Rhine river cruise in the rain a delight thanks to sunny attitudes, wonderful ship

A funicular takes visitors across the Rhine to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress opposite Koblenz at the confluence of the Rhine and the Moselle rivers, often called the “German Corner.” –Janet Podolak

When I saw Vegemite on the expansive breakfast buffet, I realized those vaguely British accents I’d been hearing on the Opal were Australian, not English.

Vegemite — a paste made from brewer’s yeast and spices and viewed by Australians as an essential food — is often spread on breakfast toast with butter and, sometimes, cheese. It’s definitely an acquired taste.

There it was, Vegemite — right next to the toaster and numerous bread choices, right by the six varieties of cheese offered for breakfasts. Pretty typical, it turned out, of the extraordinary attention to every detail aboard this ship.

The fine Valrhona chocolates — a different one every night — placed at evening turndown showed the line’s devotion to quality.

I knew Scenic Cruise Line was Australian-owned, so it was with delightful anticipation to learn that many of my fellow passengers on this mid-June voyage on the Rhine were Australians. I’d visited their country a couple of times and loved the people, who I found to be hearty, good-natured and great travelers.

Their cheerful optimism and good nature turned out to be a great component to this week long voyage, which was dogged by rain in port calls and along the river.

American passengers are increasing as the word about all-inclusive Scenic gets out, but the demographics of our cruise were 40 percent Australian, 20 percent Canadian, 20 percent British and 20 percent American. All were English-speaking, but it was none-the-less an international mix for the 167 passengers aboard.

Riverboats are long and have fewer decks, cabins and passengers than ocean cruise vessels. The riverboat experience is also without the casinos, Vegas-style shows and movie theaters of the larger ships. Shore excursions are included on many river cruises, and the demographic is slightly older and more sedate.

The Scenic Opal’s sleek design inspired its Spaceship nickname.
Werney Beyer

Many of the Opal’s 85 rooms, including ours, had a full-size balcony with a table and pair of chairs. The balcony converted into an all-weather lounge with the push of a button, raising a glass window over the open-to-the-air balcony.

Just as hurricanes impact cruise ships, rain — or the lack of — it impacts riverboat cruises. And because it’s not something that can be changed, the best tactic is to pack appropriately and to adopt a cheerful attitude. Rain affected the week-long cruise aboard the Opal, my first on a riverboat, from its beginning in Zurich to its conclusion in Amsterdam. But we all made the most of it.

An eye on European weather forecasts in the week before our cruise yielded images of flooded towns and torrential rains in southern Germany and France. The Louvre’s treasures were even evacuated in the face of the flooded Seine. I was worried that our ship wouldn’t be able to pass beneath bridges on the flooded Rhine or get through locks.

But our pre-cruise instructions arrived in leather-like folders containing our tickets and transfer vouchers to and from the ship. The cruise line also sent a small daypack for shore excursions and a sleep mask and earplugs for our overnight flight to Zurich. Given the wet weather and its potential impact on the cruise, just days before departure we were given the option of canceling for another cruise. But plans had been made and flights booked, and later we learned no one canceled.

Passengers on the Opal were to gather at an airport hotel for transfer to the ship, which we were to join in Basel, about an hour by road from Zurich. But, because the river was flooded, we had a 3.5-hour transfer to Mannheim to join the ship.

The Opal’s captain elected to not take the ship to Basel. He feared the rising river would trap us there and we would not be able to turn around and travel upstream toward Amsterdam because the water would be too high for the ship to pass beneath the bridges on this narrower section of the river.

Although there was some grumbling among passengers about the long bus ride to the ship, we were subsequently glad he made that decision. As we crossed the Rhine, we passed several other boats immobilized by the flooding and could not reach the wider up-river part of the Rhine. One was a Viking ship — the cruise line everyone seems to know about when it comes to river cruising.

Rather than miss the ports of Strasbourg and Breisach, we were bussed back to them the next two days while spending the night aboard the Opal in Mannheim.

She turned out to be a beauty: long and sleek and suiting the “Spaceship” moniker given it by Scenic. As Cathie and I boarded, each of us was given a rose and escorted to our room, a balcony suite one deck down.

Cathie is a longtime friend from Mentor who joined me on this voyage. Our personal butler introduced himself and showed us the room’s many amenities, which included a small fridge with water and minibar wines and drinks replenished daily.

Cruises are truly all-inclusive on Scenic’s ships with all meals, beverages, use of electric bikes, one free laundry bag full of laundry, shore excursions and gratuities included for the week. The butler was at our beck and call for the entire voyage.

After checking in, some passengers quickly returned to the entry area, where the Panorama Lounge and bar were located. That area turned out to be the heart of the ship and the place to relax, enjoy a drink, take in the scenery or grab a snack or light lunch at the River Cafe. Near its entrance was a self-serve espresso-cappuccino-latte machine that became a favorite for Cathie and me. Most days we’d take turns grabbing a pair of hot coffee drinks and bringing them back to the cabin to enjoy on the balcony as we dressed for the day. Soon we overcame our self-consciousness about having a butler and called him for our morning coffee.

The cabin was so comfortable we often lingered there before going to breakfast. Since the Opal was cruising upriver toward Amsterdam, our portside cabin was on the water side of the ship most of the time. It was great to be able to lower our balcony window to check the outdoor temperature before getting dressed for the day.

One wonderful feature we didn’t fully appreciate until we went ashore were the pair of Scenic Tailormade GPS devices resting in chargers on a shelf.

With an umbrella to protect him from the drizzle, an Opal passenger listens intently to his personal GPS for a running commentary about Mid-Rhine castles and fortresses seen from the Sun Deck.
Janet Podolak

The personal hand-held devices can also be worn around the neck. Guides on shore excursions could communicate to us what we were seeing even in cathedrals where whispering was the appropriate mode. And when we went off on our own, the devices shared insights on what we were seeing with simple, straight forward directions pointing us to and from the ship, along with walking or biking times and distances, and even local services.

One passenger inadvertently got left behind on a shore excursion but thanks to his Tailormade the ship staff was able to quickly track him down. Those little babies are nothing short of magical.

They even allowed us to have our own self-paced, self-guided tours when we didn’t choose activities organized by the ship.

This tiny fortress on a flooded island in the middle of the Rhine dates from the 14th century. Erected to collect tolls from river traffic, its occupants stretched a large chain across the river to stop boats until the toll was paid. note the grapevines on the steep slope in the background.
Janet Podolak

The magic of the Tailormades was especially apparent on the scenic 20-some-mile section of the Middle Rhine, when most of us climbed to the Sun Deck for 360-degree views of the charming landscape peppered with precipitous vineyards, rugged fortresses, quaint villages and castle after castle. As each came into view, the headset of our Tailormades would recount lore of bygone days, including stories of imprisoned maidens, brave knights and landscapes that inspired Disney, as well as artists and poets. The Middle Rhine between Rudesheim and Koblenz is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Some passengers sat beneath umbrellas in the drizzle, listening intently to their headsets as they gazed around them on the Sun Deck. Others took refuge in their cabins or the Panorama Lounge for views accompanied by hot coffee and glasses of wine.

One memorable port call was at Koblenz, where we boarded a funicular for an aerial ride across the Rhine to visit the Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. The view of the confluence of the Moselle River was great as we crossed the river and we could see a rival riverboat below. I was uneasy to see the thunderheads building darkly in the near distance, knowing the funicular would be shut down if lightning threatened.

The fortress, a site of a castle since the 10th century, fended off many attacks until 1799, when the French army starved out its defenders. It was burned to the ground, and today’s fortress was built in 1817 when Koblenz was made into a garrison town by the Prussian army. The skies broke open as we learned the history, so we were guided to a snug room where a costumed accordion and saxophone duo played as beer was poured and snacks brought out.

The surprise stop, typical of the kinds of things planned for its guests by Scenic, lasted longer than anticipated because the funicular indeed was shut down by the storm. Dancing began as beer and pretzels were replenished, while cruise staff discussed how to get us back to the ship.

My later look at the river map revealed several bridges that a bus could have crossed to reach us, but fortunately, the sun came out and the funicular was resumed. We rushed to return, almost missing the rainbow that bloomed in the retreating raindrops. And soon we were back on the ship.