rncheryl

Planning a river cruise next year. Tour starts in Basel. I would like to spend 3-4 days pre cruise in Switzerland. Expect to fly into Zurich. I think our base for this period would be Lucerne.

I have never used the European train system (except for day trips). Would not pack too light for this trip, as it will end up being 14 days.

Train from Zurich to Lucerne, do we have to heft the luggage to an overhead bin, or is there other storage?

Any other reassuring tips?

We are 60-70 age wise and still in good health, but looking to minimize stress

janisj

>>Would not pack too light for this trip, as it will end up being 14 days.<<

14 days isn't that long -- you should still be able to pack light. But in any case, yes, you have to get your own bags on/off the train. Small bags can go in the overhead, and there is space at the end of the car where most bags are stowed.

DebitNM

THE guru of train travel -

seat61.com

greg

>>> you should still be able to pack light
They are river cruising. Cruisers don't travel light.

If the train is not full, since the seats are not assigned, if the space is available around you, you can just put your luggage in front of empty seats. On some trains there are triangular "gaps" between seatbacks as you can see in this photo:

https://rail.cc/img/tra/1/1386014990...b275ce45b2.jpg
or this
http://planetephotos.blog.tdg.ch/med...1225834465.jpg

You can put pretty big luggage in that triangular "gap".

Obviously, your chance of finding free space around you would be better if you travel in 1st class.

nytraveler

Be aware that if you have to make trainconnections you may have limite time. Be at the door of the train with your luggage when the train pulls in so you can quickly haul it down the steps, walk briskly to the next train and board immediately. If you have any bags you can't easily carry up a few steps then have one person at the botton push the bag up and the person at the top take it and push it behind them. Others wil be trying to get on so you need to get your bags out fo the way immediately.

Carry-on size can fit in overhead bin - others can fit at end of car - or - if you are in first class you may be able to fit a 24 or 25" bag under your seat since there is more room and likely fewer passengers.

greg

If you look at Swiss train site, www.sbb.ch, click "en"=English at top if you don't read German, and plug in Zurich airp - Luzern for the approximate time of travel on the same day of the week next week (it does not have next year's schedule).

You will see Zürich Flughafen-Luzern train listings. If you look at column "chg"=changes, trains leaving every hour at :47, 47 minutes past hours show chg=0. Those trains do not require changes between Zurich Airport and Luzern. You want those trains to minimize hauling your luggage.

Natbug

We traveled thru France by train with 4 pieces of luggage and will Never do that again. Travel light! There is space between cars where everyone placed their luggage that was too large for the bins. We had to really hurry to get ours off before the train started up again. Then at the Cannes train station there was construction and we had to lug everything down stairs. Traveling by train is fantastic but don't take a lot of luggage. We traveled 1st class but there was no room under our seat. There was bins above our seats. Just my two cents!

swandav2000

Hi rncheryl,

There's lots of good news to help you make this a stress-free trip.

As greg notes, there are some trains that run directly from the Zurich airport to Luzern with no changes. So, it's quite easy -- just pile your bags on a cart at the baggage carousel, then wheel the cart down to the basement (the carts can go on the escalators or you can use the elevators), and when your train pulls in, just move your cases onto the train. You can just tuck the empty cart anywhere on the train platform out of the way.

Similarly, there are direct, 0 changes, trains that run between Luzern and Basel. So, you just take a taxi from your Luzern hotel to the train station (or you can probably walk if your hotel is in the old town), then just move the cases onto the train when it arrives and off the train when you're in Basel.

I think you'll find that Swiss people will be very polite and considerate of two people your age traveling; if they don't actually help you haul your bags, they will give you plenty of room and time to deal with the bags.

And there's even another option. The SBB will move your bags in one day using their Fast Baggage Service; here's a link to the information:

http://www.sbb.ch/en/station-service...t-baggage.html

Make sure that you know when your bags will arrive and then make sure that the receiving station will be open long enough to retrieve them.

You can even use the service coming from the U.S. with materials provided by Raileurope -- I've used it twice, once when traveling with my mother. You get customs documents and a clear green tag; you fill in the documents and put them into the tag and attach the tag to your luggage. When you check in in the U.S. the green tag just looks like a personalized id tag on your cases. When your cases arrive at the Zurich airport, the luggage handlers recognize the green tag and send the cases to the train station. So, you'll be able to whisk through customs and get onto your train with no delays and no worries and no bags. Here's the information:

http://www.raileurope.com/activities...Eng=Activities

btw, I'm a 60-year-old, short, skinny woman, and I've been traveling by train for decades. I normally travel alone and with a 24-inch suitcase. It's no problem.

Have fun as you plan!

s

bvlenci

Cruisers <i>can</i> travel light, they just don't want to.

When my sister (in the US) comes to Europe, she always crosses the Atlantic by cruise line, because her husband won't fly. The first time she packed too much, and ended up dumping a lot of it mid-trip at my house. Now she brings one jersey outfit for the fancy dress dinners, and her husband wear a sports jacket and tie; The jacket he can use on the rest of the trip, and the tie takes up no room.

On her first cruise, there was a group of Old-Order Amish people going to Germany to discover their roots. Guess what they wore to the captain's dinner?

The only time we ever took a cruise, my husband refused to bring even a tie. He said, "No two-bit cruise director is going to tell <i>me</i> what to wear." (Only in Italian, it was more colorful.) At the captain's dinner, I saw a lot of other Italian men who were of the same mind.

janisj

>>Cruisers don't travel light. <<

This is a RIVER cruise - Not a transatlantic crossing in a Princess Grill suite on the Queen Mary 2. They really should be able to pack light (and should).



(re cruising in general I did a 7 day Alaska Cruise plus 3 days in Anchorage afterwards and managed in my 21 inch rollaboard -- including two captain's nights. it is totally doable - most people just don't )

PalenQ

re: baggage storage on trains - in 2nd class you may have to hoist the bags into an overhead luggage racks if the seats are full - in 1st class I ALWAYS can put my bag on an empty adjacent seat - go first class on that short trip - much more relaxed and not all that much more moolah - really a LOT easier with luggage - those are basically commuter trains and at rush hours or other times they can be SRO in 2nd class but few folks will be in first class.

For lots of great info on Swiss trains check: www.swisstravelsystem.com; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com - just buy that ticket on arrival - no reason to buy it ahead of time - you will always always IME get on any train between Zurich and Lucerne (though in 2nd class you may have to stand a while at times).

Be sure to take a lake boat ride on lovely Lake Lucerne - Lucerne is a relatively small compact city so do some day trips like to Mt Titlis - the Alpine wonderland of your dreams - easy to go by train.

And check out the Swiss Pass that covers trains, lake boats, city trams and buses and postal buses and which gives free entry to 470 Swiss museums and sights, including some in Lucerne. You can hop any train anytime with the pass - just go on - no need to go to any ticket window, etc.

janisj

>>in 1st class I ALWAYS can put my bag on an empty adjacent seat <<

The seats aren't luggage racks. And what will you do w/ that bag when the seat's 'owner' boards at the next stop?

PalenQ

janis - you have obviously ridden few Continental trains - folks routinely set bags, purses, whatever on empty seats next to them - most seats are not reserved - like the UK and of course if the train car fills up I would certainly then put my bags in a proper overhead luggage place - if the seat is reserved the same.

The seats in first class for many people are luggage racks - you speakof something you known zilch about.

Duh - yeh if someone needs a seat no one - well some do - keep their bag on a seat with folks standing or of course if the seat is reserved and thus will be thus marked - so I would not sit next to it if I had to in the first place.

Get on European trains before speculating on things that just are not true!

PalenQ

janais - let's put it in more simple terms: Ever been on a London bus - people with bags will put them on the adjoining seat if empty, right?

Right?

If someone needs a seat they move their bags - right? (Not always - shame on them) - same on trains on the Continent and in the UK too.

Capiche?

I'll see if I have pictures of first class train cars to show you how everyone does this - shocked you did not realize that actually! Ever been on a London bus?

rncheryl

Thank you all so much. This is great, helpful information!