Nuremberg or not? Uniworld or AMA

[ann1bell]

I am making a choice between the River Beatrice with Uniworld or the Amalyra with AMA. I know that the ships are comparable.. with Uniworld perhaps being a little more fancy. The Uniworld itinerary starts in Passau, not Nuremberg.

 

Uniworld is in Passau 2 days with one being devoted to Salzburg.

 

Ama covers Nuremberg and Regensburg before getting to Passau.

 

What is your opinion of things to see in Nuremberg? Should we worry about missing that and Regensburg?

 

Thanks for your advice. Ann

[franski]

Ann - we were actually booked to travel on the River Beatrice from Passau to Budapest this September --> but cancelled when they changed the itinerary to spend more time in Vienna (they cut out the stop in Bratislava....). We wanted Bratislava - so ended up going with AMA on the Amalyra last October as we stumbled on a great deal.

 

With AMA we did get to see Regensburg and Nuremberg --> and we were very glad that we did. We really enjoyed both towns --> and hope to get back to Nuremberg again some day. I went on the Medieval tour in Nuremberg, and my husband did the WWII tour. We had heard mixed reviews about the WWII tour - but he really enjoyed it. He is very interested in the history of WWII - and he was in awe of standing in the Parade grounds. We also went to the House of Terror in Budapest, and managed to find the "Shoes on the Danube" while we were there.

 

Uniworld is a top-notch company - and we are travelling with them again later this year - but I am glad that they changed the itinerary (although I wasn't happy at the time!!!) as it pushed me to look for something else - and we got "extra stops" on our tour with AMA.

 

Of course - without a stop in Nuremberg - you can't get Elisen Leibkuchen --> and that alone is almost worth a trip to Nuremberg!!! (And, the sausages at the Wurstkuchen <?sp?> are worth the trip as well!!!)

 

Either way - it will be a great trip.

 

Fran

[ann1bell]

Ann - we were actually booked to travel on the River Beatrice from Passau to Budapest this September --> but cancelled when they changed the itinerary to spend more time in Vienna (they cut out the stop in Bratislava....). We wanted Bratislava - so ended up going with AMA on the Amalyra last October as we stumbled on a great deal.

 

With AMA we did get to see Regensburg and Nuremberg --> and we were very glad that we did. We really enjoyed both towns --> and hope to get back to Nuremberg again some day. I went on the Medieval tour in Nuremberg, and my husband did the WWII tour. We had heard mixed reviews about the WWII tour - but he really enjoyed it. He is very interested in the history of WWII - and he was in awe of standing in the Parade grounds. We also went to the House of Terror in Budapest, and managed to find the "Shoes on the Danube" while we were there.

 

Uniworld is a top-notch company - and we are travelling with them again later this year - but I am glad that they changed the itinerary (although I wasn't happy at the time!!!) as it pushed me to look for something else - and we got "extra stops" on our tour with AMA.

 

Of course - without a stop in Nuremberg - you can't get Elisen Leibkuchen --> and that alone is almost worth a trip to Nuremberg!!! (And, the sausages at the Wurstkuchen <?sp?> are worth the trip as well!!!)

 

Either way - it will be a great trip.

 

Fran

Thanks for the great info. What is Elisen Leibkuchen? I think we are leaning toward the AMA trip with Nuremberg. We need to see a little of Germany. Did you do the Prague extension?

[franski]

We did the Blue Danube Discovery --> spent 2 nights in Budapest before and 3 nights in Prague after the cruise. Loved both Budapest and Prague - and would like to visit both cities again. Not sure what your time line is as this package is 14 days. Just as an fyi - Prague is a number of hours away from Nuremberg - so it is a long bus ride. But - we stopped in Karlova Vary on the way --> and it is a lovely town.

 

Lebkuchen is gingerbread - and Elisen Lebkuchen is a type of gingerbread that "belongs" to Nuremberg. It is considered a "protected designation of origin" - and can only be produced in the city. I have never tasted anything like it. Mostly ground almonds and hazelnuts - very little (if any) flour. They are baked on oblaten (edible wafers). You can buy a number of varieties - but we loved the basic rectangular cookies - not iced. They are soft and chewy. Hmmmmm - getting hungry just thinking about them!!!

[franski]

Another thought... there is a gentleman named Mike (MVPinBoynton) who did the Blue Danube Discovery last year - and posted a wonderful review with ++ pictures on his website.

 

The link to his homepage is: http://thepreismans.com/ ---> easy to find the review on the homepage. He was on the Amalyra as well.

[jaybell]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=58260

 

And here is my review of the Legendary Danube on the AMA Amadante. I highly recommend AMA, Nuremberg and Regensburg!

[MVPinBoynton]

I don't think you can go wrong with either line. I haven't been on Uniworld, but have heard good things about them. Our AMA cruise was most wonderful. I appreciate Franski passing on our review website URL.

 

I would not want to miss Nuremberg or Regensburg. They are both enjoyable ports. We will be going back to Nuremberg next year when we do another AMA cruise.

[roothy123]

We loved Passau, although it doesn't have a lot of well-known sites like some other places in Germany. We found Nurnberg quite interesting and worthwhile, although obviously a little sobering with the **** stuff. We didn't like Regensburg that much, especially combined with visits to Passau and Nurnberg (too similar). I'd probably go with Passau and Salzburg (although I've never been there) over Nurnberg!

[ann1bell]

Thank you for your ideas. We have booked the Budapest-Prague on the Amalyra for September 2011.. they are already almost sold out on some of their dates. We are happy to get this going!

 

Happy traveling all! Ann

[MVPinBoynton]

Thank you for your ideas. We have booked the Budapest-Prague on the Amalyra for September 2011.. they are already almost sold out on some of their dates. We are happy to get this going!

 

Happy traveling all! Ann

 

It is amazing how fast river cruises sell out. If you snooze you lose. Glad you got what you wanted.

[franski]

Ann - Glad you were able to find and book something that interested you...

 

I think you have made a good choice. The weather should be wonderful in September.

[UKBayern]

We didn't like Regensburg that much, especially combined with visits to Passau and Nurnberg (too similar).

 

Too similar? Regensburg has one of the very few surviving medieval town centres in Germany and has World Heritage status. Passau has baroque, pink, italian style buildings and churches. Nurnberg was bombed to pieces in WW2, and is a much more modern city, apart from a few bits they managed to save.

[ann1bell]

Ann - Glad you were able to find and book something that interested you...

 

I think you have made a good choice. The weather should be wonderful in September.

 

 

I just hope that the water levels are not too low..those water level problems I read about sound terrible. I cannot worry about that. Thanks. Ann

[UKBayern]

I just hope that the water levels are not too low..those water level problems I read about sound terrible. I cannot worry about that. Thanks. Ann

 

On Tuesday, river cruises were leaving the quay in Passau in a normal fashion. Today, end of heatwave and a lot of rain expected this weekend. You should be fine.

[kuldalai]

We sailed with AMA and one would not want to miss either Nuremburg or Regensburg or Cesny Krumlov (done as a side trip from Passau in one direction , and from Vienna on the other) .

 

Nuremburg is a wonderful city both for the war history and a magical city square and old fortress castle. Regensburg is just magical and again so historical. Cesny Krumlov in the Czech Republic was the highlight of our trip, just magical in a time warp .

 

The only port stop which was a bit of a disapointment was Bratislava , but still quite interesting .