Amadeus Classical Rhine Basel to Amsterdam tips

I would like to hear from folks who have done the Classical Rhine on Amadeus starting in Basel and ending in Amsterdam. We plan to take the North Holland Excursion with canal cruise. Amadeus says we will return to the rivership at 6:30. If you took that excursion is this accurate? Some of us would like to visit the Van Gogh museum that is open late on Friday but it is best to get timed tickets in advance.

I would also love to hear any other advice you have for any of the pots of call. We are taking some but not all of the excursions.

Hello Bellago,

it is a pity that noone has replied to you yet, but understandable as Amadeus river cruises is a line that few cruisers have used in the past on these boards (at least since 2013 when I joined). I hope you will get some replies. In the meantime a couple of thoughts from me. The itinerary sounds nice, a sort of standard on the Rhine: http://www.amadeus-rivercruises.com/classical-rhine-1

I like it that they have a short sail to Cochem. Not sure if this is possible but you could try and get into Cochum Reichsburg castle. English guided tours are available. Past cruisers have liked the 19th century restored castle: http://www.burg-cochem.de/index.php?id=4&L=1 You might enjoy this, seeing that the other only castle on your tour that you go into is Heidelberg castle. Quite different - part ruin - but most cruisers really enjoy that trip. It is always a coach trip of 20 minutes or more depending on port and route as Heidelberg is on the Neckar river.

In Koblenz the walking is enjoyable but I am a bit biased (living within driving distance) and do not regard it as a grand experience. For something different I would try and get up to Ehrenbreitstein fortress in the cable car, for the magnificent view. You can take a photo of the Amadeus ship docked on the Moselle, looking tiny.

Alsace / wine tour sounds very appealing. The area is lovely, a nice drive through countryside, I am sure. However, if it takes a lot of time out of your time in Strasbourg other cruisers might well say "stay in Strasbourg". I have not been to the town, so rely on others for their opinion on this.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

Thanks notamermaid. I realized that Amadeus is not mentioned much on this forum, but it was worth a try. I am researching in other ways and had seen the cable car to fortress in Koblenz and we are planning to do that. We are also taking the ships excursion in Cochem as it does get us to the castle with an English guide. We dock in Mannheim for the excursion to Heidelberg and are hoping we can stay are roam the town and have supper. If there is not a later cruise shuttle I am wondering about taxi back. There are 4 of us who would be splitting the fare.