Help! Frankfurt to Frankfurt--bargain, but...?

[MarinaMama]

:confused: ...should I bother? I need to make a quick decision; I've got a 24-hour hold on a reservation with Uniworld.

 

Right time--spring break, Apr. 8;

Right price--just $1,500 per person from LAX, with all taxes, for a 7-night river cruise, all meals but not all excursions. It's the trip itself I'm not sure of, Rhine and Moselle Classic. I'd prefer a Danube cruise that includes Prague, but to get a similar price I'd have to go with Grand Circle Mar. 4, and I think it's too cold then, plus I'd miss working/earning.

 

This trip would be with my son, a birthday gift/celebration.

Thoughts?

[pacmom]

There is nothing to entertain a young person, How old is your son? We have been very pleased with uniworld--3 cruises.----never saw achild or teen on any of their ships. Price is great. GCT caters to an even older group than uniworld. Good luck. Pat

[MarinaMama]

My son will be 40, but he's a bit mentally impaired, so is younger at heart. He loves to travel, and enjoys museums, etc.

 

Would Tulips and Windmills be better? At the end of March it's pretty cheap with Viking or Uniworld. With Uniworld, the Vienna to Vienna or Budapest to Vienna (or vice versa) are also reasonable at the end of March (if those fares are still available).

 

But nothing compares in price with that Rhine tour for $1,500 with air and taxes!

[pacmom]

One thing in your favor---the smallness of the ships. The whole atmosphere is very friendly---meal seating is open, so your son would get to meet a variety of people. The rooms can all be set up as twin beds. I would not recommend(from personal experience) the very fron on a lower deck. The bow thrusters will awaken you going thru the locks. We liked the helpfulness of the staff. We have only traveled in Europe with them in the summer and fall. Am sure other posters will help with early spring weather. Pat

[NJtomato]

My husband and I will be going the week before you. There was a PBS show about this area of the Rhine and Moselle. It looked GORGEOUS!!! You can't beat the price!!

 

I say, go for it!

[PH]

NJtomato,

we are going on that cruise April 1,2006. Will you be on that one? My DH and I teach and that is our spring break. The price was great. It might be cold but there is no bad weather only bad clothing.

[Louisana cruiser]

My spouse (school teacher) and I are going on the Frankfurt-Frankfurt Uniworld cruise April 15 departure - anyone else going?

Also, any advice:

- type of clothes (day and night)

- optional excurions (worth it or do on our own)

- good cabin location

 

Thanks

[pacmom]

Have been on three Uniworld cruises (the one around so. Amer. was on NCL Crown). Dress--very comfortable. No real dressing up--even the CAptain's dinners. Just wear what you would at a nice restaurant. Some men never wore sport jackets. My husband always packs his navy blazer--just in case. Cabin location--get as close to midship as you can. If there is a laundry on your ship, don't take the cabin next to it. The very fron t of the ship has bow thrusters--not a great cabin area on lower decks. Can't really say anything about optional tours--ours were all inclusive. Enjoy!!!!!!!! We did. Pat

[NJtomato]

NJtomato,

we are going on that cruise April 1,2006. Will you be on that one? My DH and I teach and that is our spring break. The price was great. It might be cold but there is no bad weather only bad clothing.

 

 

Yes, we are on the same cruise!!! We are very excited. DH lived in Frankfurt years ago. We plan to rent a car the day we arrive and visit his school etc.

 

Have you received any literature about the cruise yet?

[PH]

No literature yet. I have been looking up the stops and have a lot of information. Give me an email and I will send what I have. I would love to get some flight information. We are in Atlanta and are hoping for a direct flight. The April 1 trip was sold out very fast. PH purpleph@hotmail.com

[Westaussie]

Hi PH. Is this trip instead of, or as well as the Baltic cruise? How lucky if you are doing both! Hope you enjoyed the Christmas cruise.

[PH]

We read so much negative information about the Dream that we decided not to go. Don't know what we are doing this summer. PH

[Westaussie]

Sorry we'll miss meeting. We're still going, seems all has been rectified on the Dream so here's hoping! Enjoy your trip.

[PH]

We are going on this river cruise April 1,2006. I have been watching the weather for the last week. It is still Snowing! A friend once told me "there is no bad weather, just bad clothing." I guess we will be packing long johns and coats. PH

[croozer]

Greetings, fellow river cruisers.

 

I will be going on this itinerary on April 15. Don't have my documents yet, but got the flight information (round-trip LA) and was pleased to see it's a non-stop both ways. Seat assignment is good, too.

 

I did a Uniworld river cruise a couple of years ago on the Seine and it was charming. Food not comparable to a large cruise ship, but still very nice. The best thing was walking right off the ship and into a lovely little town. This itinerary is considered their "Grand Value Cruising," so it doesn't include all the tours and excursions. This is fine with me, as I can find my way around and I like the freedom, not to mention the great price. Also, we're overnight in towns for four or five of the stops.

 

Weather still looks very cold--I found a 24-hour webcam of Bernkastle and it was snowing and 0 degrees centigrade. I'm hoping it warms up in the next few weeks. I'm bringing a warm wool coat and comfortable boots.

 

Hope to see a few of you on the ship.

 

Best,

Sally

[PH]

The flowers are out, the dogwood trees starting to bloom and the weather is fine here in Atlanta. It has gone up to 36 in Germany. I guess I won't pack away my gloves yet and I don't mean garden gloves. My students and I need a break. Hurry up April 1.PH

[Louisana cruiser]

There are 5 of us (3 teachers on spring break) from New Orleans on the April 15 Uniworld Grand Value Rhine and Moselle cruise also. None of us have done European river cruises; my husband and I have done US river cruises and loved them.

We also are looking forward to the small towns, lots of free time to wander on our own(and enjoy the wines and pastries), and hope the weather is not too extreme. We will monitor weather.com to watch the temps. before we pack. Can't wait.

Heard the cabins are really tiny, but we will manage - - it's vacation!!!

We have not received docs. yet, but do know our flight schedule.

Any details on optional excursions yet?

We want to meet a friend in Speyer, but don't know what the schedule is for that stop.

[croozer]

Hoping the temperatures rise in the next month, but it may just give us an excuse to zip into a weinstube to warm up. I have cousins in Dusseldorf, but it's too far away from where we are to ask them to drive that far just for a quick cup of coffee. You should have a chance to see people in Speyer; looks like we get there mid-afternoon but do an overnight there, which is a real advantage. We should know specifically what the time schedule is when the documents arrive, although that's always subject to conditions. I believe the cabins are small, but not awful. I think this is an older ship that used to belong to a Dutch line but has been refurbished, and I figure as long as it has a functional bathroom and shower with a comfortable double bed, I'm OK. Just one month away!

[Fla Folks]

DH and I will be on the April 15th Frankfurt to Frankfurt. Have any of you on the earlier trips received your cruise documents yet? I'm anxious to learn more about the optional excursions. It seems that the ship will be cruising on the river while the excursions take place and I want to be sure not to miss any of the scenery. Also, I keep checking the Uniworld website and they still do not have information about the River Ambassador, I hope she's ready! Only 4 weeks to go and I'm really excited!

[PH]

We are leaving April 1 and have not received any thing yet. My travel agent says that Uniworld is very bad about sending things at the last min. It was snowing in Frankfurt today. PH

[Louisana cruiser]

I called Uniworld today, and they said the April 15 Rhine/Moselle documents should be processed mid-week and sent out soon after. I guess we can all keep in touch to see when others receive their documents.

I checked weather.com today for April. It is forecasting highs in the upper 50's and lows in the lower 40's for mid-April. We'll have to wait and see, but it will be fun regardless of the weather.

We arrive before 6am on April 16, and I know we cannot board until 4pm. Does anyone know if Uniworld has a decent waiting area? Most cruise lines' embarkation areas are like warehouses with hard plastic chairs. We even thought about getting a hotel for our arrival day to rest and freshen up. We also want to attend mass at one of the churches in Mainz, since we arrive on Easter Sunday.

[Louisana cruiser]

I called Uniworld today, and they said the April 15 Rhine/Moselle docs. should be processed this week and go out around mid-week. We can all keep in touch to see when we get our documents and optional excursion information.

I have checked weather.com, and they are forecasting mid-April in the region of our trip as highs in the upper 50's and lows in the lower 40's. Of course, we'll have to continue to monitor this forecast.

Does anyone know about the "waiting area" in Mainz? We arrive before 6am on April 16 and were considering getting a hotel to freshen up and rest, since most cruise line's waiting areas are like a warehouse with hard plastic chairs. Uniworld states that there will be no boarding until 4pm.

We also want to attend mass at a Catholic church/cathedral, since we arrive on Easter Sunday.

[PH]

Still no documents for April 1. I won't have any fingernails left by the time we go. The weather in Frankfurt was 44/25 degrees today. I will let everyone know when we get our documents. PH

[Louisana cruiser]

Would you give the April 15 departure folks info. from your April 1st cruise, when you return.

It would be helpful to get info. on:

- optional excursions:rolleyes:

- waiting area prior to boarding on day of arrival:confused:

- meals

- amenities and quality of rooms

- anything else you feel would help us enjoy our cruise

 

Thanks so much,:)

[PH]

If I ever get my documents and gettogo I will be glad to post areview. We are real excited but gettinga bit concern about the documents. Nine days to go. PH