October 15- Vienna

October 15 – Vienna

We arrived in Vienna on the morning of the 14th in very rainy weather.  We had a rainy bus ride to give us a panoramic tour of the Ring and its critical buildings.  Then we were dropped at Swedenplatz where we began our walking tour which, of course, included one museum, the main cathedral and then back for lunch.

In the afternoon I packed and had a deep-tissue massage before eating an early dinner.  We were all going to a concert of Strauss and Mozart at an auditorium within the imperial palace.  A 32 piece orchestra and 4 singers gave a delightful concert for 90 minutes.  Then we went back to the ship for our last night.

Gay and I took a taxi to our ‘home’ for the next five nights – the Best Western Kaiserhof which is lovely.  While we cool our heels in the lobby waiting for our room to be ready, I thought it time to summarize our river cruise.

I read on cruise critic that someone called Uniworld ‘the Seabourn of river cruising’ and I have to agree.  It was called a boutique cruise and it certainly seemed to be.  Each ship holds maximum 150 people,  The individual rooms while smaller (to allow the ship to get thru canals and locks) were sumptuous with flocked wall paper, marble bathrooms, lovely duvet-covered king size beds, and on the top level French doors that slide open.  There are four tiers for the cabins, and we were happily on the top level. Above us is the sundeck which when not going under bridges has sun chairs, tables, and the bridge house.  On our level was the diningroom, the lounge and the library, not to mention the lobby from which we left the ship.

Every evening, like on all ships the next day’s program was provided with critical information regarding the tours of the day and whether we were to have our VOX box with us (the means by which tour guides in each town could talk into our ears instead of screaming at a crowd).

The tours were well laid out and the guides, to a person, were excellent.  They always had a ‘gentle walkers’ tour which meant a little less walking, and at times a taxi to take one into the center of town, there was also an ‘active’ tour which could include bicycles, longer hikes, or more hills.  In each town we would be shown the important sites, shown where we could meet, and then always enough free time to have a snack or to shop.  It was always organized and one never felt uncared for.

On board it was almost perfect.  One could sit in the lounge and watch the world float by sitting on couches or comfortable chairs; snacks and drinks were available all day long. Breakfasts and lunches were buffet style with a few special foods – soups at lunch, typical German food eetc.  (Unlike the big ships, the food is tailored to the country in which they are sailing, and many of the food stuffs are picked up at local ports). Thus on this trip there was cheese, sausages, wienerschnitzel and potato based dumplings. Salads were fresh greens, and all manner of additions.  Perhaps only sandwiches were poor…it’s not a European concept.  

Dinners were always amazing with free flowing wines. Everything was beautifully presented and amazingly good.  

Considering that the whole crew is less than 41 (and that includes the hidden people in the engine room, docking the boat or doing laundry) we were impressed.  To a person they were helpful, always wanting to accommodate your every wish, and most amazingly: they all seemed delighted to be helping us.  One can sense if crew aren’t happy, or if there are frictions, and I can say I didn’t see any of this. One got to know every waiter and waitress, the front desk staff and of course our cruise director Heiner Schmitt.  

We were told on the last gala night that the captain was truly sweating as we were sailing down the Danube.  The water was very shallow and he said that in 30 years of sailing river boats, he had never seen it this low – ever.  At worst we would have had to finish our tour by bus, or be given a refund….but as guests we were only slightly aware of this impending crisis.  To us it simply meant a longer day in Regensburg, and an earlier departure than usual. We had no idea of how fragile our adventure was.  The simple fact that this was handled with such aplomb is a credit to the entire cruise line, who despite providing us a lovely day, felt they needed to compensate us with a $250 credit on our next cruise…. Which I am sure we will use.

The evening entertainment was varied:  speakers came on board; entertainers came on for an evening and on long cruising days they had daytime entertainment: glass blowing, lectures etc.  And if that wasn’t enough there was one woman who was the entertainment with her piano and her vast array of songs in her repertoire.

Perhaps for me the most delightful thing was that this was an all inclusive trip.  Amex had provided us each a $250 credit, and Gay and I were hard pressed to use it.  We paid for the concert in Vienna, used the laundry service rather than do it ourselves, and bought a map. But there we were with one day to go and over $100 credit. So I had a massage.  Then, since they can’t give it back, we asked them to give it to the charity which they support so that our balance was $0.00.  That one can have Tanquaray gin, lovely wines, and all tours and tips  free makes a big difference.  You never feel nickel and dimed. And if anything you felt coddled. The only things for which one would be charged were special tours which could be arranged, or the concerts off the ship where they can’t count on everyone wanting to do these things.

Overall, between the quality of the tours, the all-embracing sense of being cared for, and the most amazing staff, I will definitely chose to do this again.

As I said earlier, it is like Star Flyer on steroids. It’s not a sailboat, but similar in size of crew and passengers.  As on Flyer one did become a small family  sitting at meals with your favorite friends, but able to identify absolutely every passenger within a few days of being together. But what was superior to me were the local tour guides, the imaginative  itineraries, the quality of food, and the luxury of the staterooms.

I will definitely do this again.