Move over baby boomers
If Instagram designed a riverboat, this would be it. There are parties, yoga classes, silent discos and sleep-ins.
I’m on the top deck of our big black neon-lit ship at dawn, as we sail past a hauntingly beautiful castle, engulfed in morning mist. A few of us are up, relaxing in oversized day beds, an unlimited supply of coffee and croissants keeping us company.
Most of the ship, however, is in the middle of a Grape Depression. It was a big night.
It began with a wine and cheese tasting of mind-blowing proportion: 157 wines, alongside 20 different cheeses. It ended in the ship’s Ice Bar in the early hours of the morning.
Yes, this is a river cruise in Europe, but unlike one that has ever sailed before. We’re talking yoga classes, cocktail-making lessons, a lolly bar, silent discos (all wearing headphones) and a buffet of trendy meals including chia puddings. If Instagram designed a riverboat, this would be it. You’re even encouraged to sleep in; breakfast starts at 10 and goes to 1 in the afternoon.
River cruising is normally the domain of baby boomers. Hundreds of ships sail Europe’s inland waterways offering a luxury silver service. But new boutique brand U by Uniworld has flipped that upside down. It has swapped butlers and ballrooms for a neon-lit dance lounge and Ice Bar, offering the first ever river cruise for the young, and young at heart. There is no age restriction, although it’s probably best suited for those in the 25 to 50-year-old range.
Our eight-day cruise to Frankfurt began in Amsterdam, docked near the labyrinth of canals that make up the city’s famed Red Light District. Almost the entire ship signed up for our first group excursion, simply called ‘‘The Red Light Special.’’
It started outside one of the city’s ‘‘coffeeshops’’, selling every variety of cannabis under the sun – or more precisely: under the sun lamp. A few went in for a look around, the air so thick they almost floated back out. The rest of the night was, as you would expect, suitably risque, and ended on a small canal boat with an unlimited bar.
But there is so much more to Amsterdam than the city’s seedy side. We visited the world’s biggest celebration of spring: seven million blooming tulips at the Keukenhof Gardens. We ate our bodyweight in Dutch cheese, beer, waffles and pancakes then tried in vain to work it off cycling around the city’s medieval canals.
After a quick visit to neighbouring Haarlem, the old cobblestone fortress full of breathtaking churches (including a beer church), our ship set course for the Rhine Valley. Childlike excitement filled the boat as everything on the top deck automatically folded down, including the Ice Bar, as low bridges approached.
We stopped plenty of times on our way to Frankfurt, all guided by our energetic ‘‘U Hosts’’. We spent onenight sipping champagne at a 1000-year-old castle, another on a tour of Cologne’s beer halls. Others decided to cycle to a medieval monastery where part of Game of
Thrones was filmed and try some of the region’s top Riesling.
One of the best things about cruising is we docked right in the
heart of each town or city. In Cologne, for example, our boat was a four-minute walk from the city’s towering gothic church – Germany’s most visited landmark – which we explored in the early morning before the crowds arrived.
We had just as much fun on the ship. Local ‘‘celebrity’’ DJs were brought aboard and played in the lounge, or many just relaxed under the stars on the top deck with a drink from the Ice Bar.
Everything is designed to be social, including eating. Dinner was served on sharing platters, reflecting the local dishes of the region we passed. We even had a ‘‘dance dessert’’: the chefs throwing meringues, ice cream, honeycomb, jelly bears and cakes onto a serving platter, all to the beat of a song.
The most beautiful part of the cruise was along the famed Rhine Valley, home to towering granite cliffs and dozens of fairytale castles. It is one of the most breathtaking stretches of river anywhere in the world, and should be on everyone’s bucket list if you want to feel like you’re cruising through a medieval film set.
Unlike all the other ships we passed, ours had an almost beach club atmosphere: umbrellas up, many sunbathing or reading, and all sipping drinks. The contrast was abundantly clear when we passed another ship having a round of rooftop bingo.
U by Uniworld already has two ships sailing in Europe, and a third set to launch on Vietnam’s Mekong River. It seems you no longer need to wait until retirement to hit the rivers. Baby boomers beware, a younger generation is on to your secret and we’re quite liking it.
The author was hosted by U by Uniworld.