Viking Cities of Light Help

We, too, went on the Rhine Getaway and had visited the castle. However, this time our Heidelberg schedule was different. First of all, the ship does not stop right at Heidelberg but then, it didn't last time either. It was supposed to stop briefly at Wertheim to discharge passengers for a bus ride to Heidelberg, and then go on to Freudenburg to meet the returning passengers. However - the Main River is a very busy river with A LOT of locks (on the Rhine Getaway I never saw the ship go through a lock as they seemed to occur mostly at night, but on the Main there seemed to be a multitude of locks which slowed passage considerably, especially since passenger ships have no preferential treatment as they do on the Rhine). So, our ship was late and we had to disembark at an earlier stop and the buses had to come to meet us for the two hour trip to Heidelberg, while the Alsvin went on to Freudenberg.

As I recall, the castle tour was the first thing we did during the Rhine Getaway. This time we first had a tour of the town of Heidelberg after which we gathered at the restaurant of the Hotel Ritter to have lunch with some students from the University. The student at our table was studying law and it was fascinating to learn of his experiences. Then after lunch there was free time to shop and explore before taking the funicular to the castle and its tour. After the tour we returned to the buses for an hour and a half bus ride to the ship.

I am not sure how much the initial lateness of the Alsvin had an effect on our schedule. I know the two hour trip to Heidelberg would have been shorter had we been able to reach the original port. That being said, we dock no where near Heidelberg so you would not be able to just leave the ship and explore.

You might be able to take the tour of the town, have lunch and just spend the remainder of your time in town as long as you made arrangements with your guide as to where and when to meet for the trip back to the Alsvin. Or you might want just to stay on the ship and enjoy a leisurely day. There were alway some passengers who did this at various ports.

I tried to include a picture of the Viking Daily but failed.

The following schedule all is dependent on the river traffic.

8:30-5:30 Shore Excursion to Heidelberg

9:00 Alsvin casts off for Freudenberg

12:00. Lunch for those on the ship

1:30. Arrival at Freudenberg

5:30. Back on Board from excursion

5:45. Cast off for Mainz

Hello prodoc,

Just chiming in to give an idea of distances of where you will be on your trip. On the Rhine Getaway one is normally closer to Heidelberg. From Mannheim (or Speyer) on the Rhine you drive to Heidelberg on the Neckar. No Viking ship ever sails on the Neckar. I am surprised Viking offers an excursion to Heidelberg from the Main area which is further North and quite a bit to the East. If you take the excursion to Heidelberg it will always be a full day away from the ship and I reckon it is a good opportunity for Viking to sail on while the passengers are out on a trip. The Main is quite windy and has many locks.

It is somewhat a pity in my opinion that they do not offer a trip to Darmstadt instead but that is just my opinion. Heidelberg has of course much more romantic appeal.

Perhaps the google maps figures might help you: Mainz: 50°00'06.5"N 8°16'38.5"E 50.001795, 8.277373

Mannheim: 49°30'29.0"N 8°26'20.1"E

49.508045, 8.438902

Heidelberg: 49°24'46.4"N 8°42'56.4"E

49.412883, 8.715670

Wertheim: 49°45'42.6"N 9°30'56.5"E

49.761822, 9.515682

Freudenberg: 49°45'02.5"N 9°19'22.7"E

49.750695, 9.322976

Anyway, I hope you will have a great time. The scenery I am sure is lovely both on the coach trip to Heidelberg or if you remain on the ship.

notamermaid

We, too, went on the Rhine Getaway and had visited the castle. However, this time our Heidelberg schedule was different. First of all, the ship does not stop right at Heidelberg but then, it didn't last time either. It was supposed to stop briefly at Wertheim to discharge passengers for a bus ride to Heidelberg, and then go on to Freudenburg to meet the returning passengers. However - the Main River is a very busy river with A LOT of locks (on the Rhine Getaway I never saw the ship go through a lock as they seemed to occur mostly at night, but on the Main there seemed to be a multitude of locks which slowed passage considerably, especially since passenger ships have no preferential treatment as they do on the Rhine). So, our ship was late and we had to disembark at an earlier stop and the buses had to come to meet us for the two hour trip to Heidelberg, while the Alsvin went on to Freudenberg.

As I recall, the castle tour was the first thing we did during the Rhine Getaway. This time we first had a tour of the town of Heidelberg after which we gathered at the restaurant of the Hotel Ritter to have lunch with some students from the University. The student at our table was studying law and it was fascinating to learn of his experiences. Then after lunch there was free time to shop and explore before taking the funicular to the castle and its tour. After the tour we returned to the buses for an hour and a half bus ride to the ship.

I am not sure how much the initial lateness of the Alsvin had an effect on our schedule. I know the two hour trip to Heidelberg would have been shorter had we been able to reach the original port. That being said, we dock no where near Heidelberg so you would not be able to just leave the ship and explore.

You might be able to take the tour of the town, have lunch and just spend the remainder of your time in town as long as you made arrangements with your guide as to where and when to meet for the trip back to the Alsvin. Or you might want just to stay on the ship and enjoy a leisurely day. There were alway some passengers who did this at various ports.

I tried to include a picture of the Viking Daily but failed.

The following schedule all is dependent on the river traffic.

8:30-5:30 Shore Excursion to Heidelberg

9:00 Alsvin casts off for Freudenberg

12:00. Lunch for those on the ship

1:30. Arrival at Freudenberg

5:30. Back on Board from excursion

5:45. Cast off for Mainz

Thank you Wispackrat. This is most helpful. The town is mainly where my group wants to spend their time so it sounds like we should stay signed up for the excursion and then talk with the staff and see what the timing plays out to be. Although the time on the ship does sound inviting to just relax, to miss any time to explore in the towns would be a shame since that is why we are on this trip. This is very encouraging that we may be able to work something out to have more leisure time in Heidelberg. But as you said, it is all about timing on the river. I remember on our Rhine Getaway cruise that several excursions got moved around due to ship timing and docking changes. But that is all part of the adventure so we will be good with whatever happens. I know many get upset about the bus travels but we knew about that when we signed up for the cruise. We have enjoyed relaxing and sightseeing out the windows of the comfortable buses as we are transported from the ship to our excursion destinations. My questions have more to do with knowing options so we can make informed decisions on excursions. Thanks again--and I am sure I will think of more questions for you.

Penny

Hello prodoc,

 

Just chiming in to give an idea of distances of where you will be on your trip. On the Rhine Getaway one is normally closer to Heidelberg. From Mannheim (or Speyer) on the Rhine you drive to Heidelberg on the Neckar. No Viking ship ever sails on the Neckar. I am surprised Viking offers an excursion to Heidelberg from the Main area which is further North and quite a bit to the East. If you take the excursion to Heidelberg it will always be a full day away from the ship and I reckon it is a good opportunity for Viking to sail on while the passengers are out on a trip. The Main is quite windy and has many locks.

 

It is somewhat a pity in my opinion that they do not offer a trip to Darmstadt instead but that is just my opinion. Heidelberg has of course much more romantic appeal.

 

Perhaps the google maps figures might help you: Mainz: 50°00'06.5"N 8°16'38.5"E 50.001795, 8.277373

 

Mannheim: 49°30'29.0"N 8°26'20.1"E

49.508045, 8.438902

Heidelberg: 49°24'46.4"N 8°42'56.4"E

49.412883, 8.715670

 

Wertheim: 49°45'42.6"N 9°30'56.5"E

49.761822, 9.515682

 

Freudenberg: 49°45'02.5"N 9°19'22.7"E

49.750695, 9.322976

 

Anyway, I hope you will have a great time. The scenery I am sure is lovely both on the coach trip to Heidelberg or if you remain on the ship.

 

notamermaid

Thank you Notamermaid for your insight and knowledge. You comments on the different threads are always helpful. Maybe we will luck out and get to disembark closer to Heidelberg for the excursion as I do see what you mean about the distance. Maybe one day Viking will take your suggestion and offer a trip to Darmstadt as an option for passengers.

We will stay flexible and see how my sister's knee is doing and maybe she won't even need a break. The cobblestone streets can make walking a little tricky for her but she is normally fine as long as we don't rush. We are looking forward to our cruise--we can never get enough sightseeing.

Penny

I hope you have a wonderful cruise! The one piece of advice I might give you is to do the things that you enjoy, not necessarily the things that you think that you should do. Prague, and especially Paris, have so much to offer and if you try to do everything, you will exhaust yourself. In looking back, I think that we enjoyed the river cruise the most. It was so relaxing and refreshing. After a morning or afternoon having a tour of a new place, it was like coming back home to return to the calmness of the ship. The crew of the Alsvin and especially the Program Director, Bojan Bozic, were above anything that we could have wished for. Enjoy your cruise!

I am glad to hear the Alsvin had a wonderful crew and program director. All the reviews are currently old and I have been waiting to hear how people felt about this ship on the Cities of Light cruise. I agree that we normally don't try to pack our days too heavily. On our Paris days we added the 2 extra post cruise days so we will have 4 days there and our plane does not leave until the afternoon to head home so we should have some good hours in the city. It has been 25 years since I have been to Paris so my return is long overdue.

Penny

The day is finally here. We fly out this evening for our Cities if Light river cruise. I am beyond excited, all packed and just waiting for my airport pickup!

The day is finally here. We fly out this evening for our Cities if Light river cruise. I am beyond excited, all packed and just waiting for my airport pickup!

Bon voyage and have a great cruise.

Please let us know afterwards how it went as well as all the pros and cons.

TIA.

Bon voyage and have a great cruise.

Please let us know afterwards how it went as well as all the pros and cons.

TIA.

Thank you! As long as I have wifi along the way I will be posting pics and info on my website and blog. I'll post that link later in case anyone is interested.

The day is finally here. We fly out this evening for our Cities if Light river cruise. I am beyond excited, all packed and just waiting for my airport pickup!

Wishing you safe travels and a wonderful cruise!

Safe travels! I look forward to reading your thoughts on the itinerary!

I started my review at the link below. I will every few days depending on wifi connection.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2392960&page=3

Have a great trip Rosieo. My trip is the first week of November so I will be learning a lot from your postings.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Have a great trip Rosieo. My trip is the first week of November so I will be learning a lot from your postings.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

If I missed anything in the other thread or if you have questions please feel free to ask. I'm really not sure how good the connection will be on the ship but I'm sure I'll check. Get excited! I think you are going to love it, we are so far.