A Wonderful New Experience

My lovely clients Mr & Mrs D have just returned from their first river cruise. After doing many ocean cruises they were a little concerned river cruising would not be for them. Well!! Happy to report they loved it and would do it all over again. As you all know I really do love river cruising for the personal feel, the smaller ships (which i love), the chance to get up close to main attractions and actually “speak” to your fellow cruisers!  Have a read of what they thought.

So firstly, river cruising – well, totally different from ocean cruising.  Service is impeccable, food not the most imaginative but plenty of it (trousers are already a bit tight), and of course you are travelling thru the most beautiful landscapes all the time, so one can sit in the lounge if it’s cool, or on deck if it’s not, just looking at the passing beauty.  No real organised evening entertainment – every second day or so they have an entertainer coming on board – very high quality, last night’s cabaret was a hoot – but on other nights they have a brilliant pianist on board and a lot of us try our hand at dancing – good fun, none of the crowds one gets in ocean cruising.

The advantages, being right in the centre of towns so no need to bus everywhere – walking tours are included in the price, so no need to spend more on excursions.  They even have a “gentle ” walking tour for those whose knees are perhaps not as they should be……!  There are other excursions available for a charge, but not expensive – for example we signed up to attend a concert in Vienna, it was absolutely incredible, a real high point of the trip, and it was €59 including transport there and back, the ticket cost, and even a cd of the performance.  The ship is very roomy, no need to queue for a table, tea and coffee on tap, beer and/or wine free with every meal ( good quality too) and a happy hour for pre-dinner drink at very reasonable price.

This morning, as I write this, we are cruising thru the most magnificent valleys, well forested, with tiny villages perched at the waters edge. The majority of the guests left very early for a ‘Sound of Music’ ( the film) optional excursion, and join us in Passau later this evening, so we enjoy all the views. Every day is a blur of somewhat similar towns but each which had its own attractions, – yesterday we spent the morning in a town where we were taken on a tour of a museum which renovates original mechanical music making machines – fascinating, didn’t realise they had made such in the 1800’s.  We were then marched of to a cafe and forced to down a special coffee made with Asbach Uralt, the local brandy, which we all manfully did.  Then back to the ship for lunch after which we sailed down the Rhine with a commentary as to the various castles (and wrecks of castles!) we were passing.

River cruising continues to impress – if for nothing else than the social side, and for the far more personalised service one gets from the staff. Everybody is so nice, helpful and do their damndest to make the holiday great – could be because there are so few people they get to know all the guests individually.  They have a simple system here (no computer systems) that when you leave the ship they give you each a card with your room number on it, when you get back you return it, so they know who is still ashore – well we don’t even have to give them the room number, somehow the girls at reception have memorised faces and room numbers – somehow it’s far more personalised.

Same for the fellow guests, they aren’t just faces, people introduce themselves and chat so we seem to have met well over half the guests, a real difference from Ocean cruising!  In closing, the one thing I must mention which has impressed us both – this is really a relaxing holiday – they make it very clear, if you want to join in excursions, then do so, but if you would rather just sit in the lounge, or on top, just watching the ever- changing river banks, then do it, there is no pressure!

After reading this, and you fancy trying a river cruise, do give me a call!
Till next time x