Would like to see more reviews and posts about river cruising.

[beachbumsns]

Last year we were lucky enough to take our first river cruise with Ama Waterways. Before we left there was very little information to review about river cruising on the threads. Since river cruising is becoming more and more popular, it would be great to have more reviews and more information shared. For instance, we are going on another river cruise in May. Would love to see information on cities that we might want to visit before or after the cruise. Lucerne, Switzerland will be our first stop and although we have a few things in mind that we want to do while there, would love recommendations from other cruise critic members on what they would suggest. Interlaken is another city we want to visit as well as the port we will sail from which is Basel. Our cruise is called Medieval Treasures and is a new itinerary that AMA Waterways has put out for 2018. If you have sailed from Basel to Nuremberg on a river cruise and have any suggestions for things to do along the way, would love to hear from you.

[Cyber Kat]

We haven’t traveled with AMA, so I can’t help there. For Viking, people have set up threads in the roll call section for the different itineraries - Rhine Getaway (Amsterdam-Basel and reverse), Grand European (Amsterdam-Budapest and reverse). Lots of people trading information and advice. You might want to check there for an AMA thread. If there isn’t one, you could start one or “hitchhike” on the Viking ones. Everyone is friendly [emoji16]

 

There are also boards for the various ports in the the river cruise port section. You might find helpful information there as well.

 

I can tell you that Lucerne is wonderful. We loved it. We did the Mt Pilatus Golden Round Trip, which includes the bus to the cable car, the cable car to the top of the mountain, the cog railway down and a boat ride back across the lake. You can do the reverse, but this way was recommended to us because you encounter fewer lines. It worked out well and was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

You can get tickets on the day of in the tourism office at the train station. Don’t get them ahead because you don’t want to go if the mountaintop is socked in with clouds.

 

Our Viking guide recommended a few restaurants. We chose Rebstock near the lake. We had their famous Swiss meatloaf and it was outstanding. Never thought I’d be eating meatloaf in Switzerland, but it was worth it.

 

We also ate at Rathaus Brauerei on her recommendation and enjoyed it so much we went 3 times - once for beer and pretzels, once for lunch and once for dinner. Our guide recommended Älpermagronen - Swiss Macaroni and Cheese - it was quite yummy. The restaurant is right on the river that flows out of Lake Lucerne. Both restaurants had outside seating.

 

 

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[Got2Cruise]

A great source of information about all the wonderful small villages are on the TripAdvisor.com forums.

 

 

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[notamermaid]

Sounds an interesting itinerary: https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2018/medieval-treasures

 

Ludwigshafen quite rightly serves as a gateway to Mannheim or Speyer only as it is not really medieval. I think I would be spoilt for choice as whether I would want to go to Baroque Mannheim or medieval Speyer... Heidelberg from Rüdesheim is a long excursion and I might prefer to stay along the Rhine on that day if the weather is good. But others have raved about Heidelberg.

 

By the way, the Speyer Technical Museum is a great choice for an excursion.

 

On the map on AmaWaterways I noticed Mannheim and Ludwigshafen are depicted on the wrong side of the river. Just saying.

 

The towns along the Main are supposed to be delightful. I like Got2Cruise's suggestion. You can also look up the town's websites. As they are touristy they might have an English website. Frankfurt does of course. In that city, I don't know, would I want to take a panoramic tour? There are a some nice spots in Frankfurt but I would go to a museum instead. However, this might not work out with the beer tour. You would need to check that with the cruise director. I am not sure why they offer a beer tasting, Frankfurt and the region is more famous for "Äppelwoi", for us Rhinelander anyway. :D

 

Äppelwoi is wine made from apples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelwein

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

[sharkster77]

Sounds an interesting itinerary: https://www.amawaterways.com/destination/europe-river-cruises/2018/medieval-treasures

 

Ludwigshafen quite rightly serves as a gateway to Mannheim or Speyer only as it is not really medieval. I think I would be spoilt for choice as whether I would want to go to Baroque Mannheim or medieval Speyer... Heidelberg from Rüdesheim is a long excursion and I might prefer to stay along the Rhine on that day if the weather is good. But others have raved about Heidelberg.

 

By the way, the Speyer Technical Museum is a great choice for an excursion.

 

On the map on AmaWaterways I noticed Mannheim and Ludwigshafen are depicted on the wrong side of the river. Just saying.

 

The towns along the Main are supposed to be delightful. I like Got2Cruise's suggestion. You can also look up the town's websites. As they are touristy they might have an English website. Frankfurt does of course. In that city, I don't know, would I want to take a panoramic tour? There are a some nice spots in Frankfurt but I would go to a museum instead. However, this might not work out with the beer tour. You would need to check that with the cruise director. I am not sure why they offer a beer tasting, Frankfurt and the region is more famous for "Äppelwoi", for us Rhinelander anyway. :D

 

Äppelwoi is wine made from apples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apfelwein

 

Have a great cruise.

 

notamermaid

 

 

AGREE---nice itinerary, with a taste of both the Rhine and the Danube. Enjoy!!

[Hoyaheel]

:hearteyes:Just looked at the itinerary - that's what we did in Dec 2014 on Avalon - NUE to BSL. Christmas Markets. It was nice but a few towns not walkable off the boat, so be sure to check when you look at things to do....We had a couple more days (our cruise was 9 days if I'm remembering correctly).:hearteyes:

[beachbumsns]

:hearteyes:Just looked at the itinerary - that's what we did in Dec 2014 on Avalon - NUE to BSL. Christmas Markets. It was nice but a few towns not walkable off the boat, so be sure to check when you look at things to do....We had a couple more days (our cruise was 9 days if I'm remembering correctly).:hearteyes:

Thanks for all the information, we will be sure to check it out. Our cruise this year is called Medival Treasures. A new addition to AMA Waterways this year. Looking forward to it.