RHINE RIVER CRUISE

06/29/24 - 07/13/24

DAY 1

Day 1 - Our Rhine River Cruise trip is here! After a slightly delayed direct flight from Boston to Zürich, we made it overnight to Switzerland. A quick passport control and we were on our way. We took a train directly from the airport to the Schweizerhof Hotel, conveniently located in the heart of the city. In our room, there was a beautiful birthday surprise for Karen including a card and a fun dessert. After a quick break, we headed to the FIFA museum and then walked along the Zürich waterfront. The FIFA museum was a nice low-key way of beating the overnight flight jet lag. It contained an on your own walk-through of the history of European Football (Soccer), including many tournament trophies, uniforms, and interactive exhibits. After the museum and a bite at their café, we walked through a Swiss festival for our first souvenirs and Swiss treats!

DAY 2

Day 2 - After a hearty Swiss breakfast, it was time to explore Zürich. We headed to the Swiss National Museum! Quick travel tip, many museums in Switzerland are closed on Mondays. ...and it was Monday. So a quick pivot and we headed to the nearby Grossmunster Church, a 12th-century cathedral, where the Mikes climbed up to the top of its spire for a dramatic view of Zürich! After touring the church, we headed to Lake Zürich for a 90-minute boat tour. We sat atop the boat, ordered lunch and wine, and enjoyed amazing views of the little towns around the lake. Once off the ship, we strolled through Zürich's botanical gardens affiliated with the University of Zürich. For dinner, we met good friends who live in Switzerland for an authentic Swiss meal filled with great food, beer, and laughs! We completed the night with a stop by the famous Sprüngli desserts. So good!

DAY 3

DAY 4

Day 4 - After touring much of Basel yesterday, we decided last minute to take a quick day trip to Lucerne. Lucerne is a beautiful lake side city about an hour train ride from Basel. After our train ride, we checked out many of the cathedrals and covered bridges Lucerne houses. In addition, a main attraction in Lucerne is the Lion Monument, a carved sculpture of a wounded lion in the rock from 1821. We then took a short boat ride to the Swiss Transport Musuem; billed as the most visited museum in Switzerland. The museum show cases the history of planes, trains and automobiles in Switzerland. We really enjoyed this one and spent quite a bit of time there. After, we stopped by a local pub where, we met friends from college who were coincidently vacationing in Switzerland at the same time. It was great to meet up for a drink before returning to Basel for the night.

DAY 5

Day 5 - Boarding Day! Our official Rhine River tour kicks off today! This afternoon, we board the AMA Waterways, AMA Lucia with Adventures by Disney. The ship was available for boarding anytime after 12:00 PM and a transfer was available from our hotel. In the morning, we met 2 of the adventure guides in our hotel lobby and dropped off our luggage for the transfer to the boat. With a few hours to spare, we took a unique boat taxi across the Rhine River to the Basel Paper Mill. The mill was dedicated to papermaking and writing in Switzerland, and even showed you how to make your own watermarked piece of paper. It was very interesting! We also checked out a small toy museum, before exploring the river boat. We settled into our room, checked out the boats restaurant, sundeck and lounge and finished the evening with a lovely welcome reception and dinner hosted by the ships captains and the 5 adventure guides.

DAY 6

Day 6 - As part of the planning process with Adventures by Disney, they offer a few unique choices for excursions of the boat which you select in advance. Today, we were in Breisach, Germany and we selected a day trip to Europa-Park. Europa-Park is the largest amusement park in Europe and offers over 100+ attractions. The park is broken down by European countries and each section had unique rides, shows, foods and décor for that country. It was truly an amazing place that was built by the Mack Family, major ride manufacturers, nearly 50 years ago, and is still family run today. We were given a brief tour and gift cards for lunch and then were on our way! It was a really fun day and little Michael is already planning a return trip. After the park, we were driven back to the boat for dinner, a brief walk around the sun deck and a trivia night event.

DAY 7

Day 7 - Traveling up the Rhine River, today, we were in Strasbourg, France. After breakfast, we started the day with a glass boat tour of the main canal in Strasbourg. The French tour guide highlighted many of the old buildings along the canal, as well as a brief historical account of the French and German influence on Strasbourg over the last century. After the Canal boat ride, we had some free time to explore the city. We saw the famous Strasbourg Cathedral, as well as had lunch at a traditional French bistro that our tour guides recommended. The afternoon activity included a wine tasting in a historic wine cellar cave, built in 1395, once used as a hospital. It was definitely a unique atmosphere with an interesting history. Once done, we returned to the ship for dinner and a traditional French singer in the ship's lounge.

DAY 8

Day 8 - Today's adventure had us in Heidelberg, Germany. Around 9 AM, our bus navigated the narrow cliffside streets to Heidelberg Castle, a 16th-century castle perched along the Konigtuhl hillside in Central Germany. There, we were given a guided tour by a local in traditional dress, of the exterior, balcony, and grounds of this impressive castle. The castle has its own vineyard and is home to the largest wine keg in the world. After the tour, we rode down a funicular to the main city center, where we enjoyed traditional shops and restaurants, where we enjoyed a delicious German lunch. The city was quite a buzz with visitors as there was a unique WW2 submarine being transferred via the Rhine River to a local museum. In the evening we rode bikes from the ship to Speyer, for dinner.

DAY 9

Day 9 - Today we are in Rüdesheim, Germany. Our first stop is the very interesting Sigfried's Mechanical Music Museum. The museum is located in a 15th-century knight's residence and holds over 400 self-playing musical instruments, some worth over a million dollars. We were given a walk-through tour of the house, where they played several of these incredible instruments. After the museum, the group met in a beautiful courtyard, for a tasting of the famous Rüdesheimer Coffee. The drink is made of hot black coffee, a local cognac, whipped cream, and chocolate shavings! So good! After lunch and a beautiful gondola ride over the vineyards, Mike and Karen returned to the ship for bike riding down the shores of the Rhine, while big Mike went to a wine cave with some of the group. We then ended the day with wine and snacks on the sun deck, as we sailed down the Rhine Gorge filled with 100s of German Castles. It was one of our favorite days.

DAY 10

Day 10 - Our day started with a walking tour of Cologne, Germany. Our local guide pointed out many of the beautiful historical sites of this major German city, including "Lovers Bridge" where tourists and locals add a lock to the bridge and throw the key in the river to represent their love for each other! We ended the tour at the impressive Cologne Cathedral, built in the 13th century and now declared a World Heritage site. We then headed to the Lindt Chocolate Museum for a walk-through tour of the history of Swiss chocolate making, along with a ton of delicious samples. Our departure time today was a bit earlier due to the long distance to Amsterdam, so AbD hosted a Bavarian lunch party on board with German snacks, beer, and music. We then hit the sundeck for some pool time and relaxation. After dinner, we enjoyed viewing a rainstorm from our balcony.

DAY 11

Day 11 - We made it to our final stop, Amsterdam! The city has put some restrictions on the number of boats and tourists coming into the city due to crowds, so the boat was docked in a local suburb of Amsterdam. An early departure, started the day with a canal tour of this beautiful city. After an informational canal tour, our group was taken straight to the Rijksmuseum. The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands featuring many pieces of Dutch art and historical artifacts. Nearly 3 million people walk through this impressive museum, annually. We then spent the afternoon at Volendam, a small Dutch seaside town that reminded us of a New England beach boardwalk; filled with fun Dutch treats, beers and souvenirs, it was a nice way to wind down our first busy day in the Netherlands. Once back on the ship, the adventure guides treated us to a fun cocktail party in the lounge, where we toasted our incredible adventure, while watching a touching slide show. We can't believe its over!

DAY 12

Day 12 - Wait - it's not over, we had planned two post nights on our own in Amsterdam. After breakfast, AbD provided a shuttle for you and your tagged luggage to the central train station in Amsterdam. From there, we took a short Uber ride to our hotel, the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht. It was still early, so we left our bags at the hotel and explored the city, walking around the streets and canal bridges around our hotel before grabbing lunch at one of little Michael's favorites, Wagamama. After lunch and a break in the room, we took a small commuter ferry to the A'DAM observation tower, where the two Mike's took an adrenaline-filling swing ride off the observation deck. It was so crazy! The ride was only a minute, but it literally swung you off the building, 300 feet up, for an incredible view of Amsterdam. We grabbed dinner at the bottom of the tower and returned to our hotel for a good night's rest.

DAY 13

Day 13 - Our last full day of the trip was here. Today, the weather was a little chilly and rainy! In the morning, Karen and little Mike rented bicycles around Amsterdam, exploring its streets and parks; while big Mike did the 18+ Heineken Experience, located inside the historic Heineken Brewery. We all had fun! After our activities, we met back for a traditional Dutch lunch in the center of town and then went on to the Anne Frank Museum. This was definitely an emotional place, where you walk through the actual house, where the Frank family lived and hid during WWII. If you are interested in attending, advanced tickets are a must (about a month before your trip). We ended the day with a walk-through of Amsterdam's cheese museum, an Italian dinner, and a delicious ice cream treat.

DAY 14

Day 14 - Our Rhine River Cruise and additional time in Amsterdam and Switzerland has come to an end! Today, we enjoyed our final breakfast, packed up our luggage, and headed to Schiphol Airport (AMS), about 30 minutes from downtown Amsterdam. Our flight path had us returning to Boston via Washington Dulles. The return was long but fairly uneventful. We cleared customs and were home around 8:00 PM Boston time. We all really enjoyed this unique trip. AMA Waterways and Adventures by Disney had really amazing service and kept you busy without feeling completely exhausted. We would be interested to book a similar trip on the Danube River in a few years and hope you enjoyed reading about this trip.

Day 3 - It was time for our next stop! After breakfast, we walked to the main train station in Zürich for a 1 hour relaxing train ride to Basel, Switzerland. Our river cruise would start from a dock in Basel on Thursday afternoon. We like to schedule a few days on our own before our official tour starts to acclimate to the time zone, since the Adventures by Disney tours keep you very busy with amazing activities as soon as they start. Once checked into the Hyperion Hotel (Disney’s recommended hotel), we took a walk around Basel's "Old Town" and the waterfront. Another very scenic Swiss city. We stopped for lunch along the Rhine River and then toured the Swiss Cultural Museum, the Kunstmuseum, and the Basel Munster, a large beautiful 15th-century church with amazing stained glass windows. We ended the day at a Japanese/Ramen restaurant right near our hotel.