“The suitcases go under the bed!” I was told by another passenger the first evening of my first river cruise. It’s so obvious when you know. You unpack once; push the suitcases under and behind the bed skirt and forgot about it for the rest of the cruise.
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I am onboard Scenic’s newest river ship the Emerald Luna for a seven-day cruise that will visit five cities in the Netherlands and Belgium. (And not just for the waffles and chocolate.) And I’ve brought along my 12-year-old daughter for the history lesson.
I was advised when booking “that there are not any set activities/amenities for kids on our river ships. Because the ships are intimate (180 guests), there isn’t an arcade or water slide or kids club like you’d have on the big ocean ships. Also want to note that there is one dining room with a set dinner time of 7 pm, and no kids menu per se. That said, for the right kid it can be a really fun way to see Europe.”
I knew I had the right kid; but I wasn’t sure I belonged. I had heard that river cruises are for the old. Was I at 55 years too young? I was assuaged at the airport when the other passengers in the pickup van was a grand-mother and her 30 something granddaughter. The other passengers all looked to be between 50 and 70.
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“Ten years ago the average age was 75 plus but it’s been going down,” said Wes, the ship’s cruise director. “We’re offering more active tours… bike rides and disco nights geared towards a younger audience. It’s not about age, it’s the spirit.”
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“If you are looking to party, night life and excitement of that nature you may need to rethink it,” said passenger James Prandoni. He’s been on three Emerald river cruises and 34 ocean cruises. “We did the Rhine in 2019 and last year the Rhone and Saone in France. We like the culture and newer ships with Emerald.” He says river cruises are “so much more pleasurable, laidback; more intimate and offer friendly connections with the crew.
“I like the lesser amount of people, the food is amazing and the menu is focused around the local area. My wife and I admire the attention and intimacy as opposed to being one of a thousand on a ship. This is so much more friendly. And people are willing to share their life stories; within a couple of days you know everybody.”
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Certainly after an evening of musical trivia, everyone knew my daughter and her dance moves. ”Thanks you for sharing her with us,” was a familiar comment for the duration of the trip. And my daughter loved the slow pace, the history, electric bikes and wandering the streets of a new city every day.
Arrive at you leisure
The Emerald Luna docks near the Central Railway Station and it’s an easy ten minute walk to the city centre of Amsterdam. Watch out for bicyclists. Cyclists come from every direction and usually have the right of way so keep your head on a swivel.
It is said everyone in Amsterdam has three bikes: one they don’t care about, one for the weekend, and one they value.
“We walked around the city and went to the Anne Frank House which meant a lot to me because I’ve read all the books,” said Liz Hatcher a passenger from Quebec.
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If you stay aboard the Luna, it’s a good time to get a drink package. The premium package, which gives you unlimited choice is $27 Euros a day. If you are paying per drink a Heineken cost $4.20 and a coke $3.20
Windmills and wooden houses
For early risers the Luna offered bus to visit the flower auction at Royal FloraHolland in Aalsmeer. Once the largest building in the world it was a hum of activity as flowers from all over the world were auctioned here. Today the auction is done online and much of the transporting to the flowers is automated.
After breakfast most passengers chose to visit the village of Zaanse Schans to see windmills, wooden houses, clogs and artisan workshops. Maya and I chose to go on a guided bike tour of the countryside. For my 12 year-old the ability to apply “a turbo boost” is thrilling. The Luna offers complimentary electric bikes and allows passengers to go off on their own or join the guide tour.
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The afternoon onboard activity was a clog painting lesson and its attended by about 40 people.
The ship set sail on the Meuse that night, but we hardly noticed the movement and only a few of us were awake to watch the lights of Amsterdam dwindle.
A history lesson in Rotterdam
“People are so happily surprised by Rotterdam,” says Wes. “It’s all about Amsterdam Internationally, especially in England, people grow up with the idea Rotterdam is an industrial working man’s town. They are surprised to find it an attractive open-modern city.”
Rotterdam was bombed by the Germans and rebuilt as a city of skyscrapers which earned it the nickname “Manhattan on the Meuse.” An architectural tour showcases the Old Harbour, one of the few parts of the city not destroyed by the bombing, and works its way to the Cube Houses and the Market Hall, a unique mirrored building built in an arch shape.
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In the afternoon we visit the Delft pottery factory where, each piece is still hand-painted by artists.
Visit The Hague or don’t
The itinerary calls for a visit to The Hague, including a stop at the World Court. There’s also a buzz among the passenger as the Mauritshuiz museum is opening an hour early to give Emerald passengers an exclusive viewing. The painting Girl with a Pearl Earring is on display there.
I choose to have a day of leisure; Maya and I haven’t not gotten enough of Rotterdam so we wander the streets on our own.
The Giants of Antwerp
We arrive in Antwerp Belgium, once the largest trading port in the world. And the true origin of French fries.
A guided walking tour takes us to the Het Steen, a castle built in the Middle Ages and down the cobbled lanes to the city centre, past quilt houses and a gothic cathedral that is part museum with four masterpieces of Pieter Paul Rubens.
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There are giants here: Long John who comes for mischievous children, Antigoon who tossed the severed hands of those who failed to pay the toll into the river Scheldt and Pieter Paul Rubens.
The tour ends at a chocolatier with Belgium hands on offer. In the afternoon we explore the city and Maya rides The View, Antwerp’s 55-meter high ferris wheel which is located only a minute from where the Emerald docks.
Private showing
We sail past villages, sheep and fields of green. Emerald has got us another exclusive viewing: The Paleis Het Loo, which was once home to the Dutch Royal family. It’s been closed for the last five years as they did renovations and isn’t set to open for another two weeks, but they open for us.
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The pièce de résistance – Keukenhof Gardens
For Liz Hatcher and many others onboard, Keukenhof Gardens is the reason they came. “I just wanted to come and see the tulips. I love tulips. and I just thought why not come and see where they started. Even if they started in Turkey.”
Keukenhof doesn’t disappoint with almost every variety of tulip on display, the gardens are a sea of colour. Liz and many others from the Emerald spend the whole day there. I leave shortly after noon, I’ve seen enough flowers, but I have to drag Maya out, even 12-year old girls like flowers.