painter55

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. We usually fly in at least one day before a cruise sometimes more.

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Has anyone ever booked ezair and then missed the ship because of air delays? We will be leaving from Ft Lauderdale and were planning to use ezair. As I understand it, if the flight is delayed, princess will get you to the next port. But what happens if there is a delay when the ship is on a transatlantic cruise. The next port is 6 days away. What does princess do to get you to the next port? Has this ever happened to anyone?

Rose

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Hmmm. We were on Avalon and we had the canal tour, we thought it was a great way to see the city. There were open sections for photography. It gave a great overview of the city. We then continued on a walking tour. I remember they sold delicious gingerbread cookies, they were soft and chewy. Brought a few bags home with us.

That's what I thought they might be. Something with open sections. We did one in Paris that was similar to that and it was great. Being a photographer it just kills me, not being able to photograph.

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Strasburg today. Unfortunately not enough time. Avalon took us on the batoboat for a canal cruise that I thought would be fun. Too bad the boat was completely enclosed which meant we could not take photos. The glare from the glass was too much so we pretty much missed seeing the loveliest part of Strasburg. The cathedral, of course, was amazing. Too short. Oh well. A quiet afternoon on board as the ship moves to Schonau. Maybe a walk there? Or not. Thanks to avalon waterways for a great river cruise.

Tomorrow Basel, Switzerland and our vacation moves into stage 2. Zürich to Munich, pick up car, drive to Salzburg, Vienna, Verona and area, Barolo, back through Switzerland and fly out of Munich.

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Glad to hear that Rudesheim is as fun as it looked when we visited. We barely had an hour there before we went on the ship's tour, so we didn't have enough time to take the cable car. And we were there in the morning, so no time to have lunch or dinner at any of the restaurants around town, all of which looked great! We plan to visit again when we can spend more time.

 

Thanks for checking in, and hope the Rhein water levels don't interfere too much with the rest of your cruise.

We were able to stay from 1pm to 9.45pm. A few people have gone to do the German dinner. (We did our own.) We always enjoy trying local foods when we travel.

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Here we are in Rüdesheim. The ship had some problems that delayed us getting to the rhein river and also because of the critical water levels in the Rhein. Because of the delay it was decided that we should give up going to Boppard and just stay longer in Rüdesheim.

We did the visit to the music museum. Some very interesting instruments collected there. Not for everyone but I enjoyed it. Then for coffee with brandy. Yum!! Visited various areas of town and had supper. Also tasty. Photo of the restaurant here.

I must recommend the cable car. Amazing views from the top. All in all a great day.

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I love these towns... When in Würzburg, if you stay into evening, walk down to the Alte Mainbrücke and grab a glass of wine from one of the walk-up bars. Stand on the bridge as the sun goes down, and people watch. Love Würzburg. But Rothenberg is fun too.

We weren't in Würzburg long enough, but certainly enjoyed the city while we were there.

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As long as you're in the Main-Danube Canal, you're fine. It's Regensberg to Passau that's the problem area.

Yes. That part if the Danube is a problem. We started in Regensburg.

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On the Main today. Heading to Würzburg. We are doing the Rothenberg tour tomorrow. Bamberg was awesome. What beautiful city. Not much of a beer drinker so the smoked beer doesn't work for me. Our guide said if you have 3 or more it tastes better.

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Live from affinity. Well almost. I think there was too much wine poured at dinner. Great time so far. We are on the Main-Danube canal. Lots of locks. Coming into Bamberg in the morning. Very rainy in Nuremberg today. Market was interesting, even in the rain. Apparently people enjoyed the historic tours, rally grounds and other stops. Lots of info. Let me know if anyone has questions.

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On the affinity now. Sitting in Regensburg overnight. The river between passau and Regensburg is too low for ships so we leave from Regensburg tomorrow night.

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We are off to the River cruise today. Bus to passau and then bus to Regensburg. River is still low. We have started a blog from our time in Munich and will continue as we travel the river, Austria, Italy, and Switzerland. The link is cruisetheRhine.WordPress.com

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We were on the Tranquility II, but I believe it's the same for all of Avalon's fleet.

 

For dinner, they offered a "chef's table" kind of thing you could go to once, possibly twice, if no one else signed up for it during the cruise. Other than this option, there is no other venue for dinner at all. Although the food was really good to excellent and a real "hit", this was our biggest "miss" during our river cruise.

 

The best dinner we had was in Rudesheim. We were in port long enough to enjoy a meal shoreside instead and it was a great way to soak up the ambiance.

 

During the daytime, you can sign up for the BBQ lunch but it's on a first-come, first-served basis and like the Chef's Table thing, if you've done it on the cruise once, you have to wait until everyone else has a chance at it before you can go to it again.

Thanks for the info. We look forward to all of it.

We don't always want a full dinner in the dining room. If possible, does anyone know if there is an alternative dining area on this ship? Not sure about this since we have never been on a river cruise. We will be leaving on Sunday for Munich. On the cruise on Oct 1. Too excited!

My DW will be writing a blog. I'll post the link when he gets going on it.

If you're expecting something similar to an ocean cruise Roll Call, you will find that because river ships are so small and Cruise Critic has so little awareness among river cruisers that it is unlikely you will meet anyone else from your exact cruise here [unless it is your DW ;)]

Yes I have noticed. Thought I would throw it out anyways. Not to worry, we are looking forward to meet people during the river cruise. It will be nice not to have 2000+ people on a ship. That was one of the things we both love about a river cruise.

We just received our packages and are leaving Sept 27 for Munich. We have done a few ocean Cruises but never a river cruise. We are both super excited. We are going to take in Oktoberfest when we get there. After the cruise we will be on our own for 2 weeks with a rental car through Austria, Italy and Switzerland. Anyone else on this cruise?

We also have a plan B. Our avalon cruise is at the end of September so still a couple months to go. We will go anyways and just turn the whole thing into a land tour. We had already booked 2 weeks after the cruise with a car so well just extend that. Unless there is another cruise available. I'm hoping that there are no cancellations at that time, since we are really looking forward to it. Guess we'll just wait and see. No point worrying.

We will be on Avalon Affinity I September. We have been on a number of ocean cruises and this will be our first river cruise. Last year I was in Germany on a land trip to see relatives and did a short KD line day cruise. Loved it. Now we are back to Europe on the highlights of Germany. Can't wait. Even though I've been to Europe several times there is still so much to see.

One of our Rhine stops is Speyer. Does anyone know when the ship docks? We are on Avalon affinity in September. we are on the highlights of Germany. I have family nearby and want to try and meet them for lunch.

After the cruise, from Basel we take the train to Zurich for 2 nights. Then to Munich to pick up our car. We leave Munich for Salzburg for 2 nights, 3 nights in Vienna. Drive to Verona to stay for 4 nights, 1 in Borolo, 1 at lake Constance, and back to Munich to fly out. We have arranged for wine tasting at a couple of places and a visit to a balsamic vinegar shop. We will take the train from Verona to Venice for the day. It's easier to do that than drive. One day we have a winery visit near lake hardship and then we'll probably drive around the lake for a bit. I'm counting down already.

We will be on Avalon for highlights of Germany in late September. After leaving Basel we will be on our own for 2 weeks traveling through Austria, Italy and Switzerland. We love the independent trips and have added others before and after ocean cruises. This is our first river cruise., quite different, and we are very excited. 5 months to go and not soon enough.