Rhein River cruise daily itinerary questions

I know you said you have had emails from the company, but it sounds like they were general.

If you have a specific question that needs answering (and you do) I'd be asking the company. Do they have a guest relations number?

Mitch, we did Viking, not AMA. Most of the cruising was done at night so that you were already docked in the AM. It takes some time to get the people organized into groups and buses for the various tour options, so departure times were spread out. but after breakfast. We were not required to take the excursions, so an independent person could get off and do their own thing. Just be aware that docks may not be in the center of town, but rather out in an industrial zone or not in a reasonable distance, and your local transportation is up to you. With Viking, the included excursions were in the morning, timed to bring you back in time for lunch. Then the afternoon excursions were the optional ones, timed to bring you back for dinner.

Sometimes the ship would move during the day to another dock. So you have to arrange your own transport and yes, coordinate return on time. We had a couple that was left behind in one port. The ships dont wait because they are charged for dock time. It will all be made pretty clear when your on the ship.

I second @Stan advice. We took a Viking cruise on the Rhine last October. If I remember correctly, we docked near the Speyer Cathedral close enough to walk to. However, once we left that area we had to board a bus to get to our ship since it had moved. We also had a couple miss the bus back and it cost them 140 euros to catch up to our ship. Mind you, they met the ship at a small dock and our ship slowed down just long enough for them to jump on. Contact AMA directly to get the answer you seek. Enjoy!

Thanks all for the advice, especially about not missing the boat!

Great advice as always on this forum. My wife and I did a Viking Danube cruise the summer before Covid. We booked an optional tour to Nuremberg on the first afternoon that called for a bus to drive us back to the ship that had already left port for its next destination. About an hour into the trip, we hit a construction zone at a highway overpass that prevented the bus from continuing. The driver turned around, retraced the route almost back to our starting point and then drove another hour and change to get us to the cruiser. We were met by the ship captain and staff with cool drinks, warm towels, and apologies. The captain couldn't hide the fact that he was a bit annoyed that he had to stop the ship so the bus could actually catch up. So, what's my point? We never knew there was an issue really. We weren't stranded in Nuremberg nor did we miss a meal or were inconvenienced in any way.

The staff had everything under control. From what I have read about regarding other unplanned itinerary snafus, river cruise companies know how to deal with issues that may arise. You can rest assured that planned itineraries will be well-organized to the point where you don't have to know much of anything ahead of time. Groups are often organized just off the gangplank with busses and tour guides within steps of the ship. In town, you have guided tours, often with some time allowed to explore on your own. My wife and I walked Regensburg af ter the tour and Nuremburg's Old Town that first morning to judge their wursts - apparently they are quite competitive about their sausages (Nuremburg wins). We also shopped in Salzburg and Vienna after their tours and had an afternoon coffee in each and shared a strudel in Vienna.

If you can have questions about the details of your time on your cruise, you certainly can contact Ama reps who might be able to provide the info you want (I tried this ahead of the Viking cruise and found that the rep pretty much repeated what was on the website). If the reps don't have what you want to know, once settled on your ship, walk to the concierge desk and talk with them. They will bend over backward to help you, ease any worries, and make your trip enjoyable. They should be able to give all the details that you want with enough time to let your friend in Speyer know if you will be able to meet for Mittagessen and walk around the town. Let us know how your trip goes when you get back!

We did a Uniworld Rhine cruise in 2015. The included excursions were also in the morning with most afternoons free with the option to do additional paid excursion or just do your own thing.

Our boat stayed at the same dock in Speyer (very close to the Technik airplane museum) all day. We had woken up in Speyer having travelled from Strasbourg overnight. We had a guided city walk of Speyer in the morning, lunch on board then an optional excursion to Heidelberg in the afternoon to the castle and a Christmas market. We stayed in Speyer and went to the airplane museum. Our boat left Speyer sometime during dinner (around 7:30pm).

In other places the boat would dock for us to get off, then disappear somewhere and reappear later in the day for us to reboard. Due to the river level being so low not all docks were in use, so although we could get off in Cologne we then had to get on a bus at the end of the day and reboard in Düsseldorf.

We had a morning briefing every day after breakfast from the activities director who clearly advised all the relevant times for the day for excursions and being back on board. Everything was also posted on a noticeboard in the main lobby of the boat. On every bus excursion we went on we had a guide who clearly explained the meeting place and meeting time. No one got left behind at any port.

Thanks for the tips!