Travellers of a Certain Age - the Spirit of Adventure

Travellers of a Certain Age - 

The Rhine Cruise

I mean did hubby really think I was ready for a Shearings' Cruise? Weren't they for, ummmm quite frankly, older people?  

I guess you could say we are both edging towards retirement, but my feathers were really ruffled when hubby Bruce thrust a newspaper at me saying, ' How do you fancy this then?'

Now the fact that he'd volunteered any kind of holiday suggestion is quite something, so I had to sit up and pay attention. I couldn't have him claiming a 'senior moment', now could I? So I charged down to our local travel agent and booked it pronto.

The cruise took us down the Rhine at the height of summer and through no-less than three different countries, Switzerland, France and Germany, so it really was an opportunity too good to miss.

 We were to pick up the MPS Rotterdam in Basel, an old stomping ground of mine, but our cruise also included Strasbourg, which has been on my to do list for ages, as well as Breisach, Speyer, Rudesheim, Bonn, to name a few others.

And if I had any doubts about travelling with 'people of a certain age', well they were quickly dispelled as we got to know some lovely people who had the same love of life, and spirit of adventure I did.

The Rotterdam:

This traveller of a certain age, arrived in Basel Wednesday afternoon a bit weary after our long coach journey. But my heart warmed straight away to the familiar clanking of its trams as they rumbled across the Mittlere Brucke - the bridge straddling the Rhine right in front of us, and I couldn't wait to get going.

I have to admit to being just a tad disappointed when I realised ours was the smaller, much smaller, of the two boats moored on the Rhine, especially when the larger one glided majestically off down stream.

It didn't take me long to appreciate big isn't always the best though.  Not long after, we passed our elegant friend moored once more by the Rhine, but surrounded by a swarm of coaches dropping off their passengers to join the craft. I realised that Rotterdam's passenger capacity of just 107 people suited me much better, by creating a warm, friendly family-like atmosphere.

It's furnished throughout in a sparkling wooden trim and lots of sparkling brass, reminding me of the elegance of a bygone era.  Nonetheless, this was somewhere to relax and enjoy catching up and sharing experiences with fellow passengers at the end of the day.  The staff always greeted us with a smile and really pushed the boat out (!) when I realised my order for wheat and gluten free food hadn't got through. It took them now time at all to sort it all out. I can't fault them at all they were wonderful travelling companions in their own right.

Things that go clunk in the night:

It can be challenging settling into a new environment when you don't know quite what to expect and our cruise was no exception, But my thanks goes out to the  captain for keeping us up to date. It turns out that we were to be subjected to more than our fair share of 'things that go clunk in the night' when we first set sail. This did nothing for my beauty sleep, and breakfast saw a few sleepy mumbles and grumbles from some fellow travellers, too.

The captain called us together to explain why we were sailing on through the night..  Apparently the water levels on the river were extremely low, which meant we had to get through a series of locks as quickly as possible. Nonetheless we were lucky enough to make a few extra stop offs further down stream once the emergency was over. And I loved them and seized the opportunity with both hands to do a bit more exploring.

We'd also make sure our cabin wasn't next to the gang plank just in case though because it creaked and groaned its way into action at the dead of night when we anchored. It wasn't normal practice though. Once we got through the locks the problem eased. 

We had a very comfortable cabin, but next time would make sure it wasn't below the lounge where the party was in full swing when we tried for an early night. But that's not to complain about the entertainment which was home spun but great fun.

Best of both worlds:

I felt this cruise offered me the best of both worlds:  the freedom of the river as well as the freedom of the road. We were travelling miles down the Rhine, but each evening had a familiar place to come home to at the end of an eventful day exploring new terrain.

The Rotterdam offers an all inclusive package.  What I thought might be restricting turned out to be a blessing in disguise.  We could spend the morning relaxing on deck or in the lounge, have a leisurely lunch before taking off to explore. Alternatively we could spend the day on shore at our leisure sampling all the local delicacies before returning to the ship for all the fun of the evening.

This traveller of a certain age is ready to go back for second helpings and can hardly wait to go back on the river once more.

http://www.shearings.com/our-holidays/river-cruises