Locks on the Rhine

Hi

I'm thinking about a Rhine cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. Are there a lot of locks on the river? The reason I ask is that we did a Budapest to Prague cruise on the Danube earlier this year and had a lot of trouble sleeping because of all the locks we went through at night. Also, although the locks were interesting at first, they got to be a bit boring:)

Thanks

Hi,

We took the Tauck Rhine/Moselle River Cruise in July and I know there were many locks. I NEVER heard us go through them at night and I'm a very light sleeper. We were on a brand new ship and on the middle deck. The people on the top deck in the Suites complained a little about the sounds above them as we were coming into a port and the deck hands were tieing up the ship to the dock.

We loved seeing all the castles on this river cruise.

We also enjoyed our two days in Basel BEFORE the cruise. If you Google Basel, there are some people who have posted photos of the town. We used their electric buses to go around the town. The hotels give out free passes to their guests. One of the department stores had a food court in the basement which was wonderful. We ate lunch with the people there -- it sure was better than the $25.00 we paid for a pizza the first night we were there. Switzerland is very expensive.

Sheila

As memory serves me, on the Rhine there are only a couple near Amsterdam. From Budapest to Amsterdam there were 67!

Sorry, I didn't keep track of the locks from Basel to Amsterdam, but we went through over 20 or so. I'll have to let the people who do keep track of the locks answer that question.

Sheila

As memory serves me, on the Rhine there are only a couple near Amsterdam. From Budapest to Amsterdam there were 67!

WOW, we're doing this cruise next November, can't wait! That is a lot of locks.

WOW, we're doing this cruise next November, can't wait! That is a lot of locks.

The story and pictures of our cruises are on on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

We cruised Budapest-Passau in 2007, and Budapest- Amsterdam in 2010.

Hi

 

I'm thinking about a Rhine cruise from Basel to Amsterdam. Are there a lot of locks on the river? The reason I ask is that we did a Budapest to Prague cruise on the Danube earlier this year and had a lot of trouble sleeping because of all the locks we went through at night. Also, although the locks were interesting at first, they got to be a bit boring:)

 

Thanks

You must be a very light sleeper!! We just got back a few weeks ago from the Prague to Budapest Christmas market cruise. We remarked that we never felt the boat move at night at all. When we were going through the locks during the day, unless I was actually watching them go through, I wouldn't have felt it then at all.

Karen

We just returned from Amsterdam to Basel yesterday ... on the Viking Sun.

Locks are not a problem ... there are no unusual or loud sounds day or night.

There are approximately 10 locks, 8 of them very close to the Basel end of the voyage.

Have fun.

Thanks everyone. I was getting very confused with some of the replies, but now I realize some of the posters were talking about going all the way from Amsterdam to Budapest.

On our Budapest to Prague trip last year, there were two nights when we really went "bump in the night" in a lock. Also, we like to sleep with the curtains open slightly, so there was always light coming through when navigating the locks. You would think we would have learned to keep the curtains closed!

We have taken 2 cruises,Budapest to Amsterdam and Southern France with Avalon and there are many locks on each itinerary.I have never had trouble sleeping and after the first night I never woke up at all. We always get a cabin on the middle or top deck right in the middle of the ship. Maybe it was the location of your cabin that made it hard to sleep. I think if you are close to the front OR close to the back the thrusters might wake you.Just choose a cabin in the middle of the boat and on the top 2 decks and you should be fine.You could also wear some ear plugs if you still have problems.:D

We cruised from Amsterdam to Basel with Uniworld this past September. There were about 30 locks. The noise of them at night woke me only a couple of times, and I always slept with my curtains totally open...usually not too much noise, but there definitely was some.

PS LOVED the trip and would go again with Uniworld tomorrow!

Departing Amsterdam on River IJ 2 miles

On the Amsterdam - Rhine 2 locks 45 miles

On the Wahl/Rhine to Mainz NO locks 258 miles

On the Mosel NO locks 0.5 mile

On the Main River 34 locks 240 miles

On the Main - Danube Canal 16 locks 106 miles

On the Danube 15 locks 360 miles

Total locks Amsterdam to Budapest or v.v. 67 . total miles 1012.

Forget about the locks after the first few, you don't notice or feel them. But there are three successive locks at the Peak of the European Divide (on the Main - Danube Canal) which are each 82 feet deep - so like being in a Lift well when one sails in . The Main - Danube Canal is an engineering marvel . A dream of centuries only completed in the 1990's allowing water trade from the Atlantic Ocean right through to the Black Sea .

Relax, locks are part of the fun . If sleeping is a problem take a Mogadon !!!!

Yes there are many locks on the Rhine & Mosel rivers. If you find locks annoying & boring I suggest you not river cruise.

We were on the River Queen from Amsterdam to Basel and up the Mosel as well. They gave us a list of the locks and there were 33. There was only one I felt in the night and I think the captain was 'in training' or something. Most of them were at night because they are a little boring after the first couple. The first one I think everyone was outside to see! I certainly didn't have any trouble sleeping except for that one time.

We just did the Frankfurt to Basel Christmas Market cruise last month. There are a lot of locks.