Does Crystal provide transport to Munich airport from Vilshofen?

[J80crew]

We are on Ravel in early September from Budapest to Vilshofen. Because we disembark on Sunday, there are no car rentals available. I have heard that Crystal provides transfers to the Munich airport, but don’t find any information on the website or in our documents to confirm this. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with end-of-cruise transfers on Crystal. Thanks. 

[dogs4fun]

Transfers were included on our river cruise (embarkation and disembarkation days only) - don't know if this has changed though. You might contact Crystal Customer Care for up-to-date information on their transfer options: 1-866-446-6625

BTW - there is train service from Vilshofen to Munich (journey time a little under 2 hours) - the train takes you from Vilshofen to Munich's  Airport (MUC) terminal. Trains run about once an hour. If interested, you can check-out the journeys online at the DB site here:

https://www.bahn.com/en/view/index.shtml

Choose Vilshofen(Niederbay) as your starting station and München Flughafen Terminal as your ending station.

We like taking the trains as we usually arrive days to weeks before our cruise and depart weeks after our cruise has ended - the cruise transfers don't work for us. 

[Coral]

I probably would call. I thought Crystal would do a transfer from Basel to Zurich but they did not. Though other companies didn't provide that either.

[gnome12]

3 hours ago, Coral said:

I probably would call. I thought Crystal would do a transfer from Basel to Zurich but they did not. Though other companies didn't provide that either.

I think it is a little different. Basel has an airport, to which I’m sure that Crystal would have provided transportation. The closest airports to Vilshofen are Linz and Salzburg but they aren’t in the same category as Munich. 

[Coral]

52 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I think it is a little different. Basel has an airport, to which I’m sure that Crystal would have provided transportation. The closest airports to Vilshofen are Linz and Salzburg but they aren’t in the same category as Munich. 

You are probably correct. Crystal did provide air to Basel. I didn't realize how large Basel's airport was. My FF miles did not like Basel 😞

Edited June 13, 2021 by Coral

[scottjeanne]

17 hours ago, Coral said:

I probably would call. I thought Crystal would do a transfer from Basel to Zurich but they did not. Though other companies didn't provide that either.

Scenic does provide a transfer from Basel to Zurich.  In fact the cruise is described as Amsterdam to Zurich.

[Coral]

1 hour ago, scottjeanne said:

Scenic does provide a transfer from Basel to Zurich.  In fact the cruise is described as Amsterdam to Zurich.

Crystal only would if you booked their hotel. This was 2-3 years ago. I don't know if it has changed. It is not advertised as "Zurich" though.

[J80crew]

Thanks for your responses. I’ll check with Crystal and if necessary, I’ll pursue other options, including the train.  

[loriva]

20 hours ago, J80crew said:

Thanks for your responses. I’ll check with Crystal and if necessary, I’ll pursue other options, including the train.  

 

Please post what Crystal says, J80crew.  We are on that same itinerary only later.  We planned to spend a few days in Munich after the cruise and it would be good to know options.

 

Thanks,

[Coral]

I agree - I would like to know also.

[J80crew]

Waiting to hear back from Crystal, and will post when I know more. 

[J80crew]

I spoke to Crystal’s Customer Care and learned that they will provide complimentary transfer from debarkation in Vilshofen to the Munich airport. We are not flying out that day, but will rent a car at the airport to explore some of Bavaria from our hotel in Munich. Hope this helps, Loriva and Coral. 

[Coral]

11 minutes ago, J80crew said:

I spoke to Crystal’s Customer Care and learned that they will provide complimentary transfer from debarkation in Vilshofen to the Munich airport. We are not flying out that day, but will rent a car at the airport to explore some of Bavaria from our hotel in Munich. Hope this helps, Loriva and Coral. 

Great. Thanks!

[loriva]

On 6/18/2021 at 1:46 PM, J80crew said:

I spoke to Crystal’s Customer Care and learned that they will provide complimentary transfer from debarkation in Vilshofen to the Munich airport. We are not flying out that day, but will rent a car at the airport to explore some of Bavaria from our hotel in Munich. Hope this helps, Loriva and Coral. 

 

Excellent news!  We are also remaining in Munich for a few days.  Will need to decide if we want to take Crystal's shuttle to the airport and then onto Munich city center or the train from Vilshofen directly into Munich.  Let's hope this itinerary goes--Crystal has cancelled all its Bach and Mahler sailings for 2021--and we have this to worry about!

 

Take care,

[dogs4fun]

On 6/18/2021 at 11:46 AM, J80crew said:

I spoke to Crystal’s Customer Care and learned that they will provide complimentary transfer from debarkation in Vilshofen to the Munich airport. We are not flying out that day, but will rent a car at the airport to explore some of Bavaria from our hotel in Munich. 

I don't know at which Munich hotel you are staying but ...

Parking in Munich is a hassle and most hotels do not provide free parking - I would advise against renting a car at MUC airport & then driving to your hotel in Munich. If you do plan on renting at the airport, check to see if your hotel provides free parking.

Another option ...

Rent/pick-up at Munich's train station:

When visiting Munich, we pick-up our rental car at München Hauptbahnhof only after we are finished with our visit in Munich.

We take the the S-Bahn (suburban train) directly from the airport to München Hauptbahnhof (Munich's main train station) as it is quick, efficient and inexpensive - we usually purchase a day ticket which allows us to use the trains (both S-Bahn and U-Bahn, trams) to get around in the city for the entire day (you can purchase just the ride into the city though). The train station is easy to find between terminal 1 & 2 (area Z on airport map), trains run approximately every 5-10 minutes, both lines (S1 and S2) will take you to the city (one travels clockwise and the other travels counter clockwise).

After you are finished exploring Munich (best done utilizing Munich's excellent public transportation), you can easily return to the train station and pick-up your car rental there.

 

Edited June 20, 2021 by dogs4fun

[J80crew]

Dogs4fun, thank you for the advice. We’ll check with our hotel and change our plans if necessary. Mostly we want the car to go to Landshut, where I lived for a year in the late 1950s. I know the army base is long gone, and I expect not to recognize a thing, but want to check it out since we’ll be so close. It may be that the train is a better option. 

[CUTTERSAM]

On 6/12/2021 at 9:35 PM, J80crew said:

We are on Ravel in early September from Budapest to Vilshofen. Because we disembark on Sunday, there are no car rentals available. I have heard that Crystal provides transfers to the Munich airport, but don’t find any information on the website or in our documents to confirm this. Would appreciate hearing from anyone who has had experience with end-of-cruise transfers on Crystal. Thanks. 

I took the train to Munich airport however it was not direct, needed to change to bus along the way.  I think I would do it differently now, a few years older, I just want to be directed to the coach.