We just got back from a river cruise on AMA Amalyra "Europe Heartland" Cruise where the 1st half is very similar to PARIS. I will write up a more detailed review for the Reviews section but wanted to give some specific suggestions here for people on PARIS.
1. Transfer in from CDG - Cab/Taxi is probably the easiest (with bags). Cost isn't really anymore than JimB's shuttle and you don't have to pre-reserve/pre-pay. If you're lucky enough to get a larger cab (and don't have a lot of luggage), 3-4 can fit into one of the larger cabs and the cost to the hotel with tip should be no more than 50 Euros.
2. Paris Hotel - Now this is going to be a bit controversial and make more work for Ngaire if people take the suggestion. The Crowne Plaza Republique is not in a really good area without any sites of interest nearby. The effective "cost" that AMA is charging for a room (assuming double occupancy) is $400 a night. With that charge, you also get a 1/2 day tour of Paris (I assume that most of you have been to Paris and the 1/2 day overview is of limited value anyways) and the transfer to Trier (which they would charge $75 per person otherwise). My suggestion would be for people to take the credit from AMA for deleting the hotel in Paris and booking Denise's Intercontinental Friends rate at the Paris-LeGrand Intercontinental which for those dates range from 187.50 Euro for a "Classic Room" to 216.75 Euro for an "Executive Room" tax-inclusive. This is a much better hotel in a much better location and saving each couple some money as well (savings of $100 per night less $150 (per couple for the transfer) - so net of $150). Just take a cab over to the Crowne Plaza the morning of the transfer (cost should be about 10 Euro which we paid from the Park Hyatt which is within 2 blocks of the Intercontinental).
3. Electrical Plug on the ship - We were on Amalyra (but assume that its really the same as Amacello). None of the electrical plugs in the cabin (and in the hotel in Paris) is compatible with the standard US plugs. If you have stuff that needs to be plugged-in / recharged, you'll need to get an International Plug adapter (not converter so if the "stuff" is 110/120 V only you'll need a converter also). I would recommend Kensington 33117 (some of the really cheap ones don't work). This is usually available on Ebay for $10-20 (for example click here ). If you don't have an adapter, you probably won't be able to charge / plug-in any of your electrical stuff.
4. Amalyra now has Wi-Fi throughout the ship (don't know about Amacello) on a complimentary basis. You can access the internet without a laptop/netbook via the monitor with keyboard in the cabins. However, the internet connection is painfully slow (probably slower than old dial-up) and is often not funcitoning due to them having to lower the "satellite antenna". Related to internet access is the satellite phone which is charged for both outgoing and incoming calls at 1 Euro per minute (quite reasonable) but we weren't able to get it to work at anytime during the trip.
Please feel free to post any specific questions, and I'll attempt to answer them.
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