AmaWaterways New Emphasis on the Moselle and Main Rivers

By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, European Destination and River Cruise Expert

www.dreamdestinations.com

Our first Europe river cruise was on the Main and Moselle Rivers in 2009. It was on AmaWaterways. As I have written before, I was hooked—for a person who has never taken a Europe river cruise, it is very hard to describe how good it is—I knew what the brochures said, which made it sound awesome, but it was just so much more than I expected!

The key for me was the easy access to so many wonderful sites, that would be difficult to do on your own, and luxury travel aboard the ship facilities, great food and wine all rolled into one package—it was easy and fun.

But that is not the purpose of this blog—the purpose is to tell you about the expanded options to visit either the Moselle or Main Rivers or both on AmaWaterways. There are now 7 different route options that explore this region of Germany better than any other of the 8 river cruise companies we follow. We have sailed every part of these 7 offerings on the Rhine, Main & Moselle Rivers and will provide you some first-hand knowledge of the great ports and experiences you can expect on any one of these cruises.

Imagine sailing on the either of these 2 rivers through the legendary wine growing regions of Germany, getting the chance to sample good Germany wines, explore quaint villages and visit and tour castles and palaces!

Don’t let the 7 different routes confuse you—many ports are very similar on each route and if you just look at the maps carefully and our pictures, you will quickly get a great overview. And, as always, we are here to clear up any confusion.

Since there are so many ports involved in these routes, I have organized this blog to provide an overview of the routes of the Moselle and Main Rivers and will provide you in this blog a good description of the ports on the Moselle. Next week I will concentrate on the ports of the Main River.

So let’s sail together on the ports of these mostly German rivers—you won’t be disappointed—it is that good!

Moselle & Main Routes on the Same Cruise

**Europe’s River & Castles Cruise Route. Map from AmaWaterways**

Europe’s Rivers & Castles

There are 15 sailing dates on Europe’s Rivers & Castles route in 2020, which cruises from Nuremberg to Luxembourg. This is the cruise route we first took on AmaWaterways, and it is just so fun, we have done this route twice. The second time Anne & I were lucky to lead a group of my West Point classmates and introduce them all to the joys of Europe river cruising.

Depending on the direction you are sailing, the trip begins in either Trier or Nuremberg. I am describing the cruise starting from Trier. The only difference in sailing from Nuremberg to Trier is that docking times and days are different–you still get to see the same sights.

The trip starts in Trier, the oldest city in Germany. It continues through the meandering Moselle River Valley, its steep hillsides covered with vineyards. The German villages of Bernkastel and Cochem, with their castles overlooking the town below and Zell on the Moselle River, make this stretch memorable.

Continuing up river, you’ll enter the Rhine River Gorge. Many fortresses and castle ruins are strategically placed on the steep hills. Once these castles served to defend and extract tolls, now they provide beautiful sights—it always makes the best river cruise lists of travel writers.

Along the Main River, a tributary of the Rhine, the stops include medieval towns, often with the half-timbered homes that seem to untouched by time and important smaller cities that have unique palaces, churches and even the first printing press. The cruise ends after sailing through the Main-Danube Canal to historic Nuremberg. The ports on the Main River are Rüdesheim, Mainz, Wertheim, Würzburg, Bamberg and it ends in Nuremberg.

Moselle Routes (4 Routes)

Vineyards of the Rhine & Moselle

This is a 7 night cruise from Amsterdam to Luxembourg or in the reverse direction. The Rhine River portion includes Cologne, the Rhine River Gorge, Rüdesheim, and Mainz. It then visits the Moselle and two ports (Cochem and Bernkastel). There are 9 sailing dates on this route (starting on April 2, 2020, with the last sailing on 14 October).

Rhine & Moselle Splendors

This is a 7 night Luxembourg to Basel Cruise, starting on the Moselle and ending on the Rhine, turning south from Koblenz to Basel. On the Moselle, the ports are Trier, Bernkastel, and Cochem. On the Rhine, the ports and sights are the Rhine River Gorge, Rüdesheim, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, Riquewihr and it ends in Basel.

Rhine & Moselle Delights

This is a 10 night cruise, with three ports on the Moselle (Trier, Bernkastel, and Cochem), added to the traditional Enchanting Rhine cruise which starts in Basel, cruises north, and ends in Amsterdam. It is a very limited cruise offering—it only sails twice in 2020, embarking on August 7th and October 4th on the AmaSiena, the new vessel that will be added to the AmaWaterways fleet this year.

Rhine & Moselle Fairytales

This is an 11 night cruise, with 3 ports on the Moselle (Trier, Bernkastel, and Cochem) added into the traditional Captivating Rhine cruise route from Amsterdam south to Basel. Again, it is a very limited cruise offering—it only sails twice in 2020, embarking on July 20th and September 21st on the AmaSiena, the new vessel that will be added to the AmaWaterways fleet this year.

Moselle Ports

Trier

Trier was an old Roman outpost which was first settled by the Roman in 17 BC. It is the oldest city in Germany, and is near the Luxembourg border—in fact, one side of the Moselle River is Trier, Germany and the opposite other side is the tiny country of Luxembourg. Anne & I first visited here in 1989 on our own.

Important Roman sights include the Roman Baths, an amphitheater, the Basilica of Constantine (it was the throne room of Emperor Constantin), and the huge city gate, the Porta Nigra gate, that dates back to 180 A.D. It has earned the nickname of “the Rome of the North.”

Other sights are the Trier Cathedral (it is the oldest Cathedral in Germany) and the ornate Trier Electoral Palace and gardens. Also worth a visit is the old town area of the main market (Hauptmarkt)—besides people watching, the backdrop is the Porta Nigra and the large square is lined with a variety of architectural styles and is quite colorful.

Zell

Zell is famous for its white wine zellerschwartzkatz (Zell’s black cat). It is a small town of about 4,300 people. It has an interesting market square and the town hall has a wine museum. It was once a walled city but not much of the old walls remain.

The really great draw of this village is the story of Zell’s Black Cat Wine.

According to legend, a large quantity of local wine was being stored in barrels in a regional cellar. When people approached, a black cat jumped on the barrel from Zell and started hissing to protect its contents. Seeing the hissing, caused the wine merchants to believe the wine from Zell was special and better quality than the other wines stored in the wine cellar building. Today the black cat is the symbol of this town.

AmaWaterways has an exclusive wine festival celebration in Zell. The local children, dressed up like black cats, provide a performance that everyone who has visited Zell on AmaWaterways will remember. I just recently heard Kristin Karst, one of the co-owners of AmaWaterways, describe how special and unique this visit and performance is during a webinar—it instantly brought back great memories of this port stop.

**Wine Festival in Zell with the children dressed up in their Black Cat Costumes**

Bernkastel

Bernkastel is a wonderful town of around 8000. It is located about halfway between Cochem and Trier on the Mosel River. There are many half-timbered buildings, especially around the market square.

Easily seen from market square is St Michael’s church, built in the 14th century that had a dual purpose— it served as a house of worship and its tall bell tower served as a watch tower in the old city ramparts.

**The Watch Tower of St. Michael’s Church looms over Market Square in Bernkastel**

**Great Half-timbered Buildings in Bernkastel**

The city has some wonderful fountains—they include St. Michael's fountain on the Market Square, the bear's fountain and the doctor's fountain. Overlooking the town is the Landshut Castle ruins. It was first built in 1277 but was ruined by fire in 1692.

Bernkastel is located in the middle of the Mosel wine-producing region. This area has been producing wine for over 500 years. You will get to experience a guided walking tour through the old town center and a winery visit to sample several different regional vintages are scheduled for this portion of your cruise.

Cochem

In Cochem, you will enjoy a guided tour of Cochem that takes you to the spectacular hilltop Reichsburg Castle (also known as Cochem Castle but the correct name is Schloss Reichsburg). It has fantastic views of the river valley below. Touring inside the castle is great!

**China Display Inside the Cochem Castle**

Cochem, Germany, on the Mosel River, is a former walled city. It has a population of about 5,800 and is a traditional old German town. The town has many fine buildings, quaint cottages, guild houses, and winding cobblestone streets. The town square, lined with half-timbered houses, is a wonderful, scenic area of this small town.

Main River Routes (2 Routes)

Medieval Treasures

Medieval Treasures is a 7 night cruise from Basel to Nuremberg. There are 5 sailing dates in 2020, and the AmaWaterways cruise ship is the AmaDante. On the Rhine, the ports are Strasbourg, Speyer, and Rüdesheim. On the Main, the ports are Miltenberg, Wertheim, Würzburg, Bamberg and it ends in Nuremberg.

One factor about this route—it misses the spectacular Rhine River Gorge I wrote about above.

Treasures of the Main & Rhine

This is a 7 day cruise, starting from Nuremberg to Amsterdam. There are 4 ports on the Main River (Wertheim, Würzburg, Bamberg and Nuremberg) and 3 ports on the Rhine (Rüdesheim, Cologne and Amsterdam). It does sail through the Rhine River Gorge.

Our Rhine, Main & Moselle River Port Guides

A unique feature for you that we make available to you for free is to learn about these ports with our Rhine River Cruise Port Guides (there are 25 total for the Rhine & its tributaries—8 on the Rhine; 8 on the Main; 5 on the Moselle and 4 for the Northern Tulip Time ports). It is really easy to get them—just use the button below, and fill out the short request form and we will send these guides. We have a total of 51 River Cruise Port Guides on our website—trust me, there is nothing like all these to our knowledge available on the web in one place and they are all our pictures. It should help you decide if this is the right cruise for you and also help you decide on which tour to take at each port stop.

Get My Guides

My Final Thoughts

These are routes that should be on everyone’s bucket list, in my opinion. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help you to start this or any other river cruise trip. We have a wealth of free information about all Europe river cruises and really useful river cruise tips on our website www.dreamdestinations.com, so check us out—you will be glad you did.

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

AmaWaterways New Emphasis on the Moselle and Main Rivers--Part 1 of 2

Join Our Mailing List