The River Cruise Lady

River cruising and small ship luxury cruising

AmaWaterways River Cruises

Covid Protocols for River Cruising

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Now that European river cruising is starting to become operational again (so exciting!!) there are going to be some new Covid protocols going forward in order to keep both the passengers and the crew safe.

I looked at the top 8 river cruise companies that I sell and they all (except Crystal) will require that you have either a Covid-19  vaccination certificate or a negative Covid test done right before you board the ship. Crystal is the only line (at time of publication) that will require everyone have a Covid-19 vaccination certificate and a negative Covid test done right before you board the ship.

Each line will also require that passengers fill out some pre-departure documentation forms which can be viewed at their links below:

Ama Waterways – Prior to boarding, an online health and contact screening questionnaire will need to be filled out.

Avalon Waterways – Have 3 pdf forms you can view, the first being the Pre Trip Health Screening form – click Avalon-Health-Screening to view.  The next is their Health & Safety Covid-19 Waiver – click Avalon Health-Safety-covid-19 and lastly is their onboard safety protocols which you can view Avalon Onboard-Protocols

Crystal River Cruises – Declaration of Safety included in their Clean River program Crystal-Clean-River

Emerald/Scenic – Have their cruise with confidence program viewed at River Cruise with confidence | Our commitment to your health & safety – Scenic°

Tauck River Cruises – Have two documents that need to be signed for their Travel Well Pledge – view at Taucks Travel Well Pledge

Uniworld Boutique River Cruises – They require a Travel Declaration to be signed – view at Uniworld Travel Declaration

Viking River Cruises – Passengers will have to complete a Digital Health Survey online at their MyVikingJourney.com once they have booked their trip.

Multigeneration River Cruising!

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I thought I would share a few of the last bookings that I’ve done for river cruising because you may not have thought of this option if planning a multi-generation trip with your family.

My client was turning 80 and she thought about how she wanted to spend her birthday and decided on a family trip.  Her spouse had passed away years before so she decided to splurge and take her children and grandchildren on a European river cruise. There was a range of ages from 12 to 79 and even her brothers & sisters decided to join in the fun!

It worked out great for them because there are so many different excursions options to choose from (mostly always all included).

For example, on a Rhine river cruise with Ama Waterways, in Cologne the excursion choices would be a walking tour, or cathedral visit or Kölsch beer tasting or a bike tour through the city.  So what usually happened was everyone went off and did their choice of excursion and then they would gather for dinner together in the dining room and talk about their different experiences – such a great family bonding time.

Avalon Waterways also have Active & Discovery itineraries which work well with families too.  Then of course Uniworld and Tauck both have dedicated family departure dates (usually in the summer or for the Christmas Market cruises) which then have even more excursions geared towards family groups.

So consider river cruising as a way to create a wonderful legacy that your children/grandchildren will have of travelling with their parents/grandparents and memories that will last a lifetime.

Biking along Moselle Rive

Renew your vows on a River Cruise

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Do you have an upcoming milestone Wedding Anniversary?  Whether its ten, twenty-five, thirty, forty, fifty years or something in between – how would you like to renew your vows with your loved one ?  If your wedding day was a long time ago and you would love to re-marry your spouse all over again but with a romantic European town in the background, I have an amazing ‘proposal’ for you 😊

One of the river cruise companies that I partner with has a Renewal of Vows Package on their Danube River Cruise itinerary.

This romantic package includes:

  • Symbolic Renewal of Vows Ceremony led by a designated official
  • Two 1-hour massages PLUS one manicure/pedicure or hair salon service
  • Bottle of champagne
  • Romantic turn-down service with rose petals
  • Special custom-made dessert by the onboard chef
  • Sundowner excursion with champagne

The cost of this package is $500usd or $599cad but if you bring 2 other couples to go with you, I will pay the cost for you!  If you bring 5 other couples with you, one of you will sail for free!  Know a group of people? if you bring 10 other couples, you both sail for free!

Here is the Romantic Danube itinerary and the river cruise pricing starts at $5820usd/$6820cad per person for a French Balcony category (based on May/June 2019 dates) Extra nights in Budapest, Prague or Munich can be added on for a longer stay.

I look forward to helping you and your partner celebrate your Anniversary just the way you deserve!

River Cruise Lady Linda's Romantic Danube River Cruise Itinerary

Perhaps you could write your special date on a lock and add your own Love Lock to one of the bridges you’ll visit!

Love Locks on a Bridge
Love Locks on a Bridge

Crystal River Cruise on the Rhine and Mosel

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From the welcome airport greeting to the final farewell, our Crystal River Cruise was a fantastic experience!
We met the friendly Crystal staff at the Amsterdam airport and were promptly transferred by Crystal’s own fleet of buses (that follow along the cruise) to the Crystal Mahler. The river cruise pier is located right in front of the historic Grand Centraal Station so we took a stroll around the ship, checked into our cabin (they call them suites) and headed out to tour the city.

We walked past the station, Anne Franks House, over many bridges & canals and even the Red Light District (which is usually fairly quiet during the day but a rather robust women was standing outside as we went by). Amsterdam is such a beautiful, bustling walkable city although one has to look both ways frequently to avoid the constant whish of bicycle riders that whiz past (at top speeds I might add) as that is their main form of transportation there.


Heading back to the ship, we decided to unpack and took some pictures to show the features of our Petite Suite – category S4/S5. The cabin was spacious enough at 188sq ft but with the closet & bathroom lacking drawer space to put some of our stuff, just made do with using the cupboards instead. The mini-bar was fully stocked with water, beer, pop and later white wine. The Nespresso type coffee maker is unique to Crystal as you don’t often see any type of coffee maker in a river cruise cabin. The suites are also equipped with binoculars, Audio machines for going out on tour to hear the guides without having to stand beside them and lots of plugs.(great for all the devices we tend to bring along)

If you upgrade to the Deluxe Suite -category S1/S2, which is larger at 253 sq ft (there is one cabin in category S3 and if ever interested in that one, just pop me an email to linda@therivercruiselady.com and I can explain the difference between that one and the S1/S2) you get a full walk in closet plus two sinks in the bathroom and drawers in both) Both have the luxurious King Size bed (or two singles), the Panoramic Balcony Window, interactive TV system with complimentary movies on demand, a bedside Ipad and wifi.

Dining options on the Mahler were plenty starting with breakfast at the Waterside restaurant, usually served between 7:30 and 9am or if felt like sleeping in, could catch the late risers breakfast at the Bistro served from 9 to 11:30am. If you happened to really sleep in, there were snacks & pastries at the Bistro from 11:30am to 6pm or lunch service started at 12:30 to 2:30pm. The Waterside restaurant times varied daily but was usually between noon and 2pm. Of course you could also order 24 hour room service (including selections from the main restaurant menu) or help yourself to the 24 hour self-service pantry which featured snacks, specialty coffees, teas and non-alcoholic beverages.
Dinner was either at the Waterside restaurant, the Bistro for a Tapas menu or for a special multi course with wine pairing evening, there was the Vintage Room which had an extra cost and needed to be reserved in advance. The food on Crystal was some of the best I’ve ever been served – the presentation was always artistically crafted and the taste was delicious.

Our cruise itinerary had to be changed due to the record low water conditions on the Danube so we ended up sailing on the Rhine, Mosel and the Belgian Waterways instead and it couldn’t have been more perfect. Crystal was to be commended for coming up with new excursions due to the changes and we visited some wonderful picturesque places like Bernkastel, Bruges, Ghent and Arnhem. They included cultural visits in Nijmegen to the Van Gogh Kroller-Muller Museum, the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, Drachenfels Castle in Bonn and a magical Concert evening with Eva Vermeeren, Hanne Roos & The Turnhoutse Snaar.

We participated in many of the bike excursions that Crystal offered and although they do not store the bikes onboard, top quality e-bikes were brought to each location where they offered the excursions. We rode through Historic Nijmegen, Veluwezoom National Park, the Netherlands Waterlands and even biked up a mountainside to play golf and sample some local wine (don’t worry, they bussed us home after that 😊)

If you would like to view a video about the bike excursions, you can view it below:

The evening entertainment ended up being something we looked forward to every night. Some lines just have a piano player softly in the background in the lounge but our cruise had Rita and Bruno, a musically talented couple who both sang and played the piano. They seemed to be able to sing anything and even led a couple of triva contests too. There was also an indoor pool that looked inviting but I never saw anyone using it (perhaps they did early in the mornings?) Same with the gym, but again, could have been used early. One place that did get a lot of use was the self service laundry room which included two washer/dryers and ironing board.

While it is true that the cost of a Crystal River Cruise can be higher than other companies offering an all inclusive experience, it seemed as though most passengers felt that it was a very good value for what they received. Plus their crew to guest ratio is one of the lowest at 1 to 1.55 which we noticed as there always seemed to be a helpful crew member to assist. Crystal has four Rhine class sister ships which are the Mahler, Bach, Debussy and Ravel while the Crystal Mozart that sails on the Danube is configured differently. Whichever one you choose, you’re sure to have a memorable river cruise!


For a video tour of the Crystal Mahler, please watch the video below:

Crystal River Cruises changing the world of river cruising!

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Crystal Cruises entered in the world of river cruising two years ago and is upping the ante all around.   They’ve just launched their 4th ship, the Crystal Debussy, which is a sister ship to the Crystal Bach, Crystal Mahler and Crystal Ravel. 

All four ships will sail either on the Danube, Rhine, Main or Moselle with only 106 passengers (compare that to their same size longship competitors sailing with almost 190 passengers) which means more spacious cabins and more lounge space.

They have also introduced open seating dining in their Waterside restaurant so no more 7pm rush for a table.  They also boast the following: 

  • The only all-suite river yachts in Europe; every suite featuring a King-size bed, most with walk-in closets and double sink vanities
  • The highest staff-to-guest ratio among all European river cruise lines
  • Michelin star-inspired farm-to-table dining, featuring Crystal’s acclaimed six-star cuisine with regionally-inspired menus
  • Unmatched culinary choices with flexible open seating dining in each restaurant
  • Wine sommeliers offering educational insight and endless pour of acclaimed vintages
  • Unmatched collection of multiple Complimentary Crystal Adventures® ashore in each destination; cultural, active and overland
  • High-tech in-suite amenities including: bedside iPad directory; interactive TV system with complimentary movies on demand, extensive music library; ambient lighting and temperature controls
  • A full service, well-appointed Crystal Life Spa aboard each river yacht, staffed by dedicated, highly-trained professionals
  • Crystal luxury motor coaches, featuring complimentary Wi-Fi and coffee bars

As part of their luxury all inclusive river cruising experience, Crystal includes:

  • unlimited fine wines, champagne, premium spirits, beers, soft drinks, specialty coffees, teas and bottle water in-suite
  • All gratuities both shipboard and shoreside 
  • Unlimited wifi/Internet plus electronic international newspapers
  • Daily yoga and fitness classes 
  • Complimentary self-service guest laundry  (so handy for those 15 day voyages)
  • Use of eBikes for both excursions and on your own
  • Complimentary airport transfers from the airport to the ship on day of embarkation/disembarkation

Here is a short video about these wonderful new ships

 

If you would like to view the deckplan seen in the video, just click CRYSTAL SISTER SHIPS DECKPLAN

I will be sailing on the Crystal Mahler in Sept so look for a new post with a full report upon my return.   Cheers, Linda

 

 

Viking River Cruise transformed into Ocean Cruise!

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I recently returned from cruising on the almost brand new Viking Sea sailing out of San Juan Puerto Rico. It was so impressive the way that Viking took all of the wonderful attributes of river cruising and copied them onto their ocean cruises. Plus since the ship carries just over 900 passengers, is considered a small ship which allows them to visit ports not available to the larger ships. Here we were docked right in the heart of the city in Willemstad, Curacao

Viking Sea Docked in Curacao

Viking Sea Docked in Curacao

Like river cruising, there are many inclusions like a shore excursion included in every port, beer/wine with lunch and dinner, specialty coffees, teas & bottled water and of course the biggest perk for me as I was still working, was the free WiFi. Most people that I talked to onboard said it was so nice to have all the inclusions and not to be nickle & dimed to death which tends to happen on many mainstream cruise lines. Also included are two specialty restaurants, one is The Chef’s Table which is a multi-course tasting dinner paired with select wines and the other is Manfredi’s Italian Restaurant serving freshly prepared pastas and antipasto accompanied by fresh seafood or special of the day. Not sure which one was my favorite as they both had amazing food.

Manfredis Restaurant VikingSea

Manfredis Restaurant VikingSea

One difference from their river cruises (which still offer cabins on lower decks that only have a window) is that all the cabins on the Viking Sea have a spacious private balcony. Another great option for those who love to eat outdoors (which includes me) is the restaurant at the back of the ship near the pool where you can enjoy breakfast or lunch on the patio.

Viking Sea Outdoor Restaurant

Viking Sea Outdoor Restaurant

Like river cruising, the Viking Ocean itineraries tend to be city/port intensive which allow you to really get immersed in the destinations visited. In fact, many of the passengers had taken a river cruise first and then decided to try out their Ocean cruises and were very impressed. So whichever one you choose to try first, you’ll be pleased with either!

For more information, see VIKING CRUISES

How big is a river cruise cabin?

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It seems as though the river cruise companies (or most cruise companies for that matter) always showcase their largest suite category cabins in their ads but in reality, most passengers end up in their regular cabins.

Every time I take a new river cruise, I try to capture some video or pictures of the cabins to share with you for size perspectives.

The one below is the AmaCerto built in 2012 by Ama Waterways which is 445ft long and holds 162 passengers

The cabins sizes shown in the video are
300 sq ft – Suite Category
210 sq ft – Twin Balcony Category BA
170 sq ft – French Balcony Category C
160 sq ft – Window Category D

Here is the deck plan of the AmaCerto

AmaCerto Deck Plan

AmaCerto Deck Plan

Here is the video tour of the ship

Not just flowers on a Tulip Time River Cruise

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I went on a Tulip Time river cruise this spring with Ama Waterways thinking that it would be all about flowers but nothing could be further from the truth!

Don’t get me wrong, we did see Tulips but we also visited a fabulous museum, learned how to make Belgian chocolate, biked through Antwerp viewing their incredible architectural buildings, strolled peacefully through the windmills in Kinderdijk and maneuvered the canals in Amsterdam.

The Tulip Time cruise started in Amsterdam and I took the ship picture to show you how close they dock to the main train station in Amsterdam (its the building in the background) and then the next picture is in front of the station which is stunning in itself.

We did a morning bus tour of the city before heading out in the afternoon to a Hoorn Tulip and Bulb field where we all became Tulip Specialists after getting a tour of their greenhouses to see all the different phases of growth (the process was very interesting and we learned quite a bit!) Once the bus dropped us off near the town trolley, we walked around the Hoorn harbor which was full of unique monuments and packing warehouses.

The next days tour decision was a tough one as you had to choose between the Arnhem Bridge & Airborne Museum (renowned for its role during WWII’s Operation Market Garden) or the Kroller Muller Museum (which boasts the 2nd largest Van Gogh collection in the world). So our small group split up and some did choice A and some did choice B and when we gathered back on the ship in lounge for a pre-dinner drink, all agreed that both were great tours. (read between the lines as this meant that each group thought their tour was better)

When we arrived in Antwerp, we opted for the bike tour through the charming streets of this Belgium major city. Our guide managed to steer us effortlessly through traffic and the drivers were so polite, always stopping for us when we were crossing the streets (that never happens back home!) It was a great way to see such a large area of the city in such a short time and our stop at the Antwerp train station was saved until the end because the beauty of the building just can’t be missed.

That afternoon took us to the Floralia Spring Flower show at Kasteel van Groot-Bijgaarden which had 14 hectares of brilliantly colored tulips, daffodils and many other spring flowers. The garden area surrounds the castle where the almost 1 million bulbs are still planted by hand each year ! (loved the Peacock)

Then we headed for the beauty of Bruges which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that included medieval buildings, winding canals and statuesque churches. I could have taken pictures there all day and this one was at the famous corner that is used many times when displaying Bruges.

Bruge

Bruge

After leaving Belgium, we headed back towards the Netherlands stopping in Rotterdam where excursions could be taken to visit the bustling city or a bit farther took in the charming city of Delft (known for the hand-painted blue and white pottery) with a stop in The Hague before travelling back to the ship. In the afternoon, we sailed peacefully into Kinderdijk to see hundreds of windmills dotting the horizon. With the sun shining brightly, it made for a wonderful stroll or bike ride through the area.

Kinderdijk Windmills

Kinderdijk Windmills

Our last full day was a full one with the morning touring the spectacular Keukenhof Gardens, a 70 acre park that probably had the most flowers I’ve ever seen. It was so colorful and I’m sure the pictures don’t do it justice.

Then onto Amsterdam where we finished up with a great canal cruise through the city (where you find out why they call it “Venice of the North” )

Now that I’ve taken you through my trip, I realize that I haven’t even talked about all the wonderful food (and drinks) we had onboard Ama Waterways! The staff were really friendly and our Cruise Director Rachel was one of the best ones I’ve ever experienced. She delivered her port talks with humor, personal stories and kept everyone interested, on track and on time.
I was in a French Balcony cabin and since the weather was great, enjoyed sitting in the stateroom with the breeze flowing in on many occasions.

I would highly recommend a Tulip Time river cruise to anyone !

Africa River Cruise Safari

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Ever since Ama Waterways brought out their Africa Safari and Wildlife cruise brochure, I dreamed of going on it and even had the cover pinned up on my wall.

Well my dream finally became a reality recently and it was even more amazing than I could have ever imagined. My pictures were almost the same as they had portrayed in the brochure as we were able to get so close to the animals on the river (and on the land Safari in Kruger) and I was also able to get some fantastic videos of them in their own environment that you can view at the end.

Their Stars of South Africa itinerary starts in picturesque Cape Town, where one could easily spend a week touring around the area as there is so much to see. We did a full day Cape tour which starts out going to Boulders Beach to see the African Penguins (could have watched them all day) then onto the famous Cape of Good Hope sign and Chapman Peak Drive.

Since we had gone in a day early, we were also able to visit Table Bay Mountain, Robben Island and the Cape Winelands area and we still didn’t see it all !

Then onto Botswana for the most incredible river safari where I couldn’t stop taking video of the Elephants (by day 3, my husband said, you have enough footage of the elephants!!)
We got to see them playing in the water, spraying themselves as it was so dry and watching the babies learn from their mommas. Of course we also saw Giraffes, Impalas, Hippos, Cape Buffalos, Lions, Warthogs and many beautiful African birds too. We also visited a local village which was very humbling. These are just a few of many pictures I took:

Then it was onto to Victoria Falls to see one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World where the sound is so loud that the African name for the falls translates to “the smoke that thunders” The Victoria Falls hotel is filled with old world charm that feels like you’ve been transported back in time where you can peruse its history filled walls.


A quick plane ride to Johannesburg brought us to the big city where we overnighted before doing a full day tour of the city and Soweto (SouthWest Townships) that was very interesting (and sad at the same time as we saw some new townhomes that had been built to replace the tin shacks that still sit empty)

Another quick flight took us to Kruger Park to do our land safari where we were lucky enough to come across so many lions (that again – I just took way too many videos of!)

Within one day, we were fortunate to view the Big Five that everyone aspires to see – so amazing. Kruger was experiencing a major drought when we visited which was not good for the animals but great for viewing. We had morning (6am to 9am) and afternoon (4pm to 7pm) safaris which gives you an opportunity to see different animals who are more active at different times. It was so hard to narrow down the pictures to just a few and I will post some more again soon.


If you dream about Africa and its on your bucket-list, my advice is to make that dream become a reality and you will never regret it for a minute !

Video clips of the trip can be seen below:

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(604) 836-8192

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linda@therivercruiselady.com