Review of Enchanting Rhine cruise, AmaCello, Aug. 30–Sept. 10, 2013

Jazzbeau's Review and Blog of Enchanting Rhine cruise, AmaCello, Aug. 30–Sept. 10, 2013:

Here’s the overall review. Daily blog entries will follow this post.

Flying – Airport check-in is almost as easy as pre-9/11 if you sign up for TSA PreCheck(going) and Global Entry (coming back); and Economy Plus is just like coach in the good old days with early boarding and decent legroom. The food on United was surprisingly good too.

AmaWaterways – We were totally impressed by every aspect of our cruise. Even before we departed, the cruise document package was very classy and the luggage tags will be our permanent tags from now on. The AMA ships apparently have the most practical design [shallow draft for low water conditions, ingeniously retractable pilot house for high water], and they are very nice from the passenger point of view too. The décor is modern and luxurious without being fussy [you know who I mean], the split-level decks allow the dining room and lounge to have spacious high ceilings while still getting in three decks of cabins, and there are public spaces fore and aft as well as the entire Sun deck.

Cabin – Our cabin seemed smaller than its measurements at first, but we were able to store all our stuff and get the suitcases under the bed so it worked just fine. The shower was a little tight, probably because it is shaped as a triangle. The French balcony was very nice: the window-wall gave nice views [the drapes shut out almost all the light so sleeping wasn’t a problem], and we were glad to be able to open the sliding door and look out several times. [i think our days of Inside Cabins are over…] Next time we will hope to sail on one of the newer AMA ships and upgrade to a 235 sf twin-balcony, but even the 170 sf French balcony cabin was quite acceptable.

Food – We had been warned that “no river cruise matches the food on ocean cruises” – BUNK! The food on AmaCello was the best we have had on any cruise to date (excepting the extra-cost specialty restaurants Normandie and Qsine on Celebrity Summit).

Most of the food was excellent: the first dinner we had a zucchini pancakeamuse bouche, appetizers, Asian-style salad, pumpkin soup, steak with horseradish-crust entree, and hazelnut chocolate cake and ice cream parfait desserts. There was also a cheese table in the dining room at all meals, but we were too stuffed to consider it at dinner. The only false note was our entrees: the steaks were cooked medium-rare as ordered but were somewhat tough and lacking in beef or horseradish flavor [luckily I was very full from the earlier courses so I just skipped it]

I won't go into detail meal-by-meal, because we didn't get copies of the menus and the memories are already fuzzy – but the overall impression remains excellent.

Two different soups (cream and broth) were offered every day and all were amazingly good. The pastry was always excellent, as were the breads. [We later learned that there is a separate person in charge of each of these three areas – no wonder they are so good!] Salads, entrees and desserts were always good [except the steak the first night and one fish that was a little dry], and were varied and localized.

Wine and beer were freely available throughout lunch and dinner. The wines were different every day and were a good selection of European table wines representative of the regions we were sailing through. [Nothing so expensive that you had to worry about the wine being ‘bruised’ – you know which thread I’m referring to ;) – but all well-made exemplars. I wish the Rieslings had been sweeter, but that’s my taste; Alsace is known for its dry Rieslings so I wasn’t really surprised.]

The beer was draft Bitburger. Normally I do not drink lagers or pilsners, but this was not your father’s Budweiser: it was tasty and refreshing, and I was happy to drink it all week long.

The bar also had a range of wines, liquors and liqueurs [and beers, for all I know] available for purchase – but being a cheap Jazzb*****d I stuck with the free stuff…

Schedule – food was available pretty much throughout the day: early risers’ breakfast, regular breakfast [the best Eggs Benedict ever!], late breakfast, lunch, cookies and snacks in the bar, tea time, dinner, and late night snack. [One day we had Brunch from 8:30 to 11:45, but something was lost in the translation: they had the regular breakfast items, plus a normal array of lunch items – but it didn’t feel as if the two really melded into a brunch…]

Lunch and Dinner were one fixed seating only [and the Jazzbeaux have always done Anytime Dining…] but this turned out not to be a problem since the packed schedule of activities made these the right times to dine anyway. Our gang never had a problem finding an open table for six, although we did have to move around the dining room a bit – but that let us experience good service from different waiters!

Service – The service throughout the cruise was excellent across the board. Our Cruise Director Reka Piros worked like a dog but delivered like a god [dyslexics of the world untie!]. The dining room staff were all friendly and efficient, especially our wine pourer Vesi who kept our conversation well-lubricated! The cabin staff were efficient and invisible [except for the cute towel animals that greeted us most afternoons] And the gifts at the end [no details: spoiler!] were a nice touch.

Having the Cruise Director stay with the group throughout the land extension was a great idea. We were familiar with Reka, so there was no transition – and she continued to provide great service as she coordinated everything in Luzern and Zurich.

The only weak spots in AMA service were at the Amsterdam airport and our communications with the home office. We were told to look for the AMA ‘desk’ at the airport, but there is no such desk. [Not even Viking, who have a huge infrastructure with their own docks and their own buses, has a desk at Schiphol airport] HQ also assured us that the first activity on Day One would be dinner at 7:30 – but it turned out there was a mandatory Muster Drill at 6:00 and dinner was at 7:00. These two glitches need to be worked out, because coming at the beginning of the cruise they could get everything off on the wrong foot.

Shore excursions – Each day had one or two shore excursions, sometimes with choices of location. Every tour on the cruise portion was included in the cruise fare.We were always split into four groups [always a slow walkers group, sometimes an active group], and the Quiet Vox made it easy to hear the tour guide. [Most days also had a bicycle option, but none of our gang tried them. The combination bicycle tour/wine tasting sounded somewhat ill-advised…]

The tours were well planned and covered most of the high points that I had flagged from my pre-cruise research [except the Chagall windows in Strasbourg, as noted in the blog below]

Some of the local guides were better than others, but only one that we had was less than good and most were very good.

The Daily Cruiser newsletter and daily presentations by the Cruise Director kept us well informed about on-board activities and shore excursions. AMA provided a map for each town, and Reka usually provided a handout with points of interest and tips. We always felt well prepared when stepping off the ship.

Two excursions on the land extension were optional at extra cost: Mount Pilatus and the Rhine Falls. We ended up doing Mount Pilatus on our own at a considerable savings, but it involved taking responsibility for planning the trip and finding the bus at the end so most passengers were probably happy to pay the premium for the extra service. We also didn’t get a tour guide – but we enjoyed our time apart from the larger group, so we felt it was a good trade-off. The Rhine Falls/Stein am Rhein tour couldn’t have been done on your own and was definitely worthwhile.

Entertainment – We weren’t expecting much, but the three nights that we had local entertainers were really enjoyable. The first was the La Strada string trio who played light classics – lovely. Next was Jela, a duo who played rock tunes – the girls in our gang danced their tootsies off! And the third was the duo of Armand, accordionist, and Muriel, chanteuse – a very French evening featuring Piaf and Aznavour, very nice!

Infotainment – The ship apparently had an infotainment system, but the only way we could get a free outlet to charge our devices was to unplug it – and it stayed that way throughout the cruise. [We had brought a complete selection of adapters for European 2-prong, German 3-prong, and Swiss 3-prong. It turned out that the basic 2-prong would have worked everywhere, and even if you didn’t have anything both the ship and the hotels would lend you adapters.]

Nickel-and-diming – None! Nobody tried to sell us anything on the whole cruise! What a nice change.

Future Cruise Benefit – We enjoyed our first AmaWaterways cruise so much that we purchased the Future Cruise Benefit [5% off and a reduced deposit], even though we have a bunch of cruises booked up for the next two years. [Hawaii may have to wait so that we can do Provence. Let’s get that 2015 schedule out ASAP!]

Random Thoughts – Yogi said “you can see a lot just by looking.” Here are some things we noticed:

• The aroma of pot in a number of places (not just near the ‘coffee houses’ of Amsterdam)

• Graffiti even in obsessively tidy Germany and Switzerland

• English is spoken universally throughout the Netherlands, France and Germany – but not in Switzerland [they have to learn German, French, Italian and possibly Romansh in school, so there isn’t time for English]

• The Euro may have political/economic problems, but it is a wonderful thing for tourists. We even managed to get through Switzerland using only Euros.

• Swans are to Europe what Canada Geese are to the northeastern US – but they are more beautiful [and do their ‘business’ in the water so they don’t crap up the lawns…]

Photos – rather than try to select a few photos for this review and blog, I have published the whole travelogue on shutterfly:

• Picture archive:

https://jazzbeauxrhinecruise.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Bottom Line – After one cruise we are AMA fans [in case you hadn’t noticed…]

Thanks for reading!

There’s much more detail in the blog posts that follow.

I’ll try to respond to comments and questions as quickly as I can.

Thursday, August 29 – Flight to Amsterdam

We drove to Newark for our flight on United, parking at the Hilton nearby. This was a great discovery: globalairportparking brokers a wide range of parking locations near the airport. Instead of an open lot with no services, we chose the Hilton Hotel: secure covered garage, a nice lobby with restrooms, and a quick 24-hour shuttle service. And the price was less than half what Hilton charges directly.

Check-in was smooth and TSA PreCheck got us through security with shoes intact and laptop stowed in its upright and luggage position. The flight took off on time and landed a little early, and customs at AMS was easy and well-organized despite the early hour. [Apparently the Dutch are smart enough to realize that if you have nothing to declare, there’s no reason to make you declare it!]

Friday, August 30 – Amsterdam

AMA's instructions had said to go to their "desk" in Arrivals 3. There was no desk, but there were a couple of AMA staff floating around. We found them right away by the strategy of asking a Viking rep – he whipped out a cell phone and called his AMA colleague who came right over. [unfortunately another couple didn't think of this and had been wandering around for an hour. By the time they found the AMA rep they were quite upset.]

We weren’t sure what to expect from the AMA shuttle: would we sit on a bus for an hour waiting for other flights? So we were prepared to give them our luggage and take the quick train to downtown. But ours must have been the last flight for a while, because the bus left right away and whisked us to the ship about as fast as the train would have, and we got a taste of Amsterdam on the way.

AMA had a nice snack laid out in the lounge [where the departing APT passengers from the prior cruise were waiting], and our Cruise Director Reka Piros [who was great!] gave us maps and directions for sightseeing.

We walked over to Centraal Station to get Euros. The station is quite large and there are ticket machines everywhere, but it was hard to find an ATM. There were several Travelex stores exchanging money, but we didn’t want to pay an exchange fee since our Schwab debit card gives us a good rate with no fees. Finally we found an ING ATM and got our cash.

Then we went across to the Tourist Information to buy 24-hour transit passes [you can do this on board the tram, but the ATM only gave us 50 Euro bills and I wasn't sure you could get change on the tram]

Then onto tram 5 and straight to the Rijksmuseum. We had bought tickets online so we were able to walk right in. The renovation of the museum is wonderful and we were able to enjoy the great Rembrandts, Vermeers, etc. despite the crowds. The Night Watch, after restoration, is much brighter than when we viewed it 40 years ago. We followed Rick Steves' tour for the museum, with a brief stop for a 15 minute catnap sitting on a bench in one of the side rooms, and still finished in less than his suggested 90 minutes.

An easy walk took us to the Van Gogh Museum. We had purchased tickets online for the 1 pm slot [or 1300 as the Army and Europeans call it…] The reports about this ticket program are true: we lined up with the other 1 pm holders and waited 15 minutes while others just walked up to the ticket booth and went right in. No matter how empty the ticket queues are, the museum will not let timed-ticket holders in early. But on a really busy day, the walk-up line could be very long and then having a timed ticket would get you in much quicker, so it's still good insurance to do it.

The Jazzbeaux both enjoy art but we usually don't need to enjoy it at length – we have each independently gone through the Louvre in 30 minutes. [This is now a family saying, “do a Louvre”…] So it says volumes about how good the renovated Van Gogh Museum is that we spent three hours there. We explored all four floors and enjoyed not only the paintings themselves but also the scientific exhibits on the upper floors about the technology of paint pigments, restoration, and Van Gogh’s drawing techniques. We took a break in the middle for lunch at the museum café [nothing to recommend, except location], and ended with a short snooze during the film [which is in Dutch with subtitles, so once you close your eyes you don't get much out of it...]

We had hoped to do one or two other places (Hermitage Museum and Amstelkring Museum), but we were so exhausted that we went back to the ship and collapsed on the bed.

Now the second (and last) complaint about AMA service. I had emailed AMA HQ about planning our sightseeing schedule and specifically asked when the Welcome Dinner would be and whether there would be a meeting beforehand. No meeting and dinner at 7:30 was the reply. But our nap was interrupted at 5:45 by a shipboard announcement that the mandatory safety drill and introductory meeting was about to start at 6 pm, with dinner immediately afterward at 7. Yikes! Well, there was no attempt to change as we hadn't begun to unpack! This wasn't a big problem, and was in fact good planning – but it was a problem that AMA gave me wrong advice beforehand.

As we entered the Lounge for the safety drill/meeting we were handed flutes of bubbly [let’s not get into that perennial CC argument over what to call it…] and waiters came around with trays of hors d'oeuvres. AMA's reputation for good food was immediately borne out.

We wound up sitting in a cluster of chairs with a married couple from Delaware and 2 older sisters formerly from NY. We all decided to eat dinner together. That evening our conversation went on so long that we only left the dining room because we realized we were the only ones left! And we got on so well together that we continued to do so every evening [both dine together and close the place down…] Bonding right off the bat with “The Gang” was one of the highlights of the cruise.

After dinner we walked into Amsterdam on our own to see the infamous Red Light District. We wandered all over, had a friendly escapade with a Canadian couple who tried to direct us. They were doing a bicycle/barge cruise. We turned around and headed back toward the station. Others pointed us to the night scene. Another fellow saw our confusion and steered us to the street. And there they were!!!

Back on the ship, we finally had to unpack. The cabin seemed smaller than its measurements at first, but we were able to store all our stuff and get the suitcases under the bed so it worked just fine. The shower was a little tight, probably because it is shaped as a triangle. The French balcony was very nice: the window-wall gave nice views [the drapes shut out almost all the light so sleeping wasn’t a problem], and we were glad to be able to open the sliding door and look out several times. [i think our days of Inside Cabins are over…]

We slept very well even after our naps. The beds were comfortable enough and the ship was still tied up this first night. [sleeping was never a problem even when underway – AmaCello is a very smooth sailer.]

Saturday, August 31 – Amsterdam to Cologne

Today AMA provided a canal cruise and a “panoramic city tour” [which means a bus ride with a little walking…] Skies were overcast and we had just boarded the canal boat when the rain hit – but it ended before the cruise was over, and that was it for bad weather until the end of the trip. After an hour on the water we transferred to buses for more sightseeing, including a nice walking stop to see Begijnhof and a photo op at the Rembrandt Windmill, and then a ride to meet our ship in Wiljk bin Duurstede in time for lunch. [The ship sailed while we were touring, to get through the boring canal that connects Amsterdam to the Rhine.]

We sailed all afternoon for Cologne, Germany. This gave us a chance to catch up on jet lag.

Sunday, September 1 – Cologne to Koblenz

We woke up in Cologne and took a morning walking tour of the old town. Our guide brought samples of the famous 4711 brand Eau de Cologne, as well as the original formula. The old town is very interesting, especially as she pointed out the irreverent side with a statue on the Rathaus (City Hall) mooning the Bishop’s palace across the way, and a more modern statue mooning the City Hall. The tour ended at the Cologne Cathedral, where we had been told there was an 11:00 Mass. At 10:30 we decided to check the schedule – good thing as high Mass had started at 10 and the next Mass was at noon (too late for our afternoon sailing). So we went in and attended the last hour of the high Mass. We arrived during the sermon [which was in German, and long…] The rest of the Mass was easy to follow despite the language barrier, and we were lifted up by the most beautiful voices in their choir (mostly children).

As we walked back to the bus we regretted not having time to visit the Roman Archeological Museum. [We did have a minute to check out the Cathedral gift shop. They had a poster of the cathedral made out of musical notes, with the title ‘Ode de Cologne’ – I almost bought it just for the pun…]

Again we sailed in the afternoon, this time to Koblenz where we went on a post-dinner walking tour. Watch those cobblestones! We were with our four new pals [The Gang] and enjoyed our evening. [i had read one review on CC that complained it was too dark to see much and everything is closed on Sunday night, and another who said the evening walk was magical. ‘Magical’ became the byword for the rest of the cruise, partly in gest but mostly because so many things were really wonderful]

Monday, September 2 – Koblenz to Rudesheim

Today was Labor Day in the US, but not Europe since they celebrate it on May Day. [We did no labor. This made us feel very French…]

This was the day to see castles as we cruised the Rhine Valley from 8:00 to 2:00. Mercifully it wasn't raining, but it started windy and cold up on the Sun Deck – which is the best viewpoint since the castles are on both sides and the perspective changes as you approach and then pass each one. [Jazzbelle was chilled even though she wore a fleece, a lined windbreaker with hood, and gloves – and she walked a mile and a quarter on the track to keep warm. After a while she was castled out and went below for a nap. Jazzbeau toughed it out – ok, I spent some time in the Lounge warming up… – to get a complete set of pictures. When Jazzbelle returned for more crenellations she was pleased to find warmer temps and less wind]

Our cruise director Reka handed out a map and guide to the castles and kept up a running commentary – this was very helpful and even if the stories attached to each castle aren’t true, they are entertaining. We passed the Lorelei rock and heard her siren song [over the ship’s PA system – did you know she sounds a lot like Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau?] As I processed the pictures, I was pleased to find that we had seen every one in Reka’s handout and in the book “Castles and Palaces on the Rhine,” which I picked up in the ship’s gift shop. This is the scenic focus of this itinerary, so I’m glad to report that it was ‘magical.’

The chef treated us to an excellent German lunch before our afternoon tour of Rudesheim.

In the afternoon the weather had changed dramatically and we were climbing uphill through a vineyard with owner Adolf Storzel informing us about vines, viruses, fruit flies, etc. in 80+ degree heat and full sun! It was brutal, but better than the morning. We sampled three different Rieslings and an Auslese [by special request, and our favorite] before descending to the village to explore on our own. We had taken a mini train to the vineyard but chose to walk back to the ship, stopping for gelato and to visit two churches. We really like the German kirchen as they are simple in style [this is true of all the Protestant churches but also many Catholic ones]. More Ikea than Italian.

After dinner we boarded the mini train again to see Siegfried's Mechanical Music Cabinet Museum. Loved it!

Tuesday, September 3 – Speyer and Heidelberg

Today we docked in Speyer at noon. We could have taken a walking tour of Speyer, but we chose the excursion to Heidelberg. This turned out to be a very long trip, since Heidelberg is 90 minutes each way by bus and there’s a lot to do there – but it was worth it. [This was probably helped by the beautiful weather: sunny, 70s] We started with a tour of the castle [very large and it gives you an idea of what was going on in all those other castles we passed yesterday], and then walked through the old town before setting off on our own to visit the Church of the Holy Ghost (Lutheran) and the Jesuit Church (Catholic). Both were impressive in different ways.

Then back on the bus to Speyer to leave our things on the ship before we walked across the park to see the Speyer Cathedral (Catholic). It is Romanesque in architecture and has beautiful murals up high instead of stained glass windows. Jazzbelle began to cry as we approached the sanctuary. She could feel the presence of God! And she thought of our dear departed pastor, Msgr. Maltese, who would have been impressed by the altar.

We were able to see all we wanted of Speyer in this bonus period, so we were glad we hadn’t opted for the all-Speyer excursion choice.

Wednesday, September 4 – Strasbourg

The ship sailed overnight to Strasbourg, so we bid Auf Wiedersehen to Germany and Bonjour to France. [And then we discovered that Alsace is really a hybrid of the two cultures…]

After a short bus ride we had a morning walking tour of Strasbourg. We enjoyed walking around drooling at the shop windows: patisseries, charcuteries, cheese vendors, wine stores, clothing shops. [such a difference to look at fashions in a French window! The Germans don't have the same sense of style. Not that we actually saw any French women dressed in these beautiful outfits ($$$$$)] At the end of the tour AMA gave us tickets for the 12:30 performance of the Astronomical Clock in the Cathedral. This isn’t something you want to do often [it involved standing still so long, watching an informative movie and waiting for the clock to go off, that my feet went numb…], but it was absolutely worthwhile doing once. [i’m really grateful for the free tickets, because if we had had to pay we might have decided against it.]

We could have taken the bus back to the ship for lunch, but we wanted some free time in town and our guide had talked up the local specialty called tarte flambée [or Flammkuchen in Alsatian] Rick Steves recommended a particular restaurant that features this at a reasonable price, but when we got there we discovered it is closed at lunch [Rick’s bad]. So we wandered back toward the Cathedral and found a shaded sidewalk café, Le Pilier des Anges. [Tarte flambée is sort of a French version of white pizza, with crème fraîche instead of mozzarella, onions, and optionally lardons and/or mushrooms. It is not flambéed – the name means that it is traditionally cooked in a wood-fired oven] It was delicious!

[After lunch we saw the most unusual sight on the whole trip: three French road workers – actually working! It must have been a lucky coincidence that we happened by during their brief work week and they weren’t striking…]

In the afternoon AMA provided a canal cruise. This would have been very pleasant except for the intense heat baking us on the open canal boat. High 80s and no wind! [And no beer!]

The walk back to the bus was much longer than in the morning, because the buses had to park on the outskirts of town. [We later learned that those who had chosen to go back to the ship for lunch had to do this long walk on both ends of that trip. That made the tarte flambée taste even better…]

Thursday, September 5 – Breisach and Colmar

We sailed this morning to Breisach. The chef provided Frühschoppen (a German barbeque) on the Sun Deck just before lunch. [Jazzbelle was disappointed that they were grilling hot dogs, not bratwurst – so the rest of the trip became a hunt for a bratwurst fix…]

Although the ship docked in Germany, we opted for the French sightseeing. [it is certainly more comfortable when one understands the language] We were gone the entire afternoon, leaving at 1:00 and returning after 6:00. We visited the towns of Colmar and Riquewihr.

Colmar is a good size town with beautiful old half-timbered buildings. It touts the fact that the sculptor Bartholdi was born there and has a museum with a model of his Statue de la Liberté.

Riquewihr is a one-street village, but it is very cute and that street is lined with shops offering free wine tasting plus a couple that had fresh macaroons [real coconut macaroons, not those namby pamby Parisian macarons].

Swans were everywhere on this trip, but the mascot of Alsace is the stork. We saw a stork’s nest prominently in a park in Strasbourg, stork dolls everywhere in Strasbourg, Colmar and Riquewihr, and stork emblems on buildings in Colmar and Riquewihr. [Little girls in Alsace were traditionally told that the stork had brought them. Boys were told they came in cabbages – there must be some gender discrimination going on here!]

We talked to some passengers who had taken the other tour option to Breisach and Freiburg – they were disappointed.

Jazzbelle couldn’t let Germany slip away that easily, so that evening she enjoyed sauerbraten and red cabbage. It was our farewell dinner on the AmaCello, and we were treated to Baked Alaska – sparklers and all.

Tonight was the saddest day of all cruises: packing up. But it wasn’t so bad this time, because we still had a four-day land extension! [sounds like a plan…]

Friday, September 6 – Basel to Luzern

We disembarked in Basel, Switzerland where we had a bus and walking tour and then time on our own. It was charming and the Jazzbeaux hung out in the marktplatz browsing through the vendor stalls of flowers, cheese, bread, fresh mushrooms, and local fast food. We walked some more, taking photos, and returned to the market for a lunch of bratwurst and cheese. You’re supposed to hold the [hot] bratwurst in your hand[!], but it was yummy. [And Jazzbelle finally got her bratwurst fix!]

[Jazzbeau was confused throughout the trip as everyone else pronounces this city Baz-el. He had first encountered it while studying in France and has always pronounced it Bahl. So he was gratified to find a tourist map that shows the spelling in all of Switzerland’s official languages: in French, it is Bâle! So saying Bahl is not wrong, just chauvinistic…]

On the bus at 1:00 for transfer to our hotel in Luzern, with a stop to see the famous Lion Monument. Mark Twain said it was “the most mournful and moving piece of stone in the world” and he was right. Very touching! Then to our hotel [Radisson Blu – very nice, but we were glad we knew to bring washcloths] before a short orientation walk with our AmaCello cruise director Reka [who accompanied us throughout the Switzerland land extension, in addition to the various local guides in Luzern and Zurich – this was a great idea and made the trip much smoother] Eight of us had dinner in the Rathaus Brauerei, a brew pub located partially in the ground floor of the City Hall. Fun! [Rick Steves redeemed himself. Also, the world would be a better place if every City Hall were turned into a brew pub!]

Saturday, September 7 - Luzern

Saturday was another lovely day. Sunny, 80s. We had a walking tour of Luzern in the morning and then in the afternoon six of us headed for Mount Pilatus. [We had booked this through AMA, but two days ahead the forecast was for thunderstorms so we cancelled. In the event the weather was much better, especially in the morning, so we decided to do it on our own.] We took a local train to the base of the mountain, then had to wait an hour and a half for the next available trip up the mountain [we sat on a bench near the lake like old folk – this was pretty much the only “down” time on the whole cruise!], and finally took the 35-minute ride on the world’s steepest cog railway up the mountain – just as clouds started to roll in. We could see the fog bank moving over the mountaintops as we arrived at the summit station, so we rushed up the stairs to two of the three viewpoints to get some pictures before everything socked in. [As it turned out, it never did sock in totally and the views came and went while we were up there.]

We watched people paraglide off the peak and saw a long-horned mountain goat (Steinbock) at a distance. He was sitting peacefully on a ridge, but a bunch of photographers kept creeping closer and closer until he finally got up and walked away. [Jazzbeau was taking pictures, hoping for a Schadenfreude moment if the goat charged the Paparazzis!] We then queued up for an hour to take the gondolas down [first a big one, then a little one –a much faster trip than the cogwheel train] and then a city bus back to Luzern. We had a really good time and were glad we had opted out of the organized group tour [even though they had slightly better weather since they had glommed all the tickets to the early cogwheel train…]

We had dinner with our friends at Pfistern Restaurant where we all enjoyed the local specialty Fritschepastete [puff pastry filled with chunks of veal and pork, mushrooms, apples and raisins in gravy] that had been talked up by our local tour guide. Delicious!

Sunday, September 8 – Luzern to Zurich

Sunday morning was much cooler. 60! We met our friends for 9:00 Mass in French [beats German] at the Chapel church. Then the Jazzbeaux went back through the old town to complete taking photos [because Jazzbeau had stupidly let his camera battery drain down…] before we had to check out at noon.

Then a boat ride on Lake Lucerne [aha! I finally get to use the French spelling. Much better than Vierwaldstättersee – say that five times fast…] In the rain! But we were in the enclosed downstairs cabin with sliding windows that allowed good photos while staying mostly dry. The cruise took about an hour, but wasn't quite so scenic due to fog [Jazzbeau disagrees: the fog made it ‘magical’]

We wound up in the small town of Brunnen and tromped around in the wet. [Can’t say we found it as charming as Hans Christian Andersen had, but we did find gelato!]

Back on the bus for some cat-napping on the 90 minute ride to Zurich. Arrived at our hotel [Continental – nowhere near as nice as the Radisson Blu in Luzern – mattresses were so collapsed that I put an entire down pillow under the small of my back!] around 5:15. The rain increased so we went with our friends to the nearest recommended restaurant [Commihalle – thanks again, Rick!]for lamb and branzino and a very nice Montepulciano. Excellent!

Monday, September 9 – Zurich

It was still damp in the morning, and cooler yet (low 50s), but with the promise of sun in the afternoon. We had a two hour bus/walking tour of the city at 9:30. Zurich is a big city, and even the old town feels more like a city than the other places we have visited since Cologne. The AMA-prescribed walking tour doesn’t allow time to go into the Fraumunster, with its fabulous Chagall windows. Thankfully our tour guide Judy understood and tipped us off when we could ditch the final part of her tour and nip back to the church [where the bus was waiting anyway] Ten minutes wasn’t enough, but we did enjoy these wonderful biblical meditations.

And then we were off on the optional excursion to Rhine Falls and Stein am Rhine. The Rhine Falls are among the largest waterfalls in Europe – 500 foot wide falls dropping 65 feet, with water surging almost 200,000 gallons per second. The vertical drop isn’t much but because you can approach right up to the base, the width and the volume of water make it quite impressive indeed. We got a boat ride that included three passes as close to the base as possible, then a cut of the engine to feel the water push us quickly away. [i’m almost tempted to call it ‘magical’]

Then a stop at the village of Stein am Rhein, which is full of cute half-timbered buildings decorated with frescos that depict the history of the building and/or its owners. A fitting end to the sightseeing of our wonderful cruise tour.

For our final dinner, The Gang met at the Zeughauskeller, a restaurant in a 500-year-old armory with medieval (and modern) weapons decorating the walls. They serve typical Swiss cuisine [the menu has a whole page full of sausage options], but also a wider range (e.g. Saddle of Venison and Wiener Schnitzel), and good beer. The waitress initially seemed like an SS alumna, but she warmed up once we figured out the menu and placed our orders.

Tuesday, September 10 – Flight home

Early breakfast, with a kismet opportunity to say goodbye to our new friends, then we headed to the airport at 7 in the morning for our flight to Newark. Everybody was on board early and the pilot announced we were ready to leave – but no! The French air traffic controllers were on strike so we would be delayed a few minutes [don’t they even know how to stage a proper strike?] Thankfully the pilot put the pedal to the metal and made up the time – until we got stacked up around Newark for 20 minutes. [if the French unions don’t do you in, the US bureaucracy will…] Finally down, breezed through customs thanks to Global Entry, got the luggage and back to the Hilton for our car and a quick ride home.

Thanks for sticking with it all the way!

Don’t forget, there are pictures:

• Slideshow:

http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slideshow?site=jazzbeauxrhinecruise&page=jazzbeauxrhinecruise/pictures&album=8&albumPath=

• Picture archive:

https://jazzbeauxrhinecruise.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Thanks for a wonderful review!! So glad you enjoyed your cruise. We'll be taking the Legendary Danube on AmaLyra next spring...really looking forward to it. We've done one riverboat cruise in the past. We like the intimacy of it...easy to meet people and make friends.

I'll save the photos to look at later.

enjoyed your review, beautifully detailed. well done.

Jazzbeau,

Thanks so much for your extensive review. We are looking so forward to our first river cruise, 12-day Vineyards of the Rhine & Mosel (with pre 3-day Paris stay) on the AMA Dolce in early November.

Your descriptions are so wonderful. We are even more excited about our upcoming trip. We also appreciate you mentioning a few caveats about the "AMA desk" at the airport and scheduling on embarkation day.

Of course, we are arriving at a different airport (de Gaulle, which we have yet to hear anything good about :eek:), but we have signed up for a transfer with AMA. We haven't received the details and/or documents yet, but your experience reminds us about the need for flexibility, blended with a little ingenuity (looking for another river cruise company rep if necessary sounds good to us!!;) ).

Thanks again,

-Cat & Dave

Love the detailed review - thank you!

sign up for TSA PreCheck(going) and Global Entry (coming back);

FYI, for those who don't know, you do not need to apply for (or pay for!) both programs. If you are approved for Global Entry for international travel, you get a trusted traveler number that allows you to access TSA Pre-check lanes domestically ;)

Lots of sites have more info, but Greenberg is always easy to read: http://petergreenberg.com/2013/08/20/global-entry-vs-tsa-pre-check-which-is-worth-it/

Can you use the global entry if you have things to declare. I know immigration is different than customs but not sure if you can always use Global Entry as long as the airport has it.

Can you use the global entry if you have things to declare. I know immigration is different than customs but not sure if you can always use Global Entry as long as the airport has it.

The Global Entry website states that you can declare items via the electronic kiosk. The kiosk prints a receipt which you then show to a customs employee. If it says you have things to declare, I assume the employee then handles that.

Excellent review! I still want to read the day by day blog as The Rhine is on our to do list. We just completed The Danube on the AMACerto and agree with your comments on the service and food on AMA.

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Jazzbeau,

 

Thanks so much for your extensive review. We are looking so forward to our first river cruise, 12-day Vineyards of the Rhine & Mosel (with pre 3-day Paris stay) on the AMA Dolce in early November.

 

 

 

Thanks again,

-Cat & Dave

Hi Cat and Dave,

Found you and Jazzbeau's entertaining and informative review and blog. We enjoyed our Amadeus river cruise in 2006 and welcome the newer, larger, and improved boat. I am starting to get excited about the prospect of cruising the Rhine and visiting Paris. Thanx Jazzbeau!

See you guys in Paris.

Bop

Just wanted to thank Jazzbeau for the wonderful trip report and photo gallery. You put much time and effort into this for our education and enjoyment and I just wanted to let you know it is very much appreciated. I have spent hours pouring over the information and am so much more excited about our upcoming trip - less than three weeks now! We are doing this itinerary in reverse on the AMAlyra, our first time on a river cruise.

You had such luck with the weather, your day on the Rhine Valley was literally picture perfect! And what lovely pictures they were - you are quite the photographer. Hoping to come home with a similar photo gallery, saying a prayer to the weather gods... Looks like a small pair of binoculars would be a good thing to take along, putting that on my packing list.

Got our docs this week, they are not offering Mt Pilatus as an option for us, but instead doing Mt Rigi - perhaps because of shorter days in mid-Oct or maybe the weather is not good that late in the fall? We were not sure about the additional tour to the Rhine Falls, but after reading your report, it sounds like we should not miss this side trip, either.

Thanks you again for posting this report and hope your future travels are as happy.

Barb (& Wayne)

Thanks all for your kind words. I'm glad that our thoughts and pictures are helpful. We got so much good advice from Cruise Critic, we want to pay it back!

Barb - from what I've read, Mt. Rigi should be equally good. You see it constantly from the town but it's harder to get to, so you really need the AMA tour.

Tuesday, September 10 – Flight home

 

Early breakfast, with a kismet opportunity to say goodbye to our new friends, then we headed to the airport at 7 in the morning for our flight to Newark. Everybody was on board early and the pilot announced we were ready to leave – but no! The French air traffic controllers were on strike so we would be delayed a few minutes [don’t they even know how to stage a proper strike?] Thankfully the pilot put the pedal to the metal and made up the time – until we got stacked up around Newark for 20 minutes. [if the French unions don’t do you in, the US bureaucracy will…] Finally down, breezed through customs thanks to Global Entry, got the luggage and back to the Hilton for our car and a quick ride home.

 

Thanks for sticking with it all the way!

 

Don’t forget, there are pictures:

 

• Slideshow:

http://cmd.shutterfly.com/commands/pictures/slideshow?site=jazzbeauxrhinecruise&page=jazzbeauxrhinecruise/pictures&album=8&albumPath=

 

• Picture archive:

https://jazzbeauxrhinecruise.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Thanks so much for your wonderful review. We will be sailing from Amsterdam tio Basel in May and I got a lot of useful information for our trip.

Marion