Upper Rhine River cruise (one day)
 

My family and I would like to ask if someone could recommend a good starting point for a one day, round trip Rhine River cruise this Summer. We're staying near Freiburg. We'd need to leave our rental car parked at the boarding area in the morning, and of course have it ready to get back home in that evening. We see on http://www.rheinhafen.de/fahrgastsch...uhe/fahrtziele that there's a 7 hour cruise leaving from Karlsruhe, going up to Germersheim for 2.5 hours, (with a castle tour included in the price), and then coming back to Karlsruhe. The only dilemma there is not being able to reserve it until up to 5 weeks prior to departure, and having to pre-purchase the tickets in advance at the harbor itself in Karlsruhe, instead of online. Waiting until the day of departure to purchase tickets is not recommended. Does somebody know of other options for round-trip, one day cruises originating in the Upper Rhine as close to Freiburg as possible? Strasbourg might be an alternative starting point. Starting in Strasbourg and heading down towards Basel might be another option. Going North or South doesn't matter too much to us, as long as we can get back home before dark. We'd like to be able to spend a little time visiting at least one village sometime during the cruise. If someone has a web link for a helpful website, please pass it along! Thank you kindly!

This post may be of some help:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...or-ferries.cfm

The dilemma is that a cruise starting from Karlsruhe is of no interest because all you'll see are the harbour, some industrial areas, and then a long river through flat floodlands, i.e. dykes on both sides and a line of poplar and willow trees. The mountains are too far away and cannot be seen from the river. This is not worth wasting a precious day of your holiday time. I also wonder about the "castle tour". From the website I read that this is a tour of the fortress Germersheim - this is a 19th century fortification around the city with some bulwarks and such, all on flat ground. Do not expect a castle or anything that remotely looks like a castle. There is no castle in or near Germersheim.
I live in Karlsruhe, by the way.

What I said about the landscape applies to the entire Upper Rhine Plain. Not worth it.
Better look for boat cruises on the Hochrhein, upstream from Basel.
Useful list of links to all boat companies on the Rhine: http://www.kursschiffe.de/rheinweb.html

I fully agree with quokka.
Go either from Mainz/Bingen/Ruedesheim to Koblenz or from Schaffhausen to Stein am Rhein - Reichenau - Konstanz (- Mainau/Unteruhldingen - Meersburg - Lindau) or forget it.
Weil am Rhein - Basel - Rheinfelden or Eglisau - Neuhausen wouldn't be worth it neither (in my opinion).