Itinerary
Could someone post the itinerary of this river cruise? I was wondering how early the excursions started and time at each event, time off to do your own thing, and the amount of time in the ports. I have never done a cruise and I am trying it because I felt the land tours were too scheduled and I wasn’t able to enjoy my time in the towns. Any information would be helpful. Thank you in advance.
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Even with the river cruises, you are not going to have a lot of time to do many excursions. Go to the Tauck website and click on the cruise you are interested in. There are links to a full itinerary of each one, but it will not give exact timing.
Eight day river cruises only actually have 6 days of touring and because of that Tauck keeps you fairly busy. Reading thru your itinerary I'm only seeing bits of time here and there. The Rhine stops tend to have the ship parked far enough away from the cities that you need a coach ride. Exceptions are Amsterdam (if docked near central station), Coblenz and Koln. The rest you'll need a ride.
You can at times skip the planned tour in a city and go off on your own as long as you notify the TD and make sure to be back at the meeting point or ship on time. River cruise ships leave at the posted time.
If you call Tauck they can give you the planned timing for each day. It's just a plan not a guarantee. In general, most excursions leave the ship btwn 8:30-9am. If they say you'll be back for lunch on board that means about noon. Daily info briefing around 5, happy hour til 6, dinner 6-8. Those are just rough figures. The ship is normally cruising during dinner.
Bottom line, not much chance for independent exploring unless you add pre and/or post cruise time which I'd highly recommend for a 1 week cruise. Airline tickets cost the same whether you're in Europe 1 week or a month.
The excursions usually start at 0900 and are sometimes staggered to avoid gridlock. If there is an early opening at a particular sight, you might disembark earlier. You will typically return to the boat for lunch and then leave for another excursion. Tauck will give you some €s for lunch if you don't return to the ship.
Yes, there could be free time; it just depends on the itinerary. You are always free to wander off on your own as long as you let the tour director know and you understand where and at what time to meet up with the group. Should you be docked right next to a town, you are always free to skip the excursion and explore on your own. On the cruises we have taken, we have almost always returned to the ship in time to relax and freshen up for dinner.
There is usually some entertainment in the lounge and regional cuisine offerings and/or demonstrations. Hope this helps.