Rafting river boats together.

[pontac]

19 minutes ago, Got2Cruise said:

The castles on the Rhine itineraries Basel to Amsterdam or reverse has a river day when you sail past all the castles. It’s glorious.

 

I've cruised past those castles three times (so far), but sailing the middle Rhine to view the castles takes just half a day; there's a stop with excursion during the other half. 

 

It's Koblenz on Rhine Getaway cruise  (afternoon Basel>Amsterdam direction, in the morning the other direction)and Mainz in Treasures of the Rhine.

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, pontac said:

I've cruised past those castles three times (so far), but sailing the middle Rhine to view the castles takes just half a day; there's a stop with excursion during the other half. 

Indeed, several hours but half a day only, unless a ship sails very slowly. It only needs to cover 65km.

 

A few itineraries break this up by having a stop in Boppard which is a small town on the left bank of the Rhine Gorge. Which is a nice idea. Not sure if ships are allowed to park in second row there, i.e. raft. Uniworld stops in Boppard and a couple of European companies do, not sure about others.

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

3 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

The castles on the Rhine itineraries Basel to Amsterdam or reverse has a river day when you sail past all the castles. It’s glorious. 

On Viking's Rhine Getaway cruise, the middle Rhine castle viewing is either in the morning or afternoon, with an excursion in the other time slot.  We visited Marksburg Castle in the morning, had lunch, then sailed the middle Rhine.  We arrived in Rudesheim late afternoon and could venture out on our own either before or after dinner.

 

Now, I believe Marksburg Castle is replaced with Koblenz, Marksburg is now an optional excursion.

 

OOPS @pontac just saw your post, did not mean to repeat pretty much what you said word for word!

Edited July 1, 2023 by sharkster77

[Kristelle]

Pontac, yes absolutely. re choosing your itinerary

 

When I was first looking at these cruises and deciding between Scenic and APT (which I think is AMA outside Australia) they are the 2 main players which do packages from Australia,  there was one which had a full day on the ship

Everything else about them was much the same

Was going to go with one which did not - but before I fully made up my mind, the itinerary changed to not have that any more - might of been Scenic as  was mentioned upthread that they used to but now stop in Miltenberg.

 

This was back in 2019, am finally doing trip now borders have been opened again post Covid

 

I think perhaps they have stopped doing that and made there be excursions ever y day in response to feedback from passengers - seems best option to me is to give passengers as many options as possible - so if anyone wants to stay on board all day they can - but there is not a day everybody has to

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by Kristelle

[Kristelle]

8 hours ago, Got2Cruise said:

The castles on the Rhine itineraries Basel to Amsterdam or reverse has a river day when you sail past all the castles. It’s glorious. 

 I guess that is subjective - somebody in a recent review mentioned how the all day on ship day was scenic but boring

half a day of such  balanced with a morning or afternoon excursion would suit me better.

[pontac]

I was thinking last night about cruising vs off-boat excursions. Some here say that off-boat excursions are the most important thing about a cruise to them. in other words the boat is used as a floating hotel to take passengers from site to site.

 

I understand and sympathise with that view.

 

As I've said. I cannot recall a cruise of the 13 I've taken that didn't have at least one excursion a day. But for me the excursions are incidental, I don't choose a cruise by the excursions offered*. For me, the cosseting and relaxation of the cruise is the attraction. And I prefer excursions to take place after lunch, I like a leisurely breakfast reading the newspapers rather than an early start to get on an excursion.

 

So, the cruise companies are trying to please guests who have different priorities.

 

*OTOH I cancelled a cruise (Viking's Great Lakes, Duluth to Toronto) when I found out how strenuous their excursions were

[Kristelle]

yes, always tricky as the programmer of itineraries to strike right balance of pleasing the most people the most of the time as possible

 

Me personally the excursions are definitely a huge part of the decision - like any non cruise holiday to me - a luxury hotel (in this case a floating one) and fancy food are great, but it has to have things to do and places to go, that's the main point of going somewhere (IMO) 

[tulok]

1 hour ago, Kristelle said:

yes, always tricky as the programmer of itineraries to strike right balance of pleasing the most people the most of the time as possible

 

Me personally the excursions are definitely a huge part of the decision - like any non cruise holiday to me - a luxury hotel (in this case a floating one) and fancy food are great, but it has to have things to do and places to go, that's the main point of going somewhere (IMO) 

I will add to this statement as I also want as many docks in town versus being in a bus to town. I know some stops do not have a choice but being able to hop on and off the boat like a hotel to grab a pint at the local pub or some after lunch shopping is part of the relaxation to me. The southern France itinerary was my favorite for that type of cruise. The Normandy cruise was not. Not saying I didn’t greatly enjoy it. 

To bring it back to the OP, rafted or not, nothing like river cruising. A brand and itinerary for everyone. You have to do you.

[sharkster77]

We enjoy bus tours, but love river cruises for this reason:

 

Imagine a bus tour, but you take your hotel and restaurant with you.  The line in the latest Viking commercials that resonates with us is "unpack only once..........".  There is no "have your luggage out in the hallway at XX o'clock..........."

 

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I know, you also unpack only once with other river cruise companies as well.......

(pre-emptive reply to Viking-haters out there)

Edited July 2, 2023 by sharkster77

[*Miss G*]

Last October we rafted next to AMA Lucia.  When I woke up and looked out the window I could see them next to us but wasn’t sure if we were going through them or they were going through us.  I was hoping we were going through them so I could see what their ship looked like.  😂

 

Turned out we went straight through their lobby.  The interior was beautiful and their staff was just as lovely as ours.  It definitely put them on our radar as another line to try.

 

We matched up pretty good!

 

 

Everyone exiting through AMA’s ship.

 

[CastleCritic]

3 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

Last October we rafted next to AMA Lucia.  When I woke up and looked out the window I could see them next to us but wasn’t sure if we were going through them or they were going through us.  I was hoping we were going through them so I could see what their ship looked like.  😂

 

Turned out we went straight through their lobby.  The interior was beautiful and their staff was just as lovely as ours.  It definitely put them on our radar as another line to try.

 

We matched up pretty good!

 

 

 

Everyone exiting through AMA’s ship.

 

Yep, walking through a ship can be a really good no cost ad for that ship/line.  Ive definitely walked through some and thought "why is there a jewelry shop in the lobby" (thats not to say that AMA doesnt sell  stuff like that it just ...doesn't have a dedicated shop).  And some, Viking included when I thought "this looks really nice I wouldn't mind giving this a try".  Thats one reason why these reports of people getting growled at by the "other ship" crew seems counter productive.

 

 

 

Edited July 2, 2023 by CastleCritic

[CastleCritic]

3 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We enjoy bus tours, but love river cruises for this reason:

 

Imagine a bus tour, but you take your hotel and restaurant with you.  The line in the latest Viking commercials that resonates with us is "unpack only once..........".  There is no "have your luggage out in the hallway at XX o'clock..........."

 

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, I know, you also unpack only once with other river cruise companies as well.......

(pre-emptive reply to Viking-haters out there)

Personally I kind of find this one funny since I unpack zero times...I just work out of the suitcase......

 

But I did hear from passengers on my last cruise that they didnt really like the land extension as much because of this, pack on the ship, go to a hotel unpack, next night, pack, luggage outside, unpack at the hotel that night, next night, pack, luggage outside.... (not to mention 3 of the days were basically about 4-5 hours of bus riding)

 

But yes I really do like the "take the room and food you know you'll like with you" part of river cruising.  Especially if you have (or are) a picky eater or one with dietary requirements, finding land side food can be a chore.

[Daisi]

35 minutes ago, CastleCritic said:

Personally I kind of find this one funny since I unpack zero times...I just work out of the suitcase......

 

But I did hear from passengers on my last cruise that they didnt really like the land extension as much because of this, pack on the ship, go to a hotel unpack, next night, pack, luggage outside, unpack at the hotel that night, next night, pack, luggage outside.... (not to mention 3 of the days were basically about 4-5 hours of bus riding)

 

But yes I really do like the "take the room and food you know you'll like with you" part of river cruising.  Especially if you have (or are) a picky eater or one with dietary requirements, finding land side food can be a chore.

 

 

We're pretty much the same, we rarely unpack when doing our own land tours...possibly because I don't like having to re-pack!  I do enjoy knowing that we don't have to find somewhere to eat every day though, that's one good thing, and not having to wake up in the night and remember the room layout!

 

[CPT Trips]

On 7/1/2023 at 12:26 PM, notamermaid said:

Uniworld stops in Boppard and a couple of European companies do, not sure about others.

GCT’s Romance of the Rhein and Moselle does. 
 

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 7/1/2023 at 1:48 PM, sharkster77 said:

On Viking's Rhine Getaway cruise, the middle Rhine castle viewing is either in the morning or afternoon, with an excursion in the other time slot.  We visited Marksburg Castle in the morning, had lunch, then sailed the middle Rhine.  We arrived in Rudesheim late afternoon and could venture out on our own either before or after dinner.

 

Now, I believe Marksburg Castle is replaced with Koblenz, Marksburg is now an optional excursion.

 

On our upcoming Viking Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in late October, Marksburg Castle is an included afternoon excursion with a bus ride out of Koblenz.

[sharkster77]

29 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

On our upcoming Viking Budapest to Amsterdam cruise in late October, Marksburg Castle is an included afternoon excursion with a bus ride out of Koblenz.

YES---Your are on the Grand European Tour, not the Rhine Getaway (Basel to Amsterdam, just 8 days--yours is 14 days).  Marksburg USED to be included in the Rhine Getaway, but not anymore.  Are you going to Heidelberg?  It used to be part of the Rhine Getaway as well, but was replaced with Speyer (Heidelberg became an optional excursion on the Rhine Getaway.

[Kristelle]

So Viking's  Grand European Tour is basically same route ( in reverse) and probably most excursions as our Scenic Jewels of Europe one - 14 night Amsterdam to Budapest?

[notamermaid]

24 minutes ago, Kristelle said:

So Viking's  Grand European Tour is basically same route ( in reverse) and probably most excursions as our Scenic Jewels of Europe one - 14 night Amsterdam to Budapest?

Same route, same distance covered (more or less, a variation in the Dutch Rhine stretch is possible), most ports the same most likely and excursions similar. I think Scenic has a couple of exclusives on this route that no other company offers. But you would need to check the details. With such an itinerary it is difficult to vary the "important" ports unless you very much change sailing schedules. A ship can only cover so much distance in a day - mostly night. To make the journey in 14 days you need to get in daytime sailing really, Viking sails a stretch while passengers are on excursions on the Main, I think twice. There are enough interesting ports to turn this into a 16 night itinerary which I hope a company will one day offer. Which may reduce the occurrence of rafting a little.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Edited July 3, 2023 by notamermaid

[NantahalaCruiser]

4 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

YES---Your are on the Grand European Tour, not the Rhine Getaway (Basel to Amsterdam, just 8 days--yours is 14 days).  Marksburg USED to be included in the Rhine Getaway, but not anymore.  Are you going to Heidelberg?  It used to be part of the Rhine Getaway as well, but was replaced with Speyer (Heidelberg became an optional excursion on the Rhine Getaway.

Could be a website problem, but Viking currently shows Marksburg Castle as an excursion for the the Rhine Getaway

 

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/rhine-getaway/2025-basel-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/5

[sharkster77]

1 hour ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Could be a website problem, but Viking currently shows Marksburg Castle as an excursion for the the Rhine Getaway

 

https://www.vikingrivercruises.com/cruise-destinations/europe/rhine-getaway/2025-basel-amsterdam/index.html#itineraryday/5

As an OPTIONAL excursion, yes, but the INCLUDED excursion is Koblenz.

 

When we did the Rhine Getaway in 2019, Marksburg Castle was the INCLUDED excursion, but no more--it is optional, for additional $$.  In 2019 we sailed right past Koblenz.

[reeves35]

23 hours ago, notamermaid said:

Same route, same distance covered (more or less, a variation in the Dutch Rhine stretch is possible), most ports the same most likely and excursions similar. I think Scenic has a couple of exclusives on this route that no other company offers. But you would need to check the details. With such an itinerary it is difficult to vary the "important" ports unless you very much change sailing schedules. A ship can only cover so much distance in a day - mostly night. To make the journey in 14 days you need to get in daytime sailing really, Viking sails a stretch while passengers are on excursions on the Main, I think twice. There are enough interesting ports to turn this into a 16 night itinerary which I hope a company will one day offer. Which may reduce the occurrence of rafting a little.

 

notamermaid

 

 

 

Yes, the most classic European river cruise is the 14 night journey from Amsterdam to Budapest or v.v.  Thie itineraries are basically the same though, as you point out, there can be some difference in The Netherlands with some cruise lines choosing to have a bus journey between Amsterdam and Utrecht to avoid what is a pretty industrial part of the river.

 

The itinerary is the same hence the need for rafting as there are only so many places a ship can stop and during peak season there are a lot of ships on the rivers. Even the names the cruise lines choose for this classic cruise are remarkably similar:

- Viking, Grand European

- Scenic, Jewels of Europe

- Travelmarvel, European Gems

- Emerald, Splendours of Europe

- APT (AMA), Magnificent Europe

- Uniworld, European Jewels

- Avalon, Magnificent Rivers of Europe

- TUI, European Icons

 

 

[DougK]

On 7/1/2023 at 11:55 PM, pontac said:

But for me the excursions are incidental, I don't choose a cruise by the excursions offered*. For me, the cosseting and relaxation of the cruise is the attraction. And I prefer excursions to take place after lunch, I like a leisurely breakfast reading the newspapers rather than an early start to get on an excursion.

 

I'm largely in agreement with pontac here. I may be in the minority, but I *like* time cruising on the boat. Sure, not all areas are as scenic as the Moselle and Rhine Gorge, but even the "boring" parts of the rivers and canals can be quite peaceful. I quite enjoyed the cruising day on the Main I had back in 2018. I also really dislike bus trips, and am not a fan of guided tours (as almost all excursions are). So I like when the ship is docked in or near a town for an extended period, so I can wander at will and find hidden treasures. But I have little interest in what I call "drive-by" stops--where the ship stops at some point along the river to discharge passengers to buses that take them to the town, while the ship continues along the river to a later point where it stops again to pick up passengers from returning buses. Those "stops" involve potentially extended bus trips, a lot of waiting around, and not so much time in the actual destination town, especially for somebody who wants to wander on their own but not risk missing the bus back to the ship. That's what Scenic did on the Jewels of Europe--Miltenberg is listed as a stop, but if you look at ship trackers, you will see that the ships don't actually spend more than an hour at most in Miltenberg; they continue sailing past while the passengers have been bused from earlier point to a later point. I'd probably just as soon stay on the ship. But to each their own, and I recognize that the excursions are the high point for most people, at least judging by this board.

[CastleCritic]

Yeah the Main is definitely not a "we're in port all day" river.

 

Ive joked before Ive never seen my as many angles of my own ship moving as I did that week:

 

looking at the saved programs

 

Day 4, got on a bus in Rudesheim at 9 or so, got off in Mainz and then met the ship at 11:15 , ship arrived just as we were walking to the dock was supposed to leave immediately...but we ended up leaving a little late since the bike tour that did the same trip over from Rudesheim had a slow riders...

 

Day5 ship gets to Miltenberg 8:30 , we're off by 9 and off it goes, we meet it in Wertheim and it leaves as soon as we are all on board.

 

Day 6 Ship arrives Kitzigen 8:30 we're off by 9 to go to Wurzburg (which if you check the map is now BEHIND US on the river) we meet the ship at Volkach, where we spend the night and have a "wine festival" after a short tour of the town.

 

Day 7 we arrive in Bamberg 1pm...and we all stay in Bamberg until 5:15..as does the ship, in fact we meet another AMAWaterways ship (she was docked at Wurzburg the day before which is why we didnt).

 

Then its off to Nuremberg  and thats it.

 

Lot of time sailing (and going through locks) not so much with free time in towns on that one.  They had everything scheduled pretty well, every time we met the ship it was no more than 10min from arriving when we got to the dock(though you also have to wait for them to get it tied up and the gangplank down).  Ive heard of much worse experiences with this plan though.

Edited July 5, 2023 by CastleCritic

[Kristelle]

totally subjective and personal preference -  I like guided tours and  I don't mind  bus trips - but of course one then wants decent amount of time at the destination - and I really don't want a whole day of 'peaceful sailing'

[island lady]

We like to break it up.  Some afternoon excursions, some morning, some evening.  Then some  days...no tour  at all.   We do tend to get "bus butt" too often with too many extended time bus tours.  

 

Then again, our next river cruise is 3 weeks long.  Lots of time for mixing it up.  🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by island lady