Help, pls. Rhine/Mosel River - Which ship?

My maiden name is Mosel, and I grew up in the small town of Fredericksburg, Tx. Growing up my first language was German as is the case with most folks in Fbg. But, at any rate, my husband and I are planning a Rhine/Mosel River cruise for the Fall. We have no idea which ship to pick. I read on this board that some of the ships now have balconies ... that would be a plus! Viking River Cruises has been highly recommended but I don't think they do the Mosel River. Another factor is that we'd like to use American Airline miles to upgrade to first or business class which means flying in or out of Amsterdam and Zurich as AA partners don't accept miles. ALL help, ALL tips, ALL opinions are appreciated!

Grand Circle Travel has a geat 14 night Rhine/Mosel trip from Basel, Switzerland to Antwert, Belgium. I did this trip in both directions in the past two years and highly reocmmend it. They have great information about this cruison their website www.gct.com. They have 6 different ships doing this itinerary and all have balconies.

We also did this itinerary with Grand Circle and were very pleased with it. The Mosel is so beautiful and the little towns we visited were quaint and lovely.

I would highly recommend Grand Circle for this trip.

Dorothy

We also did this itinerary with Grand Circle and were very pleased with it. The Mosel is so beautiful and the little towns we visited were quaint and lovely.

I would highly recommend Grand Circle for this trip.

Dorothy

mjkunkle,

There are a view cruises offered on the Mosel river.

Deilmann (http://www.deilmann-cruises.com/) is offering several cruises on the HEIDELBERG (Basel-Trier, Trier-Strasbourg, Strasbourg-Trier, Trier-Amsterdam) and one on the CASANOVA (Frankfurt/Mainz-Amsterdam) where you go up to Trier on the Mosel and back to the Rhine river.

Viking doesn´t offer any cruise going up the Mosel river.

Amadeus Waterways (http://www.amadeuswaterways.com/) is offering the Europe´s Heartland Cruise starting in Paris (bussed to Trier) and ending in Prague (bussed from Nuremberg to Prague) or The Ultimate River Cruise starting in Budapest and ending in Paris (bussed from Trier to Paris).

Avalon Waterways (http://www.avalonwaterways.com/) has three different itineraries including the Mosel: Central European Experience (Paris-Prague or vice versa), The Rhine and Moselle (Amsterdam-Basel) and Jewels of Central Europe (Paris-Budapest or vice versa).

Uniworld (http://www.uniworld.com/) has a cruise called Legendary Rhine & Moselle (Basel-Amsterdam or vice versa).

Vantage (http://www.vantagetravel.com/) has a cruise called Switzerland & the Heart of the Rhine (Basel-Amsterdam).

GCT was already mentioned.

There is no bad company in this business. All itineraries differ a bit in length and ports of call. Choose by the itinerary! Then compare the amenities of the ships (some offer free wine for dinner, Deilmann has no included shore tours but best service and food). Usually the question "which ship" isn´t very important. All companies feature brand new ships.

steamboats

We are booked with Vantage for their Sept. 17 on the Rhine & Moselle, and chose them over Grand Circle because of past favorable experiences with Vantage with more things included. However, when we booked in November we got one of the last 2 cabins available on all 4 of their July & Sept. trips. Grand Circle has numerous departures through the fall and we would have gone with them if Vantage was sold out completely. We've also travelled with GC numerous time on land trips.

Is mid to late October and bad time to take this cruise? If so what would be safe time weatherwise for high 50's to 60's and not a lot of chance of rain. Also how about time of year to avoid any problems with river levels.

Medfield98,

Noone can predict the weather and therefore the river conditions. As for October I´d prefer beginning until mid October to mid until end of. Last year we had a wonderful warm (more hot) October with nearly no rain at all. But this can be different.

Right now we have a warm to hot April and nearly a draught. Last year we still had some snow and cruises were affected by high water (like ours).

We two major flooding over the last 5 or 6 years in August which should be usually a month to fear low water levels.

To sum it up: There´s no good or bad time of the year just wrong clothing. Water levels are part of the cruise and can affect you anytime as can accidents or lock closures.

steamboats

Would love to take a trip along the Rhine. We enjoy a casual, comfortable environment with very good service. Is there a river cruise line that is casual but service oriented? We enjoy ocean cruising on NCL because we don't really like to have to dress up for dinner. We often book suites. I am hesitant to book a river cruise because I am not sure where we would fit in best. We are 62 & 57.

Any suggestions???

Would love to take a trip along the Rhine. We enjoy a casual, comfortable environment with very good service. Is there a river cruise line that is casual but service oriented? We enjoy ocean cruising on NCL because we don't really like to have to dress up for dinner. We often book suites. I am hesitant to book a river cruise because I am not sure where we would fit in best. We are 62 & 57.

Any suggestions???

All river cruise lines are casual, and most claim to be service oriented. If that is a priority, I would recommend you investigate the two lines that are usually listed as tops: Tauck and Uniworld. Their prices may initially seem higher than other river cruise lines, but they are even more all-inclusive than most so many people feel the value evens out.

I would recommend you look at Uniworld's SS Antoinette for the Castles on the Rhine Cruise. You would be right in the middle as far as age demographic(We are 50 and were at the lower end in July). It is pretty casual and laid back. No formal nights. We stayed in one of their 8 suites and it was wonderful. You will have butler service which includes things such as fruit tray daily, snacks daily, special dinner served for suite guests, and free laundry service. The room is about 300 sq ft which is as much as double the basic river cruise room. You will have a small walk out balcony which with a push of a button is an enclosed space. Has three tv's as well as a french window in front of the bed. The service is outstanding at every level. It was our first river cruise and I would say the best vacation we have ever taken. We saw many other cruise ships along the way as well as parking next to several. I have to say the Antoinette was far and away the most elegant ship we saw. They are not the cheapest line but are completely all inclusive now including all alcohol any time, all gratuities, and all excursions except for 3 optional excursions. Hope this helps

This Fall?

Whoops,

I see this was a thread from7 years ago!

Thank you. That gives me a starting point.