Hank Schrader

October 29, 2024

River Cruise Comparisons

Comparing All-Inclusive River Cruise Lines--Riverside, Scenic, Tauck and Uniworld

Hank Schrader

October 29, 2024

River Cruise Comparisons

Comparing All-Inclusive River Cruise Lines—Riverside, Scenic, Tauck and Uniworld

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

In 2024, we had 3 exceptional experiences sailing on Riverside, Scenic, and Tauck. All are amazing, fall in the all-inclusive river cruise category, and will provide you with a great vacation experience. We would like to share what we have learned about these 3 river cruise lines and tell you about the other all-inclusive line, Uniworld.

Our opinions are based on extensive knowledge of the river cruise industry, but please remember they are only our opinions, so please use your critical thinking skills to evaluate what we write and look for any biases we might have in this comparison blog.

Let us be clear--the only thing that matters after reading this blog, is to match your personal travel style to the experience provided by these lines, not our opinions.

Full disclosure, we paid full fare on Riverside and Scenic, were invited for free on the Tauck cruise (our first free sailing in 30 years in the business) and have never sailed on Uniworld, so these observations are only a starting point for your consideration of which line to choose.

All 4 lines are all inclusive and have great features, but there are some important differences, and we would like to talk about our experiences and the vibe we got from each of the 3 cruises we took this year and provided information on Uniworld based on selling them to clients, their feedback and our industry knowledge.

To help organize my thoughts, I chose to put them in alphabetical order, and it has no other meaning than a consistent organization method. We are also only comparing their product in Europe.

So, let’s examine these 4 lines in detail, so you can see which one might be right for you.

The Fleets

One reason the comparison between these 4 lines is valid, is that all these lines have a relatively small fleets of ships sailing in Europe, which is a smaller number compared to other lines we follow. Also, 3 are family owned and one is owned by a corporation/equity fund which may create differences in their approach to river cruising.

Here are some facts about their ships, for a good starting point.

Riverside Luxury Cruises

Riverside has only 3 ships sailing in Europe and this is a real challenge for you to get a route that matches your desired itinerary, as they offer a large number of options and sailing days and may not repeat a cruise for a while. We still believe they should be considered even with this limitation for your vacation river cruise.

Riverside has two 135-meter ships and the double wide Mozart. Riverside started their entrance into river cruising by acquiring the double wide Mozart. Here are some pictures of the Mozart from our 2023 River Cruise Expo tour:

Palm Court Riverside Mozart. Photo Anne Schrader

Wine Storage Area Riverside Mozart. Photo Anne Schrader

With the bankruptcy of Crystal River Cruises, their four 135-meter ships were purchased by Riverside. Then, Riverside (a German Company), added 2 of these ships to their double wide Mozart, which can only sail the Danube. The Ravel sails the Rhone, and the Debussy sails the Rhine, Main Moselle and part of the Danube. The other 2 ships have been leased to Uniworld and are charter ships only.

Here are some pictures of the 2 135-meter ships, which hold 110 guests:

The Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

The Riverside Ravel in port in Viviers. Photo Anne Schrader

The next 3 pictures are the Riverside Debussy in port in Cologne:

The Riverside Debussy in port. You can see the Pop-up Bar on the top deck. Photo Hank Schrader

The bow of the Riverside Debussy in Cologne. Photo Hank Schrader

Bikes ready for the guests of the Riverside Debussy. Photo Hank Schrader

Scenic

Scenic has 11 Ships in the Fleet. The nine 135-meter Ships are: Sapphire, Diamond, Ruby, Pearl, Jewel, Jade, Jasper, Opal, and Amber. These ships carry 149 to 163 guests.

Their 110-meter ship the Gem sails the Seine and has 124 guests.

The 262 feet Azure sails the Douro and has room for 96 guests.

Scenic ships have a modern, sleek feel and look. Scenic owns their ships. Here are some pictures:

The Scenic Opal we sailed on in 2015. They use differnt ebikes now. Photo Anne Schrader

The Scenic Jewel and the ebikes they use in 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

The Scenic Jewel we sailed on in 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

The Atrium Area of the Scenic Jewel. Photo Anne Schrader

Tauck

Tauck has 9 ships sailing in Europe. There are four 135-meter ships: MS Inspire, MS Savor, MS Joy, and MS Grace. These 135-meter ships sail with room for 130 guests.

The Atrium Area of the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

There are four 110-Meter Ships: MS Emerald, MS Sapphire, MS Esprit, and the MS Treasures. These ships all have space for 98 guests.

The MS Emerald in port in Macon, France. Photo Anne Schrader

The reception area of the MS Emerald. Photo Anne Schrader

The newest ship is the MS Andorinha which sails the Douro and has room for 84 guests.

Tauck leases their ships from Skylla—they crew the ship. Tauck has 4 contract employees aboard to conduct the tours and provide other services for the guests that do not relate to meals, cleaning the cabins and sailing the ship.

The Tauck sailing we just took on the Savor had an elegant and refined feel. Here are some pictures of the ship:

The Compass Rose Dining Room. Photo Anne Schrader

The lounge bar on the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

The lounge area Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises

Uniworld has 12 ships that sail in Europe.

The 5 considered 135-meter ships are SS Beatrice (Danube, Rhine and Main), SS Maria Theresa (Danube), SS Antoinette (Rhine), SS Catherine (Rhone and Saone) and the SS Joie de Vivre (Seine). These ships have space for 150 to 159 guests, except for the SS Joie de Vivre which at 410 feet falls into the 135-meter class, although it is shorter than the standard 443 feet and only has space for 128 guests.

The six 110-meter ships are River Queen (Main, Moselle and Rhine), River Duchess (Danube, Rhine and Main), River Princess (Danube, Rhine and Main), River Empress (Rhine), the SS Bon Voyage (Bordeaux) and the SS la Venezia sails the Po only. These ships have capacity for 128 to 130 guests. We do not recommend sailing the Po, as it a difficult river and most tours involve long bus rides.

The River Royale in port in Bordeaux in 2015. It no longer is part of the Uniworld fleet and has been replaced by the Bon Voyage..

The SS Sao Gabriel sails the Douro with space for 120 guests and 60 staterooms (some of the larger suites can have more than 2 per cabin).

Each of these ships are one-of-kind ships that are “inspired by their destinations” according to their brochure. It is fair to say, our clients either love the ship designs or don’t care for them.

Cabins/Facilities

All ships on these 4 lines have a main restaurant, reception area, fitness room, spa facility, and lounge and bar area. I will highlight any additional, unique facilities,

Riverside

All staterooms in the two 135-meters ships class are above the waterline. The cabin suites range from 194 sq feet to 258 sq feet. There are 2 large suites of 506 square feet. They can be expanded to 764 square feet with an additional on an adjacent connecting room and are reserved as an owner’s suite. Riverside is the only line with king-sized beds, small walk-in closets and double sinks (the majority of the cabins).

The bathroom area on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

Many staterooms have a unique open-air feature, which allows it to open halfway and it has a screen to keep bugs out. There is no extra seating, and our stateroom had a small chair and a larger chair to enjoy this area. Here are a couple of pictures about this feature.

The French balcony closed in our stateroom. Photo Anne Schrader

Inside the desk area drawers. Photo Anne Schrader

Riverside has a pool, a pop-up bar on the top deck (it is very cool) and a guest laundry. There is no gift shop on their two 135-meter ships.

The pop-up bar on the top deck on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

Scenic

The Scenic Space-Ships have a sleek, modern feel. Scenic has waterline staterooms (11 of 82).

Most Scenic staterooms (71 of 82) feature the Sun Lounge by my count. Their balcony staterooms have a glass feature that allows the upper part of the glass window to lower with the press of a button to the halfway point and you can actually sit in balcony area, unlike the other 3 lines in this report who do not feature a dedicated sitting area.

Our bed on the Scenic Jewel in 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

The balcony are on the Scenic Jewel 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

The staterooms are very nice, with a comfortable bed and we like it except for the closet. The closet area was the most awkward in any stateroom we have experienced. Even the butler seemed to wrestle with it during our orientation to the room.

A good view of the sliding door closet from our 2015 cruise.. Photo Anne Schrader

Three ships have a pool.

Tauck

The 135-meter ships have a unique design at the water level. The Emerald Deck (lowest deck) has crew quarters and 14 fixed window staterooms. Unique to all river cruise ships, the 8 loft cabins (225 sq feet, category 3) actually have an innovative seating area on a raised loft that extends up to the second deck. It gives the usually small, cramped staterooms on the first deck, a very spacious and open feeling. The other 6 staterooms are only 150 sq feet and do not feature this loft concept (Cat 1 staterooms).

The bed area of the Loft Stateroom. Photo Anne Schrader

Other stateroom categories are Cat 2 (150 sq feet but on an upper deck), Cat 4 (190 sq feet), Cat 5 (190-225 sq feet), Cat 6 (225 sq feet) and Cat 7 (300 square feet). There are no outside balconies, but upper deck staterooms have a French Balcony set up.

Cat 7 Stateroom Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

Lounge area, Cat 7 Stateroom Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

The 110-meter ships follow the same stateroom size (some may be slightly smaller than the 135-meter ships), but none have the innovative loft cabins on the lower deck

Uniworld

It is hard to provide exact features on each ship, but some general stateroom features are consistent throughout the line. All ships have waterline staterooms, that they refer to as classic staterooms. Deck 2 is usually French Balcony staterooms. The upper deck has Royal Suites, Grand Suites, Suites and Deluxe French Balconies. None have walk out balconies but use either a sliding glass door or an open-air concept, where the upper part can be lowered halfway.

All have a guest laundry except the ship sailing in Portugal on the Douro.

Standard Cruise Features

Since all these lines are all-inclusive, this is a good topic to note what is and is not included in the cruise fare.

Itineraries/Destinations

All lines except Riverside sail the Rhine, the Main, the Moselle, the Danube, the Seine, and the Rhone and Saone. We have many of these day-by-day itineraries on our website.

Riverside has a unique model—there are 4 levels of fares and only 2 include all the excursions. This a-la-carte approach is unique and often confusing, even to us who study riving cruising daily. I will explain this in more detail in the excursions portion of this blog. Regardless of the package, gratuities and transfers are included. Our pickup at Avignon was by private sedan and transfer to the train station in Lyon was by a taxi.

Riverside only sails in Europe and only in select areas of Europe (no sailings on the Seine, the Bordeaux area and the Douro) so it is hard to pin down the exact number of routes offered, but the model includes 4-,5-,6-,8-, 9-, and 10-day routes in France (11 total), so it is safe to assume that around 33 different sailing routes are available. Part of the problem identifying the number of routes and excursions included, is that the website does not clearly identify the number of excursions but lists the same data about the city to be visited and you have to go to another place on the website to figure out the exact tours offered on that particular route.

Riverside carries e-bikes onboard.

Visit our website Riverside Page to Learn More About Routes

Scenic has 22 different routes in Europe and we have completed 19 of the 22 offered on our website. Gratuities and transfers are included. Our transfer was a taxi arranged at no cost to us to the train station.

Scenic has e-bikes onboard and usually has a couple of guided bike tours during a typical cruise.

Visit our website Scenic Page to Learn more About Routes

Tauck has 26 different routes in Europe and sails 6 summertime family cruises, called Tauck Bridges Family River Cruises. Tauck does not sail in the Bordeaux region. We have 23 of 32 day-by-day routes on our website. Transfers and gratuities are included. Our transfer was in a private sedan from Regensburg to Munich airport.

All Tauck ships have bikes onboard for guest use.

Visit our website tauck page tp Learn more about Routes

Uniworld has 23 routes in Europe, 2 interesting cruise and rail options (they have partnered with Golden Eagle Danube Express in Europe), and 7 Christmas Markets Cruises. We have 9 of 23 on our website. Transfers and gratuities are included.

The “Let’s Go” features hiking, cycling,, kayaking, and they carry bikes onboard.

Visit our website Uniworld Page to Learn more about Routes

Food and Wine

All 4 lines include most drinks but have varying packages. They all have buffet style breakfast and lunch concepts with a sit-down, order off the menu dinner. There is not much difference between the breakfast and lunch menus offerings, except for the lunch special item or perhaps an outdoor cookout. All have some form of a welcome dinner and farewell gala dinner. Some lines have better food than others, in our opinion.

Riverside

On Riverside, where you can upgrade from the full board package to the premium All-Inclusive package (most people who book with Riverside choose this package). Riverside claims they spend more on food and beverages than other river cruise companies and the large kitchen staff and space of the galley tends to support this claim (there is no way for me to verify this). Breakfast and lunch are buffet-style meals with dinner a sit-down order from the menu style.

The dessert Area Riverside Ravel at lunch. Photo Anne Schrader

My first lunch meal on the Riverside Ravel—roast chicken, safforon rice and a tatesty salad. Photo Anne Schrader

During lunch and dinner, unique among river cruise lines, is a pasta station (all made from scratch onboard) available for every lunch and dinner meal—you can see the chef ready to make the pasta in the middle of the hot service buffet area in the attached photo. Typically, there were a couple of meat or fish dishes, and a vegetarian option.

Anne particularly liked the 2 salad bars on both sides of the hot line buffet area. One side of the salad bar was a traditional area with your choice of salad ingredients that is quite common on all lines. The other side had specialty “premade” salad options that changed daily and were quite unique.

The usual salad bar with all the ingredients for creating a custom salad. Photo Anne Schrader.

the special salad area with pre-fixed salads and cheeses. Photo Anne Schrader

Riverside does have the best wine options of any of the all-inclusive river cruise lines.

The Bistro is a more informal area to eat during your cruise. It serves late-risers breakfast, and a light lunch.

The Bistro Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

A nice coffee break and late afternoon treat in the Bistro Cafe. Photo Anne Schrader

Among the items offered is a range of specialty coffees and teas and a selection of sweet treats. But the showstopper was the expensive Jamon (a dry-cured Iberian ham on the bone that is considered a delicacy and considered by most as the tastiest ham in the world)!

The dry-cured Iberian jamon. Photo Anne Schrader

Another cool feature is to get up late one day and still get eggs benedict instead of just some bread or sweet rolls as a late riser!

The café area is more a snack venue.

They try to have an outdoor cookout each cruise and it was awesome (the photo shows: On my plate a prawn, pork, sausage, steak, chicken, grilled baked potatoes and mac-n-cheese. Also, bearnaise sauce). Without any hesitation, the best outdoor grill experience on any all-inclusive line.

The Pantry are on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

On a windy day, the chefs grilled outside and created a great meal. Photo Hank Schrader

On my plate a prawn, pork, sausage, steak, chicken, grilled baked potatoes and mac-n-cheese. Also, bearnaise sauce. Photo Anne Schrader

Riverside has the Vintage Room area at an extra cost. It is a 7-course meal with high quality, expensive wines. It is only available if enough guests sign up for the meal.

The Vintage Room on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Anne Schrader

The food is exceptional on Riverside, in our opinion.

Scenic

There are 5 possible dining options onboard. They are 1) the Crystal Dining Room. 2) Portobello’s (or L’Amour in France) Specialty Restaurant, 3) the Riverside Cafe, 4) the Table La Rive and 5) Room Service.

4 of the options are available to all guests. The Crystal Dining Room serves breakfast, and lunch buffet style and a sit-down served meal for dinner. During both breakfast and lunch, there are options to order off a menu. I will say after 27 river cruises, my favorite breakfast was an order of French Toast and 1 Egg Benedict on our recent Scenic cruise.

The busy chefs creating a great meal. Photo Anne Schrader

Scenic Buffet desserts. Photo Anne Schrader

The Riverside Cafe—a good place for a light lunch meal. Photo Anne Schrader

Dinner is a 4-course meal. Scenic has a set wine offering at lunch and dinner with 6 whites, 6 reds and a champagne and Rose option. Wines are suggested for the meal menu of the day.

A starter salad for dinner. Photo Anne Schrader

A nice salad for me. Photo Anne Schrader

The always available steak and fries. Photo Anne Schrader

Wiener schnitzel dinner entree hunter style. Photo Anne Schrader

A carrot cake with a scope of vanilla ice creasm. Photo Anne Schrader

The specialty dining room is Portobellos (most routes), or L’Amour on French routes. It is for 32 guests and each guest will be provided an opportunity to try this excellent option—since I really like Italian food at the Portobello’s, it is my favorite meal during the cruise. I would have to assume L’Amour would be equally good.

The Portobello’s staff in 2024 explains the meal. Photo Anne Schrader

A great dessert Portobellos 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

The Table La Riva is a 6-course meal with paired wines for 10 guests in the evening. It is exclusively for Diamond Deck guests cruising for 10 nights or more and since we were sailing for 7 days, we were not eligible for this culinary experience. There is no extra charge for this culinary experience, if there are enough guests who meet the 10 night or more sailing requirement.

The food is very good but sometimes inconsistent in our opinion.

Tauck

The main dining room is the Compass Rose. In the Compass Rose, you can select from the buffet or order off the menu.

Breakfast is excellent choice of order off the menu and buffet items. Here are some pictures:

Breakfast Buffet Tauck Savor. Photo Hank Schrader

My French Toast on the Tauck Savor. Photo Hank Schrader

My Egg Benidect on the Tauck Savor. Photo Hank Schrader

Lunch is offered in two forms. There are items from a buffet line, or some items can be ordered from a menu. There’s a featured suggestion from a special preparation area/carving station.

Carbonara lunch—it was excellent. Photo Anne Schrader

Dinner is a 4-course meal. The menu provides choices of a starter, soup, entree and dessert.

Onion soup for the 1st course. on the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

A shrimp salad 2nd course. Photo Anne Schrader

Tenderloin with mash potatoes ans carrots entree course # 3 on the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

A chocolate dessert final course on the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

The chefs from the speciality cook station. on theTauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

Each night there are 2 wines, a white and red selection to pair with the meal. They are regional wines. Sometimes, I found the daily wine not to my liking, and the staff was quick to offer another choice.

During our cruise, they offered an outside barbeque that was good and fun.

Arthur’s Specialty Venue

Arthur’s is a more casual dining venue compared to the Compass Rose. It features more American style cuisine, as compared to the European style cuisine of the Compass Rose main dining room.

The chef in Arthur’s. Photo Anne Schrader

Anne’s cheese sandwich lunch in Arthur’s. Photo Anne Schrader

A wonderful steak medallions, baked potatoes and bernaise sauce in Arthur’s. Photo Anne Schrader

Each Tauck cruise has an onshore dinner at a special venue—usually at a castle. This is a set menu (it could offer 2 main course selections but on ours it was a fish course only and not my favorite) and is a special event.

Our special dinner venue. Photo Anne Schrader

The wines were from the vineyards on the estate. Photo Anne Schrader

A great ending dessert. Photo Anne Schrader

The food is very, very good, in our opinion.

Uniworld

Uniworld touts its “delicious farm to table cuisine”. Breakfast and Lunch are buffet-style. Breakfast offers the typical choices of baked items (bread and Danish rolls). Bacon, sausage, eggs. Cold cuts and cheeses—the typical continental or full English Breakfast options.

The lunch buffet offers a variety of starters, salads and homemade soups. There is a sandwich of the day, often a pasta dish and usually 3 selections of entrees. As you would suspect, desserts and fresh fruit complete the meal wonderfully.

Dinner is a served meal as you would expect in a fine dining establishment, consisting of 4 courses. It includes an appetizer to start, a soup course, then the main dish (typically a pasta, or seafood or seafood or vegetarian option). The meal ends with great desserts

Specialty dining options vary by ship, and it is not consistent in the fleet. Some ships offer an al fresco options and the Joie de Vivre has several dining options. In their larger ships, there is often a intimate dinner in the Leopard Bar or Captain’s Club for suite guests only, with a set menu, served by the butlers. Normally, the venues serve as a snack area.

Uniworld is considered a member of the Chains des Rotisseurs, as several executive chefs are members of this invitation-only food society. To my knowledge, the entire line is not a recognized as members.

It is unfair for us to rate the food and wine without sampling it.

Service

All have butler service except for Tauck.

Riverside

All staterooms have butler service. They describe them as polite, discrete, and professional and we found that was true during our cruise.

Scenic

Scenic butler service varies by stateroom category. In each stateroom that comes with butler service, a card describes their services. The 4 butlers cover 67 staterooms.

Tauck

Tauck does not have butlers.

Uniworld

The butlers on Uniworld dress the part—full tails, white gloves and are superb according to all I have read. They are full-time and do not have other duties that are common on other lines. They are only for the suite category staterooms. For example, there are 2 butlers serving 11 suites on the Maria Thersa.

Excursions/Activities

This is probably the most important category for me—the whole reason to go on a river cruise is to see and experience places and new cultures.

Riverside

Riverside has a unique model—there are 4 levels of fares and only 2 include all the excursions. This a-la-carte approach is unique and often confusing, even to us who study riving cruising daily. On our recent cruise on the Ravel, we were able to use this approach and only pay for the excursions we chose, but I was surprised at the cost of an individual tour. For example, I returned to visit Les Baux (we had been there on another river cruise line excursion) and the cost was $108.00 US dollars per person. We did have one excursion cut from our recent cruise, as not enough signed up for the one we wanted that day.

Here are some pictures from the tours I went on during our Riverside cruise:

Les Baux Excursion on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Hank Schrader

Light show that was part of the Les Baux excursion on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Hank Schrader

Tarascon Castle excursion on the Riverside Ravel. Photo Hank Schrader

There is always an included extra excursion, even if you don’t select any excursions. Ours was a wine and cheese tasting at the village of Chateauneuf-de-Pape winery.

The included wine and cheese tasting in Chatueaneuf-du-Pape. Photo Hank Schrader

The wonderful wine and cheese tasting. Photo Anne Schrader

Scenic

On a normal cruise, all excursions are included, but in some limited cases, if not enough people sign up for the excursion it will be cut. Scenic uses local guides—usually very knowledgeable, but on our last cruise, twice on excursions, the meeting time and location to leave changed. We were almost left once and had to run back to the bus. Our complaint and very angry reactions were dismissed by the cruise manager, despite others telling us the guide left early, and we were right. Other than this, the tours were fine, but we almost always go off on our own unless it is too difficult to get the excursion destination on our own and we have to take the bus. Bus transport is excellent.

Scenic always has an Enrich feature on their cruises. On our Danube cruise it was a special concert in Vienna and the was a special concert in Trier on our latest cruise.

Palais Liechtenstein Enrich excursion in 2015 for a wonderful concert in Vienna, Austria. Photo Anne Schrader

Ceiling painting of the Palais Liechtenstein which was the venue for our Enrich excursion on the Scenic Opal 2015. Photo Anne Schrader

Here are some pictures of the tours from our Scenic cruise in 2024:

Berg Eltz excursion on the Scenic Jewel. Photo Hank Schrader

Colmar, France excursion Scenic Jewel 2024. Photo Anne Schrader

Tauck

Tours and activities are a little different than other lines in one respect—there are 3 Tauck tour guides on the tours. They use local guides which are accompanied by the 3 tour guides. All tours are included, and they always have a special meal prepared at a unique land location (usually a castle dining venue) for an extra treat (there are pictures of this event in the food section). They call these features Uniquely Tauck.

Here are some pictures of the tours from our Tauck cruise:

Frankfurt excursion on the Tauck Savor. Photo Anne Schrader

Old Town Cologne, Germany. Photo Hank Schrader

Wurzburg Residenz Palace on a Tauck Savor excursion. This is the largest ceiling fresco in the world. Photo Anne Schrader

The tours are generally good but sometimes limited by the ship schedule. If you are out on an excursion over lunchtime, you will probably get 20 Euros to cover a meal, and even coins if necessary to use the bathroom. I certainly would have enjoyed more free time on some excursions on our voyage.

Tauck prides itself on bonus gifts, designed to be surprises and not included in tour descriptions, it is a cool touch!

Uniworld

Although they claim they are all inclusive, there are some optional tours at many port stops that cost extra and are not included in the fare. In my opinion, this is excessive for a line that says all is included in its marketing materials.

They do excel in Jewish Heritage Special cruises, which often sell out quickly. These are not the only themed cruises—they have a Connoisseur Collection of culinary cruises in France and a Monarch Collection which allows you to visit private castles and even royalty in some cases.

Company Dynamics

This category rates their policies, treatment of guests, and booking policies. Since all 4 lines accept direct bookings from clients (not our recommendation, since we can get you same prices and much better service), I think it is important for you to know how they deal with travel professionals, so you know what to expect and if there are potential problem areas.

Riverside

So far, they seem to be very responsive, but this is a limited sample of one booking. Riverside is owned by the Seaside Collection, a family-owned business.

Scenic

Compared to other lines we follow, Scenic is the hardest company we have to deal with-- it isn’t even close to any others, but they are getting better. A key problem is refunds, as they do not keep credit card information on file and send out checks which takes a long time. Scenic is family owned.

Tauck

Tauck is super easy to deal with! The staff is very knowable and eager to help. Tauck is family owned and celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Uniworld

We have sold Uniworld and find them an easy company to deal with. Uniworld is owned by the Travel Corporation but there is a pending sale of the Travel Corporation to Apollo Equity Fund which is planned for finalization in the 4th quarter of 2024. Apollo has promised to improve all the Travel Corporation products.

Value

Riverside

There is no doubt this is a luxury experience, first class in every aspect.

Scenic

Excellent product, and their 2 for 1 sales are their best value but they want their total money upfront for these sales—I’m not a fan of this technique, as your money could be tied up for a year or more.

Tauck

Probably worth every penny—great product.

Uniworld

Solid value but may be a little too costly for the inclusions and too many extra charges for optional tours.

Our Final Thoughts

This is a really long blog, but a good starting point for you. As you read this, think about your travel style and the higher cost of travel on all-inclusive river cruise lines. It is often an elevated experience and makes travel seamless.

We hope you enjoyed this blog—it was a challenge to write it in a comprehensive manner.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@visitdd.com . We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 52 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

October 24, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

The Vintage Room on the Riverside Ravel

Hank Schrader

October 24, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

The Vintage Room on the Riverside Ravel

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Among river cruise lines, the Vintage Room on Riverside Luxury Cruise Lines is unique.

Why is it unique? There is a significant charge for the dining experience which Riverside justifies due to the premium wine selection for the 7-course meal. No other river cruise line that has a specialty dining option charges for the experience that I am aware of based on our knowledge of the 8 river cruise lines we follow.

So, let’s experience the Vintage Room Dining Experience as we did recently and evaluate if it is an experience you desire to have.

The Vintage Room on the Riverside Ravel venue that is set up for 10 guests. Photo Anne Schrader

As a little bonus, during the 2023 ASTA River Cruise Expo, we got a chance to see the double-wide Mozart. Here are 2 pictures of the Vintage Room and a sample menu.

The Vintage Room on the Riverside Mozart. Photo Hank Schrader

A Sample Menu for the Vintage Room on the Riverside Mozart. While the menu items are different, the 7-course meal and excellent wines mirror the concept of the Vintage Room. The wines on this sample menu are exceptional. Photo Hank Schrader

The Vintage Room Concept

This small venue on the 3 Riverside ships is only available if enough guests sign up for this extra-cost meal (my best guess is at least 8 are required). The exact meal is not known beforehand—the chef and sommelier plan the menu on the day of the event.

The meal is a combination of a tasting menu with a larger main course entrée, served with premier wines. Our meal started with an excellent Bollinger Champagne (Grande Anne—a true hit with my lovely wife Anne—even the spelling of Anne was correct!).

Each course was served with wines, starting with the 2 whites and switching to the reds—each course is paired to the wines to enhance the sensations on your palate.

Our Menu

Course 1 Crayfish & Cucumber in a gin and tonic sauce

Course 2 Compressed Watermelon with Goat Cheese |Mint |Arugula |Basil

Course 3 Dark Fish Veloute Huitre Bretonne | Bruschetta

Course 4 Raspberry Sorbet in Cassis Spheres | Sparkling Wine

The Sorbet to cleanse our palates. Photo Anne Schrader

This is how they added the champagne to our sorbet—cool technique with the twisted napkin! Photo Anne Schrader

Course 5 Venison with Young Vegetables |Peach | Plum

The Main Course—Venison. Photo Anne Schrader

Course 6 Millefuille with Fig | Blue Cheese

Course 7 Petit Gateau Au Chocolat Noir Chocolate Mousse | Cassis Sorbet | Royal Almond Glaze

Wines

The real emphasis of this meal was the premier wines. To help understand this, I researched the average cost per bottle retail in an online search, just to get a sense of the cost to put on the meal without the food. For our 11-person group, they used about 2 bottles of each wine.

My best guess is that the wine cost Riverside somewhere around $1,624 total for the meal (using my 2-bottle estimate), so it was about $148 per person. I do want to emphasize there was plenty of wine, so no one was limited—it was just the right amount for fine dining.

The reason this is important is the meal cost us 580 Euros per couple (I have seen reports of 295 Euros per person for this experience, making the cost 590 Euros per couple) and as smart travelers, we want to know if the experience was worth the cost of 290 to 295 Euros per person.

Campagne

Bollinger Grande Anne Champagne France 2014 ($144 per bottle)

White Wines

Chateau Carbonnieux Sauvignon Blanc Bordeau France 2017 ($60 per bottle)

Olivier Laflaive Les Folatiers, Puligny-Montrachet Premier Cru, France 2020 ($140 per bottle)

Red Wines

Chateau Hossana, Merlot, Pomerol, Bordeaux France 2018 ($182 per bottle)

Chateau Figeac, Premier Grand Cru Classe, St Emillion, Bordeaux France 2018 ($215 to $295 per bottle)

Dessert Wine

Karcher Trockenbeerenauslese, Burgenland, Neusiedlersee, Austria 2003 (retail $71 per bottle)

The Meal Experience

The venue is very elegant, and the service exceptional. Each course was explained and the wine accompany it was explained in greater detail. A cool feature was the menus printed for each guest by name and detailed descriptions of the wine and were delivered to our stateroom to help us remember the experience.

The chef (right) explaining the meal with the sommelier looking on. Photo Anne Schrader

The experience was exactly as described to us, the wines excellent, but personally I was disappointed in the meal. The quality was excellent, but the choice of food just didn’t send me raving afterwards about the meal. Some of the courses called for a refined palate to appreciate the taste and flavor and although the Venison was superbly prepared, it is one of my least favorite meat dishes.

The wines were awesome, so overall it was a good experience.

We did get a lttle special treatment—it was just before my 75th birthday. Thay made me a cake and all got to share and celebrate with us.

The awesome cake on my plate—it was really good! Photo Anne Schrader

Our Final Thoughts

This optional meal is a truly fine dining experience. It was a highly unique experience, and far exceeds a Captains Gala on other river cruise lines.

Anne feels it is the best dining experience she has had on a river cruise line. Anne’s impression of the meal was very high and worthy of the cost—even though Venison isn’t a meat she likes, the other dishes were excellent. Her take on the evening: quality food, beautifully presented plating, timing of the courses to allow full enjoyment without excessive waiting, and truly white glove service by the staff.

I would encourage you to read the courses and wine in detail, as it will help you decide it the experience was worth the cost. Since the food and courses are decided at the last minute, you also need to factor that into your decision. We did provide some feedback to the Riverside staff that the exact menu would encourage more guest to try the experience, especially if the courses were more to their liking.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

October 8, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

Riverside Ravel Ship Tour

Hank Schrader

October 8, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

Riverside Ravel Ship Tour

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

With the bankruptcy of Crystal River Cruises, their four 135-meter ships were purchased by Uniworld. Then, a German Company, Riverside, leased 2 of these ships to add to their double wide Mozart, which can only sail the Danube River

With only 3 ships sailing at present, it might seem that you could just ignore this cruise line, but we believe it has a lot to offer and recommend you take the time to read this blog to see if they offer a good match for a future vacation.

The Ravel, one of these leased ships, sails on the Rhone River. So, let’s take a look at this ultra luxury rivership.

The Ravel

The Ravel was built in 2018. It holds only 110 passangers (55 staterooms—fewest in the industry on 135 m cruise ships). All staterooms are on the upper 2 decks—these ships are the only ones built I know of that do not have staterooms at the water level

At the bow, right above the name of the boat, is the wheel house. Most other ships have a collapsible wheel house that is in the center of the top deck. The top glass windows on the right are the Palm Lounge and directly below is the Waterside Restaurant.

Restaurants

There are 4 possible eating venues.

The Waterside Cafe is the main dining area.

Breakfast and Lunch are served buffet style in the Waterside Cafe. Here are some pictures of the setup:

During lunch and dinner, unique among river cruise lines, is a pasta station available for every lunch and dinner meal—you can see the chef ready to make the pasta in the middle of the hot service buffet area in the photo above. Typically there was a couple of meat or fish dishes, and a vegetarian option .

The salad area on the lunch buffet.

The dessert area on the lunch buffet

This is my first lunch—a roasted chicken from the carving station, saffron rice and a salad. The food was wonderful!

The next pictures are of a typical dinner meal. It is served at your table after you order from the menu.

There are tables for two.

This is grilled asparagus with a poached egg and cheese sauce—Anne really liked it!

French Onion soup

My pasta dish

My steak with pepper corn sauce

A Cheese plate

Dessert

The Bistro is a more informal area to eat during your cruise. It serves late breakfast, and a light lunch.

Among the items offered is a range of specialty coffees and teas and a selection of sweet treats. But the show stopper was the bone in ham!

Another cool feature is to get up late one day and still get eggs benedict instead of just some bread or sweet rolls as a late riser!

The coffee preparation bar is well stocked

The bone in ham—a true delicacy!

This was my late riser eggs benedict.

Here is part of the seating area of the Bistro.

The salad area

The dessert area

You can order a hamburger in the bistro or have one in the Waterside cafe.

The specialty dinning room is the Vintage Room. It is only available if enough guests agree to pay the extra charge (we had the experience and paid 580 Euros for both of us). We will blog about this later.

There is room for 12 in the Vintage Room.

This is the wine storage area in the Vintage Room.

The Outdoor Grill Area

Weather permitting, once a sailing, they try to have an outdoor lunch. It was too windy to eat outside, but the chefs cooked a wonderful meal (the next 2 pictures).

The top deck has a pop up bar. This lowers to go under low bridges during sailing.

The outside covered area and tables on the top deck during a less windy day.

This picture captures how windy it was, so we had to eat inside

It was quite a good spread. On my plate a prawn, pork, sausage, steak, chicken, grilled potatoe and mac-n-cheese. Also bernaise sauce. Awesome!

Common Areas

Among the shared areas on the ship are the Plam Court Lounge. a swimming pool, guest laundry, a fitness room and spa treatment room. Here is the Palm Court Lounge (the next 3 pictures):

Here is the swimming pool area on deck 3:

On the first level, here are photos of these venues:

Fitness Room

The next picture is the guest laundry, that is free for guests.

Here are some of the spa services available in the above photo.

On deck 2 there are some small common areas outside the Waterside main restaurant.

This is the pantry snack area with a gourmet coffee machine (above).

When returning to the ship, we were often treated to wine and a cold towel to refresh ourselves. This is the entrance area on deck 3.

Our Stateroom

We were in stateroom 316.

Our bed faced the French Balcony stateroom.

The above photo shows the open air French Balcony partially open from inside our stateroom.

To let fresh air in, the glass window sticks out. as you can see in the outside picture of our stateroom 316. (upper window ). These must be closed while in the locks, as they stick out too far to avoid being damaged when transitioning locks.

The shower area in stateroom 316. It has a rain shower and a hand-held shower faucet. There are clear buttons to start and stop the shower.

There are twin sinks in stateroom 316.

This is the small walk in closet

A welcome bottle of champagne; fresh fruit and 2 small chocolate pastries were there to greet us at check-in.

The desk area

Glass ware for our use

Coffee cups for us

The coffee maker and a small bottle of Cote du Rhone wine for us.

Our Final Thoughts

This is an all-inclusive, luxury experience! We really enjoyed our vacation onboard and would recommend this line for a good time on the Rhone River. It is luxury in every aspect of your vacation and you will experience the same great food and services we did.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

October 3, 2024

French River Cruise Ports

Tarascon Castle

Hank Schrader

October 3, 2024

French River Cruise Ports

Tarascon Castle

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

This is a tour of the magnificent medieval Tarascon Castle. It was constructed to protect the Provence region from attack.

Outside the Castle

Inside the castle gardens, here is a good view of one of the round towers in the picture below.

This is what you would expect from a medieval castle built between 1401 and 1433. The entrance to the castle is over a moat bridge. The 4-foot-thick walls have two round towers on the east side and 2 square towers on the Rhone side.

Inside the Castle

There are 30 rooms that could be toured on my excursion. For many, there are not many furnishings inside the castle, and it may appear a little bland.

This is a picture of the herb gardens inside the castle.

The castle was created for protection of this region to protect the lands of King Rene. King Rene held the titles of King of Naples, Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence.

In one of the display cases, the round picture just a little left of center below the overhead picture of the castle is King Rene.

After King Rene’s death, the castle and lands become part of the kingdom of France and no longer was necessary to defend this area of Provence.

The castle later became a prison and also a hospital in the 1700s. One of the first rooms on the tour was the apothecary, used by the nuns to treat the sick. Here are 2 photos:

The next room we visited was the Dungeon. Here are 2 photos:

Next was an inter-courtyard area:

Next was the chapel:

The next room was the banquet area. The red floor coverings were added within the last ten years as part of a art project to add some interest to the interior.

King Rene made the castle an important place for social gatherings. Many festivities happened in this room of the castle.

The roof beam construction is solid and interesting. There are beam roofs in most large rooms of the castle.

In the Great Hall, there were displays of the wall decorations. These decorations added color to the stark walls of the castle. Here is a sample of the displays:

Here in this room is a large image of the entire castle:

Next, in another room, were some artwork of life in the middle ages and life in and around the castle:

Across the river, there was another castle in ruins. It is called Beaucarie Castle. It was a Cathar stronghold. This castle was under siege during the Cathar Religious wars in France in around 1209–1229. The Cathers believed in 2 Gods and were defeated by crusaders under orders of the Pope and the castle was destroyed.

There were also some wall carvings in another room that were quite impressive.

These date back to 1480, and were engraved into the walls by a prisoner enemy of King Rene.

And with our interest in how folks handled daily living , here is one of the bathrooms in the castle:

From the top of the castle, the Tarascon Collegiate Church of Saint Martha is an impressive Gothic church.

Our Final Thoughts

Castles have always fascinated me. It is fun for me to try and imagine what it was like during that era. We hoped you liked this article and learned something new about the castles of Provence.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

September 19, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

Character, Competence and Content

Hank Schrader

September 19, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

Character, Competence and Content

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

September is always a busy month for river cruise travel for our clients, as we have 10 couples in Europe right now or about to travel or who have finished their vacation..

It has not been an easy ride for 4 couples, as historic rain has flooded the upper Danube this week in September 2024. 4 of our clients’ travel was affected by the floods. We have managed to help all, and these situations don’t last long.

After the scramble, and successfully sorting it all out, it got me to thinking, as I often do, about the purpose of our business. Are we as good as we say we are in helping folks have exceptional river cruise vacations?

Anne often emphasizes we are not just order takers; we need to add value to the folks who trust their travels to us;

So, lets take a critical look at the foundation of business and our 3 guiding principles, Character, Competence, and Content and what it means for you if you decide to use us to help you travel better, especially if you are deciding to use us a a resource to plan a river cruise..

Character

Character for me is what we do and why we do it. We believe that we must be trustworthy, respectful and reliable. Character is a relationship building process, as you search for the right person to advise you about river cruising. We must be loyal, supportive and helpful. A more fancy way of saying this is we must provide personalized customer service.

Our class motto for my West Point Graduating Class of 1971 is “Professionally Done”. We also strive to provide you travel services that are “Professionally Done”.

Perhaps the best way to describe our business character, is to evaluate us as we advise you about your river cruise travels. Here are some questions you might ask yourself as you evaluate our services

Evaluation overall is simple—are we the right person to help you?

It is judgement time—do you think we will find you the best option for your river cruise trip?

Do we deliver timely, accurate answers to your questions and concerns?

Are we easy to work with?

Can you trust us to do what is best for you, not us?

Will we solve your pain points about traveling?

We think we check all these boxes with a resounding yes, but do you?

Maybe a little evidence is important here, so this might provide some back up to these questions, based upon past and present clients and other agencies, as we we think we are you best option to help plan a river cruise for your vacation.

Testimonials--We have a Traveller Hall of Fame page on our website along with testimonial quotes on various pages of our site and good reviews help—we use both, as well as A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau to help demonstrate we are the real deal..

The Hamlins on a Bordeaux River Cruise 2024

It is no surprise that we end almost every communication we have with folks with “Thanks for your trust in us”. It is not just a saying, it is a sincere reminder to us we must earn your trust every day.

Competence

To be a good travel advisor, it means we must understand how to best design a trip that hits all the items, or most of the items, that our clients desire in the trips we help the plan and execute.

You could call this discovery. Discovery is simple—do you, as a prospect, think we can help you get the best possible river cruise for your vacation?

After you become aware of our business, you now want to discover how we can help you. You want to know if we have the experience, knowledge and qualifications to help you, how we operate and what it costs to use us, and do you trust and like us.

It is no different than what you want when you buy something someone is selling—we all make these judgements. Here is where our website comes in—we must highlight how you will have a better trip by using us and how we talk with you in person or on the phone—our confidence and knowledge will help to set us apart from others in our profession..

We also emphasize this in our telephone calls—often spending up to an hour or more teaching and answering questions.

Ok, evidence time—we have taken 26 river cruises, have 3 more upcoming this year and next year, so our first hand knowledge is exceptional. We hold specialist designations from all major river cruise lines, so they know we have been properly trained about their products and services. We have been in business for 30 years. We have helped hundreds enjoy river cruises that match their travel preferences.

We also don’t charge extra fees for our services—we get paid by commissions only, and since the fee is already built into the price of the river cruise, you basically get our services for free, as you will pay the same price whether or not you choose to use us.

When something goes wrong, just like it recently happened to 4 of our clients, we become your adovate to help resolve and reduce problems that may make your vacation less than you expected. We make sure you are not alone.

Content

We believe we must become the best available resource to educate our clients about their upcoming travel. Since no travel advisor can be all things to each travel specialty, we focus on European River Cruising. While we know we are among the best possible river cruise agants in all of America, you may not be aware of the level of competence and respect we hold from past clients and industry companies.

So, how do we build awareness, that ultimately may lead you to use us as your trusted travel advisor? It is our outstanding content on our website and these blogs.

Here are some statistics from the analytics portion of our website (all are from 2024 only):

1) 42,391 unique visitors in 2024.

2) By far our best aspect in building awareness is the excellent content on our website. Over time we have built a great SEO ranking for 2 important areas—we are #1 on Google for Best River Cruise Routes in Europe ( 10,886 visitors) and bounce between #1 to #3 on Europe River Cruise Comparisons (10,873 visitors).

3) We are also rank # 1 for Europe River Cruise Ratings (3,150 visitors)

SEO rankings takes time, but excellent content usually rises to the top, especially if it is unique. As you can see, ours has.

Our river cruise section of our website has over 100 blogs about river cruising (we rank #2 or #3 for river cruise blogs) and 140 day-by-day itineraries of 7 different river cruise lines. By my count there are about 186 day by day routes of these 7 companies listed for sale in 2025, or stated another way, we have 75% of the offerings with our pictures of what you will see and do.

Here is a list to prove this point

Amawaterways 33 routes 33 completed
Avalon Waterways 36 routes 22 completed
Emerald River Cruises 22 routes 18 completed
Scenic River Cruises 22 routes 19 completed
Tauck River Cruises 32 routes 23 completed
Uniworld River Cruises 23 routes 9 completed
Viking River Cruises 18 routes 17 completed
Totals 186 routes 141 completed

We don’t know any other agency who has such a massive number of routes, using their own pictures. We could have only done this by taking 26 different river cruises since 2009—it is a huge investment in time and money to benefit you.

Building content is crucial and doesn’t happen overnight—adding good stuff to our website takes time and energy, as well as research to provide our clients something worthwhile. This is a win-win for all—we are subject matter experts on river cruising and you learn, so everyone benefits.

Our Final Thoughts

Character, Competence and Content—all benefit you when we help you plan your river cruise vacation. Isn’t it about time to: Savor life,,,Make Memories… Visit Dream Destinations…Your River Cruise Journey starts here!

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

August 22, 2024

River Cruise Routes

Sailing on Three Rivers with Tauck River Cruises

Hank Schrader

August 22, 2024

River Cruise Routes

Sailing on Three Rivers with Tauck River Cruises

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

In August 2024, we got the chance to learn more about Tauck River Cruises. We were invited to sail on the Three Rivers Cruise with Tauck River cruises.

Full disclosure: for the first time in 30 years, we were invited to experience the Tauck product for free—every other of our 26 river cruises, we have paid to go on the cruise. We want to emphasize that this in no way influences our opinions. We will write two blogs, one focused on the excursions (this one) and one devoted to food, as one day or so of food is not enough to fully rate this area

Due to some train maintenance and construction problems, we were only able to join the tour in Cologne on Day 3, despite being in Hamburg on the starting day of the cruise. It should have been a 5 hour trip but turned into a two day delay.

So, let’s take a 10-day trip on Three Rivers—The Rhine, Main and Danube to learn about their excursions and our experiences. We sailed with 73 guests.

Route Map and Overview

Here is how Tauck describes in its overview of this route the highlights you will experience and see (this route sails in two directions and we were to embark in Amsterdam (going south).

• Explore three glorious rivers on this very exciting cruise.

• Travel Germany's Romantic Road, visit the famed Nürburgring motorsports complex, savor the tastes of Frankfurt, and fully immerse in the historic beauty of towns like Nijmegen, Rothenburg and Cologne.

• Embark your riverboat in Regensburg, Germany, cruising the Danube to Nüremberg for tours above and underground.

• Make your way into the countryside to visit Bayreuth, Bamberg and Rothenburg along the Romantic Road. Artisan crafts and passions add local color to your cruise along the Main, where you'll enjoy a hands-on visit to a historic paper mill or be privy to a private piano collection during a visit with your eclectic host.

• Frankfurt's name alone evokes images of the all-American hotdog that took its cue from the sausages that are made here; discover the city's local specialties on your foodie tour, before a sparkling dinner at Schlösshotel Kronberg raises the culinary bar.

• Set a course for the racetrack at Nürburgring or slow your pace on a bicycle ride.

Day 1 Embark in Amsterdam

• Tour begins: 4:00 PM. A transfer is included from Schiphol International Airport or Amsterdam Centraal Station to your riverboat.

• Check-in time aboard ship is 4:00 PM for all guests.

• Join us for a welcome reception followed by dinner onboard your riverboat tonight and an evening cruise on Amsterdam's storied canals, after-dinner drink in hand.

Day 2 Pursue your interests in Nijmegen

• You have a choice of sightseeing adventures today.

• Join our local guide for a walking tour into the heart of Nijmegen, the oldest town in the Netherlands and vibrant with medieval sights that straddle streets from the 16th-century Lower Town by the banks of the Waal River to the older Upper Town.

• Alternatively, learn about the Dutch passion for horticulture during an expertly guided visit to the Gardens of Appeltern and a water pumping station,

During conversations with other guests, many liked this garden tour. One person, knowing we missed the first part told us Tauck also paid for beverages at the end of the tour. This is one of the perks of an all-inclusive cruise line.

• or venture to the Freedom Museum in Groesbeek, chronicling 20th century history in the Netherlands.

• Your ship sails this afternoon, bound for Köln, Germany.

Here are some of the great sights to see in Nijmegen had we selected this tour:

Day 3 Köln (Cologne) & Bonn

• Spend a leisurely morning aboard the riverboat, arriving in Köln before lunch for a walking tour with a local guide.

• Founded by the Romans in 38 BC, the city is like a living textbook of history and architecture, with Roman ruins, medieval churches, avant-garde buildings and the famous filigree-towered Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

St Martin's Cathedral and the Old Fish Market in Cologne

Day 4 The Middle Rhine Valley

• Dock in Koblenz for your choice of excursions.

This was the original docking location provided online, but we actually docked in Boppard, which is 12 miles south of Koblenz. To compensate for this change, Tauck offered a walking tour in the small village of Boppard, an old walled city.

Boppard--the church in the center of the picture are the Saint Severus's Church.

The Electorial Castle. It now houses the Thonet Collection, who is a famous furniture maker Michael Thonet and was born here. It also houses the Boppard Museum. An unusual place for a castle so close to the river, it was used to collect tolls in the Middle Ages.

• Drive to the Nürburgring racetrack that was featured in the movie Rush; see its Grand Prix racetrack built in 1984, and a long Nordschleife "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around the village and medieval castle of Nürburg in the Eifel Mountains.

We talked with several that went on this tour and they liked it but said the was no free time and no cars were being tested during their visit.

• Or, go at your own pace as you ride a bicycle along the Rhine from Koblenz to Boppard.

There was a bike tour that departed from Boppard. The time we were ported in Boppard was a little over an hour and we stopped briefly to pick up the riders later after they finished their ride.

• Enjoy head-turning scenic beauty this afternoon as your riverboat charts a course through the picture-book landscapes of the Middle Rhine Valley, designated a UNESCO World Heritage for its history as an important transport route and its castle-crowned hilltops.

Now the most scenic groups of castles in Europe, as we sail the Middle Rhine. Most of us were on the top deck during this phase of the cruise and like many cruise lines, one of the cruise directors added in-depth commentary about these scenic castles. It was the best, detailed commentary I have heard from any river cruise line. Having sailed this perhaps 10 or more times, it never gets old.

Lorelei—this tree-covered cliff inspired the legend of a love forsaken siren who lures sailors to their death by her enchanting song in this swift flowing, narrow part of the Rhine.

Schönburg Castle on the rock massif above Oberwesel

I always wondered about these small castles on this route. I learned they were fake castle built by the Nazis to make it appear the tunnels and bridges were important castles and avoid bombing by the Allied Forces during WW II

• Arrive in Wiesbaden this evening where a Tauck Exclusive dinner at Schlosshotel Kronberg, built in 1893 under the commission of Empress Victoria Friedrich and sparkling with antiques and paintings from her private estate.

In a constant theme of this cruise, we actually ported in Mainz. After about a 10 minute walk, we arrived at the buses.

We arrived at Schlosshotel Kronberg after about a 50 minute bus ride on one of Tauck coaches (buses). 3 buses followed us during the entire trip and they were excellent and comfortable. Here are 2 photos of the outside of the venue for tonight’s meal.

The Castle Hotel where we had the special dinner.

The castle hotel is stunning and we were greeted with champagne before the start of the meal. The wines were excellent and from the vineyards on the estate. They served a white and a red with the meal.

The menu was a soup, sea bass main course and dessert. The menu was fixed with no options, and not being a fish lover, was not my favorite meal during this trip. That being said, the fish was properly prepared and I did enjoy it. Several other guests told me that they would have preffered a different meal, but most seemed to enjoy the quality food and setting. The service was a five star experience.

These wines are produced on the estate and were excellent.

Day 5 A Taste of Frankfurt

• While its name evokes images of the famous sausage that inspired modern-day hot dogs, Frankfurt is home to one of the most impressive skylines in Germany, with world-renowned museums, historic cathedrals and ornately gabled half-timbered houses lining its streets and squares.

• Join a local guide for a walking tour of its landmark sites or whet your appetite for some of the city's most tempting culinary specialties on a tasting walk.

• Return to your riverboat for an afternoon of cruising, followed by dinner at leisure onboard.

Old Town Frankfurt The Fountain of Justice in 2022

Old Town Frankfurt Old St. Nicholas Church during the Christmas Markets in 2022

Old Town in 2024 during this cruise. This building is the Historical Museum of Frankfurt.

Wertheim House is the only original half-timbered house in the Old Town. We ate in the restaurant here in 2022--the German fare was very good.

Old Town Frankfurt main square preparing for a festival.. In the distance you can see the Fountain of Justice (compare it to the previous picture during our visit in 2022 during the Christmas Markets to see the detail of this fountain).

Our tasting tour--the Frankfurt hot dog and the special green sauce which is a specialty of Frankfurt.

This is the store that provided us the taste of Frankfurt

Day 6 Paper or Pianos in Middle Main

• Dating back to the 7th century, Wertheim is located where the Main River meets the Tauber River in southwest Germany in a fairy-tale setting.

• It is crowned with a hilltop castle that reigns over the city with delightful views, is renowned for its Franconian wine and glass making – and is home to a paper mill and piano collection that are yours to experience on a choice of excursions.

• See how paper is made on an interactive visit to a working paper mill

• or meet the owner of a private piano collection as your host shows you his prized musical instruments.

They also added a tour to a Blacksmith Workshop and Museum.

We learned also that at the end of these tours, there was a wine tasting not listed on the website, which many enjoyed.

We did not take any of these tours, as they all incuded long bus rides. I really couldn’t understand why there was not a tour of the pretty village of Wertheim, but it soon became apparant—once the tours departed , we were sailing again. You either took the tour, or stayed onboard. This cruise did not really allow any independent walking time and there often seemed to be be little free time.

Day 7 Bavarian Beauty on the Romantic Road

• Arrive in Würzburg this morning, set on the banks of the Main River in the heart of Franconian wine country along the Romantic Road for a choice of shore excursions.

• Join a local guide for a walking tour of Würzburg, known for its lavish Baroque and Rococo architecture, including the 18th-century Residenz Palace.

• Or visit the walled Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber at the north end of the Romantic Road, resplendent with medieval architecture, half-timbered houses and a cobblestoned Old Town.

The fresco shows paintings of 4 continents--Europe, America, Asia and Africa.

Staircase leading to the impressive fresco painting. It is the largest ceiling fresco ever painted. It was painted by Giovanni Basttista Tiepolo in 1752/53.

Detail of the Imperial Room. Some say the dog (shown at the lower right) eye's will follow you while you are in the room, as they seem to move--an interesting optical illusion..

There were excellent tapestry displays in many of the palace rooms

Sadly, this was a rushed tour. We were bused from the docking location, spent an hour and half viewing the palace with the extensive fresco explinations by the tour guide and there was not time to view the magnificant gardens. I often felt the sailing schedule was rushed and shortened tour time.

Here is another great choice the walled city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. These photos are from a past visit to this awesome city. The tour was all day (7 hours) and Tauck provided money for lunch (25 Euros per person) and bathroom tokens during this tour. This was my choice for the best tour on this cruise.

Plönlein Square, This is probably the most famous picture of Rothenburg . Translated from German, Plönlein is actually "the small square at a fountain”.

Burger Gate (Castle Gate) Rothenburg. This gate was built around 1460 and is the western gate entrance. It is the highest gate tower of the town fortifications.

Day 8 Bamberg or Bayreuth

• Your riverboat docks in Bamberg this morning, located on the River Regnitz close to the Danube Main Canal, for a day of Bavarian discoveries.

• You can choose to join our local guide for an in-depth tour of Bamberg, spread over seven hills that earned is nickname, "Franconian Rome."

• Explore its medieval old town, surrounded by Europe's largest intact wall and discover the special smoked beer it is famous for.

New Residence Rose Garden, Bamberg, Germany

Bayreuth tour

• Or drive to nearby Bayreuth to see its Baroque opera house, charming palaces, historical gardens and museums on a locally guided tour.

• At its center is the former home of composer Richard Wagner, whose music is featured every year at the Richard Wagner Festival, Germany's most important opera event.

We saw some pictures of the opera house—it is absolutely gorgeous. Others told us it was well worth the hour drive by the Tauck buses.

Dinner is at leisure onboard the riverboat.

Day 9 Choices in Nuremberg

• An important commercial hub from the Middle Ages onward, Nuremberg, the second largest city in Bavaria, is steeped in a rich historic legacy that can be seen and felt today, both above and below ground.

• View its well-preserved landmarks, including the imperial castle and the walled Old Town on a locally guided walk that provides insights about this Franconian capital

• or go underground with a local guide to learn about centuries of history both above and below ground.

• Explore the historic rock-cut tunnels that were cut into the rock starting in 1380.

• Their main uses were beer storage for local breweries but in the 1940s, they were also used as air raid bunkers.

• Enjoy time to discover the sights on your own before returning to the riverboat for a farewell cocktail and dinner.

Nuremburg Watch Tower. There are 4 km of walls and 67 defensive towers that ring the old town

Day 10 Journey Home

• Tour ends: Regensburg.

• Disembark ship in Regensburg this morning.

• A transfer from your riverboat to Munich's International Airport is included, approximately a 90-minute drive away. Most of these were private cars or vans.

• Flights should be booked after 12 noon. Allow a minimum of three hours for flight check-in at the airport.

• For additional nights in Munich, ask at booking.

I have no idea why this cruise sailed all the way to Regensburg and we did not tour this wonderful city. Here is some what you would have seen:

Watch Tower Gate on the Old Stone Bridge Regensburg, Germany

Porta Praetoria Gate from the Roman ruins that are used in a new building in Regensburg

Our Final Thoughts

This is a very interesting tour, with some unique items included that are not offered by other river cruise lines. Since we have sailed these routes on different lines, some of the port stops were very familiar and some new.

We enjoyed this trip and would recommend it to all, but it is only happening in 2024—it will not be available in 2025. I think I know why—it is just too ambitious and too dependent upon the sailing schedule, but that is just a guess. One thing was clear—Tauck does an awesome job on the provided tours.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

August 15, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

Tauck ms Savor Ship Tour

Hank Schrader

August 15, 2024

River Cruise Reviews

Tauck ms Savor Ship Tour

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

By the time you read this, we will have expanded our knowledge of Europe River Cruising by sailing on one of Tauck’s newest river routes—Three Rivers Danube, Main and Rhine. Our ship will be the 135 m (443 ft) ms Savor.

Full disclosure: for the first time in 30 years, we were invited to experience the Tauck product for free—every other of our 26 river cruises, we have paid to go on the cruise. We want to emphasize that this in no way influences our opinions and it is especially true of this first report on this ship tour. We will write two more blogs, one focused on the excursions and one devoted to food, as one day or so of food is not enough to fully rate this area.

So, let’s take a tour of this ship and learn about its facilities and staterooms.

Overview of the Savor and the Tauck Fleet

The Savor has 67 staterooms for 130 guests, the second fewest guests on any 135 m rivership in Europe (only 4 former Crystal ships, 2 with Riverside and 2 with Uniworld only have 110 onboard).

This standard 3 deck ship has 45 crew to look after the guests. Three other sister ships, the ms Inspire, the ms Joy and the ms Grace have almost the exact same lay out with different color schemes. There are 7 different categories of staterooms on these 135 m ships.

Here is a picture of the ms Savor, docked in Frankfurt, Germany.

Tauck has four 110 m ships (361 feet) in their fleet. They are the ms Emerald, the ms Sapphire, the ms Esprit and the ms Treasures. These ships carry 98 to 104 guests with 36 crew members. They have 49 staterooms.

The Swiss Emerald rafted next to the AmaCello

The other Tauck ship, the ms Andorinha, sails on the Douro River in Portugal. As with ships on the Douro River, it is a smaller ship, 80 m (263 feet) that holds 84 guests in 42 staterooms. It has a 36-person crew. This ships are smaller due to the smaller locks on the Douro River.

Tauck leases their ships from the Scylla company—only the Tauck 4 onboard tour guides are Tauck independent contracted employees, yet they feel overwhelming happy with this relationship. It is evident Tauck treats them well—they have a 20 year successful partnership.

The crew are members of Scylla organization. In talking with members of the crew, they really like the partnership with Tauck. It seems quite beneficial for both companies.

Decks and Staterooms of the Savor

The Emerald Deck

The Emerald Deck (lowest deck) has crew quarters and 14 fixed window staterooms. Unique to all river cruise ships, the 8 loft cabins (225 sq feet, category 3) actually have an innovative seating area on a raised loft that extends up to the second deck. It gives the usually small, cramped staterooms on the first deck, a very spacious and open feeling. The other 6 staterooms are only 150 sq feet and do not feature this loft concept.

These next photos are of Stateroom 102, a loft stateroom :

This is the loft area. The large windows make this area seem more open than most fixed window staterooms on every other river cruise line.

The Ruby Deck

The Ruby deck (2nd deck) has 29 staterooms. It has 3 small (150 sq feet category 2) staterooms; 16 large (225 sq feet category 5) staterooms; 8 large (225 sq feet category 6 staterooms); and 2 190 sq feet staterooms.

These next photos are of our Stateroom 220 (category 6):

The beds face the French Balcony (sliding glass patio style windows). This ship has only French Balconies in staterooms that has balconies. To my knowledge, only Avalon does the same for all staterooms, as does Tauck.

There is a nepresso coffee maker and a small refrigerator in the stateroom.

This is the sitting area in our cabin. In a nice touch, Tauck welcomes guests onboard with a bottle of champagne. The single flower is real, with a small water tube attached to the stem of the flower to keep it alive.

There are 2 shower heads in our shower —the traditional European spray head which with tube so you can be set or removed to use up close while showering and an overhead rain shower head.

This is a seat in the shower for those who might need to sit while showering.

The Diamond Deck

The Diamond deck (3rd deck) has 22 large staterooms (300 sq feet category 7) and 2 smaller staterooms (190 sq feet, category 5).

These first photos are of stateroom 301, a category 5 angled 190 sq feet cabin:

The shower in this room is noticeably smaller in the triangler shaped shower room as compared to other shower areas in other staterooms on the ship.

One nice feature of all stateroom sink areas onboard is good storage space for your grooming items inside the mirror cabinets above the sink.

This is a 300 square feet stateroom, # 304 (there are 16 similar rooms on the third deck):

The couch can be made up to a sleeper sofa and the category 7 cabins can sleep 3.

There is no bath tub in this category 7 stateroom.

The walk in closet is very spacious.

Onboard Facilities

On the first deck is the fitness room, the hair salon, massage room, and a spa area.

This is the Hair Salon

This is the Massage Room

This is the Spa Area

The fitness room has 2 exercise bikes, free weights, and 2 treadmills

2nd Deck Facilities

On the second deck is reception area, Tauck Desk for tours and excursions and the gift shop.

The Reception Area

The Atrium View from Deck 3.

The Gift Shop

The Tauck Desk

The Panorama Lounge

As with all river cruise ships, the Panorama Lounge is where most of the guests hang out, when not in their stateroom, or on tour.

The Dining Facilities

There are 2 dining facilities on the ship. The main dining room is the Compass Rose. The stern dining room is Arthur’s, named in honor of the founder, Arthur Tauck.

Here are some pictures of the Compass Rose:

Breakfast

In the Compass Rose, you can select from the buffet or order off the menu.

Here is the breakfast menu. I selected eggs benedict and French toast. Both were excellent!

The breakfast buffet area

The juice bar area

The picture above and below are of the special featured breakfast area. It is a very similar full English breakfast station.

My breakfast choices above and below in these 2 pictures.

Lunch

Lunch is offered in two forms. There are items from a buffet line or some items can be ordered from a menu. There’s a featured suggestion from a special preparation area/carving station.

Here was a lunch meal, selected from the featured lunch item—carbonara.

The carbonara was very good, the noodles were properly cooked and the pancetta excellent. Although I usually am not a fan of a creamy style sauce, this was well prepared and did not overwhelm the dish, as we have experienced with one of our favorite dishes while in Europe, so well done!

Salads, other lunch items and desserts were available from the buffet area. I chose the berry cobbler and black forest cake. Both were very tasty!

Dinner

Dinner is a 4 course meal. The menu provides choices of a starter, soup, entree and dessert.

Each night there are 2 wines, a white and red selections to pair with the meal. They are regional wines.

Executive Chef Salad

Potato Mustard Soup

The Veal dish

Chocolate Lava Cake

The cheese plate

Arthur’s

Arthur’s is a more casual dining venue compared to the Compass Rose. It features more American style cuisine, as compared to the European style cuisine of the Compass Rose main dining room.

Here are 4 pictures of Arthur’s :

Breakfast at Arthur’s

I could have selected items from the small breakfast buffet pictured above but I chose the ham and cheese omelette pictured below, which was quite good.

Arthur’s Lunch

Arthur’s Dinner

The Top Deck

The top deck has a small pool, putting green and seating area (some are shaded). Here are some photos:

They also use the top deck in good weather for a barbecue. They served grilled brats and hamburgers, barbecued ribs, salads, sauerkraut, and fried potatoes.

I decided not to provide a photo, as I overload my plate with the meats and potatoes. It was good fare but a little cumbersome to eat as my eyes were bigger than the optimum space on my plate.

For dessert there were 7 types of homemade ice cream.

Here is a picture of the event:

Our Final Thoughts

This is a very good river cruise ship. It is elegant, comfortable and has all one needs for a luxury river cruise. The food so far has been tasty (we will provide a much more detailed report in a future blog) and drinks are plentiful, as it is an all-inclusive fare.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

August 8, 2024

Europe Travel

Sanssouci-Fredrick the Great’s Palace (Without Worries)

Hank Schrader

August 8, 2024

Europe Travel

Sanssouci—Fredrick the Great’s Palace (Without Worries)

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

The Palace of Sanssouci, located in Potsdam, Germany, was the summer retreat of Fredrick the Great to get away from the pomp and ceremony of Berlin, the capital of Prussia.

The original palace has only 10 rooms with 2 common areas and was built between 1745 and 1747.

So, let’s visit Sanssouci, and learn about the palace and the ruler Fredrick the Great.

Fredrick the Great

Fredrick the Great was the monarch of Prussia from 1740 until 1786. He is known as both a capable monarch, but more so as a brilliant military leader. His extensive battlefield experience and writings gained him fame as an influential military theory and doctrine figure during his reign and afterward. His favorite topics were strategy, tactics, mobility and logistics.

He also believed in enlightened absolutism—trying to distinguish his rule from ordinary royal rulers to rule for the well-being of his subjects. Among his accomplishments were modernizing the civil service in Prussia, reforming the judicial system, and allowing freedom of the press and literature.

When Fredrick came to the throne at 28 in 1740, Prussia was the 12th largest country in Europe, but had the 4th largest army (France, Russia and Austria were larger) and a staggering 86% of Prussia’s budget was devoted to funding his army. Fredrick doubled the size of his army and fought a series of battles known as the Silesian Wars (there were 3) against Austria.

His soldiers were highly disciplined and won several decisive battles against Austria. The result of these conflicts gained control of the territory of Silesia and the Saxon capital of Dresden and he annexed these lands into his Kingdom of Prussia. After 1745, Fredrick became known as “the Great” due to his success against the larger Austrian army. So influential was Fredrick in military theory, often as a result to personally leading his men in battle and using his 2 favorite tactics of speed of march and speed of fire, that his writings (all were written in French) became the model for other national armies such as Russia and France. His structure of military organization; the strict training regimens he demanded of his leaders and soldiers; and the autonomy he gave his commanders were the standard for the best armies of the world in the late 1700s and became the model used later by the German General Staff for WW I and WW II.

Fredrick the Great was ambitious, ruthless, a confident military genius who often defeated larger armies he fought and served as an enlightened monarch in an era when the various rulers of Europe vied for power and wealth. He doubled the size of his kingdom and eventually lost half of his army during the constant wars he either started or was drawn into to defend his kingdom and war territory gains.

His legacy is enduring yet controversial.

Sanssouci

The exteriors of the Sanssouci Palace are quite contrasting.

On the North side of the exterior of Sanssouci Palace, there is a double row of 88 Corinthian collonades in a half circle. Here are 3 photos of the north exterior, which is majestic and commanding and designed to impress visitors to his palace:

The west side of the quarter circle of double row of columns. This is the north side of the palace.

This is the palace entrance. Only the slight change in the roof line identifies the palace entrance.

The east side of the double columns.

Here are some pictures from the garden side of Sanssouci Palace which is serene and peaceful;

This is the view of the palace from the first terrace.

The grilled enclosed gazebo on the right side of the place (kings apartment side).

There is another very similar gazebo on the guest side of the palace.

There can be little doubt Fredrick’s favorite palace was Sanssouci. He is quoted as saying even before construction started, “Once I am there, I shall be carefree”. It was his sanctuary in difficult times and an escape for him. He was completely involved with the design and decorations of his palace. His vision was a place where he could relaxed in an atmosphere of refined culture. Fredrick II was a music lover, played the flute skillfully, and admired French arts and culture. French was the language of Sanssouci, and some historians say his French was better than his native German language.

The palace is built on a hill in the middle of a large park. The original building that was completed in 1747, has only 10 rooms all on the first floor—it is more a grand villa instead of a grand palace. 20 years later he expanded the building with the New Palace as a display of his power and strength. It was used to impress guests and Fredrick seldom used it and referred to the new construction as “fanfaronade” when translated from French means “showing off”.

An easy way to understand the organization of the main rooms of the original palace is to think of them as 3 distinct areas. The center of the Palace are the Entrance Hall and Marble Hall, which functioned as the common areas of the palace. On the east side of this central area are the King’s Apartments—his bedroom and study; the audience and dining rooms; the circular library; and the gallery. On the west side there are 5 guest rooms.

We took a self-guided audio-vox tour. It had good descriptions of the rooms but since there are so many framed paintings and statues on the walls, along with the decorated wall paintings, it was hard to grasp how opulent and detailed the palace is in a short room-by-room visit.

The common areas are The Entrance Hall and The Marble Hall which were used for receptions and celebrations.

The next pictures are the Entrance Hall. It is a dignified and elegant. The Corinthian order of the columns signals Frederick’s rank as a important royal.

The statue in the east corner is Ares, the Greek god of war. In an unusual depiction, he has his shield, helmet and weapon on the ground signifying peace and concord. Many have speculated that a man so involved in war wanted peace, as he placed this gift from the French King so prominently in the Entrancr Hall.

The Marble Room

This is the most dramatic room in the palace. The dome is richly guilded and represents Frederick’s love of architecture, music and poetry, painting and sculpture, and astronomy and geography.

The theme for the Marble Room is a recreation of the Roman Pantheon. The Marble Hall was the place for celebrations and parties.

The Kings Apartments

This is the retreat where Frederick spent most of his time while in Sanssouci.

First, the Small Gallery where Fredrick displayed some of the collection of his paintings and statues. He favored French artists and paintings, changing the selection often, to allow visitors to view his impressive collections.

Here are some pictures of this narrow room:

The Audience and Dining Room

The audience room and dining room were the first areas of the kings side of the palace. It served 2 purposes. This room functioned when a more formal area was needed to meet with his subjects as an audience room but served more often as a dining room.

Towards the end of his reign, Fredrick often held long lunches with 7 to 10 invited guests. He favored officers and scholars where he learned through the conversations more about his kingdom and his interest of a variety of subjects.

The King’s Study and Bedroom

Frederick did most of his work in the study by meeting with his counselors and ministers. He used these meetings to issue edicts, decrees and orders to rule his Prussian kingdom.

The screen on the right is where the king slept on a simple soldier’s cot.

This is the chair where Fredrick died on 17 August 1786 with his physician, 2 valets and a servant present.

The Circular Library is almost hidden and can be entered by a narrow passageway. It has a collection of over 2,100 books and manuscripts with Greek and Roman writings and a significant collection of the writings of Voltaire in French.

During the tour, this room is closed and we had to take pictures through the window on the door.

On the west side of the palace, there are the 5 guest bedrooms. The Guest Bedrooms were only for those important enough to be invited to Sanssouci.

Two of these rooms were used so frequently by Fredrick’s guests, they became known by the Guest’s name. These are the Rothenburg room, named for the Count of Rothenburg and the Voltaire Room, named after the famous philosopher who lived there for 3 years.

Here is the First Guest Bedroom:

Here is the Second Guest Bedroom:

Now the 3rd Guest Bedroom

The famous 4th Bedroom, the Voltaire Bedroom.

In this bedroom, it was much easier to see the painted wall detail and decorative theme. The black vegetation and stork are clearly visible. There is even a monkey on one wall.

There is a 5th Guest Bedroom, but it is not available to view during the self-guided tour with the autovox.

The Gardens

The gardens are a series of terraces landscaped in the baroque style. Among the features of the gardens are the Neptune Grotto, the temple of friendship (dedicated to memory of his favorite sister) the Great Fountain and the Chinese House.

This is the great fountain.

The statues on either side of the great fountain are of various Greek gods and goddess.

Fredick’s original idea was to cultivate figs, plums and vineyards in the park on the terraces. But he soon realized he also wanted a retreat here and only a year after his original idea, construction of the palace began.

Fredrick II The Great is buried in the gardens. It is a fitting place for a monarch that once modestly said “A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in.”

The potatoes on the grave symbolize a clever idea Fredrick had about potatoes. While most of Europe readily eat potatoes, the Prussian population avoided them. Realizing he couldn’t force his subjects to eat potatoes, he posted guards around his potatoes fields and decrees stiff punishment for theft. This worked—his subjects began to think potatoes were rare and valuable and began to eat a food they previously shunned.

This the small grave area of Frederick the Great.

Our Final Thoughts

Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit sites that are important in history and try and imagine what it was like during that era. Perhaps more than most other royal palaces, this is an intimate look into the life of Fredrick the Great, his tastes, and the escape mechanisms he sought from the pressures of ruling and constant warfare that characterized his reign.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

August 1, 2024

River Cruise Routes

2025 AmaWaterways Best of the Danube River Cruise

Hank Schrader

August 1, 2024

River Cruise Routes

2025 AmaWaterways Best of the Danube River Cruise

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

AmaWaterways has a new cruise for 2025 called the Best of the Danube. It is inspired by the Godfather of River Cruising, Rudi Schreiner, who was born and raised in Austria.

So, let’s learn about this new route.

Overview

Here is how AmaWaterways describes this new route:

• Capture the imperial history of Old-World Europe along the Danube River as it flourished beneath towering fortresses and inspired legendary artists and musicians.

• With an abundance of scenic cruising, a focus on grand cities and popular landmarks, and the ease of traveling roundtrip from Budapest, this special itinerary is our Co-Founder Rudi Schreiner’s top-choice itinerary for 2025 – be among the first to experience it!

• Begin your journey with our pre-cruise land package in majestic Budapest, during which you will immerse yourself in some of the Hungarian capital’s lesser-known heritage and historic sites.

• After embarking on your ship, discover the luxury and beauty of river cruising as you glide through the scenic Wachau Valley, a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Throughout your journey you will visit the river’s legendary capitals: Bratislava and Vienna – where AmaWaterways’ Co-Founder Rudi Schreiner, the visionary “Godfather of River Cruising,” was born and raised.

• Encounter fascinating architecture from Melk’s golden-hued Benedictine abbey to Vienna’s magnificent Schönbrunn Palace.

• Plus, follow The Sound of Music through sprawling Salzburg, the incomparable birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Day-by-Day on this route

The route begins and ends in Budapest on this 7-night cruise. The first and last days are like all AmaWaterways cruises, with embarkation time 3:00 PM (1500) where you can look forward to cocktail-hour, safety briefings and the cruise manager explaining upcoming excursions. Then an awesome meal that will make you look forward to more good dining experiences to come during the rest of your trip.

On the last day your departure time off the ship should be 9:00 AM (0900), so the crew can get ready for the new guests. It is very important you are out of your stateroom to ease this transition. If your transportation transfer is not ready by 0900, you can always wait in the lounge until it arrives.

Day 2 Bratislava

• Take your time this morning as the ship cruises from Budapest to Slovakia.

• Host to the crowning ceremonies of 11 Hungarian kings and queens between 1536 and 1830, Bratislava certainly has earned the title “Coronation City of Kings,” as you’ll discover during your walking tour.

• If you prefer exploring the world through your tastebuds, join a special “Tastes of Slovakia” tour to sample traditional flavors from the region, including local beer.

• For a more active adventure, hike up to Bratislava Castle, offering magnificent views of the city, or journey further from the seat of your bike on a guided cycling tour. (B,L,D)

Here are some of our photos to help you see your options here:

Bratislava Castle. There is an option to hike up to the castle as part of the active excursions

St Martin’s Cathedral, Bratislava. This is the coronation church of the Hapsburg Royal Line

Day 3 Wachau Valley and Melk

• Spend your morning reveling in the postcard-perfect landscapes of Austria’s picturesque UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Wachau Valley.

• Later in the day, arrive in Melk. Located above the city on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Danube, Melk Abbey is one of Europe’s largest and most revered Baroque monasteries and a breathtaking UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Originally founded in the 11th century, the magnificent abbey now houses a museum chronicling its history and a famous library with countless medieval manuscripts.

• During your tour you will see some of Melk’s musical manuscripts as well as frescoes painted by Johann Michael Rottmayr and Paul Troger.

• If you prefer a more active tour, you may hike to Melk Abbey or pedal around town on a guided bike tour.

• Alternatively, venture to the neighboring town of Dürnstein for a walking tour along its charming, cobbled lanes, taking in the beauty of its brilliant blue Stiftskirche tower. (B,L,D)

More of our pictures, to get a better feel for this day’s activities. First, let’s sail the Wachau Valley.

After this scenic cruise you have 2 options. The first is to visit Melk Abbey

The other option is to visit Dürnstein, Austria. This option will require a coach (bus) ride to this walled village of 600.

Dürnstein, Austria. These ruins above the village is where Richard the Lionhart was held for ransom.

Dürnstein, Austria. There is an optional walking tour along its charming, cobbled lanes, taking in the beauty of its brilliant blue Stiftskirche tower. The blue Stiftskirche tower.is a monestary in this tiny village of 600.

Dürnstein, Austria. This is a gate into the walled city.

Day 4 Linz

• Arrive in Linz, where you’ll have two choices for full-day excursions.

• Venture to Salzburg where you’ll tour the historic center, lovely Mirabell Gardens, Residenz Square and the Old Market.

• You will also visit the museum at the famed yellow building known as Mozart Birth House and residence where the legendary composer was born in 1756 and lived until 1773.

• En route to Salzburg, stop at Mondsee, home of the Basilica St. Michael where the wedding scene from The Sound of Music was filmed.

• You may alternatively choose to join a full-day excursion to the charming Czech mountain town of Český Krumlov, where you can stroll its cobblestone streets; marvel at the city’s picturesque Baroque and Renaissance-style buildings; and tour Krumlov Castle, one of Europe’s largest castle complexes. (B,L,D)

This will be the hardest choice for this cruise. Along with our pictures, here is our blog about these 2 options, to help you make your choice (don’t worry, either will be great!)

2 Great Options

The winding Valtava River in Český Krumlov

Day 5 Vienna

• Enjoy a full morning of scenic cruising, taking some time to sit back, relax and delight in the ever-changing views.

• Sleep in late, participate in a complimentary wellness class, treat yourself to a massage and get to know fellow cruisers while exploring all the amenities on board.

• In the afternoon, enjoy an overview of Vienna’s history and all its famous landmarks on a city tour showcasing all its regal splendors, including the majestic Opera House, St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the former Imperial Palace of the Habsburgs.

• Alternatively, take a thrilling guided bike ride along the romantic Danube Canal and through the city, traversing a bridge, cycling across a meadow and heading to Vienna’s famous Ringstrasse Boulevard. (B,L,D)

Here are some photos of what you can expect to see on this first day in Vienna:

Day 6 Vienna

• Following your overnight in the “City of Waltzes,” visit the UNESCO-designated Schönbrunn Palace and Gardens, the main summer residence of the Habsburg rulers.

• Built in the 18th century as an imperial summer residence, this magnificent 1,441-room Baroque palace is one of the most important architectural, cultural and historical monuments in Austria.

• If you prefer to connect with nature, journey to the town of Cobenzl where you will embark on a hike through the famed Vienna Woods that inspired a waltz composed by Johann Strauss II.

• Later in the day, explore Vienna at your leisure. (B,L,D)

The summer palace is special, but sadly does not allow photo inside:

Day 7 Budapest

• Your cruise last full day starts this morning in Budapest, Hungary, which is split into the sections of Buda and Pest by the Danube River.

• A guided tour of the city begins with the Pest side and a drive along Andrassy Avenue to Heroes’ Square and a drive by Parliament and other sites.

• Explore the Buda side with a drive-up Castle Hill, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; see Fishermen's Bastion with its Neo-Romanesque design and admire the stained glass windows and centuries of history in Matthias Church (may be closed on some days due to services).

• After lunch, spend the rest of the day and evening pursuing what interests you most in this historic, and artistic, city.

• Join us this evening for a farewell toast followed by dinner as your Danube cruise ends.

Some great sites on the Pest (flat) side of Budapest are in these photos:

Our Final Thoughts

For an important look at the best sites near the Danube from Melk to Budapest, this is the cruise for you. Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit sites that changed the world and try and imagine what it was like during the Hapsburg era. We think it does an awesome job and with the chance for a pre or post cruise extra 2 nights in Budapest, you will have seen and experience the Best of the Danube!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 53 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

July 18, 2024

River Cruise Comparisons

Travel + Leisure World Best River Cruises--the Confusion Continues!

Hank Schrader

July 18, 2024

River Cruise Comparisons

Travel + Leisure World Best River Cruises—the Confusion Continues!

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Every year numerous travel publications send out their lists of what their readers say from a survey or by their own ratings. While I always find their results interesting, they should have little meaning to you. Why? The pie-in-the-sky lists seldom match what matters to you most for a river cruise trip.

As we always say (the caps are intentional) ALL RIVER CRUISES ARE A GREAT VACATION!

Perhaps the range of scores of Travel + Leisure for their list of the 10 best river cruise lines between #1 and #10 is 98.85 to 90.09 supports this statement—90% is an A or 5 star in most rating systems.

Instead of providing our take on the ratings, I decided to provide you with some background information on the lines we do not follow and report on the scores provided.

It is critical thinking time—let’s explore the results together.

Travel + Leisure World Best Lists

Travel + Leisure just came out with their annual World Best Lists last week (12 July 2024). Best lists always rank high in readership, as folks seek the best and often turn a blind eye to the results. This is especially true for travel ratings. So, I just can’t resist examining the results with regard to our specialty—river cruises.

Methodology

According to the magazine “Over 186,000 T+L readers completed the 2024 survey. A total of more than 700,000 votes were cast across over 8,700 properties (hotels, cities, cruise lines, etc.).”

For the cruise category, respondents were asked to rate individual ships; the results were combined to generate scores for cruise lines in different categories based on number of cabins.

Ships were specifically rated on the criteria: 1) Cabins/facilities; 2) Food; 3) Service; 4) Itineraries/destinations; 5) Excursions/activities; and 6) Value.

For each characteristic, respondents could choose a rating of excellent, above average, average, below average, or poor. The final scores are averages of these responses.

I must admit, for the life of me, how they got such precise mathematical scores from 6 rating categories with 5 possible scores and convert them into a 100 based score with 2 decimal places is beyond me. I’m sure a mathematician who specializes in statistics knows the answer, but it does make me wonder how the results were tabulated. A second factor is the lack of transparency about how many actually voted in the overall category of river cruises.

Please remember, all these lists have no actual peer review as you might see in scientific articles but I realize this will never happen as it would add to the complexity of the survey and it really boils down to an opinion survey from individuals who may or may not experienced many river cruise options—these great vacations just rate so highly, it is no wonder the comparisons are biased by limited experience with all available options.

Still, they are fun to read, vendors love them, and it does created increased readership and ad dollars. So that is why every year we get a new list to consider.

The River Cruise Ratings

There sure were a lot of possible rating categories the readers could report their ratings. Here is the list of their results for river cruise lines:

1. Aqua Expeditions 98.85

2. Avalon Waterways 95.91

3. Le Oberoi Cruises 95.75

4. Tauck 95.71

5. Grand Circle 95.61

6. Uniworld 94.83

7. Viking 94.73

8. Riverside 94.62

9. Scenic 91.00

10. AmaWaterways 90.09

Since we cover AmaWaterways, Avalon, Scenic, Tauck, Uniworld, and Viking (the only one we also follow is Emerald, which did not make this list) and have provided our take and rating on each line, I won’t rehash it here again. The game plan is to provide you with some background on the 4 other lines that made their list.

# 1 Aqua Expeditions 98.85

Aqua Expeditions has 3 ships that sail on the Amazon (32 guests), Galapagos (16 guests) and in Southeast Asia on the Aqua Blu (30 guests). The hype seems to be the 30 crew to 30 guest ratio on the Aqua Blu and the Travel + Leisure pointed to this—the service was over the top according to one example a survey respondent provided in the survey, as well as many more cited their exceptional service.

It is probably easy to understand why we don’t follow this line—it is really in the expedition niche, and we specialize in Europe River cruises.

How is it possible that a line with only 3 ships and so few guests gets enough votes to make it to number one in their list? Either the minimums are quite low, or customer comments pushed the line up. It is hard to evaluate this rating objectively.

# 3 Oberoi 95.75

Oberoi is a luxury hotel operator with 32 luxury hotels and 2 river ships. Both ships, the Zahra (27 cabins) and the Philae (22 cabins) sail only on the Nile River. It is hard for me to believe that with only 2 ships and limited staterooms, that many folks would rate it so high—makes you wonder how many votes it would require to be considered.

I don’t doubt it is luxury, but most newly built Egyptian River ships are equally luxurious, and these ships were built in 1996 and refurbished in 2015. I’m not exactly sure of how many newer ships have been added to the Nile River fleets of other lines, but it is more than 4—AmaWaterways and Viking have had their newer ships in service since 2015 and AmaWaterways just added a new Nile River ship in 2024.

# 5 Grand Circle 95.61

There is a good reason we don’t follow this line—they only allow direct bookings. Since they do not advertise at all and cite this as a reason they can provide lower cruise fares, they are often described as a less expensive way to enjoy the river cruise experience. In Europe, they offer routes on 5 different leased river cruise ships. Several river cruise lines use leased ships which are configured slightly by the operating cruise lines, but it does call into question maintenance of the vessels.

Grand Circle originally was founded by AARP (American Association of Retired People) and was purchase in 1958 by Alan Lewis and now is owned by a private equity firm Court Square Capital Travel. The line caters almost exclusively to North Americans.

Reviews online cite their education experiences during the cruise and rate them very high on this factor, but the reviews are all over the place about comfort and food.

The cabins are rather sparse compared to other lines. It is the only line to my knowledge that uses fold up beds (murphy beds)—not really my idea of the luxury experience that other lines who we follow provide their guest.

# 8 Riverside 94.62

Riverside has been in business for less than 2 years and has 3 ships sailing in Europe. Their first ship is the double wide Mozart which used to be part of the now bankrupt Crystal River Cruise line. The Mozart (162 guest cabins) can only sail on the Danube because of the size of the ship and locks on the Danube. They also leased from Uniworld two 135 m riverships that used to belong to Crystal. We got a chance to tour the Mozart in 2023 at the ASTA River Cruise Expo and eat dinner on the ship (I will expand on our experience this shortly in subsequent paragraphs of this section of the blog). The other two 135 ships are the Debussy and the Ravel (both 110 guest cabins). The Debussy sails the Rhine, the Main and the Moselle. The Ravel sails the Rhone and Saone.

The Riverside model is different in pricing as compared to other lines who we follow. The all-inclusive fare includes accommodations, meals & drinks and one excursion per destination. They also offer a full range of a la carte services which allows guests to pick only what services they desire to tailor their trip to their preferences.

It is interesting to me that in the Riverside brochure, 70 of the 112 the pages are about the ship and the onboard experience (they cover the staterooms, cuisine & dining, spa & fitness, and extensive descriptions of the Mozart and the other 2 ships). It has more large pictures of the 3 ships than any other brochure I have seen about river cruise lines.

All three ships have a Vintage Room specialty dining for an extra expense that is limited to 12 guests for evening dining pair with fine wines.

Some travel writers and travel professionals claim Riverside has the “best food on the rivers”. This certainly was not our experience in 2023. The dinner meal was not as good as other lines we have sailed on.

My steak meal on the Mozart—the meat was very tough

I wrote a blog comparing meals on various lines during the 2023 River Cruise Expo in Budapest last year. If you would like to learn more about our experience (visit our river cruise blog archives on our website). I was told by one of their representatives the meal we had was somehow overbooked and that was the reason for the generally poor showing that many of us travel professionals experienced.

We later learned that the onboard chefs have complete autonomy in their menu planning without corporate input or mandates, so maybe they have overcome this first poor showing we experienced.

One of the other revelations about the line is that it is struggling to fill their ships—one writer stated there were only 28 aboard during her 4-day sailing. I just can’t help but wonder how it is included on the list—only 3 ships, not sailing at capacity, and only has been in business for a little under 2 years; how did it receive enough votes to be included on the 10 Best List?

For us, this new line may deserve future inspection from us to cover them. Later this year we will get this chance to sail on the Ravel and provide you with more details on our experience.

Our Final Thoughts

I hope you find this interesting and informative. Part of the problem is that all river cruises are good vacations, and readers often only have the chance to sail on one line and tend to rate it highly as a result.

This just goes to show how little value these ratings have for us—it is so much better to match your travel style to the vendors—don’t be swayed by these reports. We hope you enjoyed this report—it was fun and challenging writing it.

Even cruise lines and vacation recommendations from friends and family should not be your sole reason to choose a certain line—everyone has certain travel expectations and just because they enjoyed it, you may not. You should use a seasoned travel professional like us, with in-depth knowledge to help you find the right cruise for you that matches your travel style

Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit sites that are important to you and try and imagine what it was like during that era.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

July 11, 2024

Best Value Travel

Caring and Our Travel Business

Hank Schrader

July 11, 2024

Best Value Travel

Caring and Our Travel Business

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

We got hit with 90+ winds from Hurricane Beryl and lost our fence on the east side of our house, lost power for about 13 hours and had some damage to one of our trees with a broken limb dangling over 20 feet in the air. This early July hurricane caused over 2 million to lose power—as I write this (11 July 2024), there over 1 million in the greater Houston area are still without power 3 days after the Cat 1 Hurricane hit early Monday morning. It is a very dangerous heat situation, and we hope it gets resolved quickly.

Not all get how serious this event is in our area. In an internet article on Fansided two days ago, the author was trying to make the point the Astros professional baseball team were playing the Marlins Tuesday after the hurricane hit and were offering $5 entrance tickets and dollar dog night because the Marlins are struggling to win games. To me, this was totally ridiculous—it wasn’t about a bad team so much as a way for struggling folks to escape the oppressive heat in the air-conditioned stadium—it is an act of caring instead of greed. Many here will have a lot of unforeseen expenses, spoiled food and damage to their homes.

We are some of the lucky ones—quick power restoration in about 13 hours. This our 5th hurricane since we moved here and our first property damage other than the power loss that is almost a given anytime a significant wind event hits this area. We are safe and sound but worry about others in the area who are not so fortunate.

A Small Gesture of Help from a Caring Neighbor

Luckly for us, there are many who still do care and have empathy for others. During the yard cleanup, I was struggling to cut down the rather large dangling limb high enough to reach with my hand-held tree trimmer and try to saw the dangerous branch down. As I always believe I can solve any physical task even though I’m 74, a very nice young worker from Center Point Energy stopped and wanted to check if we had any energy problems. We told him no and as he watched me trying to solve the dangerous situation with a manual pole saw, said he lived nearby and could get his small chain saw (a pole mounted tool), which would make quick work of the damage limb. Realizing I was stubbornly still working, he drove off and returned shortly with his motorized tool. Soon the branch was off with his help, and he drove off. The point of this story—he cared we were overmatched, had an easy solution and went out of his way to help. Yes, he cared!

So, he inspired today’s blog—caring in travel.

The 3 elements of Building a Good Relationship with Potential Clients

We are all overwhelmed with ads and offers daily. We also meet many folks who are selling to us. This is especially true in the world of Europe River Cruising. Since it is such a good vacation and so many have been inspired by the Viking ads on PBS that put river cruising on the map as a great way to see the heart of Europe, there is a lot of confusion about which line to select and which route is best for their vacation and some wisely reach out to us for help.

I’ll bet that most of us are thinking about 3 questions when they search for a travel salesperson and are evaluating them while listening to their pitch. They are 1) Can I trust this person? 2) Do they know what they are talking about? 3) Do they care about me and what I need?

Although not all travel professionals know enough about river cruising, many do. Most who find us, already have done a lot of research and will quickly know if we are knowledgeable enough to help them.

The trust element comes from action, not words. My favorite way to say this is “will we do what is right for you when no one is looking”. We trust you will be honest with us, and you trust we will be honest with you. Trust is earned, not given. We hope our actions earn your trust.

Perhaps the most important fact that builds the relationship is the care factor. I recently talked with a potential client, and he remarked since I was a retired military officer and 74, we probably were not desperate for the income of our travel business and that made him more comfortable using us—he trusted us since we seemed to him more concerned about getting folks a great trip than making money. He was right!

Do they care about me and what I need?

When I was a young second lieutenant, I read some advice from a Sargent Major to young officer leaders. He emphasized many things leaders needed to do, but one stuck out in my mind— it was caring.

In the military, we are going to get the job done regardless of the difficulty. However, instead of just ordering soldiers to perform without any regard to their welfare, leads to dysfunctional units and destroys unit morale and cohesion. I took this advice as a principal for me—before I gave an order, I tried to think if there was a better way to get the job right and still care for the soldiers I was leading. Sometimes there was no way to make the situation better but just telling the truth was enough. Soldiers know quickly if you care,

So, why is all of this in the blog—Anne and I think caring and trying to match you to the best solution for your trip is our mantra—your welfare is vital to our relationship. Just like my former soldiers, our potential clients know quickly if we care.

We treat each of our clients as friends, because we don’t sell travel to clients—we sell travel to friends. There is a big difference—how your trip goes makes a world of difference to us. We would like to say we are small enough to deliver personalize service but big and experience enough to get you just the right trip.

We try to match you to just the right river cruise experience and make it logical, realistic and affordable in your price range. Don’t get us wrong—we do not sell on price—we sell on value. We try to demonstrate how valuable you are to us in many ways but how many other travel professional have a Traveler Hall of Fame? We are proud we could help you and want to share with others your joy and satisfaction.

Here are some of the folks who we have or will shortly added to our Hall of Fame this year.

Barb and Mike on the start of Tauck Galapgos Trip 2024—the famous Machu Picchu in the background

Our Amawaterways group on the Gems of the Danube April 2024—the wonderful lower Danube

Janice and Curtis with the Captain on AmaWaterways A Taste of Bordeaux river cruise 2024

Ruth and Joe on an Anniversary well spent on Amawaterways Tulip Time Cruise in the Chef’s Table 2024

Our Final Thoughts

We hope you enjoyed this blog--sometimes, it is important to share with you our thoughts about your travel challenges. Shared hardships cause folks to bound together to try and get thru the hard times. It also reminds us we need to care more, listen actively and respect your travel desires and dreams. We hope the many we have helped in the past think of us as friends first and then travel professionals second. Trust us, we do care!

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

June 27, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

Search Engines and River Cruising

Hank Schrader

June 27, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

Search Engines and River Cruising

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Anyone in business always faces the same problems—how can they get more people to know about their products and services?

Most of us today when faced with a question about anything, just search for it on the web. Apparently, the holy grail is to be on page 1 of Google—according to one source I read that the number 1 ranking gets 32% of all the clicks for the search. Another source stated that approximately 75% of users never scroll past page one in a web search.

SEO (search engine optimization) experts call this authority—it means that the source is trustworthy, high quality, relevant and has something to offer. Although very complex and often changing, search engines use a collection of formulas to determine the quality and relevance of a web page and blog posts called algorithms . It is not so important for us to understand how these formulas are developed; it is just important for us to understand if the results will help us answer our questions correctly.

So, the blog today is about our authority and what it means for you in your river cruise search for a high-quality, luxury vacation. It is also a good way for you to determine how valuable the source is to you during your search for answers about river cruising .

We also want to emphasize that search engines are not 100% perfect, so please use your critical thinking skills when reading about river cruising and evaluate the material you find during your search for answers.. We think this blog will help you to evaluate the sources you find during your search.

Some of our Current Rankings and Awareness Philosophy

Ok, a little bragging but more importantly, do we deserve some of our high rankings? We are # 1 for Best River Cruise Routes Guide; we bounce between #1 to # 3 in Europe River Cruise Comparisons and #1 for Best River Cruise Blogs.

While we are very proud of our rankings and website, we also try to emphasize our blog quality and content on the website. Our goal is to educate and provide great content. We have been asked why we don’t use some other methods of social media, and here are some fascinating facts about the lifespan of social media:

According to Levitate Media here are the statistics (called lifespan or average length of time people engage with a post by social media experts) of social media compared to blogs—TikTok 0 to 2 minutes; X (formerly Twitter) 15 to 18 minutes; Facebook 5 to 6 hours; LinkedIn 24 hours; Instagram 48 hours; YouTube 20 days; Pinterest 4 months and blogs 2 years! I guess after reading this, it is no wonder that blogs and website content are our central focus to communicate with our loyal readers.

The key here is the blog posts must be trustworthy, high-quality, and relevant.

Trustworthy

Are our blogs trustworthy? I think so. We clearly differentiate between our opinion and facts and try to cite sources when appropriate. And perhaps, most importantly, we back it up with our pictures (most are taken by Anne) --hard to fake a picture, especially if you look for other examples of the site, ship or experience from other sources. Here are 6 examples of the quality photos Anne takes:

Schönburg Castle on the rock massif above Oberwesel, Germany

**A typical bouchon.** These are small bistros often identified by their red and white checker-squared tablecloths Lyon, France

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle (foreground) & Gutenfels Castle on the Hill Germany’s Rhine River

Most of our blogs are 2,000 words or more—long enough to adequately cover the topic. It does take a lot of work to make it comprehensive and accurate.

After taking over 24 European River cruises on most of Europe’s rivers, we have the experience and knowledge to provide you with reliable information. We hope it helps us provide you with more trustworthy blogs.

While it might be tempting for us to use vendor content alone or social media prepared services or even blog help to post as a quick way to create content for our website, it just defeats the objective of building our trust and the knowledge base needed to succeed effectively informing you about river cruises. Taking shortcuts like this won’t allow us to impress potential clients during conversations, since we wouldn’t know the material.

With luxury vacations, most of our potential clients already have researched extensively about river cruising, and want advice and real answers from us, not someone else’s opinion. This is why we write all our blogs, and only use actual guest comments of clients we have booked or industry experts we might interview. Our material is unique, and we are solely responsible for the content.

High Quality

For us, a high-quality blog has great content. From a personal perspective, we believe that the blog should be free of ads and pop-ups—not only is it annoying, but we also believe it degrades our message. A lot of bloggers try to make money from their blogs—not us. Our only goal is to educate and inform.

Are we factual? Can you see yourself traveling on a river cruise? What is the day-by-day experience? (we do have 122 day-by-day routes for 7 different river cruise lines we follow on our website with our personal pictures). What are the facilities and staterooms like on the various river cruise company lines?

Here are some of the topics we write about—1) Our River Cruise Services, 2) River Cruise Lines Comparisons, 3) River Cruise Routes, 4) River Cruise Advice, 5) River Cruise Ports, and 6) River Cruise Reviews.

Relevant

A search query has to have information that is up-to-date and provides useful information to be relevant. We try to write blogs that resonate with you—what will you get to see and do on the river cruise, for example. Do we help you understand the advantages and disadvantages of river cruising? Do we fully explain the benefits of river cruise? Do we keep you informed about current river cruise trends? What is the vibe of the river cruise line?

Perhaps the key question is after reading our blog, did you learn something worthwhile that helps you decide if a river cruise vacation is right for you?

Our Final Thoughts

Search engines rankings, with the sources they cite, are the starting point in your quest to solve the question if a river cruise is the right vacation for you. I think we have a lot to offer in that search and if our excellent content makes you want to contact us and help you get that vacation, then that is even better. We are quite grateful that so many have reached out to us for help after visiting our website or reading the blogs and we promise to keep the high value content coming!

ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 29 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

June 13, 2024

River Cruise Routes

2025 Magnificient Europe on AmaWaterways

Hank Schrader

June 13, 2024

River Cruise Routes

2025 Magnificent Europe on AmaWaterways

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

AmaWaterways is bring back its Magnificent Europe cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest or reverse from Budapest to Amsterdam. For a long time, there were fears this route might run into some low water situations but restricting the dates it is offered and with two ships sailing in opposite directions, they could overcome this problem by switching ships.

If you could get the absolute best of European Rivers on one cruise, my choice would be the Magnificent Europe 14-day river cruise on AmaWaterways. This voyage goes from Amsterdam to Budapest along the Rhine to the Main River, then to the Main-Danube Canal and finishes on the upper Danube. This cruise combines the best of the two most popular river cruises in Europe—the 7-day upper Danube and the 7-day Rhine. We have never sailed this exact route but have sailed to every destination.

So, let’s learn more about the best 14 days on Europe’s rivers—the Magnificent Europe 14-Day River Cruise!

Overview

The route starts in Amsterdam and ends in Budapest or starts from Budapest to Amsterdam. Cruises start in April and end in June—there are 9 scheduled for 2025. Here are the ports, highlighted by our photos.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

This capital city is ringed by canals, has famed gabled buildings, there are more bicycles than you can even imagine—it is one unique place. Combine this with the free spirit of the residents and you will long remember this special town.

Cologne, Germany

Cologne has been a town for over 2,000 years (it used to be a Roman outpost), is the 4th largest city in Germany and is famous for its cathedral. The two 510-foot-high spires dominate the skyline of Cologne and it holds the relics of the Magi. Cologne Cathedral is Germany’s most visited building. We also liked the town squares, where some of Germany’s best Christmas markets fill the squares during the Advent season.

Rhine Gorge & Rüdesheim, Germany

The 65-kilometer Middle Rhine Valley is the best sailing route you will ever find in Europe. There are 30 or so castles, steep riverbanks and it is simply breathtaking! After that most scenic stretch, you will visit Rüdesheim, famed for its coffee drink flavored with Asbach brandy, the winding, narrow, Drosselgasse lane, its fine Riesling wines and a generally friendly, welcoming village.

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle (foreground) & Gutenfels Castle on the Hill

**The winding, narrow, Drosselgasse lane** **Rüdesheim, Germany**

Wertheim, Germany

Next up is a visit to Wertheim, known by its nickname as “Little Heidelberg”, and get to see the narrow lanes of this village. Wertheim is located at the confluence of the Tauber and Main Rivers. The two top attractions are the castle and its medieval town square.

Würzburg, Germany

Würzburg has several unique architectural buildings but is most famous for the Residenz Palace. The gardens of this palace and interiors are magnificent. This Bavarian town also is a famous wine region.

Rothenburg Full Day

As an option, you can take a visit to the walled city of Rothenburg, one of the best preserved walled cities in all Europe.

Translated from German, Plönlein is the small square at a fountain”.
This is probably the most famous picture of Rothenburg.

Bamberg, Germany

Bamberg is a 1,000-year-old town with really interesting buildings. The most famous are the town hall, built in the middle of a river and its beautiful cathedral. It is built on seven hills and is located where the Regnitz and Main rivers meet. It is also home to a smoky flavored beer.

Nuremberg, Germany

The old walled city of Nuremberg is one of my favorite places in all Germany. It has an impressive castle, is crisscrossed by a river and has some cool old buildings. The central market square, with its, beautiful fountain, is another great place to see. It is also famous for its Christmas markets.

Regensburg, Germany

The town of Regensburg is located on the northernmost point of the Danube River. It started out as a Roman town, has a medieval bridge the crusaders crossed on their way to the Holy Wars (which is guarded by an impressive watch tower), and has a good old town area. Anne’s favorite hat maker is here, so we find this one of our favorite Bavarian towns.

Passau, Germany

Built on a tapering peninsula of land, the old town portion Passau is right on the German and Austrian border. Three rivers join here—the Danube, the Inn, and the Ilz. On the high banks of the Danube, a fortress dating back to the 1400’s, overlooks the old city center. There are several impressive churches worth a visit.

Passau, where three rivers meet—the Inn, the Ilz and the Danube

Melk Austria

Melk is famous for its impressive, huge abbey. It was built in the 11th century. Later as you cruise through the other great scenic waterways of Europe, the Wachau Valley, you will pass by the charming village of Dürnstein. The blue tower of the Abbey, the cute little shops and the castle ruins on the hillside, make this a favorite of many river cruisers.

Vienna

The capital city of Austria, once the capital city of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, is a city of impressive palaces, great museums and good food. It is also known for the great composers of classical music, and many go to concerts while on their cruise.

Budapest

By far the most impressive city on the Danube, Budapest, the capital of Hungary, is a town we love to visit. It is really two towns—the high town of Buda that overlooks the banks of the Danube and Pest on the flat land. They are united by several bridges, but the chain bridge is the most important and is a symbol of the city. Both have some awesome structures—among them Buda Castle and Fisherman’s Bastion (Buda side) and the Parliament building (Pest side). Once you visit, you will want to come back.

Our Final Thoughts

This is a great cruise—it will provide memories of a lifetime. You will be amazed at how much there is to see in these five countries. Now all 7 of the river cruise companies we follow offer a version of this route, so we have more choices.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

June 6, 2024

Veterans

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

Hank Schrader

June 6, 2024

Veterans

Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I first published this in 2020. With the 80th Anniversary of that horrible day which changed history, and so many suvivors who will sadly not be here much longer, I hope this is a fitting tribute to those brave souls who helped liberate Europe. May we never forget!

In November 1943, the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) agreed in a conference in Tehran, that the Allied Western Forces of the United States and Britain would invade France in 1944 and open a second front against the German Fortress Europe.

The clock was now ticking for the D Day invasion of France. It was a race between German defenders and the Allied invasion force.

The ideal strategy was simple for the planners of the D Day amphibious invasion—attack lightly defended beaches, secure the beach, and move men and supplies quickly inland. Next, establish or capture a port quickly to reinforce with more men and supplies. Then, defeat the German forces and win the war.

Executing it proved to be one of the most difficult military tasks every attempted.

During the massive planning operations, Pas du Calais (the most favorable landing site) and Normandy were under consideration. Both had enough good characteristics to work for an amphibious landing. But Normandy was the best choice for two reasons. There were: 1) in 1943 it was a lightly defended part of the German Atlantic Wall and 2) the Germans anticipated an attack at Pas du Calais and fortified it and constantly moved more soldiers into defensive positions.

The German Defenders

The Germans realized they weren’t prepared to properly defend the vast Atlantic Wall in 1943. The German commander, General Gerd von Rundstedt, drafted a report to Hitler about the scant fortifications and poor quality units defending the area. Hitler responded by adding General Erwin Rommel (known popularly as the “Desert Fox” for his Africa campaign) to oversee improving the defenses.

The Germans knew an invasion was coming—they just didn’t know where or when. The choice that the Germans believed the Allies would select was an invasion of Pas de Calais, as it was the most logical invasion site—only 20 miles from England and had 20 miles of good landing beaches. The allies bolstered that illusion by creating a fake force under the command of LTG George Patton, complete with fake equipment, field barracks and even a docking area near Dover. They relentlessly bombed the Calais area in the build-up phase, as well as other targets in France. In an unusual operation, they also dropped dummies by parachutes, to harass and confuse the Germans.

**Dummy Paratrooper on display in the Caen Memorial Museum**

Field Marshal Rommel was also convinced Calais was the prime invasion site and deployed the 208,000 man 15th Army to defend this area. The deception plan of D Day was working as hoped for the Allies.

The first priority for the Germans was protecting the major harbors, as any invading forces would need constant supplies, more men and equipment.

After securing these major ports, they then began building “Widerstandnesten” (resistance nests) along the beaches. These were a series of pillboxes, gun positions, anti-aircraft weapons and trenches. The beaches were littered with obstacles, mines (over 4 million mines) to enhance these resistance nests. Inland, flooded lowlands and stakes were planted in the ground to cut into gliders during landings and make possible airborne landing zones potential death traps.

A key concept for the Germans was to stop the invasion on the beaches, so all defensive resources were placed at or near the beach areas and no defense in depth was planned. There were reserve units to stop breakthroughs but the best reserve unit of panzer tanks could only be released by Hitler. If the Allies could breach these tough defenses, and cut off the reserve forces, they had a good chance of success.

By June 1944 all the beaches used for the D Day landings in Normandy had at least some of these defensive measures in places.

Unknown to the allies, the best defended beach in Normandy was Omaha.

The stage was set for that fateful day 6 June 1944.

Concept of the Overlord Operation

You might be surprised to know the last successful armed assault across the English Channel happened in 1066 (yes, the famous Battle of Hastings). 8 centuries later, this was about to change.

Amphibious landings are complex operations. Trying to attack with 5 divisions over a 50 mile front in Normandy from a base in England would require naval forces, air forces and army units from British, Canadian and American forces. The allied armies and massive equipment needed to ensure success only added to the complexity. 150,000 soldiers would be required, with a fleet of 5,333 ships and an air armada of over 12,921 planes.

Synchronizing an operation of this size remains one of the most amazing military feats in the history of the world.

An Overview of the Invasion

**Overview of the D Day Invasion Plan Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014**

Operation Overlord, the code name for the D Day invasion, was a complicated multipart attack. To soften up and destroy some of the defending German forces, the area was bombed for about 6 weeks prior to the invasion. On the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, American and British paratroopers parachuted and later landed in gliders to secure the western flank (American forces) and the eastern flank (British forces). Then, prior to the start the landings, a naval bombardment of about 30 minutes in duration started, followed by an aerial bombardment. Next, the amphibious landings took place on 5 objective beaches.

The 3 beaches in the British Second Army sector, were Gold, Juno and Sword. These beaches were attacked by British and Canadian units.

The 2 American beaches, under the U. S. First Army (commanded by Lt. General Omar Bradley), were Omaha and Utah.

**Ike gives the OK to Go! Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014**

The rest of this blog is the story of American forces attack on D Day in Normandy on the Omaha and Utah beaches.

Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach was the objective of the 1st Division (the Big Red One) and the 29th National Gauard Division (the Blue and Gray Division). On the west of this 4 mile stretch of sand and bluffs, was Pointe du Hoc. The east limit was the town of Ste.-Honorine-des-Pertes. The beach was divided into 4 sectors (from west to east)—they were named Charlie, Dog, Easy and Fox.

A veteran (Charles Norman Shay) from the Big Red One who survived D Day with Hank. His unit crest is from the 16th Infantry Regiment—he was a medic. Hank’s first Army unit was in the 1st of the 18th Infantry of the Big Red One. Taken 3 June 2019. He remained in the Army and retired as an E-8 (Master Sargent). He was awarded the Silver Star (not visible in the picture) for his actions on D Day and the Bronze Star.

The terrain at Omaha was advantageous for the German defenders—bluffs over 100 feet tall, back from 300 yards or more of beach depending upon the tides. It offered really good fields of fire against any attack. The best way off Omaha was fighting up the 4 draw exits through the cliffs.

**Part of Omaha Beach as seen from the American Cemetery—these were good defensive positions for the German defenders to engage the American soldiers.**

**Omaha Beach with a lone naval ship in the background—there were hundreds of naval vessels on 6 June 1944.**

Those of us, like me, with military training, instantly recognize the huge terrain advantage the defenders had, when visiting the Omaha beach area. Properly integrated defensive fire, with adequate numbers of defenders, would make the open area of the beach an instant killing zone, and the draws, if properly defended, would be hard to successfully attack without tanks in support.

American planners believed Omaha was lightly defended—in 1943 it was almost completely undefended. Rommel quickly upgraded these defenses, but the Allied intelligence reports still reported poor fortifications and an under strength regiment of German defenders.

What the attackers faced at Omaha on 6 June 1944 were 85 machine guns nests, 38 rocket launchers, 35 pill boxes, 18 antitank gun positions, 8 artillery fortified positions, 6 mortar pits, and 4 field artillery positions. These were part of the Widerstandnesten system.

**Machine gun bunker guarding the beach and D-1 Draw. Take during our 2014 tour.**

There were 14 Widerstandnesten (Wn) positions in the Omaha sector. They were numbered Wn 61--Wn 74. The strongest was Wn 72. These positions were maned by a battle harden division (3 battalions) of very good soldiers. If these positions could survive the aerial bombardment and naval gun fire of an attacking force, they stood a good chance of stopping the invasion at the beach.

Wn 72, covering the exit draw D-1 was the best constructed of all of the Widerstandnesten in the Omaha sector. It protected an 88 mm cannon. It is now the memorial to the 29th Division. Here are 2 photos:

**Wn 72 Omaha Beach. It protect a 88mm cannon. Photo Hank Schrader**

**Memorial of the 29th Division, Omaha Beach**

When the first soldiers hit the beach, the beach erupted into withering fire from all directions—it was utter chaos!

Success at Omaha was still in doubt 6 hours after the attack begin.

The chaotic battlefield resulted in over 2,000-2,500 men killed, wounded or missing at Omaha—no one is really sure due the confusion and carnage of this intense battle site.

The plan was for the bombers to destroy as many as possible of the defensive positions and soldiers defending this area (part 1) and then naval gun fire would take out many of the remaining defensive positions (part 2). Despite dropping around 13,000 bombs, almost all were off target, too far inland. As the invasion force neared the coast, thick smoke and fog obscure the bluffs ahead, but the naval gunners opened fire. Bright flashes and horrible noise arose from the assault area. Soldiers were confident as they approached the beach area. With all the explosions, they expected most defenders were killed. That would soon change.

The first wave of 1,450 soldiers landed from 35 landing crafts. The beach was only wide enough to support two regimental size units. On the western sector, the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division landed; on the eastern sector the 16th Regiment of the 1st Division hit the beach. They were immediately engaged by the Germans. The defensive fire was devastating, and accurate, as it was delivered from very well designed defensive positions. In less than 5 minutes, 90% of the first wave were killed or wounded.

**Sculpture on Omaha Beach, from our 2014 tour.**

They were unsupported by tanks for the most part. 112 tanks were available for the attack in the Omaha objective area. 64 were released to swim on their own at 0300. Many of these tanks sank. Of the 56 tanks allocated to the Big Red One sector, only 13 made it ashore. A total of 58 tanks reached the Omaha beaches during the attack; by 0700 14 were destroyed. By the end of the day only 3 tanks were operational. Here is a picture of an amphibious tank outfitted to swim ashore:

**Tank outfitted to swim. From our 2019 tour. Photo Hank Schrader**

On the beach, 270 desperate engineer soldiers were trying to open 16 pathways for the tanks to get off the beach from the obstacles. They had 27 minutes to achieve their mission according to the plan; only 1 pathway is opened on time. Most of the engineers are dead or wounded by the end of their 27 minute first mission.

The landing waves continued. Rifle and machinegun bullets constantly flew around; mortar and artillery shells rained down; explosions, screams, destroyed and abandoned equipment and vehicles litter the beaches (especially the destroyed burning tanks); and confusion was everywhere. The only reasons most survived was there was just too many of them for the Germans to shoot everyone and the heavy smoke that offered some concealment to the exposed soldiers.

Without tank support, the original plan to take the heavily fortified draws was not a good option for soldiers only armed with light weapons.

At 0730, several hundred surviving soldiers were huddled against the seawall, and the outlook was bleak. Most of their leaders had been killed or wounded.

In the west, Brigadier General Norman “Dutch” Cota, assistant division commander of the 29th Division, landed in the second wave and sprinted to the wall around 0730. As he rallied the soldiers, he realized going up the draws, according to the original plan wouldn’t work. The only good option was to climb the less defended bluffs. He would be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his superb leadership and personal bravery for rallying the disorgananized soldiers pinned down on Omaha Beach.

He found a group of rangers, led by LTC Max Schneider (commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion) and told them of his plan and then yelled out “Rangers Lead the Way”, which has become the official ranger moto. Within an hour, the rangers and soldiers from the 29th reached the top. The German defenses were oriented to the sea and Cota’s growing band of soldiers captured the Vierville draw (D-1) about 2 hours later by attacking them from their rear. It took the engineer soldiers 8 hours to clear the Vierville draw of mines and other obstacles.

The beach head was still an intense killing zone at about 0830. Several thousand soldiers were stranded and easy targets for the Germans. A frustrated destroyer skipper (Lt. Commander Ralph Ramey), defied his orders, steamed his destroyed as close as possible and began to blast the cliffs with his 5 inch guns. Soon, all the other destroyers followed. Within 30 minutes, they had destroyed 6 gun emplacements. The tide was turning. With less effective fire raining down on the trapped men, leaders began moving soldiers up the bluffs and into the draws. The crowded beaches were slowly clearing.

With men still vulnerable on the beach, and landing craft prohibited from landed more soldiers as there was no space, soldiers were trying to fight their way off the killing zone. In 2 hours of intense fighting, by 1100, the beach started to clear up as the men were making progress against the Germans. Some landing craft commanders again defied orders and started to land more troops. These soldiers and equipment were still under fire, but it was not as intense as at 0630. The reinforcements help rally all in harm’s way--momentum now was on the American side.

By 1300, Gen. Bradley, who had considered abandoning Omaha and land the remaining soldiers at Utah, received a message that troops who had been previously pinned down on the beach were moving up the heights behind the beach area. Victory now seemed possible.

3 hours later, the Colleville Draw was in American hands. Now three of the four draws were under American control. Not until about 2000, would the 4th draw, Les Moulins, be captured.

**The stone marker is the site of the first American Cemetery established directly on the Omaha Beaches. The buried here were later moved to the larger American Cemetery.**

The Americans had won at Omaha. The unrealistic plan had called for the assaulting soldiers to capture the draw exits and bluffs by H+2 (0830). It had taken all day, but they had captured the beachhead and high ground and pushed inland in some sectors.

Les Braves sculpture Omaha Beach 2019.

**Omaha Beach Monument. This is on the Les Moulins** **Draw.**

**In 2014, Anne took this picture during a fly over the American Cemetery. This is a type of plane that was used by the American Forces to jump into either Albany or Boston Area of Operations.**

**The huge cost of victory—the American Cemetery at Omaha**

Utah Beach

The story at Utah was completely different than Omaha.

Utah Beach was the objective of the 4th Infantry Division (Ivy 4). They were supported by the 82nd Airborne Division (most common nickname is the All American Division) and the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles).

There was a 4 part plan at Utah--the strategy here had the added dimension of paratrooper support from the 16,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Divisions. They were to land after midnight by parachutes and later with gliders (part 1), followed with naval shelling (part 2) and air force bombing support (part 3). Then the landings by Ivy 4 (part 4).

The Airborne Assault—Part 1 of the Utah Beach

Part 1 of the plan, the airborne and glider assault, was the largest parachute assault ever attempted up to that time. The 101st mission code name was Albany; the code name for the 82nd mission was Boston. The overall mission was to act as a blocking force to help secure the western flank of Utah landing zone; capture the 4 causeway exits; and to establish crossing points over the Douve River to assist the link up of the beachheads of Utah and Omaha.

A former member of the 82nd Airborne poses with Iron Mike. Iron Mike is a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives capturing and defending the bridge at La Fiere. It was part of the mission to capture and secure the river crossings during the D Day airborne landings. The original statue is at Ft. Bragg (now renamed Fort Liberty), NC, home of the 82nd Airborne..

The plan was for a night jump of both divisions to be followed up by the gliders.

A night jump is an amazing experience for many paratroopers—I still remember my first night jump in Ranger school (jump #6—my first after 5 airborne school jumps) but we were dropped at about 2000 feet, and nobody was shooting at me. The exit height was 700 feet in the D Day airborne assault! To qualify for the D Day assault, 3 successful jumps was the standard in the training prior to the airborne assault. Most paratroopers carried 125-150 pounds of equipment into the battle drop zones during the assault.

Thompson .45 cal. Machine gun and ammo used in the D Day Assault. This is on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste. Marie Eglise, France.

**A paratrooper Carbine with its jump case. Most soldiers jumped with their weapons ready instead of using the protective case. Airborne Museum**

**Paratrooper equipment and uniform on display in the Airborne Museum**

**Jump plane on display Airborne Museum 2019**

The Airborne Forces, though initially scattered (one account I read reported 75% were dropped at the wrong drop zones), performed with great success in one of the most daring behind the lines attacks in the history of warfare to secure their blocking positions. Some have been critical of their overall success since mission objectives were not achieved in the time frame desired, but this just ignores the fog of war—planners often think more is achievable than realistic when executing on the ground—plans look good on paper until someone starts shooting at you!

There were two reasons for their success, in my opinion. First, the scattered forces confused the Germans—they could not focus their forces on one single area. Second, the resolve of the soldiers and their leaders—makeshift units operated to accomplish the mission, when unit cohesion was lost. Again, the individual fighting spirit of the soldiers to do the job won the day.

It was not easy—after a week of brutal fighting about 2,500 were killed wounded or missing in action from the 2 Airborne Divisions.

The Landing at Utah Beach

At 0550, the Navy opened fire on the beaches of Utah (part 2); shortly thereafter 270 B-26 bombers began extensive bombing raids (part 3). Although many defensive positions in the beach area survived this onslaught, the defenders (“Russian volunteers“ and older, less able German soldiers) were seriously shaken, and put up little resistance.

**Higgins Landing Craft on display at Utah Beach**

**Sculpture of assault at Utah Beach taken on 5 June 2019**

Despite the perceived initial success with the shelling and bombing of the objective area, it looked like initially the landing was not going as planned (part 4). The actual landing site was wrong for the first wave of landing crafts—3 of the 4 guide boats hit mines and the other landing boats got disoriented. The planned landing site was off by 1000 meters.

It turns out this lucky mistake put the Americans at a lightly defended portion of Utah, with fewer obstacles, as compared to the more heavily defended planned landing site. A quick change of plans happened—the Americans took advantage of the poorly defended area and began pushing inland.

BG Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, assistant division commander, who landed with the first wave on Utah, recognized the error but also quickly realized the poorly defended area was a huge advantage and as we like to say in the military, “seized the initiative”. He and Col. James Van Fleet, commanding officer of the 8th Regiment, started sending troops inland on route #1 and pushed into the other route causeways as the beachhead expanded. By 1100 hours, exit causeway route #1 was secure—the soldiers of the 4th had linked up with soldiers of 101st. Around noon, all 4 causeway exits were secured.

Going inland on causeway #1. This is the Leadership Monument. The WW II Foundation selected Maj. Dick Winters of Easy Company as the symbol of leadership during the D Day Invasion. It was dedicated on 6 June 2012.

For his actions on this day, Roosevelt was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Other factors helped Utah to have the fewest casualties of any of the D Day beaches—fewer than 200 dead, wounded and missing from the amphibious landings. The navy skippers launched the swimming Sherman tanks closer to the shore than called for in the plan and 28 of the 32 made it ashore. Their immediate firepower was a critical element of success on Utah. Also, the engineer units were outstanding. They quickly breached the obstacles on the beach area and created avenues through the seawalls—men, vehicles and tanks started pouring onto and slowly off the beaches.

**A Sherman Tank on display at Utah Beach**

**1st Engineer Special Brigade Monument Utah Beach**

The rapid success on Utah caused too many soldiers and vehicles landed on the beach with no safe place to go. Congestion and traffic jams ensued (along with surrendering Germans) and could have proved deadly as many of the mines were not yet cleared, but by noon all was under control.

The beach defenders and defensive positions ultimately was not the major problem for the Utah attackers; it was the exit routes. These flooded fields that restricted movement and offered the Germans easy targets exposed the attacking force, as the attackers were forced to use the 4 exit causeway routes from the beachhead area for their vehicles. Some luck, determined leaders and resolute soldiers, overcame this dangerous situation.

Utah turned out to be a roaring success. As the darkness started, around 23,500 troops and 1,700 vehicles had landed.

90th Infantry Monument Utah Beach

**Lester Holt with Hank Utah Beach 5 June 2019**

Our Final Thoughts

D Day was a success but what really stands out to me is the resolve of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the operation work. Heroic, innovative and resourceful, these military forces should be honored for their deeds. They did not really see themselves as heroes--most just wanted to live to see 7 June 1944.

The war’s end would not come for 336 days of more combat. It would have never happened so soon, if these forces had not taken the first step on 6 June 1944 that ultimately ended the German occupation of Europe.

We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me. We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life.

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise experts, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations. As you can see, our full service agency can get you to almost anywhere you desire to travel and provide you a great experience and vacation.

When you are spending your hard earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Tagged: Dream Destinations, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, 6 June 1944

0 Likes

Hank Schrader

May 29, 2024

Veterans

Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way!

Hank Schrader

May 29, 2024

Veterans

Pointe du Hoc--Rangers Lead the Way

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

I wrote this in 2020 but felt it was time to revise it with the 80th Anniversary of D Day coming on 6 June 2024. Having led 2 tours during the 70th and 75th Anniversary of D Day, it probably will be the last time any survivors of that fateful day can visit this amazing site. It is our tribute to their valor and resolve—we will never forget!

The crossing was rough—the weather was stormy and the seas were not kind to the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. Most could not get any sleep, as the dread of an upcoming mission along with the rough seas made them restless. It is always that way before critical missions—no amount of training and preparation could ease their minds—they were going Pointe du Hoc to destroy an artillery battery on the top of a 100 foot cliff.

The capture of Pointe du Hoc was considered critical to the overall invasion plan. It was clearly one of the most dangerous areas of Normandy—high ground with good fields of fire and hard to capture during a raid. The 155 mm cannons could fire upon the landing zones of Utah and Omaha with devastating effect on the invading force. It had to be neutralized.

Pointe du Hoc was defended by elements of the 716th and 352d Infantry Divisions, along with artillerymen--it became a heavily fortified bastion for the Wehrmacht as part of the Atlantic Wall. Approximately 200+ German troops (125 infantry and 85 artillery men) were garrisoned in or around the Pointe du Hoc position.

The rangers had to take this defensive area or the whole D Day mission might fail.

This is the story of the Ranger mission during the D Day battle.

An Obstacle too Difficult to Take from the Sea

The Pointe du Hoc cliffs were considered too difficult to scale under combat conditions. This point of view was firmly held by the Germans. And, not surprisingly, most American military commanders also thought it was a suicide mission.

**A good view of Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 Tour.**

**The east side of Pointe du Hoc where the rangers landed on 6 June 1944**

Yet, it was vital to the success of the overall invasion scheme. The 100 foot cliffs were almost 90 degrees from the base to the top.

**The sheer cliffs of Pointe du Hoc. Notice the narrow landing area. It is easy to understand why the Germans believed it was not feasible to attack from the sea. This is from our 2014 tour.**

The Germans planned the defense on the land bridge of Pointe du Hoc facing away from the sea by concentrating their forces for an inland assault. They developed a defensive position consisting of heavily fortified concrete casements interlaced with tunnels, trenches, and machine-gun positions around the perimeter.

The Germans lightly defended the approach from the sea—they though it would be easy to stop invaders trying to climb the cliffs with just a few defenders.

Rudder’s Rangers

On the fateful day, Lt. Col James Rudder led 225 men in an assault on the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc.

But to understand this superb combat unit, we must return to the days of 1943, where Rudder formed the Rangers. The 2nd Ranger Battalion was activated on April 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tullahoma, Tennessee. They were volunteer units. Each soldier had to possess superb physical qualities and sharp mental skills. They also trained in Florida. Each ranger became skilled in all types of weapons, hand-to-hand combat and handling difficult terrain. The unit was deployed to Scotland next. Here they trained on scaling cliffs and trained with British Commandos.

The rangers were organized into 6 line companies, A to F per battalion sized units. Each company consisted of 65 men and 3 officers. The companies were organized into 2 platoons.

The Plan

The plan was for part of the 2nd Ranger Battalion to assault the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc at 0630 and take possession of the German position by 0700. This group was named Force A.

Force A had 3 ranger companies in the task organization. Company D was to scale the cliffs from the west; Companies E and F were to scale the cliffs from the east. They would then destroy the cannons once on top of Pointe du Hoc. After destroying the weapons, they were to establish a defensive perimeter on Pointe du Hoc and prevent the Germans from moving reinforcements down the coastal highway that connected Grandcamp and Vierville.

The rangers were to hold the ground until relieved by the 116th Infantry Division. Relief was scheduled for noon on 6 June 1944.

Force B, Charlie Company of the 2nd Rangers, was to assault and capture the area on the far right flank of the Omaha Beach on exit D-1. Their objective was Pointe de la Percée.

Force C, was comprised of the entire 5th Ranger Battalion, along with A and B companies of the 2nd Rangers. Here were their missions:

1). If the initial landing force failed, Force C was designated to assault and capture Pointe du Hoc, by landing at Omaha and moving inland to take Pointe du Hoc.

2) If the mission of Force A was successful, they were scheduled to also land at Pointe du Hoc as reinforcements, assuming the objective was taken by 0700.

A Landing that Started Off Wrong

At 0445 the rangers of Force A were loaded into landing crafts that held 22 men per landing craft. The men and supplies were loaded into 10 landing craft and 4 DUKW's amphibious vehicles. As they approached the beachhead, they were 3 miles off course, and LTC Rudder realized the error—they were headed to Pointe de la Percée, the objective of Force B.

**This a DUKW landing craft. LTC Rudder’s had 4 mechanical ladders ready to use in the assault.**

The landing craft had to travel exposed broadside back to the correct landing site instead of only the front exposed to direct enemy fire. By the time they arrived at the objective, 1 landing craft and 2 DUKW’s were sunk.

They were due to start their assault at 0630, but the currents and navigation errors delayed the landing until 0710. Since the plan called for the assault to begin at 0630, the naval bombardment stopped at 0625. This allowed the Germans to regroup and take up some defensive positions.

The Germans, however, were slow to reorganize, and this aided the assault.

The first landing crafts made it to Pointe du Hoc at 0710. Their landing area was only 30 yards wide and the tide was rising. There was no time to assault from both the west and east sides of Pointe du Hoc—they all had to go up the cliffs from the east side.

Some equipment was not useable. The 75-foot mechanized ladders mounted on the amphibious vehicles couldn’t get into positions to be used—it was too slippery for the tracks to get into position (there were only 2 available as they were transported by the DUKW’s and 2 were already sunk). They had lost ammo supplies. Ropes, men, radios and all their other equipment were soaked.

The only thing in their favor—the intense shelling and bombing had caused some of the cliff face to collapse into rubble piles. In a few places, the climb would only be 60 feet.

The rangers were going to scale the cliffs under their own power using ropes and rope ladders.

Over the Top and Success of Force A

Scaling the cliffs was one of the most impressive military feats ever successfully accomplished by a US unit in combat. Companies D, E and F landed and scaled the cliffs by using rocket-fired grappling hooks attached to ropes. They developed the scaling techniques primarily by trial and error during their training sessions. Their training was intense and it paid off—under pressure and enemy fire these soldiers responded, despite incredible odds against their success.

The landing problems resulted in an assault only from the east side of Pointe du Hoc. Some of the soaked ropes didn’t reach the top, but finally some worked correctly. They only had 15 casualties in the initial assault. The German defenders cut ropes, threw potato mashers and fired on the exposed soldiers. The rangers countered with mortar fire and small arms fire at the German positions above. Also 2 US destroyers fired their guns effectively at the cliff side German defenders.

5 minutes after landing, some rangers were already on top of the cliffs. Within 15 minutes of landing, the majority of Rudder’s assault force had made it on top of Pointe du Hoc.

Once up top, small groups of rangers went off to accomplish their missions. They were stunned by the results of the bombardments—one soldier said it looked like the craters of the moon. It looked nothing like the mock-ups and photos of the site.

**A really good view of the bomb damage craters at Pointe du Hoc**

But the biggest surprise was that the 155 mm cannons were missing—the Germans had placed painted telephone poles in the concrete bunkers to fool the aerial reconnaissance. The German ruse had worked.

Each gun position had been assigned a number and the rangers knew their primary mission was to destroy the position assigned to their unit. Now they had to find the missing cannons.

**This gun bunker was still under construction and not yet completed.**

**This is the Observation Post Bunker at Pointe du Hoc. It is the present day site of the Ranger Bayonet Monument on top of the bunker**

**One of the hardened gun positions at Pointe du Hoc.**

**Artillery Position #4 position at Pointe du Hoc**

**Gun Position # 6 Pointe du Hoc. This position was not yet hardened. In 1943, all the 6 gun positions were unprotected and open.**

Rudder divided his forces into two units. One group established a command post in the bunker area. The second group went off in search of the missing cannons. They were located, unguarded, in an apple orchard about a mile from Pointe du Hoc. With thermite grenades and other explosives, the rangers destroyed the weapons and ammunition supplies.

By 0830, Pointe du Hoc was secured and 5 artillery cannons were destroyed. Here is a picture of the 6th cannon, now on display:

155 mm Cannon on display at Pointe du Hoc — **This is the 6th 155 mm cannon now on display at Pointe du Hoc.**

Force A, led by LTC Rudder, was the first American unit to accomplish their mission on D Day. They had captured Pointe du Hoc and established blocking positions on the road.

Force B

Meanwhile, Force B (Company C, of the 2nd Ranger Battalion) was assaulting at Omaha and later would capture Pointe de la Percée. Their landing was at Charlie (farthest western sector of Omaha) on Omaha Beach, at 0645 in the second landing wave. They landed after Company A, 116th Regiment was being torn apart on Dog Green (now more famously known as the Bedford Boys, as 19 from the town in VA were killed in the D Day assault on 6 June). They too came under intense fire from 3 Widerstandnesten or Wn (resistance nests) defensive positions, Wn 71, Wn 72 and Wn 73. They fought their way to the seawall.

There were two possible plans for Force B. If the D-1 Draw was clear, move up the draw and attack Pointe de la Percée and eliminate Wn 74 (plan 1). Plan 2 was to climb up the cliffs (the worst option).

Force B lacked most of the specialized climbing gear that was allocated to Force A. With the draw not yet captured, the only option was climb the cliffs. Hugging the cliffs, they found a section to climb. PFC Otto Stephens climbed first, using his bayonet to dig hand holds. He and 2 other rangers established a rope for the remaining rangers, so they would be able to climb up.

The situation was so bad on Omaha, that the Force B commander, Captain Goranson, decided he had no other option than to attack Wn 73 and then proceed to attack Wn 74 on Pointe de la Percée. This turned out to be a great combat decision—Wn 73 was a really effective fighting position and Wn 74 was primarily a radar position, guarded by 2 anti-aircraft guns and several machinegun nests.

Only 29 of his 64 Rangers were able to fight—the rest were killed or wounded. The remaining 29 men began slowly clearing the trenches of Wn 73. They were later joined with 20 soldiers from 116th who also climbed the ropes. All worked together, clearing the trenches, to eliminate their lethal machinegun nests and other defensive positions.

At around 1400, Captain Goranson, after leading the men to clear the German defensive positions and block German reinforcements, led a patrol to Pointe de la Percée. He found it abandoned, with the defensive positions Wn 74 destroyed by naval fire as they approached. He returned to link up with Force C. Around night fall, Force B had only 12 men able to fight.

Force C

Force C was reluctantly waiting off shore, hoping to reinforce LTC Rudder and Force A at Pointe du Hoc. The soldiers bobbed up and down in the rough seas. There was no signal received by the Battalion Commander, LTC Max Schneider, from Force A—he had ordered his landing crafts to lay-to offshore. Schneider knew how important it was to reinforce Force A at Pointe du Hoc.

There was no more time left; at 0740 six landing crafts with the rangers landed at Omaha beach at Dog White. They were met with intense fire. LTC Schneider, the only ranger officer with combat experience, moved the rest of the force to landing zone Dog Red. This was a pivotal decision during the early phases of the invasion landings at Omaha. He managed to get most of his force intact over the exposed 200 yards to the seawall—brush fires helped obscure the defenders from accurate fire upon his landing unit.

Getting a well-trained, elite unit almost intact to relative safety was a key factor in the fight for Omaha.

Shortly thereafter, he met up with BG Cota, Executive Officer of the 29th Division. It is here where Cota, urging the men off the beach, yelled out “Rangers lead the way!” They made it up the bluffs and probably were the key reason in the 29th Division sector succeeded in accomplishing their mission in taking their assigned sector of Omaha beach. LTC Schneider led his men through the obstacles, past the barbed wire and up the cliffs. They continued the assault to their initial objective near Vierville and later linked up with the remainder of Force B. They had been in almost 10 hours of constant combat.

However, they were badly shot up and could not effectively reinforce Rudder’s men at Pointe du Hoc on 6 June 1944 but they still wanted to try. Key leaders denied them the chance on 6 June 1944. The 29th Division had lost so many men, it needed the rangers to help defend the small beach head positions inland. Despite LTC Schneider’s pleas to go reinforce the stranded rangers, he was ordered to stay and help defend the beach head.

3 ranger companys at Pointe du Hoc were not as important as securing Omaha—a tough but correct command decision.

Hanging On at Pointe du Hoc

Rudder had signaled that he had landed late and taken Pointe du Hoc, but the message was garbled and not understood by the commanders at sea. They committed the reserve rangers (Force C) to land at Omaha beach. By the time he communicated success, and ask for help, the reply was “no reinforcements”.

Rudder’s group was now on their own.

Later that day, the Germans started their counterattacks. By night fall, Rudder’s men were forced back into defensive positions in a small 200 yard perimeter.

At 2100, 1st platoon of A Company, who had been unable to link up with the rest of the 5th Ranger Bn., had fought their way to Ponte du Hoc and linked up with Rudder’s men, with a force of 23 soldiers. They would be his only reinforcements on 6 June.

By 7 June, Rudder had a fighting force of fewer of 100 of the original 225 who had begun the assault. Ammunition and food were running low. He did get some reinforcements from the sea. About 60 men from the 1st Platoon of Fox Company of the 5th Rangers and a dismounted cannon platoon, help reinforced Rudder’s men and evacuate some wounded soldiers.

Rudder held on until 8 June, when the 5th Rangers and men from the 29th Division finally linked up with his force. His men had withstood 5 counterattacks.

The Price for Victory

The 2nd Ranger Battalion (a total force of about 488) had 77 killed and 152 wounded and 38 listed as missing. At the time of the relief, Rudder’s original force of 225 had less than 75 men capable of fighting.

Rudder was wounded twice in the battle and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC). Thirteen other Rangers were awarded the DSC for their roles at Pointe du Hoc and the other ranger missions.

The 5th Ranger Battalion (again about 488 men, according to the Table of Organization & Equipment (TO&E)) had 23 men killed, 89 wounded and 2 missing.

Both the 2nd Ranger Bn. and the 5th Bn. were awarded the Presidential Unit Citation and the French Croix de Guerre.

**Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2014 tour.**

Inscription on the Bayonet Monument The inscrition reads “To the heroic ranger commandoes D 2 RN E 2 Rn F 2 Rn of the 116th Inf under the commando Colonel James E Rudder of the First American Division attacked and took possension of the Pointe du Hoc”

Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour. — **Bayonet Monument on Pointe du Hoc. From our 2019 tour**.

Our Final Thoughts

Competence | Courage | Sacrifice | Rangers Lead the Way

To me, the value of visiting a place like Pointe du Hoc, is to see first-hand the difficulties this unit had to endure to insure the success of the D Day invasion. Reading about this in history books or blogs just doesn’t due it justice—when you walk the terrain, the hardships and sacrifice leap out at you. It really is about the best of America military forces—superbly trained soldiers, given a near impossible mission, and they triumphed.

**Coin we handed out to our tour members from our 2019**

If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

May 23, 2024

Veterans

WW II Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

Hank Schrader

May 23, 2024

Veterans

WW II Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71

Photos Anne Schrader, Army Wife

www.dreamdestinations.com

In a few days, it will be Memorial Day in 2024 on 26 May. I can think of no better way for Anne and I to share a little bit about the holiday and tell you about the final resting place of the fallen during the battles of WW II in Europe. I first wrote this in 2020 but it seems very important to send it out again in a revised form. May we all have a respectful Memorial Day, as this is our small tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.

The Memorial Day holiday has its origins from the end of the US Civil War—it was originally called Decoration Day. Although the correct purpose of this holiday is to recognize those who actually died while on active service, for most American it also includes those who served their country and have passed on. I know I personally honor my Dad on Memorial Day, even though he did not die on active duty but later in life after his retirement.

WW II American Cemeteries and Monuments in Europe

We cannot think of a better way to recognize the courage and sacrifice made by our Armed Forces in World War II, than to tell you about the Cemeteries and Monuments dedicated to our Armed Forces in Europe.

There are 13 American cemeteries and 3 monuments in Europe. According to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC), there are 89,033 soldiers honored in the 13 cemeteries. 73,177 are buried; 15,856 are listed as missing. There are 3 monuments maintained by the commission—one in England and 2 in Normandy, France.

To help us learn more about these tributes for our fallen and missing soldiers of WW II, I have organized this by country to help make their unbelievable sacrifice a little more understandable.

This is a hard blog to write—the sheer numbers are staggering. Despite this tragic tale, these places are dignified and respectful. It is like Arlington Cemetery where my father and mother are buried—they use similar markers for each deceased, regardless of rank, but each has his or her legacy engraved on the markers. Here is what a marker looks like in Arlington National Cemetery:

**Henry Schrader Gravestone Marker in Arlington National Cemetery**

In Europe, the markers are a cross or other religious symbols. Here is a photo of an unknown hero from the American Cemetery in Normandy:

**Unknown Soldier Buried in Normandy American Cemetery. The inscrption reads “Here rests in honored glory a comrade in arms known but to God”**

American Cemeteries in Belgium

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Belgium. The Ardennes American Cemetery contains 5,317 buried, with 65 percent of those being fallen airmen of the U.S. Army Air Forces. There are also tributes to the 463 reported missing in action. This cemetery served as the central identification point for all of the Europe Theater of Operations towards the end of the war and continued that mission of identification until 1960.

The Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery has 7,992 soldiers buried here and there is recognition for 450 missing in action. The majority of the fallen Americans are from two major efforts of WW II. The first battles were a result of the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg into Germany, and the second group of dead were from the Battle of the Bulge.

The American Cemetery in England

Cambridge American Cemetery is the only American Cemetery in England. The site was donated by Cambridge University. 3,812 are buried here; there is also tributes to the 5,127 reported missing in action. Most were crew members who died in the Battle of the Atlantic or in bombardments of Europe later in the war. In 2014, a visitor center was opened to help explain this critical phase of WW II. It even has a downloadable app to help visitors learn more about this vital war effort.

American Cemeteries in France

There are 6 American Cemeteries in France.

The Brittany American Cemetery is located near the eastern edge of Brittany. Here are buried 4,409 dead soldiers and there is recognition for 500 reported missing in action. Most of these military members died fighting in the Normandy and Brittany campaigns of 1944.

The Epinal American Cemetery is located near the Moselle River. It has 5,254 buried here, most of whom lost their lives in the drive by the 7th Army towards Germany in the northeastern portion of France. It also recognizes 424 missing in action.

The Lorraine American Cemetery contains the largest number of US soldiers killed in Europe—there are 10,489 buried here. Another 444 were reported missing in action and their names are listed on the plaques displayed here. Most of the dead here were killed while driving the German forces from the fortress city of Metz, France toward the Siegfried Line and the Rhine River.

The Normandy American Cemetery, perhaps the best known of all WW II cemeteries by Americans, is the final resting place for 9,385 killed and 1,557 reported missing during this campaign. It lies just yards from the Omaha Beach area. Walking this area is special—the rows of dignified markers honor these dead. It was the first cemetery established in Europe by the Americans. When I was walking this hallowed ground, it is a stark reminder of what it took to invade Europe—the sheer number of markers is just overwhelming.

Anne and I led a tour here in 2014 for the 70th Anniversary of D Day (June 6, 1944) and a tour in 2019 for the 75th Anniversary. During the 2014 ceremonies, each gave site was marked with a small American and French flag. It was indeed memorable and touching and a fine tribute to our lost soldiers. Here are 3 pictures from our 2014 and 2019 tours:

**American Cemetery in Normandy with French and American Flags 2014**

**This pictures shows the endless rows of the dead at the American Cemetery in Normandy 2014**

**2019 picture of the American Cemetery taken on 3 June 2019 as the cemetery prepares for the 6 June 2019 observances. Photo Anne Schrader.**

The Rhone American Cemetery is along the route used by the U.S. Seventh Army in its drive up the Rhone Valley. It was established on August 19, 1944 after the Seventh Army's surprise landing in southern France. There are 860 dead buried here and recognition of the 294 missing servicemen who were in this battle area.

The smallest WW II cemetery is near Paris. The Suresnes American Cemetery is primarily a WW I cemetery, but it also has 24 unknown soldiers killed in WW II buried on the grounds.

Italy

There are 2 American Cemeteries in Italy.

The Florence American Cemetery has 4,399 soldiers buried here and there is recognition of 1,409 reported missing in action. These are soldiers of the 5th US Army, who died in the fight to capture Rome and in the heavy fighting battles in the Apennines Mountains that lasted until almost the end of WW II.

The Sicily-Rome American Cemetery has 7,860 buried in the cemetery and 3,095 are listed on plaques as missing in action. According to the ABMC website

“The majority of these individuals died in the liberation of Sicily (July 10 to August 17, 1943); in the landings in the Salerno Area (September 9, 1943) and the heavy fighting northward; in the landings at Anzio Beach and expansion of the beachhead (January 22, 1944 to May 1944); and in air and naval support in the regions.”

Luxembourg

One of the most well-known cemeteries in Europe by Americans, is the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. Along with the 5,075 buried here and the 371 reported missing, it is the burial site of LTG George Patton. Anne and I visited this sacred ground in 1989 while I was still on active duty. It was truly emotional for me—I was so humbled and grateful for these soldiers. Many of these soldiers lost their lives in the Battle of the Bulge and the subsequent drive to the Rhine River. My Dad was part of the Battle of the Bulge and he survived—I am sure knowing that made me respect these dead heroes even more.

Netherlands

There is only one American Cemetery in the Netherlands. It has 8,301 buried here; another 1,722 are listed as missing on the plagues displayed at this site. According to the AMBC, this cemetery has a unique connection to the Dutch people.

“Since 1945 members of the local community have adopted the grave sites of our fallen. They bring flowers to the cemetery and research the life of the service member as a way to honor their sacrifice.”

It is a nice tribute to those buried here.

ABMC Monuments

There are 3 monuments in Europe commemorating the struggles our soldiers went thru in route to our victory in Europe. The first 2 are in the Normandy area. They are the Point du Hoc Ranger Monument and the Utah Beach American Monument.

As a graduate of the US Army Ranger School, when I first walked the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, I realized how difficult the climb was from the beach and I just could not imagine completing the climb under hostile fire. The monument is a ranger trench knife built on top of one of the bunkers of Pointe du Hoc. The mission of the second ranger battalion was to scale the cliffs and eliminate the 155 mm artillery cannons the Germans had placed on this key defensive position. In recognition of their successful mission, the monument was created by the grateful French people.

Here are some pictures of this monument:

**Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2014 visit.**

**Pointe du Hoc Bayonet Monument Inscription**
The inscrition reads “To the heroic ranger commandoes D 2 RN E 2 Rn F 2 Rn of the 116th Inf under the commando Colonel James E Rudder of the First American Division attacked and took possension of the Pointe du Hoc”

**Pointe Du Hoc Ranger Monument from our 2019 tour. Picture Anne Schrader.**

**This is the observation bunker that holds the bayonet monument,to help you understand it is the only item added to this battle site.**

The monument on Utah Beach is a tribute to the successful amphibious assault landing on June 6, 1944. It commemorates the achievements of U.S. VII Corps forces that landed and fought in the liberation of the Cotentin Peninsula from June 6, 1944 to July 1, 1944.

The monument is a red granite obelisk set in a small park overlooking sand dunes of the historic site.

**Utah Beach Monument. Picture from the American Battle Monuments Commission Website**

The newest monument is in Dartmouth, England and was dedicated on June 6, 2017. Dartmouth was one of the staging points for the D Day invasion.

Our Final Thoughts

While researching this blog, I realized how many members of our Armed Forces scarificed their lives against nations determined to defeat us and impose their will upon our country. We hope you will take a few minutes to reflect on this monumental effort and the cost to many who made the ultimate sacrifice. They deserved to be remembered and honored. We hope this blog did them justice and we hope you will remember them also.

May we never forget—be thou at peace to each who gave so much for our country.

Hank Schrader, Major (Infantry) USA Ret.

Anne Schrader, Army Wife

**I thought long and hard if it was proper to add this picture of Anne and I at Ft Ord on New Year’s Eve. I decide it was okay as both our fathers fought in WW II and we are their legacy.**
**Thanks Dads for your bravery and sacrifice—you may rest easy knowing we still honor you both!**

Hank Schrader

May 2, 2024

Europe River Cruise

Castles on the Rhine Gorge

Hank Schrader

May 2, 2024

Europe River Cruise

Castles on the Rhine Gorge

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

In 1971, during my first visit to Europe. I took a KD cruise through the Middle Rhine River castles between Mainz to Koblenz. The are 40 castles, some in ruins, and some you can actually visit.

Overview

The Rhine River Gorge has the greatest concentration of scenic banks and castles in all Europe. It never gets old! This 65 km stretch of the Rhine has always been an important transportation route. The 40 castles that dot the steep hillsides were erected over a period of around 1,000 years ago to protect land holdings and exact tolls. Most are now picturesque ruins, as they were either destroyed in wars or abandoned. Still, you can feel like you are part of a bygone time cruising this portion of the river. No wonder, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

A Few Facts About Medieval Castles of the Rhine

These military structures were built for one reason—to defend the owner’s property and everything else is secondary. This concentration of these castle were in the heart of the old Holy Roman Empire where the Rhine was one of the most important, if not the most important transportation routes of the Empire.

These castle were prepared as a defense in depth—there were always a series of obstacles and defensive positions to provide the defenders with advantages during a siege or attack.

Castles became obsolete with the invention of more modern weapons and especially gunpowder .

Klopp Castle Bingen

Klopp Castle is the most famous landmark in Bingen but most folks on the river are drawn to the Mausetuen, as it is more colorful than the stark walls of Klop Castle.

Mauseturm Bingen

The Mouse Tower is one of the best legends of the Rhine Castles in this area. The wicked archbishop of Mainz Hato hoarded grain from the townsfolks. One day, for his harsh ways, he was attacked by mice and rats who gnawed him to death. The tower is on an island of the Rhine near Bingen and is used today as a lighthouse.

Ehrefels Castle

It was built in 1211 and remodeled in 1365. It is in ruins today. It once safeguarded the cathedral treasures in times of rebellion and unrest. It finally was destroyed by the French in 1689.

Rheinstein Castle

First built around 1000, perched 279 feet above the Rhine River, it always was a castle designed to collect tolls. Later, it became the felon’s court of Mainz in 1200. From 1282 to 1286, Rudolph von Hapsburg, the Holy Roman Emperor resided in this castle. By 1632 it was a ruin.

It has since been restored and is open to the public. Inside are stained glass windows and mural paintings as well as a Renaissance fireplace and stylish furniture. Castle and medieval games take place in the Knight’s Hall. The castle can only be reached by a short footpath.

Reichenstein Castle

The legend of this castle is one of a ghost king. The robber knights of this castle were in conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph who lived in Rheinstein Castle. Rudolph finally captured the castle and condemned the Noble rulers and his 10 sons. The father begged Emperor Rudolph to spare his sons. Rudolph agreed if father of the clan could walk past all his sons after his head had been cut off.

According to the legend, his will was so strong he walked past them and the dropped dead to the ground.

Burg Reichenstein is well preserved, has a good collection of armor on display.

The castle has a small hotel and restaurant available for guests.

Soonech Castle

This castle is built on the outermost tip of the Soon Forest. It was built around 1271 but not many years later, in 1282, besieged by Rudolph and destroyed.

It was later rebuilt but later destroyed by the French during the during the War of the Palatine Succession.

Heimberg Castle

Heimberg Castle was built to counter the castles of Soonech and Reichenstein by Count Ludwig the Severe (you can’t make these names up—amazing even for ages past!). It is now a private residence.

Nolling Castle

Nolling Castle was originally known as the watchtower—it really is not a true castle but part of the northwest Lorch city walls. It is near the town of Lorch. The castle was built to counter the power of Burg Furstenberg on the opposite bank of the Rhine.

Fürstenberg Castle

Now in ruins, this castle was bult in 1219 by the archbishop of Cologne. In 1620, the castle was taked by Spanish forces and in 1632 the Sweedish forces captured it. The French fina;;y finished off this castle during the Palatine war of succession (1688-1690) and has been in ruins ever since.

Stahleck Castle

This fortified castle was built on a crag 520 feet above the river. Like most castles on this section of the Rhine, it was destroyed during the 30 Years War and later by the French around 1689. Now it is a youth hostel with more than 42,000 bookings a year.

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle Toll Station

Perhaps the most dramatic castle/toll station of this whole area, this fortified position is in the middle of the Rhine at a very shallow point of the river. It was the perfect place to exact tolls, as it was almost impossible to avoid merchants and ships sailing on the Rhine.

Gutenfels Castle

Gutenfels Castle is high on the hill (110 meters) overlooking Kaub. The castle worked with Pfalzgrafenstein toll station.

Schonburg Castle

This castle was built starting in 1116. It is above the medieval town of Oberwesel. This was another castle to collect tolls until 1689 when the French burned it down.

This castle sometimes been described as “the most beautiful refuge on the Rhine during the Romantic Era”.

It is now a hotel and restaurant.

Lorelei (Loreley)

This rock formation is at the narrowest part of the Rhine River. The resulting swift current brought about a legend of a female water spirit than caused sailors to get distracted and wreck their boats.

Katz Castle

Katz Castle was built in 1371 to collect tolls on the Rhine River. The official name of the castle that overlooks the village town of St. Goarshausen is “Neukatzenellbogen”.

The castle was built by the Counts of Katzenelnbogen, so it is easy to see how the name was shortened by locals to Burg Katz.

In 1626, the castle was besieged by the Electorate of Cologne and while courageously defended by 10 cannons and 80 soldiers, surrendered after 5 weeks when they ran out of ammunition. The 7 electors of the Holy Roman Empire were constantly trying to increase their power and ranking among the 7 Electors, so armed conflict was just one means of getting more power.

France always feared a strong Germany, and they invaded this region in an effort to assert its superiority and dominance of the small, un-unified German kingdoms. Both Germany and France wanted control of the Rhine River. This important transportation river soon became an area of international conflict.

The next siege came in 1692 by the French. The castle survived other attacks until in 1806 it was ordered blown up by Napoleon.

By 1770 it was in total decay. It has been restored and now is used for a holiday center for German financial authorities. Burg Katz is closed to the public.

Rheinfels Fortress

Built in 1245, this castle was constantly improved and fortified. It is the largest castle on the Rhine and could shelter 4,000 people and stand a 6-month siege—it successfully defied 28,000 French soldiers for 6 month. In 1792, the commander of Rheinfels handed over the fortress to the French, who destroyed it, Visitors can tour the ruins.

Maus Castle

Burg Maus (officially Thurnberg Castle) is much smaller than Burg Katz but is higher on the hillside and looks like to me, taunting the larger Katz Castle to come and get me.

It overlooks the Wellmick village and construction began on this castle around 1356. The castle has a massive shield wall, and the keep (highest tower) is part of this wall. Directly opposite this smaller castle is Rheinfels Castle.

Burg Maus was built to secure the borders of Trier against the Counts of Katzenelenbogen’s territory and to collect tolls. Burg Maus was never destroyed.

Today it is used as a falcon training center and is open for visits.

The Katz and Maus Feud

The two Rhine River castles, Burg Katz and the smaller Burg Maus got their name from two feuding lords in the late 1300’s. Their different size and proximity to each other makes them a special part of the lore of the over 40 castles in the Rhine River Gorge.

To understand the rivalry of these two castles, many of these castles were constructed on this stretch of the Rhine by competing factions trying to gain more wealth and power Burg Katz, across the river from Rheinfels castle, was built by to support Rheinfels fortress, while Burg Maus was built by the Electorate of Trier (one of the 7 voters for the selection of the Holy Roman Emperor) near Katz castle to undermine its’ power by also collecting tolls from the river merchants.

The Waring Brothers

This is another great legend of the Rhine Castles. This is the story of 2 great castles, two brothers who pursued the lovely Angela to marry.

The castle with the big white tower, Burg Sterrenberg, and Burg Liebenstein were once very friendly. This changed when the 2 brothers, Henry and Konrad, both wanted to marry Angela and she must now decide.

Konrad was a knight and went away to war. Angela decided to wait for him. She was devastated when he returned with a wife from Greece after 5 years. When Konrad sailed done the Rhine , he saw a black flag on top of Burg Sternenberg and realized his father was dead and a new castle, Berg Liebenstein built.

Konrad landed, and drew his sword as a sign of respect to salute his father. Henry mistakenly thought Konrad was attacking him and drew his sword, as the anger boiled over. Angela got between the waring brothers and almost was killed.

Both brothers retreated to their castles, K onrad built a wall and the devastating Angela became a nun.

The whole result was a huge wall between the castles, a grieving girl and a family ripped apart.

**The Waring Brothers—**Burg Sterrenberg on the Left: Burg Liebenstein on the right

**The Waring Brothers** Burg Sterrenberg (left) and Burg Liebenstein (right)

Burg Sterrenberg (lower Castle); the Wall and Burg Liebenstein

Marksburg Castle

Marksburg is the only castle that was never sacked or ruined among the 40 some odd castles along the Rhine Gorge stretch from Koblenz to Rüdesheim. It is above the town of Braubach. Marksburg was built and served as primarily a fort and often these countryside castles lacked the grandeur of royal palaces. The white pained castle with red trim is distinctive and has a butter-churn keep tower, as the lower parts of the tower are wider than the upper parts and it resembles a butter-churn devise.

The construction of Marksburg was intended to defend the town and after entering the castle the first area in the Great Battery with its firing positions designed to protect the Rhine and town from enemies.

The next area on the tour is the wine cellar.

The gothic Hall was the kitchen area of the castle fort.

The next area was the sleeping area.

Next is the Chapel

Now the Armory Museum, called the Gimbel collection, uses life-sized figurines to show the changes in armor and weaponry through the ages.

Finally, the Horse Stables, which also was used as a prison complete with torture devices.

Stozenfels Castle

Stozenfels Castle the castle is located approx. 5 km to the south of Koblenz, which was originally built as a customs fortress and was destroyed by the French in 1689 in the Palatine War of Succession. It was rebuilt according to the plans of the Berlin master builder Schinkel and is now open to the public. It houses a number of valuable furniture pieces and a collection of armor and weapons. Here are some pictures:

Martinsburg Palace

This castle was built as a toll station for the archbishop of Mainz.

Lahneck Castle

This is a great castle to tour, as combines medieval fortifications, and great interiors. It was built in 1244 and destroyed in the Thirty Years War (1633). In 1852, it was rebuilt and finally fully restored in 1937.

Lahneck Castle view from the Rhine River

It is a very interesting and pretty residential castle. The stained-glass windows of the chapel date to the 1400s. There is even a portrait of Queen Victoria, painted in 1840.

It is full of fine furniture, porcelain, ceramics, a 15th century kitchen complex and a fully furnished 3-story doll house.

Ehrenbreitstein Fortress

Just across from Koblenz, where the Moselle and Rhine meets, a huge fortress dominates the high ground of this river junction.

Our Final Thoughts

Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit sites that are important to you and try and imagine what it was like during that era. Can you imagine the castles, the scramble for power and land during these times?

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

April 24, 2024

Europe River Cruise

AmaWaterways 3-Day Loire Valley Land Extension

Hank Schrader

April 24, 2024

Europe River Cruise

AmaWaterways 3-day Loire Valley Land Extension

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Most folks who travel to Europe from the US want to stay in Europe a few days before or after their 7-day river cruise. They often ask about the land extensions and what exactly one might get to see and experience on these extensions.

So, this will be the first in a series of land extensions offered by the various river cruise companies. We are going to start with the Loire Valley. To make this similar to what is posted on the website from AmaWaterways, I have put it in a bullet format and added some descriptions to enhance the visits with our pictures.

Transferring to Amboise

• BORDEAUX – DISEMBARKATION – LOIRE VALLEY/AMBOISE

• Disembark the ship and transfer to Tours for free time for lunch before arriving in the Loire Valley, where you will check into your Amboise hotel. (B)

Amboise

• Visit three of the Loire Valley’s regal châteaux starting with the Château de Chenonceau, one of the most beautiful castles in France.

• This château has been referred to as the “Women’s Castle” since it is the only castle in the region that has been built, inhabited, and saved by women during the Renaissance.

• Château du Clos Lucé was Leonardo da Vinci’s last home where he completed some of his most famous works under the patronage of the King of France.

• The Château d’Amboise, perched on a promontory overlooking the Loire River, was the first Renaissance château built in the Loire Valley and features extravagant residences, gardens and a Gothic chapel, where Leonardo da Vinci is buried. (B)

Amboise

This is a cool little town—great castle, good food, and the palace where the genius, Leonardo De La Vince spent his last 3 years. In 1516 Leonardo traveled to France and among the items he brought was his painting of the Mona Lisa and accepted a position working for the King of France as an engineer, painter and architect.

Chateau du Clos-Luce is an interesting look at Leonardo’s creativity—each room seems to emphasize his talents for painting, building, and inventing. The models of some of his inventions and ideas are really well done.

Chateaux Chenonceau—a Woman’s Palace

Built over the Cher River, this is an impressive chateau that I intuitively knew was going to be a special visit. From the entrance to this historic site, it is about a 15-minute walk to the chateaux through some wonderful gardens, a cool duck pond and a carriage house with splendid examples of horse drawn transportation and farming carts of the era. Here are some of our photos:

The tour took us through this palace, which originally was gifted by the King of France for his mistress. Diane De Poitier. We started of with the Guard Room and Chapel.

We next visited Diane De Poitier’s Bedroom, the Green Study, and the library. Here is the story about control of the palace.

Diane De Poitier is an interesting women—she was the mistress of King Henry II and he gave her the palace in 1547. When Henry died as a result of a jousting tournament accident in 1559, Henry’s wife, Catherine de Medici’s, quickly made sure Diane was no longer welcome and she took control of the Chateau.

My favorite room was the 200-foot-long Gallery. It instantly reminded me of the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles except with 18 windows instead of mirrors. The Gallery is actually the bridge over the river Cher. The dazzling chandeliers and tufa and slate floor of black and white tiles are stunning. It would be easy to imagine a wonderful evening ball here—there would be plenty of room to dance and socialize and this was exactly how this area was used by the royals for lavish parties.

**Chateaux Chenonceau 200-foot long Gallery Room over the Char River**

Amboise to Paris

• Check out of your Amboise hotel and, enroute to Paris, visit two more majestic châteaux.

• While Château de Chambord, located at the heart of Europe’s largest enclosed wooded park, began as an unassuming hunting lodge, it is now the biggest château in the Loire Valley with 426 rooms, 77 staircases and 282 fireplaces.

• Next, either marvel at the residence of seven kings and ten queens of France at the famous Château de Blois where you’ll discover the secrets of the French court or enjoy free time.

• Afterwards, transfer by motor coach to your hotel at Charles De Gaulle Airport. (B)

Château Chambord

One of the largest Chateaux in all France, Chambord has over 400 rooms. It was created as a hunting lodge and to impress visitors. On first sight, it does just that—this place is massive. 80 of the rooms are on display. This is a great example of French Renaissance architecture.

Château Chambord

There are 4 main areas of interest of this palace.

We entered and went up the double-helix staircase, the first of the must see in the chateau. It was designed so users could pass without seeing each other since there are two flights of stairs. It is rumored to be inspired by Leonardo De La Vince and some say it was designed so the King’s mistress and the queen could pass without having to meet.

The second area of great interest is the furnished apartments of the first floor. These are lavishly decorated and have furniture fitting for a king (although they are recreations—most of the original furnishings were looted during the French Revolution).

The third area is the keeps—the vaulted rooms of the second floor. The symbol of the king was the salamander and there are many carved into the walls and ceilings.

There are over 300 salamanders carved into the walls and ceilings of Chambord. It was the personal emblem of Frances I and symbolized resilence and fortitude.

The forth area is the terraces. The sweeping views, the turrets, the walkways are really special. In the center of the terraces is the lantern tower crowned with the fleur-de-lis.

The Lantern Tower—this is the highest tower in Chambord

Château du Bolis

This is a stop to view another great palace. There are 17 rooms of the Royal Apartments, 9 rooms of the Fine Arts Museum, and 4 other spaces including the largest room in this structure, the Estates General room, which has 6,720 flour-de-lis on the panels.

Our Final Thoughts

Sometimes, it is plain cool to visit royal palaces built to impress and try and imagine what it was like during that era to live as a royal.

This 3-day land extension is one of the best offered by Amawaterways, as it captures the heart of this region in an efficient and comprehensive manner. We would recommend this as well worth the extra expense.

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

April 17, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

100 River Cruise Blogs--Comprehensive and Accurate River Cruise Content That is Ad Free

Hank Schrader

April 17, 2024

Our River Cruise Services

100 River Cruise Blogs—Comprehensive and Accurate River Cruise Content That is Ad Free

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

Here is a bold statement—we have the best river cruise blog for 3 reasons—it is accurate: comprehensive; and ad free.

After writing our blog for over five and half years, I started to reflect on why we write about travel. I think it is a fair question to ask—why should you read our blog? Most of you are very busy and often are overwhelmed by emails and online information about travel.

So, why should you take the time to read our blog—especially about river cruising in Europe? Let’s explore this thought together and decide if you should or should not read our blog!

Some Stunning Statistics

A lot of folks these past 2 years year have visited our website. Here are the totals from our Squarespace Analytics Report from 2022 and 2023:

· 2022 2023
·Visits 46,148 63,950
Unique Visitors 40,025 58,837
Pageviews 55,860 75,201

So, a lot of folks have visited our website and most come from search engines. Why are they coming to our website? The answer is our blogs and content on our website, and almost all is about Europe River Cruising (100 blogs) and Europe Travel (106 blogs), our 2 specialties.

The Starting Point—What is the Purpose of Our Blog?

For me this is a simple answer—our purpose is to make you a better-informed traveler who may need our services. Sounds simple but it really is much more complex in my mind.

I think there are 4 parts of making you a better-informed traveler.

First, we want to teach about what good value travel is.

Second, we want to inspire you and help you visualize your next trip.

Third, we want to provide objective advice, so you can make wise travel choices.

Forth, we want to help you decide if you should trust Visit Dream Destinations, LLC to plan your trip?

So, let’s evaluate our blog and see if it is worthwhile for you to read our blog and if we deliver on the 4 parts of making you a better-informed traveler.

Our Role as Teachers About Good Value Travel

Good value travel is making the most of your travel dollars. It is about memorable experiences. It is about reduced hassles on the trip. We write often about these topics. The blog has 7 subtopics. We write about Ocean Cruising, Europe River Cruising, Europe Travel, Europe Destinations, Best Value Travel, Travel Planning, and Veterans. By far, the river cruise and Europe travel blogs are the best blogs, but our blogs about Veterans and the history of American soldiers rank very high in Google searches.

The River Cruise Blog Archives (this is blog 100) on our website is an excellent place to learn if river cruising is the right trip for your vacation. The topics in this section are Our River Cruise Services, River Cruise Line Comparisons, River Cruise Routes, River Cruise Advice and River Cruise Reviews. Our comparisons of river cruise companies and Europe River Cruise route Guides are especially strong—we are number 1 on Google (or close to number 1) for both topics. Just remember to skip the ads (sponsored content) to get to the real content.

Most blogs are 2000 words or more and even have as many as 40 pictures taken by us. This is off the charts content!

On our website we have all our blogs under these categories, so you can find travel or destination advice easily. We try and write about the advantages and disadvantages of travel to help understand about the suppliers and their benefits to help you achieve your travel goals and how we can guide you to make wise choices.

There is one common theme in each topic –We try to write with the viewpoint of: Do they care about me and what I need as a traveler?

In our blogs, we try and establish what we consider as a good relationship with our readers. We want our readers to think of us as friends who may become clients and help them decide if they need our services.

If we take the next step in our relationship to client and travel consultant, we still maintain the friend’s mantra. We treat each of our clients as friends, because we don’t sell travel to clients—we sell travel to friends. There is a big difference—how your trip goes makes a world of difference to us.

We like to say we are small enough to deliver personalize service but big and experience enough to get you just the right trip. We try to match you to just the right experience and make it logical, realistic, and affordable in your price range.

Don’t get us wrong—we do not sell on price—we sell on value. We try to demonstrate how valuable you are to us in many ways but how many other travel professionals have a Traveler Hall of Fame? We are proud we could help you travel, and we want to share with others your joy and satisfaction.

Our Gems of SE Europe River Cruise Group on the AmaVerde April 2024.

St. Patrick’s Day during the 2023 River Cruise Expo in Budapest. From left to right. Diane, Jasmine, Hank, Anne Kristin Karst (Executive VP and co-owner of AmaWaterways and a Hotel manager from AmaWaterways.

Traveler Hall of Fame

Inspiration

We try in our blogs to help you visualize your next trip. We often talk about our experiences during our travels so you can see if that trip would fit into a trip you might like to take. There are many pictures in our blogs, most taken by us, to help you visualize the trip in your mind. Many of you recognize the great pictures Anne takes to document our travels and that is perhaps the best feature of our blogs. She really makes the places come alive!

Schönbühel castle is 40 meters above the Danube River. Its nickname is the “Watchman of the Wachau Valley. It is over 1000 years old.

Pfalzgrafenstein Castle by Kaub. It originally was a toll station. In the background is Gutenfels Castle. These are 2 of the 40 castles built on the Rhine Gorge and always a highlight of a Rhine River Cruise.

We have a truly unique feature on our website—121 Day-by-Day River Cruise Route Itineraries from the 7 different river cruise lines we follow. If we have been to the port, there are our pictures, not stock pictures. Here are the 7 Links to Our 7 River Cruise Lines Routes:

Amawaterways—30 Cruises

Avalon River Cruises—22 Cruises

Emerald Waterways—14 Cruises

Scenic—16 Cruises

Tauck River Cruises—14 Cruises

Uniworld —9 Cruises

Viking—16 Cruises

Our emphasis is always the best possible experience within your price range, and we hope that these pictures will help inspire you to visit a new place or experience a new culture, help celebrate a milestone in your life, or have a bucket list trip you have always dreamed about—especially on a river cruise.

Objective Advice

I recently read that 88% of business bloggers outsource their blog (Source Findstack)! I was stunned—their blog(s) may have good content but what that tells me is that they are too busy to provide first-hand information or worse don’t have the content to write a decent blog.

How reliable and objective is that? Trust me, we write our own blog and the only guest writers are our clients. It’s funny to me that we get requests and offers from others to write about subjects that have nothing to do with travel to post on our blog—it is crazy that we would even consider this, but the pitches will continue.

Yep, I’m going to spend $10,000 to $20,000 dollars with an advisor who outsources their blog. We have been on 24 River Cruises—whose advice are you going to trust?

On statistic reported is that most content DYI bloggers spend 6 hours or more writing their blog—we spend at least that or more. We have several blogs and website first page rankings on Google and our 2000-word blog is slightly above the 1,447 words average (source 20 Business Blogging Statistics That Will Blow your Mind May 28, 2023).

We are about great, accurate content and we don’t use the constant annoying pop-up ads, or any ads which are almost insulting to intelligent readers. Never fear--we are not like travel writers or even agents that get paid for ad clicks. We are not desperate for money from our blog—we want to help you understand the confusing world of river cruising.

With over 29 years of experience selling travel to many satisfied clients, we know both what you need to make your travel experience better and the knowledge of what is available to match you with just the right vacation. Although some authors, pundits and influencers believe that 16 posts are the correct number each month, we steadfastly believe that is massive overkill—Who wants a constant stream of information 4 times a week? We prefer once a week with great content, as it is best for you and us—it shows our respect for your time.

We have extensive first-hand knowledge and do comprehensive research on trips. We have planned hundreds of successful trips to delighted clients and we are eager to plan yours. Would you like a little proof?

Ask for one of our 50 Europe City travel guides—we wrote them, not some other person or company—just go to our website, click on the region of Europe you want to visit and then click on the city, and we will send you the guide (if you are not a current client there is a limit of 1 guide). We have visited 45 of 50 cities we write about and have awesome pictures to go with these guides.

Or click on one of our many PowerPoint presentations on our web site or visit our Resource Section of our website to get travel tips (www.dreamdestinations.com).

We also have 51 river cruise port guides available on our website—they are also free only if you are current client.

There is one common thread here—almost 98% is our own pictures or written by us—in truth, it would be hard to find many travel professionals who have been to so many of the places we sell. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know we know our stuff. As I used to say as a coach, when evaluating good football players, “he is the real deal!” Well folks, we are the real deal!

Should I trust Dream Destinations LLC to Plan My trip?

Trust and integrity are valuable traits and, in my judgement, in short supply in our country. Too many make promises they can’t or won’t keep.

My whole life has been devoted to service after graduating from West Point—20 years as a US Army Officer, 20 years as a coach and teacher and 28 years helping others travel to the right location.

Anne is equally dedicated to trust and integrity—she always thinks about what is best for our clients, every single time. We think trust is the cornerstone of our relationship with you.

We try to under promise and over deliver a great travel experience for you. We strive to make your travel experience better by helping you make wise choices, eliminate hassles, and help you get the best value for your money. You are never on your own when you trust us to help you and ever year, we solve complex problems in the planning phase and during the trip. I like to say we are just an email, text, or phone call away.

In short, while working with us, we want to provide a trip that will exceed your expectations. I guess the best thing we can provide you is some comments by some of our clients. All over the website is testimonials from our friends who we have helped travel through the years.

We are proud to have helped them and look forward to helping as many as possible in the future.

We don’t charge fees—we feel we are adequately compensated by our vendors and since the price is already built in, you basically get our services for free,

One final point—we expect you to be reasonable when you contact us—we have set procedures to ensure that you are properly advised about a potential trip, but some expect instantaneous responses, which is just impossible. It will be a correct response but not hurried. Great trips require time to properly plan and unless it is truly urgent, we will take the time necessary to do it right.

Our Final Thoughts

We hope our blog is worth your time to read. As you can see, there is much more than these brief thoughts to describe the value of our blogs—especially for river cruising.

I think we help you become a more informed traveler by being good teachers, providing inspiration, providing objective information, and developing trust. If our blog has helped get more knowledge about travel, then we have done our job and the blog is worth your time to read.

Thanks to the many who take time out of their busy lives to read the blog—we love you folks!

When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And you want someone who can help you with the decision-making process. We think we have all these qualities.

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 51 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Hank Schrader

April 4, 2024

Europe River Cruise

Some Internet Articles Spread Confusion About Europe River Cruises

Hank Schrader

April 4, 2024

Europe River Cruise

Some Internet Articles Spread Confusion About Europe River Cruises

Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert

Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist

www.dreamdestinations.com

We almost exclusively specialize in European River Cruises and European travel. It often has us researching every aspect of river cruising.

Lately some press articles published just are not effective in helping you decide which river cruise to take, or even if you should use our services.

I guess I’m going to call out some really smart and good intended authors, but in my humble opinion, their focus is either misguided or misses the crucial reasons to take a Europe River cruise.

Let me be clear—it is excursions first and last. I’m going to shout it out-- Focus on Excursions to Decide Which Europe River Cruises is Right for You!!

A Professor Tells You Travel Agents Are No Longer Needed

In an article published on 23 March 2024 in Fortune, Andrew C. Spieler, a distinguished professor in business and finance at Hofstra University, compares real estate agents to travel agents. He said, “You just don’t need them”. His reasoning—the internet provides all you need.

Perhaps he is right for simple trips but let me counter this with facts from our 50 clients booked on Europe River cruises in 2024—35 have never been on a river cruise, and all told us the same thing—the information about river cruises in Europe was so confusing, they wanted help to decide how to get the best value for a trip that costs at least $10,000 to $20,000. And when they learned we don’t charge any fees, as the commission we receive is already built into the price, they are getting our unbiased advice basically for free.

So, Mr. Spieler, the 35 first-time cruisers and our 15 long-term clients, disagree with your bold statement as to our value, as do we. Great Headline but a disservice to professionals who do add value.

Dr. Spieler, you are a distinguished real estate expert, and I only graduated from West Point and also have two master’s degrees, but I learned critical thinking skills in these schools, and your flippant statement is not worthy of a man of your stature and academic skills—in the real world many folks need our expertise and help.

The Points Guy

In an article yesterday (2 April 2024) from Gene Sloan, on a free trip from Avalon Waterways, extolled the virtues of Avalon Alegria (their new ship in Portugal) for their bed facing view, spacious showers, and different colored towels in the staterooms (his and hers). While I totally agree with their lovely staterooms (all their ships in Europe have the same bed facing view), he avoids the critical decision point for taking a river cruise—the excursions.

Perhaps in fairness, since this is a 4 day PR cruise event, the excursions experiences were not his subject matter. However, read on—you will learn more about my thoughts on this bed placement room arrangement.

A great example of an Avalon Panoramic Suite with the large glass window.

Actually, the hype about the bed facing the view is part of Avalon’s key selling points. I cannot support this point of view. First, the amount of time spent lying in bed, watching the river scenes go by is minimal at best or should be minimal. Second, a slight turn of your head on different river cruise ships provides the same view, perhaps not as comfortable as the Avalon stateroom, but even that is a stretch. Mr. Sloan writes constantly about these staterooms, and I respect his opinion and 30 years of experience writing about cruises, but I differ in their overall value in selecting a river cruise line.

I should also point out that an opposing river cruise line told travel advisors in the 2023 River Cruise Expo that their line did not use the window view concept used by Avalon because it makes the guest feel the river more than other bed placement options. Having sailed on a ship with the bed facing the balcony window (the AmaMagna), I promise you this is a myth, as the stateroom ride was similar to our other 22 Europe River Cruises.

If stateroom is the only criteria, I’d still be torn between several lines, but my guess is that Avalon and Uniworld would fare better than we rate them overall.

An Interesting Interview with the President of Avalon Waterways

I just finished reading an interview in Travel Market Report about Avalon’s Pam Hoffee today on 3 April 2024. She is the president of Avalon Waterways. I got a chance to meet her briefly last year and found her very warm and personable. What caught my eye about this interview was her advice to travel advisors about who to target as potential clients. She said, “River Cruisers, when they pick a brand, tend to stick with that brand.” “There are very few that switch between brands, but most are very much entrenched in the brand they love.”

I realize this is just another reason we are so valuable to our clients—we match them to their preference as first-time river cruisers by knowing which line will probably be best for them. It just further reinforces our thoughts that all river cruise lines deliver a great vacation, probably the best trip most folks can take as part of a Europe vacation, but the initial choice may be more important than many feel it is.

So, what should you focus on after reading these 3 points of view? Excursions during the Cruise!

Destination and Itinerary of the Cruise—You First Consideration

With good route options available to our clients, the most important factor we find is what they will see and experience during their river cruise.

River cruising is all about the destinations. Even though I have been traveling to Europe for over 52 years and we have led several group tours, I could not do what the river cruise companies do in one week—these folks are experts in showing you the best sights in the least amount of time.

It is truly a unique way to see the interior of a country. It is different from a land-based tour and different from an ocean cruise.

You usually dock very near or right at the destination of the day and there is a tour or place to see every day—no sea days like on a big ocean cruise ship. Being near or in the center of the city, town, or village you are about to explore is a big advantage. In five minutes, all guests are off the boat and seeing the sights.

Most lines also offer different groups during the tours—regular, active walkers or gentle walkers, so your desired way to see the destination is matched with your tour.

So, now you know what route appeals to you, what should you also consider? Extra Charges for Excursions!!

Excursion Extra Charges—A Real Negative for River Cruisers

To me, this is a charge that should be included in the fare, although some charges are understandable and reasonable, in my humble opinion.

Only Scenic and Tauck do not charge for any tours available to their guests.

AmaWaterways only charges for the Vienna concert in their Europe cruise routes (I was told that they were losing money by making reservations for the nighttime concert when too many folks decided not to attend after signing up to go either from being too tired or having a bit too much to drink with dinner). To me that is reasonable. These 3 companies get our best rating for quality and quantity of excursions.

The quality of the excursions offered and the quantity at each port is also a key factor in selecting your river cruise company and is also as important as the price. When you see charges that seem high for more exciting tours, it causes one to muse that the price is not what it seems to be on the advertised cruise fare.

We have now completed 122 different day-by-day route descriptions with our pictures on our website for the 7 different lines we follow, so you can really evaluate the differences between lines. You will see some of the sample slides as images in this blog. Many have over 50 to 100 slides in the day-by-day descriptions along with our pictures—we use the cruise lines descriptions to provide an balanced, comprehensive description of the route.

Uniworld and Viking make my worst offenders list.

Uniworld, which promotes itself as an all-inclusive line, has some significant charges on its Rhine Route for example, but at least they are up front and specify the amount of charges online. On another route in Holland and Belgium, they actually charge extra to go to Kuekenhof Gardens to the tune of $81.00 per person, which is the highlight of most Holland cruises during the 6 weeks in Spring the gardens are open. To me this is just a charge that gouges clients.

Uniworld Extra Charge to see Kuekenhof Gardens—should be included in our opinion

They also sometimes describe a feature on a tour, that it is impossible to determine what you will actually see (like some proof—in Brussels on one tour they emphasize waffles over and over, you will drive by 3 sights, but it never mentions if you will go into the square of guild houses, that most consider the prettiest in all Europe, or if you will visit Manneken Pis, the child fountain statute who wears constantly changing costumes). Here is the slide:

After reading this, do you have any idea what you will actually see? We don’t!

Part of what you could to see in the main square in Brussels

Manneken Pis, the child fountain statute who wears constantly changing costumes—here he is as a patient. Photo Anne Schrader

Viking, however, is the worst offender in my opinion—for example, on each cruise they include only 6 excursions on an 8-day cruise and the rest result in extra charges. To make matters worse, it is extremely difficult to ferret out these charges—most guests receive a printed sheet in their stateroom of the optional charges which can add as much as 500 to 1000 euros to a fare.

Here is an example from their Rhine cruise:

This is a sample of what you would see on a Viking port stop in Strasbourg. Note there is one included tour and two optional tours.

This is a sample of what might be charged to a guest on a Rhine Cruise. Usually we don’t know how much they charge for an optional tour.

The Flammkuchen for 2 with beers costs us 32 Euros which we did on our own—makes the price of the limited tour seem excessive! It’s true we didn’t make it, but many recipes are available to learn how to make this simple dish.

All 16 of the sailing day-by-day sailing routes provided by Viking on our website have extra charges. Usually, it is 2 or 3 every day that have extra charges. Unless you like the one included excursion, or can wander on your own, it is going to cost you extra to take these optional excursions. I have been told by some in our industry that this is a huge money maker for Viking, so it is unlikely that they will change this practice.

Here is probably my favorite example of how Viking uses optional excursion to the max extent possible. On Viking’s Grand Europe Tour in Vienna with a 2 day stop, they offer 8 excursions and there is an extra charge for 7 of these tours. It is quite possible to do some of these tours on your own, since Vienna has a great subway system which allows visitors to get to most of these places on there own. We do it all the time during our river cruise stops. The point of this is exactly the shore excursion mentality of Viking—on their most popular route they work hard to get extra money for tours.

On the first day in Vienna on their Grand Tour route, they offer 1 included tour and 4 optional tours.

On the second day in Vienna, all excursions are extra cost.

Here is the day 13 shore excursions—all extra cost.

Avalon and Emerald do charge extra for some tours, but most seem reasonable if you accept the fact that they will charge extra instead of including them in the fare.

On Avalon for example, I read an article in Travel Weekly that there were 31 options and 23 were included on a Rhone River Cruise and they were priced between $58-$69 per person. They seem very strong in Active and Discovery tour offerings and also have classic excursions in each port stop.

For example, they charge extra to go to Kuekenhof Gardens on one route and for some bike excursions on their Holland and Belgium routes. At least they are clear about extra expenses on their website, without prices, but some like the two above examples just seem excessive and should be included in my opinion.

Here is another example of how you will find out about tours at a port stop and which optional tours have an extra cost.

On the best of the Rhine Route, here is an example of the optional tours offered during this port stop on an Avalon Cruise..

There are 3 optional tours for extra costs—we think the bike tour should be included.

On all of the 22 day-by-day cruise sailing routes provided by Avalon we have completed on our website, all have some extra charges for some excursions.

Emerald charges extra for their DiscoverMore program. Some may have to be pre-booked prior to departure on the cruise. Examples are a beer festival in Passau, a guided tour to Pont du Gard or a concert in Vienna.

To help you determine what costs extra, we have clearly indicated which tours include an extra charges on 14 of the day-by-day sailing routes on our website from the Emerald Brand.

It is clear the 2 DiscoverMore are extra charges on this Emerald Cruise. We just don’t how much they charge

Combined Land Vacations of Pre or Post Land Excursions

The option of adding to their vacation either a pre- or post-excursion is also a key motivating factor for our clients. Almost all involve an extra fee, but sometimes there are promotions that include complementary pre or post options.

We find that most of our clients want a more in-depth look at some destinations and the land excursions options provide just that. There are some great places to extend the river cruise experience and it often makes sense to stay for at least a week either before or after a 7-day cruise or both, which most of our clients choose to do. Long haul flights and flying expenses make a longer stay a better overall value to most of our clients.

Maybe Paris, Budapest, Prague, Lucerne, Zurich, Lake Como, or the Lorie Valley—already you can see the great options directly added by including a tour extension with the river cruise lines or we can help tailor a trip for the more adventurous.

Our Final Thoughts

Wow—some strong opinions here, but I hope we have backed them up with facts. Please don’t fall into the trap of amenities over excursions—you will miss out on the real reason to go and what you will see and experience.

We also hope the extra costs for excursions is a real eye opener. Excursions should be the focus and perhaps this will help you select the line that best fits your travel expectations.

We hope you enjoyed this report, and it helps you to understand why we enjoy helping folks experience river cruising—it packs so much in so little time yet in a relaxed and fun trip that is hassle free.

Don’t you think it is time you went on a river cruise—we would love to help you get the trip you desire!

Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!

AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent

Join Our Mailing List