Izengolf

I read that advice too late I'm afraid. They had a super sale on and we jumped without looking 😊 Thank you, that is really interesting about Karlsruhe. The only excursion at that stop is a day trip to Baden-Baden so I must get on reading Dostoyevsky's The Gambler before visiting!

I have broken 2 of your points of advice with my itinerary by going through the Rhine Gorge twice as we go from Frankfurt to the Moselle and back on a 135m ship. The anticipation is part of the adventure!

I grew up in a summer tourist town and can understand their concern. We knew that the town could not survive without them but these places are different. Perhaps the docking fees or length of free time that cruise lines should give passengers to independently tour the towns should be a condition to dock there? Last fall we had quite a bit of free time in Passau and Regensburg and plenty of people from the ship sought out local restaurants, pubs and came back with high end souvenirs. Tour guides were well paid and tipped, as well as entry fees for historical places we had guided tours. Each town will need to perform a cost benefit analysis and decide for themselves if a river cruise ship does not provide the same benefit as land based visitors.

I'm curious to know the company you are going with. With Uniworld this year, Luxembourg is one of the excursion choices in Trier.

Excellent tips for our stops! It is easier for me to choose because I love anything Roman, very old or with wine and, thanks to celiac disease, avoid excursions with beer, local treats or in home cooking. A Budapest cafe did make me a baked apple that was surely better than the strudel others had - but the stop in Vienna sadly had nothing available while the others ate strudel, Sacher-Torte and another decadent cake. Lesson learned, ask the Cruise Director ahead of time AND mark it on the excursion selection sheet!

Thank you notamermaid, your scope and depth of knowledge are incredible!

Notamermaid, I thought you might be the answer to my Moselle question and here you are with it before I even ask! From this thread I gather that low water is rarely a problem but high water can be due to low bridges. These problems aside, is the Moselle usually good for sailing with the sundeck available for use to admire the scenery and enjoy the weather? I had assumed the sundeck may be closed when we board in Frankfurt but opened the next morning for the day spent cruising to Cochem and the rest of the trip. Would this be correct? The more I read about the Moselle and the Rhine Gorge the more I can't wait to see them! https://www.uniworld.com/ca/river-cruise/central-europe/rhine/magnificent-moselle-and-rhine/2024-frankfurt-to-frankfurt

I agree, we have watched the first 2 episodes and it is a terrific series. Thank you for the link notamermaid!

Notamermaid, the itinerary is actually called the Magnificent Moselle AND Rhine, I was too excited when making my post. Last year it was on the River Queen.

It is a 9 night (or 10 day as they always advertise) cruise return to Frankfurt. I'm looking forward to a full first day cruising through the Cochem Valley, the Roman ruins at Trier then ending with Baden-Baden. Every stop looks very interesting though!

Notamermaid, I'm happy to follow your information this year for the Rhine and will be sure to add anything I read about for the Lower Danube on that thread. We just booked Uniworld's second sailing for the Magnificent Moselle on the SS Victoria on July 6. Hopefully the water levels will be good enough to allow us to make it back and forth at Kaub. Looking forward to the itinerary and enjoying the gorgeous ship!

Google maps popped up a Severe Flood Alert for Visegrad with the information it is expected to subside by Sunday night.

Flooding reported in downtown Budapest including Angelo Rotta quay and right up to the Parliament building based on the great photos with the article. It's in Romanian but you can Google translate or just see the photos in the Galerie for an idea of the extent of the flooding. https://www.bihon.ro/stiri-internationale/imagini-spectaculoase-cu-dunarea-la-budapesta-apele-fluviului-au-iesit-din-matca-in-centrul-orasului-4485297/

I'm terribly sorry to hear that on top of your disappointment about the cruise being unable to finish as planned.

You are on the Scenic Opal and this is their 6* luxury treatment when a cruise cannot continue? Did they at least give credits towards a future cruise to compensate for the time you are missing? Thank you MrsJetson28, it is good to have this knowledge. Many of the comparable lines end up being around the same price apples to apples so customer service is the difference!