Elbe River

Are there any cruise companies other Viking that cruise the Elbe? From what I can find, Viking ships on that particular river are not very modern (no French balconies).

B. Cole

The German Nicko Tours is running the former Deilmann ships Katharina von Bora and Frederick Chopin on the Elbe river.

Keep in mind that you need smaller ships on the Elbe river.

steamboats

The Elbe is shallow and requires a flatter bottom boat then most other rivers in Europe. The Viking ships have two levels and were refurbished a few years ago. Their stateroom have french balconies. This is a wonderful part of Germany to explore.

Both ships sailing the Elbe have eight french balcony staterooms, of 200 sq. ft.

Cheers;

We were aboard Viking's Clara Schumann several years ago on the Elegant Elbe trip, and it was the finest cruise I've ever been on. This is a very port-intensive endeavor, and the aged condition of the Clara Schumann matched the history and restoration we were experiencing along the Elbe. But now she has been refurbished just like most of Eastern Germany particularly Dresden which was the highlight of the trip!

Jester - agree with you 100%. This was our first of six and the best IMO. Dresden was fantastic and it's history compelling. Also enjoyed the Bastei and cruising through Saxon Switzerland. We were there in Sept 08 and the small eastern towns and lack of tourists made it our favorite trip - so far. It was a bit longer back then with 2 nights in Berlin and Prague. This is the one trip I would return too.

AH yes, the best Viking trip!!!!!!even before the ship was redone. GCT also does this itinerary. That is one itinerary I would do again. To me, just because a french balcony was not available would not stop me from taking the trip. We met some fascinating people sitting on the sun deck and in the lounge. And I am a person who loves balconies on ocean cruises. Pat

Does Tauck not have a cruise on the Elbe?

Thanks for all the comments. Will do further checking about the Shumann, Tauck and GCT. It is definitely on our bucket list and hopefully will be able to check it off in 2013!

B. Cole

Thanks for all the comments. Will do further checking about the Shumann, Tauck and GCT. It is definitely on our bucket list and hopefully will be able to check it off in 2013!

B. Cole

We will be going on the GCT Elbe trip on May 28th. I will be able to answer question after I return. We are doing the Hamburg pre-trip, too.

That would be great and very helpful!

B. Cole

GCT is using the River Allegro on the Elbe river. This ship is the former Dresden by defunct Deilmann River Cruises. The ship doesn´t have french balconies. It´s only two cabin decks with the lower deck having large windows slightly above the water line.

I´ve been on the MS Dresden in 2007 from Dresden to Hamburg which was an absolutely great cruise.

steamboats

I believe that Vantage also offers a river cruise on the Elbe.

Are there any cruise companies other Viking that cruise the Elbe? From what I can find, Viking ships on that particular river are not very modern (no French balconies).

B. Cole

If you want to combine cruising with river cruising, the Prinsendam does cruise the Elbe river (yes, she's a cruise ship, but small and with a special build to permit her to go down rivers):D But we're only cruising the Elbe River for one day and the Kiel Canal for nearly a day - the rest is regular cruise stuff:)

This looks like the Holland America Prinsendam sailing on the Elbe that kazu referred to:

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=E&voyageCode=P229

This looks like the Holland America Prinsendam sailing on the Elbe that kazu referred to:

 

http://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacation/CruiseDetails.action?destCode=E&voyageCode=P229

Yes it is - only we are going next year in 2013:D The Prinsendam is a horse of a different colour in the fleet. She was originally a Viking Sun ship.:) She is known for doing 'different' itineraries and going where cruise ships can't go:D

Sorry, but that´s not a river cruise. Hamburg is a regular port for cruise and freight ships. Shortly above Hamburg (at Geesthacht) there´s a big dam and lock which is preventing the salt water to go more upriver. So nearly every cruise ship can go up to Hamburg (as the QM2 is doing pretty often). The Kiel Canal (or what we call Nord-Ostsee-Kanal) is starting farther downriver of the Elbe river and close to the North Sea at Brunsbüttel.

steamboats

We are traveling on the Elbe with Grand Circle. Our trip begins on May 16th with a couple of days in Hamburg. GCT began their Elbe cruises last year so hopefully everything that could go wrong with a new venture has been resolved. We have taken Rhine and Danube cruises with GCT and had a wonderful time on both. The Elbe itinerary is really interesting and we look forward to our trip next month.

We are traveling on the Elbe with Grand Circle. Our trip begins on May 16th with a couple of days in Hamburg. GCT began their Elbe cruises last year so hopefully everything that could go wrong with a new venture has been resolved. We have taken Rhine and Danube cruises with GCT and had a wonderful time on both. The Elbe itinerary is really interesting and we look forward to our trip next month.

There have been some changes to the itinerary since last year. There are some things that have been deleted and some things that were fee paid that are now free. I received a couple updates from GC about the changes.

There is also ms FLORENTINA that goes on Elba and Vltava for 7 nights cruise from Prague to Prague. It goes only in Czech, but guarantee, as ships from Germany very often can not come to Czech because of not enough water.

We have done this cruise last year and will do it again this year when everything in Czech is in flower season.

The ship is quite simple, but itinerary is very nice.

And it is docked in the heard of Prague.

What languages are spoken on the MS Florentina?

I would find it a bit of a challenge if English isn't at least one of the main languages spoken on board...

Fran

We just got back from Florida and in the mail was a nice, big travel package from Grand Circle..........booklet, name tags and luggage tags. We have moved up to Inner Circle status on GCT, so we have gold badges :D.

There are only 12 people on the pre-trip, so that should be a nice, small group. It always seems so much more real when the documents are in hand.

We have not done the Grand Circle cruise on the Elbe, but we have done 6 others with them. Here is a link to the Allegro web page. We have been very happen with them and would like to take this cruise in the future.

We leave next Wednesday, May 16th, for an Elbe River cruise with GCT. I will write a brief review on my return. We have been to Dresden and Prague previously and found both to be lovely cities with a lot to see. The Frauenkirche, rebuilt from WWII ruins in Dresden, is especially spectacular.

We leave next Wednesday, May 16th, for an Elbe River cruise with GCT. I will write a brief review on my return. We have been to Dresden and Prague previously and found both to be lovely cities with a lot to see. The Frauenkirche, rebuilt from WWII ruins in Dresden, is especially spectacular.

Have a wonderful time. We have 88 people on our cruise; one room left.