Mosel river cruise vrs Rhine and Danube in May..advice please

[horatio123]

Hello there. So we have been fortunate enough to have done the Rhine, Danube and Rhone in Europe. Have been invited to do Avalon's Mosel Luxembourg to Nuremberg beginning of 2018...

Your advice on this last one...how would the stops and scenery compare...Remich, Trier, Bernkastel, Main, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg. Not sure of the extra excursions.

I know part of the Rhine river and Rudesheim will be a repeat. Be as subjective as you want :-)

[FuelScience]

I'm a big Moselle fan. I've sailed it three times, and I think that it's the most beautiful scenery I've seen on a European river. Trier is a very interesting place--especially if you're interested in Roman history. Bernkastel is a nice wine town with beautiful half-timbered houses. The ship does not stop in Cochem, which is a common stop for Moselle cruises.

 

I'm not sure what the "Main River Village is, but Miltenberg and Wertheim are possibilities. Wurzburg has the spectacular palace and is a nice stop. Many cruise lines do a Rothenburg excursion from there, but I didn't see it on Avalon's web site. Our visit to Bamberg wasn't that great, but I blame a lot of that on a really poor guide on our walking tour. Nuremberg has a nice downtown and a lot of fascinating WWII history.

 

If you don't do the Paris and Prague pre and post extensions, this is more of a small town cruise than the Rhine, but we like that. Our very first river cruise was this route on the now-retired Viking Sky, and we loved it.

[Hydrokitty]

Everything FuelScience said.....I loved Trier and Bernkastel and as I did this trip on Vantage, we had a few other stops that may not be on your itinerary. Two that I would suggest you keep an eye out for:

Luxembourg, Baden-Baden and the Black Forest...ok that's three..but it's a wonderful river and a wonderful cruise. :D

[notamermaid]

Hello horatio123,

 

you have the three Moselle fans replying one after the other here. :D The three of us have - together with quite a few others - have shared our enthusiasm for the Moselle on this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2353480

 

The Main villages are supposed to be nice, they often have old town walls remaining and people seem to like them. Würzburg is very interesting. On the Moselle and the short Rhine stretch you have the wine, getting closer to Bavaria you are more in "beer country" but the Franconian wines might delight you, nevertheless. It sounds like an alround great cruise to me. Rüdesheim, well, I I would not need to see it twice, but you can have a short train ride out or cross the river (there is a ferry) to Bingen whre there is a museum on the famous abbess. Or just walk to the ruins of the bridge through the park in Rüdesheim (a sister bridge to the Remagen bridge).

 

I would definitely go on this cruise. May is a nice month.

 

notamermaid

[CTBob]

I am in agreement that the Moselle Valley is beautiful. We did the Viking Cities of light tour that also includes Paris before Luxembourg and Prague after Nuremberg along with most of these towns. I don't have much to add but you can find a number of photos from our trip by following the link in my signature. Under the Cruise Photos link for this cruise you can find some photos of the Moselle under the Trier link. Most of the time I was just admiring its beauty.

[notamermaid]

I mentioned May in my post, but you did not actually state a month. Sorry. The Moselle is great all year round I find, but be aware that in March and April you can have flooding. It tends to affect river cruisers more on the Rhine, though. On the Main-Danube-Canal the sundeck is mostly closed due to low bridges, but you can admire the landscape from the other seating areas of the ship.

 

notamermaid

[FuelScience]

I mentioned May in my post, but you did not actually state a month. Sorry. The Moselle is great all year round I find, but be aware that in March and April you can have flooding. It tends to affect river cruisers more on the Rhine, though. On the Main-Danube-Canal the sundeck is mostly closed due to low bridges, but you can admire the landscape from the other seating areas of the ship.

 

notamermaid

 

Hi Notamermaid! I figured that you'd weigh in on the Moselle! What you said about the sundeck being closed on the Main-Danube-Canal is true, but the newer Avalon ships have a portion of the sundeck in front of the pilot house that is lower than the main sundeck. While it won't accommodate everyone, it is an opportunity for maybe 20-30 people to sit out when the rest of the sundeck is closed.

[TravelerThom]

Yet another Mosel fan. I've done over a dozen European river cruises and the Mosel is one of the most pleasant I've done. (I did it up and down the Mosel as part of a two week Antwerp to Basel cruise.)

 

If the cruise terminates in Nuremberg from Luxembourg you will not actually be in the Main-Danube Canal, but there are quite a number of low bridges on the Main River itself.

 

Water levels can always be a problem, but this cruise does not hit the most likely problems (on the Danube above Passau and the infamous Elbe). Sounds like a great trip either just on its own or with DIY extensions.

[ural guy]

Yet another Mosel fan. I've done over a dozen European river cruises and the Mosel is one of the most pleasant I've done. (I did it up and down the Mosel as part of a two week Antwerp to Basel cruise.)

 

I

 

Traveler- Who was that with? Sounds like a perfect trip.

 

I would like our next cruise to be on the Moselle, but from what I've seen most lines just head up it for a few stops, usually on the Amsterdam to Basel run. I think Vantage's trip that includes the Moselle spends the most time there.

 

Who have you noticed that offers trips with the most time on the Moselle, I know you do a lot of research. Thanks in advance.

[TravelerThom]

Traveler- Who was that with? Sounds like a perfect trip.

I would like our next cruise to be on the Moselle, but from what I've seen most lines just head up it for a few stops, usually on the Amsterdam to Basel run. I think Vantage's trip that includes the Moselle spends the most time there...

I went with Grand Circle Cruise Line almost 10 years ago, but they are still doing a very similar trip. Both GCCL and Vantage have 14 night trips with 4 full days in the Mosel Valley. My first GCCL trip was in 2004, on a boat less than a year old - it is still their newest boat running the Rhine-Mosel-Main-Danube Rivers. These boats offer fold into the wall twin beds only (I'm 6'3" and found them comfortable), but the boats are well maintained and the staffs are top notch. I have also cruised with Vantage, Viking, UniWorld and other lines and all of them have had young enthusiastic staff, any of which I'd be happy to sail with. GCCL is maybe the only mid-priced line that still offers dedicated Program Managers that stays with your group of ~40 throughout the trip, and that IMO gives them an edge there. Every line has its pros and cons, but once on the water and actually moving through the water I'm happy to be on any of them (to be sure some lines are more luxurious, but to be honest I've never had a bad meal on any of them) - I'm there for the trip and the scenery. If you've never traveled with any of these lines I can give you a referral that will knock a little off your first cruise.

 

Thom

[ural guy]

Thom- Thanks. So far we've been with Viking and Vantage, both enjoyable. If I could mix the Viking public spaces w/ the larger Vantage rooms, that would be perfect. I was also very happy with both lines crews, and imagine Grand CIrcle's are just as nice.

 

The beds are just a dealbreaker. I believe you that they are comfortable, just not something I'd like.

 

I have looked at the Vantage one, and hopefully will be able to take it in the future. We've done Amsterdam to Budapest, and this seems like the next longest one, and through a pretty region.

[TravelerThom]

Thom- Thanks...The beds are just a dealbreaker. I believe you that they are comfortable, just not something I'd like...

In the interest of honest reporting I specifically mentioned the beds up front, as I recognize that might be an issue. GCCL on the Seine has the same issue, but their Bordeaux and Rhone boats are configured differently, as are most of their chartered boats elsewhere.

[FuelScience]

Check out Avalon's Rhine/Moselle itinerary. They're expanded their route this year, and they're going all the way to Thionville, France. Most other lines turn around in Remich, Luxembourg or Trier, Germany. Avalon skips Cochem, but they include a visit to Burg Eltz. Both of these are unique to Avalon. At Thionville, one can do an optional tour to the Maginot Line.

 

Also, all of the rooms on the top two levels are "Panorama Suites." They're 200 square feet with windows facing the window. Also this year's ship, the Artistry II is a 110 meter ship with only 64 cabins and great pubic spaces.

[FuelScience]

Forgot to mention one other thing about Avalon. For cruises into and out of Basel, they do air and transfers from the Zurich airport. That can easily save travelers from North America a flight leg since Zurich offers non-stops to a lot of big North American airports, whereas if you fly from Basel, you'll have to fly to a major European airport and get a non-stop to North America from there.

[notamermaid]

Hello UralGuy,

 

Fuelscience and I discussed the Avalon 2017 trip in the thread on the Moselle. I still believe it is the only company doing this itinerary. Please have a look at post #30 following: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2353480&page=2

 

Not even CroisiEurope goes to Thionville. But the Strasbourg-based company has a very unusual itinerary that no other company offers exactly like that (there is a German company that has a similar itinerary, though). The Rhine, the Main, the Neckar (!), the Moselle and the Saar (!): http://www.croisieurope.travel/en-gb/cruises/snx_ppsl-discover-splendor-rhine-neckar-main-moselle-and-saar-valleys Please note that this is the British website.

 

Uniworld has a longer itinerary that spends four days in the Moselle valley, I like this one as they go to castles other companies do not visit: https://www.uniworld.com/eu/river-cruise/europe/rhine/legendary-rhine-and-moselle/2017-amsterdam-to-basel/day-to-day/

 

There are a couple of tour operators in Britain that only do the Moselle, but those are chartered boats, often not luxurious, but well-established and well-liked by the British public. I am not familiar with the ships but know that they are older, so there might also be folding beds.

 

Some great options.

 

Nearly forgot: Arosa has an itinerary from Cologne that concentrates on the Moselle, 3 and a half days are on that river. It is five days in length only, probably only offered on the German-speaking market.

 

As far as I know the CroisiEurope itinerary is the only bi-lingual one on the Neckar. So far I have not found any other english options besides German and Dutch ones.

 

notamermaid

[I_r_a]

Hi Fuel,

 

Thanks for the information on Avalon's Rhine/Moselle itinerary.

 

Looks great.

 

Can you help with these questions?

 

a. NB better than SB?

b. Strbrd or Port side?

c. Spring or Autumn?

 

Thanks,

 

Ira

[FuelScience]

Hi Fuel,

Can you help with these questions?

 

a. NB better than SB?

b. Strbrd or Port side?

c. Spring or Autumn?

 

Thanks,

 

Ira

 

a. For me the questions would be 1) do I want to get to Europe early or stay late. I like to arrive a day or two early to help get over jet lag and minimize the possibility of cancelled flights messing up the cruise. So then you would need to ask where you want to spend that time--the Netherlands or Switzerland.

 

b. This really doesn't matter for us. When we're sailing and wanting to see the scenery we either sit on the sundeck or in the lounge. That way you see both sides, and for the scenic sailing on the Moselle and Rhine, you DO want to see both sides of the river.

 

c. I really can't speak to that. The Moselle seems to be pretty free of high/low water issues. For what I read on CC, problems on the Rhine tend to be upriver near Basel. It seems to be fairly common in the spring that ships will only make it to Breisach--an hour's drive or so from Basel. There may also be low water issues later in the year. The thread at the link below has almost 500 posts on 2016 Rhine water levels!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2308253&highlight=rhine+water+level

[I_r_a]

Thanx for the response, Fuel.

 

Ira

[Hydrokitty]

We did Moselle with Vantage and it was wonderful. Vantage has hotel style beds that can be set up as 1 or 2 beds per request. We sailed from Amsterdam to Basel and our return flight went from Basel to Amsterdam on KLM (which is tied with Lufthansa as my favorite airline). One thing I do not see in the Vantage itinerary, and I don't know if it's been dropped or not, is the optional day long excursion to Luxembourg and the American cemetery....it was the trip highlight for us even though it was pouring rain. We went in late August and weather was glorious.

[ural guy]

Thanks all, that's a lot of great info.

 

Arosa, that would be interesting only booking the tours you want. I liked that they list how long you are scheduled to be in port. Some late night opportunities for those who would like to have dinner off the boat.

 

Grand Circle, I like that they put in warnings that they may have to dock in alternate locations, and bus you. Good to be upfront.

 

Avalon, Great that they've extended the time on the Moselle. The Panarama suites do look great, but at a huge price jump from Aquarium. They only do the route of few times a year so you'd want to book early.

 

Vantage, they have less time on the Moselle, but the trip is 2 nights longer (14 night Vantage, 12 night Avalon). The price jump to their French Balcony from Aquarium is about half what Avalon's is.

 

Great to have choices.

[notamermaid]

Hello I_r_a,

 

just to add to FuelScience's reply in post 16: the Moselle has indeed fewer issues with low water levels as it is controlled by locks where the river cruise ships sail, i.e. throughout the distance, whereas the Rhine has some uncontrolled sections. Throughout last year I looked at the Rhine and the Moselle and when the Rhine was low, so was the Moselle, yet all problems were less in their extent on the Moselle and mostly confined to the area upstream from Trier. High water problems are of a similar scenario as on the Rhine when they occur.

 

notamermaid

[amd1234]

We have booked Rhine and Moselle Uniworld August 2017... There was a wonderful promotion so we booked and we had only a few options as far as dates. This will be our third cruise with Uniworld. We have previously cruised in June and Sept. Hopefully August won't be too warm.. We love Uniworld and the ship is older but received good reviews. We have cruised with Avalon to Paris and Normandy also a deal,and we loved it. We have cruised the Rhine and it will be a bit of a repeat of some of the towns but we are looking forward to the Moselle..

[Gourmet Gal]

Moselle is fantastic. The towns are quaint but the scenic cruising is wonderful. There is a segment that you can cycle through and pick up the boat upriver. The wines of the region are also wonderful.

[RLMSLL]

We spent three days on the Moselle with Tauck, and those days were the highlight of the trip. We are so glad that we didn't do just a Rhine voyage. We sailed in May and the weather was great! Tauck's itinerary was outstanding.