Moselle River questions

[CJcruzer]

I am looking at 2 itineraries : Viking Paris to Swiss Alps( or visa versa), - 12 days. or AMA 7 day Luxembourg to Basel (additional days in Paris optional)

 

I am looking at Nov 4 for AMA, Rhine & Moselle Splendors.  Nov 7 for Viking.   Viking also has some August dates.

 

What would weather be like Zurich to Paris beginning to mid November?

 

Any experiences on either of these itineraries?  Comments?

 

We have cruise 6 times Viking river, 2 times AMA.

 

Any advice, opinions would be appreciated.

 

Carol

[notamermaid]

With the two itineraries going in the same direction the ports are likely to be very similar, you would really need to look at the details there. The big difference is the add-on of Paris. Have you been to Paris before, do you fancy starting in the city? With Viking this is probably the - typically reported here - transfer by coach via Luxembourg and the American cemetery. A long-ish day. But others can tell you more about that. Amawaterways will start from Remich or Wasserbillig (the Luxembourg Moselle ports). Would you prefer to fly into Luxembourg, would you be preferably wanting to fly into Paris and do the transfer with Amawaterways, i.e. the pre-cruise extension? Check how they handle the transfer.

 

There are very many happy cruisers having travelled with either company who I am sure will be happy to comment.

 

For the weather, there is not much in it as regards temperature between the two November dates. It is likely to be chilly, with night frost in the hills. Rain very likely, snow can happen, but is not do likely on the Moselle and Rhine up to Strasbourg.

 

No low water issues on the Moselle, issues on the Rhine not likely but can happen.

 

August would be a much busier month, with hot temperatures and low water is possible on the Rhine.

 

Hope this helps.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

For the transfer from Paris to the Moselle, the two options used by river cruise lines are coach or TGV train.  I would prefer the train (especially if someone else is handling my luggage!), but some might prefer the coach because it may include sightseeing

[cheeruson]

On our Viking trip from Paris to Trier this past summer, I was prepared to drag myself through the long day of a coach trip. But I found the trip very comfortable and surprisingly interesting.  When crossing the borders, the guide on our bus raised the issue of using the color of the road signs to see what country we were in.  The tour in Luxembourg (the capital city of the country of Luxembourg, who knew?) was nicely done and full of interesting asides, such as citizens are required to vote and fined if they do not.  Most moving, and completely unexpected, to me, at least, the American from an American centric world, was the American cemetery.  I would not want to have missed that.

[OneSixtyToOne]

We did Switzerland to Paris with Viking in the summer of 2018. The pre-trip Switzerland extension was fantastic. Geneva-Zermatt-Zurich with a trip across Switzerland on the Glacier Express. Best extension we have ever been on.

 

Also, I find Paris in August a great time to visit. The city is much less crowded and the road along the Seine is turned into a pedestrian walkway, sand is brought in and it becomes a beach scene along the Seine. It's a fantastic walk under all the bridges.

https://www.tripsavvy.com/paris-plages-pop-up-beaches-1618365

Edited October 11, 2019 by OneSixtyToOne

[Moonlion]

We went to Paris in August (for 6 nights this summer) and the weather was nice - low 70s and it only rained one day.  The crowds were not bad either.  The only negative is that many restaurants, especially smaller family run places, are closed because of the August holidays.