Riviera Travel
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Great Cruise but noisy cabin
We have just returned from a Riviera River Cruise on the Rhine and Moselle abord MV Emily Bronte. It was our first cruise and, overall, we had a lovely time. First, the good points. The food and drinks, were excellent, with plenty of choice and I am sure we gained the odd kilo! The ship’s staff were very caring and helpful, with politeness and good service all round. Also, Riviera use local guides at the towns we moored at, and these were excellent. However, if we ever went again, we would take care to book early, as the position of your cabin on the vessel will probably impact on your enjoyment. We had Cabin 234, on Ruby Deck, which was almost all there was left when we booked. This cabin was towards the stern of the ship and can be affected by engine noise. Our first night, when the ship was going upstream and working hard, meant we had almost no sleep, with glass shelves in the cabin keeping up a continuous rattling, with the cabin and our bed vibrating with shaft noise from the engines. We subsequently bought noise-cancelling ear buds, which helped. Also, when the ship is moored alongside another vessel, we were affected by their machinery, which being at their stern, was alongside our windows and was running continuously. After raising this with the Cruise Director, we were allowed to sleep in a vacant lower deck cabin for the night in question, which happened to be unoccupied, for which we were very grateful. I think Riviera should recognise this situation and discount the stern cabins on Ruby Deck, which currently are priced identically, regardless of their position on the deck. However, this gave us a chance to sample these lower-deck cabins, which, to us, are very claustrophobic, with small narrow windows, just above the waterline. Due to operating constraints by the river authorities, which are clearly beyond Riviera’s control, we found the cruise itinerary had to be adjusted by the cruise director on a daily basis. What you are sent by Riviera before you start the cruise should be seen as a basic guide, not necessarily in the order you will experience. Our cruise itinerary was reprinted on a daily basis. One casualty was that the wine tasting opportunity was unfortunately cancelled, which considering you are sailing past almost countless vineyards, was a disappointment. However, we arranged our own wine tasting when we called at Bernkastel, with the help of one of the local guides, which turned out to be a real highlight of our cruise. There were 130 different Moselle-grown wines to sample, and we tried lots! We travelled via Heathrow to Cologne, on British Airways, and this was smooth and pleasant. Riviera arranged coach transfers, which were well organised. So, in summary, a pleasant holiday once you understand and manage the potential for cabin noise and vibration.