The lap of luxury

 

The ride is smooth and quiet with no vibrations or even a sense of the engines running somewhere down below. The HVAC system is quieter than most hotel rooms. The lack of motion is heavenly, if you are prone to seasickness. The rooms are sound proof, and even the gentle lapping of water goes silent when we close the balcony door.

Our cabin (I should say stateroom) is a peaceful haven. Viking cruises are intensely social affairs, from the group tours to the communal meals. You soon make new friends.

The room is cleaned twice a day with fresh towels and bottled water. A 24 hour coffee and tea station is a few steps away. Pretty much anything you want is instantly indulged.

But if you’re felling anti-social, you can watch the bow of the ship from your stateroom television.

There are many locks on the Rhine, and occasionally this is the view from your balcony.

And in Strasbourg, we were tied to another identical Viking longship. This happens occasionally on the Rhine, but most of our stops are small towns, so perhaps not as often as other river cruises, where the boats stack up in large harbors. 

This  morning in Speyer, we woke up to a riverbank scene and the sound of birds singing. So many birds in Europe. In some places, you can walk right to town.

A few words about the food. Glad I have some stretchy pants. Breakfast is a buffet with a huge selection of hot and cold foods. You can also order items like pancakes and egg Benedict from the kitchen. Lunch is casual and you can order sandwiches, soup, salads and hot entrees. Wine and beer is included at every sitting. Between meals, the bar will gladly help you out. 

Dinner is a three course meal, served by waiters, although last night we had German food buffet. The menu above was just the main course meats. Many, many more things on top of that were offered. People love buffets (we don’t) and piled their plates high. The waiter brought us each a “sample plate” right to the table which was perfect so we didn’t have to stand in line. 

And last but not least. We splurged on the laundry service (12 days is a long trip) and our clothes came back within 24 hours, perfectly folded in beautiful boxes. All John’s shirts were pressed and hung in the closet. 

Return to reality will be cruel.