Crystal Bach Amsterdam to Basel, October 27, 2019

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

There is a beautiful mountain in the Canadian Rockies named for Edith Cavell.

 

 

Now that you mention it I think I've seen it from the Canadian (trans-Canada train).

 

I've started posting the daily activities sheets:

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/programs/bachdaily/

 

Roy

[Krazy Kruizers]

5 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

To all of you asking about the space on Crystal's river boats (all 4 are identical), the petite suites don't have much storage space at all, but work for a solo, especially if you are on for 7 days. I was on the Bach for 17 days, a back to back, and found it too confining. However, I went into the next larger cabin and they are much more spacious and should be fine for a couple. One thing I thought was a real problem in the petite is that you have to get down on the floor to use the safe! 😏🙄

 

Patty

 

Thank you Patty for the information.

 

I can remember on HAL's really old ships when I had to get down on the floor to open the safe.  Those are long gone for my knees.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Roy

 

I just went to your blog and looked over many of your reports and pictures.  Quite impressive.

[USCAdventurer]

hello roy,

how can i access your blog?

 

cheers and thank you,

david

[Happily@Sea]

1 minute ago, USC Adventurer said:

hello roy,

how can i access your blog?

 

cheers and thank you,

david

 

It should be after midnight for Roy, so I'll attempt to post the link.

 

https://getawaysfrom21044.wordpress.com/

[USCAdventurer]

carole,

thank you for providing me with roy's blog address 🙂

 

[Happily@Sea]

You're welcome.

 

[USCAdventurer]

roy,

i've been reading your blog and i'm very impressed with all the information you provideand its so well organized too!   i'm sure it's quite time consuming but also very interesting for you.  i don't want to look at the menus for crystal bach because they might be same as i'll have starting on nov. 3rd and i'd like to be surprised.

[Coral]

Can you post the excursions list so I can see what is complimentary and what is extra? You can wait until you get home if that is easier.

 

I noticed some "complimentary excursions" I had on the Danube now have a charge according to Crystal's website.

 

I am enjoying your blog. Roz was on our Mozart cruise.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Coral

[rafinmd]

Day Bach1, Monday, October 28, 2019, leave Amsterdam

My first full day on the Bach began with an early morning visit to the laundry on deck 1.  We must have been docked facing west because there was a lot of nice color in the sky about 7:30.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/dawn1028.jpg

The Waterside restaurant on the Bach has 2 modes.  Dinner is traditional waiter service while breakfast and lunch are a modified buffet with a high level of service,  I went into the buffet area to order an omelet and was immediately advised it would be brought out to my table.

All the tours today left at 8:30AM.  Mine was to the town of Haarlem, about a 30 minute drive from the dock.  It was mostly a walking (or should I say standing) tour with about 2 hours off the bus.  It is on the  Spaarne river which at least in Haarlem is narrow and placid with several bridges running across it.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/spaarne.jpg

We did walk through the town quite a bit but the highlight of the tour was the St. Bavo church, also known as the "Big Church".  Big it certainly was.  It was built in the late 14th century and became a Cathedral in 1559 but soon thereafter was confiscated in the Protestant Reformation and completely remodeled.  It is still an "active" church but only occasionally used as such and is mostly a museum (the current schedule shows services November 3 and December 24).  The old altar is walled off and the center of worship is now the pulpit which is in the center of the church with the chairs of the former front half turned backwards.  Unfortunately, the camera I was using malfunctioned and I got no photos from inside the church.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/stbavo.jpg

The highlight of the tour (and especially for me) was the organ.  Built by Muller in 1738 the organ has been played by both Mozart and Handel and is still regularly used for concerts.  After touring the church we had about 45 minutes of free time (I explored a couple of other streets and got coffee) before the bus returned us to the Bach.  As we arrived the staff was folding up the popup shelter by the gangway and we backed away from the dock about 12:50 and I headed to Waterside for lunch.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/adieuams.jpg

 

This is officially a Rhine Cruise but I believe most if not all of our travel for the day was in a canal.  We passed under a number of bridges, generally quite close overhead.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/bridge.jpg

We passed through 2 locks during the day, and unlike most systems I have been on they are not uniform.  The first one was quite wide and we went through side by side with one barge while 2 more barges were in the lock behind us.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/lock1.jpg

The second lock came after dark and I saw it only on the bow camera while preparing for dinner and it was much narrower than the first with us taking up perhaps 2/3 of the lock width.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/lock2.jpg

Before dinner at 6:30 there was a "meet the officers" session in Palm Court where the senior staff was all introduced.  Unlike Crystal Ocean the officer uniforms are black.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/bachofficers.jpg

For my second dinner in Waterside (the name really fits, the water is only about 2 meters down) I had a window side table.  My choices for the evening were the spinach salad, lamb shank, and a plate of fruit and berries for desert.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/dishes28.jpg

The main entertainment in Palm Court was our entertainment hosts, Roz and James, doing a set of songs by women.

https://getawaysfrom21044.files.wordpress.com/2019/10/rozjames.jpg

My parting shot will be sort of about relativity.  One of Jesus' parables is about the foolish man who built his house on sand and how easily it got swept away, yet our guide kept saying the Big Church was stable because it was built on sand.  Perhaps something got lost in the translation and the soil was more than clay but he kept saying sand.  He then said that most of the Netherlands surface is peat, so perhaps even sand is better than peat.  Relativity.

Roy

 

[rafinmd]

4 hours ago, Coral said:

Can you post the excursions list so I can see what is complimentary and what is extra? You can wait until you get home if that is easier.

 

I noticed some "complimentary excursions" I had on the Danube now have a charge according to Crystal's website.

 

I am enjoying your blog. Roz was on our Mozart cruise.

Attached.  Most tours are still included.

 

Roy

bachtours.pdf

[Coral]

4 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Attached.  Most tours are still included.

 

Roy

bachtours.pdfUnavailable

If you could add this to your blog I would appreciate it. I had the same problem with Keith's attachment's - he could read them but I can't. It doesn't download for me (it says unavailable). Thanks for the attempt! Good news as most are still included. I loved my Mozart river cruise with Crystal.

[rafinmd]

Let's try this:

 

and

 

Roy

Edited October 29, 2019 by rafinmd

[DeeniEncinitas]

Roy I really enjoyed your first full day on Bach. The glimpse of color while at the laundry facility was pretty. Your photos of St. Bavo Church was nice , but it looked very cool outside without the sun. Waterside restaurant do you have assigned seating? Also I noticed from your photos where you were passing under low bridges I noticed the deck with table and chairs. Was this just an outside viewing

area? Looked like a nice place to relax when the sun is out! 
What wonderful CCers on this blog !

Thanks Roy! Looking forward to more.

Denise😊

[rafinmd]

45 minutes ago, DeeniEncinitas said:

Roy I really enjoyed your first full day on Bach. The glimpse of color while at the laundry facility was pretty. Your photos of St. Bavo Church was nice , but it looked very cool outside without the sun. Waterside restaurant do you have assigned seating? Also I noticed from your photos where you were passing under low bridges I noticed the deck with table and chairs. Was this just an outside viewing

area? Looked like a nice place to relax when the sun is out! 
What wonderful CCers on this blog !

Thanks Roy! Looking forward to more.

Denise😊

Quick response since I'm grabbing a coffee while waiting for my bus back to the ship from my tour and have just my IPad.  Sunrise was after the laundry.  Been a bit of biting chill, about 50 and feels cooler. That top deck would be awesome in summer.  Just toured Cologne, docked in Düsseldorf.  All the Bach restaurants are open seating.

 

Lots of nice contributors, far more than would be expected from a 110 passenger ship.

 

On QM2 I was able to work ship photos into daily posts, but with a new city every day it looks like a post will be needed with just ship photos.

 

Roy

[notamermaid]

Roy,

Hope you have had a great time exploring Cologne. I was really surprised you had to dock in Düsseldorf due to congestion at Cologne. Today I can see on marinetraffic that Cologne looks even busier than usual! Well, Düsseldorf is a nice place to have been "relegated to". Better than Viking, I see another ship docked in the industrial harbour of Cologne at Niehl today. I admit it is the winter harbour for many river cruise ships but it appears industrial to anyone expecting a city centre dock.

 

The Oscar Wilde is docked just a little upstream from you, by the way.

 

I hope you set sail early enough to go past Cologne during the evening, rather than during the night. The riverfront is impressive lit up.

 

Thank you for posting so many details from your cruise.

 

Have a good evening.

 

notamermaid

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

22 minutes ago, rafinmd said:

Quick response since I'm grabbing a coffee while waiting for my bus back to the ship from my tour and have just my IPad.  Sunrise was after the laundry.  Been a bit of biting chill, about 50 and feels cooler. That top deck would be awesome in summer.  Just toured Cologne, docked in Düsseldorf.  All the Bach restaurants are open seating.

 

Lots of nice contributors, far more than would be expected from a 110 passenger ship.

 

On QM2 I was able to work ship photos into daily posts, but with a new city every day it looks like a post will be needed with just ship photos.

 

Roy

Roy thanks for your quick response!!

Hope you enjoyed Cologne! Please you relax and enjoy that cruise!! We all don’t need to hear from you everyday!! This is your time but I do like coming along😊

Denise😊

[Coral]

5 hours ago, rafinmd said:

Let's try this:

 

and

 

Roy

You are quick. Thank you!!!

 

Yes - they all still look free. Great.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Coral

[USCAdventurer]

thank you, roy for your wonderful reporting.  is it too cold to sit on the upper deck?  i hope not because i'm really looking forward to using the top deck for good photos.  i agree with denni in that you should just enjoy your cruise and don't worry about reporting every day.  enjoy the sights, the smells, the vistas and the food!  and relax and enjoy everything else.

two more days and i'll be leaving phoenix for basel.

[Coral]

Looks like an amazing trip!

[rafinmd]

12 hours ago, USC Adventurer said:

thank you, roy for your wonderful reporting.  is it too cold to sit on the upper deck?  i hope not because i'm really looking forward to using the top deck for good photos.  i agree with denni in that you should just enjoy your cruise and don't worry about reporting every day.  enjoy the sights, the smells, the vistas and the food!  and relax and enjoy everything else.

two more days and i'll be leaving phoenix for basel.

It's definitely been on the chilly side; I would suggest bringing a heavy shirt or sweater and a jacket.  If you find it too cold for sitting than I'll suggest either forward or aft in Palm Court where you can quickly get up to deck 4 for your photos.  I haven't yet thought to check for blankets up there but will try to remember.

 

Roy

[rafinmd]

1 hour ago, rafinmd said:

I haven't yet thought to check for blankets up there but will try to remember.

There is an ample supply of blankets by the couches in the center of the deck.  They were a bit hidden as there was a tarp over them to keep moisture out but they are there and ready to use.

 

ROy

[USCAdventurer]

roy,

thanks for the information about the blankets.  have you had any or much rain so far?  i can deal with the cold by layering clothing but i really hope it doesn't rain all day.  are you enjoying the excursions?  the guides?  the other passengers?

thank you again for your reporting.

 

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Just got caught up with all your wonderful reports and great pictures.

[notamermaid]

Hello rafinmd,

 

here is a screen shot of the Crystal Bach docked in Koblenz:

 

 

The address of the webcam is: https://www.feratel.com/webcams/deutschland/koblenz.html

 

notamermaid