Crucemundo--Crucevita Reviews?

[cuervobird]

Anyone who has taken an early 2019 cruise on the Crucevita,  please provide review/experiences...Thanks

[lmazza1]

We were on the Crucevita in May 2019, cruise from Amsterdam to Mainz. We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed this cruise. Our room was very comfortable,  with plenty of drawers and closet space for all our stuff. We had the lower level rooms and had no complaints with them. The food was exceptional and we got to try many dishes that we had never had before. The crew were all so friendly and very helpful with providing info concerning our day trips into the towns or cities along the way.

This was our first river cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it to. It is a smaller ship, so that may not be what some people are looking for but we quite enjoyed getting to know the other cruisers on our trip down the Rhine.

[cuervobird]

Thanks so much for the information!....Smaller boat sounds appealing.

We are doing Amsterdam-Mainz as well...   What time did you dock in Mainz? ..and how early were people allowed to exit?  We have a flight out of Cologne so need to get moving early as possible from Mainz....   Thanks again!.

[lmazza1]

We docked in the early morning hours and disembarked around 8:30am. We had to catch a train from Mainz to Frankfurt airport for a flight leaving at 12:30pm. We had plenty of time. They are well aware that people have trains and planes to catch, so they do everything they can to get to Mainz on time. That was what I worried about too, but they have everything under control!

[cuervobird]

Good news. I like the fact the boat is of an older vintage and not carrying as many people as some of the bigger carriers. It will likewise be our first cruise of any sort, and really looking forward to it.  Thanks for the reassurance on making connections.  Was the dock in Mainz on the other side of the river from the town center & train station?  Did you get a taxi to train, and was it easily available?   We need to catch a train from Mainz at 8:43am or 9:03am at the latest, to make 2 connections through the Frankfurt Airport station to Cologne, and then out to Cologne-Bonn airport for a 12:15 flight.  Good to hear the crew are conscientious about transfers.  Did you see people leaving the boat earlier than you?  Thanks again!   How was the entertainment on board? some reviews on other sites say it was awful, but company responded and said the have made changes. : )

[lmazza1]

This was where we docked in Mainz, and it was walking distance to the smaller train station (Mainz Roman Theater station). We bought a ticket from the machine to get us to the Frankfurt airport station which was under Terminal 1 from which our flight was leaving from. The ride took about 25 minutes. If you have to leave from Mainz main train station, you will have to take a cab, about 15 minutes ride. I believe from the main station you can book a train from Mainz to Cologne, might be worth looking into instead of trying to make connections at various train stations. I'll send another dock pic. 

[lmazza1]

I'm not sure when the gang plank(That's what we called it?) was set up but we were ready to leave by 8:30am. Entertainment was just a DJ that played in the late evening. Some people enjoyed it, but for us we just liked going up top for fresh air and look at the night sky. Dinner usually lasted for 2 hours, starting between 7 and 7:30, so by then we were ready to settle in and get rested for another busy day.

[lmazza1]

Here the other map showing where we docked...see arrow on right hand side.

[cuervobird]

Many Thanks!!!

[R'man]

We are booked on the Crucevita running from Mainz to Amsterdam.  It appears that the ship is in good shape, and we anticipate a fine journey.  What were your impressions on the excursions?  Did any stand out one way or the other?  I'm particularly interested in your experience at Mannheim/Heidelberg.  The time (only seven hours) seems very short for a visit to H'berg.  BTW: Are there any issues on bringing alcohol on board?  Thanks for your help.

[cuervobird]

Hi,

We were on the boat opposite way, Amsterdam to Mainz in early July...fantastic...well above any expectations I had...ship was in pristine condition, had a re-hab this year. Nice size, felt like you were a guest on a large party on a large yacht!  Never been on a mega-sized cruise ship but don't think I would like that.   Service was also excellent,  not stuffy or prententious,// no dress-code type like on some large ships, but honest and sincere service by everyone from maids to servers and bar keep.  Good food...no pressure to buy anything extra like booze or land trips...did not get booze pass, just bought our wine, beer cocktails as wanted...prices not excessive...decent bottle of wine at dinner 20-30 euro (they keep in for next meal if you don't finish it and return it to you at next dinner)...cocktail 6-8 euros, beers 4-5 euros...no stiff markup. They don't search your bags so bringing liquor should be no problem, but would only be for in room use...would not flaunt it in public areas.  My only complaint/regret on the trip was we had lower level room with only  sealed window..not bad, but would have preferred room with sliding window to get air...A/C was great but a little weak and stuffy in room...though we were in hotter weather that I am sure you will find if you are going soon.?

Did not take any of the pre-arranged excursions..with boat typically docking right in town, it was easy to do your own thing, which I prefer personally...Mannheim was the only exception where it docked in more of an industrial port area, away from town...There is definitely time for Heidelberg (not much in Mannheim to see)...we did our own excursion and walked to a tram stop..took tram 2 stops to train station, and then got train to Heidelberg...express trains can make the journey in like 15-20 minutes it seemed, but trains with stops will be longer..got a combined city bus, funicular up the hill to castle, and castle admission in one ticket from the tourist office in front of main train station in Heidelberg..was not time to go to University AND castle...wonderful views from castle top......I am sure if you are on arranged tour you will have more time, but no guarantees...If you do it on your own, I would recommend using a taxi from boat in Mannheim to the train station to save time and chance getting lost which loses time.

Edited October 6, 2019 by cuervobird

[lmazza1]

3 hours ago, R'man said:

We are booked on the Crucevita running from Mainz to Amsterdam.  It appears that the ship is in good shape, and we anticipate a fine journey.  What were your impressions on the excursions?  Did any stand out one way or the other?  I'm particularly interested in your experience at Mannheim/Heidelberg.  The time (only seven hours) seems very short for a visit to H'berg.  BTW: Are there any issues on bringing alcohol on board?  Thanks for your help.

We were on the same cruise back in May. Had a great time, no complaints with the service or food. We didn't have the drinks package or the excursion package. With a bit of planning at home, we did our own trips from the town docks. The Heidelberg trip was the most involved...We walked to the train station through a lovely park and bought tickets to Heidelberg, then walked to the funicular up to the castle. Leave the ship as soon as it docks, you will need all the time available. We did bring wine on board a couple of times, just to have a glass before bed. Lol Have fun!

[R'man]

Thank you both for your informative replies.  We look forward to the experience, which I'm sure will be enjoyable.  We prefer to go independently, too, and it appears the ship docks are convenient to town at each stop.

 

We lived in the Mannheim area decades ago, and have visited H'berg and the castle many times.  However, those days we drove over and avoided the public transport rigamarole.  This trip we are being accompanied by DW's sister and niece, who've never been there before.  The boat docks somewhat behind the Mannheim Hauptbahnhof, so catching a train to H'berg is not a problem.  The castle opens at 10 AM...the ship departs at 2 PM...that's not much time up there as we'd have to depart the Schloss no later than 12:30 PM.  I don't know whether the ship's excursion has early access...but it's still tight, IMHO.

 

Again, thanks for your help.