AnhaltER1960

As an alternative to trains, Lufthansa are running a shuttle bus from Frankfurt to Strasbourg. No hassle with changing tracks, it goes nonstop between the airport and Strasbourg downtown. two and a half hours travelling time are competetive with trains. Look here: https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/lufthansa-express-bus

They run only a few times a day, so you have to look, if the times fit in your timetable. Look at Lufthansa timetable, dep FRA, arr. XER for connections.

15 hours ago, drsel said:

Thanks, is this easily possible between 9.00 to 13.00 (disembarking time to embarkation time, same day)

A) Cruise Center 3"  Steinwerder at Hamburg to Ostuferhafen Terminal's Berth 1 at Kiel

1) Taxi from Cruise Center 3" in the industrial harbor area of Steinwerder at Hamburg to Hamburg Hbf,

2) Regional train from Hamburg Hbf to Kiel Hbf, (buy on the spot tickets?)

3) Taxi from Kiel Hbf to Ostuferhafen Terminal's Berth 1 at Kiel

 

B) Ostuferhafen Terminal's Berth 1 at Kiel to  Warnemunde cruise terminal

1) Taxi from Ostuferhafen Terminal's Berth 1 at Kiel to Kiel HBf

2) Regional train from Kiel Hbf to Hamburg Hbf to Rostock Hbf

3) Taxi from Rostock Hbf to Warnemunde cruise terminal?

a) Hamburg - Kiel

You did not mention the weekday, esp in Hamburg there might be issues with traffic on working days. Generally I would calculate Taxi Steinwerder Hamburg Hbf at 30 min. Regional trains from Hamburg to Kiel run every half hour and need 1.15 hrs, so calculate 2 hrs total. There are some long-distance trains,too, but they are only 10 min quicker and do not run often - just take the next train you can catch. Taxi from Kiel Hbf to Ostuferhafen 30 mins, making it a total of 3 hrs... just a fit, if the ship is on time and you are off the ship quickly.

Recommendations: Prebook taxi. Consider changing at Hamburg Dammtor (not Hbf). All trains leaving Hamburg Hbf for Kiel call at Dammtor too. Does not save time, a bit longer taxi, bit less time on the train. But saves nerves, as Dammtor is a much smaller station and shorter walk from street to platform. Consider Taxi for the full distance. With prebooking roundabout 150 Euro.

b) Kiel - Warnemünde

Taxi Ostuferhafen to Kiel Hbf 30 min. Train to Warnemünde minimum 3,5  hrs, depending on connection, some connections take 4 hrs+. No need to change into taxi at Rostock Hbf, take the train to Warnemünde, as the cruise terminal there is in walking distance from the station. But still, that looks  too tight, if youve got only 4 hrs. Even car/taxi will take 4+ hrs, as there is only partly motorway.

On 6/29/2022 at 8:00 AM, retep55555 said:

We are happy for rain as it’s been so hot! We board our cruise today and we’re told yesterday enough water for the first 3 days so fingers crossed for after that. Thanks for your report.  I think the boat needs a minimum of 75 for passage.

@retep55555  Are you cruising on the Beyla which sails into Wittenberg tomorrow/Sunday ? Must have been plenty of rain in Bohemia recently, from the water amount, which runs down the Elbe right now...

The Viking ships on the Elbe Astrild and Beyla have a draft of roundabout 85 cm (as well as the Elbe Princesse of CroisiEurope). The readings of the water level do NOT give the depth of the navigation channel; they are just a reading of the water level against a fixed scale, which makes the interpretation a bit difficult. But for now youre fine, as are any cruises of Viking before the summer break.

On 6/27/2022 at 11:38 PM, retep55555 said:

Let’s hope so… we had a storm tonight in Prague.

Storm does not fill a river - rain does :-). But although you might not like the weather in Prague right now, that is exactly the region, which needs rain to fill the Elbe for your cruise. And from the data I see, the Elbe is looking much better than last week. So, while not being a Viking captain, I dare the forecast that sailings should be possible next week.

Now it has been too hot and dry in the Elbe water system, the rainfalls last weekend sent only a shorttimed wave downriver. Viking have switched into dry-cruise mode and are not sailing any longer. Passengers are bussed instead between the ships.

Weather forecasts in Germany predict some real summer in the next days with no rain and temperatures well in the nineties (maybe even hitting 100+ Fahrenheit), ship captains have a sceptical look on the water levels of the Elbe. They have been on the low side recently, though still sufficient for sailing, as the graph @notamermaidrecently posted shows. The general downward trend continued, but some rainfall in the Czech republic brings some relief with a stabilizing wave. As Viking will pause their Elbe sailing from early July until September, they might just be fine until then. In the last years, Dresden level below 75 cm was an indication for trouble.

PEGELONLINE1506.html

4 hours ago, notamermaid said:

I have just read that the ferry on Lake Constance for example does not accept the ticket. But while the ticket is restricted to transport in Germany, you can on one specific train line go from Bavaria to Salzburg, i.e. cross into Austria, says Deutsche Welle. That could be worth checking if you are in the area on a pre or post cruise trip.

 

It also mentions crossing the border into Belgium from Aachen. Perhaps Luxembourg? Will check that at some point. As I could also go from the Rhine valley up the Moselle and beyond Trier.

 

notamermaid

 

Yes, it is valid on trains from Bavaria (Freilassing) into Salzburg Hbf (Central Station). Also Switzerland to Basel Bad. Bf (not Basel SBB) and Schaffhausen.

The ticket is not valid in Belgium and also not in Luxemburg. But all public transport in Luxemburg is free anyway, you dont need a ticket there. So just stay on the train into Luxemburg....

4 hours ago, vada_9 said:

Well these are the routes I am hoping to use the ticket on. (As a dumb international tourist) - Munich to Dachau (S bahn ?). Then Rothenberg on d' Tauber to Berchesgarten - (looks like all Regional trains). Then Berchesgarten to Garmisch Partenkirchen. Then Garmisch to Munich airport.

You are fine on all routes (if you use RE/RB orS-Bahn trains, of course). No confusion, as long-distance trains cannot be used anyway.

On 5/30/2022 at 8:01 AM, steamboats said:

2. Not all regional trains (RE) are covered by the ticket! Only those operated by DB Regio but not those operated by DB Fernverkehr.

99.8 % of all RE trains in the timetables are operated by DB Region and can be used with the 9-Euro-ticket. This confusion has bees grossly exaggerated in the media. It applies only to a few trains on a few lines (https://www.bahn.de/service/individuelle-reise/bahn_und_fahrrad/nahverkehrsfreigabe):.

* Bremen to Norddeich Mole via Emden

* Potsdam - Berlin - Cottbus

* Berlin - Prenzlau as part of the Stralsund line

* Berlin - Elsterwerda on the Dresden line

* Dresden - Chemnitz

* Iserlohn - Dillenburg

* Rostock - Stralsund

and:

* Stuttgart - Konstanz- 9-Euro ticket valid

* Erfurt - Gera - 9-Euro ticket valid

When on the platform, it is quite simple, as a rule of thumb: Long distance trains are white with a horizontal red or green stripe (or green, the private Flixtrain). They are not to be used with 9-Euro-Ticket. Regional trains of DB Regio are red or have different colours, if operated by private operators.

Yes, the ticket was a political action and "knitted with hot needles" as we say here, and: German railway tariff starts, where logics ends.

Background is, because German railways run, as notamermaid had pointed out, long-distance trains and regional trains. Long-distance trains (ICE, EC and IC) are a profit center with their own tariff and are not subsidised. Regional trains (IRE, RE, RB and S) are subsidised and therefore have a different tariff and access condition for special groups like school children or handicapped people.  Only on a few lines, by arrangement with the local authorities, long-distance trains can be used with regional tickets and are therefore labelled both as RE and IC in the timetables.

Hope that helps to clarify.

1 hour ago, loriva said:

 

Is there a name for this ticket?  Is it just the normal one-month pass but with a 9-Euro price?  Trying to figure out how to recognize it to select when purchasing at a ticket machine.  Or is downloading the DB app and purchasing it that way better?

Deutsche Bahn vending machines call it "9-Euro-Ticket" and have it on the front page, one click, then choose the month and here you are. Other transport companies or local tariff cooperatives, and there is a big variety of them across Germany, may handle it differently. But in general the name "9-Euro-Ticket" is the standard term.

6 minutes ago, NanciEA said:

How do you purchase the ticket? In advance online, or on the ground when you arrive? We fly to Munich in less than two weeks. We will be there a few days before a Rhine rive cruise which also includes several stops in Germany.

Anywhere, where you buy tickets: Online, smartphone, ticket machines, manned stations, bus drivers..... No need to buy early in advance, the tickets dont sell out. So the ticket machine at the airport station after arrival is fine.

They have really done it: The Nine-Euro-Ticket. First aimed as a cost-relief for commuters, it has now become a special offer for everyone. During three months (June, July, August) you pay nine Euro for ALL local public transport throughout Germany for one calendar month. Included are buses, trams, tube, regional trains anywhere in the country.

So if you want to travel by train from Munich airport to the Danube cruise at Passau or crisscross the city during your Berlin pre- or post-cruise-stay or want to do some evening-diy along the Rhine, it wont cost you more than 9 Euro.

Not included are long-distance-trains (ICE, EC, IC of Deutsche Bahn or the private Flixtrain). Also be careful, when crossing international borders like in Basel (for example, the ticket is valid on trains from Germany into Basel Bad.Bf, but not into Basel SBB; also not valid on the tram from Kehl into Strasburg). But otherwise, it really is a special offer.

Will trains be full then ? Good question, it is a big field experiment and noone really knows the outcome yet. Some trains certainly will be, others wont. 

Yes they do, they call it "leisurely walking tours". Just a matter of demand - they wont do that just for one or two ppl. The differences from the standard tours depend on the destination, might be less distance to walk by skipping sights or more time on the bus.

57 minutes ago, FlipperGal said:

So we're wondering: if we leave the ship later, can we get ourselves by foot or cab to Cologne cathedral, the Gutenberg museum, Strasbourg, etc. and back on our own?

Yes, you can. Just make sure you have the time, when you have to be back to the ship before it continues (although unlike ocean cruises missing a river boat is usually not much of an affair - no more than an one hour trainride.

In Cologne (cathedral) and Mainz (Gutenberg-Museum) the ship will usually dock right in the city center and it will only be a  short walk to your destinations. Strasburg is not located on the Rhine and the ship will berth in a suburb, Kehl, which is on the German side of the river. But there is a tramway, which brings you directly into downtown Strasburg.

Ask if the company are offering shuttle-buses back to the ship and where and when in town they leave. Make sure you have got an "address" of the ship location to show a cab driver, just in case. Have Euros in cash, German cab drivers are usually not accepting plastic money.

Another report, this time in German. Reads, like the injuries are not too heavy.

https://www.cruisetricks.de/viking-aegir-rammt-brueckenpfeiler-elf-verletzte/

Hope all injured will get well soon.

18 hours ago, tdl60 said:

We are also taking our first Viking river cruise on April 5.  We took our first Viking Ocean cruise to the Western Med last October.  I really wanted to do the optional excursion to Marksburg Castle but it shows as sold out.  I wonder if we could do it on our own?   Does anyone have any info on this?

Of course you can visit Marksburg diy - you just have to get there. There are castle tours every hour between 1100 and 1600 hrs in German. They dont write on their website (www.marksburg.de) about English speaking tours, but I guess they do offer them in the high season (on the website theyre looking for a guide with command of the English language right now).

To get there, the closest town is Koblenz, you can take a train or bus from there to Braubach, which is the village at the foot of Marksburg. Then either walk uphill or take some tourist-"train" for a couple of Euros. You just have to find out, how long the ship will stay in Koblenz, and at what time of day - an overnight wont help you a lot. They sometimes just drop off passengers at some port for an excursion and the ship will be moving, while the excursion is under way.

Yes. Masks on. See Vikings Health and Safety Programme https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/my-trip/health-and-safety/health-and-safety-program.html

@notamermaid ,yes you read correctly, Viking have started the 22 season on the Elbe. Limited success though, many cancellations because of the war zone further east.

If I remember correctly, Viking used the Regent Hotel on Gendarmenmarkt Square for last years' Christmas along the Elbe cruises.

As an alternative to the bus there are ferries crossing the Kiel Förde to Laboe. Nearest ferry stop from the cruise terminal (assuming you will be berthed there) is "Seegarten" within short walking distance. Ferries depart once an hour and take approximately one hour to Laboe. In Laboe it is a 15 min walk from the ferry to the marine memorial and the U-boat (main sights). The walking is along the beach promenade, which has got a laid-back atmosphere with shops, cafes, restaurants. Ferry timetable here (German): https://www.sfk-kiel.de/F1_Frhjahr2022_DRUCK.pdf

Bus is also possible, but will probably require changing at Kiel central staion, which is the bus hub, too, so it will in the end not much quicker, maybe more departures though.

19 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

 

Maybe someday a Baltic cruise will be possible again.  Being a fan of NOT broiling in the heat/sun, that would appeal to me.

Baltic cruises will take place. They just will not be calling at St. Petersburg. Yesterday there was news in Germany that Aida, TUI, MSC, NCL and some more German tour operators will skip StP. Others are likely to follow.

Article in German: https://www.spiegel.de/reise/ukraine-krieg-abgesagte-russland-reisen-und-kreuzfahrten-nach-sankt-petersburg-a-07bed8af-0d98-48a6-abd9-64cc653c6c0a

New year, new luck. Viking have changed their itinerary in 2022 again and offer "Elegant Elbe" cruises (which are real cruises between Wittenberg and Decin) and "Christmas along the Elbe" later in the year. Their programme "Cities on the Elbe", which is a bus trip with some overnights on the ship is not on offer in 2022. To avoid the low-water season, Viking does not cruise the Elbe between beginning of July and mid-September at all. Let us see, if they are correct - in 2020 and 21 there was not much of a low-water season at all. Ships did not sail for well known different reasons.

On 12/9/2021 at 5:58 PM, sbjornda said:

even if you don't join the scheduled land excursion you still need to be back on board before she sails, though of course boarding takes next to no time at all compared to an ocean cruise ship). 

 

 

You are absolutely correct with everything you wrote. Just to add one more aspect: Even if you miss sailing of your river cruise ship, the next port of call usually will be no more than a, say, two hours train ride away, plus maybe some taxi, no more than a 50$-affair. No comparison with the hassle of getting a flight to the next island/country/continent with all your travel documents in the cabin of the ocean cruiser.

8 hours ago, cruisinlawn said:

We have a small amount of flexibility so any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks for any input. Enjoy.

Absolutely doable, your plan. Distances in Switzerland are short and train connections are excellent, as others have pointed out already. So it is basically up to your interests, if you want to have more nature (=Alps) or more culture:  Basel does have splendid museums. Fondation Beyeler with its collection of modern art and changing exibitions in the suburb of Riehen (easy tramride from Basel city centre) alone is worth half a day.

Dont overdo your pre-cruise programme - the eastbound jetlag (America to Europe) is much worse than the westbound jetlag. You will be tired.

The deviation of Vikings Christmas markets cruises downriver to Dessau and Magdeburg has made it now into the local press in Dessau. Article (in Gerrman) here: https://www.mz.de/lokal/dessau-rosslau/warum-eine-gruppe-amerikaner-mit-einem-flusskreuzfahrtschiff-in-dessau-gestrandet-ist-3284867