3 Star Germany Tour Reviews — 31 to 60 of 85

Ship was very nice and staff were friendly and helpful. Everything was spotless clean and bed was comfortable. Dinner meals were pretty mediocre and some of sack lunches included greasy deep fried items. Bikes were in excellent condition and the bike routes were fine, but the written descriptions for navigating the routes were indadequate.

Different city tours were the memborable part both positive and negative. We loved our tour with Peter in Vienna on bikes we did not like our tour with a different Peter in Budapest, he was rude to one of our rides, very opinionated against the West defense of Ukraine, and then left us in the middle of town since he had another tour to go to.

the communication about the departure from the very beginning was a fiasco and then throughout the German presenations were about 50% longer than the English ones. BUt Leslie the Tour Director did a great job overall.

The Moselle-Maar Cycling Trail offered a lovely change of scenery from the also beautiful Mosel River paths we followed most days.

See the beauty of the country and spending time with wonderful co-travelers. I was moved to realize the deep history of Germany, see vineyards EVERYWHERE, castles in nearly every view of the mountains, the lovely quaint villages and the friendliness of the people.

Overall the trip was enjoyable. But the food was quite bland. Also they asked about food restrictions/ preferences, but did NOT accommodate them in any way. The directions for the biking were lacking in detail and the maps could be more zoomed in, especially on the days with many turns and route marker variations. It should also be made clear that many of the routes were directly beside busy roads. It is a great itinerary.

The entire crew was fantastic. The ship, Fortuna, is over 20 years old and it had some issues. In particular the air conditioning, The upper deck rooms had adequate a/c but the lower deck rooms, the lounge and the dining area were very uncomfortable. There were several people on this cruise who did not partake in cycling, some had mobility issues, the elevator did not work and it was difficult for them to get from there rooms to the other decks.
The food and the meal selections were excellent. Leslie, the tour director, was also fantastic. He constantly went out of his way, above and beyond, to ensure that all guests were taken care of.
Most of the biking route was scenic and safe, there was one stretch, appox 4km's that was on a very busy highway . The highway was narrow and carried many large buses and trucks. At the captain's party on the last night of the cruise, it was mentioned that the Fortuna was going to be replaced by a newer ship next year and also the routes were going to be changed to avoid that particular stretch of highway. This is a positive sign and I would have rated this trip much higher if it were not for the 2 above mentioned problems.
I would recommend the Budapest by night folklore show, it was very entertaining. Again, the entire crew did a fantastic job.

We just returned last week from the 4 country Danube trip on the MS Fortuna. I have to begin by saying that the entire crew was fantastic. The food was great and the food selections were plentiful. The cruise director, Leslie, was the absolute best. His knowledge of the bike routes, the cities of Vienna, Budapest and all of the small villages in between were very helpful. The optional Budapest by night folklore tour was a lot of fun.
The ship, Fortuna, is 20 years old and it had it's drawbacks. We had upper deck suites and it was well worth the extra cost, the suites were great. Many of the people that we meet were in the lower deck cabins with little air conditioning. The air conditioning on most of the ship was poor, especially the lounge area and dining room. The elevator did not work. There were several people who opted not to cycle and just take the river cruise, some needed assistance and the boat was not at all handicapped friendly. We were told that the ship Fortuna will be replaced by a newer vessel next year.
The bike paths themselves are well marked, and for the most part very scenic and safe. There is one stretch near the end of the trip that requires cycling on a very busy and narrow road. One cyclist was run off the road and spent the next day in a Vienna hospital being treated for a broken foot. At the end of the trip, at the Captain's party, we were all told that in addition to a newer ship next year, that that particular route would be changed to avoid that dangerous road.
Based on this particular trip, I can only give this trip a rating of 3. With the changes schedules for next year, I would rate this much higher. In finishing, I have to say that the ENTIRE crew was fantastic, they did an excellent job!

This is a ride through the Inn Valley and Southern Bavaria passing through charming towns and villages with unsurpassed scenery. Hotels along the way are as expected. However, the route on Day 5 is extremely difficult, with almost 2700 feet in climbing. The bicycles provided are fine for the flat portions on the first three days of riding, however, not adequate for the extremely challenging route on the fourth day of riding. There were other minor details that could have been addressed make the entire tour more pleasant. Overall, we enjoyed much of the tour and the memories made. This tour has great potential, but some changes should be made to make it more enjoyable.

The trip provided an excellent introduction to the countries and cities visited - the bike tour guide, and some of the extra options, we’re very worthwhile. However communication between Tripsite and the contractor, Rad and Reissen, was poor and marked by numerous breakdowns. Most significant was that the Covid protocol we were told would be followed wasn’t, at all, and several people, including both of us, contracted Covid during the trip. Between us we missed seven days of activities while confined to our cabin.

I loved the Clam Castle we toured.
Amazing that a count and countess actually live there with their children!
One disappointment was that the cruise director spent most of his time giving cycling directions in German and very little time in English.
I found the route difficult to navigate but fortunately one of our friends was able to figure it out.

The boat and staff were nice.
Food was plentiful and good
Our hotel the night before did not have our registration, very difficult to get anyone on a phone
The people we picked up the bikes from were surly and just plain painful
The bike was the same weight as a Sherman tank
The boat was poorly equipped for handling bikes although the crew worked hard to make it less painful
We never had enough time to ride and see the sights, we were always under the gun to get back to the boat
Really thought we were going to be able to sit and have lunches and drinks and see all the sights during our rides
As it turned out there was only one day where we weren’t in a deadly hurray and even that day we had 20 minutes to drink a beer at a local outside bar
Came back in the dark often, dangerous
Directions we revived sucked! Language interpretation was always an issue
The boat was often not where we expected it to be when we returned
Still enjoyed my vacation but it could have been so much better

We thoroughly enjoyed our cycling trip , the sceneries were absolutely beautiful.
We were disappointed to learn , three days prior to our departure from Canada, the MS Arlene 11 was in repairs and not be ready for our departure date.Trip Site offered alternatives,using the same route the group were accommodated in hotels along the way .The group did NOT have any representatives at any hotels from Trip Site except a very brief meeting on our very first night.We were basically left on our own , with somewhat mediocre instructions to and from city hotels.
Allowing for a scénario that was beyond their controls, we would have appreciated TripSite going further to assure the comfort and reliability in this unfortunate incident.

Riding along the Danube offered many beautiful vistas. The bikes were great, the seats very comfortable, which made for a nice ride. We met some fun people on board although a greater mix of English speaking to German speaking would have been even better. Suggestions as mentioned to Tripsite staff would be to make this tour guided (the entire group of 100 passengers were lost on several days which minimized the opportunity to make it to some of the sites), to include ferries in the pricing, so that passengers aren't always searching to make sure they have cash (our previous trip included the ferries so wasn't an issue.), and the excursions were sometimes canceled so these could also be improved. All in all we had fun and the cabin staff took great care of our rooms...I'd make a different selection though next time.

This is my 3rd bike/boat tour, and the 1st unguided. I love to travel this way. But the number of people on the boat -- 100 -- were just too many for the crew to serve in any special way. The food and accommodations were excellent. The cruise director and schedule were below average. Out of 7 days, there were 4 days of biking -- 3 of these were spectacular along the Danube. The Wachau ride was simply stunning. However, the ride around Bratislava featured few, if any, interesting attractions, and many of us got lost. The cruise director suggested stopping at a restaurant as a highlight of the day -- but the restaurant was not in operation. The briefings for English speakers were later than those for the Germans and we were then constrained by the boat schedule in the afternoon -- making at least 2 of the biking days a dash to finish the ride and get back on time -- not leisurely and not affording us to stop much. All the staff on the boat work really hard and it shows. But I prefer a guided tour with a smaller group and boat for better biking and a better overall experience.

The journey and visiting the 4 capitols was the best.
However too many people on the boat - the noise level in the dining room was excessive. The cruise director was obnoxious especially towards women and favored the Germans on the boat. Our group of 18 was split into 3 tables and we always sat with the same people. Never mixed with other groups.

This is my 3rd trip with Tripsite and they do a good job...but the instructions to the boat were a tad misleading. If there are detours/changes, I believe they should keep on top of that and be sure to report to their customers.The bike ride was amazing. The scenery was like all the other reviews stated......I would NOT recommend the ride in Vienna or Budapest; way to much traffic. The crew was not customer focused. The cruise director/bike tour director, Monica, was often short and rude to passengers. Unlike the other 2 trips I took, the crew was not welcoming or eager to help. There were a few in housekeeping and wait staff that were nice. The captain was cold and never engaged at all with the passengers. This is NOT a tripsite issue but this crew needed a kick in the pants from above to treat the passages better........recommend the trip but I hope you don't get this negative crew.....

This is a great way to see four capital cities (Bratislava, Belgrade, Budapest and Vienna as well as get in 10 days of cycling! It's also fairly low mileage (less than 35 miles per day) but training to prepare is still a must. The scenery is very nice and it is about half on roads - mostly slower village streets. The group of people we dined with and rode with were all terrific and we all worked together to find our way since our tour was unguided. The days when you visit the cities can be a little overwhelming - so my advice is to pick one or two things you really want to see beforehand and focus on getting to those. At least in the summer the crowds were large in Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava. As for boat living - the dinners were tasty and served by a friendly staff each evening but I'm vegetarian so I had much more of a struggle with getting any protein. I would have also appreciated a little variety with the breakfasts and lunches. My advice also is to avoid the hotter weather months like July or August - we had days of over 90 degrees which made cycling tough - but the Theodor Korner is not well air conditioned either. Overall it was a nice trip and certainly the staff was terrific!

The barge and crew were amazing as were the bike guides. I would not change a thing.

However . . . the bikes were horrid and it was a bike trip! They were dated . . . poorly maintained . . . and dangerous. I had a piece of my front fender break and get stuck between my spokes in the front tire. I could have been badly injured if not going so slow through construction. I would think a "bike" trip would offer much better bikes in the future. I would not recommend this trip to friends because of the bikes . . . everything else was top notch . . . the food, the staff, the rooms, the bar . . . too bad about the bikes not meeting expectations.

Best part: Route we rode. Some of the small towns and countryside.

Best Part: Interactions with passengers from around the world

We really liked the MS Arkona, the staff and our F&B head mgr. Routes were Ok, but need better route descriptions esp for English speakers. Electric bikes were excellent! Def the better way to really enjoy the ride!

The scenery, hotels and food were great. People were very friendly. The maps for this self-guided trip around Lake Constance were not detailed enough, did not provide information for intersections and turns. We had many times that we did not which way to go. Definitely need better maps.

This is a great tour, with wonderful cities to visit and scenic bike rides. The barge was perfect, great food and service. We enjoyed the evening music and dancing very much. A heat wave happened while we were there, so we had a great time on the sun deck
I was not as happy with the bikes. I was in charge of a group of 25 and at least 6 of them had bike issues: brakes that worked only in the front or back, e-bikes that only assisted when pedaling at full throttle, and more. Even though we reported this, and we were told they would fix the bikes, in reality the bikes were not repaired by the next day, and it took time and effort to get them replaced. I expected more from Rad & Reisen, the bike company. Also there was very little instruction on how to use the e-bikes. My suggestion is to have a person at the dock on the first day to give a 10 minute one-on-one instruction on the e-bike and make the person do a little test ride. It was not as intuitive how to use them if you never have done it.
Another issue that could have been better is a bigger, clearer map on how to get to the path from the barge location. That part is usually the hardest.
All that said, it was still a nice, memorable trip.

This is a great ride, if you use the right company. We used Tripsite, who contracted Austria Radreisen, not the company to use. We were told that Austria Redreisen would meet us at the hotel in Passau the day before the trip was to start...they did not show( a competitor company, Donau, spent 2 hours with their clients, in our hotel). We tried to contact Austria Radreisen at their 'emergency' number...no one answer/no answering machine. The day the tour was to start, they delivered two bikes which were extremely heavy, and with 7 speed changers....we had specifically ordered 21 speed hybrids. The bikes were delivered by the person who picked up the suitcases, and we were told by him that he had no knowledge of how the bikes worked...we were on our own to figure them out. In spite of being in good physical condition, we found the bikes very difficult to use, as they would not coast. After 2 days with the heavy bikes, we had to take a day off as we were exhausted. Thanks to the help of a receptionist at the Courtyard Marriot in Linz, the company delivered replacement 21 speed hybrids(which we should have received in the first place) at our next hotel (we had to take the train to get there), which we used with no problems the rest of the way. The hotels provided by the company were excellent, and the travel maps adequate. We certainly will not go with this company again when we plan our next bike tour.

Much of the bike ride was difficult to navigate. Signs on the road are not always clear. Expected more country rides but much of the bike ride was through cities with many vehicles (somewhat dangerous). If we elect to travel with Tripsite again, we will do more research to determine ease of navigation along the bike route and how much of the route is through traffic.

The cruise through the iron gate was a highlight of this trip. Cruise director did a great job throughout the cruise. Weather was much warmer than average and many days of biking were at 90 degrees F on roads and trails with little cover or shade so were somewhat more difficult than anticipated. It was a great experience but people need to be aware that most of the riding in the Eastern European countries are on the side of roads sometimes without a bike lane and there was some traffic.

This potentially could be a great tour but it was not a great tour for us. The tour guide book was in German which we do not read, thus we wasted a lot of time every day being lost! Also, the provided bikes were not of the best quality, and pedaling them was not easy! The hotels were fine, but we would not recommend this tour unless you read German!

The Rhine Valley is a wonder to bike and very enjoyable.

Most Memorable Part: The last day of our trip we cycled through small towns and vineyards. Stopped at a beautiful small church and were able to hear the choir practicing. We (6 of us) will never forget that part of the trip.

Compared to previous tours, the Merlijn was very well organized on board, but maybe over-organized to the point it was less fun and spontaneous. Very low key with lots of rules - no partying for sure. Also, we found the food was very disappointing by comparison. Highlights included the actual cycling, with beautiful countrysides, storybook towns, the wine tour, etc and the cycling guide was excellent. We were also fortunate to have another good group on the tour which was both interesting and fun. All in all, a satisfactory trip.