Imagine floating along a river watching the beautiful European countryside pass by, this magical experience can be enjoyed on a River Cruise with a variety of Cruise Companies. Jacqueline travelled as a guest of Travelmarvel who have been operating river cruises in Europe since 2012 and the company has been around for 30 years so there is plenty of experience to offer you an unforgettable experience.
Jacqueline says – I was lucky enough to enjoy this unforgettable experience in October and it is certainly not one I will forget. The expertise of this company and their staff is 5 Star without the 5 Star price tag! I began my journey in the German city of Nuremberg in the stunning Bavarian region where we travelled south along the beautiful Danube River stopping in Regensburg, Passau, Melk, Durnstein, Vienna and ending our journey in Hungary’s capital of Budapest.
Along our journey Travelmarvel have carefully selected city tours and day tours to ensure you make the most of your time in these great destinations, many of them are included in your Cruise price and for those that want to enhance their journey the optional excursions are well worth the extra expense.
A couple of the optional excursions that I was able to experience was a full day trip to Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, what an adorably quaint little place and would have to be one of the most picturesque towns in Europe with plenty of photo opportunities! You could certainly spend hours and hours wandering the pretty little cobblestone streets admiring the gothic, baroque and renaissance elements in the architecture all through this little town.
The other excursion I chose was a visit to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia but one of the smallest capital cities in all of Europe. Picture restaurants galore, little markets, street music and entertainment which gives this lovely city an amazing vibe.
Back onboard our floating hotel, the friendly faces of the staff who attend to every little detail the guests desire, it is a very homely feeling arriving back on board to a cold drink and a “welcome home” greeting from the staff and because of the size of a river ship you do get to know some of the staff quite well, even the Captain will join in the festivities in the evening for a quick chat at the pre-dinner drinks.
The food served onboard was lovely and very plentiful and certainly not a massive buffet that some people expect from Cruises. I felt like I was dining in a small restaurant with different choices each night and for those with dietary requirements this was also catered for.
During our Travelmarvel river cruise we had the hardest working Cruise Director who looked after each and every guest onboard no matter what the request, this I feel is very important for a stress free relaxing holiday. One activity our Cruise Director arranged for us was the hire of bicycles which gave those who like to be active the chance to cycle along the stunning Danube River between the towns of Melk and Durnstein a very picturesque part of the river. The highlight for me doing this apart from making it to the end after the 28km ride was cycling right through the middle of a beautiful vineyard with mountains towering over and the sound of silence in the Austrian countryside.
