APT River Cruises & Tours
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Not as good as anticipated
APT Travel Marvel European Gems August 2023 Having completed a number of APT river cruises in Europe we have just completed our first with Travel Marvel in sailing on MV Capella from Amsterdam to Budapest starting on 24th July 2023. The vessel is near new and looks very smart with several improvements over earlier vessels in some areas. Unfortunately, there are no usb connectors in the cabins which is strange for such a new ship. There are a few usb ports hidden away in public areas. The wifi was good when connected but we found our devices disconnected frequently and with auto connect not working, we were typing in the log in details multiple times each day. The food was excellent with a varied menu. Free barista coffee was supposed to be available from the bar during breakfast hours, but it took three days of arguments before the staff stopped trying to charge guests! There was also a spell when the ship was out of milk, so we purchased a carton of milk for our drinks (which is bizarre on a cruise) but this proved useful for our final coffees before leaving since milk was once again in limited supply. We found the public areas were often too cold and upon mentioning it to the front desk we were told it would be fine once the area was full of people, but it was still cold for most of the cruise. In the meantime, we wore sweaters as it was cool weather for much of the trip and noted that others were doing the same. There were no problems with the temperature in the cabin! The major difference between APT and Travel Marvel cruises is the items included with one brand versus the other. We probably won’t pick TM again due to these differences. TM includes only a basic tour in most locations (with no luxuries such as an included coffee break) although there are optional extra cost tours for going further afield. We really enjoyed the included afternoon tea and cake event with a German family in Miltenberg – very informative and stimulating with genuine home baked cakes! We also found the local guides to be exceptionally good in a couple of trips. On the first couple of days, we wondered if we’d made a big mistake as a party of Travel Agents from Ireland appeared to assume that it was a party boat with lots of noise spoiling paying customers enjoyment both in the lounge, on the sun deck and in the dining room. Fortunately, the TAs only stayed on for a few days but APT need to think long and hard about the effect of such parties on their loyal clientele. If there was an APT hostess involved with this activity, then some urgent retraining is needed. Another incident which clearly illustrated the limitations of the TM brand - one of the included trip options was a bike ride from Melk to Dürnstein. Having completed this same excursion on a previous APT trip (but in the opposite direction) we were looking forward to doing it again. Upon seeing that the ship’s small wheel folding bikes were to be used I opted out on the grounds that these appeared totally unsuitable for a 35 plus km ride, but my wife decided to continue. The ride was nothing short of a disaster. Virtually all guests condemned the bikes particularly the saddles! It was noted that the bikes did not have lights which mattered on a dull afternoon! The tour was led by the entertainment team who tried their best (it was their first trip too) but still managed to go the wrong way at one point (Google Maps was providing the directions), so the trip took almost 4 hours without any refreshment stop. This contrasts with previous APT trips where suitable hired bikes were used along with local guides taking 3 hours including a relaxed 30-minute refreshment stop. The APT docking location is hardly convenient in Cologne being located in a remote dock on the opposite side of the main town. The company don’t control the weather but there were only two half days of sunny sailing on the top deck (front lower half – because of course the sun deck has to be lowered/cleared because of the bridges for the majority of the trip). Within minutes of commenting that the upper deck on rival cruise boats appeared to be fully operational the crew started to reassemble ours! The damp cool weather meant we had an outbreak of coughs, cold and flu with some people choosing to isolate to try and prevent passing it on. The ship is well equipped with sanitisers everywhere but not everyone uses them. It also should be borne in mind that doing the trip in high summer means that some attractions are closed (for example, the Lippizaners in the Spanish Riding School go to the beach too, so if this might be a problem for you, check the dates online).