Apr 7, 2008
My 140-passenger riverboat, the Amadeus "Symphony," chartered by Gate 1 Travel, compared well in every important respect to those massive cruise ships
I've been peppered with e-mails from readers about the physical properties of the riverboat on which we cruised the entire length of the Rhine. How do they compare with various properties of the more familiar cruise ships?
1. Are the cabins on a European riverboat as large as those on an ocean-going cruise ships? As best I could see, they are exactly the size of a cruise ship cabin, and the bathrooms seemed somewhat larger than those cramped and compact little bathrooms on a cruise ship. In every other respect, the cabins had all the furnishings and amenities of a cruise ship cabin, and indeed the mattresses, feather-blankets and down-filled pillows were superior to those I remember. The cabin also had a large, flat-screen television able to get all the channels of a land-based TV system: we not only received a full-length, English-language movie each night, but also BBC Television, Sky Television, CNN, CNBC, and four other German-language, Dutch-language, or French-language channels.
2. How was the food? Better than on the average, popularly priced cruise ship. It was thoroughly European, and reflected all the glories of the European cuisine and the care and attention that Europeans devote to meals. At a final-night party when the entire crew was paraded before us, we were surprised to discover that the ship had six cooks for its 140 passengers, and all of them were either Dutch or German chefs well accomplished at making all the complementary sauces that Europeans pour over meats and fish. Wine was free and unlimited and good; in fact, the ship apparently picked up supplies of Mosel whites when we took a detour over a stretch of the Mosel river, and that night we all had mild, mid-sweet Mosel wine with our meals. Beer, good European beer, was also available and free at all meals. Breakfast was a giant buffet of endless dishes, including an omelette station at which a member of the crew prepared whatever kind of omelette you desired.
3. How was the staff? Courteous, efficient, and service-oriented as only Europeans could be. Waiters, waitresses, and room stewards were mainly young people from Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, all of them extremely well motivated. Our captain was French (even though the Amadeus Symphony is a German-owned boat), speaking fluent English with a heavy accent; our cruise director, surprisingly, was a young American woman who had left teaching to first become a guide with Collette Tours and then shifted over to Amadeus Waterways when the occasion presented itself. The three staff members from Gate 1 Travel (Roland, Monique and Peter) who supervised the tour aspects of our cruise were, in the case of two of them, Dutch; and the third was from Hungary. They were superb; as professional, personable, and efficient as any I have seen.
4. How was the evening entertainment? On a riverboat, there is almost none -- and I found that refreshing. The entertainment staff consisted of a pianist and a singer, and I never stayed up late enough to hear them. The post-dinner activity mainly consisted of a "port talk" alerting us to the key features of the next-day's port visit. All of this is presented in a large and comfortable lounge also containing a bar, and this is where you relaxed during your few hours on the ship. Apart from meals and sleeping, most of your time was spent ashore, as there is a port visit each day of the cruise. On the rivers of Europe, continually lined with fascinating towns, there is no such thing as a whole day simply at sea -- as there is on ocean cruises.
5. Facilities for children? None. And there were no children. While I don't think they are forbidden, a child would be bored to tears on a river cruise, and I would be surprised to find a family with children taking a European river cruise. The passengers aboard? Overwhelmingly middle-aged -- a few younger people, a few fairly old, but mainly middle-aged. Nevertheless, young people in their 20s and 30s would enjoy these cruises to the same extent as everyone else.
6. Daytime activities? You spend most of the day ashore. And as contrasted with an ocean-going cruise, the ship is never docked in a remote location impossibly far from the town. The ship ties up -- in every instance but one -- at a river location right in the town, within a short walk of the main square. That exception: the day we docked in Speyer, Germany, where buses took us to Heidelberg -- the main point of that day's visit.
7. Shipboard lifeboat drills? None. And though I saw lifebelts in our cabin closet, it was quite obvious that passengers would be expected simply to make their own way to shore if anything untoward happened.
8. Seasickness? None. The ship is always level and one encounters no evidence of motion, even in areas of the Rhine where one spots rapids, like near the rock mountain on which the Loreley apparently lured 17th century river sailors to their doom.
9. Casinos? There are none. But there's an occasional casino ashore in some of the towns visited.
10. Daytime activities for passengers not going ashore? Almost everyone does go ashore. The one or two who stay aboard read in the lounge or their cabin, or stroll about on the top deck, where there is also a wading pool.
All in all, my cruise of the Rhine River was an extremely pleasant and memorable week, showing me an aspect of Europe that I am glad to have seen; and I have gone on at such length about it because of the popularity which these river cruises -- of the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, the Seine, the Rhone, the Mosel -- are currently enjoying. They are a cost-effective method of visiting Europe (the chief reason for their popularity) and thus allay the weak-dollar fears of a great many Americans. The amount charged -- $1,499 or $1,699 per person in off-season for a one-week cruise, including round-trip air between the U.S. and Europe -- is a remarkable bargain, for which the tour operator (Gate 1 Travel) and ship line (Amadeus Waterways) are to be commended. As I sat sipping champagne and munching on exquisite hors d'oeuvres during our farewell party, I marveled at the ability of these two companies to maintain such a reasonable level of price for such an extraordinary trip on the Rhine.
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1. Are the cabins on a European riverboat as large as those on an ocean-going cruise ships? As best I could see, they are exactly the size of a cruise ship cabin, and the bathrooms seemed somewhat larger than those cramped and compact little bathrooms on a cruise ship. In every other respect, the cabins had all the furnishings and amenities of a cruise ship cabin, and indeed the mattresses, feather-blankets and down-filled pillows were superior to those I remember. The cabin also had a large, flat-screen television able to get all the channels of a land-based TV system: we not only received a full-length, English-language movie each night, but also BBC Television, Sky Television, CNN, CNBC, and four other German-language, Dutch-language, or French-language channels.
2. How was the food? Better than on the average, popularly priced cruise ship. It was thoroughly European, and reflected all the glories of the European cuisine and the care and attention that Europeans devote to meals. At a final-night party when the entire crew was paraded before us, we were surprised to discover that the ship had six cooks for its 140 passengers, and all of them were either Dutch or German chefs well accomplished at making all the complementary sauces that Europeans pour over meats and fish. Wine was free and unlimited and good; in fact, the ship apparently picked up supplies of Mosel whites when we took a detour over a stretch of the Mosel river, and that night we all had mild, mid-sweet Mosel wine with our meals. Beer, good European beer, was also available and free at all meals. Breakfast was a giant buffet of endless dishes, including an omelette station at which a member of the crew prepared whatever kind of omelette you desired.
3. How was the staff? Courteous, efficient, and service-oriented as only Europeans could be. Waiters, waitresses, and room stewards were mainly young people from Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, all of them extremely well motivated. Our captain was French (even though the Amadeus Symphony is a German-owned boat), speaking fluent English with a heavy accent; our cruise director, surprisingly, was a young American woman who had left teaching to first become a guide with Collette Tours and then shifted over to Amadeus Waterways when the occasion presented itself. The three staff members from Gate 1 Travel (Roland, Monique and Peter) who supervised the tour aspects of our cruise were, in the case of two of them, Dutch; and the third was from Hungary. They were superb; as professional, personable, and efficient as any I have seen.
4. How was the evening entertainment? On a riverboat, there is almost none -- and I found that refreshing. The entertainment staff consisted of a pianist and a singer, and I never stayed up late enough to hear them. The post-dinner activity mainly consisted of a "port talk" alerting us to the key features of the next-day's port visit. All of this is presented in a large and comfortable lounge also containing a bar, and this is where you relaxed during your few hours on the ship. Apart from meals and sleeping, most of your time was spent ashore, as there is a port visit each day of the cruise. On the rivers of Europe, continually lined with fascinating towns, there is no such thing as a whole day simply at sea -- as there is on ocean cruises.
5. Facilities for children? None. And there were no children. While I don't think they are forbidden, a child would be bored to tears on a river cruise, and I would be surprised to find a family with children taking a European river cruise. The passengers aboard? Overwhelmingly middle-aged -- a few younger people, a few fairly old, but mainly middle-aged. Nevertheless, young people in their 20s and 30s would enjoy these cruises to the same extent as everyone else.
6. Daytime activities? You spend most of the day ashore. And as contrasted with an ocean-going cruise, the ship is never docked in a remote location impossibly far from the town. The ship ties up -- in every instance but one -- at a river location right in the town, within a short walk of the main square. That exception: the day we docked in Speyer, Germany, where buses took us to Heidelberg -- the main point of that day's visit.
7. Shipboard lifeboat drills? None. And though I saw lifebelts in our cabin closet, it was quite obvious that passengers would be expected simply to make their own way to shore if anything untoward happened.
8. Seasickness? None. The ship is always level and one encounters no evidence of motion, even in areas of the Rhine where one spots rapids, like near the rock mountain on which the Loreley apparently lured 17th century river sailors to their doom.
9. Casinos? There are none. But there's an occasional casino ashore in some of the towns visited.
10. Daytime activities for passengers not going ashore? Almost everyone does go ashore. The one or two who stay aboard read in the lounge or their cabin, or stroll about on the top deck, where there is also a wading pool.
All in all, my cruise of the Rhine River was an extremely pleasant and memorable week, showing me an aspect of Europe that I am glad to have seen; and I have gone on at such length about it because of the popularity which these river cruises -- of the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, the Seine, the Rhone, the Mosel -- are currently enjoying. They are a cost-effective method of visiting Europe (the chief reason for their popularity) and thus allay the weak-dollar fears of a great many Americans. The amount charged -- $1,499 or $1,699 per person in off-season for a one-week cruise, including round-trip air between the U.S. and Europe -- is a remarkable bargain, for which the tour operator (Gate 1 Travel) and ship line (Amadeus Waterways) are to be commended. As I sat sipping champagne and munching on exquisite hors d'oeuvres during our farewell party, I marveled at the ability of these two companies to maintain such a reasonable level of price for such an extraordinary trip on the Rhine.
Write and read comments about this post.
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
