A wine-lovers dream cruise! AMAWATERWAYS will cruise along the Wine, er, make that Rhine and Mosel rivers on a wine cruise this coming November. In Bernkastel, pictured, visit the castle ruin overlooking the city center of half-timbered buildings and cobblestone streets.

AMAWATERWAYS will offer a “Vineyards of the Rhine and Mosel” cruise this fall, departing November 12, 2010, on the luxurious MS AMALEGRO.

The special 7-night itinerary includes visits to world-famous wineries, off-site dinners hosted by renowned winemakers, onboard lectures and more.  Hosted by AMAWATERWAYS President Rudi Schreiner, the 7-night cruise will travel from Amsterdam to Trier, Germany, followed by three nights in Paris.

Accompanying the cruise will be winemaker Jim Clendenen, owner of the internationally-acclaimed Au Bon Climat winery in Santa Maria, California and Archie McLaren, founder and chairman of the Central Coast Wine Classic.  A portion of the cruise proceeds will be donated to charities supported by the Central Coast Wine Classic, one of the country’s preeminent wine auctions.

Moselle River cruises offer wine tastings in such wine villages as Cochem, settled by the Celts and later by Romans before being granted a town charter in 1332.

Cruise Highlights Include Dinners & Wine Tastings

Highlights of the “Vineyards of the Rhine and Mosel” itinerary include a dinner and wine tasting with a representative from the renown Georg Breuer winery at the Ruedesheimer Schloss in Rudesheim, Germany.  The scenic Rhine Gorge town of Rudesheim is famous for its quaint wine taverns and surrounding vineyards, including the family-owned Breuer estate.

In Koblenz, guests will discover a 2,000-year old wine town at the confluence of the Mosel and Rhine Rivers.

Mosying Along The Mosel

Continuing through the Mosel river valley, the world’s steepest vineyards and certainly one of the world’s most beautiful rivers, picturesque villages and charming wine towns appear at every turn. During the cruise from Koblenz to the riverside wine town of Winnigen, guests will enjoy an exceptional luncheon, with menu items paired with wines from the Heymann-Lowenstein winery.

In Cochem, guests will discover perfectly preserved timber-framed homes, medieval squares and the spectacular Reichsburg Castle perched above the Mosel.  A welcoming wine fest awaits in the Mosel town of Zell, famous for its “Zeller Schwarze Katz” (Black Cat) wine.

An evening wine tasting in a local underground wine cellar showcases the area’s famous varietals.  In Bernkastel, guests will enjoy a walking tour followed by a wine tasting at the Wine Museum hosted by Michael Stahlmann from the famous Dr. Loosen winery.   Strategically located in the heart of the Mosel wine-producing region, Bernkastel boasts more than 500 years of documented wine history, and is known as “the international town of vine and wine.”

Situated on the Moselle River is the Romanesque city of Trier, Germany’s oldest city and also one that claims to be 1,300 years older than Rome itself. Trier's Porta Nigra (Black Gate) dates from the 2nd century, when Trier was a Roman city.

Of course, throughout the cruise, guests will enjoy gourmet dining accompanied by complimentary local wines (plus beer and soft drinks) at dinner.  Additional AMAWATERWAYS amenities include French Balconies, complimentary 3G high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; complimentary first-run Hollywood films; complimentary specialty coffees and bottled water, a fleet of bicycles on board plus much more.

After the 7-night cruise, guests will head to Luxembourg for a city tour of the Grand Duchy, followed by a high-speed TGV transfer to Paris.  The three-night stay in the City of Lights includes a guided city tour, plus an exclusive excursion to the Champagne region.

“Attention ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching a very low bridge, and we kindly ask that you vacate the Sun Deck until we have passed.”

Welcome to river cruising in Europe, where the experience is unlike any other you’ve ever encountered.

Floating down the Moselle River toward Germany’s border with Luxembourg and France, Peter Deilmann River Cruises’ Heidelberg is passing under a bridge — a low bridge. The crew moves to remove not only all tables and deck chairs from the Sun Deck but also the side railings, and even the captain’s pilot house must be lowered so that it is flush with the upper deck.

With the bridge only 100 yards away, I squeeze my head through a canopy draped over the stairwell to the Sun Deck, completely flush except for the captain’s bald crown poking above the deck from the pilot house.

We make it under with only two inches to spare. “The captain has been with us a very long time,” jokes Wilhelm Bahrs, Heidelberg’s affable hotel manager. When I fail to get the joke, he rubs his head to indicate that the low bridges have scraped the captain’s noggin bare.

Crossing The Divide

Cruising Europe’s rivers is a relatively new phenomenon that began in 1992. The completion of the Main-Danube Canal that year meant that river cruisers could travel, via locks, from the North Sea to the Black Sea, opening up 2,200 miles of river through 13 countries, and allowing itineraries from Amsterdam to Budapest.

The manmade channel crosses the Franconian Alps to link the Main and Danube rivers. Transiting the canal, river vessels cross Europe’s Continental Divide, which requires a series of locks to lift the ships approximately 1,400 feet above sea level.

A bit less than 40 feet wide, the canal’s locks restrict the width of river cruisers, which are essentially barges with rooms and other amenities above. River cruisers are, in fact, little more than floating hotels.

Night and Day

Some river cruise itineraries allow ships to overnight in ports and cruise during the day; others require that ships cruise during the night and tie up in port during the day.

Peter Deilmann’s Heidelberg, for example, transited the Rhine and Moselle rivers during the day, passing beautiful countryside characterized by vineyards, ancient castles and small towns. The ship remained docked in charming villages overnight.

On the Danube during a Christmas Market’s cruise in December, AMAWATERWAYS’ Amadagio cruised between destinations during the night and spent much of the daylight hours docked in cities and towns.

Uniworld’s River Empress overnights in Budapest and in Passau at the beginning and end of its Danube cruises and sails between destinations during the daylight hours and overnight.

Both approaches allow for dinners ashore and late-evening strolls into town. And both beat motorcoach tours of Europe hands down. On river cruises, you pack and unpack only once; there’s no need to get up at unspeakable hours in the morning to board a bus for the next destination. You and your hotel cruise along together.

First-Time Cruisers

Europe has more navigable rivers than any other region in the world — and arguably more diverse cultures along its river banks than any place else. A cruise along the entire length of the Rhine and Danube rivers exposes travelers to 10 countries in Eastern and Western Europe.

First-time river cruisers typically begin with the Danube, according to Rudi Schreiner, president of California-based Amadeus Waterways, founded in 2002. “The Rhine River seems to be one river that is mentioned worldwide,” he says, “but the majority of cruises in Europe actually take place on the Danube.”

You may be familiar with the names of some of the cities along the Danube: Budapest, Hungary; Vienna, Austria; and Passau, Germany.

“With the Moselle and Rhine river towns, however, even some Europeans are not familiar with the names,” Schreiner says. “So the typical first-time cruiser goes on the Danube, sees the beauty there, then wants to go on other rivers: the Moselle, the lower Danube, and to Holland and Belgium for tulip cruises in the spring.”

Of course, you can always opt for the grand tour of Europe, cruising from Amsterdam to Budapest — and beyond. Along the way, you’ll look out on charming villages, storied cities, fairy tale castles, vineyards and the slow pace of life along the river — all from your floating hotel.

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.

. . . 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).

“Attention ladies and gentlemen. We are approaching a very low bridge, and we kindly ask that you vacate the sundeck until we have passed.”

Welcome to river cruising in Europe, where the experience is unlike any other cruise you’ve likely encountered.

Floating down the Moselle River toward Germany’s border with Luxembourg and France, we are passing under a bridge that requires not only all tables and deck chairs to be removed from the sundeck but also the side railings and even the captain’s pilot house to be lowered so that they are flush with the upper deck.

Fortunately, the side railings are hinged, so that they can be folded over onto the deck. The captain’s pilot house is designed so that it lowers below deck.

With the bridge only 100 yards away, I squeeze my head through a canopy draped over the stairwell to the sundeck, completely flush except for the captain’s bald crown poking above the deck from the pilot house. We make it under the bridge, by the way, with only two inches to spare.

“The captain has been with us a very long time,” says Wilhelm Bahrs, the ship’s affable hotel manager. When I don’t get the joke, he rubs his head as if to indicate that the low bridges have scraped the captain’s noggin too many times.

Ah! So that’s why he’s bald.

Cruising the Moselle River this afternoon, we spoke with Eiko Yamamoto, an Orange County, California, resident on her fifth cruise with Peter Deilmann River Cruises. Filming against the beautiful backdrop of vineyards and villages, we talk about the benefits of river cruising over coach tours in Europe and how river cruises differ from ocean cruises.

We began our journey along the Moselle this morning at 7 as we left Koblenz. At 9, we were already transiting the first locks.

From its headwaters in the Vogesen Mountains to where it joins the Rhine at Koblenz, the Moselle is only about 175 miles as the crow flies. But the actual length of the river is a little more than 335 miles, making it the Rhine’s longest tributary.

The Moselle winds and weaves its way through the vertical slopes of the Schiefergebirge mountains, and as we push our way upriver, we are already looking out on spectacular scenery – with five more days before we reach the end of our cruise at Trier.

The landscape along the Moselle is regarded as the most romantic in Germany. A little after noon, we arrived in the city of Cochem, a charming town that was settled by the Celts and later by Romans before being granted a town charter in 1332. The town and the area around it is well known for its white wines.

One of the things I love about river cruising in Europe is that on many cruises, you typically transit the rivers during the day, so that you have a chance to view the landscape alongside the river, and overnight in port, where it’s usually only a short walk into town for the evening.