Help with transfers to Frankfurt from Cologne on Uniworld/general questions

Hello, just booked my first river cruise on Uniworld the Rhine-Main Discovery & Munich leaving on 5/19/2017. This looks like a new itinerary and the first sailing. I have a couple of questions hopefully some one can help me with.

1) We are doing the 2 night pre cruise in Munich. I ask my TA what hotel does Uniworld use but she said she wouldn't know until closer to the date. So, does anyone know about possible hotels Uniworld uses in Munich?

2) We can get direct flights home from the frankfurt airport but Uniworld will only drop off at the cologne airport. I asked TA if their is a extra paid transfer to the frankfurt airport and she said no-I'm on my own. So, I've done a little research but need some help. I will be traveling with my 72 y/o mother who is in great health and gets around just fine but I want the easiest way for her.

I know I can catch a train from the main central station in Cologne-I believe it is a ICE train that gets me directly to the frankfurt airport? Correct?? If so should I take the uniworld transfer to the cologne airport-take the train to the central station and on to frankfurt airport or will Uniwold call for a cab to the central station?

Is their a car/shuttle service that will pick up directly from where the boats docks and take us to the frankfurt airport? If so about how much??

Thanks for your help!!!

Also ask this question the on the Cologne forum on Trip Advisor.

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Hello, just booked my first river cruise on Uniworld the Rhine-Main Discovery & Munich leaving on 5/19/2017. This looks like a new itinerary and the first sailing. I have a couple of questions hopefully some one can help me with.

 

1) We are doing the 2 night pre cruise in Munich. I ask my TA what hotel does Uniworld use but she said she wouldn't know until closer to the date. So, does anyone know about possible hotels Uniworld uses in Munich?

 

2) We can get direct flights home from the frankfurt airport but Uniworld will only drop off at the cologne airport. I asked TA if their is a extra paid transfer to the frankfurt airport and she said no-I'm on my own. So, I've done a little research but need some help. I will be traveling with my 72 y/o mother who is in great health and gets around just fine but I want the easiest way for her.

 

I know I can catch a train from the main central station in Cologne-I believe it is a ICE train that gets me directly to the frankfurt airport? Correct?? If so should I take the uniworld transfer to the cologne airport-take the train to the central station and on to frankfurt airport or will Uniwold call for a cab to the central station?

 

Is their a car/shuttle service that will pick up directly from where the boats docks and take us to the frankfurt airport? If so about how much??

 

Thanks for your help!!!

It would probably be easiest to just make your way to Cologne's central station, then take the train directly to Frankfurt airport. Your CD would almost certainly be happy to arrange a cab for you. Now - that said, when we visited Cologne in 2014 on SS Antoinette, we were docked about 1/2 km from the central station, and it would have been an easy walk. Your docking location may vary, but you won't know for sure until you're there. So planning ahead will be difficult.

Here's how I'd do it. I'd buy my train tickets from Cologne to Frankfurt airport as soon as they go on sale (generally, about 3 months before the date). Generally, the cheaper tickets sell out early so the longer you wait, the more expensive the ticket.

I'd wait to discuss my arrangements with the CD until you're on board. IME, the CD knows much more, and can be more helpful, than Uniworld's stateside bureau. This will work fine for you. We did this last cruise - we bought tickets from Passau to Salzburg, and once we were on board we asked the CD how to get to the train station. He arranged a cab to meet us at the dock. Really, do not worry about having this part of the journey worked out ahead of time.

Just beware that the train station at FRA is quite far from the gates. Expect to walk 10-15 minutes, at a minimum. If you don't hustle, it will take a bit longer.

And yes, there are plenty of trains from Cologne central to Frankfurt airport; I just checked a random Saturday and Sunday in April and there are two trains per hour, with a travel time of just under one hour. Piece of cake.

Thanks jpalbny for the great information. I usually just do the research and tell hubby and let him figure out the logistics. But I'm on my own this trip!!! So, regarding the train-there are 2 classes. What is the difference between first and second class? I assume there are places to put your luggage? We will have one each but they are too heavy for me to lift above my head if that's where the luggage storage is at.

There will be space either at the back/front of the car or immediately behind your seat if you buy second class tickets. For a 1-hour journey, I can't imagine it would be worth it to get a first class seat. You can pay for reservations if you want to be 100% sure you have seats together (although you might get on the train and find out you would have had your pick of seats anyway).

What is the "official" web site to buy tickets? Also is the cologne main station Koln HBF? I guess frankfurt is just frankfurt airport? I have no clue what a decent price for a 2nd class ticket would run? Any thoughts?

http://www.bahn.de

Yes, Köln hbf (hbf stands for "Hauptbahnhof" which is the German word for "main train station"). Go to Frankfurt-am-Main Flughafen. Sometimes it's abbreviated Frankfurt(M). There are other cities named Frankfurt, and you want the Frankfurt along the Main River. Make sure it's the right one. :)

All kidding aside, you won't mess this up, if you check your travel time and it's an hour or less. The "other" Frankfurt is on the Oder, East of Berlin, on the Polish border. You'll never get a 1h train to there from Cologne!

For a 1h journey it would run maybe €30 but prices vary.

As ewizabeff says, luggage storage is no problem. And I agree...no need for first class for a 1h trip. We do it for 3-plus hours sometimes.

I've been hoping that notamermaid will come by to comment. She is our local expert in this region, and she can tell you all the things we're forgetting. :D

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Thanks you so much!!!! It really does sound very easy.

If you want a simple English language interface try loco2.com. Run by British train geeks, it makes everything simple. I had no problem using a Canadian credit card either. You can pay in either British pounds or Euros.

If you dock at the main mooring harbor on Cologne, you are about a 15 minute walk to the train station. Not that I'm suggesting you walk . . . A taxi should be a breeze.

Hello TikiIslandGirl,

greetings from the Rhine.

Quote jpalbny: "I've been hoping that notamermaid will come by to comment. She is our local expert in this region, and she can tell you all the things we're forgetting. "

Thank you jpalbny, here I am :D . Not much to add, you all have done an excellent job helping TikiIslandGirl. Not much to add really. I would not necessarily go for first class on an ICE either, but there are some extra perks and second class can get a little crowded on Fridays. If you want extra comfort and your luggage closer to you see if there is much of a price difference between second and first class and theen decide if you want it. As has been mentioned, book early.

Just one more thing, if you had to go to Cologne airport, it would not be too tragic as there is a regional train from Cologne airport with change at Koblenz (easy) or a direct train to Frankfurt Flughafen. This is a copy of the info template after I had selected both stations: Outward journey on 19.01.17 Köln/Bonn Flughafen 10:45 0:48 0 ICE No special fares available 69,00 EUR

Frankfurt(M) Flughafen Fernbf 11:33

Show details

the "0" after the duration of 0:48 means no change of trains.

I will post again if I can think of anything else. :)

notamermaid

Forgot to mention: book the seats with the tickets. On a regional train you cannot book a seat, only on IC, EC or ICE. On a regional train you can sit in first class but the price is higher than in second class and possibly not worth bothering with. The regional train from Cologne airport (an RE) is relatively comfortable and only really crowded at peak times.

This is the info site for train travel related to Frankfurt airport: https://www.frankfurt-airport.com/en/flights---more/transfer.detail.suffix.html/article/flights-and-more/directions/long-distance-trains-of-german-rail.html

notamermaid

Re the hotel, Uniworld will advise "HOTEL NAME or similar" as sometimes contracted hotels change. For our Uniworld trip in April, the hotel for the land portion in Paris was advised as "Intercontinental or similar". Your TA should definitely be able to provide that information.

We made our own arrangements based on our preferences and will DIY the pre cruise stay. That is the norm for us.

We travel by train often in Europe and when traveling with luggage, we do book first class. It is less crowded and has more storage areas IME. With the advance purchase discounts, the difference IMO is insignificant.

I often traveled to Europe with my mom when she was in her 70s and 80s. Making it as easy as possible on both of us was always my primary goal. First class was always my choice. Getting on the train was easier as well, since fewer people are lined up for the first class coaches.

Enjoy this special time with your mom. I lost mine just three months ago and miss her terribly. We had some amazing trips together and I treasure them now more than ever.

Have a wonderful trip!

Hello caviargal,

I am so sorry to hear about your mom. Travelling will not be the same for you now. I am sure she loved the holidays you two spend together.

Thinking about your post I have come to the opinion that first class is the way to go, seeing that one comes from being pampered on a boat to a busy airport and a long flight home. Better keep the momentum (i.e. the luxury) going as long as possible. :)

If at all possible if it cannot be first class I would choose a seat in a compartment over an open-seating carriage. I find those a little noisy and the legs crammed in. When the train is full people can stand in the passage way. Awkward. But then again, it is only about an hour's journey.

About loco2: I had a look and cannot figure out if they offer the train without the interchange. From Cologne airport they only gave me trains as an option for Frankfurt Main Flughafen. However, the trains that use the high speed link through the hills go to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof (dedicated to ICE trains only). From Cologne Hbf to Frankfurt airport it does not give the Fernbahnhof as destination for the train I had chosen which is obviously wrong as the bahn website does. This could be confusing some passengers as Frankfurt airport is huge for finding your way around, especially with luggage.

Just to make it clear: when you go through the valley and see the Rhine you will need longer and might have to change trains, when you go through the hills you are on the high speed link and will not see much landscape apart from a couple of stations and the trees seemingly whisking past at up to 300km per hour. If you are interested here is the "speed map": https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercity-Express#/media/File:ICEtracks.svg

Enough about trains :o, just one more thing, if you are taking a taxi from the ship (S-Bahn or underground would work but is a hazzle with luggage) it might be worthwhile (i.e. cheaper) letting yourself be dropped off at the back of the main station at Breslauer Platz. Past cruisers or the cruise director on your ship will know if that makes sense from the ship's docking station.

Have a great cruise, TikiIslandGirl.

notamermaid

 

About loco2: I had a look and cannot figure out if they offer the train without the interchange. From Cologne airport they only gave me trains as an option for Frankfurt Main Flughafen. However, the trains that use the high speed link through the hills go to Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof (dedicated to ICE trains only). From Cologne Hbf to Frankfurt airport it does not give the Fernbahnhof as destination for the train I had chosen which is obviously wrong as the bahn website does. This could be confusing some passengers as Frankfurt airport is huge for finding your way around, especially with luggage.

 

Just to make it clear: when you go through the valley and see the Rhine you will need longer and might have to change trains, when you go through the hills you are on the high speed link and will not see much landscape apart from a couple of stations and the trees seemingly whisking past at up to 300km per hour. If you are interested here is the "speed map": https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercity-Express#/media/File:ICEtracks.svg

 

notamermaid

Thanks for clearing that up! I wondered why one of the trains on this route had a travel time over 2h, but the rest of them were 50-55 minutes. And, both are direct trains! It made no sense to me, until I looked at the routes, and read your explanation.

The 2h journey goes Cologne-Bonn-Koblenz-Mainz-Frankfurt Flughafen, right along the Rhine valley, as you said. The faster trains go from Cologne to Sieburg/Bonn and from there, directly to Frankfurt. So they use the high-speed railway to the east of the Rhine Valley.

To the OP, one more point to consider for first vs. second class is that a first class ticket includes a seat reservation at no additional charge. This can be one less thing to worry about, if the train is crowded. A second class ticket does not include a reservation, but you can pay an extra fee to make one. We have never (yet) had an issue on the DB when we travel second class but it could happen. We have had to stand on Italian trains for an hour, though...

Caviargal, my condolences about your mother. I wondered why you had not been on the forums much lately. It's good to see you back. Best wishes.

Thank you jpalbny,

for the detail about second and first class reservations. That had slipped my mind.

By the way, a spelling mistake, it is Siegburg/Bonn. Siegburg is a small town, but an important interchange for regional trains. The ICE stop is relatively new, I suppose to make access to the Sieg valley and Bonn on the other side of the Rhine easier.

notamermaid

If you book early - meaning 90 days prior to departure - you can even get 1st class tickets for a cheaper price than 2nd class. But for Cologne to Frankfurt Airport it does not really matter. Some offers do include the seat reservation.

Munich has lots of hotels so it´s pretty hard to say where you will stay. We do have all international hotel chains here.

steamboats

Thanks everyone for being so very helpfully!!! It really doesn't seem like its a big deal to get to Frankfurt airport!!! I'll go ahead and book my tickets soon and either walk or taxi to the main station I think will be easier than catching the shuttle to the cologne airport. I'm really surprised that uniworld doesn't offer transfer at a extra cost to Frankfurt since like me coming from the US is a direct flight. I'm usually a DIY person and was going to do 2 days in Munich on my own but it really wasn't that much more to go with uniworld.My mother is big on booking bus tours for her and my dad so I thought it would be easier.

My mother is over the moon excited about this. We have never gone on a trip together like this. Her and my dad did their first European/overseas with trafalger 2 years . The flight was very hard on my dad and he doesn't want to go again but mom will go at that drop of a hat. She was a total basket case before that flight but this time will be much easier-just follow me!!!!

Here are two tips, TikiIslandGirl,

for your father to follow along on your adventure. Give him details of the route from the boat on google maps, he can follow the course of the Main and the Rhine. The photos on google maps are usually lovely. When you are in Koblenz he can look up the location with the ship docked on the Moselle from the webcam in Koblenz. Uniworld will dock on the Moselle, close to the bridge that you can see in the middle towards the top of the photo: http://www.bafg.de/DE/06_Info_Service/03_Webcam/webcam.html

notamermaid

Re the hotel, Uniworld will advise "HOTEL NAME or similar" as sometimes contracted hotels change. For our Uniworld trip in April, the hotel for the land portion in Paris was advised as "Intercontinental or similar". Your TA should definitely be able to provide that information.

 

We made our own arrangements based on our preferences and will DIY the pre cruise stay. That is the norm for us.

 

We travel by train often in Europe and when traveling with luggage, we do book first class. It is less crowded and has more storage areas IME. With the advance purchase discounts, the difference IMO is insignificant.

 

I often traveled to Europe with my mom when she was in her 70s and 80s. Making it as easy as possible on both of us was always my primary goal. First class was always my choice. Getting on the train was easier as well, since fewer people are lined up for the first class coaches.

 

Enjoy this special time with your mom. I lost mine just three months ago and miss her terribly. We had some amazing trips together and I treasure them now more than ever.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

Caviargal, I'm so sorry to hear that your mom has passed away. I recall you mentioning her in many of your posts and saying how river cruising worked well for all of you. The efforts you made to include her have resulted in memories that I know you will treasure.

Keep in mind the size and complexity of the Frankfurt airport for your return flight. It might be a good idea to prearrange a motorized cart to take you to the gate.

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How far is the walk from the train station to Terminal 1? I do fly on stand by with United and currently plan on taking the 1:30 pm direct flight to Houston but if it looks full than I will need to take a earlier flight out with a connection. So, looking at the train schedule I will probably take the 0755 direct (or earlier depending on the price) to the airport that arrives at 0849 giving me time to make 5 different flights . So, I plan on having plenty of time to make it from the train station to check in and just have a non hurried normal walk that my mother can do.

Several posting stated that I need to buy train tickets 90 days. Do you mean around the 90 day mark or no later than 90 days out? Right now the tickets are running around 41/71 euros for the 1 hour ice train. Does that seem a little high?

TikiIslandGirl,

the train tickets are usually available to book 90 days in advance, but you can pre-book five days before if you like, i.e. wait. So, you could come to Germany and book your ticket then. If you want certain seats and a better price it is just advisable to book early. 41 euros for a single ticket sounds resonable. I had a random look and the prices I found are between 47 and 55 second class, first class between 75 and 115 (all prices are for one person). It depends on the day of the week and the time of day you want to travel. The longer route of 2 hours can be booked for 29 euros.

This is the site for the airport train station for ICE trains (in German only): the map is at the top of course, scroll down and click on the pdf file for a map of the station itself: http://www.bahnhof.de/bahnhof-de/Frankfurt_am_Main_Flughafen_Fernbahnhof.html?hl=Frankfurt%20Flughafen

If you prefer google maps, here is a geodata marker for you: 50.053052, 8.570316

That should give you an idea of distances.

notamermaid

How far is the walk from the train station to Terminal 1? I do fly on stand by with United and currently plan on taking the 1:30 pm direct flight to Houston but if it looks full than I will need to take a earlier flight out with a connection. So, looking at the train schedule I will probably take the 0755 direct (or earlier depending on the price) to the airport that arrives at 0849 giving me time to make 5 different flights . So, I plan on having plenty of time to make it from the train station to check in and just have a non hurried normal walk that my mother can do.

 

Several posting stated that I need to buy train tickets 90 days. Do you mean around the 90 day mark or no later than 90 days out? Right now the tickets are running around 41/71 euros for the 1 hour ice train. Does that seem a little high?

Frankfurt airport is large. We have made the walk from customs to the train station in a little over 10 minutes, though we don't walk slowly. Count on 15-20 minutes if you walk at a leisurely pace.

Sorry if my posts caused any confusion. You do not have to book trains in advance. However, in general, the closer you get to the departure date, the more expensive the ticket will be. So if you want the cheapest fares, you generally should book sooner rather than later.

But if you want to remain flexible, you can buy tickets at the train station for immediate departure. We have purchased tickets both in advance, and at the station, many times and it's worked fine. Don't sweat the train tickets.

When I was arriving in Amsterdam and taking the train to Bruges I didn't prebook because I worried about my arrival time. I ended up having to buy a very expensive first class ticket. Since you don't have worries about departure I say book as soon as you can. Prices only go up over time. ICE trains are generally quite a bit more than other trains (including other fast trains sometimes). If for some reason you have to cancel your whole trip this should be covered by travel insurance (although you might have to increase your coverage).