Avalon 5 Day Holiday Cruise

[calvincleo]

Does anyone have any feedback on the 5 day Rhine holiday cruise offered by Avalon? It starts in Frankfurt and then ends in Basal, includes Strasbourg, Heidelberg and Breisach .  Is this as good alternative to the longer 7 day cruise?  We want to spend some pre and post time and have some limitations on how long we can be away so this seems like a good option.  Would there be a reason why this is not a good trip, i.e. would we miss too much beautiful scenery or  maybe the stops are not the nicest? 

 

 

[Roz]

I've been to 4 of the 5 ports (not Breisach) and enjoyed them all immensely.  Have not sailed on Avalon, but I say go for it.

[notamermaid]

I would say that it sounds good if you have limited time available. See if Avalon offers Colmar or Alsatian villages as an excursion. I recommend doing that.

 

You do not say what you have planned post cruise, but here is an idea. People here on the board have repeatedly highly praised Lucerne so perhaps this is something to look at.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

@Roz ,  when we sailed with Viking, Breisach was the port used to access both Colmar and the Black Forest. I would imagine there would be excursions to one or both of these.

[Daisi]

We did the 8 day cruise, and I would highly recommend the extra excursions to Colmar & the Alsace.  We weren't overly impressed with the wine tasting to tell the truth, but Obernai was fantastic, and made it well worth it!

 

Since this is a Christmas Market cruise, your tours may be a little different.  We loved our Avalon trip, it was exactly as we expected...first class food & service in a casual atmosphere.  We were to have been with them again right now on the Danube, but I guess that will have to wait until next year.  My recommendation is that if you have very little time, go out on every excursion they offer to see everything you can.  It makes long and sometimes tiring days, but well worth it.  Since you can pay in advance for all extra excursions, no nasty bills when you get home either, as you pay in your "home" currency in advance, Euro's onboard!

 

 

@sharkster77, you are correct, Briesach is a nice litte town.  We took the tour to the open air museum from Brieasch, as well as Colmar.  

 

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by Daisi

[Roz]

5 hours ago, notamermaid said:

You do not say what you have planned post cruise, but here is an idea. People here on the board have repeatedly highly praised Lucerne so perhaps this is something to look at.

 

 

I agree with this recommendation.  Lucerne is beautiful.  Sits on a lake with the Alps towering above you.  Go thru the covered bridge to the church.  Worth the walk.

[sharkster77]

3 hours ago, Roz said:

 

I agree with this recommendation.  Lucerne is beautiful.  Sits on a lake with the Alps towering above you.  Go thru the covered bridge to the church.  Worth the walk.

We went to Lucerne DIY after our Rhine cruise and frankly Lucerne was the highlight of our trip----after 8 days of clouds and rain on the cruise, we had 3 days of brilliant sunshine in LUcerne!

[calvincleo]

Great info thank you!  I was thinking of taking the Frankfurt and Zurich pre and post nights but after comparing prices I think we can do this cheaper on our own.  Then we can definitely head to Lucerne for 2 or three nights post.  It looks like we can access some of the quaint little towns by train from Frankfurt so I think we will move ahead with this plan.  Anybody have any opinions regarding the value of the "cancel for any reason" insurance?

[notamermaid]

Small towns from Frankfurt is certainly possible with the good train connections there. From Frankfurt airport it is easy to get into Frankfurt proper, I would DIY with the hotel there. The Christmas market is good in Frankfurt. Check out the museums, something might interest you. Frankfurt has of course an extensive website in English. For small places from Frankfurt I recommend Büdingen, Gelnhausen and Aschaffenburg.

 

notamermaid

 

[Roz]

I would definitely do Lucerne rather than Zurich if you have a choice.

[Host Jazzbeau]

4 hours ago, Roz said:

I would definitely do Lucerne rather than Zurich if you have a choice.

I agree.  We loved Lucerne.  So quaint that we could just walk through the old town again. 

 

Zurich was basically a big city with few must-see parts – the best one wasn't even on our walking tour [so we cut out and saw it on our own way back to the bus]:  the Chagall windows in the Fraumunster

[Daisi]

14 hours ago, calvincleo said:

  Anybody have any opinions regarding the value of the "cancel for any reason" insurance?

 

We always purchase this, as regular insurance only covers cancellation for immediate family emergencies.  You never know what will happen when buying it so far in advance, and it will cover you if you have made your 90 day payment.  Have your TA give quotes for both, and consider how much money you are willing to spend to cover your expenses.  Also ask if it can be rolled over in case of cancellation of the cruise.  With Covid going on no one knows what will happen in 6 months time.

[Second seating]

If I was starting a Holiday cruise from Frankfurt I would take the train to Rothenburg ob de Tauber and spend a couple of nights! This is one of my favorite cities in Germany. Very nice markets in Frankfurt, Strasbourg and Basel.

 

Second seating

 

 

[cleobella]

I will definitely look at Rothenburg, second seating, thanks. Booked in for 2022, just to be safe. Hope this COVID mess is managed by then. Thanks all for the advice!

[rcaruso]

1 hour ago, cleobella said:

I will definitely look at Rothenburg, second seating, thanks. Booked in for 2022, just to be safe. Hope this COVID mess is managed by then. Thanks all for the advice!

If overnighting in Rothenburg, take the Nightwatchman tour.  Leaves from the Rathaus--very amusing. You can get a Rick Steve's book and he has places to stay and things to do in Rothenburg and Frankfurt.  We stayed at a really quaint Guesthaus over a restaurant---we really enjoyed it.

[Second seating]

3 minutes ago, rcaruso said:

If overnighting in Rothenburg, take the Nightwatchman tour.  Leaves from the Rathaus--very amusing. You can get a Rick Steve's book and he has places to stay and things to do in Rothenburg and Frankfurt.  We stayed at a really quaint Guesthaus over a restaurant---we really enjoyed it.

Yes on the Nightwatchman tour!!! We stayed at the Romantic Hotel Markustrum but this was years ago but it was close to everything but the train station.

 

Second seating