Avalon vs Emerald for Danube 2023

[notamermaid]

23 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Thank you for your assistance.  Is there a way to find out the locations of the docks for any given voyage, assuming navigable conditions. 

It is potentially a little complicated. Perhaps a past cruiser has compiled such data. You can get an idea by looking up where the ships are on a ship tracker site.

 

Or we can just give you a notion by saying "close to", "needs a coach ride", etc. It varies on the Danube and will be slightly different in almost every port. Passau and Vienna are the two ports that now appear to have the greatest variety of location. Many river cruise ships use the prime spots but there can be exceptions. In Vienna the basic difference is city centre or Nussdorf district. If a past cruiser confirms one or the other for the respective company, this will normally be the spot they dock at. But I would not rely on it that this will be 100 percent the location all the time. Some locations are on the cruise companies' websites with addresses.

 

notamermaid

 

[Daisi]

One other thing to keep in mind is that the harbourmasters have the decision as to where the ships dock. If you are there in a busy time, you may not get prime locations, no matter what line you are on. This is also a factor with river cruising becoming more popular, and more lines are adding more ships to their fleet.

[Mary229]

9 minutes ago, Daisi said:

One other thing to keep in mind is that the harbourmasters have the decision as to where the ships dock. If you are there in a busy time, you may not get prime locations, no matter what line you are on. This is also a factor with river cruising becoming more popular, and more lines are adding more ships to their fleet.

How confident are you that if I called each line the phone agent could give me a fairly accurate answer in light of all of the variables? 
 

also do either line offer the simple option of a shuttle into town?

Edited September 28, 2022 by Mary229

[Daisi]

Phone agents may not be much help, as they can't say either.  They *may* be able to tell you where the docs are, but if there is more than one dock at the ports, that still doesn't mean that you will get the priority one. As I said, it's the harbourmaster that decides where and when you dock, so it's usually not decided until the day before.

 

As to shuttles, yes, there will be at least one in and out, as the tours of the town will require transit. I can't say if any operate multiple shuttles in a port, as we take the tours, so only use the buses when we are on them.

[Canal archive]

Daisi is absolutely correct. So if you did decide to go off piste as it were take all of the boats contact details with you this is essential as for whatever reason the ship may have to do a local shuffle about. Also the ship cannot set out on its next leg until all (I nearly underlined that) passengers are aboard. Timings can change for Lock entries passages through specific areas etc.

Don't get us wrong river cruising is addictive a wonderful experience and I think the best time to do a bit of short local exploration is just after dinner during daylight hours. A postprandial wonder. Although I expect an evening with new acquaintances would take precedence.

Whatever you decide have a fantastic cruise it’s addictive!

 

 

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, Canal archive said:

Daisi is absolutely correct. So if you did decide to go off piste as it were take all of the boats contact details with you this is essential as for whatever reason the ship may have to do a local shuffle about. Also the ship cannot set out on its next leg until all (I nearly underlined that) passengers are aboard. Timings can change for Lock entries passages through specific areas etc.

Don't get us wrong river cruising is addictive a wonderful experience and I think the best time to do a bit of short local exploration is just after dinner during daylight hours. A postprandial wonder. Although I expect an evening with new acquaintances would take precedence.

Whatever you decide have a fantastic cruise it’s addictive!

 

 

Thanks for the reminder.