By Eileen Ogintz
Passengers and crew aboard AMAWaterways become so close that some cry when the cruise is over—really.
Our AMASerena Cruise Director Rachel Couto Gomes, who has been with the company 15 years, says not only is that the truth but that passengers will choose their next cruise based on their favorite crew members.
And if you think river cruises aren’t family friendly, think again. Couto Gomes said one recent cruise in France had 17 kids on board; another had seven kids in one extended family celebrating a mom’s 40th birthday. “I love having kids on board,” she said. “They bring a different energy.”
And for their part, the crew makes the kids feel special with towel animals, badges proclaiming them assistant cruise managers and certificates from the captain designating them as junior sailors. There may be special activities too, like decorating gingerbread on holiday cruises. “We make it special for them,” she said.
On board there are families of different stripes too—divorced sisters traveling together; a recently divorced mom traveling with her 22-year-old son from Mexico City.
Like the other young adults on board, he doesn’t at all mind that the crowd skews older. “Everyone has something interesting to say,” said Sebastian Albarran. “And I’m really relaxing.”
Any lessons for traveling with a grown son? His mom Delia Rodriguez advised “patience.”
And separate rooms if you can afford it, said Patty Henley, a retired California lawyer traveling with her mom, Kay Henley, who is 79. “That’s because I snore,” Kay Henley said.
“And I don’t,” said Patty Henley.
Patty Henley also appreciates the range of excursion options available as her mom likes those designated as gentle as she prefers more active pursuits. Don’t be afraid each do something different, she suggests.
Be respectful of each other, said sisters Andrea Voss, who lives in LA, and her sister Andrea who lives in San Jose, CA. Their first river cruise, the sisters are enjoying the intimacy of the small ship. “We got on board not knowing anyone,” Andrea Voss said, ‘And you get to know everyone…It’s not like on a big ocean cruise where you feel like cattle being herded.”
Before lunch—yes before lunch—we are treated to a German brunch called Fruhschoppen, typically enjoyed on Sundays. There is bratwurst, skinny frankfurters, turkey meatloaf, potato salad, white radish salad, pretzel rolls, all washed down with local beer. Then lunch is served. Anyone ready for German goulash?
This afternoon we will take a bus for about 45 minutes to either Heidelburg or Speyer for an afternoon of touring. The Heidelburg Castle is famous, in part for its gigantic wine barrel which can hold 60,000 gallons of wine. It is considered the most romantic castle in Germany, Couto Gomes said.
But as in our other ports, there are options for the most active travelers like a 22-mile bike ride or a Heidelburg hike that supposedly was a walk taken by philosophers back in the day.
A fun fact: Before dating apps, young men in Germany would express their interest in young women by presenting them with a heart-shaped chocolate kiss filled with Marzipan. Today, Couto Gomes said they are the most authentic Heidelburg souvenir.
She also noted that AMAWaterways is now offering more active excursions than ever—20 bikes on board rather than 10; hikes offered at every port. This is as the passengers are not only younger, but are more active, even those in their seventies and eighties.
It’s also possible to borrow a bike and go off on your own. Just make sure to return on time as the ships must book their slots to go through the locks years in advance. If passengers are late, the ship goes to the end of the line and can lose hours.
It seems that once people try a river cruise they are hooked—well over half on board are repeat passengers. “That is more and more typical,” Couto Gomes said.
Be respectful of each other, said sisters Andrea Voss, who lives in LA, and her sister Andrea who lives in San Jose, CA. Their first river cruise, the sisters are enjoying the intimacy of the small ship. “We got on board not knowing anyone,” Andrea Voss said, ‘And you get to know everyone…It’s not like on a big ocean cruise where you feel like cattle being herded.”
Before lunch—yes before lunch—we are treated to a German brunch called Fruhschoppen, typically enjoyed on Sundays. There is bratwurst, skinny frankfurters, turkey meatloaf, potato salad, white radish salad, pretzel rolls, all washed down with local beer. Then lunch is served. Anyone ready for German goulash?
This afternoon we will take a bus for about 45 minutes to either Heidelburg or Speyer for an afternoon of touring. The Heidelburg Castle is famous, in part for its gigantic wine barrel which can hold 60,000 gallons of wine. It is considered the most romantic castle in Germany, Couto Gomes said.
But as in our other ports, there are options for the most active travelers like a 22-mile bike ride or a Heidelburg hike that supposedly was a walk taken by philosophers back in the day.
A fun fact: Before dating apps, young men in Germany would express their interest in young women by presenting them with a heart-shaped chocolate kiss filled with Marzipan. Today, Couto Gomes said they are the most authentic Heidelburg souvenir.
She also noted that AMAWaterways is now offering more active excursions than ever—20 bikes on board rather than 10; hikes offered at every port. This is as the passengers are not only younger, but are more active, even those in their seventies and eighties.
It’s also possible to borrow a bike and go off on your own. Just make sure to return on time as the ships must book their slots to go through the locks years in advance. If passengers are late, the ship goes to the end of the line and can lose hours.
In Speyer, for example, a charming city famous for being one of Germany’s cities founded by the ancient Romans that was built and rebuilt several times since 1024 and is the largest Romanesque church in the world, my husband opted out of the tour group to go see the huge Technik Museum. It’s got more than 2,000 exhibits including a 747 accessible to visitors. (You can even climb onto the wing and kids love sliding down to the ground.)
I was most interested in the UNESCO World Heritage Site ShUm Speyer, the ruins of the synagogue and ritual bath dating back to 1120 when Speyer was home to one of the most important Jewish communities north of the Alps. The bishop placed the jews under his protection and the community thrived for years with scholars traveling here up until the 13th century to learn from the Jewish “sages” of Speyer. But by around 1500, the Jews lost the protection and were dispossessed with the residents scattering.
Our next stop on the Rhine is Strasbourg, France in the historic region of Alsace. It is one of the four main capitals of the European Union alongside Brussels, Luxembourg and Frankfurt and boasts France’s second largest university. The city dates back to a Roman Camp and variously was a French city, German until the end of WW1, and then recaptured by the Germans in 11940, only liberated in November 1944 by French troops.
Fun fact: It was one of the original centers of the printing industry with pioneers including Johannes Guttenberg. We see his statue and also one of the great humanitarian Albert Schweitzer who was from this region and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1952 for his “Reverence for Life,” in part, for founding a hospital in French Equatorial Africa.
Sadly, it was pouring during our walking tour, so we were glad for a respite in the famous Strasbourg Cathedral Notre-Dame (there are 36 Notre Dame cathedrals in France). At one time, it was the tallest church in the world but today it’s the sixth tallest and yet another UNESCO World Heritage site. During WWII, the exquisite stained-glass windows were removed and after the German occupation, taken to Germany and stored with other stolen art in a salt mine. They were returned by the U.S. Army at the war’s end.
Even if you don’t particularly like visiting churches, you will want to see this one for its astronomical clock, the third clock here and dating from the first possession of the city in 1681. This clock dates from 1843 and includes a planetary dial, a display of the position of the sun and the moon and the procession of the 18-inch-high figures of Christ and the Apostles which occurs every day at the solar noon. It is remarkable, complete with a golden rooster who crows every day at 12:30 pm.
We likely would have skipped the wine tasting that was part of the tour if the weather had been better but I’m glad we didn’t as we tasted three wines from the region and learned which would be suitable for local dishes we were served—sausage, salami, cheese and a local sweet bread that is brioche-style called Kugelhopf that is studded with nuts and is baked in a special mold. Yum!
The AMASerena’s executive chef, Putu Krishna, notes that increasingly passengers want to sample foods from the regions they are visiting. Among the most popular, he said, is German Schnitzel and apple strudel and French Coq au Vin on this cruise. As much as possible, he said, the food is sourced locally and when kids are on board, he goes to their tables and encourages them to try the local options. The older ones typically do, he said, while the youngest prefer chicken tenders or pizza.
I enjoy that the menus include a history of the local dish. For example, we learn that while Saurbraten is considered a national dish of Western Germany, the red-wine braised beef actually stems from the ancient Romans who traveled with their meat preserved in Wine.
Apple Strudel dates back to 1697 when it was one of the most fashionable deserts of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Coq Au Vin, the French chicken dish cooked in wine, is said to date back to the year 52 BC when the Gallic leader Vercingetorix sent Julius Caesar, the Roman emperor, a rooster, the symbol of French fighting spirit. Caesar invited his opponent to dine with him and served him the rooster cooked in wine.
The Bienenstitch-bee sting cake, the most famous in the Rhine Area, is said to be based on a 15th century dispute between the citizens of Linz am Rhein and the neighboring town of Andermach when the Emperor Frederick III transferred a toll from Linz to Andermach. The Linz citizens were so angry that they tried to attack their neighbors while they slept. But two boys were out walking nibbling honey and saw the marauders. They threw the hives at them, causing them to run away covered in bee stings. The Andermach celebrated with this delicious cake made with almonds, vanilla custard,and butter cream.
It seems that once people try a river cruise they are hooked— the food, the intimacy of the ship, the crew, the excursions. Well over half on board are repeat passengers. “That is more and more typical,” Couto Gomes said.
The first-time river cruisers like The Voss sisters are already asking their fellow cruisers where to go next. “For sure another one together,” Amanda Voss said. “I don’t know if I will go back to ocean cruising.”