Rhine - Beyond the Standard Ports

Beyond the standard ports... part 1

I would like to start with a port that some of you have stopped at, some have been to on an excursion and the city is well known: D?sseldorf, the capital of the "Land" of North-Rhine-Westfalia . However, being relatively close to the more alluring Cologne it is not a typical stop for river cruise lines. Comparing it to Cologne one can say that it is younger, somewhat less historically interesting in an all-encompassing sense due to the lack of Roman antiquities, more stylish and vibrant in a fashion sense and with a leaning towards modern art. The harbour area has been refurbished with modern architects having been "let loose" with ideas. ;)

D?sseldorf is said to have the "longest bar" in Germany in the old town.

The district of Benrath with its baroque palace has an unusal claim to fame: it is a dividing line between German dialects - very important for linguists - called the "Benrather Linie".

Here is a short video to give you an idea of what to expect: http://www.dw.com/en/a-checklist-for-d%C3%BCsseldorf/a-36475922

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 2

A little bit North of Mannheim is the city of Worms. Most river cruisers head to Speyer or Mannheim - to get to Speyer or Heidelberg when in that section of the Rhine. However, Worms is worth considering. The town is old, very old, rivalling Trier for the title of the oldest town in Germany.

Apart from that what makes Worms stand out? It has a Dom (cathedral), just like Speyer, Mainz, Trier and Cologne. It was a centre of Jewish culture. It put its name into the history books with the Concordate of Worms - a kind of religious treaty to end a dispute between emperor and pope in the 12th century. Worms is associated very much with Martin Luther. And for those with a liking of fantasy and legend: Worms is the seat of some of the protagonists in the famous epic poem "Nibelungenlied". Hence part of the story taking place in Worms. Yes, the saga of Wagnerian operas fame! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nibelungenlied

German river cruise ships regularly stop in Worms. Dutch companies offer cruises as well. English language ones seem few and far between, but I was able to find one itinerary of CroisiEurope that includes a short stop in Worms. If you know of any others or have even been to Worms, I would be happy to read about it.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 3

You might think that the area along the Rhine with its long history is full of medieval castles and old Roman towns. While that is true it would be a mistake to think that all places are that old. Karlsruhe is the second largest town in Baden-Würrtemberg (after Stuttgart) and as a district is on the border to the neighbouring land of Rhineland-Palatinate. Founded on 17 June 1715 it is one of the few towns with an actual birth date and pretty young (!). One well-known younger town is Ludwigshafen. Two other baroque towns on the Rhine with a (different) new town street layout are Mannheim and Neuwied.

While the town itself is 7.5km away from the Rhine, its large harbour in the district is on the Rhine.

What makes Karlsruhe different? Naturally, you will not find any medieval buildings in the town, yet the once independent suburb Durlach can help you out there, that one being the old capital of the noble family. Karlsruhe has been nicknamed the fan town due to its unusual planned town layout with the streets fanning out from the focal point - the palace. The nature of the town is therefore baroque with the town well rebuilt after WWII. Some other noteworthy points can be read on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karlsruhe

With older towns in the vicinity Karlsruhe does not attract the large crowds. Very few river cruises stop there, German ships only, from what I could see.

Still, for a different view of Germany, and as a balance to all that cathedral and castle viewing, Karlsruhe deserves mentioning in my opinion.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 4

Moving further downstream, having sailed past Mannheim (underrated, mostly used for getting to the famous town on the Neckar called Heidelberg) and the confluence of the Main with the Rhine a ship could stop at Mainz or Wiesbaden as its next larger port. Admittedly, I have left out Ludwigshafen. I cannot get myself to writing about it before I have seen with my own eyes what might merrit an inclusion in my series.

As Mainz is a stop for a few international lines now I will skip it and introduce number 4: Wiesbaden (-Biebrich)!

Wiesbaden is the capital of the land Hesse and a town famous for its spa culture. With its affluence and elegant character, partly coming from the spa buildings themselves, it has not much medieval feel about it, being a potentially welcoming contrast to what lies ahead downstream - the Rhine gorge.

To be precise I have to say that Wiesbaden is not on the Rhine but on the Salzbach that flows into the Rhine within the boundaries of Wiesbaden. The suburb Biebrich lies on the Rhine and with its grand castle facing the river very much welcomes day trip tourists! Wiesbaden is an excursion on some German and Dutch river cruises.

Here are the specific respective wikipedia pages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiesbaden

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biebrich_(Wiesbaden)

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 5

A little downstream from Wiesbaden, almost opposite Rüdesheim, on the left bank of the Rhine lies the town of Bingen. Downstream from the town centre is the confluence of the Nahe with the Rhine. Bingen is an old town, with military importance in the Roman era, but an earlier Celtic settlement gave the town its name. Famous and notorious is the "Binger Loch", a rift of stone in the river that made navigation treacherous; the Romans, before any modern alterations, had even attempted to blast the rock. "The Binger Mäuseturm" is the setting for one the gruesomest tales of all the Rhine legends. Bingen is the birthplace of Hildegard von Bingen, a medieval abbess. A museum is dedicated to her.

The pilgrimage church Rochus Kapelle above Bingen is interesting, with great views of the valley. Even more picturesque - in a different way - is Burg Klopp, the castle in the hills. There is a restaurant.

You can read about some of the interesting sights here: http://www.bingen.de/en/tourism-culture

You might have guessed it, the Nahe is also an area for wine-growing. I really like this website on German wine as a whole, but here is the page for the Nahe: http://www.germanwines.de/tourism/wine-growing-regions/nahe/

Bingen acts as the Southern boundary of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Middle Rhine Valley.

It was the site (nearby Kempten to be precise) of the bridge to Rüdesheim, destroyed during WWII. The stumps are still in the river bed.

Who stops there? Phoenix Reisen with the MS Switzerland. It was apparently used as a "technical stop" for some international river cruise ships last year. The dock allows the 135m ships.

Bingen, facing the very famous, Rüdesheim on the opposite bank, will never reach "stardom", but is a great vantage point from where to stage alternative itineraries like a trip to Bad Kreuznach and its famous bridge houses. If one feels so enclined one can always reach Rüdesheim by ferry from Bingen.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 6

A little upstream, at the confluence of the river Lahn with the Rhine is Lahnstein: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahnstein

Lahnstein has recently received a new landing stage at which the AmaKristina was christened on 10 May. According to the German press release of Lahnstein town council AmaWaterways co-financed this landing stage at Oberlahnstein (Lahnstein consists of Oberlahnstein and Niederlahnstein). For those interested in technical details and logistics here is the page of the company that manages the landing stage: http://www.lahnstein.de/fileadmin/data/Dokumente/Tourismus/2016_Anlegestelle_Hotelschiffe_englisch.pdf

What is there to see in Lahnstein? You can roam a bit round the tourism pages: http://www.lahnstein.de/en/tourismus/

The town is old and merits a nice afternoon stroll, especially to see the remaining parts of the old town wall. Burg Lahneck towering over the town is open to the public: http://www.burg-lahneck.de/index.html

Its close proximity to Koblenz - about 9km by car - makes it an ideal stop for river cruise ships when Koblenz has reached its capacity for the 135m ships.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 7

Less than an hour's sailing time downstream from Koblenz is the village of Engers. It does not have town status and is a suburban district of Neuwied. This sounds a little unappealing but Engers had a long history of independence from its larger neighbour before it was "swallowed up" in an adminstrative reform. Testimony of its appeal and importance as a toll station-cum-favourable place for living on the Rhine's embankment is the electoral palace built in the late 18th century. The village does not have a website in English, but Engers Palace has, it is a chamber music educational institution with venue (grand restored hall) for public concerts, a hotel and even has a licence for civil weddings: https://schloss-engers.de/component/content/article/2-uncategorised/65-englisch.html

Standing in front of the Rhine frontage of the palace and facing the river you can see to your right the railway line bridge connecting Engers with Urmitz on the other side of the river (it is the line Cologne - Koblenz). The tragic WWII history of the Urmitz bridge (as it is generally called) is recalled by the eye witness Brigadeer General Albin Irzyk who has celebrated his 100th birthday this year. You can find the interview on youtube. The bridge was a sister bridge to the ones at Remagen and Bingen and is the only of the three to have been rebuilt after the war.

The village has retained a few medieval buildings and has quite nice embankments to walk along.

Who docks there? Until 2016 it was mainly day excursion boats as the landing stage was not equipped for the modern river cruise ships. In 2016 a company established a new dock in cooperation with Avalon. Avalon now docks there a few times a year on one of its itineraries and plans more for 2018 when a concert in the castle will become one of its offers for passengers. Other companies might follow as the dock can be rented by other cruise lines: http://www.river-dock.com/Neuwied-Engers.php (nice photo of the palace).

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 8

Next up in my series downstream from Engers would be Neuwied. The town is in the process of improving and restructuring its embankment creating a modern docking place. Due to some problems with the building contractor work was slowed down so they are behind schedule... and will have to wait till I revisit the situation at a later date.

So next is: Andernach

The small-ish town on the left bank of the Rhine is a Roman settlement with Celtic origins and has retained its medieval character with town wall remains and a nice market square. Some impressive finds have been unearthed in recent years that show the importance of the town in Roman times. Here is some info on the town: http://www.andernach.de/en/tourismus/tourismus.html Outside of town on a small island is the world's highest cold water geyser: https://www.geysir-andernach.de/?L=1

As regards location: Koblenz is at Rhine kilometre 591 and Andernach at 613.

Who stops there? Several German river cruise companies including Phoenix Reisen, Dutch companies and CroisiEurope on a few tours. Andernach is a stop for several ships chartered by UK tour operators and one company using the "Olympia" even has an itinerary starting in Andernach. Of non-European companies APT River Cruises (using the AmaWaterways fleet) stops there on its long itinerary crossing Europe, for the exclusive evening excursion at Namedy castle, which is nearby.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 9

On a recent thread the small town of St. Goar (read Sankt Goar in German) was mentioned so I am heading back upstream in my series, into the Rhine gorge. This small town has long been popular with day trippers and lies opposite the town St. Goarshausen. It was a place of pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint Goar in the Middle Ages. Here is some info: http://www.welterbe-atlas.de/rheinorte/stgoar/?L=2 Towering over the village is the Rheinfels castle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rheinfels_Castle From St. Goar it is only a ferry trip and a short drive to the Loreley rock. If you want to see it well you need to stay on the side of St. Goar of course.

As you can imagine it is quite touristy and also popular with day cruisers, at least two lines (companies) stop there regularly with excursion boats. The Goethe paddlewheeler is of course the most impressive boat. Yet, I find it not as overrun as Rüdesheim for example.

Who stops there on river cruises? Ther German lines Arosa, DCS Touristik and Phoenix Reisen offer a few cruises each with a stop in St. Goar. Of international European ones I could only find CroisiEurope on its New Year's cruise. Viking has chosen St. Goar as a stop on its fairly new itinerary Paris to the Swiss Alps. It is a convenient vantage point for the offered excursion up to the Loreley rock. Which would mean a ferry ride across or the ship letting passengers get off the ship at a short stop at St. Goarshausen.

If you have been on this itinerary or with another company to St. Goar not mentioned here it would be great to hear about your experiences.

notamermaid

I mentioned St. Goarshausen in post #259. And as I have found companies that use it as a port on river cruises the small town opposite St. Goar is eligible for being entered into my series. Here goes:

Beyond the standard ports... part 10

St. Goarshausen is a pleasant small town opposite St. Goar and right next to the Loreley rock. It is quite old but historically a kind of outpost of St. Goar (hence the similar name) and therefore younger. The wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankt_Goarshausen

Although only in German this site is interesting to look at for the appealing photos: http://sankt-goarshausen.welterbe-mittelrhein.de/startseite/

Who stops there? 1AVista Reisen and Phoenix are the German companies that have St. Goarshausen in an itinerary. Of international ones I could find charters by UK tour operators. As all companies use smaller ships than the 135m ones a restriction on ship length might be in place preventing large ships to stop there. This is something one would need to find out in a phone call with the town council most likely.

It is a pleasant place for a stroll and to watch the river traffic; for more shops and sights one can take the ferry to the other bank, i.e. St. Goar.

notamermaid

P.S.: The river level has fallen as there is no rain, but remains well above anything that could worry river cruisers (and companies).

Beyond the standard ports... part 11

Opposite the more frequented city and port of Mannheim, that being used mainly as a stop for coaching passengers to Heidelberg but increasingly for excursions into the city, lies the city of Ludwigshafen. Recent regional newspaper reports suggest that Ludwigshafen wants a piece of the cake of river cruising popularity. I admit to being completely biased, but I am sure I am not the only one to say that Ludwigshafen for such an endeavour has one big problem: image. For me the city is synonymous in my mind with the chemical works BASF. This however is not accurate as the settlement goes back a bit longer and the town that emerged as the later Ludwigshafen was there before the chemical factory was built on the outskirts of the town.

Still, Ludwigshafen has built a landing stage for river cruises; I say the city has built it but newspaper reports suggest that both the construction contract and the financial means came from the ECE company that stands behind (in legal not literal terms) behind the shopping centre "Rhein-Galerie". The landing stage will be close to the actual building of the Rhein-Galerie.

To give you an idea what Ludwigshafen is about, here is the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigshafen

So when you think of medieval castles, palaces and quaint streets, do not think of Ludwigshafen.

Who goes there? Well, I could not find out if Ludwigshafen has had a landing stage somewhere along its embankment before but no German river cruises currently have Ludwigshafen in their schedule (a few that I might not have found excepted). The construction of the new landing stage has been delayed due to the flooding we had earlier this year but is supposed to be operational from April. AmaWaterways has decided to use Ludwigshafen for a stop to put passengers on the excursions to Mannheim or Speyer or the technical museum in Speyer on the itinerary "Medieval Treasures". They might use it on other itineraries, I did not check that.

It sounds as if AmaWaterways only regards Ludwigshafen as a convenient stop for scheduling excursions which is very understandable but if you do decide to explore Ludwigshafen or even just to report on the dock I would be happy to read your info here. If you have been to Ludwighafen on an itinerary before do send us a message in this thread, too.

After all, with all its romanticism and treasured history on the Rhine we should also give the 19th century and industrial heritage a bit of a chance...

notamermaid

Wow, notamermaid. That is quite a rundown of places we may be docked or visit. Can you even begin to appreciate how grateful all of us are for your help? THANK YOU.

Could you please do me a favor? Uniworld is providing zero information other than the cover post on the “already booked” page which hasn’t changed as much as a comma in the weeks it has been posted. When one writes to them, or calls, all one receives is that same statement. Our travel agent doesn’t have any more information.

We are supposed to leave Thursday, and it looks like the rains have stopped. We are supposed to be on the River Duchess from Budapest to Amsterdam. It seems there are no other fellow cruisers on this cruise here on cruise critic.

I tried looking at the ship locator site, but I must be doing something wrong because in two weeks, the River Duchess seems to be located solely in Linz. I know you have mentioned the River Empress a few times. Would it be too much to beg for whatever you are able to see online about the travels of the River Duchess?

It would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

There are a number of ships moored in Linz waiting to start cruises from Budapest, AmaReina and AmaBella for example.

... but she is listed as arriving in Budapest on November 8th so perhaps you have a change of ship?

Mark, were you replying to my plea to notamermaid? If so, thank you.

We are supposed to board the River Duchess on November 9, spend the day of the  10th in Budapest, then head north, so arrival on the 8th sounds like what is scheduled for Uniworld’s River Duchess.

However, what is scheduled as opposed to being actually sighted by anyone on this thread reporting in (which hasn’t happened) or showing up anywhere other than in Linz on the various navigation sites....that hasn’t happened either!

So what is on the schedule may or may not matter. We have a slightly less than 2 hour layover between our flight from Seattle to Amsterdam and our flight from Amsterdam to Budapest, and last week, our friends on the same flight last week, spent 5 hours on the tarmac in Seattle before the plane departed. Their Crystal cruise was departing from Amsterdam, so waited for them. We do not have that luxury.

I called Delta, and their only advice was to immediately request a booking on a later flight to Budapest from Amsterdam. I asked about the flight’s On Time history, and was told it was a newly scheduled flight, so that information was not available....doesn’t sound good......

40 minutes ago, Begete said:

Wow, notamermaid. That is quite a rundown of places we may be docked or visit. Can you even begin to appreciate how grateful all of us are for your help? THANK YOU.

 

Could you please do me a favor? Uniworld is providing zero information other than the cover post on the “already booked” page which hasn’t changed as much as a comma in the weeks it has been posted. When one writes to them, or calls, all one receives is that same statement. Our travel agent doesn’t have any more information.

 

We are supposed to leave Thursday, and it looks like the rains have stopped. We are supposed to be on the River Duchess from Budapest to Amsterdam. It seems there are no other fellow cruisers on this cruise here on cruise critic.

 

I tried looking at the ship locator site, but I must be doing something wrong because in two weeks, the River Duchess seems to be located solely in Linz. I know you have mentioned the River Empress a few times. Would it be too much to beg for whatever you are able to see online about the travels of the River Duchess?

 

It would be very much appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you. Happy to be of service. I don't think I can find much out about the River Duchess. She has moved to Passau in back in the last two weeks, i.e. probably has not been able to get through the low stretch of the Danube, if she was supposed to that is. She is a 110m ship so it is probable she can make it to Regensburg. But first she should pick you up in Budapest, I cannot see why this should not be possible. Unless the authorities close the river in Hungary but it seems to be unlikely at the moment. I would say ask around on the thread on the Danube tomorrow and perhaps an answer will be there for you shortly. As for the Rhine, for the time being, I think a few unusual ports will be seeing more ships they have not seen in previous years.

notamermaid

26 minutes ago, Begete said:

Mark, were you replying to my plea to notamermaid? If so, thank you.

 

We are supposed to board the River Duchess on November 9, spend the day of the  10th in Budapest, then head north, so arrival on the 8th sounds like what is scheduled for Uniworld’s River Duchess.

 

However, what is scheduled as opposed to being actually sighted by anyone on this thread reporting in (which hasn’t happened) or showing up anywhere other than in Linz on the various navigation sites....that hasn’t happened either!

I wouldn't worry about the fact that she is moored in Linz right now, as notamermaid posted there are a lot of ships in odd places either waiting to start cruises or acting as hotels while a disrupted cruise ends, and they can't all hang around in the 'premium' ports as space is both limited and highly regulated, hence a bunch of them hanging out in Linz right now.

With the water levels as they are, and the rain that is predicted  she should have no problems at all heading to Budapest on schedule for you.

Hopefully your flight will be OK as well.

Thank you both. At the moment I am sick. We are all packed and ready to go if I am well enough, but did notify travel insurer and our travel agent just in case! For some crazy reason, to avail oneself of travel insurance, you must give them the notice required in your insurance documentation...not the short summary, but the whole 40+ page policy!

I really appreciate the research both of you have done on our behalf as it helps a little with the stress. We did Budapest to Passau last November and enjoyed it so much we wanted to do it again.

Thank you

Update to post #10, St. Goarshausen

I mentioned that I do not know if the 135m ships can dock at the small town. They can as the MS Asara of Phoenix has docked there. She is a new ship of 135 metre length, built in 2017.

notamermaid

Update to post #2, Worms:

2019 sees Arosa river cruises dock in Worms on several short cruises. The itinerary is called mini cruise Romance on the Rhine, is a four nights trip and several sailings are international. This means the onboard languages are then German and English.

notamermaid

i would actually stop in in Ddorf, rather than Cologne.  I have been to both (on business) and think that the downtown/old city experience in Ddorf is better.  More stores, restaurants,bars.

Cologne is nice, but its major claim to fame is the Dom.  The old city part is small and not convivial as Ddorf

Beyond the standard ports... part 12

Travelling downstream from Andernach past small villages and towns we reach Bad Breisig on the left bank. It stretches along the river at mainly kilometres 623 and 624. Bad means spa and is awarded to towns according to strict rules. Bad Breisig has a spring that qualifies it to carry the title. In recent years the spa treatment area has been updated to serve the modern era and the trend to short health replenishing stays of a day to a long weekend. The place is called Römer-Thermen.

As river cruisers are unlikely to benefit from such stays - there just is not enough time - what else could attract tourists to the place? It is not a big place, but has some interesting history and buildings that could keep you interested and occupied for an afternoon. Here is the website: http://www.bad-breisig.de/english/Tourism/Sightseeing/

The river bank is quite attractive for a stroll and it being so small, the plus is the ships dock right where you want to be to see the sights and shops. While the largest excursion boat operator on the Rhine "KD" does not stop anymore in Bad Breisig, their landing stage is used for rental for other companies. Other excursion boats stop in Bd Breisig. KD allows ships of up to 110m to dock.

So what companies stop there? The Dutch ship Rembrandt van Rijn under charter, with several German tour operators using the ship. I could not find international companies of note.

While this is not a spectacular port, one can get stranded in worse places. The town is a good base for excursions into the Eifel region with its volcanic lakes and the Ahr river valley with its good red wine. And, just in case you are wondering, Bad Breisig also has a castle, Burg Rheineck, which is in private ownership and not open to the public.

notamermaid

Beyond the standard ports... part 13

On the right bank of the Rhine, also at kilometres 623 and 624 is another spa town, Bad Hönningen.

It's thermal spas, modernized in recent years, are called Kristallpark-Thermen. They are situated right at the river bank, with a camping and caravanning park close by.

What sights could attract a river cruiser to this town? The town is small with a nice embankment and some old buildings from the Middle Ages remain. The local history museum is a small treasure trove and housed in the "Hohes Haus", it is a former defense tower with living quarters dating from 1438. This is the history of the building in German, linking this for you for the nice photos: http://www.hohes-haus.de/geschichte.htm

With an amazing setting in the vineyards above Bad Hönningen, the neo-gothic castle Schloss Arenfels is the town's landmark.

This is Bad Hönningen website, in German only: https://www.bad-hoenningen.de/

Again, KD company has a landing stage there, available for rental for ships up to 110m.

What river cruise companies stop there? I could only find the German company 1AVista Risen using the MS Poseidon.

notamermaid

Let us move on or rather look back at Wiesbaden-Biebrich. Here is an update to part #4:

Since 2017 quite a bit has happened at the small port with the magnificent palace. AvalonWaterways included Wiesbaden-Biebrich as a stop on their "Discover" itineraries in 2019 but for this year I find the port strangely absent from what I have read on their website. Frankfurt now looks to be the replacement. Admittedly, logistically it is easier to start and end a cruise in Frankfurt if one needs to serve a type of passenger who predominantly arrives by plane.

In 2018, the local authorities spoke out against plans for a new landing stage near the palace, but did not rule out building one further away in later years.

But that has not deterred other companies form stopping at the port. Tauck offers a stop with exclusive dinner in the palace on the itinerary called "Rhine Enchantment Milan to Amsterdam", or vice versa.

Emerald Waterways announced just a few weeks ago a new itinerary for 2021 called "Legendary Rhine and Moselle" that includes a stop with guided tour of Wiesbaden city.

Here is some additional info with virtual tour of the street view and Rhine in front of the palace available: https://www.wiesbaden.de/en/tourism/sightseeing/buildings/Biebrich_Palace.php#

Just in case you are wondering, the small landing stage in the photo close to the palace is not for river cruise ships, it serves the ferry. The larger docking area is close by.

notamermaid

Update to #2 Worms:

Fred Olsen Cruises has included Worms as a stop on their new Rhine itinerary on the "Brabant" for 2021.

notamermaid

update to part 3 - Karlsruhe

This year, VIVA cruises are offering an itinerary on the MS Inspire that starts and ends in Karlsruhe! The catalogue for next year only shows Karlsruhe as a brief stop on several dates, no start or end port for an itinerary.

notamermaid