Trying to Choose Rhine Cruise for late 2015

[Sapphire73]

A small group of us would like to take a river cruise along the Rhine next autumn. I have done a fair amount of research but don't feel ready to pull the trigger (and my traveling companions asked me to take the lead on this).

 

What we are interested in:

 

1) Interesting excursions - good guides, city maps, perhaps some choice in speed of excursion

 

2) Good food, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting at least some of the time.

 

3) Comfortable beds and a large window that opens or French balcony in state rooms.

 

4) Good wine and beers, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting.

 

Itinerary: I am hoping to take a river cruise that visits Colmar, Strasbourg and Riquewehr along with the more typical ports. (Some of us have been to Amsterdam, Lucerne, Mainz, and a few of the towns along the Rhine before so it would be great to explore something a little different as we enjoy cruising this river.)

 

Specific Questions/Concerns about Various River Cruise Companies

 

Grand Circle Travel - the itineraries and excursions in port look very interesting; reputation for excellent guides; wondering about quality of the food and wine; looks like a good value. Interested in the Romance of the Rhine and Mosel

 

Viking - I started reading this forum again last summer when people were complaining about customer service during the flooding but have also read many good things about Viking. Any thoughts re quality of tours? Food?

 

AMA - read a travel critic's review saying that the guides on her cruise were mediocre and the food bland. But I have also seen many positive reviews from travelers on this forum. The itinerary of the Enchanting Rhine looks pretty good, too. Would welcome further input on this cruise line.

 

Any other cruise lines you highly recommend?

 

Many thanks!

[alexandra cruiser]

AMA would be my choice.Have taken the above and it was the BEST by far.Took 3 on them so far.

Every point you questioned was WELL taken care of .

Travel channel Burt Wolff chose this line, figure he d really know,right?

 

Did you read the above sticky that talks about the different lines?info for newbies

 

Viking would be second of these,then Grand Circle(which I won t go on now due to NOT allowing TA s to book with them) and all senior Americans on line.

[cole]

A small group of us would like to take a river cruise along the Rhine next autumn. I have done a fair amount of research but don't feel ready to pull the trigger (and my traveling companions asked me to take the lead on this).

 

What we are interested in:

 

1) Interesting excursions - good guides, city maps, perhaps some choice in speed of excursion

 

2) Good food, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting at least some of the time.

 

3) Comfortable beds and a large window that opens or French balcony in state rooms.

 

4) Good wine and beers, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting.

 

Itinerary: I am hoping to take a river cruise that visits Colmar, Strasbourg and Riquewehr along with the more typical ports. (Some of us have been to Amsterdam, Lucerne, Mainz, and a few of the towns along the Rhine before so it would be great to explore something a little different as we enjoy cruising this river.)

 

Specific Questions/Concerns about Various River Cruise Companies

 

Grand Circle Travel - the itineraries and excursions in port look very interesting; reputation for excellent guides; wondering about quality of the food and wine; looks like a good value. Interested in the Romance of the Rhine and Mosel

 

Viking - I started reading this forum again last summer when people were complaining about customer service during the flooding but have also read many good things about Viking. Any thoughts re quality of tours? Food?

 

AMA - read a travel critic's review saying that the guides on her cruise were mediocre and the food bland. But I have also seen many positive reviews from travelers on this forum. The itinerary of the Enchanting Rhine looks pretty good, too. Would welcome further input on this cruise line.

 

Any other cruise lines you highly recommend?

 

Many thanks!

 

If cabin accommodations are important, be sure to check the size on each ship, etc. We are doing the same research and have zeroed in on Avalon or Uniworld. Of course, have sailed with both in the past, so trust their tours, food, etc. will be tops.

Cole

[notamermaid]

Hello Sapphire73,

 

so many companies and itineraries, spoilt for choice! I have not sailed "my" river, so will only give this recommendation:

 

by late autumn you probably mean October, which can be a great time to travel. I would avoid a cruise that starts late in October running into November. All Saints Day is a strict bank holiday and usually considered the start of the winter season, which means on that day shops are closed and after that a few attractions close for the winter. Something to consider, I think, just in case you are looking at a specific place you want to see.

 

A combined Rhine and Moselle cruise is also a nice idea. Especially if it means you have a stop at or excursion to Trier.

 

I recall a CC member visiting Baden-Baden on a cruise, that is a rare stop for river cruise ships. I like the idea as it is a slightly elegant spa town and quite different from the other towns usually visited.

 

Of course, Cologne Cathedral is a must-see. :)

 

notamermaid

[Host Jazzbeau]

I did this itinerary with AMA last year and was very happy with the entire experience (including all the points you mention). The food was excellent and the included wines (which changed every day) were from the region. One day they had Frühschoppen (a German barbeque) on the Sun Deck just before lunch. All our tour guides (except one) were top notch, and there were choices between fast, normal and slow walkers (plus bikes).

 

The day in Breisach there were two options (both included): walking tour of Breisach and Freiburg, or walking tour of Colmar and Riquewihr. We chose the latter and enjoyed it very much, especially Riquewihr. However I notice in the 2015 AMA itinerary that this tour only goes to Riquewihr - so you will miss Colmar on this cruise [they probably made the change from feedback like ours that Colmar isn't that interesting and more time in Riquewihr would be preferable].

[CPT Trips]

GCT itinerary for Rhein and Moselle is terrific . . . Good included tours and, if you are willing to eat lunch in town rather than returning to ship, plenty of time for exploring on your own.

 

Only balcony rooms have windows that open. As with many river boats, the space for the balcony is taken from the room, bathrooms in these cabins are not as roomy as in other cabins. Beds are comfy, but are singles and can't be made into a double/queen.

 

I think the food is fine, but it is Americanized regional. The included wines are nothing to shout about . . . but you are on the Rhein and Mosel!

 

Program Directors, local tour guides and ship's crew are tops too. There is no better bang for the buck out there.

[bobpatj]

We took this cruise on Vantage, last fall, and would highly recommend it. We took a pre-cruise for 3 nights in Lucerne, took a bus to the river ship, in Basel, with a stop for tour and lunch on the way, cruised the Rhine to the Moselle, up the Moselle to Luxemburg, down the Moselle to the Rhine and on to Amsterdam. Our ship was new, French balcony cabin amazing, food great, officers & crew wonderful, itinerary outstanding. Sounds like we liked it enough to cruise with Vantage again this fall. :)

[FuelScience]

We've signed up for the Vantage Rhine/Moselle for next year. We really liked the idea of doing both rivers. We've done the Viking Cities of Light--Paris to Prague--and loved the Moselle.

 

The Vantage itinerary is two weeks. If that's too long, Viking will begin offering the Rhine Rhapsody next year that will go from Paris to Basel. I think that some others offer similar trips.

 

Good luck. You're going to have a GREAT time.

 

FuelScience

[FuelScience]

We took this cruise on Vantage, last fall, and would highly recommend it. We took a pre-cruise for 3 nights in Lucerne, took a bus to the river ship, in Basel, with a stop for tour and lunch on the way, cruised the Rhine to the Moselle, up the Moselle to Luxemburg, down the Moselle to the Rhine and on to Amsterdam. Our ship was new, French balcony cabin amazing, food great, officers & crew wonderful, itinerary outstanding. Sounds like we liked it enough to cruise with Vantage again this fall. :)

 

Pat,

 

We'll be doing this cruise (Amsterdam to Basel direction) next summer. If you'd be willing to answer questions about the itinerary some time, send me an email at fuelscience at gmail dot com.

 

Thanks,

George

[bigbillfromchicago]

DW and I did this itinerary on Uniworld's SS Antionette and were really impressed. We loved the all inclusive pricing.

 

Food and wine were locally sourced.

 

Tours were all excellent and many were offered at two levels of intensity.

 

Our cabin had a french balcony that worked great. Also loved the quality of the furnishings, the nice shower, and free self-serve laundry.

 

Enjoyed the spectacular indoor swimming pool with floor to ceiling windows on three sides.

 

Crew and on-board entertainers could not have been better.

 

Lots of nice touches like free water bottles anytime you left the ship and nice cool towels and fruit juice when you returned.

[suspaul]

Hi. We've pretty much cruised with Viking the past several trips, #4 coming up later this year and have been pleased. However, we did Castles Along the Rhine with Uniworld a few years ago and loved it. We went in September and had nice weather for the most part, food and wine were good, no complaints, but they've changed their policy and are now all inclusive so I think they may be much higher in cost. We enjoyed dining in local restaurants when in Colmar, Riquewehr and Strasbourg to get more of a regional taste.

 

We have done river cruises with Grand Circle, Uniworld & Viking and have enjoyed each one, yes there are differences but see which fits your budget and interests the best. As to Issues with Viking during river flooding, we were on a cruise December 2011 and due to river issues our 7 night cruise turned into 3 hotel nights, buses and a short 4 night river cruise that was less than ideal. Yes, I feel Viking could/should have handled some things differently but all river cruises had problems that year, so other than posters being more vocal regarding Viking than other lines, I'm not sure they did any worse than others. Please know this is only my opinion. Since that trip we have traveled with Viking last October and will do so this December.

 

Have a wonderful trip once you decide which company to go with. And just a word of advice, don't wait too long to book as all of the river cruises seem to book fast and you wouldn't want to miss out.

 

Enjoy

[jpalbny]

A small group of us would like to take a river cruise along the Rhine next autumn. I have done a fair amount of research but don't feel ready to pull the trigger (and my traveling companions asked me to take the lead on this).

 

What we are interested in:

 

1) Interesting excursions - good guides, city maps, perhaps some choice in speed of excursion

 

2) Good food, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting at least some of the time.

 

3) Comfortable beds and a large window that opens or French balcony in state rooms.

 

4) Good wine and beers, preferably reflecting the places we are visiting.

 

 

Any other cruise lines you highly recommend?

 

Many thanks!

 

1. Book Uniworld Castles on the Rhine on the SS Antoinette

 

2. Have a fantastic time!

 

In all seriousness, it meets all of your criteria above except that we had to choose between Collmar vs. Kayserburg / Riquewihr. I do think that Kayserburg / Riquewihr in the AM, followed by independent time in Collmar in the afternoon, would have been an option. Good mix of tours with free time, and they gave maps at every stop.

 

Lots of local food and wine. The category 1 staterooms have a window that opens creating a nice balcony. We loved it; have a look at our travelogue for more details of what it was like (link in signature below).

[Sapphire73]

1. Book Uniworld Castles on the Rhine on the SS Antoinette

 

2. Have a fantastic time!

 

We loved it; have a look at our travelogue for more details of what it was like (link in signature below).

 

I read your travelogue (and looked at your photos) - as you were posting along the way. Great job reporting on the trip! Thank you for responding to query here as well. Looks like you had a great time!

Edited June 11, 2014 by Sapphire73

[whatnot]

Did a lot of research and we booked Uniworld Castles Along the Rhine on the SS Antionette. The ship looks fabulous! We did Uniworld before on the Danube and loved all except the size of the stateroom. This time we are booking the Cat 1 with the real balcony. Loved Uniworlds attention to detail and really outstanding free shore excursions.

[peterdkiwi]

Sapphire73

We did Basel to Amsterdam with Avalon last year (3 couples), we found everything, from food, 200 sqft staterooms with French Balcony, wine & meals from each region served each night, good tour guides etc etc to be perfect. It was so good we are doing Prague to Budapest with Avalon in 5 weeks.

If you would like daily schedules for this trip, send me an email to

pad62@xtra.co.nz as I kept the daily news from our CD each day

You will not be disappointed with Avalon

[amd1234]

Reading all the post about which company to book for the Rhine. We leave June 29 Amsterdam to Basel Castles on Rhine. This will be our second cruise with Uniworld. Absolutely loved Uniworld. We cruised with AMA a few years ago on the Danube and we were disappointed with the food. It was a real issue with hubby ..Last June we cruised Burgundy Provence great itinerary. We have a French Balcony this year last year we had a picture window which was fine! I will post a review when I return. This year Uniowrld will be all inclusive which is a bonus for us..

[Sapphire73]

Did you read the above sticky that talks about the different lines?info for newbies.

 

Thank you for your recommendation of AMA based on your experience with them. And, yes, I have carefully researched this thread and felt it might be helpful to post some specific questions. Thanks again!

[Sapphire73]

I would avoid a cruise that starts late in October running into November. All Saints Day is a strict bank holiday and usually considered the start of the winter season, which means on that day shops are closed and after that a few attractions close for the winter. Something to consider, I think, just in case you are looking at a specific place you want to see.

 

Thank you for this tip re timing and All Saints Day (which I think will be November 1st in 2015?). I don't think we would mind some shops and restaurants being closed but might be sad if some places were closed for the winter to tours.

 

Thanks again. I always enjoy seeing your input on these threads.

[Sapphire73]

I did this itinerary with AMA last year and was very happy with the entire experience (including all the points you mention). The food was excellent and the included wines (which changed every day) were from the region.

 

I enjoyed reading your review last year and was pretty much sold on taking this trip with AMA at the time. But since this may well be our one and only European river cruise, we are researching it thoroughly. Would probably be consulting at TA for help right about now except for the fact that GCT is still an option for us.

 

Thanks for your input and for serving as a host on this forum.

[Sapphire73]

GCT itinerary for Rhein and Moselle is terrific . . . Good included tours and, if you are willing to eat lunch in town rather than returning to ship, plenty of time for exploring on your own.

 

Only balcony rooms have windows that open. As with many river boats, the space for the balcony is taken from the room, bathrooms in these cabins are not as roomy as in other cabins. Beds are comfy, but are singles and can't be made into a double/queen.

 

I think the food is fine, but it is Americanized regional. The included wines are nothing to shout about . . . but you are on the Rhein and Mosel!

 

Program Directors, local tour guides and ship's crew are tops too. There is no better bang for the buck out there.

 

Thank you for giving us some specific feedback on GCT. A friend of ours has done many trips with OAT and GCT, and her recommendation prompted us to take another look at GCT.

 

From my perspective, it would be nice if the food and beverages reflected the places we are traveling but you make a good point about being able to eat lunch in port and sample the local food (and ambience) that way. Our friend also recommended buying local wines and bringing them on board, which sounds like a good option.

 

A specific room/window question. I partly like the idea of a balcony or window that opens for the off chance that there is a photo op that I grab quickly. But it sounds like you find the other rooms more comfortable since they and the bathrooms are a bit larger? (I had heard that the balcony space is subtracted from the room but didn't realize that it impacts the bathroom, too.)

 

It sounds like you have taken this cruise. If so, did you add either of the extensions? Bruges or Lucerne? If you happen to have done both, which did you prefer?

 

Appreciate your input.

[rogerdawhip]

I have done GCT's Romance of the Rhine & Mosel twice ... once in each direction ... and would go again in a heartbeat. The major downside for some people are the beds. They are Pullman type fold down beds. When up, they give you much more room in the cabin though. I've had a balcony cabin each time and one of my favorite things was having my coffee on the balcony as we cruise in the am. I also find that GCT's air option is cheaper (for) me and their routings have been excellent.

Edited June 11, 2014 by rogerdawhip

[Sapphire73]

I have done GCT's Romance of the Rhine & Mosel twice ... once in each direction ... and would go again in a heartbeat. The major downside for some people are the beds. They are Pullman type fold down beds. When up, they give you much more room in the cabin though. I've had a balcony cabin each time and one of my favorite things was having my coffee on the balcony as we cruise in the am. I also find that GCT's air option is cheaper (for) me and their routings have been excellent.

 

Thank you. Good to know GCT's air option has also worked out for you. What time of year did you take these trips? Did you prefer one direction over the other for time in ports, going through the Rhine River gorge, etc.? And did you take either of the extensions?

 

I hear that the beds are pretty comfortable. I know that the couches are tapered, and our friend who travels OAT & GCT wasn't sure whether the pull down beds are tapered as well. In the photos, they look like typical twin beds.

 

Thank you again for your input on all of this.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Sapphire73

[Host Jazzbeau]

A specific room/window question. I partly like the idea of a balcony or window that opens for the off chance that there is a photo op that I grab quickly. But it sounds like you find the other rooms more comfortable since they and the bathrooms are a bit larger? (I had heard that the balcony space is subtracted from the room but didn't realize that it impacts the bathroom, too.)

 

This is where the French Balcony is great. You can open the sliding door for photos (and even lean out to get a perspective other than straight on), but it doesn't steal any space from the cabin.

[rogerdawhip]

Thank you. Good to know GCT's air option has also worked out for you. What time of year did you take these trips? Did you prefer one direction over the other for time in ports, going through the Rhine River gorge, etc.? And did you take either of the extensions?

 

I hear that the beds are pretty comfortable. I know that the couches are tapered, and our friend who travels OAT & GCT wasn't sure whether the pull down beds are tapered as well. In the photos, they look like typical twin beds.

 

Thank you again for your input on all of this.

I traveled in June and August (I prefer warm weather and it still being light on deck after dinner). I preferred the Basel to Antwerp route because I liked Lucerne as a pre trip. I've done both extensions and highly recommend them. The pull down beds are typical twin size and very comfortable. (I'm 6'2")

[CPT Trips]

We did Rhein and Mosel in late March, early April. Weather was everything . . . rain, sun, warm, cool. Pack for layers, not fashion. We did Antwerp to Basel with GCT air. Rhein gorge was transited late afternoon, it was cool/cold on upper deck with the wind, but really not much "worse" than when we did the same stretch in the morning in August on a different cruise. My preference is to have cooler temps than the 80-90s we experienced in August.