pre cruise in Zurich

[sharden]

We(two couples in early 70's) will be sailing with Avalon in September 2015 on the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam and wish to do a couple of days in Zurich before the cruise. I know that Avalon offers precruise nights but they are at a hotel near the airport but we wish to be in the city.

 

Any recommendations on hotels and tour companies??

 

Thanks for any info.

[YoungDubFan]

We used Avalon's hotel - Movenpick Zurich Airport. It wasn't bad. There is a free shuttle from the airport to the hotel. There is a very convenient S-train stop that is an easy, less than 5 minute walk from the hotel. The train ride into the heart of old town Zurich was only 25 minutes. The Zurich transportation system was very easy to navigate.

 

If you are looking into a hotel in Old Town, try the Hotel Adler. It was in a very nice location and I had read lots of good reviews of it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Negative recommendation: AMA put us up at the Hotel Continental, which we didn't like. "Quaint" -- always a loaded term in travel or real estate listings!

 

Zurich was nice enough, but we really loved Lucerne. We also liked our AMA hotel there: the Radisson Blu.

[orchestrapal]

With only two days don't even think of staying at the airport since you'll waste most of your valuable time commuting.

Zurich is very walkable and has good transportation. With a little research on your part you really don't need a tour.

 

One of the best as far as location is the Hotel Glockenhof. Rooms are modern service is decent and breakfast is boring but certainly manageable for a few days. Price is on the low side for a 4* in a great location.

Edited May 25, 2014 by orchestrapal

[peterdkiwi]

Avalon offer a tour from hotel to Lucerne then to ship at Basel on boarding day, if you don't want to arrange own travel to Lucerne it is well worth taking this trip.

I would stay at the hotel at airport as add on with Avalon, that the easy way.

We were there in July 2013 but had car so stayed in Lucerne instead.

[4774Papa]

Lucerne is great, better than hanging around Zurich.

[orchestrapal]

Lucerne is great, better than hanging around Zurich.

 

As much as I hate to disagree, for those looking for class, culture and real beauty Zurich is a lovely place to spend times

Edited May 28, 2014 by orchestrapal

[jpalbny]

Having spent a day in each within the past few months, would say that they both have their charm. Lake Lucerne is gorgeous and rightfully famous in that respect, but the Zurichsee is beautiful in its own right too. There are many nice sights to wander around and visit in both cities.

 

 

I'd rather be in either place tonight over Albany... :)

[lkmamom]

We just completed this same river cruise with Avalon earlier this month. We stayed at the Moevenpick airport as recommended by Avalon. I have to say honestly, it was a very good decision. The hotel was very clean, quiet and the included breakfast buffet in the morning was very nice. The transport into the city was quite easy via train (station very close to the hotel) or, what was easy for us was the shuttle the hotel provided to and from the airport and the train to the city. We found the restaurants and shopping to be awesome at the airport! We took the train to Lucerne (very easy)one day, and walked around the city on our own. It was a beautiful trip despite all of the rain. The day of transfer to the ship we did Avalon's city tour of Zurich which we really enjoyed. I am quite sure we would have not seen half of what we saw if we had done it on our own. The buses then went back to the hotel and picked up passengers and went on to Basel for embarkation. It was very organized and honestly we enjoyed the experience very much! I hope you enjoy your trip with Avalon as much as we enjoyed our first river cruise!

Linda

[aussietraveller58]

We had three days post cruise at the Hotel Schweizerhopf in Zurich. We loved it. Great service and fantastic breakfast, which meant we could skip on the expense of lunch! Zurich was fantastic , quite beautiful and very cosmopolitan after all the little villages we had visited on the river cruise, but THE most expensive city we visited in Europe. I was pleasantly surprised to find it was charming, with a fabulous Old Town not at all the modern "banking" city I expected. We spent many happy hours wandering around the Old Town (Altstadt) , either side of the river, and up and down the Bahnhofstrasse for window shopping only- too expensive to buy anything! We enjoyed a trip on a commuter ferry across the lake, stopping at all sorts of places. We went on a standard 2 hour tourist bus tour - I forget how we arranged that- and it was a nice way to see the outskirts of Zurich. Even a traditional fondue dinner in a little café which the Hotel suggested. The Hotel Schweizerhopf is right opposite the main train station and we went to Lucerne one day by train, with the Hotel booking us seats and delivering the tickets to our room.....great service. It was an ideal way of getting to and from this gorgeous little city and we had all day there. Many others were catching the train to the airport but we took a cab as we had a long journey back to Australia ahead of us. I think you will enjoy Zurich.

[Got2Cruise]

Linda, thank you for mentioning the Avalon tour of Zurich. I wasn't sure if it would be worthwhile but I see that it is. Did you write a review of the cruise? We leave in early July.

We just completed this same river cruise with Avalon earlier this month. We stayed at the Moevenpick airport as recommended by Avalon. I have to say honestly, it was a very good decision. The hotel was very clean, quiet and the included breakfast buffet in the morning was very nice. The transport into the city was quite easy via train (station very close to the hotel) or, what was easy for us was the shuttle the hotel provided to and from the airport and the train to the city. We found the restaurants and shopping to be awesome at the airport! We took the train to Lucerne (very easy)one day, and walked around the city on our own. It was a beautiful trip despite all of the rain. The day of transfer to the ship we did Avalon's city tour of Zurich which we really enjoyed. I am quite sure we would have not seen half of what we saw if we had done it on our own. The buses then went back to the hotel and picked up passengers and went on to Basel for embarkation. It was very organized and honestly we enjoyed the experience very much! I hope you enjoy your trip with Avalon as much as we enjoyed our first river cruise!

Linda

[lkmamom]

Hi Got2Cruise! I did not have a chance to write a review, sorry. I brought back the daily newsletters that were left on our bed each evening (such a nice remembrance that Avalon provides), so if you have a specific question maybe I can help :)

Linda

PS Also, the main reason that we opted for the Avalon tour was that the bus to take us to Basel for embarkation was not going to arrive until late afternoon the day of embarkation. The Avalon Zurich tour started about 11:00 if I remember correctly, so that gave us something to do instead of waiting around the hotel as we saw many do. We both actually enjoyed it. A bus came and loaded our luggage, and then off we went for a walking tour around the city and the lake. The weather was very rainy so we were happy to have the guide to explain so many spots that we might have missed. We really felt it was worthwhile for us, and we had the chance to meet a lot of fellow cruisers that we would be spending the week with :)

Edited June 6, 2014 by lkmamom
added more

[Got2Cruise]

Linda did you take any of the optional tours?

[lkmamom]

Hi, the only extra excursions that we purchased were the Zurich city tour and the Zaanse Schans Windmill Village, in Amsterdam. It was freezing cold, windy and can you believe thunder stormed, but the village was really charming, and we were very happy we went. It was so interesting to watch the wooden shoes being made. It is quite touristy, if you will, but we enjoyed it. From our experience, we were very pleased with all of the included tours that Avalon offered. But we loved our cruise, and it was our first, so we did not have a bad experience to compare it to. Some friends we met on the ship did the Red Light Tour in Amsterdam. When we spoke with them briefly before we disembarked, they said they were glad they went but would never do it again. The went on a Friday night and it was quite crowded there. Maybe it is just me, but I had no desire to go:o

[Cruise831]

Hi Got2Cruise! I did not have a chance to write a review, sorry. I brought back the daily newsletters that were left on our bed each evening (such a nice remembrance that Avalon provides), so if you have a specific question maybe I can help :)

Linda

Is there anyway you could scan them and email them to me b831c@aol.com.

Brenda

[lkmamom]

Dear Cruise831, I apologize, but I care for my elderly mom and I really do not participate a lot on cruise critic. I really do not have the time to scan these. If there is something that you are particularly interested in I am very happy to help you. Again, I apologize. And truthfully, basically each day outlines the times the tours leave and includes a city map for those that want to do their own thing.

Linda

[Cruise831]

Dear Cruise831, I apologize, but I care for my elderly mom and I really do not participate a lot on cruise critic. I really do not have the time to scan these. If there is something that you are particularly interested in I am very happy to help you. Again, I apologize. And truthfully, basically each day outlines the times the tours leave and includes a city map for those that want to do their own thing.

Linda

 

I understand. I was trying to get a feel for how much time you had at each stop tour time and free time.

[caviargal]

Not a fan of Zurich. I would choose to spend that time in either Lucerne or Basel.

[KaraokeQueen]

Just spent 3 days in Basel, pre Viking cruise. Absolutely loved the city and would have been very disappointed to have gone direct from Zurich to the ship.