SS Antoinette - Castles Along the Rhine 2013

[atcken]

Ken, I am looking forward to your "re-cap" of your trip. I would also like to hear your train experience.

 

My wife and I are planning on a few days in Berlin, Munich, Regensburg, and Nuremberg before we head to Basel to begin our cruise. We are looking at a tour package that takes us from Munich to Berlin..but then we have to get back down to Regensburg/Nuremberg before Basel. If we don't do that then we are thinking the reverse and doing the train on our own between Berlin and Munich.

 

Our original thought was to tour Germany by bus for 11 days before the cruise but not any longer... just too many days... and don't want to be dragging before the river cruise.

 

 

We just returned a few weeks ago from our Castles along the Rhine cruise onboard the S.S. Antoinette (Amsterdam to Basel itinerary). The ship is fantastic, the crew was excellent, and all of the excursions were at the very minimum enjoyable and interesting (which means most were even better than that). We did them all (included and optional) except Black Forest. And the food on this ship has got to be some of the best I have ever had over any previous cruise.

 

Our pre-cruise and especially our post-cruise experiences (arranged by our travel agent) in Amsterdam and in Grindelwald, Switzerland, also were phenomenal and worth the extra time and expense. Train travel from Basel to Interlaken and then later back to Zurich was efficient and fairly easy. The only hassle we had was that we had packed too much having come off of the river cruise so it was a bit of a struggle lugging our bags to the trains. Next time we'll trim down on our luggage a bit. We had purchased a 4 day Swiss Rail pass which gave us the convenience of using any train during a consecutive 4 day period (you can get longer Swiss rail periods). We did upgrade to 1st class, which allowed us to avoid the more crowded (but of course, less expensive) 2nd class cars.

 

I submitted my cruise review to cruise critic so it should be up on the member review site within the next day or so.

 

Feel free to ask me any questions on here or via email if you'd like.

[atcken]

Here is a link to the cruise review I posted on our recent S.S. Antoinette river cruise. Again, a fantastic trip and our pre and post cruise portions also were great and went off without a hitch.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=106444

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Great, detailed review, thanks so much! I want this one

!

[Buck1949]

We just returned a few weeks ago from our Castles along the Rhine cruise onboard the S.S. Antoinette (Amsterdam to Basel itinerary). The ship is fantastic, the crew was excellent, and all of the excursions were at the very minimum enjoyable and interesting (which means most were even better than that). We did them all (included and optional) except Black Forest. And the food on this ship has got to be some of the best I have ever had over any previous cruise.

 

Our pre-cruise and especially our post-cruise experiences (arranged by our travel agent) in Amsterdam and in Grindelwald, Switzerland, also were phenomenal and worth the extra time and expense. Train travel from Basel to Interlaken and then later back to Zurich was efficient and fairly easy. The only hassle we had was that we had packed too much having come off of the river cruise so it was a bit of a struggle lugging our bags to the trains. Next time we'll trim down on our luggage a bit. We had purchased a 4 day Swiss Rail pass which gave us the convenience of using any train during a consecutive 4 day period (you can get longer Swiss rail periods). We did upgrade to 1st class, which allowed us to avoid the more crowded (but of course, less expensive) 2nd class cars.

 

I submitted my cruise review to cruise critic so it should be up on the member review site within the next day or so.

 

Feel free to ask me any questions on here or via email if you'd like.

 

Thank you for the great information.... I will add it the information I am gathering for this trip. Thanks once again.

[PNW Traveler]

Regarding "touring on your own" in Germany -

A favorite area is northeastern Germany, which is often overlooked by travelers. It's a beautiful area. You will see the towns and villages that have not been so modernized as many areas in western Germany. Visit Neubrandenburg, Teterow, and other small cities. Drive north to Warnemunde and Rostock. Stay at a "castle hotel." We stayed for three nights at Burg Schlitz near Neubrandenburg. This hotel is worth the extra dollars for a superb and amazing hotel stay. You can walk the lanes, experience walled towns, and stroll the cobblestone streets and not see tourists. The German people were welcoming and friendly. We traveled by car - had a diesel Golf that was fun to drive.

[Buck1949]

Regarding "touring on your own" in Germany -

A favorite area is northeastern Germany, which is often overlooked by travelers. It's a beautiful area. You will see the towns and villages that have not been so modernized as many areas in western Germany. Visit Neubrandenburg, Teterow, and other small cities. Drive north to Warnemunde and Rostock. Stay at a "castle hotel." We stayed for three nights at Burg Schlitz near Neubrandenburg. This hotel is worth the extra dollars for a superb and amazing hotel stay. You can walk the lanes, experience walled towns, and stroll the cobblestone streets and not see tourists. The German people were welcoming and friendly. We traveled by car - had a diesel Golf that was fun to drive.

 

 

Great information.... We have been to Warnemunde, Rostock, and Schwerin 3 years ago, and you are absolutely correct. These were great places....we travelled by train and saw much of the countryside. And the 'Rostock' beer I had was GREAT also!:D

[genmasjoy]

I enjoyed your review. We did this trip in April although it was from Basel to Amsterdam, and some of the itinerary varied. It was a wonderful trip, I agree.

[maddiemom]

Here is a link to the cruise review I posted on our recent S.S. Antoinette river cruise. Again, a fantastic trip and our pre and post cruise portions also were great and went off without a hitch.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=106444

 

Thanks for the great detailed review - we cant wait until next years trip ... my husband and I were in Grindelwald last Sept before our Uniworld Enchanting Danube rivercruise and sought out the Hotel Eiger for dinner from our hotel across the street! Loved that part of our trip as well.

[Buck1949]

I enjoyed your review. We did this trip in April although it was from Basel to Amsterdam, and some of the itinerary varied. It was a wonderful trip, I agree.

 

Hello, I noticed you did the Basel to Amsterdam trip and mentioned there were some differences. I'm curious what differences there may have been. We are planning to start in Basel also, and am trying to glean as much insight as possible.

 

Thanks,

[maddiemom]

Here is a link to the cruise review I posted on our recent S.S. Antoinette river cruise. Again, a fantastic trip and our pre and post cruise portions also were great and went off without a hitch.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=106444

 

Last fall when we were on the River Beatrice for the Enchanting Daube they had a smaller restaurant on the ship that you could reserve for dinner besides eating 100% of the time in the Main dining room. Does the Antoinette have something similar? Just curious

[dancer11]

We are doing the Basel to Amsterdam 13 day cruise in Sept. You have given many good points helpful in our planning our excursions. I also appreciate your posting the cost of tours, which I hadn't seen before but was curious about.

Sounds like a wonderful trip.

One of the reasons we chose fall rather than spring was that my research on this site showed more likelihood of river being too high in the spring, which results in events like not being able to reach Basel.

Sadly, we don't experience the new Marie Antoinette, we are on the River Queen, and the windows don't open in the cabins.

Again, thank you for the details, you give just the right balance of information. Some people think we want to know what time they wake and eat, yours is just right.

[atcken]

We are doing the Basel to Amsterdam 13 day cruise in Sept. You have given many good points helpful in our planning our excursions. I also appreciate your posting the cost of tours, which I hadn't seen before but was curious about.

Sounds like a wonderful trip.

One of the reasons we chose fall rather than spring was that my research on this site showed more likelihood of river being too high in the spring, which results in events like not being able to reach Basel.

Sadly, we don't experience the new Marie Antoinette, we are on the River Queen, and the windows don't open in the cabins.

Again, thank you for the details, you give just the right balance of information. Some people think we want to know what time they wake and eat, yours is just right.

 

Glad everyone enjoyed the review...as I have enjoyed the countless reviews by others on this website. The more we can help each other on here by leaving info about our trips, the more enjoyable the cruises/trips are for those vacationing "behind" us :)

[Fairfield Nana]

Four of us are considering this cruise for Sept. 2013 and were wondering if there is a big difference/preference between the Basel--Amsterdam direction versus the southerly opposite direction?How fast would you expect the Cat 1-3 cabins to book up?

[Buck1949]

Four of us are considering this cruise for Sept. 2013 and were wondering if there is a big difference/preference between the Basel--Amsterdam direction versus the southerly opposite direction?How fast would you expect the Cat 1-3 cabins to book up?

 

It seems like I read a posting where someone mentioned that there was one different excursion going south that you did not get going north...but for the life of me I can not find the information.

 

One of the reasons we were thinking Basel to Amsterdam....is that we intend to do touring of Germany before hand...ending up in the region near Nuremberg and Munich..... PLUS... we wanted to try and spend an extra day or so in Amsterdam...thinking flights may be a bit better there.

 

I had read on some of the boards/postings...that this cruise seems to fill up fast. In fact I think I read where someone posted in about March that most of the Antoinette rooms were booked through the end of the year... (not certain tho).

 

We have held off booking this exact River Cruise, as we bought a new home and are trying to conserve a few $$ until after the first of the year. If for some reason this particular one is sold out when we get around to booking...we may well look at the Viking similar cruise ( they are commissioning a bunch of new ships next year) with two of the new ones I think making the River Rhine cruise.

[Buck1949]

Found this posted on May 21st ...... From BarrierIslandGirl - who had just returned from this river cruise......

 

"Those of you who have reservations on the S.S. Antoinette during 2012, CONGRATULATIONS! During the farewell dinner Saturday night the captain told us they are sold out for the entire year. For those who have reservations during 2013, you are the smart ones."

[Fairfield Nana]

Thanks for the info Bill! I think we may press ahead and try book this for 9/13. Hope to see you on one of these trips.

[Fairfield Nana]

We have booked this for the August 25 AMS-Basel cruise. We are 2 couples and have also booked the "pre-cruise" 3 days in Amsterdam and would like some advice on using the included/optional tours while in this city versus doing our own thing? No aversion to renting a car for a day to see some of the nearby towns, or just walking about and taking local transportation in the city. Any thoughts or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!

[Buck1949]

We have booked this for the August 25 AMS-Basel cruise. We are 2 couples and have also booked the "pre-cruise" 3 days in Amsterdam and would like some advice on using the included/optional tours while in this city versus doing our own thing? No aversion to renting a car for a day to see some of the nearby towns, or just walking about and taking local transportation in the city. Any thoughts or advice will be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

Did you decide to do the river cruise earlier than originally planned? I too hope to hear any info about Amsterdam, as we are thinking about staying a couple of days at the end.

[Fairfield Nana]

Seemed like a better time to travel, plus I'd leave tomorrow if possible! If I hear any more about Amsterdam, will let you know. It has been so long since we travelled in this area. We lived in Wiesbaden, Germany for 3 years almost 30 years ago, and expect much has changed. We discovered river cruising in May of this year, taking the Provence trip on the U'world River Royale and it was truly awesome! Couldn't wait to try another one. Hope your plans to travel in Germany prior to the cruise come to fruition. It's been awhile, but I remember how much fun and how easy it was to travel throughout Europe, as we put almost 70,000 miles on our car in the time we lived there. Good Luck!!

[hezz]

Have to get from airport to the port on our own, any suggestions for tour plus port in Amsterdam or should we just take train to town center and canal ride from there and on to port with a cab? Hezzie

[Buck1949]

Hezzie, I would be interested in what you decide.... we are thinking of actually spending a couple of days AFTER the river cruise in Amsterdam, to do the touristy thing. We are still up in the air about so many things with this trip.

 

Fairfield Nana... so you are doing the Amsterdam to Basel trip rather than the other way around??

[Fairfield Nana]

Bill- for my wife and I it was a toss-up which direction to travel. This will be our second river cruise, having done the Provence area this May on the U'world River Royale--awesome!! We had seen both areas of Amsterdam and Basel/Zurich/Lucerne many years ago when we lived in Wiesbaden, Germany. So, we defered to our travel companions to select direction they most preferred. I'm sure we'll have a ball!

 

Hope your plans to travel around Germany pre- or post- cruise will come about. You'll have a great time as southern Germany is spectacular.

[Buck1949]

Anyone else on here yet that is considering the SS Antoinette for September 2013?

 

I realize I said I was booking this for sure...but with the house sale and soon to be moving, everything travelwise is on hold.

 

I hope to keep checking in until we get settle down toward the end of November then can get back to the travel planning. Heck we are in the planning stages of a Mediterranean cruise in Summer 2014, and a Panama Canal Cruise for 2015. Fun part is the planning!!!

[ltansil]

Just for info purposes, 15 months ago there were 8 of us planning on doing this cruise this month, 10/2012. Six of us booked - 4 booked June 2011 and the other two booked Nov. 2011. The other two had some issues that needed to be resolved before they booked, settled those things and called to book May 2012. The boat was SOLD OUT! They have watched it since then and nothing has ever opened up for them. So six of us are leaving next week and the other two are staying at home! Do I need to tell you that they won't let that happen again? I have watched the discussions about price, etc. The bottom line is - will there be availability on the boat? By the way, we got all of the early booking discounts and the price has never again been as good as we got last year. So, I hope some of you are on the FULL boat with us in a couple of weeks. We are so excited.

[Fairfield Nana]

I share your frustration on finding out true and current info on how full a particular ship is. Too bad they don't do like airlines and show "seat availability". We booked this Rhine cruise on the SS Antoinette on Sep 1, and heard it is now nearly full-up. We are taking this along with another couple and got the cabins we wanted at a fair price. After some serous searching we also booked our airline seats. Wow--are flights getting more expensive every time I check. We also booked the 3 day pre-cruise tour of Amsterdam thru Uniworld/Avoya, but are booking our own 2 day post stay to explore Basel. Good thing a lot of the fun of travel is in the initial planning