Jewel of the Danube

I  am so excited, and lucky, as on Saturday I will be flying off from Gatwick to Munich to experience a European River Cruise on the Danube – Danube Delights!

I have done plenty of Nile Cruises when I worked for Thomson and I am sure the principle is exactly the same but a European river will be very different, and not only because it will be cold, maybe even snow. Just looking at he weather forecast for next week its seems it may even be warmer than here, Nuremberg, where we embark on Saturday, will be around 12 degrees. Maybe I  don`t need to take my snow boots with me !

We will sail from Nuremberg to Regensburg, then Passau, Melk, Vienna, Bratislava and Buadpest during the 7 nights sailing and I have never been to any of these places apart from Munich once, years ago, when it did snow a lot. Budapest and Vienna are 2 places I`ve always wanted to visit and a river cruise will be the perfect opportunity.

Enough about the destinations – what about the cruise ship, because this is going to be a lovely experience.

Emerald Waterways have a brand new fleet of stylish, spacious ships designed to offer more space per guest and new, spectacular features unique to Emerald and river cruising. The first new ” Star Ship” – Emerald Sky was christened in Amsterdam by none other than Twiggy on 9th April this year, as she becomes the first Godmother of the new fleet.

The staterooms ( not cabins ! ) range from standard window cabins ( well they are cabins really aren`t they ) to the top of the range one bedroomed Owners Suite, with a separate bedroom and lounge, they are amongst the largest sailing on Europe`s rivers today. I am lucky enough to be having an Emerald Balcony Panorama Suite on Horizon Deck, a new type of cabin with an indoor balcony with decking area, table and chairs allowing you to sit and enjoy the wonderful views as you sail along the river, whatever the weather. The upper part of the floor to ceiling window drops down to bring the outdoors into you.

Facilities will include:

Indoor balcony with open-air system | Bathroom with shower, indulgent toiletries and hair dryer | Complimentary bathrobes and slippers (With category R and P suites on the Horizon Deck) | Complimentary bottled water, restocked daily | Complimentary WiFi | Queen-size hotel-style bed | Telephone | Safe for your valuables | Individual climate control | Flat screen TV and infotainment system | Mini-Bar

The ships have loads of light and space. The Horizon Bar and Lounge has floor to ceiling glass windows, The Terrace, at the back of the ship, has lovely sun loungers to sit and relax while sailing along enjoying the scenery. The ships even have a swimming pool with a retractable roof, this also turns into a cinema in the evenings. Sailing along the Nile always made me think you were floating through the Bible, the Danube will be very different but, I`m sure, equally wonderful.

I have no doubt the food will be wonderful! I can`t wait to try it! Breakfast and lunch will be a hot and cold buffet, whilst dinner in the evening will be a four course extravaganza of local an international dishes. Reflections is the aptly named main restaurant with an informal setting, the Terrace is the Al-Fresco option for a café – style or maybe a lighter breakfast option. European wines, as well as local beers, soft drinks, coffee and tea are included with lunch and dinner  – sounds great .

On top of this there are the excursions, which are also included, but more of those when I return from this very special journey on Emerald Star.