travelnut4

Thanks for the advice on month and weather. Very helpful.
Now to decide if we should book the extension to Budapest before, and to Prague after the cruise on our own or through Uniworld.  I can book hotels on my own, and can get to and from airports fine. I hear some cruise lines will sell you the transfer from Passau to Prague. Any info on whether Uniworld will do that? We are English speaking only…would that be a problem or should we have guidance from a tour operator?

I am planning my days in Amsterdam prior to the cruise. So much to do! I can’t seem to find out what time we need to be on the boat for embarkation. I’d like to go to the Van Gogh museum that morning if possible before needing to head to the boat for check in, and need to book these museum tickets in advance. What time is Uniworld check in, and what time does the boat leave that day? I know I could call Uniworld but thought I’d check with you experts first! Thanks!

7 hours ago, acwmom said:

My husband and I are not big wine drinkers, so we did the hike in Rudesheim and had a great time. For the rest, we did the Alsatian Villages, Vinegar tasting, and Heidelberg. All were worth it, as is Marksburg. Sign up for the Boppard bike ride early, as in, when you board, because there are only 20 bikes on board.

 

Here is a link to my review:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2393825-just-back-from-the-rhine-on-uniworld-ss-antoinette/

 

Robin

Love the trip reports! Enormously helpful! Thank you!

2 hours ago, helpmesailaway said:

A great place to gather info would be acwmom and jpalbny reviews of this cruise.  This was our first river cruise and we just loved it.

 

Thanks to acwmom we went on the Vinegar excursion and I'm kicking myself that I didn't get more of the amazing vinegars produced there - it was lots of fun

 

As far as Alsatian Village or Colmar - either one would be fabulous - it's a case of I want to be in two places at one time!  We did the Alsatian villages - and we were lucky to see some nesting storks in their 600 pound nests!

 

During the entire cruise everyone seems to enjoy whatever excursion that was chosen.

 

Don't miss out on the German themed lunch on the upper deck during the Rhine river gorge sail - the hot pretzels - yum!!  Go early, there was limited seating.

Oh my...that would be awesome to see the storks! And thanks for the tip on the German lunch!

7 hours ago, sawtooth said:

Hi travel nut.

Which cruise are you on?  We are boarding in Amsterdam on June 2nd.

We are thinking Heidelberg, the bike ride.  Colmar, Strausberg and the hike.

That's all so far.

We are boarding in Amsterdam on June 30. Thanks for your input on what you are going to do!

19 hours ago, jpalbny said:

These tours are a little different from the ones we had on our 2014 tour (full review here):

 

 

We did the Vollrads wine tasting. Nice enough. They weren't offering the hike.

 

We did a walking tour in Strasbourg, they went back on our own for the afternoon. Make sure you have a tarte flambée while you are in town. So tasty!

 

Breisach, we did the Alsatian wine villages tour. Very enjoyable. Grab a bottle to bring home. Collmar is supposed to be beautiful too, so it may be hard to choose here.

 

We did Marksburg Castle. Nice place to visit. We had some OBC through AMEX to cover the cost. Koblenz is pretty to wander around for a few hours on your own.

 

The vinegar tour was not an upcharge (extra) tour on our voyage; it was included. Is it an extra now? We didn't do it but everyone who has reported on it here seems to have really liked it. I am not familiar with the other two options that you have listed here so maybe they weren't offered on our cruise.

 

Have a great time!

Thanks everybody! I think the extra expense excursion is the Romantic Heidelberg. The others appear to be included.  Everywhere I read says to do the vinegar tasting! So excited for our first river cruise, and only second time to Europe! I appreciate your link to your review. It is soo helpful!

We are leaving on a Uniworld Rhine cruise Amsterdam to Basel in June, and I am interested in hearing what are some favorite excursions people have experienced on this journey! Specific questions on the following days, as well as any input on the other days. 

Rudesheim: Castle Vollrads wine tasting OR hike from Rudesheim to Assmanshausen

Strasbourg: Strasbourg panoramic tour with cathedral and Old Town walk OR Do as the locals do Strasbourg walking tour

Breisach: Alsatian Village Day OR Colmar City tour

I have bookmarked the Marksburg Castle in Koblenz, the vinegar tasting in Speyer, biking in Boppard, and possibly the Romantic Heidelberg excursion at an extra expense (is it worth it?). 

Thanks for your help and guidance! I’ve learned so much from these boards! 

Great information! Thanks so much!

We are doing this Rhine cruise in late June (can’t wait!!) and I was wondering what time we are to check in with Uniworld on Day 1. I believe it departs Amsterdam at 1600 but not sure. We will be in Amsterdam a couple of days prior on our own, and I am trying to plan our time there. I already have a canal tour, Ann Frank house, a guided city tour, and the Rijksmuseum on my list. Just trying to figure out now the placement of those puzzle pieces! Anything else you all recommend for our time in Amsterdam? We also are planning a Lucerne couple of days at the end! Advice welcome there too! I am leaning towards the Golden Round Trip tour of Mount Pilatus and Lake Lucerne.

I have the same question on these beaches. I am looking for the same type beach you’ve described! We will be in Antigua at the end of the month and am thinking of going to Valley Church Beach. I’d love any thoughts or advice on that.

Thanks for your reply Stinger-pr! We may just enjoy our time in Old San Juan. At least storing luggage at Barrachina is easy! 

On 12/28/2018 at 11:39 AM, OceansOfTravels said:

Hello,

 

We are currently in St.Kitts onboard the Carnival Fascination, and we have a 6:30PM flight from SJU back to Baltimore. We will likely debark around 10-10:30AM, and then the airport won’t take our luggage until 4:30, so we are sitting for 6+ hours. We have decided to try and make it a day. Can anyone suggest a hotel that offers a day pass option? One where we could go, use the pool/maybe beach, and then leave around 4:30. Or, can someone give us some names of places in OSJ we can pay to hold our luggage as we walk around the city? It would be very appreciated! Thank you in advance!

I’m curious what you decided to do as we are in the same situation. I was thinking a few hours at the beach would be really nice, but we would want to clean up before our flight home so don’t know if there are facilities to do that and store luggage. We’ve been to Old San Juan before, but may consider dropping our bags at Barrachina and spending a few hours there. Not really interested in the rum distillery tour, and a trip to El Yunque may be too far and time consuming.

We are trying to decide on what we will do with our time following our cruise next month since our flight is not until 4:00. If we decide we would like to have a beach day, is there somewhere in Isla Verde that we can store our luggage and spend a few hours at the beach and have lunch? It would be even greater if there were shower facilities!

These boards are so helpful! Thanks everyone! We will be taking the train at the end of our cruise from Basel to Lucerne, and staying at the Hotel des Alpes for 2 nights. Is there a need to get this train ticket in advance, or just purchase it when we get off of the cruise at the train station?  We’ll plan to go to the Lion Monument and eat at the Old Swiss House as suggested!

The next day we will plan to go to Mt Titlis, Mt Rigi or Pilatus and a lake cruise. Any suggestions on which one? We will have the full day.

The last day will be taking the train to Zürich for a noon flight home. I understand that the train can be taken directly to the Zürich airport from Lucerne...yay! Is it best to purchase this ticket in advance since it’s crucial timewise thst we arrive in plenty of time? How do I do this? 

Thanks everybody! That is very reassuring! I will be looking into hotels now for Lucerne, and see that they are in walking distance to the train station. For our flight back to the US, how early do I need to arrive at the Zurich Airport? Does the train from Lucerne go directly to the airport? 

We are taking a Rhine cruise Amsterdam to Basel early July 2019, and are considering doing a 2 night extension to Lucerne.  I need help to figure how to do this on our own without booking through the cruise line.  Is it easy to figure out the transportation with the trains to Lucerne if we only speak English?  I would like to see Pilatus while in Lucerne.  How easy is it if I don't have a car?  What are some hotels that I should look into that are mid-priced and in a good location?  Should I return to Basel to fly back to the Washington DC area, or go to Zurich and fly home from there?

Thanks in advance for your help! 

Thanks for your input! Lots to think about!

We are booked on Uniworld Castles Along the Rhine for September 2019. I’ve been reading about the low water levels this year and I’m second guessing my booking! Would June be a better month for this cruise? Or what other time of year, or itinerary? This is our first river cruise and I don’t want to be disappointed! Any advice is appreciated!

Thank you so much for your great information and attaching the dailies! We are doing this same cruise September 2019. We may try and do 2 days on our own in Amsterdam prior to the cruise. I'm starting to look into hotel options. I'd love to hear of anyone's input on that! We are not sure if we have the time to do the post cruise to Lucerne, but that looks awesome too!

I think I’d prefer to start in Amsterdam so I can fly in a couple of days early and spend that extra time there. These boards are so helpful to me in figuring all this out! You’ve been so helpful.

You all have given me other factors to consider- hadn’t thought about length of daylight hours or the speed of the current on a the river! I’ll look a little closer at the itinerary too. More research! Thanks everybody!

We are looking at an Amsterdam to Basel cruise on the Rhine, and trying to decide between a mid-June cruise or early/mid September. The June cruise costs a little less. Which is better concerning weather, crowds, water conditions? Also, which direction- Amsterdam to Basel, or the reverse, or does it matter? Thanks!

I agree, 6 is the best size if you want to be able to talk and hear what everyone is saying. Early seating will probably be harder to switch tables though since it is usually already full.

I too thought a table for 6 would be the best size and requested it, but once on board we were seated at a table for 10...their biggest table! Ugh! I know I could have tried to get us switched but we just dealt with it. I would recommend you check out your table location once you get on board the first day. They obviously don't pay that close attention to your requested size!

We just finished a cruise that ended in Vancouver, and had a 10pm flight that evening. I had all the same questions! We did send our luggage to the airport as others have mentioned with CDS Baggage for $40 (that's Canadian, with my Cap One credit card it was $30US so good deal!). Spent a lot of time in enormous and wonderful Stanley Park- highly recommend renting bikes! We then took the Aquabus over to Granville Island. Great city! Wish we had more time there!

We just got off the Coral last week. The aft of Caribe Deck 10! We were there with just a handful of people total as we cruised through Glacier Bay on a gorgeous day! No wind! Comfortable deck chairs!