Transfer to ship from Basel/Zurich

[mtebor]

Booking our Emerald Cruise later on this week. My wife and I are flying into Munich and will eventually end up in Zurich.

 

We also want to see Basel as well and originally planning on stopping in Basel for two days and then heading over to Zurich for a few days. We will have to head to the airport in Zurich to catch the transport to the ship in Zurich. How often do transports leave, do they wait til they have a full bus?

 

I was wondering if we went to Zurich first and then stayed in Basel if we can head to the ship early. I would also like to stay near ship docking location.

 

As always Thanks!

[stmartins]

We landed in Basel on Sunday,took a taxi from the boat to the train station €26...10 minutes. Got a train to central station in Zurich. Then a train to Zurich airport...very easy. Train from central station goes directly to the airport.

[acwmom]

I am guessing your cruise will leave from Basel? In that case, I would go to Zurich (or, Lucerne:-) ) first, then end your pre-cruise adventures in Basel. Most cruise lines will at least let you drop your bags off at the ship, and go on with your day, until cabins are available. Some will even have the lounge and/or dining room open for snacks/lunch.

 

Are you traveling by car or train, for your land portion?

 

Robin

[nancyevans]

Call Emerald directly with this question.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[ukbballfan]

Not to add any confusion...but I strongly suggest you consider at least a day in Lucerne. It is so much prettier than Basel. The train system is top notch.

[mtebor]

Thanks everyone,

Our cruise starts in Basel and ends in Amsterdam. The cruise leaves on a Saturday and my game plan was to come in 9 days before to Munich. Maybe spend 4-5 days in Munich before taking train to Switzerland. Still have plenty of time to decide as we are a year out. It is just that I am a Type A planner when it comes to vacation.

 

Maybe the idea then is to go to Lucerne for two nights and then Zurich for 2 nights beforehand.

 

As already mentioned we can do Basel on the day of the trip after Emerald takes from Airport to Ship

[Floridiana]

One night in Zuerich is enough. Lucerne is surrounded by mountains, better spend 3 nights there. That gives you more time for excursions.

 

You are probably all aware that Switzerland is a high price country which will give you sticker shock.

[mtebor]

One night in Zuerich is enough. Lucerne is surrounded by mountains, better spend 3 nights there. That gives you more time for excursions.

 

You are probably all aware that Switzerland is a high price country which will give you sticker shock.

 

 

Absolutely, when I got my estimate from my travel agent I was a little shocked. It was like staying on the Vegas strip! I did find some hotels that are close to public transportation that makes it more reasonable

 

Will look into Lucerne.

[tulok]

We left from Basel, and loved the city. I even went back with my daughter the next year. I would stay by Basel SBB train station because the trams stop right in front. Visitors staying in a hotel get a card to travel the trams for free. I believe you will miss a lot by not staying one night in Basel.

[mlld3536]

We left from Basel, and loved the city. I even went back with my daughter the next year. I would stay by Basel SBB train station because the trams stop right in front. Visitors staying in a hotel get a card to travel the trams for free. I believe you will miss a lot by not staying one night in Basel.

 

As this is our first cruise and our first time in Switzerland, I can't say how it will work out. But we have reservations at the Ibis Bahnhoff, about a block from the train station in Basel. It is $122 per night, including all taxes. We realize that this is not the most charming option in town, but we have experience of Ibis hotels as reliable and comfortable, despite their generic quality. We do need to be more economy minded than some cruisers, and we thought it would be fairly easy to haul our jet-lagged elderly selves via the train from the Zurich airport to the hotel. We figure we can spend the next day meandering around Basel and checking out the Christmas market. Or if we have more energy, we can pop over to Lucerne to check out the scenery--probably an extravagance given train prices for a day trip,but we'll see. We should have ample sightseeing time in Basel on the third day before embarkation. Happy to hear that we should have plenty to occupy ourselves even if we don't go to Lucerne!

[nancyevans]

There are also buses. It may take longer to get there but is cheaper. Lucerne is really lovely with lots to see that is free.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[TravelerThom]

There are also buses. It may take longer to get there but is cheaper. Lucerne is really lovely with lots to see that is free.

A quick Google and I found Euro 6.89 bus Basel Lucene one way with 1.00 hour transit (lots more with 1.10 hour duration). For CH this is a give away price.

[mlld3536]

Thank you, nancyevans and TravelerThom--

 

While we are indeed penny pinchers overall, we are generally willing to spend a bit extra to save time, and now that we are older, energy to avoid wasting too much of both while on vacation. But the bus option looks great. And maybe I am incorrect, but I don't recall that Basel-Lucerne is much less than an hour by train. If the bus stations are reasonably convenient in both cities, we will probably do that--depending on whether jet lag grounds us in Basel. Thank you both for this appealing option!