There is no time like December to visit Germany for rich traditions. The markets are all unique and the people are friendly. This cruise was a combo of five days on ship, two in Prague. The ship days brought us stops at nice places and the Main and Main/Danube Canal are smooth sailing. The captain was very present and friendly. All staff did what they could to give us a great experience. It's a chilly time of year, so remember warm head and hand coverings.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The crew was lightning fast with my check in, zero wait. Sailors met me at my taxi drop off to take my luggage, even though my taxi didn't drop us off near the dock.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food was good, the portions were large. I would have liked to have the food more tailored to where we were sailing and including more Christmastime favorites for the area. There were always Christmas cookies out, but they didn't differ by region and didn't represent some of the common German favorites. There also wasn't a lot of guidance on the meals. For instance, at breakfast. There was always a chef specialty, but it was kind of hidden. The head chef made custom omelets and did it very well. The breakfast never varied in the five days I was on the ship. Lunch was a buffet, to my knowledge, but that wasn't really clear. I sat at the table for a while before realizing I just needed to get up. Again, everything tasted good, just not that over the top experience I often have on river cruises with other lines.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
This isn't a cruise for people that want onboard experiences. However, the presentations they had on Christmas baking, Christmas traditions, etc. were very nice. The evening performer they brought on board was very good. River cruising isn't really designed to for onboard activities as much as ocean. That's one of the reasons I like it. Super laid back,
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
I wish I could break this out, so I'll do it in my comments. The room stewards were outstanding. You couldn't leave your room without it being properly attended to. Five Stars!
The wait staff seemed a little confused with any special requests and sometimes forgot to bring things. They were always cordial and very accommodating. They were a little slow for the very small group we had on board. Four Stars
Beverage staff was OK. In the lounge, there were only usually three at max, however, there were only about 90 of us onboard. Four Stars
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This is a split level ship so you're always going up or down a 1/2 flight for dinner, to disembark or for the upper lounge. That's fine. I liked the 1/2 flight concept. It was always sparkling and I never saw a thing out of place. The common areas were all spotless and beautiful.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
This is an interesting set up because most ships have the beds parallel to the window. Here, the bed looks out the window. I kind of liked that, though it made me more careful to close my drapes. The bathroom was really quite spacious which I have never said about a bathroom on any ship before. The only kind of odd thing is there are no deep drawers. I often rely on those for my smaller items like socks and underwear. I just had to put those on a shelf.
Ship tip
The Sapphire deck is a lovely deck and I don't see a big need to be higher. I always try to sit with different people, but with the same wait staff and that works to establish rapport. I sailed alone and loved that they offered a sailing without a single supplement. If you do that, remember it doesn't change what your cabin steward does that much and you should probably tip a little more.
The stop was at Wertheim. It was a nice stop and the Christmas Market was fine. It's not a glitzy stop. I would like to have a guide that takes us into sites instead of just describing them and that would be one thing about each stop. Don't tell me about a really awesome church, take me in and show it to me.
We did the included excursion. It was weird to be taken to the incredible Residenz Palace and not be given a guided tour. The guide did a limited explanation of the receiving hall and grand dome with its incredible fresco. However, the last time I was there, my guide really emphasized how the palace was recovered after the war with one of the Monuments Men and how the fresco survived when so much else didn't. I think she could have done a much more expansive tour and people would have been impressed. Then, we went into town and it was more of the "here it is, have at it". I would have liked to be taken to the cathedral and had it explained and then special things about the Christmas Market.
The five stars go to Horst, our guide. He does an exemplary job explaining why Bamberg is really an incredible place. The only site a pope is buried north of the Alps. The horseman in the cathedral, the incredible city buidling, the story of nativity scenes. Bravo. Now, this is colored by the fact that I was able to get into the cathedral the last time I was there and this time I wasn't. There was a huge reception for the retiring archbishop. However, Horst stuck with us and took us all around and then downtown to the market.
Nuremberg is an incedible place. Avalon's treatment of the city gets three stars. First, our tour guide should have discussed the areas we drove by in more detail, particularly knowing we were all not from Europe. The world doesn't know Nuremberg for its Christmas Market, we know it for the role it played as a Nazi stronghold. Even a general, city tour should highlight Nazi sites as a drive by. Then our tour guide, Gabi, left us off the bus at the castle, without a word about it, and offered a photo stop. The people in our group that got the most out of it were the ones that tagged along with another group from our ship where their tour guide took them to the best place for pictures and explained things a little. Finally, she left us at St. Lawrence church without a word of explanation until I asked questions. I felt abandoned. She should have taken us in to talk about the inside of the church, explained the outside, talked about the flip between Catholic and Protestant and what that means today. It could have been so much more interesting.
OK. Prague was cold. However, the city was fabulous. We started with the bites and sites tour and our guide did a great job. It was cold, but it was fun. Those of us on the tour loved it. Same with the optional folk night. It was a lot of food, fun and better than other similar evenings I've had at other ports. The day tour was also good. Vaclav, our guide, did a great job pointing out things and leading us through the castle, while keeping us as warm as possible.
Thank you for a very detailed review. I think the lesson here is to do your own research about each stop in case the tour guide is mediocre. It’s a useful travel plan in general
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