cole

We arrived late last night home, but knowing that there are others out there who will be taking this cruise soon, I will try to provide you with information about the cruise and would love to answer any specific questions you might have.

First of all, we arrived in Zurich the day before departure and as has been our experience 2 times in the past - without luggage (thanks Delta!:(). We filed necessary papers but were fearful that since we would board the ship the next day, our luggage would arrive after we departed from the hotel on a pre-cruise excursion. Delta obviously had contacted Avalon about the delay and when Avalon picked up their passengers the next day, they also picked up our luggage and it was waiting for us when we boarded the ship that afternoon. (Thanks Avalon :)).

The Pilatus excursion was great, even though the view at the top was limited, due to clouds. The extra excursions of the German Dinner and Alsace wine tasting were also worth the $$$, The wine was not to our taste, but the young man who was our host knew his stuff and was very interesting explaining the process.

A general summary of food and the ship would be to say it was excellent and the ship is beautiful - this was the inaugural cruise for this ship. Although the first night and early morning, the creaks and squeaks were loud enough that it woke up most people. Some even asked to be moved from their cabin to another, but it was not different in new location for them. But as we progressed up the river it lessened.

All included excursions were well done with very knowledgeable guides. Our wish would be though that along with "easy walking" groups, there would be a group for people who want to hear the highlights and not the minute details of every church, every window, every painting. Information overload at times.:eek:

The food was outstanding and at times the desserts were almost too beautiful to eat, but that didn't keep us from enjoying all of them. The variety was wonderful at all meals.

So - that's the highlight. If you have specific questions, please do not hesitate to ask and I will be glad to try to answer. One last comment - there was only one sport coat worn during the special night - so gentlemen, save the space in you suitcase for other clothing.

Cole

Hello Cole,

 

I am happy to confirm that the Imagery II has been christened. Everything went well and it stopped raining during the speeches, I have been told.

 

The Imagery II is currently docked in Rüdesheim.

 

Hope you have a great time.

 

notamermaid

Thank you for the update. Remember, wave at us when we sail by!

Cole

I have no intentions to cancel either...but still curious as to the flow of travel. We are embarking in Basel on the 16th.

We embark this Saturday (10th) woo hoo and are so excited. We are traveling with Avalon and any time there has been a blip of any kind when traveling with this company, they are great to make adjustments and accommodating their guests. Will report back when we return.

Cole

Hello Cole,

 

I was checking the position of the Imagery II and lo and behold, she was moving upstream and I managed to get a glimpse of her! She is on her way to Wiesbaden (according to marinetraffic). She is to be christened on 5 April.

 

The Rhine water level has risen quite a bit due to the rain we had on Wednesday and Thursday. But there is still plenty of room for melting snow. It is beautifully sunny outside of my kitchen window. There are rowing boats on the Rhine close to the embankments and I am sure it will not be long before I see the first small yacht, the type that accommodates only two people.

 

I am getting excited for all you Rhine cruisers now. :)

 

notamermaid

As I probably have stated previously, our first river cruise was the Rhine. We started in Nuremberg and ended in Amsterdam, so the Basel to Amsterdam will be a little different, but Germany is definitely our favorite country. You can't beat the beer, food, wine (the people) and especially the history. Now, if I can just squeeze all of the different outfits I have laid out into two suitcases I will be ready.

Cole

Ha! I have a really really huge duffel bag. Back in college, we could fit my roommate inside and zip up the bag! (yes, 20 years later I still have the bag - I'm a hoarder for luggage esp stuff that doesn't take up much space:p)

Yes, I remember the days it was "how much stuff can I "stuff" into my bag?" But these days it is "how much is my "stuff" going to weigh?" Makes a big difference doesn't it?:rolleyes:

Cole

Hello cole,

 

I had not realized that! Or forgotten, if you have mentioned it before...

 

Do not worry, the Imagery II is running and currently docking in Cologne. So, you will be on the inaugural cruise or first cruise on the "baby". :D

 

Have a great time.

 

And send us a short report, please.

 

notamermaid

 

P.S.: If I happen to see the Imagery II I will give it a wave.

And we will wave back. Looking forward to cruising on this new beauty!

Cole

Hello franski,

 

a very interesting, varied, itinerary. Enjoy the food in Regensburg and Nuremberg. Will the men be going to the BMW Museum or the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum (the first is for the company's cars only, the latter is mixed cars)?

 

Digressing here a bit, I know, but everything is calm and quiet on the Rhine. :)

 

I am currently waiting to see if the christening of the Avalon Imagery II on the Rhine will go ahead as planned.

 

And the weather is forecast to be really nice this weekend.

 

notamermaid

Hopefully the christening of the Imagery II goes as planned since we are scheduled to board on April 9th! ;)

Cole

I'll be on the Gem soon. And as I'm doing research....not really sure it's worth going through the hassle of bringing wine from home if your going to be charged a corkage fee...especially if you are bringing wine that has a twist top. It would end of being 25-30 a bottle. Can you purchase wine on board for 30 a bottle and take it back to the cabin with you if you don't finish it at dinner?

Are you flying or driving? I have carried my own wine on every NCL trip we have taken. Will not do it on the Gem in September due to the fact that we have the UBP. Many times I have sought out wine stores near the port and purchased there rather than packing them in the suitcase, but I have also done that using wine protector's you can purchase. The prices on board are outrageous compared to what you would pay in a wine store (even with the $15 corkage fee). Also I have purchased wine while in one of the cruise ports and then paid the fee as we re-board the ship.

Cole

Hello cole,

 

the weather forecast tends to be four days, beyond that it is somewhat more a "trend". So, currently, there is a trend towards higher temperatures next week and a little more settled weather than this week. There is likely to be some rain, a thunderstorm is possible, but that will be restricted to a clearly defined area, not all over the valley. Widespread rain is unlikely, but showers may be experienced in several areas. It just depends on where you will be at that time! It has happenend to me that I came from a shopping trip in grey skies to find out that it had been raining hard at home, i.e. two places only 20 kilometres apart from each other.

 

Please note that Amsterdam and Holland have their own weather pattern. It tends to be a little cooler and rainer than in the Rhine valley, but on occasion it can be the other way round.

 

Please remember, the mornings will still be very cool. Light frost is still possible in the higher hills at night, for example in Switzerland.

 

Have a great trip.

 

notamermaid

Sounds like our weather in Arkansas. If you don't like it, just wait a little bit because it probably will change.

Cole

Hello franski,

 

Thank you for your wishes. I am slowly improving.

 

A week in southern Germany on a land trip. Great! I am not too familiar with the area, but can assure you there are some great places to visit. If you have got time go and see the Rhine fall at Schaffhausen and Lake Constance at Konstanz. Schloss Ludwigsburg near Stuttgart for Baroque splendour, Ulm Minster with its highest church spire in the world. Nördlingen with its splendid town wall, definitely a hidden gem. Nürnberg, of course, its railway museum is on my bucket list. Oberammergau. Dachau (if you can bear this on a holiday). München. Starnberger See. And ... and ... :)

 

You must sample at least one of those splendid local beers in Bavaria. :D

 

Have a great trip.

 

notamermaid

We leave next week on our cruise from Basel to Amsterdam and, of course, checking the weather every day to try to find out what the temperatures are going to be - but we also see on weather.com that every day they are predicting rain. Is that what the Weather Gods of the Rhine are also predicting or is it just an easy way for that website to mention rain, just in case?

Thanks for all of your help.

Cole

One river cruise company has stated that the ship is a "non-smoking" ship and that includes e-cigs. If a passenger is caught "vaping" they will be charged for completely re-doing the cabin and could possible be put off the ship. I would assume that big ship policies are the same when they state the cabin is a non-smoking cabin. Of course there will always be some people who try to get around any policy, just so they can.

Cole

We arrive there on April 8th and after dropping off our luggage at the Movenpic, I believe we are going to take the train (which is easy walking distance from the hotel) to downtown and then do a gently walking around the city center. It is an easy city to navigate on foot.

Cole

I received an mail from our travel agent who represents Avalon and other companies regarding my question about any delays, etc. and she said that if there were to be an impact, it would be on the larger river cruise ships - but at this time Avalon sees no problem. Thought I would share this with the group.

Cole

Scheduled for Viking Rhine getaway in July from Amsterdam to Basel. Just saw the update about the potential delays. Customer service would not say much more than possible delays which might cancel any and all excursions in Strasbourg and Breisach....stuck on boat waiting in line for lock.....that seems totally unacceptable....ANYONE out there hear anything back from most recent cruises on this stretch of river.

 

Hey Viking! Tell us what you plan to do.

Ditto - Avalon!

Cole

Heck, if you have wifi at home, no need to caffeinate.

I thought the same thing a little later. But thanks for the reminder.

Cole

There was a message on the Roll Call that the Viking passengers had received a notice from their company that there were going to be repairs done on the lock between Basel and Strasbourg that might cause an adjustment in the length of time to travel between these two ports. Has anyone got any information about this that they might share?

Cole

To my original question...I think we got it figured out...The Att&T person is going to get an international plan that will only be like 35 dollars.

 

The rest of us have phones that are new enough that we can connect via GSM even if it means we only have 2g and 3g service via the TravelPass system...because as mentioned it is the easiest option for us. :)

 

Thanks again for the suggestions.

With all of the options, ins and outs I think you are right. $35 is a minimal fee when you consider the headaches involved in trying to figure out what works and what doesn't. Great info though.

Cole

From the ships wifi (being in airplane mode) you can connect to the internet on your phone.

 

If your App (I am assuming your security system is an App...but it might be a website) works with wifi (as most do) then you should be able to access it fine. If you wanted to test run it while being in the US. You could always turn your phone in airplane mode and try to utilize your security system using wifi at a coffee shop.

 

With your phone in airplane mode and using the ships wifi (if it is good enough) you can totally upload photos with out having any charges. And actually you could even make phone calls using wifi by utilizing a web option.

 

The reason I was worried about not having my plan in use is because we plan to make phone calls, text etc without constant access to wifi. :)

 

Ps. There are clearly some other people on this board that are way more tech savvey than me so I would heed there two cents even more than my two cents.

Thank you so much. That is a great idea about checking at the local coffee shop. I assume that also means that texts both ways are also doable!

Cole

You will be able to tell when I ask my question that I know absolutely nothing about my I-phone capability when traveling this route. Here is the question:

If I turn my phone to Airplane mode and also turn off the data, will I be able to use the ship's Wi-Fi to receive and send text messages? Also, will I be able to log into my home security system to view my security camera's area. Does this work with no international plan? I do not plan on making phone calls or posting photos.

Thanks for your help and understanding!

Cole

Thanks – your questions gave me the opportunity to ‘relive’ the cruise again. The excursion to Lucerne started at 10 am and we were brought back to the ship at about 3.30 or 4. We definitely had time to have a shower and change before going for the Welcome Reception. Our luggage was already in the room when we arrived. The tour guide did not give us a guided tour of Basel. Actually, the excursion was quite full on. We spent the morning portion at Mt Pilatus and had lunch in one of the cafeterias on the mountain top. After lunch, we did the Lucerne tour before we were deposited at the ship. The excursion to Mt Pilatus & Lucerne was a good start to the cruise. We figured it was better than waiting at Movenpick to be bussed to the ship. Enjoy your cruise.

Thank you so much for the information. We are so looking forward to the excursion and it is great to hear that we will have time to "fluff up" before the reception. It really is a shame though that all of us will miss the opportunity to experience Basel. The information and photos of that city seems to suggest that it would be a great city to visit. Oh well, we can't do everything, can we?

Thank you again.

Cole

 

Avalon Rhine (Basel to Amsterdam) Review

 

After one and a half years of planning and reading and rereading CC, our Rhine & Moselle cruise finally came. And after twelve glorious days of cruising past rolling hills, steep vineyards, quaint farmhouses and enchanting castles, our cruise came to an end, and here we are, back to reality. And giving back to CC what we have gained so much through reading the many reviews. First, many many thanks to all the contributors who have given us such wonderful advice and suggestions regarding river cruising.

 

PRE CRUISE ANXIETY

When we first booked the cruise, we did not know about the low/high water, broken locks and other potential issues that could change a cruise to a bus ride. As we read on and April high-water turned to Sept low-water, we became more and more anxious. But the good thing was that knowing beforehand meant we were mentally prepared. So, we went with high hopes and tampered expectations that we would have a great trip. And, a great trip we had. Yeah!!

 

PRE-CRUISE

Since we had to travel seventeen hours to Zurich, we decided to spend three days in Zurich to get over the jetlag as well as to enjoy the place. During the three days, we did an old city walking tour (booked with Zurich Tourist Information Office), went to Rhines Falls (with VIATOR), went up Uetliberg Mountain (getting lost on our own), dashed into an art museum last minute, did Lake Zurich cruise (free with our Zurichcard) and went to Lucerne and Mt Pilatus (with Avalon). After our trip to Lucerne, Avalon transported us to the ship at Basel for embarkation.

 

AVALON ARTISTRY 2

Avalon Artistry 2 is beautiful and spotlessly clean. Having our bed face the panoramic windows was a huge plus as we could lay in bed as we sail past the beautiful scenery. So, sometimes, after a tiring morning shore excursion and a heavy lunch, watching the scenery pass would morph into a siesta, all in the same place.

 

The staff is warm and friendly. Kudos to the dining room staff and housekeeping staff. The cabin attendant remembered our names after the first introduction and always greeted us by name every time he saw us. His was the first cheery greeting we got every morning when we leave our cabin for breakfast. If he was cleaning a neighbouring cabin, he would quickly pop his head out and give us a smiley greeting. The dining room staff was also a gem. We are truly impressed with the attention of the dining room staff. We don’t drink alcohol, which is free flowing during dinner. The first night, we asked for lemon slices to go with our ice water. After a few meals of asking for lemon slices, for the rest of the cruise, lemon slices were brought to our table without us asking, regardless of where we were sitting.

 

DAILY SCHEDULE

Our daily activities fell into the following routine

7 am to 9 am – breakfast buffet (there is also had an early riser and a later riser Continental breakfast)

9 am – 11.30 am or thereabouts – Included Shore Excursion

12 noon or thereabouts – buffet lunch (there is also a light lunch at the lounge)

2 pm to 4 pm – optional shore excursion or second included excursion or snooze time

4 pm – afternoon coffee and cake

6.45 – port talk for the next day

7 pm – 4 course dinner with coffee and tea

9 pm till late – entertainment and dancing for those whose legs and bodies were up to it

 

ITINERARY

Some of the highlights of each place.

BLACK FOREST / COLMAR

We took all the included excursions except for the one on the first day to Black Forest. Reading the CC comments that Black Forest involved a 3-hour return bus ride convinced us that we would rather stay on board the first day and have a more leisurely start to our cruise. We, however, took an optional tour in the afternoon to Colmar, which was absolutely beautiful.

 

STRASBOURG

Our morning tour included a canal cruise in Strasbourg. It was really interesting cruising past the quaint old-charm buildings. Even in autumn, all window sills boast an array of lush and brilliant flowers. A walking tour of the La Petite France district added to the sensory delight.

 

HEIDELBERG CASTLE

Even though it was raining, it did not diminish our enjoyment of the Heidelberg Castle, mainly due to the excellent local guide that we had. With great flair, he introduced the castle to us as though he owned it. He transported us back to the times when we were ‘lords and ladies’ and with great drama, walked us through the castle grounds.

 

RUDESHEIM / RHINE GORGE

Today, we traded our mode of transport from a ship to a little tourist train that brought us to Rudesheim town. Rudesheim is such a pretty town and we were totally amazed with the intricacy of the Mechanical Musical Instrument. This was the day we were all looking forward to. After a morning visiting the museum and wandering along the cobblestone streets, we were all geared for the sailing through the Rhine Gorge. It was incredible sailing past one castle after another, with the CD narrating stories and facts related to the castles. At Rudesheim town, we also bought a full-coloured booklet, Castles along the Rhine. It was about 7 euros and well worth the money.

 

BERNKASTEL

Sailing past the Moselle Valley, we marvelled at the steepness of the hills where the vineyards were and had a new appreciation for the hard work involved in harvesting the grapes.

 

COCHEM

It was definitely a WOW factor when we reached the top of Reichsburg Castle and had a bird’s eye view of the picturesque town and river below.

 

KINDERDIJK

From vineyards to castles and now to windmills – what a great spectrum of change in landscape. It was an eye-opener seeing all the traditional windmills. We marvelled at the extent of work millers had to do to continue to work the traditional windmills.

 

AMSTERDAM

Many have said that to experience Amsterdam, one must cruise its canals. And that was what we did, cruising its many canals and appreciating the various architectures.

 

OTHER BITS AND PIECES

2 TOPS

There were about six 2-seaters in the dining room. The tables are, however, are so close to each other that on some evenings when we used the 2-seaters, we ended up talking with the neighbouring table. The advantage, however, was that if we choose not to talk with the neighbours, it was still possible, unlike sitting in an eight-person table.

 

PASSENGERS

Generally, most of the passengers are very friendly. We bump into each other during breakfast, lunch, dinner, shore excursions, port talks etc. Very often while walking to the dining room, someone would ask if we are sitting with anyone and if not, they would invite us to join their table.

 

GOING THAT EXTRA MILE

Most of the shore excursions had regular walkers and gentle walkers. What impressed us was one shore excursion was to the old town just across the road. It, however, involved crossing a very high overhead bridge. The CD announced that due to the height of the bridge, she had organised taxis (complimentary) to ferry the gentle walkers to and from the town, which was just across the road from the port. That is Avalon going the extra mile!!

 

OCEAN CRUISE / RIVER CRUISE

We’ve read so many CCers commenting that a river cruise feels more intimate. Oddly, we did not share that sentiment. On our ocean cruises, we usually ask for a 2-seater on the upper level near the railing. That gives us a sense of privacy and grandeur overlooking the lower level. It feels like a restaurant dining. However, having 120 passengers all in the one dining room seemed crowded and noisy to us.

 

But, this Rhine river cruise is one special itinerary for us. There would not have been any other way that we could have enjoyed all the sights that we had except through a river cruise. And Avalon did a wonderful job delivering that. We saw much and we enenjoyed much.

I realize your post was several months ago, but we are on the same itinerary next month and we are also taking the optional excursion from Zurich to Lucerne. My question is - what time did you arrive at the ship? Did the tour guide drive through Basel before depositing you at the ship? Did you have time to unpack and change for the Welcome Reception (if you were expected to be a little dressy for the reception). Hopefully you will see these questions and get a chance to respond.

Cole

Be sure and pack your carry on as if you will never see your checked bag again.

We had 2 couples who spent their entire 15 days on the river with no bags. So put at least 3 outfits and shoes in that carry on. Then of course you as long as you do that your bags will show up! :)

I second that suggestion. Our luggage has been late several days on 2 of the 5 river cruise trips we have taken. The first time, we arrived on a Sunday and I believe a holiday, which meant there were no shops open, so we had to make do with what we were wearing and purchases from the small shop on the ship. The second time, we had packed a change of clothes and shops were open, so we were able to purchase a couple of outfits to get us through the next couple of days. Our luggage finally caught up with us on both trips at the end of the third day. So I would rather be safe than sorry! On the return trip to the US, the carry-on is checked through with the other piece of luggage.

Cole

Don't stay at the airport.

 

Keith

Any specific reason or just an opinion? We researched all options and decided to stay at the New Jersey Airport. We thought the rate at the Renaissance Hotel was very reasonable and it is a lovely hotel.

Cole

Interesting, when I researched renting a car in Madrid and dropping if off in Lisbon, I ran in to a prohibitive price. Not sure if policies have changed regarding car rentals, since I just ran a test rent a car on kayak Porto drop-off in Madrid and cost was similar to what you found.

Same here. When we were picking up in one country and dropping off in another the cost was prohibitive. If we could have got this kind of deal, no question we would have driven from Lisbon to Madrid.

Cole

Karen - we're on the same cruise this spring but in the opposite direction. We're thinking we're OK with Viking's tours for this particular cruise, except in Budapest and Bucharest we'll be doing a bit more on our own. Since many of the towns along the river seem to be small, the included walking tours will probably be sufficient, and allow us to veer off on our own (except for the one where we go see the horse-back riding - kinda trapped there). We're doing the Transylvania extension, but not with Viking. We're hiring a private guide, car, staying in the same hotel and staying an extra day - all for slightly less than the Viking price. We've found Viking's extensions to be generally overpriced.

 

In our experience, the tour groups can vary from 20 to 40 people. If a walking tour, they seem to be smaller in size, but if a bus is involved, they tend to fill up the bus, which means 40. But occasionally, you'll luck out and the group is only 15, but that's rare. As Jazz Beau says though, because of the Quiet Vox system, the "herd" can spread out though. My pet piece is when the group is supposed to be back at a certain spot at a certain time, there's always a couple who consistently is late, wasting time.

 

We always prefer private tours if we can, but as we travel as a couple, and it's hard to find other travelers on our exact cruise, it's often not economically viable. If it's 4 of you though, it might make sense economically.

We are also planning on extending our cruise (with Avalon), but booking our own private tour to Transylvania. Could you share the name of the private company you are using. We would love to look at that possibility.

Cole