Viking Cruise - Heidelberg

[wantocruisemore]

I am part of a group of friends who will be taking a spring Viking Rhine cruise, Basel to Amsterdam.  Our days are set except for day we dock Speyer in am and boat moves to Rudesheim in afternoon.  Included is a tour of Speyer or extra to Heidelberg.  We want to go to Heidelberg but the extra Viking excursion has lunch & afternoon with students.  Personally none of our group wants to do that.  I have written to one of the most recommended tour guides for Heidelberg, he’s responded that because there are 14 of us he will need to get back with us.  That was a month ago and now no response to last 2 inquiries.  Can anyone here recommend a guide for Heidelberg that’s capable of pick up at dock in Speyer, short tour of Speyer highlights, head to Heidelberg for tour of Old Town and castle, then later in afternoon get us to the boat’s new location in Rudesheim in time for dinner?  For up to 14 people?  Thanks.

[CPT Trips]

As an alternative, have you considered going on the Viking excursion just for the transportation and arranging for your own guide?

[wantocruisemore]

We actually have, the problem is that if we do that, the Viking tour picks up at Speyer dock as we dock and goes straight to Heidelberg.  If we did that we would miss a couple of the sites in Speyer, such as the Romanesque church. We also considered just DIY, but we’re uncomfortable trying to get a train from Heidelberg to Rudesheim (not a direct shot) and don’t have a firm time on when the boat moves, just know it’s early afternoon.