Just back from the Symphony ....

[Cruisetrekker]

It was our first river cruise so I have nothing to compare it to ...but...we had a wonderful time !

 

Food was great, staff was friendly and attentive, and Peter ( are you lurking ?) the Cruise Director was funny and organized ! Wine was free flowing , walking tours were informative.

 

If my only complaint was the bumping of the ship in the many locks we passed thru......I will definetely choose Amadeus again !

 

The hotels in Paris and Prague were top notch and close to all the attractions .

 

The water was high the first day. The ship had been stuck in Koblenz for serveral days before we boarded so we had a tour of Trier that day and boarded in Koblenz. Next day they managed to get back on schedule and sail as far as Zell. Visited Bernkastel by bus before sailing back to Koblenz.

 

The weather was sunny every day !

[Cruisetrekker]

I forgot to ask if anyone had any questions about the Heartland Cruise or the ports ? I would be glad to answer them....:)

 

There had been some comments about feeling hungry after dinner....My husband (who is a big eater) says he never felt hungry afterwards...:o

[mcintyre9454]

Cruisetrekker,

 

So glad you had a good time. We are really looking forward to this cruise in June. A couple of questions (ok...quite a few actually ;) ).

 

1. How long were the bus transfers from Trier to Paris...and then Nuremberg to Prague?

 

2. How were the busses? Were they comfortable? Were there bathrooms on board?

 

3. Did you stay in the Bercy Sofitel in Paris? If so....did you find it out of the way or inconvenient to see Paris from? That is where my cruise is booked to stay...and altho I do not know Paris at all...it appears "out of the way" from maps.

 

4. Any "must sees" or "must do's" you can recommend?

 

Glad you had a good trip!

[Cruisetrekker]

In Paris we stayed at the Le Meridian . It was about a 10 min walk to the Arc de Triumphe (sp?) The hotel was very nice and the breakfast was awesome !

 

The transfer by bus took about 4 hours but we did stop twice for bathroom breaks. We made a stop in Luxembourg for a quick lunch at a rest stop. The bus was comfortable and did have a washroom for "emergencies".

 

Due to high water the ship could not come up the Mosel to get us at Trier so we were given a walking tour here instead of Lux city before busssing to Koblenz where we embarked.

 

Next day the water was a little lower and the ship manged to get back on schedule and cruise to Zell.

 

The transfer to Prague was also about 4 hours.

 

Hope you get Peter for a Cruise Director ...he was wonderfully funny !

 

Any more questions...just ask !

[Cruisetrekker]

Oh ! I forgot must sees !

 

To someone like us ...EVERYTHING is a "must see" ! We come back from vacations "Needing a Vacation !"

 

We just loved every town we stopped at ! We climbed up to every castle we could and checked out most cathedrals.

 

I think maybe the most memorable night was at the Black Cat Fountain in Zell. Barely remember getting back to the room........:D

[mcintyre9454]

Sorry....another question. I'm curious, did you stay with the included riverboat excursions...or did you venture out on your own? Did people onboard utilize the bikes at all?

[Cruisetrekker]

We did all the river boat included excursions and there was lots of free time for us to go out on our own. Many times we started out with the guide then 1/2 way thru we went out on our own after finding out the meeting point and time.

 

On the Symphony there are no bicycles available.....

 

There was one optional excursion to Rothenburg that was $50. US that we took. Really not enough time there for us. We have been there twice on our own on another trip and just wanted to see it again...It was really too much bus and not enough time to see anything. Shopping is wunderbar though !