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In Part 1,  we described our boarding, and early settling in, on MS Avalon Visionary, the precursor to cruising the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam.

After the Champagne Welcome Reception, it was time for the Welcome Dinner in the ship’s beautiful restaurant.  Being a comfortable foursome, we immediately chose to sit at a table for six, to ensure we could begin to meet our fellow travellers.  As our one hundred and twenty two fellow travellers poured in, we immediately recognised that there were a number of well established groups.  Some even appeared to be ‘joined at the hip’, as one might say.  Eventually, we were joined by Pete and Carol from Wisconsin.  We learnt very quickly that they were on their delayed honeymoon. Long time friends, both formerly widowed and [we guessed] well into their seventies, they had been married just a few months.  It also emerged that they were travelling with two other couples, but by the time they reached the restaurant, they could not all sit together for this first meal.

No sooner seated than our wine glasses were filled (choice of red or white) and our entrees served. The wait-staff, several of them Indonesian, under the watchful eye of the Hungarian Maître d’, were a well drilled team, having been together since the beginning of the season. As conversation flowed, the noisy groups began to emerge, but the air was one of great good humour and ‘getting to know you’.

This meal seemed to be rather rushed. Barely had we finished a course than the plate would be removed and replaced by the next. While the wine kept flowing, of course! When Akos, our Maître d’, asked if we had enjoyed the meal, we assured him that we thought the food was beautiful, all five courses, but it was too rushed. His reply was instant “Tonight, yes, and it is deliberate. Some of these people have not slept for more than 24 hours, since leaving home in the USA. Tomorrow and for the rest of the cruise, dinner will be much more relaxed”.  And so it was.  Seems they know their customers well.  We liked Akos and would enjoy his ‘customer service’ every day.

Some five course meals can be a bit too much, but we were impressed with the sensible portion sizes, as well as the presentation. Most evenings we had a choice of soups, a choice of two or three entrees (above), a choice of three main courses (below) and a choice of desserts. As well, there would be a ‘healthy’ salad, and those with special dietary requirements were well looked after. Impressive when the meals are served to 126 people at one sitting.

One has to compliment our amazing chef, Michael. One night, New Zealand lamb was one of the main course choices. At our table, six out of six (Aussies) chose this option, and it was just beautiful. As Michael was passing, we asked how he handled the ‘free choice’ and how many had chosen the lamb. The answer was 77/126 chose the lamb, and he had predicted that to within one serve. As stated above, they know their job and their customers well! One wonders how the choice would vary if, for example, there were 126 Australians or 126 New Zealanders. Should have asked Michael at the time. He would have had an answer.

We would often see Pete & Carol again during the week, but needless to say, on the second night, their group of six were happily seated together. But so were we, with new friends. During the day, we had heard that familiar Aussie accent, and met up with a lovely couple from Mildura, a town on the Murray River which separates our state from its southern neighbour. Some days we would go our separate ways, but each evening, we would meet to dine & share our experiences of the day. You could say, “we clicked” with this couple.

A word about Avalon’s included (and optional) tours of the cities and towns we visited. Every passenger was issued with a headset for the duration of the cruise. This was used in conjunction with a receiver, which we picked up as we left the ship for each excursion. The guides, in turn, had a small radio transmitter, tuned to the same frequency. This enabled the guides to speak to their group. This system avoids the hassles we used to experience in crowded piazzas, when the guide had to shout to be heard by a closely shepherded group. Each day there were four groups, green for the less mobile, red, yellow and blue for the rest of us. We chose red on our first outing in Strasbourg. We were so delighted with our local guide that we decided red was our lucky colour [no real logic there!]. Being relatively close to the foyer and able to get there in time, we chose red for the rest of the week.

A red group guide awaits the stragglers for a walking tour of Mainz (below)

To his great credit, [and we assume in accordance with Avalon’s policy] our Tour Director did not pressure us to take any optional [read extra cost] tours, nor for that matter, any included tours.  Having said that, we had a tough decision on our first full day – The Maginot Line, Black Forest (think famous cake and cuckoo clocks) or Alsace Wine Trail. We chose the Alsace Wine Trail, and loved the experience, visiting a family owned winery at Mittelbergheim, as well as the village of Obernai which was covered in an earlier post. After touring the cellars, we were all settled in two rooms which oozed generations of history. There we were given an excellent wine tasting experience.  On other days when the optional tours did not appeal to us, we were able to take self guided tours using excellent maps provided for us.

Wine tasting at Boeckel, Vin d’Alsace, Mittelbergheim (below)

The wine tasting was another chance to chat to some of our fellow travellers, a couple of whom we recognised from one of the particularly noisy tables at our dinner the previous night. We established that one of the Canadians was a travel agent. She was travelling with her mother and about twenty others, who had booked with her agency.

While on the subject of fellow travellers, clearly we didn’t make it to speak to all. Here are our some of our favourites.

• a tall (185 cm or more) septuagenarian Canadian, who appeared double jointed in most joints. He gave us all great enjoyment on many occasions, especially on the dance floor. He said his name was Bill, but we could call him Guillaume, so I did (as well as having a few short conversations with him in French)
• the 60 year old (her admission) Canadian PE teacher, who danced like a teenager. Message – PE teachers are aerobically and physically very fit
• the man they called ‘monsignor’. We never found out if that was a real appellation or a nickname, but he was definitely leading a large contingent from a US religious body
• a ‘love life’ American lady, travelling with her mother. After the Black Forest tour, she came to dinner wearing a hat she purchased, which, according to local legend suggests that the wearer is single and available. The same lady agreed to her photo being taken, wearing a later purchase, on our chilly trip along the Lorelei section of the river.
• the retired London policeman and his wife. He had served in the same ‘suburb’ as where my father was born, so I learned from him about what that area is like now, a century later
• the four Kiwis – two couples representing different generations and who had met at a regular rural contest in NZ. Plenty of friendly banter, as you expect with our neighbours from across the ditch. They also agreed with us that the Avalon coffee was very weak, but we were informed that was how our US friends like it, and we were outnumbered
• the Aussie couple from Queensland, among the youngest on the boat. They were on a see the world trip, which made our four weeks away from home seem like the blink of an eye.

Our friend with her squirrel ensemble, which she assured us was very warm (above left) and a sample of the Black Forest Traditional hats (right). According to various web sources, black pompoms would signify a married lady. As gardeners and lovers of flowers, we were impressed by the displays at the reception desk (below left) and in the lounge (below right), refreshed each day. In the background is the on board pianist. 

Sometimes it was nice to wander back to the ship in our own time. After all, there is a limit to how much shopping one can do!  Some of the cruise passengers therefore missed out on the garbage detail. We had wondered about some of the logistics, such as how much fresh water the ship carried, how often food and fuel needed to be topped up. Here, in part anyway, was an answer.  Seemingly every male crew member was enlisted to carry the collected refuse, not through the dining or lounge areas, but up to the main deck, along and up again to the sky deck, then down again and away up the gang plank. and they kept coming….

The ‘garbage run’. Up from the kitchen area (above left), up to the Sky Deck (above right), down again to exit the ship (below left) and away to the truck via the gang plank (below right) 

After seven nights, we had travelled a few hundred kilometres along one of the world’s great rivers. We did it in great comfort. We ate splendid meals and consumed some delightful wines. We slept soundly in very comfortable beds. We met some lovely people and we were well looked after by the always pleasant crew.  You could say, “we did it in style”. Now, if only the coffee was a bit stronger ….!

Would we take such a cruise again? Absolutely.