The river Neckar infos and experiences

[notamermaid]

The company Noble Caledonia has unusual itineraries in their catalogue and one of those is partly on the Neckar. Here it is: https://www.noble-caledonia.co.uk/tour/2408/four-river-odyssey/reverse-itinerary/?search_url_id=2

 

For this itinerary the company charters CroisiEurope's Lafayette, a ship of 90m length. The short length makes it possible for the ship to sail to Stuttgart but this itinerary only goes as far as Eberbach. They then return to the Rhine and sail upstream to Strasbourg. The cruise likely ends in Strasbourg as this is standard with CroisiEurope - Strasbourg is their home port. Sailing the Neckar rather than being taken by coach from Speyer is a nice change I find.

 

If you do not mind the smaller ships, I think this is an interesting, slightly different cruise with this UK company.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Heidelberg on the Neckar river - a favourite on a Rhine river cruise. I think the town must be the most visited one on a European river cruise that is not on the sailed river and neither the airport town nor the embarkation port (I am happy to be proven wrong). And there lies the problem for this romantic place. It all got a bit much when in 2018 a restaurant owner put a not quite so romantic sign up that they would not serve river cruise tourists. The typical river cruise tourists overrun the town in the morning, having been unloaded by coaches that often park illegally, take an awkward shortcut to the castle and then the guests rush through lunch. Only to leave the town square almost deserted in the afternoon. The scenario in 2018 according to newspapers. Improvements have been made to the infrastructure, officers patrol the lots that are only designed for unloading not parking and a street is blocked for coaches. But the river cruise companies were not that accessible for changing their structure. Talks should resume, was the wish of Heidelberg officials. Interview in German: https://www.rnz.de/nachrichten/heidelberg_artikel,-heidelberg-die-schiere-masse-der-flusstouristen-ist-das-problem-_arid,378739.html

 

Has the situation improved? In 2020 it certainly did as regards overcrowding in the most brutal fashion. But I have the feeling it may all just pick where they left off at the end of 2019. Yet, Heidelberg is changing and in the long run it may affect accessibility for river cruise coaches. Possibly, be prepared to walk a little more... Heidelberg is encouraging the use of electrical cars and hydrogen-powered town buses. But overall you are encouraged to get rid of your car and use bicycles or public transport. A long article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/28/business/heidelberg-cars-environment.html

 

How will the river cruise coaches with passengers on a tight schedule fit in?

 

The mayor proposes an interesting alternative: staying overnight, then boarding another ship. Perhaps not quite so attractive for a company to arrange that. My idea: pre-cruise! How about this alternative: Forget Heidelberg during the cruise. This gives more time for Speyer, Mannheim, etc. Instead, here is my itinerary. Basel to Amsterdam with pre-cruise Heidelberg and Black Forest. You fly into Frankfurt, drive to Heidelberg and late in the day transfer to your hotel in or near the town. The following two days you have for exploring the Black Forest, before transferring to your river cruise ship in Basel.

 

Be daring, just leave out Heidelberg and do something else for a change, company! Question is, you as a river cruiser, would you go on an itinerary that does not offer Heidelberg? If you feel like it, let me know your thoughts on this - and Heidelberg in general.

 

notamermaid

 

[pinotlover]

These towns needs to do more to mandate walking within their inner cores. The cruise lines, and other travel companies, would be driving their buses nonstop through downtown Rothenburg adT , Brugge, and a host of other places if not prohibited by those towns. Places like Heidelberg, Hermitage, and several on the Mosel/Rhein towns absolutely needs to do the same. Make the buses drop the passengers off, in a designated area, away from the City Center, then go park elsewhere, then return only when it’s time to pick the passengers up again. The tourists can then walk from those drop off points.

Edited August 17, 2021 by pinotlover

[Canal archive]

As they already do in Bruges and have done for some time.

[notamermaid]

Bruges - a fabulous place that I was fortunate to visit before the big influx of Asians and river cruise tourists. Although some streets are wide, the town like so many others is quite small as regards the tourist areas and has narrow streets that can fill with pedestrians. It is better to keep coaches out, no doubt. Rüdesheim does not even have enough space for car day trippers I find (on weekends). As part of the rejuvenating efforts with a view towards sustainability and quality of life for its citizens, Koblenz redesigned the Rhine embankment for the 2011 federal horticultural show. Much of it is completely traffic free, coaches just stop and further away than where they used to park and stop. And the coach traffic has very much been relegated to the Moselle embankment - which is the main river cruise ship docking area anyway. Getting rid of coaches without annoying too many passengers that have a problem with walking - perceived or for real - is the way to go I think. A bigger challenge for Heidelberg perhaps, seeing that hardly any river cruisers come with their ship along the Neckar, but almost exclusively by coach from the Rhine - with that time limit I have mentioned. Might a town bus route like a "park and ride" coach to bus be the solution? The lock extensions that could bring large river cruise ships up the Neckar will not be completed for many years.

 

notamermaid

 

[gnome12]

One issue with Heidelberg is that this castle is up a hill. There needs to be a good way to get pepole that can’t climb well up and down. It could be some sort of tram (not on rails) that makes regular circuits up and down. 

[pinotlover]

58 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

One issue with Heidelberg is that this castle is up a hill. There needs to be a good way to get pepole that can’t climb well up and down. It could be some sort of tram (not on rails) that makes regular circuits up and down. 

And Viking rolls in with 180 from a longship, along with X, Y, & Z with their bus loads. People need to be walking in these City Centers, plus the cruise lines need to be offering different tours, to other venues, for the mobility impaired that can’t make the walks. 

[notamermaid]

On 8/17/2021 at 6:36 PM, gnome12 said:

One issue with Heidelberg is that this castle is up a hill. There needs to be a good way to get pepole that can’t climb well up and down. It could be some sort of tram (not on rails) that makes regular circuits up and down. 

This actually exists. Sort of. It is a funicular railway: https://www.tourism-heidelberg.com/explore/historical-sights/koenigstuhl/funicular-railway/index_eng.html

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

Further upstream on the Neckar we find the capital of the state Baden-Württemberg, Stuttgart. A long video from Deutsche Welle. Maultaschen, the regional dish, I have been able to enjoy in Stuttgart myself. And I recommend both the city and the dish! https://www.dw.com/en/mercedes-maultaschen-and-vineyards/av-59801744

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

CroisiEurope has introduced a new itinerary to their catalogue, this one goes from Strasbourg to - Stuttgart! I am a bit excited about this one as it is actually available on the international market and introduced for example in this article by seatrade-cruise: https://www.seatrade-cruise.com/ports-destinations/croisieurope-offers-new-german-itinerary

 

What makes this itinerary special is the fact that it goes from the Rhine onto the Neckar in a way that CroisiEurope has not done before (to my knowledge) and few companies/ships actually can do so at all. In the past CroisiEurope have sailed the Neckar, but as far as I know have opted to go as far as Eberbach only. I have mentioned in a previous post that the locks are not possible to navigate for most river cruise ships. So on this itinerary CroisiEurope has to go for small and uses the Mona Lisa: https://www.croisieuroperivercruises.com/boat/ms-monalisa#

Definitely more intimate than the 135m ships of other companies.

 

So here is said itinerary - a smile at @Host Jazzbeau for drawing my attention to it - that visits not only Heidelberg but also Maulbronn Monastery (a river cruising first perhaps?) and Ludwigsburg Residential Palace: https://www.croisieuroperivercruises.com/cruise/romantic-german-sites-charming-neckar-valley-1-classic#cruise

The cruise ends in Stuttgart. Admittedly, it is a bit short but a pre-cruise day in Basel (you need to have arrangements in place to get from an airport to Strasbourg with either CroisiEurope or by yourself, anyway) and an added day in Stuttgart (well worth it in my opinion) makes this a nice week on and at two rivers.

 

notamermaid

 

Edited March 24, 2022 by notamermaid

[CPT Trips]

I see that they include a tour to the Technik Museum in Sinsheim, I would enjoy that as an alternative to going to Heidelberg again. Add to that the included tour of the Porsche Museum. Then on a DIY extra day or more in Stuttgart visit to the Mercedes Museum.

Now that I’m fantasizing a theme tour does this itinerary work? Going to the cruise, take the train from FRA to Speyer for a DIY day at the Technik museum there before heading the next day to Strasbourg. On the return, perhaps depart for home from MUC to allow for visiting BMW’s facilities and a side trip for Audi also. 
Sorry, no Fahrvergnügen for VeeDub* . . . too far out of the way. 

* not real German words, advertising creation of “Mad Men.”

[jpalbny]

@CPT Trips, I sense a theme here.

 

Just don't forget that Audi has two factories. The main one in Ingolstadt is great. They have another in Neckarsulm where they make the RS models. Both worth a visit!

[notamermaid]

Oooh, yes that works! Cars and other mobiles on this theme cruise. Great job @CPT Trips. Nice addition @jpalbny.

 

Sinsheim museum is great, I have not been to the Speyer one yet.

 

Now this just needs a catchy theme cruise name and you can sell the idea to CroisiEurope. ☺️

 

One more suggestion: if it worked out for you, you could fly into Basel/Mulhouse airport and there visit the collection of Schlumpf before heading to your ship in Strasbourg. https://www.visit.alsace/en/234010457-national-automobile-museum-schlumpf-collection/

 

Probably best to fly in a day early to appreciate all that metal - or two days. ☺️

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A barge loaded with salt got stuck in the Neckar and the river was closed to traffic. Earlier today the ship was freed and others can now pass the spot but only sailing empty. The authorities want to check the riverbed with sonar imaging first but allowing traffic to fully resume. Here is an article with photo (and German audio):

https://www.hessenschau.de/panorama/festgefahrenes-schiff-auf-neckar-bei-hirschhorn-befreit-v3,schiff-in-neckar-festgefahren-100.html

No chance passing it with that angle towards the river. You can see that the river is so much narrower compared to the Rhine or Danube. The ship is only about 100m long.

 

But for actual sailing of river cruise ships the width of the river is not the real problem, ships with a length of 110m and 11,40m are allowed on the Neckar. 11,40m is the standard maximum length of almost all river cruise ships in Western Europe.  As mentioned before, the locks restrict the length more than the regulation of 110m does.

 

But there is good news for international river cruisers as there is a new offer available. I will get to that shortly.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

Whoops looks like a smaller version of the Suez Canal debacle.

[notamermaid]

6 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Whoops looks like a smaller version of the Suez Canal debacle.

Thankfully not as long lasting. While the Neckar is a much smaller trading route than the Rhine, nevertheless some companies depend on the smooth running of shipping along the Neckar to the ports of the Rhine and to customers. Not sure how they could have possibly managed to put the thousands of tons of goods that were held up onto lorries at short notice. The lorries themselves are often the smaller problem the much bigger thing can be finding enough drivers.

 

Salt - which the stranded ship carried - is a typical load on the Neckar, statistics say last year 18 percent of the freight transported was salt. The main goods are the sector of building materials and earths which made up 41 percent last year. Overall, 5.1 million tons of goods were shipped on the Neckar in 2021.

 

notamermaid

 

 

[pinotlover]

I remember the big drought in 1976 and the Neckar essentially ran dry. The canal turned brown and extremely smelly with little fresh water flowing in. River traffic was barely moving. I’m surprised they even allow full barges to sail right now.

[notamermaid]

The authorities stopped fully loaded ships for longer and I am not sure if they are back sailing yet. The ship was freed yesterday and traffic as such is running. It has been raining, nevetheless the river is a little on the low side. Essentially, the locks keep the navigation channel deeper than in some stretches of the Rhine that are free-flowing. The Neckar and with that the sections that are old branches are much cleaner now than they were in the 70's.

 

Here is a video of the ship being freed and turned with the help of the river's flow:

https://www.swr.de/swraktuell/baden-wuerttemberg/mannheim/schiff-blockiert-verkehr-auf-dem-neckar-bei-eberbach-100.html

 

notamermaid

 

 

[Canal archive]

Wow she was really low much more and the situation would have been dire, well done to the rescue team.

[notamermaid]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Wow she was really low much more and the situation would have been dire, well done to the rescue team.

The gentleman of the authorities talking in the video was really pleased with the rescue operation. He says that the captains communicated well and the river worked in their favour as well. Basically, the ship ended up docked where it had intended to - just eighteen hours later.

 

So, to the good news and the new river cruising itinerary.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

On 1/24/2018 at 2:39 PM, notamermaid said:

The tour operator with the largest fleet - Riviera Travel UK - is going for big with the 135m luxury vessels but have a very suitable ship in their fleet, the MS Swiss Ruby. Busy on another river I doubt very much they will deploy her on the Neckar in the future.

The MS Swiss Ruby is back on the Neckar! At least she will be in 2023, this time not chartered by Riviera Travel. The vessel has moved on and is in the fleet of Viva Cruises, next year sailing the Dutch and Northern German canals and rivers. But she will also be doing stretches on the Rhine mainly combining other rivers with it, like Rhine, Moselle and Saar for example.

 

On the Neckar she will be sailing like this: https://www.viva-*****/en-us/cruiselisting?destinations=all&departures=all&dates=all&ships=MS SWISS RUBY&adults=2

It is Stuttgart to Saarbrücken and the reverse, in autumn and focusing on wine.

The two directions differ in the ports and while both are great, I would recommend Stuttgart to Saarbrücken.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

A sudden thaw with rain means that also the Neckar is flooding. The river is long enough and the upper reaches are high enough to create a high volume of water that also significantly contributes to the river level of the Rhine. A section of the river around Heilbronn is currently closed to river traffic. Contrary to the Danube and the Rhine, the flooding is not high so the authorities expect to be able to lift the ban on Thursday.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The Neckar stayed on too high levels longer than expected but yesterday the river traffic ban was lifted.

 

notamermaid

 

[notamermaid]

The Neckar rose again to unpleasant levels, first over Christmas, then at the beginning of this year. This is what the last 31 days have looked like at Heidelberg:

 

Hopefully, the improved weather will ensure fine sailing for river traffic. The Neckar sees very few river cruise ships and none in winter but is important for commercial traffic throughout the year.

 

notamermaid

 

[Host Jazzbeau]

I didn't even realize you had a thread for the Neckar!  Will add it to the index.