Ship Docking Locations

Claudia Sails

We're booked this cruise for next year and I've been reviewing the itinerary. Could someone who has taken it (or another similar cruise) give me an idea of which stops the ship is within walking distance of the sites versus those where a bus is required? The only stop we've been to is Amsterdam so I know where it docks there, but for the rest it would be nice to know what the bus time is like. In the past I've most enjoyed the cruise stops where you could come and go easily to the ship and the town without waiting for shuttles.

Thanx

Traveler48

Hi - We were on the June 2018 cruise Bud-Ams. It was one of our favorite trips. In Budapest the ship was docked within walking distance of the huge covered market. (Note: the market is closed on Sunday.) We were often docked near the town or in some cases they had regular shuttles from town center to the ship. At one stop some of the more energetic folks rode bikes led by the Tauck director from one town to the next and re-boarded at the next stop. This tour had many options for activities. You could often choose from two or three things to do which may be a better fit for your activity level. In some cases there was a slow pace, regular pace or fast pace so you could still participate based on your own energy. Some days were filled with sightseeing and others included calm lovely time of viewing old castles and wildlife from your cabin window. And there were onboard entertainments which were a nice surprise and much enjoyed. Much of the sightseeing was scheduled and organized but a good amount of free time was available for you to explore. Timing could change based on the progress of the ship or the weather. We had fantastic weather with only a few very hot days. Tauck makes their trips worth the cost and you will normally have plenty to do with what they have in store.

AlanS

What Traveler48 said. We did Blue Danube last Spring so can help with specifics for only a few stops. Be aware that docking locations will be in the same general location but can change from cruise to cruise. Check them out on Google maps in both map view and satellite view. You can often see river boats in satellite view.

Budapest: Docks near the market as Claudia said. You can walk but shuttle was more convenient. We ended our cruise here and had a hotel stay so we could walk to many places.

Bratislava: We docked within a block or so of the center of town- easy walk. No buses, they weren't needed.

Vienna: Shuttle buses required, ran on a schedule from the ship to Albertina Platz

Durnstein: Tiny town right on the river, boat docked only a few hundred yards from the center of town.

Melk/Melk Abbey: 2 mi. from the river, shuttles needed.

Passau: The Old Town is at the east end of town- boats dock right there.

Regensburg: Old Town is right on the Danube and it appears the river boats park on east end of town (5 min. walk from the Dom St. Peter). At Regensburg the Danube has 3 channels. Boats continuing upstream must take a parallel "bypass" channel (furthest north) with a lock because there is a spillway on the channel closest to town and they can't get under the historic Steinerne Brücke (old stone bridge) on that channel as well.

Claudia Sails

Thanx for the responses guys. I appreciate it.

Sounds like the Budapest docking is similar to what a friend experienced on a Danube cruise with a different cruise line. We have 2 extra nights at the Tauck hotel - the Intercontinental - which is between the market and the Chain Bridge. With any luck, we can walk to the ship instead of the usual bus transfer from the hotel. That will give us a little extra touring time. I'm interested in visiting the market (Sun isn't an issue for our tour). From what I've read it's a good place to get a reasonably priced meal of local favorites, but the other shopping is soso. Hmmm

Thanx again.

CalKat

Ditto what AlanS said about Blue Danube docking locations. I'll just add (from our Rhine & Moselle cruise in May) that the boat docks in Koln (Cologne) are right near the old part of town, in walking distance to the cathedral.

AlanS

Claudia Sails wrote:

Thanx for the responses guys. I appreciate it.

Sounds like the Budapest docking is similar to what a friend experienced on a Danube cruise with a different cruise line. We have 2 extra nights at the Tauck hotel - the Intercontinental - which is between the market and the Chain Bridge. With any luck, we can walk to the ship instead of the usual bus transfer from the hotel. That will give us a little extra touring time. I'm interested in visiting the market (Sun isn't an issue for our tour). From what I've read it's a good place to get a reasonably priced meal of local favorites, but the other shopping is soso. Hmmm

Thanx again.

While our (eastbound Blue Danube) boat docked down river near the Great Market Hall and across the river from the Gellert Spa, a number of Viking boats were docked right by the Chain Bridge in front of the Intercontinental Hotel. I guess where you dock depends on how spots are assigned and how much in advance- 1, 2, 10 years in advance, first come/first served, some sort of seniority or legacy process, a lottery, or palm greasing : ), etc. We stayed in the Ritz-Carlton which is a few blocks inland from the InterContinental near the park with the Budapest Eye, so we had already bid farewell to the ship.

The first floor of the Market is all food- individual stalls selling single and bulk fruits, vegetables, baked goods, meats, etc. There are a few small stand-up and sit-down eating establishments scattered around. The second floor is mostly small stalls selling clothing, crafts, toys, souvenirs, etc. I'll update this post this evening with some photos of the Market.

Buzz48

There is a sit down restaurant on the upper floor near the downstairs entrance that had great local food at reasonable price. We also had lunch at a restaurant just beside the market. Instead of going inside the market, go to the left and turn down the street beside the market. The restaurant is about half way down on the left side of the street. There was a REALLY tall lady dressed in Hungarian clothing in front of the restaurant. I think the name was Pipa Etterem.

Both were good and reasonably priced.

Claudia Sails

CalKat wrote:

Ditto what AlanS said about Blue Danube docking locations. I'll just add (from our Rhine & Moselle cruise in May) that the boat docks in Koln (Cologne) are right near the old part of town, in walking distance to the cathedral.

Great news. Our Rhine/Moselle didn't include Koln so we're looking forward to seeing it this go around. It's funny how they keep tweeking this particular cruise. Boppard out, Boppard in. Lucerne out, Schaffhausen in.

Claudia Sails

Buzz48 wrote:

There is a sit down restaurant on the upper floor near the downstairs entrance that had great local food at reasonable price. We also had lunch at a restaurant just beside the market. Instead of going inside the market, go to the left and turn down the street beside the market. The restaurant is about half way down on the left side of the street. There was a REALLY tall lady dressed in Hungarian clothing in front of the restaurant. I think the name was Pipa Etterem.

Both were good and reasonably priced.

Thanx for the recommendations. I found Pipa Etterem on the google map next to the market.

I'm looking forward to trying the gulas and langos in Budapest. The langos, what we call Indian Fry Bread here in NM, looks interesting. I really enjoy finding local foods that are more casual on these tours. The fancy food on the ships - especially dinner - is great but it's nice to try something that makes you feel you're somewhere else.

AlanS

The Market is a long brick building and its axis runs parallel to the river. This is the river side and Pipa Etterem is on the other side at the far end.

Claudia Sails

Nice photos as usual Alan.