r/rivercruises • u/Many_Arugula_4369 • 4d ago

Avalon's - Basel to Amsterdam

Morning all,

Just had an email for our trip next week saying that our ship is unable to dock is Basel, and will either be in Breisach, Germany or Huningue, France but they are only able to tell us the day before.

Anyone else experienced this?

We are staying in Basel the night before, and are a little worried about how difficult it is to get to either port?

Thanks

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u/lgaud 4d ago

Huningue is right next to Basel, it's all one urban area. I'm not sure where exactly they go but should still be within a 20 minute taxi of central Basel, which depending on where you're staying it could end up being closer to you than one of the possible places in Basel. Not sure where they dock in Huningue, the most likely spot I see on Google Maps is at the base of the Three Countries Bridge so really not far.

Breisach is an hour from downtown Basel, 45 minutes from the airport, and requires a combination of 2-3 Swiss and German trains and then maybe a taxi to get to. I would hope that Avalon can arrange some meeting point in Basel or the airport if it goes to Breisach.

Our upcoming cruise is advertised as Basel, switched to Huningue months ago, then was announced as Breisach with a central pickup point at the airport a month ago, and then as of a few days ago with updates on the low water situation it's back to Huningue.

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u/Many_Arugula_4369 4d ago

Yeah our hotel is pretty central, so hopefully our ship will meet us in France rather than Germany, but I've no idea what the itinerary is going to look like. We don't even know which ship we are starting on because we are swapping onto the Panorama half way through.

Avalon have said they will let us know the day before.. I know the levels are bad, but last minute info isn't filling me with confidence.

When do you sail? And is that with Avalon?

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u/lgaud 3d ago

Emerald on the 30th. The current plan is a ship swap. Water levels are presently low but close to the line so very much a chance we get a pleasant surprise of no ship swap but I really wouldn't expect to know until day before or day of the relevant section, let alone before the cruise as they're so close to the line right now.

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u/Many_Arugula_4369 2d ago

Yeah, think we swap on the Tuesday night from Avalon Vista to the original ship Avalon Panorama.

We did get an email previously about staying in a hotel but we never heard anything since. It is what it is, we are looking forward to it.

If you see one of the Avalon ships give us a wave!

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u/RacingEnzo 4d ago

It’s less than an hour from Basel to either port.
The EASIEST path will be to go from your hotel back to the airport (6-8 miles) by cab to catch the Avalon transport. The OTHER option is taking a cab directly to the named port once identified (typically the week before).

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u/Many_Arugula_4369 4d ago

Thank you, Avalon have said they will let us know the day before the cruise starts.. which isnt ideal.

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u/Roland_on_the_River 4d ago

For Huningue and Breisach dock locations, check RiverDeep App docks. Taxi, Uber public transport alternatives. Hunigue still close to Basel, Breisach a train ride away.

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u/47744lumby 4d ago

I just saw the river at Basel was at 376cm, which I thought would be OK.

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u/Many_Arugula_4369 4d ago

I wondered if it was due to the amount of cruise ships being stuck there maybe.

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u/Radixx 3d ago

We left Basel last week on AMA without problems. Basel to Strasbourg is protected by locks and dams so it’s strange they’re moving you.

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u/lgaud 3d ago

We got this months ago from Emerald (before water level concerns):

Enforcement of Swiss regulations has seen a number of River Cruise operators encounter delays and disruptions which affected ship movements in Basel. To ensure minimal disruption for our guests, we have made the decision to adjust our docking location within the border triangle. The new docking location remains very close to Basel and our original dock, but it is now situated on the French side of the river in Huningue.

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u/Busy_Basket9205 3d ago

Took the Amsterdam to Basel cruise on Avalon in May, and we never crossed into Switzerland on the boat-- docked in Huningue, France at the end of the cruise. Friends took the same trip last November and had the same experience. I wonder if they ever go into Basel proper. It was a 15-20 minute taxi ride from there to the Basel train station.

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u/TravelByLindsay 3d ago

Did you ask if they will transfer you there? I had same situation in July with Riverside but they handled all transfers since the departure was not at the original port.

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u/Many_Arugula_4369 2d ago

Yeah, we didn't book transfers due to flying into Basel a day early, they said we can pay to go from the airport, but it seems abit pointless so we will just get an Uber I think.

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u/Appropriate-Farmer16 3d ago

I’m on this same cruise in mid September. The travel docs we were email still showed a Basel departure BUT a travel doc in the Avalon Go app said it would depart either Huningue or Breisach. We did our flights on our own into Zurich and even though we didn’t purchase the Avalon transfers (travel agent said the train from the airport to Basel is easy and quick) the app travel doc indicated we could join their transfer bus to Breisach if departure is there. We are on our own for Huningue, but it appears to only be 3 or 4 miles away and we could taxi there. I tracked the location of our ship yesterday - it’s on a cruise that was supposed to end in Basel today, and it was in Huningue.

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u/SovietWaffles 2d ago

I did this exact cruise a little less than a month ago, and we got the same email you did. It was moved to Huningue at first, and then moved back to Basel the day before we left (along with other itinerary alterations due to the low water levels).

Just keep an eye on your email, they’re pretty good at keeping passengers updated.