By Heidi Sarna.
I just got off the River Empress after a weeklong cruise with my family on the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland, to Amsterdam. Yes, that’s right, a Europe river cruise with a pair of 13-year-old boys! My husband and I were excited to do Uniworld Cruises’ “Castles of the Rhine” itinerary while my boys had tried to convince me to book a big oceangoing ship with ping pong tables and a basketball court and a pizzeria and hundreds of other kids.
Luckily I’m still the boss.
Turns out, we all had a great time and it proved to me that an intimate Europe river cruise can indeed be a fun family-friendly affair. Disney thinks so too, they just finished up a series of Danube River cruises on a boat chartered from AMA Waterways. But that’s another story.
Uniworld scheduled 16 special family cruises in 2016 (with 22 planned for 2017) and we sampled one of them. Nearly 40 kids under 18 were aboard the 130-passenger River Empress on our July 20th cruise and thanks to a PlayStation gaming console taking pride of place in a playroom occupying the ship’s library for the week, the kids had something to do and a place to hang out! Two extra crewmembers were on board to supervise special activities for the younger kids, like face painting and knot tying, and to host a kids’ table at dinner. By day 2, there was a posse of about 15 to 20 kids between the ages of 5 and 14 who became fast friends. We were set.
As is the norm for river cruises, we spent part of each day on shore exploring the charming medieval towns and cities that flank the Rhine, two on the French side (Colmar and Strasbourg) and rest on the German side (Speyer, Rudesheim, Boppard, Koblenz and Cologne). Our favorites were the embarkation port of Basel where we spent an extra day before the cruise, and we loved Strasbourg, Speyer, Rudesheim and cruising past the castles of the curving Middle Rhine region. The River Empress carries a fleet of bicycles on board that we rode nearly every day on bike paths along the river; it was one of the highlights of the week. The cruise ended in Amsterdam, one of my favorite cities in the whole wide world, where we explored the museums, rode the trams and walked for miles and miles along its network of canals marveling at just how many bicycles one city could contain.
On board, the 151-square-foot cabins were luxurious and the movie selection tops, the restaurant retro chic with its red upholstery, and the lounge and bar an elegant place with damask and a bit of frill. Service was excellent and the food was very good, including the regional fare. The all-inclusive rates mean all drinks are included (let me tell you, I grew verrrry fond of the Sekt German sparking wine!), all tips on the boat and off, and several shore excursion options per day.
Below are some photos to show you what I mean. I’ve got a lot more to report and I’ll be back soon with a full feature article on my fab family river cruise and several other related mini articles as well.
Auf Wiedersehen for now!
Uniworld’s 130-passenger River Empress. * Heidi Sarna
Strasbourg takes your breath away. * Heidi Sarna
Castles of the Middle Rhine are a photo fest. * Heidi Sarna
Gorgeous Speyer street scene. * Heidi Sarna
Biking along the Rhine in Basel before the it’s time to sail. * Heidi Sarna
Castles of the Middle Rhine. * Heidi Sarna
Hi little Rhine way down below, near Rudesheim. * Heidi Sarna
Local Speyer beer, YUM! * Heidi Sarna
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HEIDI SARNA
