Rhine River Cruise Meets Thread

You can add on a pre-night through ABD for a fee. It's usually pretty hefty.

Sayhello
We always go a few days early on our own so I know that....but for the Danube, ABD paid for the prenight stay so that everyone was at the hotel in order to be taken to the port. I was curious if the Rhine was the same way? We didn't find out about our ABD paid-for-prenight until months after booking...ABD added it. Curious if that's what they're doing now?
 
We always go a few days early on our own so I know that....but for the Danube, ABD paid for the prenight stay so that everyone was at the hotel in order to be taken to the port. I was curious if the Rhine was the same way? We didn't find out about our ABD paid-for-prenight until months after booking...ABD added it. Curious if that's what they're doing now?
Actually, they did not pay for everyone to have a free pre-night on the Danube River cruises last year. That was a special, limited-time promotion that they offered for a period of time (for ABD Insiders only) after they announced the Danube River cruises. I know people who did not get the free night last year, and it was not offered at all, as far as I know, for this year or 2018 for either location.

Sayhello

ETA: I found this on my documentation about my 2016 Danube River Cruise:

The following apply to the reservation which may not be valid when changes are made. Other restrictions may apply.
  • Adventure Insider Offer: One free pre- or post-night stay at a city center hotel in Budapest
left_divider.jpg
 
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Actually, they did not pay for everyone to have a free pre-night on the Danube River cruises last year. That was a special, limited-time promotion that they offered for a period of time (for ABD Insiders only) after they announced the Danube River cruises. I know people who did not get the free night last year, and it was not offered at all, as far as I know, for this year or 2018 for either location.

Sayhello

ETA: I found this on my documentation about my 2016 Danube River Cruise:

The following apply to the reservation which may not be valid when changes are made. Other restrictions may apply.
  • Adventure Insider Offer: One free pre- or post-night stay at a city center hotel in Budapest
left_divider.jpg
Thx for that info!!!
 
We had a wonderful time on our July 1 trip.
Here are my tips...
When you arrive onboard you are given a character name that they call to sign up for the excursions. I am not sure that it was in any order but it was long and cumbersome and needs to be improved. Not everyone got what they wanted but the guides tried hard to please everyone.
Go to the organ concert
In Rudesheim, go to the gondola early. We went around 12:30 and walked right on, but by 2pm there was a long line.
Yes, we did fish extenders which were quite easy to hang on the door number
They need to put in some nightly entertainment since the ship is small and several of the docking spots were NOT safe to walk around at night. The movies in the room were quite limited.
The housekeeping on the ship was fantastic!
The food was fine. I thought that it was better than on a Disney Cruise.
The guides were great as usual. We knew Emily from Alaska last year so it was fun to catch up.
The bike ride was nice and we climbed up the cathedral in Cologne.
Finally, instead of booking the add on day we spent 2 extra nights in Amsterdam The first day we went to the Anne Frank house, The Rik museum and the Heineken Experience. Book all of these ahead of time...The Anne Frank House and the Heineken are timed tours. The next day we booked a private all day Holland tour with Viator which was wonderful...Went to Deft pottery, The Euromast at Rotterdam and the Hague. Casper was our guide.

I would be happy to answer any questions
Karen
kkgastro@aol.com
 


We had a wonderful time on our July 1 trip.
Here are my tips...
When you arrive onboard you are given a character name that they call to sign up for the excursions. I am not sure that it was in any order but it was long and cumbersome and needs to be improved. Not everyone got what they wanted but the guides tried hard to please everyone.
Go to the organ concert
In Rudesheim, go to the gondola early. We went around 12:30 and walked right on, but by 2pm there was a long line.
Yes, we did fish extenders which were quite easy to hang on the door number
They need to put in some nightly entertainment since the ship is small and several of the docking spots were NOT safe to walk around at night. The movies in the room were quite limited.
The housekeeping on the ship was fantastic!
The food was fine. I thought that it was better than on a Disney Cruise.
The guides were great as usual. We knew Emily from Alaska last year so it was fun to catch up.
The bike ride was nice and we climbed up the cathedral in Cologne.
Finally, instead of booking the add on day we spent 2 extra nights in Amsterdam The first day we went to the Anne Frank house, The Rik museum and the Heineken Experience. Book all of these ahead of time...The Anne Frank House and the Heineken are timed tours. The next day we booked a private all day Holland tour with Viator which was wonderful...Went to Deft pottery, The Euromast at Rotterdam and the Hague. Casper was our guide.

I would be happy to answer any questions
Karen
kkgastro@aol.com

I totally agree with everything you said.

Did you have a lot of photos of your family taken by the guides? That is one thing that I found very different from the land-based trips. Other than our zip-lining day, we didn't have any family photos taken by the guides. At Heidelberg Castle I was searching for a guide to take our photo, but it seemed like the entire ship (as well as the entire ship from several other river cruise lines) was there and it was chaos. Actually this was one excursion where we stood around for what seemed like a half hour, maybe more, waiting for our guide to get our tour tickets (when they were finally secured, we were of course in a hurry to move along, so there wasn't any time to take a family photo). Now I saw families have their being photos taken by ABD guides, and I tried in vain to find one but just couldn't. This is one strong recommendation I put on the ABD survey -- the guides need to take more family pictures. That was always a strong point for me with ABD, but it was non-existent (at least for our family) on the river cruise.
 
We had a wonderful time on our July 1 trip.
Here are my tips...
When you arrive onboard you are given a character name that they call to sign up for the excursions. I am not sure that it was in any order but it was long and cumbersome and needs to be improved. Not everyone got what they wanted but the guides tried hard to please everyone.
Go to the organ concert
In Rudesheim, go to the gondola early. We went around 12:30 and walked right on, but by 2pm there was a long line.
Yes, we did fish extenders which were quite easy to hang on the door number
They need to put in some nightly entertainment since the ship is small and several of the docking spots were NOT safe to walk around at night. The movies in the room were quite limited.
The housekeeping on the ship was fantastic!
The food was fine. I thought that it was better than on a Disney Cruise.
The guides were great as usual. We knew Emily from Alaska last year so it was fun to catch up.
The bike ride was nice and we climbed up the cathedral in Cologne.
Finally, instead of booking the add on day we spent 2 extra nights in Amsterdam The first day we went to the Anne Frank house, The Rik museum and the Heineken Experience. Book all of these ahead of time...The Anne Frank House and the Heineken are timed tours. The next day we booked a private all day Holland tour with Viator which was wonderful...Went to Deft pottery, The Euromast at Rotterdam and the Hague. Casper was our guide.

I would be happy to answer any questions
Karen
kkgastro@aol.com


I am doing something similar in Amsterdam- 2 post nights on own. Planning on Anne Frank House. Still looking into other options. How was the Rik?
 


I am doing something similar in Amsterdam- 2 post nights on own. Planning on Anne Frank House. Still looking into other options. How was the Rik?

If you're a foodie or just like to eat :) I recommend Eating Amsterdam food tours. We did the Jordaan Food and Canals tour. Our guide was very good and had a lot of knowledge about local history and culture and he is also a chef. Lots of awesome food - enough for a meal or more.
 
If you're a foodie or just like to eat :) I recommend Eating Amsterdam food tours. We did the Jordaan Food and Canals tour. Our guide was very good and had a lot of knowledge about local history and culture and he is also a chef. Lots of awesome food - enough for a meal or more.
I love your idea and I am a foodie. I've been the eating Italy tour in Rome it was amazing. Unfortunately the dates are in Amsterdam are only on the October 28 and 31st and I fly out on the 30th. The boat does disembark on the 28th but the tours that day right 10:30 AM and 11 AM and there are none on the 29th. I guess theoretically I could do it on the 28th but it depends what time we get off the ship. Any insight?

I'll look around for other food and canal tours as it sounds pretty good unless you feel the Canal cruise on the ABD covers that pretty well.
 
I'll be interested to hear how the next few cruises go with the excursions. Will help me decide if I should book van Gogh and Anne Frank museums on my post days to ensure I get in.
 
I love your idea and I am a foodie. I've been the eating Italy tour in Rome it was amazing. Unfortunately the dates are in Amsterdam are only on the October 28 and 31st and I fly out on the 30th. The boat does disembark on the 28th but the tours that day right 10:30 AM and 11 AM and there are none on the 29th. I guess theoretically I could do it on the 28th but it depends what time we get off the ship. Any insight?

I'll look around for other food and canal tours as it sounds pretty good unless you feel the Canal cruise on the ABD covers that pretty well.

Our cruise was with Uniworld, so I don't know about the ABD canal cruise. We departed from Amsterdam and did 3 pre-days on our own. I would imagine both cruises would cover a lot of the same area, so a walking-only tour might be a better choice for you. The food/drink on the cruise part of the food tour was great though. I've been on two riverboat cruises and in both cases we were docked very early in the morning on the last day of the cruise (or maybe during the night because I think we were already there when I woke up) and could leave the boat at any time. The ABD website says you must check out of your stateroom by 9:00, so sounds like it will be the same. You would have time to get from the dock to the Cafe Papeneiland where the tours starts, but I assume you need to check in at your hotel and drop off your bags first, so depends on where your hotel is located. I'm sure there are some other companies, as well, that might offer different times.
 
Hi! I just got back from the 7/15 Rhine cruise with my husband and 2 boys 9 & 13. We had an amazing time! We are exhausted.....but reflecting now...it was a wonderful trip and I'm sad to be home. We started our trip in Grindewald Switzerland with four nights and ended with an extra two in Amsterdam. I too was concerned about the excursions...but it seemed like everyone was accommodated in one way or another. I did meet one family who did not get all of their first choices... but when it came down to it....they seemed to get space in everything they wanted...so it worked out in the end. Having said that...I CANNOT SAY ENOUGH GOOD THINGS ABOUT THE ADVENTURE GUIDES!!!!!!!!!!!! They worked morning and night to make sure that everyone was happy..... I don't know how they do it....but they are AMAZING!!!!! They gave 150% of themselves everyday.....I only wish that they had more time to spend with us because they made the trip! They were alll great...We spent a great deal of time with Betti, Daniel, Veronica and Byron & Emily ....who I miss greatly.

From my perspective..... I would completely recommend this trip! Do not be afraid because of the excursion feedback from past sailings...I get the impression that with every trip improvements are made....our trip was perfect! They did take out some things that were originally on the itinerary...but they were changes for the good. I will work on a trip report that details our adventure in the next few days. I hope this helps...feel free to ask any specific questions.

lola1972, Today at 9:22 AMEditReport
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Has anyone done the ABD pre-nights in Basel? From what I understand they are hotel only. What activities did you do? I have a lonely planet and have been doing some research but would appreciate people that have been in the area sharing insights. Thanks
 
Has anyone done the ABD pre-nights in Basel? From what I understand they are hotel only. What activities did you do? I have a lonely planet and have been doing some research but would appreciate people that have been in the area sharing insights. Thanks

We were on the inaugural cruise in April. We spent 3 night in Basel on our own. Family of 4 so going with ABD pre-nights was more than what we wanted to spend so we found alternate accommodations which were great. Most hotels in Basel offer free public transportation passes which is lovely since Switzerland is very expensive. Quite easy to get around with the use of a transit map. We did a day trip to Lucerne by train. The next day we spent touring the historical area of Basel on color-coded walking tours and made a visit to the Teddy Bear Museum. No photos allowed in the museum but it was well worth the visit as there are a lot of bears and a huge collection of doll houses. They had a set of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs which was pretty cool to see.
 
I totally agree with everything you said.

Did you have a lot of photos of your family taken by the guides? That is one thing that I found very different from the land-based trips. Other than our zip-lining day, we didn't have any family photos taken by the guides. At Heidelberg Castle I was searching for a guide to take our photo, but it seemed like the entire ship (as well as the entire ship from several other river cruise lines) was there and it was chaos. Actually this was one excursion where we stood around for what seemed like a half hour, maybe more, waiting for our guide to get our tour tickets (when they were finally secured, we were of course in a hurry to move along, so there wasn't any time to take a family photo). Now I saw families have their being photos taken by ABD guides, and I tried in vain to find one but just couldn't. This is one strong recommendation I put on the ABD survey -- the guides need to take more family pictures. That was always a strong point for me with ABD, but it was non-existent (at least for our family) on the river cruise.

That's interesting. Our guides were constantly taking pictures on the Danube River cruise. There were 3 GB of pictures posted online after we got home.
 
Has anyone done the ABD pre-nights in Basel? From what I understand they are hotel only. What activities did you do? I have a lonely planet and have been doing some research but would appreciate people that have been in the area sharing insights. Thanks
We are staying ABD pre-night in Basel. Does anyone know what time the next day does Disney pick us up at our hotel to bring us to the boat? Also, does anyone know if there is a Disney Representative at the hotel (Radisson Blu Basel) or will the hotel staff be able to give us that info.
 
We are staying ABD pre-night in Basel. Does anyone know what time the next day does Disney pick us up at our hotel to bring us to the boat? Also, does anyone know if there is a Disney Representative at the hotel (Radisson Blu Basel) or will the hotel staff be able to give us that info.
When I did the pre-day for the Danube River cruise, there was no ABD representative there for the pre-day, but when I checked in, the Reception staff had a letter for me from ABD that explained how everything was going to work the next day (times, where, what, etc.) Some of the Adventure Guides were there at the hotel the next morning (which was in the letter).

Sayhello
 
Hello - My family had two cabins on the July 29th Rhine River ABD Sailing. This is our 7th ABD and we are Platinum level on DCL. (18 cruises). The River Boat adventure is different from DCL and different from ABD, but we LOVED it. I believe if you have expecations that it will be like the large cruise ship or you have expectations that it will be intimate like a land based ABD, you will be dissapointed. If you go into it with an open mind it is an amazing vacation and the Disney difference is evident throughout. I thought we wouldn't get to know the guides like we have on previous much smaller land based ABD adventures, but I must say we had wonderful moments with each and every one of the seven guides. I knew Mikall and Betti from previous adventures so I thought we would just hang out with them the whole time - but there were plenty of opportunities to get to know Emily and Veroninka and Byron and Alex and Daniel. They could not have been more accomodating. I would be thrilled to travel again with ANY of them. All seven are pros. The ship was gorgeous and it was evident it was brand new - sparkling clean. The food was fantastic and the ship crew was responsive and fun - they were so thrilled to have a crowd under age 85 to serve! It was so easy to get on and off the ship and the excursions were all fairly close to the ship. We had some fantastic opportunities - canoeing through a lock was so cool - making our own chocolate bar at Lindt - baking macaroons in France - easy access to the Anne Frank House, etc. Like all ABD trips we fit SO MUCH into each day. I've read that some folks thought there wasn't enough nighttime entertainment but we enjoyed hanging out with other guest and laughing and cocktailing. Also - there are many early mornings so an early bedtime kept us energetic. My daughter is 13 and LOVED the Teen table for dinners - and the teen game show was a huge highlight for her. The only negative we had on this trip was our visit to the Van Gough Museum in the afternoon on the last day. ABD arranges for you to actually paint after touring the museum (so cool) but the instructor took the paint brush out of my daughter's hand twice and painted on her canvas and then raised her voice at her and made her cry. Just a passionate Dutch woman a little out of control - and certainly not the fault of the Disney team. Overall I highly recommend this trip - Riverboating is AWESOME and there is no other way to do it than with Disney. If anyone has specific questions I am more than happy to share our experience. We did book the prenight in Basel and did the post trip in Amsterdam too.
 
Has anyone done the ABD pre-nights in Basel? From what I understand they are hotel only. What activities did you do? I have a lonely planet and have been doing some research but would appreciate people that have been in the area sharing insights. Thanks

We did the pre-night in Basel. The hotel pool was so nice (indoor) for trying to stay awake - it's refreshing. We walked to the Market Halle - an awesome international Food Hall for dinner or lunch about two blocks from the hotel. Also, the Marketplatz in the middle of town is very close as well and is surrounded by stores and restaruants. There is a farmers market there on weekends. We also toured the Pharmacy Museum (my sister in law is a Pharmacist) that is one block off the Marketplatz - it was surprsingly interesting and well done. ;)
 
We did the pre-night in Basel. The hotel pool was so nice (indoor) for trying to stay awake - it's refreshing. We walked to the Market Halle - an awesome international Food Hall for dinner or lunch about two blocks from the hotel. Also, the Marketplatz in the middle of town is very close as well and is surrounded by stores and restaruants. There is a farmers market there on weekends. We also toured the Pharmacy Museum (my sister in law is a Pharmacist) that is one block off the Marketplatz - it was surprsingly interesting and well done. ;)


thanks for the advice. i was thinking of the teddy bear museum or the the roman ruins outside of town and just wandering thru the downtown/middle of town. Did you have issues making your choices of tours on the river cruise portion. Several posters have commented on that.
 

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