GCT-M/S Bizet-August 24,2006

[mems]

Hello Everyone,

 

Is anyone going on the Romance of the Rhine and Mosel with us? Does anyone have any information about this boat? This is our first river cruise. I have gone through all the posts about river cruises and many of my questions have been answered. Thanks again, Clarence. But would like to hear someting about the M/S Bizet. Weather? We are going the Basel to Antwerp route. Does the boat dock starboard? Anything else you can add? Thanks in advance. mems

[Carhut]

I'm going to miss you by a day plus you'll be going in the opposite direction. Perhaps we'll pass someplace in the middle of the trip. I'll wave. We leave on the Debussy Aug. 25th for the same GCT Romance of the Rhine and Mosel. I have been on a couple of other riverboat cruises. Two years ago we did Vienna to Amsterdam, so some of this river cruise will be a repeat. We have gone the same time the last two years. Last year it was Eastern Europe to the Black Sea. I have to brag that we never had any rain on either trip, but it can get cool especially in the evenings so a light jacket or sweater is needed. Now that I've said we haven't had any rain, it'll probably do so on this next trip. I just read Clarence's review again the other day. It was reading it the first time that got me interested in doing this itinery. There have been some changes in the intinery since he went, but they seem to change all of them a little each year. I'm really looking forward to this one, because I've seen some of the beautiful Rhine already and they say the Mosel is even better. Ought to be a wonderful cruise. I'm sure you'll love it. No comparison to ocean cruises. It's better.

[Carhut]

Forgot to answer the docking question. The boats can dock on either side, depending on which side of the river the city is on that they are stopping at. Seems like they would turn the boat around and point it downriver when they docked if they were headed in the opposite direction. Also sometimes they tie up next to another boat and you have to walk either through their lobby or go up the steps and across the top deck and then down again. Or somebody else's boat uses yours for docking.

[mems]

Thanks for the info, Carole. I checked GCT's booklet and it states the Bizet is similar to the Debussy. What boats were you on, on your other river cruises? We have a cabin on Alto deck and I've wondered how high that window is (other threads I've read said it was high) and how far below the window is the water? We have been on a bus tour of Germany, Switzerland and Austria and we did go on a boat, for a short distance, on the Rhine. I remember how beautiful it was. Those bus trips are very intense. After an all night flight we arrived in Frankfurt in the a.m., got on a bus and were wisked to the Rhine, then boarded a boat for breakfast. We were a little bleary eyed from lack of sleep. This river cruise sounds very relaxing, yet port intensive. The towns sound charming.

If we're not "two ships who pass in the night" I'll wave back. mems

[Carhut]

Mems-------send me an email and I'll give you more info. Just put in the Subject "MEMS" and I'll know who it's from.

caesker@hotmail.com

 

Carole

[travelsfun]

We were on that same itinerary last August on the MS Ravel. If you have any specific questions, I would be happy to reply here.

Dorothy

[mems]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks Carole will do.

Dorothy, Thanks for the offer of info. The booklet says the Bizet is like the Ravel. What deck were you on? We are on Alto deck in the front of the boat and we were wondering if being in the front has any disadvantages. How high are the windows? Read they don't open. I did read that there are engine noises in the back. Can't seem to find much info about the boat so anything you can tell me about the Ravel will be appreciated. Did you board in Basel or Antwerp? What city did you fly into? Were you able to enjoy the sun deck? Oh, one other thing...can you pay the tips with a credit card like you can on cruise ships? Oh my! I didn't mean to ask so many questions. Can you tell I'm excited? mems

[travelsfun]

Mem...Will try to answer your questions...We were on the Soprano Deck with a sliding door and a little balcony. It was great. The boat had a nice lounge in front with lots of seating. We flew from San Francisco to London and then to Brussels where they bussed us to Antwerp. The weather in early August was much cooler than we had expected and we had some rain too.Lots of the gals went shopping for sweaters and jackets as we really expected warmer weather.Didn't use the sun deck much because of that! Hubby thinks he used credit card for tipping waiters, etc. but we did tip the wonderful tour director in cash. It was really a great trip and I hope to do another river cruise with GCT someday.

Dorothy

[mems]

Hello Everyone, happy first day of spring,

Carole, Thanks for the pictures. They really do a good presentation of the food if that dessert picture is any indication. Looks yummy. Although the picture of your room looks just like the picture in the booklet of Alto deck the small print says, "Prelude and Alto Deck cabins feature a small upper window". I'm short so guess I'll have to get on my tippy toes to look out the window. Doesn't really matter as we don't plan on spending much time in there. After only being on the big ships 120 people sounds great. Did you meet your new travel companions on your river cruise? Thanks for the tip re: $1 bills. Didn't think of that. We have done that in the past but never used many but I can see where we could use more on this trip.

Dorothy, Thanks for your input. Really appreciate it. How were the tours? We took the GCT air. I've found it is easier than trying to plot those one way flights on my own. As of now we travel British Airways. NWA and BA both have non stops to London. Wish it was on NW we have frequent flyer miles there because Detroit is their hub. As far as clothes are concerned sounds like the weather is like Michigan.......anything is possible.

mems

[travelsfun]

Mems....We did nearly all of the tours. Figure we probably won't go back to those places so usually take advantage of the tours. If you have any questions about particular tours, I will try to respond. Hope you get great program directors like we did! They had games going every day and that added to the fun.

Dorothy

[Carhut]

Dorothy---- I have a question for you. GCT changed the optional tour to Luxenburg from a half day to a whole day this year. Wondering if you think there is enough to see and do there for a day for $70. Lunch is included. Other option for the day is to stay on the boat and sail down the river from Trier to Traben/Trarbach. Do you have any suggestions what to do on this day? I usually take all the optional tours, because I don't want to miss anything.

Carole

[cmthomas]

Carole, please pardon me for responding to your question to Dorothy. We took the optional tour to Luxembourg when it was a half day. We first went to the American Cemetery. That was interesting but you can only see and do so much in a cemetery. We then had a walking tour of the city center that lasted about 45 minutes and were told that we were then "free to roam on our own" until the meeting time for returning to the ship. Knowing what I now know, I would not take the tour that we were offered again. For $70 I would expect some substance. Maybe the tour description for the full day will give you some details of other things that have been added.

 

Clarence:)

[Carhut]

Thanks Clarence for your reply. I usually take all the tours, but really wondered what to do in Luxemburg for a full day. According to GCT, the description says, "city tour, the Battle of the Bulge Cemetery, lunch and free time to explore on your own". I can get lunch on the ship and enjoy the scenery going down the river without paying an extra $70. Not that I'm cheap, but wondering if I really wanted to spend a whole day in Luxemburg. Really appreciate other's opinions. GCT sent us a letter re: changes in itinery and said that the reason they made this tour a full day because past cruisers requested more time there. What is there to see or do, besides shopping?Can do that everywhere. Is it a long or short ride to get to Luxemburg? It says we can see the market square, the cathedral and the palace. Can see those in lot's of other places, too.

[cmthomas]

Carole, that sounds like exactly the same tour we had except you will be waiting impatiently for the bus even longer! We could find nothing to do after the walkabout. Nothing even close to reasonable prices in the stores. After all, they are downtown department stores just like you find in any city at home.

 

My recollection is that the bus ride was just under an hour each way. But our ship stayed at the dock while we were gone. I, too, would opt for the lovely ride along the river in place of that excursion. The Mosel is nothing short of picture book scenery everywhere you look.

 

Just as an aside, as we traveled down the Mosel we overtook another river boat, name unknown, that was going backwards! The cruise director asked, over the loudspeaker, if anyone could tell the nationality of the other ship. When no one answered, he said that was easy to tell. It had to be French since it was retreating! No love lost between the Germans and the French!

 

Clarence:)

[travelsfun]

I totally agree with Clarence...there is not much to do or see in Luxenbourg. The reason I went was to see the American Cemetary and that was worthwhile. However, if I were you I would opt to stay on the boat and cruise the Mosel, rather than do a full day tour to Luxenbourg.

Dorothy

[Carhut]

Thanks Clarence and Dorothy. I appreciate your opinions.

Carole♥

[rogerdawhip]

Time for me to put in my 2 cents worth. I did this trip last year and it is by far my favorite of the 5 GCT river cruises I have taken. I hope to take it again next year in the opposite direction (I sailed from Basel to Antwerp)Unless you really want to see Luxemburg and the american Cemetery, the excusion to Luxemburg is not worth the money...stay onboard and enjoy the scenery cruising the Mosel. I have traveled on all 3 types of ships GCT has. M/S Bizet, Ravel & Debussey are the smallest and pretty much the same with only 2 decks. I prefer these ships over the larger ones with 3 decks. Cabins on the Alto deck have large windows. The pictures of the cabins are Grand Circle website are very accurate.

[cmthomas]

Carole, that is what this Board is all about and I think that there is no better place to obtain a wide variety of opinions that are only motivated by sharing and caring!

 

Clarence:)

[mems]

Greetings All,

Clarence, I totally agree. These boards have provided a wealth of information via opinions. I'm so glad CC started the River cruise forum. This type of cruiseing is new to us and I have a lot of ...."I wonder?", thoughts.

rogerdawhip, I wonder how they are going to route us. Did you fly into Basel? mems

[cmthomas]

Now here is an interesting tidbit of information that you aren't likely to find anywhere else! The Basel Airport is about 5 or 6 miles NW of town which puts it partly in Switzerland and partly in France. At the time we disembarked in Basel, Switzerland was not a member of the Schenken Treaty (as it is now) therefore it was necessary to go through Passport Control when entering or leaving Switzerland. Strangely, the national border runs right through the middle of the councourse of the Terminal! For some gates you are in France and for others you are in Switzerland! If you are just wandering around the concourse looking for a cup of coffee or a newspaper you may cross national boundaries more than once. Of course, each time I did so I had to go through Passport Control.

 

I actually went there to pick up my rental car when I encountered this situation. As I left the airport to drive back to the ship to pick up my wife and luggage I became lost and found myself repeatedly approaching border control stations! After the third time through the same station the kind officer stopped me instead of just waving me on and asked if I was lost. When I confessed that I was he showed me where to turn and all came out well but it was an interesting experience!

 

My recollection is that not all of the flights booked by Grand Circle departed from the Basel Airport. Some of the passengers were bused to Zurich which is not all that far away.

 

Clarence:)

[mems]

Hello All,

Clarence, thanks for the fun fact about the Basel airport. That is interesting. mems

[mems]

Greetings All,

Still hoping to find someone who is going on this cruise. mems