Best World War II itinerary

[SOShrink]

My son is now old enough to take a cruise with me and he happens to be a WWII enthusiast. I am trying to pick the best cruise for this. So far, the Elegant Elbe trip seems to be the best what with Berlin, Potsdam and the like, but it does not include Nurnberg. I was wondering what others think about this.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The Elbe is a shallow river, so the boats are different from those on most of the European river cruises and even so they sometimes can't sail. The other itinerary with WWII sites is Paris to Normandy. As an example, here is the AMA description of their day in Normandy:

Today, you have the choice of three different excursions. “D-Day Remembered” is a full day excursion to the US sector. Your first stop will be the village of Arromanches, where the remains of the floating harbor used during the WWII landings can be seen. You will have free time to see the museums and have lunch on your own before visiting the US Cemetery and Omaha Beach at St. Laurent-sur-Mer. Your last stop is the Ranger Monument at Pointe du Hoc before returning to the ship in Rouen.

These cruises usually start and end in Paris, which should be interesting in its own right.

[franski]

Hi - I think you have to visit Nuremberg. My husband is very interested in WWII history.... so much so that we made a 2nd trip to Nuremberg (cruised Budapest to Nuremberg twice ....) - extended there - and hired a guide for the day. We spent a part day in the Documentation Centre - and could have spent longer there. We did get into the **** Art Bunker - and found it interesting. We did see the parade grounds/Zeppelin field on the ship's excursion.

 

We have done the beaches in Normandy - and we were very moved by the experience - but that is really the only stop that has any significant WWII history. Lots of art history on that itinerary - and there is history regarding Joan of Arc in Rouen - but IMHO you would be better on the Danube.

 

We are doing the Elbe in May - so can better offer an opinion on that itinerary after we return.

 

Fran

Edited February 8, 2015 by franski

[CPT Trips]

Romance of the Rhein and Mosel gets you to Nijmagan and Arnheim (area of Operation Market Garden), Bonn (an easy trip to Remagen), Luxembourg (Battle of the Bulge and cemeteries), Speyer (home to a technical museum housing WWII planes and vehicles, among other things) and Strasbourg (Colmar Pocket as well as a lost opportunity to cross the Rhein).

 

Most of this requires DIY advance research.

 

ETA - this is a Grand Circle trip.

Edited February 8, 2015 by CPT Trips

[caviargal]

I have a keen interest in WWII. For me, Berlin is tops. We are going for the 6th time in November, prior to our AMA cruise. If this is the primary interest, I suggest a land trip by train.

[ewizabeff]

If you were to do one of the Danube cruise/land tours that includes Munich and Prague (with Nuremburg along the way), you could get exposed to a lot of WWII history. My travels to learn about WWII have been focused on the German/Czech region—I imagine the French itinerary would be interesting in a very different way.

[SOShrink]

Thank you all, for such good advice! Obviously, it's going to take more than one cruise...Franski, as you know, I have been on your Elbe trip. If your husband is interested in WWII, try to go on one of the Third Reich or Sachsenhausen tours and visit the site of the infamous Spandau Prison in western Berlin. On the way to the ship docked in Magdeburg, you visit Potsdam with the magnificent Palaces and Gardens including Cecilienhof where the actual Potsdam Conference took place in 1945. But the quintessential metaphor for the war was seeing Dresden,which was destroyed in one night in 1945, completely reconstructed in all its magnificence. You would be lucky if you approach by night to see the bridges, opera house, churches and palaces lit up, evoking mixed emotions about its destruction and admiration for what it is today.

[CPT Trips]

Also, some Elbe cruises make a stop in Torgau, site of US and Soviet troops meeting.

[SOShrink]

Some of you mentioned a Danube itinerary and that brings to mind Budapest with its House of Terror and its chilling Shoes on the Danube Promenade. I bet that with a lot of creativity, one could come up with pre and post cruise options that could spell out a good World War Two historical trip...