APT River Cruises & Tours
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APT's European Gems River Cruise
We have just returned from APT’s European Gems Amsterdam to Budapest river cruise. The first time this year that their new boat Polaris has managed to go the whole distance due to draught conditions. This was remedied by the amount of rain that we brought with us. Of the 15 days it only rained on 9 of them! ( Photo's of trips on Tripadviser, of Boat on FB) That said we made the whole way and it stayed dry for the Rhine Gorge and Danube stretch where the camera got a work out. There are over 100 locks which allow this traverse of Europe and the skill which they are navigated through is shown that they are barely noticed although some like the low bridges do need the decks to be cleared and the bridge, astoundingly, to be lowered.. We were greeted in Amsterdam airport ( not a pleasant experience now Brexit has separated the UK from Europe) and taken to the Polaris, then looked after until we flew out from Budapest. The Polaris itself is well thought out and designed for the task it is given. Just wide enough to fit through all the locks, just high enough to fit under the bridges. Sometimes a scrapping sound in the night is where a lick of paint is left on the walls of one of the locks. The rooms, while not huge, are spacious, with the balcony windows lowering ( given the weather) to create a french balcony. There was obviously a decision made not to include USB charging sockets so adapters are still needed. The beds are comfortable and high enough for cases to fit underneath. Check your case depth just to make sure, standard airline sizes will be no problem. The bathrooms are well stocked with everything except toothpaste and suffer none of the flooded shower issues common when things haven't been thought through. Its a river boat so all the corridors are not that long. Reception functions as the central hub which leads to lounge /bar and dining room. The upper deck is not always accessible due to external issues ( such as bridges) or in our case the rain. The lounge area is spacious and never seemed crowded there was always more than enough seating and we never strayed up to the other bar except to check it out. The food varied from very good restaurant standard to good if unimaginative hotel standard. Breakfast is well supplied and laid out with both lunch and dinner having at least 4 courses plus or buffet options. The staff were generally exceptional with Yanos the cruise director being something of a miracle worker. We started with low water levels which led to one of the propellers being damaged Yanos arranged for the repair to seem seamless with only a slight amount of busing to Vienna late in the cruise while repairs were carried out. The off boat Tours were hampered by the weather. The purchasable extra tours are also dependant upon take up numbers which is one of the reasons they can only be booked once you get on board. There is obviously a pressure to decide that comes with this but the forthcoming changes to APTs web site will hopefully help you decide what you want to do. Highlights for us were Amsterdam canal cruise, Melk Abbey and Vienna. The cable car view over the Rhine is something to try if walking is no issue. All escorted tours had audio guides along with escorts and transport to and from the site. For those of you that are Ocean cruisers the small size of the vessel means two or three coach maximum on some of the trips only one coach. Some of the towns were easily walked from the boat but this depends on berthing spot. Following previous cruises on Cruise tracker gives some idea but only an idea. Do not assume that you will be at a certain berth. For our first river cruise in decades it was an experience we won’t forget and the Travel Marvel crew made it better. Next time we’ll take more water proof clothing or go somewhere warmer.