2016 marks the fifth
year of operation for Hebridean River Cruises on board Royal Crown. During this time I have seen many pictures of
the vessel in our brochures and in photographs taken by our guests and crew,
however until now I had not seen the ship in her full glory.
I was lucky enough to
be offered the chance to take a familiarisation visit to the ship and join the
Flavours of the Rhine, Moselle and Saar cruise in July this year. I thought I knew what to expect of the ship
but what I was not prepared for was the similarity between this vessel and our
very own Hebridean Princess. Both ships
have a similar traditional style with gleaming brass and polished wood
panelling in abundance, both exude the same relaxed, friendly ambience and warm
welcome. They are comparable also in the
small number of guests they carry and the all-inclusive nature of the cruises.
Hebridean’s legendary
standards of care, service and attention to detail also extends to the river
cruises with all itineraries including accompanied travel to and from the ship
by air from London Heathrow or, on selected cruises, by Eurostar from London St
Pancras.
Our experience began
with a very warm welcome at Heathrow airport from Hebridean Princess Chief
Purser David Indge who was acting as Hebridean Host for our cruise, and lunch
at the Gordon Ramsay Plane Food restaurant prior to boarding our British
Airways flight to Amsterdam.
On arrival at
Amsterdam we were met by our local guides and escorted to the coach for the
transfer to the ship which was berthed right in the centre of the city,
opposite the Central train station. We
were welcomed on board by our Cruise Director, Sheila Salmon. Sheila has many years of experience sailing
the rivers of Europe, is multi-lingual and makes sure that everything happens
as and when it should! We were shown to
our cabin and our luggage was delivered minutes later by members of the ship’s
crew for whom nothing was too much trouble and everything was delivered with a
smile.
Once we had settled in
to our cabin we made our way to The Lounge for a cup of afternoon tea, or
something a little stronger if preferred!
After exploring the ship it was time to freshen up for dinner and,
following an introductory talk by our Hebridean Host Dave Indge and a safety
briefing by the Captain, we experienced our first taste of Royal Crown cuisine
at dinner.
In contrast to
Hebridean Princess, there are no tables for 2 on board Royal Crown but a free
seating policy and tables for 6 or 8 makes for a very friendly and sociable
atmosphere at meal times with all guests, and the Hebridean Rivers team,
getting to know each other and share tales of previous cruise experiences. The cuisine, however, was redolent of that on
Hebridean Princess, with beautifully prepared and tasty dishes delivered with
very efficient service, and the portion sizes neither too big or too small.
There are 3 grades of
cabins on board Royal Crown arranged over 2 decks. The Royal Suites are located on the same deck
as the public areas and feature large picture windows and a seating area, the
Premium and Deluxe cabins are on the deck below and have twin portholes. All the cabins are well appointed with en
suite shower rooms, cleverly designed to make the most of the available space
and enhanced with Hebridean slippers, bathrobes and Molton Brown toiletries.
During our cruise we
were blessed with lots of sunny weather and blue skies so the social hub of the
ship was the large Sun Deck which had ample space for all guests to relax and
enjoy the superb scenery as we gently cruised along. The ever-smiling crew were always on hand to
provide us with liquid refreshments whenever we required them and one lunch
time we enjoyed a fabulous deck barbecue.
Our days seemed to
strike a perfect balance of tranquil cruising and visits to picturesque towns
and cities with knowledgeable local guides to point out the highlights and
regale us with historic tales. In
keeping with the theme of the cruise many of our visits were food and drink
related and we tasted cheese in Edam, beer and chocolate in Cologne and wine
and mustard on the Moselle!
Our Guest Speaker
France Bissell revealed her passion for food at a series of 3 lectures during
the cruise which were very well received, and she was even kind enough to share
a selection of her own recipes in booklets which were a lovely memento of the
cruise. I, for one, cannot wait to get
cooking!
Entertainment on board
is provided by Hebridean’s Musician, Will Marshall, who plays the piano before
and after dinner, plays in the Haggis at
the Farewell Gala Dinner on his accordion and also performs Robert Burns’
Address to the Haggis. Will also tested
our little grey cells with a quiz and ‘Call My Bluff’ which brought out the competitive
spirit in some of us.
Royal Crown is a
lovely ship with a very happy and efficient crew, and a river cruise is an
excellent way to visit some of the most scenic and off the beaten track parts
of Europe. Add to this a little touch of
Hebridean magic and I am sure you will agree that a Hebridean River Cruise most
certainly is the relaxing way to cruise.
By Louise Pratt - Sales Consultant
