The Avid Cruiser

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.

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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.

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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.

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Want to sample a river cruise? Try a “Tulip & Windmill” cruise, which takes place during the spring in the Netherlands and Belgium.

Cruises typically begin and end in Amsterdam, overnighting in the Dutch city so that you have time to explore. Leaving Amsterdam, you will cruise past Holland’s annual floral splendor to visit two of Belgium’s most beautifully preserved medieval cities — Brussels and Brugge.

Or choose to go long. The completion of the Main-Danube Canal  in 1992 spawned grand cruise itineraries from Amsterdam to Budapest — and beyond.

An engineering marvel, the 106-mile Main-Danube Canal permits modern-day vessels to travel from the North Sea to the Black Sea, opening up more than 2,200 miles of river and exposing today’s travelers to life along the banks.

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.

Cruising the entire length of the Rhine and Danube rivers alone exposes travelers to ten countries in Eastern and Western Europe. Along the way are charming villages, storied capital cities, fairy tale castles, vineyards and more — all accessible from your floating hotel.

The most popular region for river cruising in Continental Europe — and a good choice for first-time river cruisers — is the Danube. Immortalized in Strauss’s Blue Danube Waltz, the Danube winds from Germany’s Black Forest through Austria into the Balkans before dumping into the Black Sea.

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“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. 

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