.25 to 1.50,never unless they want a suite.
If they want a suite, oursuites are 200% for a solo, but
it would.
It would behoove them to maybetalk to you you know, sherry,
(21:29):
about maybe finding someone ormaybe someone else showed an
interest in a solo and maybe youcan pair them together and they
don't mind sharing.
But we don't do it as a company, um, we, we just offer the solo
rates.
Speaker 1 (21:44):
So explain the solo rate.
I I was a little confused.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
You said it's a hundred a hundred percent, of
course, for that one passenger,then it's half of another person
, so 150%.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
So they're paying, so it would be six, so one person
and a half they're paying.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Yes, one and a half person, correct so every room is
a double.
Yeah, we base everything.
Speaker 3 (22:07):
Oh sorry If you, every room is double the price
is per person, but it'sconsidering two people.
So if you have a single, ofcourse that person has to pay
100% of one person, but sinceit's taking the space for
another person, that is notthere it will cost them 50% of
(22:29):
that second person I see.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
But they would be in the room by themselves.
Yes, I see that's a benefit ifthey don be in the room by
themselves.
Speaker 3 (22:34):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah , I see that's a benefit if they
don't want to share withsomebody, right?
Speaker 2 (22:39):
Absolutely, and so is the bathroom right, because we
only have one bathroom, andsometimes women sharing
bathrooms is just.
You know, we want our ownbathroom and our own space to
get dressed.
But you know we have a lot ofpassengers that travel solo
because they do want thatstateroom to themselves.
Yeah, sometimes we have twowomen traveling together that
each take a stateroom, right,they just want that.
(23:00):
I like my own space too, my ownspace Exactly, but I'll share.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Ok, so we talked about the refund deposit.
Anything else likeentertainment?
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Oh entertainment.
Speaker 1 (23:15):
Yeah, I saw music.
Yes, deposit Anything else likeentertainment.
I saw music.
Speaker 2 (23:17):
Yes, so in each episode destination, in each
city or each port, we call itthere we bring on entertainment
from that destination.
So it could be a dance troupe.
There's a fantastic, veryvibrant, lively dance troupe
that comes on from Budapest eachevening.
It could be classical music, itcould be opera singers.
(23:40):
I know in my last day in YubCruz we were in Vienna and we
had three opera singers thatcame on and they were absolutely
incredible.
So we really bring thedestination to you and they
started on one of the songs fromthe Sound of Music.
And of course, the day beforewe had just done the Sound of
Music tour in Salzburg, so wedid the entire soundtrack, it
(24:03):
felt, of the Sound of Music andI think we had to sing along
till three o'clock in themorning.
And uh, you know I I think weprobably um overextended their
voices for them, but it was anincredible evening and it could
be a cooking demonstration.
We could possibly make strudeland you know, but it's always
something from that destinationand the entertainment's quite
(24:24):
lovely and we do have a pianoplayer that plays all other
times and different genres ofmusic, but also maybe you can
dance till 1 o'clock in themorning if that's what you like.
All right?
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, they do have like a piano slash DJ.
We dance one of the nights, didyou yeah?
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Your mom was out there dancing away.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
Yeah, my mom was dancing away and they also have
like.
Well, at least for theChristmas market, we had like
contests.
So we participated in some ofthe contests.
Speaker 1 (24:57):
That sounds like fun.
I love it.
Well, I'm excited.
This is just.
It sounds so amazing.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
I know I want to focus a little bit on the dining
aspect especially for yourclients that maybe have picked
up a different lifestyle right.
There may be vegan orvegetarian, um, you know, low
salt or maybe, um, no sugar.
We can accommodate all of thosedietary restrictions with the
dining.
(25:24):
The only thing we cannotaccommodate is kosher and, of
course, celiac.
If it's a really differentforms of celiac we can
accommodate.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
But I just wanted to point that out.
Yeah, thank you for that,because there are more and more
vegans these days, more and morevegan vegetarians these days,
or pescatarian um and uh,whenever they sign up through me
.
Speaker 3 (25:48):
I have a form uh for every client where they have to
fill out their information andone of the questions that I ask
if they have any allergies ordietary restrictions.
Actually, my mom is allergic toshellfish and I communicate
that to.
I'm a waterways and of coursethey were always telling her
like, are you okay?
Do you want to change something?
(26:08):
They were always explaining toher the menu and what,
especially for um, the tastingmenu that we had, um, what was
replaced for her?
and how they prepared the mealfor her so that she wouldn't
have any issues.
Also for the dining experiencethe menu it's awesome.
(26:28):
It has very local food cuisinethat you can taste, so something
different, but they also havedaily I think they have the
steak, the grilled chicken andthe grilled salmon.
If you just want to go on thelighter side with vegetables or
salad, so you always have thatchoice and I think hamburger as
(26:52):
well, which is not as healthieras the chicken.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
It's something for everybody.
Speaker 3 (26:56):
But it's not only like local cuisine, but you also
find other alternatives.
If you're looking for something, you also find other
alternatives if you're lookingfor something kind of the
healthier side.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
I promise.
Speaker 1 (27:11):
And that's a promise.
Speaker 2 (27:12):
I can keep.
You will not go hungry on ariver cruise.
There's just so many things.
And, of course, when you getinto the destination as well,
maybe you find, maybe you're inVienna and you go to the Saka
Hotel and get that fabulouschocolate tart, you can pick it
up, bring it back on board, haveit.
You can have it there, or youcan bring it back on board and
(27:34):
that's with any wines or evenliqueurs that you find.
We don't have a corkage fee, soyou can bring back those lovely
items and experience them onboard.
We do have a mini fridge ineach stateroom, so if you have
to put any kind of medicines oranything in it, I always say
fill it with chocolate,especially on this itinerary or
(27:55):
gelato.
Speaker 1 (27:56):
Or gelato, or gelato.
Speaker 3 (27:57):
Well, yes, but I want also to mention that experience
.
I know that maybe a lot of yourclients have not done a river
cruise, but they have done likeocean cruise.
So it's a little bit different,especially when you're coming
in and out of the ship.
(28:17):
The river cruise feels morelike you're coming in and out of
a boutique hotel, feels morelike you're coming in and out of
a boutique hotel.
There's no big lines and bigsecurity lines that you have to
normally go through if you're onan ocean cruise.
So you just go in and out withyour room key and that's it.
(28:39):
You do have to check in and outbecause they want to know who's
coming in and who's out, butother than that, there's not a
security like in ocean cruises.
So it's just like a hotel,boutique hotel, because it's
small.
So that's one of the bigdifferences.
As well as bringing likealcohol and food from outside
into the ship, it's not thatrestricted, I think.
Speaker 1 (29:02):
Yeah, that's one of the biggest.
I didn't realize you couldn'tdo that on cruise ships.
Speaker 3 (29:06):
Some of them they don't allow you to bring because
alcohol might not be includedin the cruise.
So if you're bringing alcohol,that might be a restriction.
So it depends on the oceancruise but in the river cruise
it's more relaxed and also aboutrelax the dining experience.
(29:27):
It's very the dress code is notlike a gala that may be on
other ocean cruises that youhave to be with like a special
suit and dress.
Speaker 1 (29:39):
It's more relaxing type of like yeah, as far the
dress code, like or not dresscode.
But what do people wear onriver cruises?
Speaker 2 (29:50):
Well, your excursions .
You want to be comfortable, andI always say comfortable shoes,
comfortable shoes and no, andchange your shoes often because
you want to be comfortable,cause remember, you're walking
on cobblestone streets.
So, there is some, you know, anevenness and levelness to the
ground.
But also, when you're dining,we want you to be comfortable.
(30:13):
In the chef's table and thecaptain's gala you'll see some
women in dresses maybe a blackdress, a little black dress but
we ask no shorts and no jeans inthe dining room at night.
But during the day you're goingto be experiencing, you know,
you're going to be walkingaround putting some models on
(30:33):
your feet, active.
So you want to be an activelifestyle, clothing, right, um,
and very casual and um, you know, uh, tammy was saying that
there are no lines and that'sthe beauty of river cruising.
But remember that if you'vetaken an ocean cruise, oceans
take you to all these countriesand rivers take you right
(30:54):
through them.
So we dock in the heart of thecity where you can just
sometimes hop on and off andabout four of the ports that
you'll be in, you just get towalk right off and that's the
beauty of it.
Speaker 3 (31:05):
No lines.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
No lines no lines yeah.
Speaker 1 (31:09):
Well.
I get, really I get, I get.
This might be a question, Um,if it's rough, I get motion sick
Never experience river no nonever on the river.
How rough did those rivers get?
Not rough at all.
Speaker 2 (31:24):
You will not feel any movement whatsoever.
Even if a big barge passes, itjust doesn't because of the
design of the vessel.
And when we're going throughthe lock system that is such a
unique thing to see Everyonegoes to the top deck and there's
no movement there as well.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
Okay, good to know, because maybe I need to get some
Dramamine or something, no, nono, not at all.
Speaker 3 (31:48):
Okay.
Yeah, my mom normally getsseasick motion sickness.
She didn't even know that westarted moving the first day she
opened the balcony.
She's like where are we?
We're like okay, we startedmoving.
She's like I didn't feelanything.
Oh, and I said like, yeah,that's the beauty of river
(32:08):
cruising, because you're not inin super open space either like
in the ocean, right, yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:15):
So there's some rivers and lakes get pretty
rough.
Yeah, but the one at my parentsnot on the european rivers.
They they live on the SanBernard river uh, not far from
here about an hour, and uh, itcan get pretty white cap
sometimes.
Absolutely Not here.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
Um, amsterdam is the only really um the the Rhine at,
because, uh, we have a littlearea that we go actually out to
the sea but it's all protectedand remember, on the rivers you
can see both sides of the river.
Yeah, Some are more narrow thanother places, so both sides.
Speaker 1 (32:51):
I'm safe, you'll be okay.
Okay, what else?
Is there anything else that weneed to?
Speaker 2 (33:03):
inform people about.
I think if you have any doubtsabout river cruising or what
it's like, we do have someYouTube channels that you can
see.
Um, I know that, uh, Sherry andTammy can send you some links
to just life on board and someof the inclusions.
Hopefully, we we prepared that,but we'd invite you to the
(33:27):
Total Wine.
I will show some beautifulpictures.
I will talk about the itineraryagain, all the inclusions and
hopefully that'll come withquestions and if it's your first
time, I don't have anyone I'venever heard of anyone say they
do not like a river cruise orthe experience.
They didn't have to take avacation after their river
(33:49):
cruise because it's so relaxingand they love the experience,
especially getting so manycountries in one sailing.
And that's really the beauty ofriver cruising.
Part of the destination is whatwe focus on, and especially
with Alma.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
So can't have.
Speaker 2 (34:05):
Can't wait to have you on board.
Speaker 1 (34:06):
No, I am.
I am super excited.
And every time somebody comesin and they're just like I've
heard good things about theseriver cruises or they'll talk
about ama waterways, and everytime somebody comes in and says
that I'm like, okay, let's go.
Why wasn't it october?
Speaker 3 (34:20):
and it's very flexible, so you can kind of
tailor your river cruise as youwant, like level, fitness or
relaxation.
It's not like from 8 to 5 thatyou don't have any free time, so
each person can design theirown river cruise trip really
(34:42):
when you're there.
And you can design it by day,day by day.
Maybe the first day you want todo a more leisure pace walk,
but then the following day youmight want to do a hike or a
bike, and the bikes are there.
Even if you don't want to takea tour, you can take the bike if
you just want to bike around.
So if you need some alone timeto go around and tour on your
(35:08):
own, that's also welcoming there.
So it depends on each person, Ithink.
Speaker 1 (35:14):
Yeah, I agree with you and I will be bringing my
little signature on this cruiseand I'll be doing some wellness
talks.
I'm thinking right now I don'thave it all worked out, but I'm
thinking about doing some talksaround holistic wellness.
So I'm generating some contentfor a class right now.
So I'll probably be bringingthat with me and giving some
(35:35):
talks and then we'll have as agroup, we'll do, hopefully, some
mindful meditation and thenwe'll have the dinner at the end
.
We'll come together as a group.
But, yeah, you don't have tostay with the group the whole
time, but we will have momentswhere I want to come together
and meet, greet and just talkand, yeah, community.
Speaker 2 (35:57):
I'd like to go now.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
So I generated a PDF file or document and it has all
the information in there, allthe links you sent me.
It has the registration for thetotal wine, it has the videos,
it has your information,everything I could gather that
we've talked about so far, and Iput it in a PDF file.
(36:24):
So if anybody is interested, Iwill put that PDF file in the
show notes.
Speaker 3 (36:29):
Perfect.
Speaker 2 (36:33):
Thank you so much for having me.
I appreciate it I can't wait tohave all of you on board.
I hope you choose an AlmaWaterways cruise, a river cruise
especially.
You will never regret itespecially.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
You will never regret it.
Well, I'm excited and excitedto have Tammy and both of you,
or excited to have Tammy andLaurie to be a part of this team
.
You can't go wrong with Tammy.
She's amazing.
Thank you both for being here.
Thank you for having us, andwe'll see you in a few weeks,
june 17th, 5.30.
Speaker 2 (37:06):
Sounds good.
Speaker 1 (37:07):
Thank you.
If you like what you hear,please subscribe to the podcast
and share with your family andfriends.
You can also give me a ratingand review wherever you listen
to your podcast.
(37:27):
It helps others find me as well.
To get updates on new episodesand wellness inspiration in your
inbox, please join the wellnessinspired community.
Go to the wellness inspiredpodcastcom to sign up.
I'll put the link to thewebsite in the show notes so you
can click and join.
Also, there's a Facebookcommunity at the wellness
inspired and you can follow meon Instagram at wellness
(37:49):
underscore inspired.
If you're in the Houston area orjust visiting and interested in
our services acupuncture,herbal medicine, cupping,
zinchiatsu or dry needlingtherapy contact us.
You can find out more on ourwebsite at element5omcom that's
element5, the number 5, omcom,and again I'll put the link in
(38:09):
the show notes.
If you're interested in healthand wellness coaching, we can
connect in the clinic or on Zoom.
Reach out to us and we'll getyou on the schedule and, as
always, I would love to hearyour feedback.
I am dedicated to bringing yougreat content that is inspiring
and informative, with an artsy,fun, edgy spin.
Thank you so much for listening.
We'll meet here again next timeand remember never stop
(38:30):
exploring, learning, loving andbeing you Bye.
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