The Frequent Flier

Sailing the Rhine
By: Christine O. Cunanan

The delights of a slow riverboat through Europe

I’m typing this out on my Macintosh as our riverboat sails today along the Rhine river from the historic city of Speyer to the wine-and-party town of Rudesheim amidst gloriously sunny weather. My husband and I are both avid cruisers, and this time we opted for a river cruise instead of the usual ocean voyage. We boarded our boat in Basel, Switzerland and are spending a week slowly gliding our way through Germany towards the port of Amsterdam.

Compared to the glamour and excitement of the luxury ocean cruises, with their formal dinners, Broadway shows, and on-board casinos, river cruises are all about small-town warmth and modest comfort. Size has much to do with it, of course, as river boats are constrained by the width of rivers and of the locks, which control the smooth flow of water. We’re passing through 14 locks on our Basel-Amsterdam route and our boat barely makes it through some locks without bumping the sides.

Meanwhile, sea vessels are all about ego, although I personally prefer the smaller cruise lines which have 250 passengers at most, compared to the super ships that are really more floating cities than passenger vessels!. Our river boat has only 3 short decks vs. the kilometer-long 12 or 14 decks on some ocean ships, and each nook on the ship is so wellplaced that I cannot find even one unused spare square meter of space. The cabin rooms too are testaments to excellent space planning. The rooms are only as big as some people’s dressing rooms, but within half an hour of unpacking, we had found satisfactory storage for every clothing or cosmetic in our tiny closet of a room, and had our five luggages out of sight under the bed.

Life onboard is also more relaxed than on an ocean liner, and again, it’s all about space. Riverboat cabinets won’t hold evening gowns and tuxedoes, so almost all meals are informal save for the captain’s dinners. This promotes a jovial camaraderie -- people certainly seem friendlier in jeans and t-shirts than in gowns and diamonds. And because this ship is small and there’s not much to do – no chaotic schedules involving yoga in the gym, lectures in the theater, bridge in the cardroom and cooking demonstrations in the galley all at 10 a.m. – you’re more apt to spend time getting to know fellow passengers when you’re not out sightseeing. One of the few places to hang out is the top deck, where picturesque villages and snippets of regular life pass by as you lie on sunbeds. It’s also the main place to make new friends.

Due to space constraints, dining on a river boat is mostly shared tables, enabling you to meet practically the entire ship by the end of the week. On this particular cruise, my husband and I are the only ones from Asia, with the majority of cruisers coming from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. On our first evening, we sat with Jenny and Neil, a couple from Rotorua, New Zealand, who welcome Asian exchange students into their home every year. Meanwhile yesterday, at lunch in Heidelberg, we ate with a retired pilot from Dallas who flew B-52 planes in the Vietnam War. Yesterday’s dinner onboard was with Willy and Jill from the Canadian side of Lake Superior. Willy was once a famous hockey player whose story appeared in the cult movie “Slap Shot” starring Paul Newman. Meeting such people made the cruise so much more enjoyable.