The value-led Danube cruise that feels like an upmarket all-inclusive
Agents joining APT Travelmarvel’s Vega for a trade fam in the heart of Europe discover a modern ship, centuries of history and excellent value for money
They say there’s an Irish bar in every city. The one I’m in has been in three European cities in one week. It’s at the stern of APT Travelmarvel’s new ship Vega, and the green leather banquets where I’m enjoying soup and toasties face a moving river view.
Named McGeary’s after APT’s owner, the pub is a unique feature of this Contemporary Class vessel, which I’ve joined for part of the Delightful Danube cruise between Budapest and Nuremberg.
Elsewhere, the look is tastefully modern. I love the illuminated main bar, the unfussy silver-toned carpet with foot-level lighting in the corridors and the smart, spacious shower in my French Balcony Suite.
It’s late November, so I press the button to lower my window to balcony height only once. The weather doesn’t hinder my enjoyment of almost daily included excursions however, a generous touch as Travelmarvel is a value-led four-star brand. It’s less familiar in the UK than Australia, and APT’s head of sales and business development Brad Bennetts says agents will be key to raising its profile. “75% of what we do is through the trade anyway,” he points out, “because there’s price parity no one’s trying to take business away.”
On my first afternoon, a specialist guide takes us around lofty Melk Abbey where the European aristocracy would once break religious pilgrimages to sleep under stuccoed ceilings. They worshipped in similar comfort from theatre-style boxes in the spectacular church where frescoes, red marble columns and golden cherubs compete for attention.
FESTIVE FORAY
Later, we catch the just-opened Christmas market at Linz. It’s one of several stops where the town is walkable from the ship. Within five minutes, I’m sipping gluhwein amid stalls selling glass ornaments and iced gingerbread hearts.
Besides Travelmarvel’s free excursions are optional Select Experiences, and I join one into the Czech Republic. There are squeals from the Australian passengers as we pass through countryside lightly dusted with snow, then fairy-tale delights for us all when we arrive in Unesco-listed Cesky Krumlov.
Like a pint-sized Prague, it has quaint streets and a castle overlooking a river. As we walk through courtyards decorated with 16th-century frescoes, we hear eccentric tales of how bears came to live in the castle moat and a king fatally overdosed on an ancient form of Viagra!
Late autumn colours still linger between ribbons of mist on the wooded slopes of the Danube Valley as we sail, enthralled, towards Passau for tales of Bavarian culture and boozy hot chocolate in another Christmas market.
There’s a particularly good vista from another of Vega’s unique features, a conservatory behind automatic glass doors between the lounge and bow deck. I snuggle under a blanket in an armchair here to watch as we enter a lock. Even the sun deck sees some action when the travel agents onboard hit the spa pool in bikinis and bobble hats.
Back in the lounge, besides self-serve hot drinks, daily elevenses and afternoon tea are included. These often mirror local traditions and for Passau we’re recreating fruschoppen – post-church sausages and beer.
APPETITE FOR EXPLORATION
It’s not long since I hit the breakfast omelette station and I know it’s best to save some appetite. Though lighter fare is available in the lounge or McGeary’s, the all-inclusive lunch in the Constellations restaurant is a four-course affair, as is dinner. Here, the rich soups are a highlight and I also enjoy some pleasingly unfamiliar fish dishes.
Regular beer, wine and soft drinks are included with meals while, at the bar, even cocktail prices are a reasonable €6.50. We’re treated to extra drinks credit the night when quizzes and charades make way for a visiting German oompah band.
At Nuremberg I browse for homemade decorations and stollen cake in our final Christmas market. It’s a surprise to many when our guide tells us the surrounding heritage streets were reconstructed after extensive bombing in the Second World War.
The day continues in sobering mood as we’re taken past the courthouse that hosted the Nuremburg Trials and on to the outlying Zeppelin Fields. While many sites marking Nazi atrocities remain, this alone is linked to their rise. In a part-concreted area four times the size of New York’s Central Park our guide describes how, with mass campsites and epic searchlight shows, rallies here became a form of malignant festival, building Hitler’s cult. It’s a sweet irony that musicians of Jewish heritage, including Bob Dylan, have since played gigs from the dictator’s balcony.
As I conclude my last fascinating free excursion and head to the airport, Vega passengers cruising a second week are transferred to a sister ship. Polaris and Capella are clones of Vega, and the three 2022 newcomers were built with sporadic low river levels in mind.
With water low on a stretch beyond Passau, the carefully explained ship swap is put into practice. Further up the Danube, my Vega shipmates will enter cabins on Polaris identical down to the number, while Polaris’s passengers board Vega to continue the other way. It’s another clever Travelmarvel twist in action.
Book it: Travelmarvel’s nine-day Delightful Danube cruise from Budapest to Nuremberg costs from £1,695pp for 2023 including flights, eight nights’ accommodation, tips, 22 meals and complimentary soft drinks, beer and local wine with lunch and dinner onboard. aptouring.co.uk
Agent feedback
Dawn Woodward, Personal Travel Agent: “Having two bars is different – it’s nice to have that choice. I like the contemporary style, big picture windows and the conservatory. The mix [with Aussies] I think is lovely… we have the same sense of humour. A lot of people won’t realise how much is included; you have an excursion [nearly] every day.”
Jade McAssey, Bolsover Cruise Club: “Vega feels very modern, and it has USPs like the Irish bar. The level of service is really good, and the fact you can speak to the captain feels personal. My highlights were Melk Abbey and Cesky Krumlov. It’s good to have tour guides who really know what they’re talking about.”
Martin Sandland-Owen, Martin’s Holiday Village: “What I haven’t seen before is a conservatory area, then an outside area beyond. The use of space is amazing. I’ve booked APT but not Travelmarvel before. Even at this end of the market the inclusions are good; you’ve not got your credit card out for little bits. You might just do the additional excursions like Cesky Krumlov, which is like a fairy tale.”
Travelmarvel spotlight
Smarter: Travelmarvel voyages are marketed to Australian, New Zealand, British and Irish cruisers. Recommend them as reunion holidays for families that straddle both hemispheres.
Better: Upgrade Delightful Danube voyages with Select Experiences: a Vienna concert, Cesky Krumlov excursion or Sound of Music Salzburg tour.
Fairer: Passengers can meet locals for tea through a home-hosting programme and explore independently using bikes carried onboard.
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