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We are doing the Amsterdam to Basel on Avalon. We fly into Amsterdam and I was assuming there would be a transfer to the ship? True ? Does anyone know for sure? Then we are going on our own after to Lucerne for 2 nights and then to Zurich for one night. We have chosen the hotel in Lucerne but not Zurich yet. May use the Movenpick since we have an early flight out the next day. We figured we can use the public transportation for all those things. This is a little out of the box for us. We like the handholding usually! Very excited for this first river cruise! :)

Are there hair dryers on the Avalon Felicity?

Have the ship arrange a taxi for you. Basel has trams but they do not really go to the river boat dock. Most commonly, the ships use Dreilandereck which is at least 1/2 mile walk from the nearest tram stop, through an industrial area, crossing several railroad tracks. It's easy enough unencumbered (we walked this route), but I'd not recommend it while dragging luggage unless you are really traveling light.

 

There are two other riverboat docks in Basel that look to be somewhat more convenient to tram stops, but from what I've read, most of the ships use Dreilandereck. We found Basel to be kind of lacking in useful public transport to/from the ship, compared to most other places we've visited. Your hotel in Lucerne looks to be an easy walk from the train station - though you do have to cross the river.

 

Don't worry about the trains! They are easy. Train travel in Europe is great; everyone uses the train, and it is a powerful incentive not to overpack. :) We will be using the RER/Metro and the TGV in Paris next month for our Rhone cruise, so we'll pack light. It's a great way to do it, and our preferred MO.

 

Trip planning is the best way to deal with crummy weather. We are eagerly anticipating the Rhone cruise!

Yes, I agree.. that crummy weather makes you enjoy the planning even more! We are just buried with snow here near Boston and temps below zero.. These mountains will not melt til June! The trains look more do able all the time. I have been doing my research on this forum as well as Trip Advisor. I think the cab to the train station in Basel sounds like a plan! We will stay the two nights in Lucerne and then on to Zurich I am toying with staying at the Movenpick at the airport since we fly out after just one night. Then we could just take the train? tram? into zurich and explore the city and go back to Movenpick and have an easy transition to the airport the next morning. The price seems good too. Anyone stayed there?

Google Basel to Luzerne. Tons of options - I checked. When taking trains, coaches (bus) keep in mind dragging your luggage with you. We had a great train transfer experience in France last year, but my big HEAVY suitcase was a constant problem. I scanned the platform and train for strong looking kids who could heave it up. Luckily, I always found nice kids who were happy to help. But unlike Blanch, from a Streetcar Named Desire, you can't always "depend upon the kindness of strangers." Hope you get the reference... I'm showing my age...

 

I'm bored since my trip on Viking China Imperial Jewels is set. Now I butt into other trips in anticipation of 2016! Good practice for my favorite hobby, trip planning :)

Cruzer, That is so funny! i was just saying that doing this will keep me from packing too much stuff as I am always guilty of doing. Unlike the big ships, I wont need dress up clothes so hoping to keep it lighter!! Google is a great idea! Thanks!

We did a (brief) day in Zurich before cruising Basel-AMS last year. Liked Zurich - wandered the downtown area, climbed the Munster tower, enjoyed the view of the lake, took a train to Utliberg where there's a nice scenic view from another tower... Honestly we didn't do too much because we had just flown in on a long red-eye with two layovers, and we were sleepwalking most of the day.

 

We stayed at the Park Hyatt which is ridiculously expensive, even for Switzerland. Luckily we had Hyatt points to use. Good location for sightseeing. Nice restaurant. You could always stay at the airport hotel and take public transportation into town, though.

 

We visited Lucerne on another occasion a few months later. I think Lucerne was gorgeous! I posted a few pictures from that visit to Lucerne at the end of my trip log for the Rhine River Cruise.

 

 

 

 

If I had to choose between Zurich and Lucerne, it would be Lucerne every time. But if you have to fly to Zurich, then take a train to Lucerne for just one day, then train back to Zurich and transfer to Basel - that would be tiring, and I'd choose to stay in Zurich if that were the case. Zurich is not bad by any means, it's just not as beautiful as Lucerne.

 

Whichever city you choose, be prepared for serious sticker shock. Switzerland is expensive!

I reconsidered the configuration of our trip. So.... it now is we end the cruise in Basel and take the train to Luzerne for two nights. Picked the Hotel Des Alpes. Then we will get the train to Zurich for one night and then on to the airport. Don't have a hotel yet in Zurich. And I am still a little nervous about all the trains and transfers but stepping up! ANyone know how we can get to The Basel train stop or otherwise get to Luzerne! :)Another serious blizzard going on here tonight , so enjoying cruising the boards and dreaming!

Hi everyone,

We are going Amsterdam to Basel... sorry about the confusion. So you think stay in Basel or go right to Zurich with the ship transfer to Zurich and explore from there? I am going to get an actual book today of Switzerland and see the options After awhile reading on line gets overwhelming! Hope to navigate the train system then! Must book today or very early tomorrow AM. Keep the opinions coming!This is on Avalon BTW since our original AMA booked up before we decided!

I am about to pull the trigger for our Avalon Amsterdam to Basel. I have some questions about Zurich. We were thinking of staying 3 nights there. Is that too much time? We wont have any time to see Basel.But could we go to Lucerne on our own for a day? Is the train easy to negotiate or would you find a tour company? The cruise offers the Movenpick Hotel but that is closer to the airport than the city center. Other recommendations? Thanks everyone!

Hi all.. So I had my TA check Avalon for the Rhine , Amsterdam to Basel. He found a good deal on an offer they had and at a reduced air fare. That is on a tentative hold until Saturday. It sounds good. I was thinking of staying on in Zurich for a day or two. I understand they use the Movenpick Hotel but that is at the airport. Not probably the prettiest spot and not close to the city center? What did folks do in Zurich and where did you stay? What about Lucerne. These boards are invaluable!

I so my first River cruise ever and I chose to go AMA on the Rhine in September.. BUT by the time I was all set it was sold out! Booooo so second choice, either possibly switch lines to Avalon or Uniworld or tentative booking on AMA on Romantic Danube Prague to Budapest Thoughts?

So we are experiencing the Blizzard of 2015 here and that makes me get right back to the computer and read up on the river cruise options! We have narrowed down the time frame and itinerary. Just waiting to pull the trigger when our friends can go. Hoping things are not sold out when we want to go! I have enjoyed reading everyone's posts and reviews. What a great resource. I am ready for a change from the big ships. :)

Happy New Year to one and all and yes.. outside of Boston this morning my temperature said 2 degrees Fahrenheit! Had a meeting at 9;30 and just sucked it up and ran out! But once home, could not motivate myself back out the door!! LOL Still researching river cruises for September on either the Rhine or Danube. Love all the info everyone shares. Have already learned so much for us River newbies!:)

Thanks everyone! And Go Boston.. we are from that area too!! I am learning so much from everyone! In the past I have always been aware that what one person loves the next one dislikes and you do have to read all and make your own choices. These boards are always invaluable when planning. I would like to extend our trip to Lucerne as suggested.

Cold here in Massachusetts and reading reviews is a great way to spend the evening!;)

thanks everyone for all the feedback! I did read the Conde Naste reviews and as suggested I will go back some pages to read up. I had never heard,of Vantage but leaning towards AMA now. Will price out the dates. One of our travel friends has mobility issues so the varied excursions sound good too. This is such a great resource!

Cruiseeze.. that is some good information! I appreciate all opinions! Keep em coming!

The Basel to Amsterdam is an awesome itinerary especially for a first timer. We used Avalon this past summer and we had a very lively crowd on board. Many were from Australia. I would compare the day to day itinerary of each line. Where you go each day and what is included. Also compare the square footage of the cabins you are considering and the number of guests onboard. Finally look at the decor if those things matter. Each line has a distinct style.

Thanks Got2Cruise and all! I wanted to offer you any tips I can on your upcoming Mediterranean cruise. That has been my favorite of all and would be glad to share our experiences.

After many large cruise ships we have decided to try the River Cruise Way! It all looks wonderful! Certainly Viking is doing a ton of advertising and so they get your attention! But our TA is recommending AMA or Uniworld... We are looking at the Rhine cruises, Basel to Amsterdam.. Anyone done different lines and willing to share opinions? I always get such good info and love to share when I can too.. Thanks!

We were on the Sapphire in April. We took the Princess winery tour in Ensenada. You got out of town and up into the hillsides. Our tour guy was funny and entertaining. The first stop was the big winery where we saw some of the wear house and tanks and caskets. We wish we could have heard more about the whole process. We then went into a nice room to taste wines..and enjoy some cheese and bread. Then we could purchase if we wished.. No pressure...pretty grounds. The we drove down the hill to a homey little winery.. Sat outside, got tickets to taste more wines. We were not sure what to do there?? Then they brought out snacks and then suddenly there was pizza.. We had no clue it was coming.. Just hung out for awhile . Just kind of chilled.. We got our free bottles of wine plus the one we bought. We were allowed to carry it right on board. Pleasant enough. When we got back to the ship the winds had kicked up very badly. So we skipped the shopping in town. Just bought some vanilla from the shops at the port. Relaxing stop.

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We also just got back from the 4 day cruise. This was our 4 th Princess and our 10 th cruise. Overall it was a nice trip but there were a lot of little annoying things. The carpet in our room was soaking wet near our bathroom door when we came on board . The room steward fixed it when asked, they even brought in a dryer when we went out for the day. The carpet was coming up in the closet area. Not a deal breaker but not ideal. The lamps were in bad shape. Food was ok most of the time. You could def see the Asian influence in the Horizon Court. I will write a full review soon but it was different on a 4 day cruise! Great entertainment btw! Mostly met some interesting folks!

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Same problem on the Ruby in September! I thought it was just me!!! Good to know others feel the pain too!!

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Looks like it has been reinstated for our stop on March 28.

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On the Ruby, the movie was sometimes repeated in the theater in the afternoon on a sea day.

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Speaking of being picked up... What time should we expect to disembark,from the Sapphire Princess following a 4 day cruise?

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This is our first time on the Sapphire. We were on the Ruby last Sept into Oct in the Mediterranean. This is a short hop cruise and I figure nothing should bug me for that short a time!LOL. I find the interesting thing on the Ruby was that the fridge top was so hot that you could not leave anything on top of it. Certainly not the ice bucket!! They kept that inside our fridge. Love the anytime dining and like this idea of 4 different dining options. Just want to get out of this cold and snow!:)

We also switched back and forth as we felt like it. Did meet some nice folks on both.

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