River Cruise Advisor

You don’t have to go to Italy to explore Roman history. On the Moselle, river cruisers often tie up in Germany’s oldest city, Trier, where ruins in the former Roman city date back two millennia. And it’s not only on the Moselle River. “There are so many traces of the Romans along the Danube,” says Ursula Deutsch, of the Danube Tourist Commission, whose theme for 2009 is Romans on the Danube.

In the Netherlands, it is said, there are more bicycles than people.

The statistics, thanks to the web site Amsterdamize:

• Population: 16.5 million
• Bikes: 18 million
• New bikes sold a year: 1.35 million
• Bikes stolen a year: between 1.2 and 1.4 million

I pedaled through the tiny country and saw more bikes than I could count. Everyone, from crib to coffin, pedals a bike in Holland.

The country is mostly flat and ideal for cycling, but the best part is that cyclists pedal along roads either with no cars at all (with traffic lights just for bikes) — or with drivers who actually pay attention to cyclists. That is why Dutch cyclists are 30 times less likely to be killed than their stateside counterparts, according to Bicycling magazine.

The story gets even better when you combine boats and bikes. That is just what I did for one week on a “Bike & Boat Tour” offered by Channel Cruises, which touts its tours as “the most Dutch way” to see Holland.

Each morning, the captain mapped out a route for the 70 or so German, Dutch and English-speaking passengers. We pedaled away from the ship in small groups to a destination where we would meet the ship late that afternoon. Along the way we fortified ourselves with apfelcake (apple cake) and french fries with the traditional Dutch topping — mayonnaise. There is no better way to see Holland.

I was not lucky enough to travel during mid-April to mid-May when tulips turn the winter fields to color, but the weather during my trek in June was sunny skies all week.

Our ship, Anna Maria Agnes, was not as luxurious as the Viking River Cruises vessel we were docked beside in Amsterdam, but it was certainly adequate, particularly for launching cycling trips and having someplace to come home to. Cabins featured two beds with a private bath (there are configurations for three and four). Pack lightly.

No need to bring a bike. They’re available — and in prime condition — on the boat. They’re easy to pedal too. Our group ranged in age from 13 to 82 and averaged 35 miles a day. And the evening meals were especially good, particularly after long days on bikes seeing Holland “the Dutch way.”

Click to launch a Flickr slideshow related to this article or view images selectively below.

 

 

How to get the most of your river cruise in Europe.

Click here to read a special report featuring European river cruises in digital format.

I checked into my hotel in Budapest, Hungary, and checked out a week later in Passau, Germany. Each evening, sometimes after I had fallen asleep, my hotel moved, from Budapest, to Bratislava, to Vienna, to Durnstein and Melk on the same day, to Linz and finally Passau. If you’re scratching your head, I’ll let you in on a secret: My hotel was a river cruiser.

To get the most from your experience, just click on this link, flip through the digital guide or use the “toolbar” at the top of the page to navigate and print articles you want to read at your leisure.

Click here to read the summer issue of Avid Cruiser magazine in digital format.

The digital issue is GREEN, immediate, up-to-date, portable, features embedded video, spans 100 pages and has no international borders. Anyone, anywhere, can read it, print it, pass it along and archive it for future reference.

To get the most from your experience, just click on this link, flip through the magazine or use the “toolbar” at the top of the page to navigate the magazine or print articles you want to read at your leisure.

Archives: allows you to access past issues of Avid Cruiser digital edition.

Thumbs: displays small icons of each page in the digital issue so that you can quickly find the article you want to read. Just click on the thumbnail to get to that page.

Print: possibly the most useful feature, allowing you to print the pages you want so that you can curl up on your couch and read.

On tap for European river cruises: more choices of pre- and post-cruise tours, more special interest programs and more bicycles. Yes, more bicycles.

River cruise companies continue to add bicycles and bicycling excursions to their programs. Amadeus Waterways, for example, carries about 50 bicycles for passengers to use on its ships. Uniworld River Cruises offers cycling excursions (see Pedaling Along The Danube) as does Peter Deilmann River Cruises.

River cruises have all the advantages of a bus tour — in that you get to visit the European capitals and major cities — but without the hassle of having to change hotels or deal with your luggage, or let’s face it, endure the bus ride.

River cruises also are a bit like ocean cruises ­— you sail from one destination to the next — but unlike ocean cruises, which disgorge passengers by tender and tour bus, river cruisers disembark passengers within walking distance of city centers and major attractions. Put a bike on a boat, and you have a match made in heaven.

Cruising or considering cruising the river Danube on Uniworld’s River Empress? This “know before you go” guide will enhance your journey and perhaps help you avoid making costly mistakes. It goes without saying that you should check your documents before departing home, but some people miss the fine details even after combing over them a few times.

Moments before this article was posted, for example, I met a couple in the reception of River Empress who had made one big mistake: They arrived a day early. Fortunately, River Empress staff helped them by giving them a room on the ship. The passenger documents clearly stated that their cruise began not today, but tomorrow.

For tips on what to expect and how to prepare for your cruise, read on.

• Break your Coke habit. If you’ve been thinking of cutting down on Coke, now is a good time. In Europe, Coca Cola can cost more than wine, beer or bottled water. On Uniworld’s River Empress, a Coke or Coke Light (the European name for Diet Coke) cost €3 (euros). That’s about US$4.50. Have a Grolsch beer instead for the same price or a martini for €3.50. Iced tea is free. Self-serve speciality coffees, tea and hot chocolate are available free of charge.
• Be prepared to pay in Euros, designated by the symbol €. Many of the river cruise companies that cater to Americans have switched from dollars to Euros as the official on-board currency. Of course, you can charge shipboard purchases to your stateroom and settle your charges on your credit card, never needing a single Euro note on board.
• Except in Hungary and Slovakia. Although these two countries will typically accept the Euro, it is not their official currencies.
• Be prepared to pay to pee. At Budapest’s city market, where the charge to “use the toilet facilities” was 150 forints, I handed over the only currency I had in my pocket: a €5 note. The clerk took it, put some Hungarian change on the table, which I swept in my hand and walked away. “No,” she said, indicating she had more for me. She began handing me bills. I was impressed not only by her honesty but by the fact that I left with two pocketfuls of Hungarian currency. You can often pee for free, but just know that it’s not unusual to have to pay. Keep some “Eur-o-pean” change in your pockets for using the toilets.
• Phoning home? The ship relies on expensive-to-operate satellite to keep it — and you — connected with shoreside communications. Before you pick up your stateroom phone to dial home, consider the costs: €2.50 per minute for calls within Europe and €3.50 per minute for overseas calls. That’s about US$5 per minute.
• Bring your mobile phone. My U.S. T-mobile plan charges 99 cents per minute for calls from Europe to the U.S. and vice versa. Just be sure to enable international service for your phone before leaving home. Also, ask if there is a support phone number you may call at no charge when abroad. T-Mobile’s is 1-800-937-8997. Note that you may have to dial a + symbol in front of the phone number to connect internationally.
  
• Or find a calling center. You’ll typically find calling centers in the internet cafés ashore. Just ask a crewmember where to find one. It’s much cheaper to call from a calling center than from the boat or your mobile phone, and calling centers typically are easier to use than calling cards.
• Consume in your stateroom. If you purchase wine or spirits ashore and bring it on board to consume in the ship’s public areas, be prepared to pay the standard corkage fee that most cruise companies charge: €12 euros.
• Reward those who served you with Euros. Gratuities, typically not included in your cruise fare, are €10 per day for the cruise staff, and €3 per day for the cruise manager.
• Washing day. River Empress features a launderette, which you can use free of charge. You’ll need detergent, which you can purchase at the ship’s reception: €2.5 for two detergent tabs. River Empress also offers laundry service: Shirt or blouse €3.50; T-shirt €1.50; Skirt, trousers or jeans €4. Pressing only: Ladies or men’s suit €5; blouse/shirt €2. Laundry is returned within 24 hours, usually sooner.
• How to dress. Jackets aren’t required at dinner aboard River Empress, but they are indeed appropriate and look nice. Europeans dress up during the evening, so if you want to “fit in,” bring along some nice clothes.
• Up in smoke. Smoking is allowed only on the outside decks.
• Before leaving the ship to go ashore. Take your passenger boarding card and if you have one, your mobile phone. The ship’s phone number is printed on the boarding card should you require it.
• Don’t buy stamps. That is, until you’re ready to send your postcards. Stamps purchased in Hungary or Slovakia won’t work in Austria and vice versa. The reception desk will mail your postcards for you.
• Bring business cards. Or cards with your contact information. You’ll meet fellow passengers who you’ll want to stay in touch with. Handing over a card is easier — and much more elegant — than scribbling out your contact information on a cocktail napkin.
• Be prepared to wait. Internet on River Empress is often pokey and slow, with only two computers and no WiFi or no way to plug in your laptop should you bring it along. Rates are 30 euro cents per minute. Better to find internet cafés ashore.
• Pack less. I pack my suitcase with everything I think I’ll need for my cruise, then remove half of it. Using this strategy, I’ve never been short of clothes. And of course, I can always have a shirt or two laundered should I need it. In most stateroom configurations, River Empress features one large double closet and five drawers. Suitcases will fit under bed. If they don’t, you’ve overpacked.
• Get your ticket BEFORE boarding public transport. Two Australian passengers were fined 12,000 forints (about US$80) in Budapest, because they failed to purchase a ticket before boarding the tram. But it wasn’t because they hadn’t tried. They could not find a ticket kiosk, so they boarded the tram and asked someone where they might purchase a ticket on board. The person they asked, however, was an undercover agent for public transport. Instead of being helpful, he fined them. Welcome to Budapest! In some destinations, you can buy tickets for public transport at the ship’s reception. Ask.
• Hop on a bike. River Empress makes bicycles available free of charge to guests.
• Overcast skies? Get an umbrella. You’ll find one in your stateroom.
• Too late to transfer? Transfers between the airport and the ship are often included, but if you miss your transfer in Budapest, here’s a tip. Pay only €11 to get from the airport to the ship on the Airport Shuttle. Purchase a ticket at the Airport Shuttle Information Desk in the arrivals and departures hall. Oh, and remember, the Danube is the Duna in Hungarian, the Donau in German and the Dunaj in Slovakian. So if you’re screaming “Danube” and your driver doesn’t understand, try pronouncing it in his or her language.
• Go now! Yes, the dollar is weak against the Euro, but unless you’re a mass consumer and need to make a purchase in every village where the ship docks, you won’t spend much after you’ve paid your cruise fare. That’s not to say that you’ll live a life of deprivation ashore either. On River Empress, at least one tour is offered free of charge in each destination. Wine is included with dinner.

Uniworld’s River Empress isn’t the newest vessel on the Danube. She was built in 2002 and refurbished in 2005.

There are no balconies gracing the 63 double cabins and four suites. Cabin sizes are fairly standard for river cruisers: 151 square feet; and 214 square feet for the suites.

Generously sized bathrooms feature showers with soap, shampoo and other bath amenities provided, so you can save room in your suitcase by not packing those items.

River Empress features a lounge, fitness center, launderette (laundry services also are offered), sauna, boutique and a beauty salon. For those with mobility problems, there is an elevator.

The restaurant is situated just below the sundeck, with plenty of tables offering a view from the window.

On one day of each cruise, a Bavarian lunch buffet is served on the top deck. Passengers also have the option on one night to be served in the Solarium on the top deck, a pleasant setting just behind the wheelhouse.

I checked into my hotel in Budapest, Hungary, and checked out a week later in Passau, Germany. Each evening, sometimes after I had fallen asleep, my hotel moved, from Budapest, to Bratislava, to Vienna, to Durnstein and Melk on the same day, to Linz and finally Passau. If you’re scratching your head, I’ll let you in on a secret: My hotel was a river cruiser.

River cruisers combine the best features of motorcoaches (in that they get you from one destination to the other) with the best features of a deluxe hotel (in that you are transported in comfort).

You need not sit with your nose pressed against the windows of a bus as you move from one destination to the next. Instead, you admire the scenery from the ship’s sun deck as you are transported along with your accommodations.

Nor will you have to obligingly put out your luggage by 7 a.m. (or earlier) to be loaded onto the motorcoach before it sets off to the next destination. You’ll unpack only once during the course of your cruise as you move from one city to the next.

Sitting on the top deck of a ship under brilliant blue skies, gaze on fabled landscapes dotted with castles, villages and vineyards. A flight of stairs down, and you have all the amenities of a modern hotel — a restaurant, bar, lounge, fitness facilities, spa and a comfortable stateroom.

What’s more is that river cruisers become part of the destinations where they dock. A simple gangway from the floating hotel allows passengers to come and go just as they would at a destination-based hotel.

The only difference is that later on the floating hotel will untie from the docks and cruise to the next destination. Make sure to keep an eye on your watch. You wouldn’t want to miss the boat - er, hotel.

Click To Play Video Slideshow

Immortalized by Johann Strauss in Blue Danube Waltz, the Danube winds from Germany’s Black Forest through Austria into the Balkans before dumping into the Black Sea.

The romantic river flows through six countries and meanders for nearly 1,800 miles. Some of Europe’s most-fabled cities — Regensburg, Passau, Linz, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest — are situated on the banks of the Danube, making the Danube a good choice for first-time river cruisers.

On our eight-day cruise on Uniworld’s River Empress, there were both first-timers and repeaters. Our cruise began in Budapest and ended in Passau, with an overnight on board in each city at the beginning and end of the cruise.

Ashore, Uniworld includes at least one free tour in each destination, so that passengers get an overview and introduction to the places they visit. Following is a brief overview of the destinations we visited along the Danube.

Budapest was once referred to as the “Queen of the Danube,” because of the city’s cultural significance at a time when Hungary was three times the size it is today.

On one side of the Danube, hilly Buda retains much of its Middle Age charm; its cobbled streets and Gothic buildings have been well preserved. On the other side of the river, Pest is the thriving city center.

River Empress was docked on the Buda side. A free ferry shuttled us between Buda and Pest.

Bratislava. Slovakia’s capital city was a “capital in exile” for Hungary’s kings and archbishops during Turkey’s occupation of Hungary and most of the middle Danube basin from 1526 to 1784.

Bratislava is dominated by an enormous castle that stands sentinel over the Danube. Though the castle dates back to the 9th century it was razed in 1811 and rebuilt.

Vienna was the next stop for River Empress. After the included city tour, many passengers visited Schonbrunn Palace, the imperial summer palace of the Habsburgs, one of Europe’s principal sovereign dynasties from the 15th to the 20th centuries.

Vienna is characterized by beautiful parks, legendary Viennese coffee houses and Baroque palaces. One of the city’s most famous landmarks, Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral) is also one of Europe’s most impressive Gothic structures.

The musically inclined will appreciate that Mozart, Beethoven and Strauss composed their greatest operas and symphonies in Austria’s capital city. The composer Schubert was born here.

An optional excursion offered by Uniworld features an evening concert, and this one is a “don’t miss” for lovers of music and culture.

River Empress called on Durnstein one morning, and Melk (pictured) that afternoon, with scenic river cruising and an outdoor Bavarian buffet on the upper deck.

Using the bicycles on board, a group of us bicycled through the vineyard-rich Wacchau Valley in Durnstein. Read more about that by clicking on “Pedaling Along The Danube.”

In Melk, the included tour took us to the 900-plus-year-old Melk Abby, situated high atop granite cliffs overlooking the Danube and the village of Melk.

From Linz, on the following day, most passengers opted for the included tour to Salzburg (about two hours each way), birthplace of Mozart and the setting for the acclaimed musical, “The Sound of Music.”

Situated at the confluence of three rivers, Passau marked the end of our cruise. We overnighted on board.

The included tour featured a walking tour and an organ concert, performed on Europe’s largest pipe organ at St. Stephan’s Cathedral.

Disembarking passengers either transferred to Munich’s international airport, 90 minutes drive, or for a post-cruise stay in Prague, about three hours by motorcoach.

Of all the jobs in the world, surely Rudolph van der Meulen’s must be among the best. His job, as instructed by his bosses, is to cruise on a river boat and simply to do this: nothing.

While most people might call that a vacation, it’s a tall order for the otherwise-ambitious 37-year-old hotel manager on Uniworld’s River Empress. Nonetheless, on the day when I talked with him, Rudy was living up to his superior’s expectations with admirable aplomb.

Nothing Doing

Taking in Passau’s pretty waterfront from the sunny upper deck of River Empress, Rudy could have been just another passenger aboard the river boat — were it not for his uniform. But had you been a passenger during the eight-day cruise along the Danube, as I was, you would have known that Rudy’s job was far from doing nothing.

Rudy’s responsibility was (and still is) to manage a grand floating hotel and to keep the more than 100 passengers happy. His bosses demand that he do so by managing effectively and by delegating, freeing himself up to listen to — and respond to — guests.

Corporate headquarters’ gift to Rudy: “The One Minute Manager,” suggested reading for managers in Uniworld’s fleet.

Doing Something Right

Rudy’s style reflects a management philosophy that has trickled down from the upper echelons of Uniworld’s corporate headquarters in California. It’s a style that puts trust in employees, and it’s one that goes a long way in explaining why passengers on River Empress consistently give such high marks to the staff.

At the end of our cruise from Budapest, Hungary, to Passau, Germany, 45-year-old Laura from Greensboro, North Carolina, was so impressed with the the staff’s hospitality that she took the time to write personal notes to several crew members commending them for their service.

Quite simply, employees are free to act in the guest’s best interest, and the vessel’s management need not leap through hurdles to execute new ideas that in some companies requires navigating through layers and layers of bureaucracy.

Positive Reinforcement

Such positive reinforcement establishes an enthusiastic culture on-board the ship. After all, happy ship, happy crew.

“Our bosses come on board now and then, not trying to catch us doing something wrong,” Rudy tells me on the upper deck of River Empress. “They come on board trying to catch us doing something right.”

Something done right on my cruise: An Australian couple showed up a day early for their sailing. The husband was panicked, the wife perplexed.

Rudy showed considerable grace by politely pointing out that the documentation the passenger was holding clearly stated that boarding was the next day, not today.

The bedraggled couple stood there at the reception desk with luggage in tow, the husband unable to take the blame for the embarrassing episode that threatened to leave the two of them sleeping in the streets of Passau.

Under no obligation to do so, Rudy invited the Australian couple to board one night early, much to their relief. The hotel manager of River Empress rose to the occasion admirably, but when the episode was over, he was glad to get back to doing what he does best. Yep, that’s right: nothing.

Click To Play Video Interview with Rudy