Scenic ms. Jewel River Cruise-Amsterdam to Basel

My husband and I are sailing for the first time with Scenic on the ms Jewel, Amsterdam to Basel on September 10 to 24, 2018. Has anyone ever done this cruise before? The “free choice” options are giving me a bit of a dilemma as to which one to choose. Any advice about sailing with this company would be appreciated.

We'll be doing it in 2019, but from what I've read so far, on Day 2, Bruges is worth it for old-world charm. On Day 10 we plan to go to Luxembourg just to say we've been there. :) We'll probably do the castle at Heidelberg on Day 12. On Day 14 we'll likely do the Black Forest hike unless it's pouring rain, because we like walks in the forest. The rest are undecided yet.

 

If the two of you are interested in different things sometimes don't hesitate to go different ways for the day. E.g. Day 6 the archeological park vs. the coal mine. It will give you something to talk about later.

 

Sterling

Thank you Sterling. Every trip you mentioned was the way I was thinking too especially the Zollverein museum. Definitely signed up for Bruges already. I am trying to get feedback from the company but haven’t had a response. Are we suppose to sign up for these daily outings with “Free Choice” ahead of time. I tried to go on the Trip Personizlier but it is down at the moment.

Are we suppose to sign up for these daily outings with “Free Choice” ahead of time. I tried to go on the Trip Personizlier but it is down at the moment.

A few are done with the Trip Personalizer, but most are requested a few days ahead of time via a paper form they'll give you on board. Often there'll be a week's worth of choices on the form so on a 2 week trip you'll do it twice. They need to leave some of these choices fairly late because things can change and they want to minimize the amount of re-work.

 

I've attached some photos of a Freechoice form someone else posted on Facebook a while ago to give an example of what it looks like. The Cruise Director gives a verbal description and allows for questions and answers when handing out the form - they want to make sure everyone is well informed about their choices.

 

 

Did this cruise a few years ago with Scenic, you will love it!

 

 

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Wow! Thank you so much! The forms really give me an idea of what to expect. It looks like everything is very well organized. The form also gives me an idea of walking times as my husband has mobility issues. On this basis, I now have an indication of which tours to choose. Thanks again for your input. Looking forward to the whole experience.