SS Antoinette - Castles Along the Rhine 2013

[Buck1949]

Hey there Otis.....

 

It seems you may be right, that river cruises don't have the following that the big cruises do. Of course with only 160+ passengers there just isn't many to chat with online. What is also interesting is the fact that there are so many cruisers out there of all types that don't know that Cruise Critic even exists. I've spoken to many acquaintances who have cruised ( some several times ) but did not know about Cruise Critic.

 

I was hoping that more people would still check in occasionally, as we had a bunch of different people that posted during the 1st part of April on this board.

 

Oh well, I know Carol (WallabyGal) from our Alaska cruise last year who will be on the September sailing with a friend of hers, so that is a start. I'm sure we will get to meet many more on the cruise.

 

We have a group from our Alaska cruise that have already started chatting about taking a 14 day Mediterranean cruise in July of 2014, so hopefully that will start gaining momentum after we all finish this years cruises.

 

Good hearing from you.... TRAVEL SAFE!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thanks for all the info ..

[DuggerPDX]

We are still here! Been lurking and reading posts. Like most of you we made our final payment for the cruise this week.

 

Our biggest issue has been with Delta and schedule changes. They dropped our flight into Zurich and out of Dusseldorf so we had to make changes. But in the end we were put on the non-stop flights from our home in Portland to Amsterdam. Those flights are usually really expensive so we typically connect in some other US city. Full disclosure, I am a travel agent, so I tend to over think some of our plans!

 

-Doug

[Fairfield Nana]

Howdy Bill! I share your growing excitement about our pending Rhine cruise on SSA and am starting to count the days. I also share your surprise that so few people have discovered this wonderful (and extremely helpful) website. I guess it will have to slowly grow as more folks are tipped off to it.

 

Good luck planning your Med cruise! We took an RCL cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas two years ago, and are still grinning from ear to ear--totally awesome experience!!

 

Otis

[Los Angeles Native]

Please continue to post on this web string after your cruise. My husband and I were scheduled to leave last September. Three weeks prior, he (don't ask me how) came down with a bacterial infection lodged in his spine, requiring surgery and rehab.

 

Fortunately, I purchased insurance with an independent broker and received a complete refund. Now I'm looking at next year, but wonder if September is the best time of year (weather-wise and water-level wise).

 

Please report back after your travels.

 

L.A. Native

[Buck1949]

Please continue to post on this web string after your cruise. My husband and I were scheduled to leave last September. Three weeks prior, he (don't ask me how) came down with a bacterial infection lodged in his spine, requiring surgery and rehab.

 

Fortunately, I purchased insurance with an independent broker and received a complete refund. Now I'm looking at next year, but wonder if September is the best time of year (weather-wise and water-level wise).

 

Please report back after your travels.

 

L.A. Native

 

Oh no!!! I'm sorry to hear that unfortunate circumstance...... But good that travel insurance 'saved the day'.

 

I will most certainly post a recap of the cruise and overall experience we had. So far I have not found many that could find much wrong with the (river) cruise experience. Hopefully the weather history holds true to form, and continues to be great for September. I have not checked the history of the water levels yet. Lets hope they are good also.

 

As always feel free to email me with questions - thoughts etc. (link is in my signature line)..... But I plan on posting after the cruise also. Heck if I have time, and decent WiFi connections, I may post a little during the cruise.

[Buck1949]

Only 75 days till the cruise!!! We are actually leaving Arizona a week before this cruise so that we can explore Munich, Germany. Then we will take the train into Basel on the 31st of August. Seems like the Rhine may have been spared the high water issues that have plagued the Danube.

 

Otis, if you are still peeking in here..... What time of the year did you do the Med cruise? Looks like a mid-July cruise for us there next year, and I am a bit afraid it may be a very hot and humid.

 

Anyone else traveling on the September 1st - 'Castles Along the Rhine' ?

[hbscouter]

Four days and counting until we leave for Castles Along the Rhine! Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long, but life happened. I appreciate all the information everyone else has shared, even though I’ve been lurking. After the cruise I will post a review and will answer any questions you may have.

 

We are flying from Southern CA direct to London Thursday, spend the night, and then connect to Amsterdam. We arrive in Amsterdam early Saturday so we have at least a full day to explore. It’s not much time, but enough for a stroll through the Red Light District, tour the Anne Frank museum, wander canals, and appreciate the city.

 

We leave on the Antoinette on Sunday June 30th. After the cruise, we are spending five nights in Switzerland. It will be a whirlwind time with one night in Bern, two in Lauterbrunnen, ending with one each in Lucerne and Zurich.

 

My packing is almost done, but after looking at the weather channel, I need my rain gear! I guess the rain gear from Boy Scout National Jamboree will come in handy!

[Buck1949]

Four days and counting until we leave for Castles Along the Rhine! Sorry I’ve been MIA for so long, but life happened. I appreciate all the information everyone else has shared, even though I’ve been lurking. After the cruise I will post a review and will answer any questions you may have.

 

We are flying from Southern CA direct to London Thursday, spend the night, and then connect to Amsterdam. We arrive in Amsterdam early Saturday so we have at least a full day to explore. It’s not much time, but enough for a stroll through the Red Light District, tour the Anne Frank museum, wander canals, and appreciate the city.

 

We leave on the Antoinette on Sunday June 30th. After the cruise, we are spending five nights in Switzerland. It will be a whirlwind time with one night in Bern, two in Lauterbrunnen, ending with one each in Lucerne and Zurich.

 

My packing is almost done, but after looking at the weather channel, I need my rain gear! I guess the rain gear from Boy Scout National Jamboree will come in handy!

 

 

I look forward to your review. Enjoy your trip !!!

[Fairfield Nana]

Hey Buck-- We did the Med cruis in May on board the RCL Brilliance of the Seas. Weather was fantastic for the entir trip as was the rest of the issues for this cruise. We just returned from a family trip to Ireland. Rented a couple of cars and toured the county for 2 weeks and had a ball! Especially our 7 year old twin grandsons. Stayed mostly at B&Bs. We are SO looking forward to our Rhine cruise on the SS Antoinette.

 

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but the overal quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! This is probably not the right link to make these comments, but my family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

[Buck1949]

WORD TO THE WISE!!-- Beware of Delta airlines!! I guess this may be the wave of the future for all US airlines, but the overal quality is in the toilet!-- FLIGHTS ARE CONSISTENLY LATE, OVERBOOKED, AND THEIR IN-PROCESS AND IN-FLIGHT SERVICE IS TERRIBLE!! This is probably not the right link to make these comments, but my family is so upset over our recent three flights on Delta that I feel compelled to wine as loud as possible in hopes that they get the message and improve.

 

Hmmmmmm, not sure it is just Delta. Friends of ours flew out from the East Coast on an airline earlier this week to LA, California, and were to connect with another flight that afternoon on the same airline to Hawaii. They decided to fly in a couple of days early before their Island cruise on NCL began.

 

Well guess what, apparently they - The airline 'forgot' (this is what I was told was The airline's explanation) to send a plane for the LA to Hawaii leg of the journey. The family had to spend the night at a hotel in LA, and lose the nights $$ & lodging in Honolulu due to that error. No word on whether the airline was picking up the tabs. Don't want to divulge/the airline name but this is not supposed to happen in The 'UNITED' States of America !!:D

 

So with today's over bookings, lack of concern for the passenger - and their 'we gotcha where we wantcha' attitude - I think this is becoming more of a problem than ever.

 

On a happier note, we have gotten our itinerary pretty well set both pre and post river cruise. I finally went and bought a new electric travel converter (boy there have been changes in the design and weight of those over the last 10 years) in order to keep our iPads, iPhones and camera batteries charged. Another thing I did was go to Target and buy one of those sport type water bottles with a built in filter that you can fill with any tap water, in order to have tasty, filtered, drinkable water anywhere. I like drinking good water, so figured this may be a good thing to have with me during our walk around Munich and while on excursions. (Yep, I can probably buy a bottle of water most any place as my wife mentioned) but this saves plastic bottles and is always at the ready!

 

Well it is less than 2 months for us to head to Munich, and we are really getting anxious. My old German friend whom I have not seen since the 80's is picking us up at the train station in Regensberg and showing us the area while we are there. We have 6 days pre cruise to check out the countryside.

 

After the cruise we are in Amsterdam for 3 days and have booked the Anne Frank House tour, and also a walking tour of the Red Light District. Hope to do the hop on hop off canal cruise also.

 

Well I have been long winded enough...... :eek:

 

Wish you and yours a safe and pleasant trip!!

[SOShrink]

Bill, if I can make a suggestion....Instead of the Red Light District Tour, I would suggest the WWII Historical Walking Tour that leaves from the steps of Anne Frank House. It tied in nicely with Anne Frank, and you walk through incredible neighborhoods and by landmarks you would never know about. If you want more info,, it is well represented on TripAdvisor or I can tell you.

Steve

[Buck1949]

Bill, if I can make a suggestion....Instead of the Red Light District Tour, I would suggest the WWII Historical Walking Tour that leaves from the steps of Anne Frank House. It tied in nicely with Anne Frank, and you walk through incredible neighborhoods and by landmarks you would never know about. If you want more info,, it is well represented on TripAdvisor or I can tell you.

Steve

 

Thanks for the information Steve. We have already purchased the Red Light tour tickets, and not sure if they are reimbursable. I will still look at the Historical Walking Tour you suggested, and I do appreciate the input.

[WallabyGal]

Fairfield Nana - you are so right, Delta is awful! I had a bad experience w/them recently & not only trashed them on the customer survey, but then went to the website & complained there too. Very quickly they apologized & then sent me an Amazon.com $25 gift card. OK, not huge, but at least something, & made me feel a little better.

 

But Bill is right, all of the airlines just don't seem to care anymore. JetBlue used to routinely give out credit when flights were very late or there were other issues, but I just had a seriously delayed flight to Austin from Boston (their fault too, not weather related), & nothing. I don't have time to complain again right now.

 

Bill - was what you were talking about in going to Hawaii what happened to Sheila & family??? Horrible!!! She must be entitled to some compensation! I'd be screaming when I got back if happened to me.

 

Travel is just not what it used to - or IMHO - SHOULD be these days, sigh.

[Buck1949]

 

Bill - was what you were talking about in going to Hawaii what happened to Sheila & family??? Horrible!!! She must be entitled to some compensation! I'd be screaming when I got back if happened to me.

 

Travel is just not what it used to - or IMHO - SHOULD be these days, sigh.

 

Yep, that is what I was told happened to Sheila.... hard to believe that an airline could 'forget' to send an airplane....

 

Hopefully our trip to Munich will be smooth. Thank goodness we are going 6 days in advance of the River Cruise.....

Edited June 30, 2013 by Buck1949
spelling

[Fairfield Nana]

To all- I agree with most all the comments/replies to my recent rant about Delta. Poor service is why we dumped United after 30 years of increasingly poor service. Had hoped for better from Delta and last few flights prior to our last booking were quite nice--then had a this experience the other day. I realize "stuff" happens and flights can be delayed. HIs does not and should not excuse extremely poor service and rude behavior on the part of gate personnel and some flight attendants. especially when two of our seven travellers were two 7 year old boys.

 

I share most expressed concerns that such poor service is becoming more the norm than the exception--just not sure what can be done about it. Hate to bother our esteemed congressmen about it--they are dysfunctional enough! Just makes you appreciate good service all the more and to go out of your way to say 'thank"!!

[Buck1949]

Well said !!!!

[Fairfield Nana]

Howdy Bill!--and others who put up with my rant the other day about Delta airlines. This is from a comment I just made in the "cruise air" section of this site. I'm a firm believer in making nice if deserved--

 

I am a happy camper (traveler)--this morning I received a very sincere two-page apology from Delta which I found both impressive and to the point. They also sent some major flight vouchers for future travel. Guess I will have to reconsider my plans for future travel with Delta, and send them a "thank you" note as well. I'm still bothered by the continuing occurences of poor customer service in many sectors, but will have to address each one as it pertains to me as they arise--including providing positive feedback where warranted. I try to do this via the reviews I've submitted under my "no de plume" with TripAdvisor--Fairfield 10.

[Buck1949]

Wow..... squeaky wheel huh? Good that you got some acknowledgment. Sometimes they just need to hear how things are....and of course if there are enough who make a statement - then they have to know it is more than just an isolated incident

 

Take care,

[WallabyGal]

Fairfield - HOORAY! Now if they will only improve in general so they don't need to apologize. I remember how exciting flying used to be, & how people dressed up to fly, etc. I'm clearly showing my age which isn't THAT old, I was about 5 on my 1st flight, but it was such a different experience! But glad you got a nice apology!

 

I was surprised about what you said about United - they're not the best, but some years ago on my younger daughter's first solo trip (~9th grade) her luggage was 'lost' & never found. They knew pretty quickly at United that would be the case (never turning up), they figured it had been stolen since they'd put it on an earlier flight than she was on (she flew STL-ORD-BOS). Anyway, we were scheduled to go to Europe on a 2+ week cruise & she had virtually no clothes, not being a clothes horse. We madly went shopping, & I sent United a bill for almost $3000 (including things like her retainer, a library book she'd taken - she'd been at an archeology program in southern IL). To my amazement, they sent me a check quite quickly & an apology. The funny part was when I spoke to agents (daily as you can imagine) & they'd look at similar bags they'd 'found' & ask if she had 4 bottles of Johnny Walker in her bag by any chance. I hope not!

 

Cheers,

Carol

[Fairfield Nana]

Dear Bill (and others)--Only 7 more weeks until "up the Rhine we go" ..or is it down the Rhine? Getting very excited and I promise to make sure the SS Antoinette is left in super shape for you guys who board after us. We won't drink up all the wine---just most of it! We still have a bunch of Euros left over from our trip to Ireland last week, and a whole lot of left over desire for adventure. Can't speak to a recommendation of the Anne Frank museum versus the Red Light district, other than to say it might be "safer" at our age to do the Anne Frank House? Of course if you have a spring in your step--go for both!

 

Hope the planning for all your side trips in Germany is coming along well. Only advice I could offer is to be flexible, carry a German phrase book (won't need it much--it's the gesture that counts), have some coins in your pocket for the toilets, and keep a good sense of humor, and you will have a ball!

[Buck1949]

Dear Bill (and others)--Only 7 more weeks until "up the Rhine we go" ..or is it down the Rhine? Getting very excited and I promise to make sure the SS Antoinette is left in super shape for you guys who board after us. We won't drink up all the wine---just most of it! We still have a bunch of Euros left over from our trip to Ireland last week, and a whole lot of left over desire for adventure. Can't speak to a recommendation of the Anne Frank museum versus the Red Light district, other than to say it might be "safer" at our age to do the Anne Frank House? Of course if you have a spring in your step--go for both!

 

Hope the planning for all your side trips in Germany is coming along well. Only advice I could offer is to be flexible, carry a German phrase book (won't need it much--it's the gesture that counts), have some coins in your pocket for the toilets, and keep a good sense of humor, and you will have a ball!

 

Otis, I hear you on the getting excited part. This week I got the suitcases out of the garage, and began throwing a few things in them that I didn't want to forget (spare eye glasses etc.) We do have a checklist (that now has expanded to 2 pages) that we use to pack with. One thing this time I have promised myself is not to OVER pack. I did that when I went on the 12 day Baltic Cruise, and was exhausted just hauling around the luggage. I figure an afternoon at the laundry, will be well worth not lugging excess stuff.

 

One issue I do have to be careful of is not to forget any real needed clothing item(s). You see I am 6' 5" tall and weigh in at a football players weight (not the physique unfortunately :() so I am rarely able to pop into a store and buy a jacket or pants if I need one. :eek:

 

We are really going to be pretty flexible as we have only one day while in Munich that we will have to plan specifically.....and that is to take the early train to Regensburg on the 29th of August to meet up with my old friend Viktor. (haven't seen him since the mid-80's).

 

BTW - It's ok on the wine.... (I'm not a big wine drinker - but my wife will not be pleased if there is none for her) :D - and since Germany is known mostly for it's beers - I hope to have a 'couple' while there.

 

Also we solved the dilemma about the tours in Amsterdam....we booked both the Anne Frank House and the Red Light Tour for the same afternoon. We are being joined by WallabyGal (Carol and her friend Sheryl). Would like to also take the WWII tour while there, but will have to see if there is enough time to do it all. One additional thing we are contemplating is taking the hop on hop off Canal boat/bus.

 

Sure hope you have a GREAT cruise, and would love to compare your trip to ours when we both have finished them. We are truly hoping that we enjoy this type of cruising, as we would like to plan more of the 'river' style cruises in the future in order to see the interior of the various countries. One place that has caught our eye is a tour that goes from Paris to Prague. We shall see how it goes.

 

Take care,

 

.....and Safe Travels !!!

[SOShrink]

Bill, and anyone else who is interested, I don't know what your time frame is, but if you plan on going to the newly refurbished Van Gogh or Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt), you can easily get internet tickets ahead of time. Their websites are fun and easy to navigate, and very informative. It's a real pleasure avoiding the lines snaking out the door, and going right in! Both those museums were closed for years of renovation and are quite something to see according to the NY Times Travel section and other sources. And on a closing note, we hope things cool down in Arizona, not that living in FL is a picnic in July, and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY everyone!!

Steve

[Fairfield Nana]

Bill-- I got a really neat tip from someone on a cruise a couple years ago who suggested taking one of those cheap plastic shoe storage bags to hang on the back of your closet or bathroom door. The kind that has 20 or so small shoe pockets on it in clear or opaque plastic. Got one and used it a couple times and it's really cool--especially for guys like us with lots of small junk--- cameras, trip brochures, wallet, passport, binoculars, extra eyeglasses, tums, sunscreen, etc. You may have already gotten this tip.

[Buck1949]

Bill, and anyone else who is interested, I don't know what your time frame is, but if you plan on going to the newly refurbished Van Gogh or Rijksmuseum (Rembrandt), you can easily get internet tickets ahead of time. Their websites are fun and easy to navigate, and very informative. It's a real pleasure avoiding the lines snaking out the door, and going right in! Both those museums were closed for years of renovation and are quite something to see according to the NY Times Travel section and other sources. And on a closing note, we hope things cool down in Arizona, not that living in FL is a picnic in July, and HAPPY 4TH OF JULY everyone!!

Steve

 

Thanks for the insight Steve,

 

We are staying just a block from the 2 museums - and our hotel has tickets for both available to us. These are also the types that let you bypass the long lines. Since we are not positive which one (or both) we may want to see, and on what day, we are waiting till we get there to pick. We are not huge art Museum fans, so that part is up in the air a little. (:) Ironically we recently purchased a new home - and the name of the model we chose was the 'Van Gogh'.) We do have a photo of 'Van Gogh' displayed in the house.

 

We are on a 'big' :D cool down here today - all the way to 108 degrees from the 119/120 of last week. One thing that we are dreading is the increase in humidity, which has started. Then the dust storms and smattering of rain makes for a miserable couple of months. BUT we tolerate this in exchange for the normally awesome weather we have here from October through March/April !

 

Thanks once again for the ideas.