notamermaid

If I may jump in and say that I have not sailed on Avalon Waterways, but have a rough idea of where the city docking locations are. However, there is a harbour further out that is used as well. So here goes. Nicko Cruises has a helpful map of all docking locations that may be used for embarkation. This is it (move the map a bit): https://www.nicko-cruises.de/anreise-anlegestellen/anlegestellen/frankfurt-am-main Avalon Waterways Australia gives this location: https://www.avalonwaterways.com.au/travel-tips/port-locations Hopefully a past cruiser will confirm. Bear in mind that the location can change at short notice. I expect there will be a pick-up at the airport for you or central meeting point designated by Avalon Waterways from where you will be brought to the dock. Frankfurt is an interesting city, worth strolling through if you have the time. Have a great cruise. notamermaid

Thank you. I have read about something like that. He was actually an intelligent person, beyond intelligence with the ladies. That fact is easily forgotten. It is one of the more unusual excursions along the Rhine. Before I read about it hear on CC I would never have thought to go to such a place. There is so much more to vinegar than the small selection in a standard shop. notamermaid

Interesting. So it could potentially be possible to traverse much of Germany leaving around 5am and arriving at around 10pm. Passau to Kiel is given as between 13 and 14 hours, so doable. But the caveat is the problem with a couple of trains in between that may fall under those exceptions. I am surprised the DB website has not crashed yet, with all those people figuring out how to get from A to B on regional trains . notamermaid

With this ticket I would be as well, got really a bit annoyed when I read about those train exceptions. I can imagine the discussions with the ticket checking people... Anyway, you will be back on the Main shortly! Have lots of fun and I wish the couple a beautiful, splendid special day. notamermaid

Not only I think so but also Deutsche Welle. Here are their suggestions for 9 euro ticket train rides in Germany:https://www.dw.com/en/most-beautiful-train-routes-to-travel-with-germanys-9-ticket/g-61847301 notamermaid

It is quite ridiculous, I fully agree. Inspired by photo evidence I presented in a meeting yesterday, I thought: "Hang on, why not send an e-mail with screenshot of the Scenic Jade in the shipyard to Scenic headquarters?" I am still suggesting that but lo and behold right now the Jade is sailing! Another engine testing trip downstream or more? marinetraffic and vesselfinder are in agreement that she is underway using engine. notamermaid

Maintenance having ended, traffic is running again. River cruise ships are again sailing up and down the Moselle, so if you want to do some ship spotting, here is a suitable webcam at Cochem: https://www.hotel-noss-cochem.de/de/kontakt-service/webcam-wetter/ Unfortunately, Feratel with its high-quality rotating webcams does not seem to have any stationed in the Moselle valley. notamermaid

News says seven million tickets have already been sold. There is already confusion and criticism of the the fact that the difference between DB Fernverkehr and DB Regio is not clear or rather cannot be clear to the general passenger. The problem: DB Fernverkehr runs the long-distance trains on which the ticket is not valid, DB Regio - as the name implies - the regional trains on which the ticket is valid, but DB Fernverkehr also runs regional trains. Those regional trains are the exception and when you choose your train you cannot see this immediately, not even on a machine or online, a German article says. As this has now been acknowledged as a problem for passengers it should be sorted out, at least the Länder have been given instructions to sort it out. Will have to see how they handle this. So if you encounter problems on the ground or on the train, politely point this out to whoever needs pointing out that you are an ignorant tourist who cannot know the intricacies of Deutsche Bahn. This ticket makes travelling along the Rhine corridor with its frequent trains quite attractive for tourists. I have already been given information at work about it and have received inquiries. The offer is definitely getting a lot of interest and attention (even in foreign media). notamermaid

Thanks for the photos. Good souvenir and good use of it. And it brings images back from memory, doesn't it? I see you have plenty left for more dinners. @sbjornda Can you remember what the Casanova connection is? notamermaid

Ah, so Scenic is also already using the new landing stage at Ehrenbreitstein. I think it is a good new spot. Yes, quick ferry across the river. Easy access via an underpass. Very steep, so not easy on the knees going down the hill, but manageable. Alternative is an inclined lift. I highly recommend Ehrenbreitstein for the view. As I understand it, companies may use their own coaches or locally sourced ones, meaning they use them short term or on a kind of cooperation basis. Which can mean they even have the company logo on them. It will vary. The dock situation at Koblenz also shows that it is not straight forward, even on the Rhine with its towns being right there at the river bank. You can walk into town basically but the actual landing stage may be away from the sights. Two opposites are: Strasbourg and Koblenz. Strasbourg - no dock in town, dock in general harbour or across the river in Germany (!) at Kehl, the latter being definitely too far to walk unless you are into urban hiking. Koblenz - dock on the Rhine and dock on the Moselle, step off the boat and you are in the old town. By the way, it is interesting to look at the river cruise brochures. You will never see a photo of a river cruise ship docked in Strasbourg's old town (see above) and likewise never one docked at Nuremberg in the old town (Danube itinerary or Grand tour of Europe) as the town is not on the Danube but is served by the modern Canal and river cruise ships are out there at the industrial harbour. But back to the good and the lovely. Where was I? Was it ferries? Or moated castles? I will pick up either subject again soon. For now, the river levels: Maxau 441cm Kaub 156cm Koblenz 150cm A bit on the low side for commercial barges, but all good for river cruise ships. notamermaid

Deutsche Bahn website: https://www.bahn.com/en/offers/regional/9-euro-ticket-en notamermaid

Interesting. It is Niederlahnstein KD landing stage, indeed near the indoor swimming pool. Small restaurant there. There is no tram in the area, that time would be the town bus. By train it is only 11 minutes. Unusual stop really. It is not where AmaWaterways docks, those ships dock at Oberlahnstein which is close to the old town centre. Cannot imagine it is a standard stop for Scenic. For that stop they should provide a shuttle into Koblenz. There are many excursion boat landing stages that are suitable for large river cruise ships, most are designed for 110m ships, but some also allow the 135m ships. notamermaid

Yes, I remember from comments of Australian cruisers and general travel info on the net getting the impression over the years that Australia is big on consumer rights as regards travel. notamermaid

@Roz To be honest, I do not know much about the Belgian Christmas markets. Have not been to one for many years. In the past I have used brochures and websites for planning, just have not been able to fit the markets into my plans in the end. There are some lovely small ones in castles and small towns. I think the official tourism websites are best for looking at this. For specific info send an e-mail or look at town websites. Belgium tourism is split into regions, this is the site: https://visitbelgium.com/ It is interesting - and important for planning - to understand subtle differences in "attitude". German markets observe the Christian holidays and close down for the year mostly on 23 December. You will need to check individual markets for details. It appears that the adherence to this and how long markets are open after Christmas Eve may well be different in other countries. Of course, the size of the place is an indication - the bigger the more likely to be touristy and open after Christmas - but it is only an indication. Again, check individual places. After having seen the town in Summer, I can well imagine that. It is of course on the Tauber and not the Main river, so will be an excursion. It could be full of tourists any time of year, but I still recommend going. If you are into town walls and fortifications, this is the place to go to. Apart from a "few" other attractions in that place... Not sure what it is about the Main and Franconia but I am drawn to the area. My ideal Christmas market cruise itinerary would be Frankfurt to Nuremberg, or even just up to Bamberg. notamermaid

In the European Union which until recently included the UK (and that country may continue to stick to such laws) consumer rights as far as I understand it, do not allow the US terms and conditions of Viking to be applied one to one. I am of course not familiar with details, but the US Viking and the UK Viking website and fine print differ from each other and the final payment date thing sticks out from that as a major difference, but there will be other more subtle differences as well. notamermaid

That would have been the other option . But as you see (we posted at the same time) the webcam was adequate enough. The Oberwesel webcam is not quite as good on features, so we may miss her there. Have got a few things to do, so if anyone wants to "watch telly" at Oberwesel https://www.feratel.com/en/webcams/germany/schoenburg-oberwesel.html notamermaid

Found her! I used the brilliant archive option of the webcam I linked to above and time stamped 14.10 she is sailing facing downstream: Which means that as usual the current signal is lost at Rüdesheim which happens to most ships, i.e. here vesselfinder still places the Pearl as docked, last signal five hours ago as I write. The signal will probably reappear as the actual real time signal around Boppard. Depending on website it could be as far downstream as Andernach or, in the Pearl's case today, on the Moselle. notamermaid

As annoying as it is for the cruisers this has turned into an interesting detective story. I think some ship spotting is in order. I would miss the Pearl if I went to the river probably, I will use the webcam option to find the real Pearl. Last signal place is Rüdesheim dock with Bernkastel-Kues set as destination. Bingen webcam towards Rüdesheim shows the Scenic Jasper as having just left Rüdesheim (around 12.55pm) going into the Rhine Gorge! The Scenic Pearl I cannot see, she may be hidden from view behind the island. https://www.bergfex.de/sommer/bingen-am-rhein/webcams/c18050/ Not much signalling in the Rhine Gorge due to the hills, so if we cannot find the Pearl at Rüdesheim, next good webcam is Oberwesel, after that Boppard. notamermaid

Ah, yes, saw a video about that some time ago. Thank you for the link. It may encourage others to explore the city beyond The Beatles. Of course, for me it the line would be: Liverpool - city of The Beatles, proud maritime history, fantastic modern redevelopments and a great art scene, with wonderful shopping and sightseeing - and all I want to see is an obscure massive crazy underground building in the backyard of a slightly unusual man's house. notamermaid

Oh yes! Perfect for me, I look into every hole the builders, etc. dig near where I live. I love finding out what is in the ground. I know they will not find a king under a car park, but it is fascinating to see the old sewage systems, etc. Talking of which: One of "my must have a look at" places next time I am in London is the "Cathedral" at Abbey Mills. Functional and beautiful (IMO anyway). notamermaid

"Ships, more ships, no space! What are we going to do?" Imagine a local authority contemplating... Koblenz is such a busy port and there have been measures looked at and taken - or not. On a busy river you cannot just build and have done with it. Traffic, current, low water, high water, other infrastructure, locals, nature - all have to be taken into account when giving new space to ships. One thing Koblenz tried was limited triple docking on the Moselle. River cruise ships - is my impression - also increasingly dock on the Rhine, where Viking is docking anyway but there is another landing stage along that left bank of the Rhine as well. Viking applied for docking at Winningen on the Moselle (which is in close proximity to Koblenz), meaning have another landing stage built, which would have been their own. There is one that is already in use for all companies. The local council did not give permission. AmaWaterways had the in my opinion brilliant idea a few years ago to move out to Lahnstein. A very successful endeavour for both town and company. So, what about Koblenz, problem still not solved. A couple of weeks ago I saw an article in the local newspaper online, hiding behind a paywall, but with enough information available in the three free sentences for me to figure out that a new landing stage has just been opened "Im Dahl", meaning in the suburb of Ehrenbreitstein on the right bank! First I thought it was Viking who where responsible but from the planning permission of the administration in Trier I have gathered it must be the endeavour by Gilles, a local excursion boat company. If I am correct, they have established a docking facility for both their excursion boats and river cruise ships. How this works in practice I am not sure. Why Viking? Let us just say that they have a record of trying to establish docking facilities for their many ships on the Rhine and the fact that the first ship I spotted on vesselfinder was a Viking ship there on 27 May. Here is the screenshot to give you an idea of where it is: Look to the right bank where the green dot marks the Viking Hild. I will try and find out a bit more about the new place at Ehrenbreitstein and will post additional info and corrections if necessary. The Rhine is a very busy river and three river cruise ships signalling at Koblenz is actually not much at all. I have seen six before... This is also to give you an idea that some towns and cities on the Rhine are busy with river cruise ships. We have talked about this elsewhere before, but I will repeat that I think that there is at least one town that has reached capacity of what it should have: Rüdesheim. It is the reason that I like companies looking for other towns and docking areas. And adding different itineraries, which can also be fun for river cruisers that come a second time. There is so much to see along the Rhine with dozens of ports that may not be picture perfect but have enough going for them to warrant attention, sometimes for those with special interests. Like railways, history beyond castles, technical stuff, botanical and flowers, etc. Zons has come more into focus recently, due to its proximity to Cologne; Neuwied may be an alternative for Koblenz docking. But such details will be put in another thread at some point. notamermaid

Certainly a possibility. Weird with these tracking sites sometimes... The river levels are fine. Indeed. Viking is a bit more free with this on the Rhine, Moselle, Main and Danube as historically, i.e. coming from the use of KD ships and locations when they first started in Germany, have their own landing stages in many places. Having said that, Viking now has so many ships that there is sometimes no space at their own and they use local authority and docking company locations. Have you been in touch with the spa per e-mail or on the phone? You could put them to the test and see how far they are willing to go and rise to the challenge to make something happen for you. Tell them your problem with scheduling. German companies often post times online for the excursions. It is of course always with the understanding that things can change at very short notice. notamermaid

Viking is so far the only company that I have read demand final payment one year before the cruise date. All other companies have been reported here on CC as asking anything between six months and 60 days, and even just 30 days I remember. As has been mentioned, you can push Viking in the right direction, but not far enough for my liking. notamermaid

My, had not looked at that site for two years for the C reason, i.e. hardly anything to track. Thank you for reminding me of it. I think there was a short "testing the engine" trip to Leverkusen, but time flies, so that may have been just over two weeks ago. Anyway, the engine problem is serious obviously and now we know - as we have kind of suspected - that the 8 June sailing will be on another ship. Wish other cruise companies had their own tracking for river cruise ships. Phoenix Reisen has it for ocean but not for river. Would be nice to have the holes in the terrestrial tracking of the usual sites filled by the companies' own trackers. notamermaid

Interesting stuff in the link. Thanks. A film about John Adams with Laura Linney playing his wife is bound to be good. If I cannot access the features offered, I may try and get that film/series some other way. I am binge watching the British archeology series "Time Team" on youtube. Just finished the episode about the boat in Utrecht. Fascinating nerdy stuff, lots of people trying to figure out what this line in the field means and that piece of pottery over there ... notamermaid