Relaxing, Rhine River….

Hi everyone,

I am now back on dry land following my first River Cruise experience on the Rhine…

Having done many Ocean Cruises, I was extremely grateful to Cruise.co.uk and Shearings Holidays for this opportunity to fully experience a 4 night river cruise for myself on the beautiful River Rhine.

The Ship – A-Rosa Silva, has a maximum passenger capacity of 150 passengers (there were 128 passengers on our sailing) and a crew of 52. The ship was very well furnished throughout and the cabins were of a very generous size.

I was lucky enough to be allocated a French Balcony cabin – these type of cabins are quite unique to river cruise ships in that they have an opening balcony door for you to take in the fresh air and un-obstructed views however without any seating area.  The cabin was of a very good size, with generous storage space and a large shower room.

All meals on our cruise were served Buffet style, but there was a very extensive selection.  Breakfast – consisted of a large continental buffet as well as a hot selection including individually prepared eggs and omelette station.  Lunch and Dinner  both offered soup/salads and a full hot buffet each consisting of about 6 different main course option and a desert selection.  On 1 night on each cruise the ship offers a Wine & Dine Evening – this event was a beautiful 5 course A La Carte Dinner with each course being paired with its own wine.  This was a really lovely dinner and as much as the rest of the food we had on the cruise was lovely, I must admit that I personally, do like to have food served to me with stunning presentation.

The Lounge/Bar was located at the front of the ship on the main deck.   There were lovely huge panoramic windows to take in the stunning views of the passing Rhineland scenery.  This was also where the Port talks took place and also the evening entertainment – a resident DJ who did a different “themed” party each evening.  There was also a daily quiz question competition and a selection of games were available to use in the lounge/bar area.

There was a very large sun deck area on the top of the ship with the centre part of this being covered by a canopy.  On the most picturesque sailing day part of our group did wrap up in jumpers and blankets and sit up on the sun deck for the lovely views.. there were quite a few guests that did this too – and I can truly imagine on a beautiful summer day with the bar open and the bbq’s fired up the sun deck would be a very different atmosphere.

Being a much smaller vessel than an ocean cruise ship the facilities are much more limited however there was a small Gym area, a Sauna, an outdoor small heated swimming pool and a small putting green.  There was also a spa facility available.

My Itinerary included 2 organised ship tours to Heidelberg and to Strasbourg and then we had a free morning to explore Mainz.  All 3 very beautiful cities and I was particularly surprised at Strasbourg with the contrast between the part of the city housing the European Union buildings and the old town Island with the Cathedral Notre Dame and the beautiful narrow streets.

Overall verdict – I would definitely River Cruise again for my own holiday,  River Cruising is very much about the itinerary and destinations and is a great alternatively to a single centre fly city break.

If you think a River Cruise would be great for you please do not hesitate to contact me or have a look at more information here on River Cruising..