“Absolutely, there are always doubts when you look at what you were looking at 12 months ago,” said Patrick Clark, president of Avalon Waterways, one of the more aggressive ship-ordering companies of late. Avalon introduced two newbuilds in 2009 and has two more coming on in 2010, ships that were contracted well before the economic crisis.

“With the two that we’re launching in 2010, that adds 30% in terms of berths,” said Clark. Avalon’s total fleet size will be 10 after the two ships launch this year. And while a year ago, that additional capacity coming on would have made any river cruise operator nervous, demand is returning just in time to fill the extra ships.

“Right now, if you look at the U.S. volume, we have literally doubled the number of passengers that we have on the books for 2010 compared to a year ago,” Clark said. Consequently, now “the commitment [to building new ships] is really being rewarded.”

Not that 2009 was all that bad — operators reported load factors up into the 90% range for the year, stimulated by aggressive discounts — but you can hear a virtual sigh of relief sweeping across the river cruise industry as demand starts to return.

“Currently, until July 1, we are 92% full,” said Rudi Schreiner, president of AMAWATERWAYS. “Until November, we are currently 84% full. We are really expecting to fill the ships close to capacity.” AMA added two ships in 2009 and is adding another ship in 2010, which will be devoted primarily to the Australian market and will bring the company’s fleet size to 11.

The bottom line, Schreiner said, is that despite the challenges and the added capacity, “Last year, we had an increase of 37% actual passengers over 2008.”

Bookings might be trending stronger now, but no one had that kind of foresight 12 months ago.

“We could see from the fall of ’08 and the financial crisis that things were going to be tough, so we reduced capacity,” said Mark Frevert, executive vice president and chief architect of Grand Circle Travel, which sold three of its vessels at the start of 2009: the River Symphony, the Debussy and the Ravel.

The 140-passenger River Symphony, built in 1998, was the oldest vessel in Grand Circle’s fleet, and the two other ships were smaller, 120-passenger vessels. The sales reduced Grand Circle’s fleet size to 12.

Then in June, news that Peter Deilmann Cruises would be shuttering its river cruise business at the end of the ’09 season not only cast a shadow of doubt on the health of the European river cruise market but also reduced the market’s capacity by the eight river cruise ships Deilmann took out of service in the fall.

Additionally, Viking River Cruises scaled back some of its operations in 2009. Viking did not renew the long-term charters on either of its France vessels, the Viking Burgundy and Viking Seine, which are being replaced by the Viking Spirit and Viking Neptune for 2010.

On the flip side, four ships — the Viking Legend, Viking Fontane, Viking Danube and Viking Lomonosov — are sailing a full season this year compared with a partial season in ’09, either because the ship was new, as was the case with the Viking Legend, or was dry-docked for part of the 2009 season. And two ships (Viking Peterhof and Viking Helvetia) are being switched over to the U.S. market from the European market. Consequently, Viking estimates it has an additional 10,000-passenger capacity for the U.S. market in 2010 compared with 2009, according to Richard Marnell, senior vice president of marketing at Viking.

And it might need it. With river cruise capacity cut in 2009 and the building pace slowing in 2010 just as demand starts to grow again, it is possible capacity won’t keep pace with demand.

“I’d prefer to be one ship short than have one ship too many,” said Frevert.

But while river cruise operators are optimistic about 2010, no one is quite ready to go so far as to predict a capacity shortfall just yet.

“I think there will be adequate capacity among the operators that will take care of the capacity over the next 24 months,” said Avalon’s Clark. “Then you might see something beyond that in 2012 … there will be more ships coming online for 2012.”

Perhaps the biggest surprise for passengers on Peter Deilmann Cruises’ Mozart is that they will get to put their swimsuits to good use. Indeed, many of the passengers I spoke with on a September sailing along the Danube were astonished to learn that the five-star river cruiser offered a warm and welcoming watery respite, situated indoors on deck two at the front of the ship.

The fact that Mozart features an indoor pool (the only such ship in Europe to do so) may not necessarily be a key factor in choosing this ship over its competitors on the Danube, but the fact that Mozart is wide enough to accommodate a pool is worthy of consideration. Mozart’s extra width allows for larger staterooms and the addition of super-sized public spaces, including an expansive panoramic lounge, a large library, a sprawling top sun deck and a spacious Wellness Spa.

The 206-passenger ship is nearly twice as wide as other river vessels. Its cabins are among the largest to be found on a river vessel. Standards (pictured) measure 203 square feet; Mozart’s two suites measure 406 square feet each.

Some cabins are configured as twins, others with a queen-size bed. All are beautifully appointed and feature built-in wardrobe space, color TV, mini bar, dressing table, sofa, coffee table, shower and toilet, telephone, audio entertainment center and large picture windows, some, such as those on deck two, positioned slightly above the water level.

Bathrooms are large and equipped with a built-in hairdryer (which gets the job done but is not particularly powerful) and terry robes.

Bedding features a European-style duvet with feather pillows and eiderdowns (synthetic materials available upon request). With two double hanging closets and several drawers plus a cabinet of shelves, passengers will find ample room for their wardrobes.

Mozart also has three inside cabins, which are a good choice for families because they each have three beds, as do the two suites. Also some cabins have connecting doors, another option for friends and families traveling together. (Cabins with connecting doors are 113-114, 115-116, 109-110, 134-135, 136-137, 138-139, 140-141.)

Classic and Continental
Though it is not the newest ship in Peter Dielmann Cruises’ fleet, the Mozart, which entered service in 1987, continues to undergo annual refurbishments and updates that bring it up to current standards while also freshening the classic look of the interiors. The décor throughout the ship is in gold and rose with rosewood paneling. Original art gives an air of understated elegance rather than glitz.

The Don Giovanni Deck is the heart of the ship’s public activities. At one end is the formal dining room, its picture windows providing a constant backdrop and its tables beautifully set with linens and flowers. A boutique, offering gifts, clothing and sundries, operates in the center hall.

The paneled library, with books, newspapers (including USA Today and the International Herald Tribune) and magazines in multiple languages, invites passengers to linger in leather club chairs.

Internet access, at 2 euros for 15 minutes, is available when the ship is in port. There is no wireless internet or provisions for passengers to use their own laptops, although internet cafes are within walking distance of many ports along the Danube.

Depending on what the satellite can pick up, stateroom televisions feature at least one English-speaking channel, CNN during most of my cruise.

The long rosewood Don Giovanni Bar at the end of the cafe leads into the lounge where afternoon tea, the captain’s receptions, evening entertainment and dancing take place. No smoking is allowed in the cabins or public spaces, although guests can light up on the outer decks.

The upstairs sun deck is a delightful place to be when the weather is agreeable. Wind breakers and a stack of warm blankets help when it is not.

Personal and Plentiful
Every bit as important as the ship’s amenities is the on-board atmosphere that the Dielmann staff cultivates, welcoming guests by name and personalizing service wherever possible. With one crew member for every 2.5 guests, the ship specializes in attentive service.

“We try to get to know the names of our guests,” says Vanessa Kohler, the ship’s hotel manager. “To be able to give such a personal level of service is the reason we’re all here. Otherwise we could work on a 2,000 passenger cruise ship.”

The European crew is multi-lingual, and announcements, shore excursions, menus, maps and destination guides are all offered in German and English. The presence of European passengers (typically about half of the passengers are North Americans) lends a Continental air to the ship. “Most of our American passengers are pleased to get to know the different cultures on board,” Kohler, the hotel manager, says.

Deilmann prides itself on lavish menus. Cuisine is international and may feature some foods foreign to American palates. Executive Chef Oliver Pilarczyk (pictured) and his team prepare menus that frequently mirror local and regional specialties along the Danube, where Mozart operates each spring through fall.

Almost daily, Pilarczyk makes trips to the local markets to pick up fresh fish, meat, vegetables and fruit. “It’s important for us to get the best quality European foods,” he says.

Mozart offers no alternative dining venues, meaning that you either dine in the main dining room or ashore at your own expense (room service is offered but seldom used).

Tables are assigned upon embarkation, depending on the passenger’s primary language (my cruise featured tables for German-speaking, Italian-speaking and English-speaking guests.) For those who prefer privacy, there are a few tables for two.

Mozart features only one seating, except in Vienna where there are two, including an earlier seating for those who want to spend the evening in Vienna. On one morning of each cruise, Bavarian Morning Pint is offered. It falls between breakfast and lunch. On the menu, free beer, brats, sauerkraut, German potato salad, pretzels, music and more.

The typical day’s schedule includes a lavish breakfast buffet, four-course hot lunch plus a salad, cheese and cold-cuts buffet, multi-course dinners, and tea times that feature local treats such as apple strudel and Viennese pastries.

For those who want to indulge without guilt, the promenade is always available for brisk walks or jogging – six times around equals one mile. There are two cross trainers at back of ship; water aerobics are scheduled each morning; massages are available by appointment.

For relaxing, there is a sauna, and lounge chairs are beyond the pool, facing a panoramic window wall. A physician is always onboard and there is an infirmary. Mozart also offers special dialysis cruises during the year.

The dress is consistently casual, although formal evenings will require a suit or a dress. There is no self-service laundry, by the way, but laundry service is offered.

Entertaining and Enriching
For entertainment, a pianist keeps the mood lively during afternoon tea, and a trio plays each evening and during cocktail hour. When the ship visits culture capitals such as Vienna and Budapest, many passengers partake of the opera or the ballet, to name just a couple of the options.

For Americans traveling on the Mozart, it’s an advantage to buy excursions prior to departure, in dollars, rather than on the ship, for the same number of euros.

Mozart’s typical seven-night pattern is to cruise roundtrip from Passau, a lovely Bavarian village that should not be missed. Be sure to take a walk shortly after embarkation, but note that most shops will be closed on the Sunday that you arrive in — and depart from — Passau. Step inside St. Stephan’s Cathedral to see the world’s largest cathedral organ.

Monday, on my cruise, Mozart called on Durnstein (explore the village on your own), and Vienna, where I joined an enjoyable cycling tour of the city.

Mozart overnights in Vienna, which allows guests to see concerts or enjoy the Viennese nightlife, then proceeds overnight to Esztergom, the former Hungarian capital, before continuing on to Budapest, where Mozart once again overnights. 

The next morning, Mozart calls on Bratislava, departing mid-afternoon to arrive late evening in Vienna for a 90-minute stop before proceeding overnight to Melk, home to the spectacular Benedictine Abbey.

Later the same day, Mozart calls on the tiny village of Grein, then makes its way overnight back to Passau.

Excursion options include city tours in most ports, but passengers who want to go off on their own can get city maps and advice from the ship. “There are so many things you can do on your own in the city,” says Ramona Kurcsics, excursions manager. “We explain how easy it is to get around, with the underground in Vienna (only a five-minute walk from where the ship docks), for instance.”

Skip the advance purchase wine package. I paid six euros (about US$8) for a half carafe (two glasses) of an exceptional Gruner Veltliner, produced in the Wachau Valley where we were cruising. The owner of the vineyard had delivered a few cases of the wine earlier in the day.

For the languid yet luxurious pace of river cruises, it’s difficult to imagine a ship that would be a better choice for cruising past the Danube’s storied villages and cultured capitals.

Factoid
Mozart was built in Deggendorf, Germany, but the vessel was too large to transit the locks of the Main-Danube Canal. So in order to reach the Danube River, the ship had to chart a course to the North Sea and around Europe through the Mediterranean to the Black Sea and up the Danube, where it is permanently operating.

Click on any of the photos in this post to view with extended captions on view as a slideshow by clicking Peter Deilmann’s Mozart.

Rudesheim, Germany (October 14, 2006) : We are walking along Drosselgasse, the lively narrow pedestrian street in the best known wine village along the Rhine River. Saturday night, and the street is festive, with people dancing to oompah bands in beer gardens and wine cellars on either side. At one open-air beer garden, waitresses carry glasses of beer with froth sloshing. At a wine cellar nearby, patrons sip the Rheingau’s famous Rieslings, sparkling Sekts or locally distributed brandies.

There is no need to rush. Our riverboat, Peter Deilmann River Cruises’ Heidelberg, will remain docked here overnight. During our seven-day cruise along the Rhine and Moselle rivers from Mainz to Trier, the ship overnights in each port, docking within walking distance of the town centers. That proximity allowed us to walk back into the towns after dinner. It was as if we were staying in an elegant hotel in town.

In fact, the newest of Deilmann’s nine-vessel fleet, the 110-passenger Heidelberg resembles — and functions like — a deluxe boutique hotel. Each time we disembarked the ship, we left the brass key to our stateroom at the front desk, much the same as you would do at a hotel. Standard staterooms were large, 190 square feet, with rich colors — golden hued walls, carpet and drapes, light-wood tones and crown moulding. The queen-sized bed featured European style duvets with feather pillows. The bath was spacious, with floor-to-ceiling tile and brass fixtures, a pedestal sink and showers so large that you don’t have to step out of the shower if you drop the soap as you do on large ocean liners.

Heidelberg features French balconies. You can’t step out on them, because there is nothing to step onto. With double glass doors that slide or swing open, French balconies offer the same functionality as a balcony on a large ship, providing open-air views of the passing countryside.

Sprechen Sie Deutsch? If you don’t speak German, you’ll find the ship a safe haven. Though many Germans do speak English, and some with fluency, there is a language barrier, and it can slow you down when touring the towns and cities on your own. On the ship, the staff speaks English well, and they can direct you to whatever you need ashore — whether it’s a museum, restaurant or internet cafe.

There is a downside to the ship’s bilingual nature. What might have been a great presentation on Moselle wines turned out to be laborious, because the speaker had to present in two languages (ship announcements too are given in two languages). And there were times when fellow passengers (the mix was about 60 percent European, 40 percent American) simply could not communicate. That did not stop a group of Germans from inviting us to song and drink one night.

There are, of course, things that may irk some travelers: Smoking is permitted in Heidelberg‘s lounge; river cruisers typically offer no alternative dining venues, meaning that you either dine in the main dining room or ashore at your own expense (room service is offered only during breakfast); there are only a few tables for two; and for those who must remain connected, no internet access.

Are you a fan of duck liver pate? If so, you’ll love the cuisine, and you may also want to try the herring. I joked with a fellow passenger that if they labeled it “Sushi,” Americans would be clambering over one another to fill their plates.

Okay, aside from a few dishes that I was not accustomed to, the food on Heidelberg was outstanding. Breakfast was European-style, a smorgasbord that even offered champagne, or Sekt, as the German sparkling wine is known. And on one morning of each cruise, Bavarian Morning Pint is offered. It falls between breakfast and lunch. On the menu, free beer, brats, sauerkraut, German potato salad, pretzels, music and more.

For those seeking an upscale European river cruise experience, Heidelberg gets high marks as a floating deluxe boutique hotel cruising on what may just be the most beautiful rivers in Europe.

Our cruise ended in Trier, Germany’s oldest city and an outpost of the Roman Empire as early as the 3rd century BC. Roman ruins are found throughout the city, including an ancient Roman gate.

Dark clouds rolled in on the last day of our seven-night cruise, but spirits remained high on board. As passengers head into Trier, Germany’s oldest city, we conduct a series of exit interviews on our final full day before disembarking.

Heidelberg’s pilot house, where the captain navigated the river vessel, raised and lowered to pass under low-lying bridges. In this scene, you can see the pilot house rising after passing under a low bridge on the Moselle River.

One of the more charming ports of call during our seven-night cruise was on the Moselle River. Heidelberg docked within a 5-minute walk from the city center of Bernkastel and within a 20-minute walk (with a moderate grade) to the castle ruin of Burg-Landshut that overlooks the city. The community’s wine-growers tend Germany’s largest continuous expanse of vineyards. Needless to say, the wines here are heavenly.

The reserved section in Heidelberg’s lounge was for a woman affectionately known as Tanta Hedwig (or Aunt Hedwig). Our cruise marked her 90th river cruise with Peter Deilmann. She began traveling when her husband passed away in 1981. She is considered family by the crew, and thus they call her Tanta Hedwig. We interview Heidelberg Hotel Manager Wilhelm Bahrs and speak briefly to Tanta Hedwig in this video.

Heinhold from Hamburg attempts to teach me a German beer drinking song.

. . . and the crew in high spirits on our October cruise up the Moselle River. Cruising on Peter Deilmann River Cruises’ Heidelberg, we passed quaint villages and acres of vineyards in this region famous for its white wines (and in a country famous for its beer).