Time to kill before embarkation

[MacanAle]

Hello All,

 

I'll be flying in to DUS around 9am and then head to Cologne for a Rhine River cruise that doesn't board until 2pm.  Is there a service at the port by any chance that will hold luggage so I can go and do a little sight seeing before embarkation?

 

Thanks for any tips.

[acwmom]

36 minutes ago, MacanAle said:

Hello All,

 

I'll be flying in to DUS around 9am and then head to Cologne for a Rhine River cruise that doesn't board until 2pm.  Is there a service at the port by any chance that will hold luggage so I can go and do a little sight seeing before embarkation?

 

Thanks for any tips.

Depending on which line you're traveling, you may be able to drop them off at the ship, and they will look after them for you.

 

Robin

[G.M.T.]

You could leave your luggage at a left luggage facility in Cologne:

 

https://www.seat61.com/stations/cologne-hauptbahnhof.htm

 

https://bagbnb.com/luggage-storage/cologne

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187371-i534-k9253128-Availability_of_luggage_lockers_at_train_station-Cologne_North_Rhine_Westphalia.html

[Got2Cruise]

4 hours ago, acwmom said:

Depending on which line you're traveling, you may be able to drop them off at the ship, and they will look after them for you.

 

Robin

I agree with Robin. Some lines even allow you to stay in the public areas. Which cruise line? Maybe someone with recent experience can chime in. 

[Daisi]

We arrived well before embarkation on our Avalon cruise, and they not only invited us to enjoy the lounge, but told us to help ourselves to the lunch that was being served and gave us a beer.  I'm sure your cruise line will be able to put your bags somewhere out of the way for you so you can go explore.

 

[MacanAle]

Thanks for all the info!  The cruise line is A-Rosa.

[Coral]

I also boarded early (11 am). They took my luggage and they checked to see if my room was ready. If it hadn't been raining, I would have gone back out again. I even had lunch onboard.

 

I went to the public areas and spoke with those who "stayed late" due to late flights.

 

River cruises seem to make more exceptions than cruise lines do.

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, MacanAle said:

Thanks for all the info!  The cruise line is A-Rosa.

 

I would definitely check with them.  Cruise Critic has very little info on A-Rosa because they don't market heavily to North America.  Their approach may be different than most posters here are familiar with.

[notamermaid]

MacanAle,

A-Rosa, generally speaking, does shuttle transfers from transport hubs and also may take luggage independently of the passengers. This I saw in Passau as it is an embarkation port for several European lines.

 

As you are coming from the US  - I assume you have booked air travel independently - this might not apply to you. Cologne is their major embarkation port and facilities will be good, but I cannot help with details.

 

G.M.T. has already made a good suggestion.

 

Have you seen to transport options from Düsseldorf to Cologne yet, the obvious one would be train of course?

 

A-Rosa has posted quite a bit of service info online, I cannot see a shuttle airport info, but I would - like jazzbeau - also recommend checking with the company if they can arrange a transfer. For an internationally marketed cruise this might be possible, it all depends on how many passengers will be flying in from where to do the cruise. In any case, a drop-off of your suitcases could be possible.

 

Which of these is your cruise itinerary? They look nice, a bit short though for someone flying in from so far away.

https://www.arosa-*****/river-cruises/rhine/rivercruises.html

 

notamermaid

 

[MacanAle]

Hello,

 

The cruise a six night Rhine north.

https://www.arosa-*****/river-cruises/cruise/rhine-new-years-north-select-premium2019.html

 

I did book my travel independently.  I'll likely take the train from DUS to Cologne assuming that makes the most sense.  Is there a suggested ticket type to get?  Is luggage checked in on the Train?

 

The Arosa website seems to indicate that they do pickups from the train station but not until 2pm.  They say I can ask the ship staff to hold my luggage... doesn't sound all that definitive unfortunately.  Perhaps I'll try the storage options at the train station.

 

""Correct is, the official check in is from 02.00pm on. But you're welcome to ask the ships staff with your earlier arrival if you can drop off the luggage already so you are more flexible and can explore Cologne in the afternoon. "

 

Thanks for all the help.

[Hoyaheel]

I suspect they add the "check with ship staff" to cover any specific incidents that might arise - what if there was an issue and the boat was late arriving at the embarkation port and they need to clean or....Sounds like pretty standard CYA language so they don't have to update the website all the time.

[MacanAle]

Thanks everyone, another thing I'm curious about.  I know it's going to be really cold... but do people still hang out on the upper deck?  Wondering if they have heat lamps and if there is any bar service outside during the winter months?

[Coral]

55 minutes ago, MacanAle said:

Thanks everyone, another thing I'm curious about.  I know it's going to be really cold... but do people still hang out on the upper deck?  Wondering if they have heat lamps and if there is any bar service outside during the winter months?

On my Christmas Markets trip, we did not. The week before was nice enough that people did.

 

We also had a very port intensive trip so there wasn't much time to do so.

Edited October 9, 2019 by Coral

[Daisi]

We booked our tickets through the Deiutsche Bahn site : https://www.bahn.de/p/view/index.shtml  We took the train back along the river from Basel to Amsterdam...took a day but a nice relaxing way to end our cruise.  We had first class seats, but the 2nd class cabins looked just as nice.  You won't be all day on the train, so I don't think it will matter much...there is lots of leg room for the average adult.  The Colonge Central Station is right near the Cathedral, so not far from where most boats dock.  If you have to leave your bags there, you are easily able to wander around until time to go to the boat.

 

Please report on your cruise, as it's been said, not many reviews for that line, and it will be interesting to see what it is like.

[MacanAle]

1 hour ago, Daisi said:

We booked our tickets through the Deiutsche Bahn site : https://www.bahn.de/p/view/index.shtml  We took the train back along the river from Basel to Amsterdam..

Thanks Daisi,

 

I took a look at the train booking site.  It seems like luggage could be a challenge?  Did you have large suitcases?  The dimensions shows on their look similar to that of a planes overhead compartment.

 

The standard dimensions of luggage racks are 700 x 500 x 300 mm.

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/trains/on-board-service/luggage.shtml?dbkanal_007=L04_S02_D002_KIN0062_NAVIGATION-LINKS-GEPAECK_LZ01

[Daisi]

We only had carry on's and a backpack each, so never really thought much about luggage.  If you are travelling with larger cases, there are areas in the front of the carriages where you can leave the cases.  If you look on youtube, you may see some videos showing the inside of the trains..  

[tfred]

DUS is a large enough airport with good train service.  The Cologne train station Hbf is probably close to your ship.  Maybe not walkable with luggage though 

 

Trains are made accommodate luggage of all sizes.  It really isn't that long of a train ride anyway just in case you have to babysit your luggage next to a seat

[notamermaid]

From Düsseldorf airport to Cologne main train station you can take a regional train. It is possibly cheaper than ICE and they go direct without having to change. You do not check in your luggage and mostly people just keep the luggage with them at their seat on the floor. However, this will vary and depend on the configuration of the carriage. There are frequent and various connections. In the train connection search field also check for what comes up as options (Flughafen, Terminal, etc.) The price of the local train might not be displayed as it is a regional cooperation that determines prices. Check out the booking app for ease of ticket buying. Oh, and I also recommend themaninseat61 that G.M.T. linked to.

 

notamermaid

 

 

Edited October 9, 2019 by notamermaid
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