Gopherpharm

I’ve been having a lot of fun (and sometimes been frustrated by) this game lately, in case you haven’t heard of it: https://worldle.teuteuf.fr/

@Host Jazzbeau beautiful! Did you take the airboat ride or bike around the fields at all?

Hope this helps @worldtraveller99

Germany: 

No testing or proof of vaccination required

masks required at some sites (example: indoors at Heidelberg castle, inside a pharmacy)

compared to the other countries we visited, there was more masking in general by locals/tourists (Example: wait staff at some restaurants wore masks)

France:

No testing or proof of vaccination required

we did not witness anywhere that required masks and overall low mask usage

Switzerland:

No testing or proof of vaccination required

we did not witness anywhere that required masks and overall low-medium mask usage

Swiss airlines requires masks on board

@worldtraveller99 I can tell you what the requirements were as of two weeks ago if that’s helpful. We just returned last week from Amsterdam, the Rhine and Switzerland. 

@Host Jazzbeau are the tulips blooming now? Two weeks ago it was just hyacinths and daffodils. I loved the orchid show in the Beatrix pavilion. 

@CPT Trips great news I hope you have an excellent cruise!

15 minutes ago, rosesq said:

To clarify -- I am going on a Charter Avalon next week (Rhine). I suspect that the charter leader is requiring the additional testing as a precaution. I'm not thrilled about it as I've been vaccinated and double boosted and will be in Europe several days before we board. 

Hope you are negative! It would be the worst to test positive and not be able to cruise. My advice is to wear masks indoors, even when not required, and see if you can be at least 6 feet away from others when eating or drinking indoors. 

30 minutes ago, Coral said:

My friend who was on a 7 night cruise - most tested positive on their post cruise stay or once they arrived back in the US. It was a charter so they knew each other (thus, knew the counts).

 

I would hope in your situation, having COVID in December would have protected you.

I’m guessing on a charter they wouldn’t mask on the ship or social distance. I do think that makes a difference!

@TFree No, we were not required to show any kind of negative test to board. We were required to show our original vaccine cards. 

@ak1004 the trains are pretty straightforward, the ticket machines are in English and as long as you allow plenty of time we found it easy. Just to tempt you further, Lucerne is simply

and we spent a whole day at Mt. Titlis which was also unforgettable:

Of the 111 on our Amsterdam to Basel cruise, around 50 tested on the ship because they were flying directly home. Of those ~50, 3 were positive. 
 

We are in our 30s, triple vaxxed and I had covid in December. We were very diligent about masks indoors and only shared a dinner table a couple times the whole trip. We kept our distance from everyone while having drinks on the ship, etc. Having littles at home and jobs to get back to meant having to quarantine in Switzerland would’ve particularly disastrous for us.

On 4/11/2022 at 9:51 PM, Host Jazzbeau said:

Also:  we loved, loved, loved Lucerne!

Lucerne was incredible and we did it on our own after our Amsterdam to Basel cruise. It was easy to do on our own so you could always consider that. Plus Uniworld may be offering the Lucerne extension (we just weren’t looking to spend what they were charging for it). 

Adding to the opinion of Uniworld’s decor - just off the SS Antionette. Wouldn’t decorate my home like that but it did not feel gaudy in person - just fancy and elaborate. I like the idea of each ship being different - it seems like both ships and hotels are becoming indistinguishable from each other these days (modern but sterile and dull).

The service was incredible and there was only 1 dinner we didn’t find fantastic. The first night the bar told us to stop coming there to get drinks to take elsewhere on the ship; to please call and they will bring to us wherever we are. As somewhat of a wine-induced series of events, we mentioned we really liked the succulents on the ship. The next day we had one in our room. We felt so spoiled. 

As far as unique excursions, Uniworld offers a couple exclusive experiences (included in cruise fare): Schloss Vollrads which is a tour of the castle and wine tasting. They only grow Riesling grapes, but dry wine people will be happy to know that the tasting included a trocken (dry), a semi-dry and a semi-sweet Riesling. 

The second was Doktorenhof vinegar estate tour and tasting. Very interesting (and I thought tasty, my husband disagrees)! My favorite part was the plague mask…they used to stuff the “beak” with vinegar soaked cloth to protect those caring for plague victims. And to think people complain about modern masks!

The vinegars made here age for a long time, most for 4-10 years if I recall correctly   (most mass produced vinegar is aged for 1 day)! The cellars were very memorable  

We are just back from our trip up the Rhine from Amsterdam (then 2 nights in Lucerne). The weather was a bit challenging but we had a fantastic time regardless. 
 

I have some Easter decoration pics from Kaysersberg:

No clue why this is uploading upside down:

13 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Oh, does Uniworld do that as well now? Drop you off at Zons and bus you to Cologne? I guess that is not a bad idea as it saves a bit of sailing time, i.e. gives you more excursion time, especially being slow upstream. Indoor pool, a perfect place to be in this weather. The photos of Cologne and the Cathedral are eerie and sad, aren't they?

 

 

 

 

Yes, I think docking in Zons gave us a couple extra hours in Cologne. It worked out nicely. The pictures are really something to see. 
 

thanks @CPT Trips for the link, maybe the rain will stop for a moment so we can take a ride up!
 

We have just docked in Koblenz. Rainy but looks to be a bit warmer than yesterday even at this hour, 9 C! Uniworld did cancel the Boppard hike today. Off to Marksburg in a bit. 

Perfect timing @notamermaid! Currently in Köln. We are docked right next to the Hohenzollernbrücke and I googled some post-WWII bombing pictures to see the Cathedral standing, the bridge behind it twisted up and everything around it destroyed. It was 7 C when we docked in Zons about 1200. Rain and wind have continued so after a walking tour, touring the Cathedral, and a stop at Frueh am Dom for some potato soup and potato fritters (can’t go wrong with potatoes) and some local kölsch we headed back to the ship. We have now retired to the warm indoor pool area! Cannot wait for Marksburg castle and Boppard tomorrow. Uniworld offered a hike up to the viewpoint in Boppard but said they will cancel if rain because it gets slippery. We’ve opted for the village tour since we’ll be active in the morning at the castle. Lovely time so far!

16 hours ago, SailinPrincess said:

@Gopherpharm - thanks!  I would be interested as to what time the ship departs Amsterdam or Basel (which ever direction you are going)?    Also just curious as to the check in process, I would imagine is fairly straight forward and there aren't long queues like on an ocean cruise.  We are staying at the  Ibis Amsterdam - right next to the train station so we plan on walking to the ship - don't want to get there too early. I read that

you are usually able to get into your room by 3:00 pm. 🙂

We dropped our luggage around 11:15am. The public spaces were open but we did a canal cruise from 1230-1400. Our all aboard time was earlier than I thought, 1445 with a sail away time of 1500.  We did not actually depart until 1612 though. 

Check in was our names, showing our passports and vaccine cards, and having a photo taken. They did this when we dropped off our luggage. When we returned around 1425 we got our key cards and a staff member escorted us to our cabin. 

If you have any specific questions let me know and I’ll try my best to answer! We board the S.S. Antionette today!

Last morning in Amsterdam. We have had a great time despite the rain and cold…didn’t do the kinds of self-guided walking tours we normally do but still walked a lot and saw a lot from the tram as well. We are headed to drop our bags at the ship shortly then look for a Max Verstappen shirt for our friend. We have a canal cruise after that (it may be in the rain…but the boats are covered so we will be ok!). 

Snowed here in Amsterdam last night. Supposed to start up again within the hour. Glad we packed the winter coats, hats and gloves!

For anyone arriving in AMS in the near future, everything was very simple for us in terms of covid restrictions. We uploaded our vaccine cards and health declaration forms to the United app and after that, only our passports were checked at both ORD and AMS. No one has asked to see any other documents at all. 

Thanks @JerseyGem! High of 42 F in Amsterdam our first two days so warm coats have been packed. 

Thanks @notamermaid! We leave for Amsterdam tomorrow. 

26 minutes ago, BAYA said:

Have a great cruise. I hope you don't need that down coat. We embark from Basel on April 5th. I won't be packing any down clothing!

It’s the pre-stay in Amsterdam with highs in the upper 40s and lows around freezing that have me waffling!

I imagine we’ll pass each other somewhere around Mannheim or Kehl! I’ll wave!