Spooks: I don't mind doing the optionals provided they interst me, the reason I asked Judy the question is because I didn't want to be stuck in an out of the way place with no way of getting access into the town if I just want to wander around.

Yes I can understand your question. I thought & I could be wrong but thought that the boats would dock just a walk away from the old town centre. i can remember the old city of Heidlberg been one block from the river. I stood there watching the boats motoring down or it may have been up the river. Some had a car on top,the Captain transport while in the larger cities.

Cheers
Spooks

On the trip that I am going on, from Vienna to Amsterdam, the docks are relatively close to the city centers so that if you do not go on an optional, you could wander around. From the first time we went on this itinerary we took an optional to Heidelberg, which took the whole day and included a bus ride. The late time we took this cruise we took an optional to Rothenberg, a city we had visited many years before...we just wanted to see it again. On this trip we'll probably not take any optionals because we have seen all the places the optionals visit.

NYJudy & Missie

The 2 boats that do the European Serenade are the Duchess and Countess. They were refurbished in 2007. The say they now include laundry facilities. I copied this out of the trip companion

Laundry
A launderette containing a self-service washing machine,
dryer and iron is available for your use (soap available for
a minimal fee at the reception). There are no dry cleaning
facilities. The ship also provides washing, drying and ironing
services for a fee. There is no self-service launderette on the
River Ambassador.

Cruise Companion

Hi Lummy,
As I said we did not go on the river cruises with TT, but another company. I couldn't comment on another company's facilities...I only spoke about the ones that I was familiar with. I will bet that the Aussies will like having laundry facilities available.

Judy ~ Thank you for the docking information.

Lummy ~ Woo Hoo about the laundry, although it would be my luck to end up on the River Ambassador. I love the look of this tour, my husband doesn't like coach tours but I nearly have him talked into a River Cruise.

Missie,

This will be our first "River Tour". We have hit all the big cities in this area of Europe. Now I am looking forward to seeing the towns along the rivers that you would not stop and see, except on a river tour. And only unpacking once, except for the pre and post stays. The only thing bad is we have to wait another 9 months.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Lummy,

quote:

Originally posted by Lummy:
Missie,

This will be our first "River Tour". We have hit all the big cities in this area of Europe. Now I am looking forward to seeing the towns along the rivers that you would not stop and see, except on a river tour. And only unpacking once, except for the pre and post stays. The only thing bad is we have to wait another 9 months.

Hi Lummy

Which river cruise are you taking?? I rather like the ones in France.

Cheers
Spooky

quote:

Originally posted by Lummy:
Missie,

This will be our first "River Tour". We have hit all the big cities in this area of Europe. Now I am looking forward to seeing the towns along the rivers that you would not stop and see, except on a river tour. And only unpacking once, except for the pre and post stays. The only thing bad is we have to wait another 9 months.

Lummy ~ You know how quickly 9 months will pass, the anticipation is half the fun, the unpacking only once does sound a dream.

Spooky Walnut,

We are going on the European Serenade. Amsterdam to Vienna. I have looked at this trip for a couple years now. We did the European Interlude a few years back and part of the trip included a short boat ride down the Rhine to see the castles on the hillsides. I can remember seeing a cruise ship passing us and thought that would be a great vacation. I also thought it would be interesting transiting through the canal to get to the Danube. We'll see.

The European Serenade is now history. We traveled on the River Countess. Our trip from Amsterdam to Vienna included 68 locks. Several of them with a 85 FT lift. The ship was very nice. Like a floating Marriott or Hilton. The crew was great. And the food presentations were fabulous. But I was somewhat disappointed in the amount of shore time allotted. When it was all said and done, I really didn't feel I saw and experienced enough of Europe. If I was a little older and not to mobile it would have been a great trip.

Welcome back Lummy, I suspect River Boat tours are not for everyone, but at least you had the experience and can now plan something different..

Can you tell me approx how much time it takes to go through each lock.

Missie,

The time to go through a lock varied with size. I never bothered to time this event, but I would say it was a good half hour - plus or minus 10 minutes depending on size. Sometimes the wait to get into the lock was just as long.

Thanks Lummy.