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SS Antoinette - Castles Along the Rhine 2013


Buck1949
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Any one else planning this far in advance????

 

I know it is REAL early but I am signing up for the Basel Switzerland to Amsterdam "Castles Along the Rhine" River Cruise for September 15, 2013. One reason I am signing up at this time is due to the GREAT discount of $800 if I book by June 30th of 2012.

 

My wife and I intend to do some touring of Germany pre-river cruise, by arriving in Berlin (tour) then taking the train to Munich (tour) before also visiting other places like Regensburg and Nuremburg.

 

Any insight / suggestions etc. into this particular river cruise or any facet of travel in Germany would be much appreciated.

 

Later I intend to post a Roll Call on the appropriate board here on Cruise Critic.

Edited by Buck1949
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  • 2 weeks later...

No one posting here (probably way too early).

 

Wonder if anyone is taking advantage of the early booking/payment (by June 30th of THIS year) for future cruises in 2013???

 

Would also like to find anyone else that would be touring around Germany pre-cruise to chat with and exchange ideas/thoughts.

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We booked this cruise for June of 2013, so you're not the only one who likes to plan in advance! It will be the first river cruise we have taken. So far everything I have read, sounds very positive.

 

Kris

 

P.S. And yes, we did it to get the discount!!

Edited by quilter35
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Buck,

I just got off of this cruise (doing the reverse itinerary) yesterday and I loved it! Please let me know if you have any questions as I would be glad to answer them.

 

We booked this cruise for June of 2013, so you're not the only one who likes to plan in advance! It will be the first river cruise we have taken. So far everything I have read, sounds very positive.

 

Kris

 

P.S. And yes, we did it to get the discount!!

 

Suite Traveler....did you do any other tours/travels etc while in Germany?

 

Did you find that one side of the ship was better to have a room (while in port or to see the sites) than the other...(knowing that you were coming from Amsterdam to Basel)?

 

Kris.... do you have any other tours/travels planned in Germany. We considered the time period of June/July/August, but since we are really flexible in our availability we chose a bit later (Sept). I understand that August is the vacation time for those living in Germany and was not sure if this would make any difference in crowds etc..... we were a bit concerned as in the USA - Summer is typically vacation time....

 

Do either of you have an opinion as to the room categories? We are considering the Category 2.

 

I would love to hear any other thoughts etc.

 

Thanks for the reponses....

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Buck,

All rooms on the SS Antionette are lovely and for a river ship, large enough. We had a Junior Suite - Room 401 and I loved the location - so convenient to everything. The suite was roomy and had a shower twice the size of the showers in other staterooms and a double sink. Still and all, the regular staterooms were very beautiful just smaller. The beds are very comfortable, too! However my husband had to do some work while we were traveling and it turned out that 401 gets a decent internet signal and it was nice to have the extra space so he could do his work. The best internet signal is in the lounge, btw. As far as side of the ship - it doesn't matter, both sides are good and with the top deck close by you can get up there and see everything quickly. For the day where we spent half a day floating on the Rhine photographing castles, everyone was up on the top deck anyway. We did use the full balcony quite a lot and found it enjoyable. There is a second TV in that area for suites and Category 1, however, they were having some problems with the TV's on the balconies - but then, we never used the TV out there as there were 2 others in our suite! (Gee, why didn't they put one in the shower too? LOL!) The scenery on this trip was fantastic! I loved the castles and also going through the locks was great!

 

The Royal Suite was across the hall from us and the lady who was in there didn't know she had the best suite on the ship until I mentioned it to her! Turns out her husband booked it - very suave to do that and not mention it! I got to see the Royal Suite, too and it's very beautiful.

 

As to additional tours, we did ALL the tours - which was way too much! We ran ourselves ragged. Uniworld tours are great, btw! However, we really did wear ourselves out. I highly recommend the optional Black Forest and outdoor museum tour (probably my favorite of all the tours!) and of the two castle tours, I recommend the Tour of Heidleberg and Castle visit over the Visit to Marksburg Castle. The ONLY tour I heard complaints about was the Strasboug Canal Cruise - we didn't go - too exhausted, but those that went complained that they couldn't take photos from the enclosed canal boat. My second favorite tour was the Castle Vollrads wine tasting. I also liked that afternoon in Rudesheim especially and then the tour along the Alsation Wine Road - which I fell in love with and plan to go back for a land visit and wine tasting trip.

 

We started in Amsterdam - we stayed at Hotel Okura - I love this hotel and their 1 Michelin star Sushi restaurant Yamazato - which is so amazing! The food is gorgeous and delicious. The Hotel Okura is very nice with great bathrooms and comfortable beds and good sized rooms. They even have desks - important for my husband who is always working during his free time on vacation.

Edited by SuiteTraveler
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.

 

Kris

 

P.S. And yes, we did it to get the discount!!

 

Kris.... that is the other issue we are trying to get to..... paying the total almost 1 1/2 years in advance. This then means we will need to get travel insurance in case something comes up in this time period that we may need to cancel. Of course the travel insurance company wants their money in full also.. DARN !!

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There is another reason to book ahead - the boat sells out! When we were on River Beatrice two years ago, it was totally full and this year we are booked on the S.S. Antoinette in October and it is sold out. There are 6 or 8 of us who travel together so we have to book ahead to make certain we can all get on the boat! Plus we get the best prices! You will not regret this!

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We booked through AAA and got an additional discount by going through them. We always buy the travel insurance and have never had to use it, but my husband and I both have aging parents which is a concern. We plan on doing the 3 day extension at the beginning of the cruise in Amsterdam.

 

Kris

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We booked through AAA and got an additional discount by going through them. We always buy the travel insurance and have never had to use it, but my husband and I both have aging parents which is a concern. We plan on doing the 3 day extension at the beginning of the cruise in Amsterdam.

 

Kris

 

Kris - what category of cabin did you pick? I know that there are a LOT of different pricings based on what category and of course what kind of discounts the various travel planners/companies can do also. We actually are considering Category 2.... and coupled with the $800 buy early discount the travel company has quoted us an additional $669 dollars in their own discounts... saving us totally around $1500.

 

We looked your same company for this but they just could not get the price down enough when we chatted with them about 2 months ago.

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Bill,

My husband and I are on this cruise and we booked back in Feb-- so you are not alone in planning ahead! We are in a jr suite - we were on the Beatrice last Sept doing Passau to Budapest and had a jr suite and loved it -- we also spent 10 days before that in Lindau, Germany( great stop- fun biking around ) , Switzerland, and back to Munich. I know from the River Beatrice experience that there was only 2 of us on the Roll Call ever ... so I am not sure how many would be on this roll call even as we get closer to Sept 2013 !!! :(

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There were only 2 of us on the roll call for our Uniworld SS Antoinette cruise last week, too. Having experienced how great this cruise was, it is amazing to me that people "in the know" like cruise critic members are NOT sailing on Uniworld more frequently.

Edited by SuiteTraveler
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Maddiemom - so you and husband are doing the Sept 15th Basel to Amsterdam cruise???? that is great to hear. Hopefully we can keep in touch (notice I have an email line in my signature) in case this board goes quiet. Are you doing any pre or post cruise tours or travels around Germany?

 

I guess it will remain to be seen how many CC members chat about Uniworld and this cruise in particular huh?

 

Suite Traveler I have found it interesting the number of people that are doing cruises that have no idea that Cruise Critic even exists. I have chatted with at least 2 people recently about cruising and neither had any idea about CC. There are even Cruise Line pages on Facebook where I have chatted with people that did not know about CC. I have lived on these boards since I booked my Alaskan Cruise last August. I have learned a lot. Maybe River Crusing is a lot different but I still like to see what others are chatting about.

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Bill, we decided to go with a suite for various reasons. We got $800 discount from Uniworld and $450 discount from AAA which we didn't expect but were pleasantly surprised at receiving. Makes being a AAA member worthwhile! We have been assigned Room 406 and I'm guessing we will be very happy with it.

 

Kris

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Bill, we decided to go with a suite for various reasons. We got $800 discount from Uniworld and $450 discount from AAA which we didn't expect but were pleasantly surprised at receiving. Makes being a AAA member worthwhile! We have been assigned Room 406 and I'm guessing we will be very happy with it.

 

Kris

 

Kris, I don't know if you have checked out Uniworld's website, but there are pics of all the suites on the Antoinette there. I was just down the all a bit when I sailed on the Antoinette last November...not a suite, but Category 1 cabin and it was lovely. I am sure you will have a wonderful cruise!

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Bill, we decided to go with a suite for various reasons. We got $800 discount from Uniworld and $450 discount from AAA which we didn't expect but were pleasantly surprised at receiving. Makes being a AAA member worthwhile! We have been assigned Room 406 and I'm guessing we will be very happy with it.

 

Kris

 

Kris,

406 would have been my first choice, but it was not available, so we had 401 which was absolutely great! However, one thing is interesting, the second bedside lamp shown in the photo was missing in 401! I wonder what happened to it?

 

Anyway, 401 was fantastic and you are going to love the location of 406 - so convenient! Plus the cabin has plenty of space. The chairs on are on wheels, btw, so at night I would put the chairs against the desk area so we didn't trip on them at night. Another tip is if it is a sunny day, after the cabin is made up (usually before you leave for the day) close the drapes so that the cabin stays cooler. We did have on unseasonably hot day where our cabin got really hot while we were out and it took a long time for the AC to catch up - even with the fan on high. It made showering somewhat difficult as we couldn't get dried off all that well due to the heat and humidity. Every morning the butlers will bring fruit and cookies and every afternoon they will bring you some snacks. You will be very spoiled!

Edited by SuiteTraveler
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Bill, we decided to go with a suite for various reasons. We got $800 discount from Uniworld and $450 discount from AAA which we didn't expect but were pleasantly surprised at receiving. Makes being a AAA member worthwhile! We have been assigned Room 406 and I'm guessing we will be very happy with it.

 

Kris

 

That sounds great...... I am thinking we will most likely go with a Category 2 stateroom..... with the French Balcony.... $$$ are a bit of consideration...as we are planning on spending approximately 15 additional days touring Germany before the cruise.

 

I am 99% positive that this River Cruise is a go.... we just have not actually signed up yet. I have been talking regularly with our cruise consultant...and her quotes have been the best we have received. (but am thinking about using another Travel Insurance Company than what they utilize) To top all this off.... and the reason for our holding off.... we have just signed a contract to have a new home built, which means ZILLIONS of pages of paperwork..:eek:..putting our current home on the market, then June 1st we are flying to Dallas Tx, for our granddaughters High School graduation.

 

I am pretty sure we will have a couple of weeks after our Texas trip to actually sit back..... have a cocktail.....re-read all of the cruise possibilities and book this cruise. ;)

 

Busy Busy Busy.

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Kris,

406 would have been my first choice, but it was not available, so we had 401 which was absolutely great! However, one thing is interesting, the second bedside lamp shown in the photo was missing in 401! I wonder what happened to it?

 

Anyway, 401 was fantastic and you are going to love the location of 406 - so convenient! Plus the cabin has plenty of space. The chairs on are on wheels, btw, so at night I would put the chairs against the desk area so we didn't trip on them at night. Another tip is if it is a sunny day, after the cabin is made up (usually before you leave for the day) close the drapes so that the cabin stays cooler. We did have on unseasonably hot day where our cabin got really hot while we were out and it took a long time for the AC to catch up - even with the fan on high. It made showering somewhat difficult as we couldn't get dried off all that well due to the heat and humidity. Every morning the butlers will bring fruit and cookies and every afternoon they will bring you some snacks. You will be very spoiled!

 

Thank you for all this information. I have looked at the pictures on the Uniworld site, and even though it's a year away, I am very excited about this trip. We have been on several large cruise ships, but this will be our first river cruise. I have a feeling we may never go back to the larger ships after doing the river cruise. Everything about it sounds like the type of vacation we like. We don't care about the casinos, the broadway type shows, the formal nights, etc. We do enjoy good food, meeting people from all walks of life, and visiting places we never thought we'd see in our life time. SuiteTraveler, thank you again for all the wonderful information you have provided!! Maybe someday our paths will cross :)

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Maddiemom - so you and husband are doing the Sept 15th Basel to Amsterdam cruise???? that is great to hear. Hopefully we can keep in touch (notice I have an email line in my signature) in case this board goes quiet. Are you doing any pre or post cruise tours or travels around Germany?

 

I guess it will remain to be seen how many CC members chat about Uniworld and this cruise in particular huh?

 

 

Bill,

Yes we are on this exact cruise ! - I must admit I was surprised to see your original post since I was expecting no one specifically to meet through this for that particular cruise. Last year on the Beatrice since there wasnt a meet and greet for our two groups we fortunately ran into each other the first morning since we asked to sit at their table for breakfast -- a coincidence since there are 120- 140 people on board!!

 

We are planning on spending time in France before hand and then catching the train to Basel -- sort of depends on what we get since my husband likes to use our miles for business / first class airfare over and back and then we are at the mercy of what days we can get over and back -- we have been in Amsterdam a few times before ... once without luggage for 3 days before going to Africa but that is a story for another time -- so we wouldnt be staying over there ( unless we cant get a free flight home for a few days icon7.gif)

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When considering your Germany cities to visit, please consider the town of Marburg. It is about an hour northeast of Frankfurt. We stayed at the Welcome Marburg Hotel. It is one of the few German towns that wasn't destroyed during the war and it is just beautiful and historical.

Clare

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When considering your Germany cities to visit, please consider the town of Marburg. It is about an hour northeast of Frankfurt. We stayed at the Welcome Marburg Hotel. It is one of the few German towns that wasn't destroyed during the war and it is just beautiful and historical.

Clare

 

 

Thanks for the suggestion..... we will put it with the rest of our (what to do while in Germany file) before the River Cruise. That part of our trip is still way up in the air.

 

Thanks again.

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