"If you need anything at all," said Marian, "just hit the butler button and I will be there."
Those were pretty much the first words I remember hearing upon boarding the Crystal line's Danube River cruise recently, and they were an instant balm. After traveling alone for weeks, besieged by missed connections, stalled trains, a few near-death rental car experiences and my own unfortunate decisions, it was a relief to hand over control of a trip to my Romanian valet and a supremely organized cruise.
Of course that's part of the appeal of any cruise, and for some travelers its downside. Cosseted traveling can feel too controlled for itchy independent travelers, and I used to be one of those. But the cruise lines, understanding their failings, have changed the rules over the past decade. Gone are the tightly wound itineraries, group dinners and the one-size-fits-all port excursions. Now sprouting a range of dining options and a dizzying choice of hands-on experiences, from cooking classes to market excursions and mountain hikes, cruising can feel like a bona fide adventure. And after resisting the siren call for years, my own first Mediterranean ocean cruise several years ago turned me into a cruising convert.
But the Danube cruise was a different beast. Though river cruises have become increasingly popular in the past few years, I had some reservations. A river boat isn't an ocean ship and it can't accommodate the same range of options. I had visions of the cruise reduced back to something claustrophobic and robotic, short on space and experiences.
Thankfully, I was wrong. The first relief was my cabin. I was dreading a cramped college dorm room, but what I got on Crystal's Ravel vessel was an airy and downright tasteful suite. The floor to ceiling windows opened the room up to all the passing scenery and the subdued green and gray color palette felt like a tonic. There was a walk-in closet, a big screen wall-mounted TV, a loaded iPad, and a two-sink bathroom stocked with Etro toiletries.
My second hesitation had to do with the food. A boat can't accommodate the sheer range of dining options that have become one of the inducements of an ocean cruise, and my last sea voyage was a culinary blowout that included a free-standing Nobu restaurant and an alphabet soup of kitchens, from Italian to pan-Asian.
Maybe the Ravel couldn't duplicate that experience. But it didn't necessarily have to. And in some ways the limited choice was a relief. That became one of my main epiphanies on the river cruise and one, in talking to my fellow passengers, that a lot of people mentioned. If the mammoth ocean cruise ships are a study in excess, the river boats are all about seamless, restrained and soothing curation. You're not going to get the Vegasy overload of casinos, souvenir shops, 24-hour buffets and all-you-can-drink bars. But in the end, freedom from that floating bacchanalia, especially at a time when we're bombarded with choice and the constant drumbeat of stimulation, can be its own kind of relief.
Executive Chef Chris Albersdorfer's menu, served in an open-seating dining room, didn't leave me wanting for more. Drawing on as much local sourcing as possible, he delivered plenty of options on his evening menus. Nods to the passing Danube regional culinary traditions were a constant feature, from pork with napkin dumplings and Hungarian fish stew to cabbage soup, Austrian bread pudding in plum sauce and Wiener schnitzel that was more buttery than any I sampled in Vienna. Plus lots of Austrian wine. But you could also dine on pure opulent classicism: sole meunière, Grand Marnier soufflé, seared scallops bathed in porcini mushroom butter and tournedos Rossini crowned by foie gras.