Review of 2019 Mainz to Strasbourg

Bike and Barge Tour aboard the MS Arkona

My expectations were based on two previous bike and barge tours: Passau-Wien-Passau and North Holland.

1. Positive Features

Ship:

The Arkona seemed to be the largest, nicest, and most modern of the three bike and barge ships I have been on. My only complaint was the extremely poor acoustics in the dining room. Everyone shouting to be heard did not make for fine dining. In fairness, even the high priced river cruise ships have this same problem. Also, there was no ice machine; but what do you expect? This is Europe and they like to bike in 95 degree weather with nothing cold to drink.

Food:

Very Good. I liked the continental style (multi-course, small portions) because that way I did not over eat, and was hungry for breakfast.

Breakfasts were buffet-style with a large variety. You were encouraged to pack a lunch from the buffet. My only complaint was weak coffee, weak by my standards and especially by European standards.

Stateroom:

I found it adequate. In a very short time my wife and I had everything conveniently stowed away. There were two comfortable single beds. The shower was very good, although the enclosure design permitted some water to leak out into the bathroom. Housekeeping was very good; just what you would expect.

2. Neutral Features

Cycle tour:

I knew from the beginning that the upper Rhine would not be as interesting as the Danube or the Polders in North Holland. Riding on the paths to the landward side of the levee along the Rhine was easy and pleasant. But often you could not see the river; and most of the small towns were a considerable distance from the path. The first and last day was 95 degrees and sunny. Riding for miles with no shade was grueling.

My favorite ride was along the Neckar from Mannheim to Heidelberg. My favorite sites were the Heidelberg old town and the Speyer cathedral. Typically, we docked along nice riverside promenades lined with beer gardens or, in the case of Mannheim, beer gardens posing as beaches (a German thing). The two exceptions were industrial type harbors in Karlsruhe and Strasbourg away from the city center.

The worst part was making your way through big cities such as Heidelberg, Mannheim, and Strasbourg with no or very poor guidance (see below).

Bicycles:

They were about what I expected: the typical relatively heavy city bikes in good condition. My only complaint was that the saddle could not be tilted forward or back. I prefer to tilt it back slightly. I continually slid forward onto the small end of the saddle.

3. Negative Features

Bicycle fit:

When I received my bicycle, the handle bar stem was set to low. To make matters worse, the handlebars were rotated downward. When I asked the man in charge (I think he was the cruise director) to help me make the necessary adjustments, he said it was impossible. When I expressed in-credulousness, he said it was because of insurance regulations. I don't like being lied to. Fortunately, my sister came with a multi-tool, and I was able to make the needed adjustment. Surprisingly, once the bars were rotated up to a normal position, the problem was solved without having to raise the stem.

Everyone knows that the most important factor to consider when selecting a bike is fit, and that insurance underwriters and adjusters wouldn't know a threaded from a thread-less stem.

Notes about fit:

Route Guidance:

Several days the ride was along the Rhine and was easy to navigate. But when we had to plow through big cities such as Mannheim (twice), Heidelberg, and Strasbourg, it became much more difficult and some help was needed.

Follow the Kurpalz bike route signs from the ship to Schwetzingen

was all the guide book said about cycling across Heidelberg from the ship out into the country during morning rush hour. Unfortunately, the only "Kurpalz" signs were one across the street from the ship in Heidelberg and one in Schwetzingen, but nothing in between. We were left to follow the green bike signs. These are great in small towns or out into the country, but more difficult to follow in big cities where 6 or 7 streets might come together in a platz and you can't be sure where the bike lane is. When we reached the HBF (main train station), the usual platz in front of it was torn up by construction and there were no bike signs. Fortunately, a tourist information office was nearby; and they directed us. Later we became lost as we entered a small town (Plankstadt). Along came the two tour guides who were also lost. They were able to lead us of town after consulting locals.

"Depending on the mooring place of your ship, from the pier, follow the way that changes into Stephanufer".

was all the guide book said about getting across Mannheim from the Neckar to the bike route along the Rhine. I'm not sure such a “way” existed. The worst part is that nothing is said about how to cross the throat (railroad tracks) of the main train station blocking the way. Here Wego, a GPS and mapping system came to the rescue, taking us through a bike tunnel next to the train station.

The maps contained no street names or landmarks at all. The scale was adequate for navigating in the country side, but not cities.

There were two separate briefings for the next day's ride, one in German and one in English. The English one was unintelligible. Now I don't travel to another country and expect someone to speak English. But when the tour advertisement said one of the on-board languages would be English; and the daily schedule included an English briefing, I expected better.

Many a time we would have been lost without a GPS phone app that allows you store offline maps, such as Here Wego.

Faithfulness to the published itinerary:

The latest information I received indicated embarkation would be at Steiger B, south of the main Rhine River bridge in Mainz. But it was actually at Steiger A, north of the bridge. Ironically, it was fortunate that we missed a train connection in Frankfort, causing us to arrive late in Mainz, and we so took a cab instead of walking or taking a bus as planned. We told the cab driver we wanted go to Steiger B, where upon he asked "Arkona?", knowing where it actually was. We were hot and tired after taking 3 trains from Munich; and wouldn't have appreciated hunting for the ship.

The latest information also stated the tour would end in Kehl, Germany, not somewhere in Strasbourg, France, nowhere close to the Rhine. The problem was that I had planned to get to Budapest, our next destination, by train from Kehl. Without the internet (see below) there was no way to revise the plan. Here Wego told us that if we deviated somewhat from the route into Strasbourg, we would pass the Kehl train station, where we were able to book our train tickets.

Otherwise, the location changes were not a problem since you just biked along the waterfront until you found the ship. The one exception was Mannheim. Here you did not arrive along the Neckar River, but crossed the city until you reached it. When we reached the river, the ship should have been to the left. Fortunately, my wife spotted it to the right.

On day 6 instead of riding 25 km from Speyer to Germersheim, we did 60 km (36 miles) to Karlsruhe. The captain was trotted out to say that, although docking space had been secured in Germersheim, it was no longer available. The bonus miles was not a problem for our group

Lack of Internet:

I think the need for the internet when traveling these days goes without saying. And I'm not talking about "get a life" things like checking Facebook. For example, none of the ship's staff had any idea how to get from the new docking location in Strasbourg to the train station in Kehl by public transport. The internet would have come in handy.

If providing WiFi is not practical, at least have one computer station with printer (e.g., boarding passes) available for customers to use. I believe the staff had accsss to the internet.