Over the decades we have been on countless family vacations and enjoyed numerous family celebrations. We have been together with children, parents, grandparents, siblings, nieces and nephews, great nieces, grandchildren, but there was one family vacation we were yet to do. A vacation with just Brian’s siblings and their spouses. No one else to keep an eye on. Just the 6 of us together. There may be beer and wine involved.
Brian’s sister Lynne was instrumental in getting us all together. There are so many options out there, what would be the best way to see the world and spend quality time together? A river cruise! Again, there were way too many choices – so many countries, so many rivers, so many cruise companies. And so many dates to choose from. It really was quite overwhelming. Lynne saved us all from perseveration and found us a Viking Danube cruise in July 2025. Then all we had to do was choose our cabins, pay the deposit, and we were good to go.
Well, not so fast. First, we had to get there. Flights to Europe from the west coast at the height of summer are never a bargain. So naturally I looked to see what Queen Mary 2 was up to at the beginning of July. The stars had aligned. There was a crossing leaving New York on July 8th which would give us a couple of days in London and in Regensburg, before joining the river cruise. What’s more, this was less expensive than a business class airfare. Things got better. I realized that due to group pricing it actually cost less to join Mary on July 1st . Two weeks were cheaper than one! It didn’t take long for me to make our booking, and also to use Cunard Air for our flights home from Budapest. We were all set to go!
The Itinerary
July 1st Board Queen Mary 2 in New York
July 2nd Newport, RI
July 3rd At Sea
July 4th Boston, MA
July 5th At Sea
July 6th Halifax, NS
July 7th At Sea
July 8th New York
July 9th to July 14th At Sea
July 15th London
July 16th London
July 17th Fly to Munich
July 18th Regensburg
July 19th to July 26th Danube River cruise Regensburg to Budapest
July 26th Fly Home
Boston for the 4th of July, a crossing on Mary, time to meet up with family in London, a day exploring Regensburg, and then 7 days on the Danube with family. How totally perfect is that!
This sounds wonderful. I look forward to reading all about your travels once more
I am sure it will be fun. I am so ready to go to sea again 🙂
Cannot wait for another Voyage with you , well reading about from my recliner .
I saw Queen Mary 2 last Wednesday sailing out of Southampton ,what a beautiful sight .
I was in UK visiting family.
Have a wonderful trip.
Have fun..
Thank you, I am so excited to be back on Mary again! I wish Deirdre and Kim were with us 🙂
I’m waving to you and Brian from the upper East side in Manhattan
Wish I was with you, but I am packing for my QA adventure
Smooth sailing. Please keep us posted.
Good luck with your packing! We wish you were with us too, but I know you will have an amazing time on Queen Anne 🙂
Glad to see you heading out again.
We’re also headed to a river cruise – with Grand Circle – in August. Amsterdam to the Black Sea. After some time exploring Romania and Bulgaria, we’ll join Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady back to Miami. It will be a new adventure for us.
That sounds like an amazing river cruise – I would love to hear all about it!