After already in 2017 and 2019 with A-ROSA as part of a river cruise on the Danube and the Seine, this year again the desire to make a river cruise has grabbed us. Since the travel possibilities abroad are somewhat limited due to the Corona pandemic, we decided on the trip “Main Romantic” on the Main and the Rhine, where we could discover some very nice places.
Table of contents
About A-ROSA Flussschiff GmbH
A-ROSA Flussschiff GmbH is a German shipping company and leading German premium provider of city trips on the Danube, Douro, Rhone/Saene, Rhine/Main/Moselle and Seine. Here is an overview of all current river cruises of A-ROSA. As part of Deutsche Seereederei GmbH, A-ROSA was founded in 2000 and began operations in 2002 with two ships on the Danube. The company responded to the growing demand for river cruises by steadily expanding its fleet. It currently consists of 12 modern ships (as of October 2020) that meet the latest safety and environmental standards: A-ROSA Alva, A-ROSA Aqua, A-ROSA Bella, A-ROSA Brava, A-ROSA Donna, A-ROSA Flora, A-ROSA Luna, A-ROSA Mia, A-ROSA Riva, A-ROSA Silva, A-ROSA Stella and A-ROSA Viva.
Also interesting:
A-ROSA Bella: Our river cruise on the Danube
A-ROSA Viva: Our river cruise on the Seine
Our itinerary “Main Romance”
From gingerbread in Nuremberg to Kölsch in Cologne: Our 7-day river cruise with A-ROSA promised one highlight after another and we were really looking forward to exploring some of the cities of Germany that we haven’t travelled to yet. Due to the classification of some places as risk areas, our route has changed slightly over the course of the trip.
Our itinerary on the Main and Rhine with A-ROSA
The start of our river cruise was the Christmas town of Nuremberg with the impressive Imperial Castle. Via the Main-Danube Canal we went on to the old Franconian imperial and episcopal city of Bamberg, whose cityscape is characterized by a 1000-year-old architecture. The next stop was the wine town of Volkach, which is considered the centre of the Mainschleife. Our journey took us on to Miltenberg, which boasts a medieval old town full of half-timbered buildings, romantic alleys and hidden corners. We were able to admire the Frankfurt skyline from our ship until we left the Main in Mainz and sailed on the Rhine. Here we went through the UNESCO World Heritage Oberes Mittelrheintal with one more beautiful castle after another in golden autumn weather until we stopped in Lahnstein. Our next stop afterwards was the city of Koblenz, which impressed us with its German Corner and the Kaiser Wilhelm monument. After an eventful seven days aboard A-ROSA Silva, our journey ended in Cologne.
The journey sounds exciting to you? Then take a look at the A-ROSA website, because this trip will also be offered in 2021.
Things to know about the Main
We spent most of our river cruise with the A-ROSA Silva on the Main. The Main has a length of 527 kilometers and runs through the federal states of Bavaria and Hesse. We crossed the Main-Danube Canal, which connects the two rivers since 1992, in Bamberg to the Main. Opposite the old town of Mainz we left the Main again, because here it flows into the Rhine.
The course of the Main
The river cruise ship A-ROSA Silva
After getting to know the A-ROSA Bella and A-ROSA Viva on our last two river cruises, we were particularly pleased that we were able to sail one of the newer A-ROSA ships on our river cruise this year.
Things to know about the Cruise Ship
The ship A-ROSA Silva entered service in 2012. A maximum of 186 passengers can be accommodated here, in addition up to 50 crew members are on duty on the ship. The ship is 135 meters long and 11.4 meters wide. The A-ROSA Silva is considered a “hiker”Moselle between the Rhine/Main/Moselle and the Danube. Even if A-ROSA itself and the cruises with their river cruise ships are German-speaking, on some routes and on selected dates international guests can also be on board. In such a case, English-language documents are also available on board, there are also English announcements and international hosts are available for questions.
The hygiene and health concept in the times of Corona
In order to meet the major challenges posed by the Corona pandemic, A-ROSA has developed an extensive hygiene and health concept that adapts to ever-changing conditions.
Upon arrival on the ship, the health status of the guests is checked for symptoms by means of an explanation of suitability for travel, temperature measurement and (self-)control. In addition, specific rules of conduct are laid down on the ships (minimum distance of 1.5 meters, wearing mouth-nose mask in public areas, guidance system, use of disinfectants, etc.) and regularly communicated by means of posters, info videos and ship announcements. A reduced number of guests supports the implementation of these measures. The only places where guests do not have to wear mouth-nose protection is the sun deck and tables in the restaurant or lounge. The crew is also trained on the basis of concrete manuals, e-learning and on-site training in order to familiarize themselves with the hygiene measures.
As part of the A-ROSA “Safety First” strategy A-ROSA does not travel to risk areas during a river cruise. As a replacement, alternative ports are served or the cruise is routed as a “blue journey” if necessary, i.e. without any stop. If the start and/or end of the journey is in a risk area and you go directly from the station to the ship (and vice versa), this is considered a transit and you are therefore not subject to quarantine.
With these measures, we have always felt very safe and can also say that they have not diminished our travel experience under any circumstances. We were glad that such a river cruise including land crossings in Corona times is possible and would therefore start the journey again at any time.
The deck and cabin plan
The ship has a total of four decks: the 95 cabins are located on the lower three decks and on the upper deck there is a spacious sun deck with seating and reclining facilities.
The deck and cabin plan of the A-ROSA Silva
Our balcony suite
On the A-ROSA Silva there are a total of 89 outdoor cabins (14.5 m2), 4 junior suites (21 m²) and 2 balcony suites. We were very happy that we were accommodated during our trip in a 2-bed balcony suite on deck 3. The suite is 29 m² in size, twice the size of the normal cabins. We just couldn’t get out of the amazement, because we’ve never lived in such a large cabin on a cruise ship before. We felt incredibly comfortable from entering the suite and also had enough space for our stroller and a travel bed. Simply grandiose ❤
The suite is very generously designed and in terms of furnishings also exactly our taste: simple, bright and modern. There is a walk-in closet, a very nice daylight bath, a comfortable seating area with sofa and armchair and a desk. The absolute highlight is the walk-in balcony.
We liked the bathroom very much, because on the one hand there is enough daylight through the built-in window and on the other hand – besides the shower – it even has a bathtub.
Those who book such a balcony suite can still enjoy some nice additional services: check-in and personal welcome from 12 o’clock, suite cocktail with the ship’s management, room service, free minibar, fresh flowers & fruit, laundry and ironing service as well as a butler service.
The facilities on board
While we sped along the Main and the Rhine, there were all sorts of possibilities on board to pass the time. Since autumn has often shown its golden side during our trip, we have often spent time in the fresh air during the trip. The sun deck offers the best opportunities to let your gaze wander and to see the passing landscape with a warming tea or cocoa.
If you like it more active, you can also play mini golf on the top deck or take a spin in the spacious pool. Alternatively, the ship’s own gym offers the best conditions to get off to a good start. In the adjacent SPA-ROSA you can relax. You never get bored on board and before you know it, you’ve already moored at a pier and are ready to explore the surroundings.
In the current Corona location, the offers in the SPA-ROSA (treatments, massages, fitness room, whirlpool) are reduced and are carried out in compliance with established hygiene and distance rules. The sauna is accessible, must only be reserved in advance at the reception.
In the lounge there was the “A-ROSA Prime Time” every evening, through which the entertainment manager led. This entertainment program was offered in the same way as the two offset meal times and was designed contactless.
The food on board the A-ROSA Silva
On our trip we had the fare “Premium All Inclusive“. Therefore, all meals (breakfast, lunch, coffee & cake, dinner) were included in the price, most drinks were also included. At A-ROSA Silva there is a large restaurant with two separate seating areas and a lounge. Due to the current Corona pandemic, there have been some innovations in terms of food compared to our last two river cruises. Instead of the usual buffet, the food is brought to the table at all meals.
Breakfast: At breakfast you can simply choose a free table and automatically get a small selection of bread, bread, coffee, butter, cheese, sausage and jam on the table. The rest of the items such as breakfast egg, omelette, pancakes, fruit & vegetables or croissants can be ordered from the waiters. At breakfast you can already get the food selection for the 4-course menu in the evening and can set your cross here accordingly.
Lunch: As with breakfast, you choose a free table at lunch and are served by waiters. Lunch consists of a 3-course menu, which you can choose directly on site. You can choose from 2 appetizers (salad or soup), 3 main courses (meat, fish, vegetarian) and 2 desserts (sweet dessert or fruit salad).
Coffee & Cake: The afternoon cake is not served in the restaurant, but in the lounge. Everything is arranged on a little shop, with which the waiters make several rounds in the lounge and come to the table for each guest.
Dinner: For the evening meals, you decide on the morning, so that the individual courses are served one after the other at a fixed table. In total, there are four courses, which can be composed of 2 cold appetizers, 1 soup, 3 main dishes (meat, fish, vegetarian) and 2 desserts (sweet dessert or cheese). Depending on the number of guests on board, it can happen that the dinner – as with us – is offered at two staggered times, so that the people can distribute themselves better in the restaurant and thus the distance is better kept.
The food tasted very good again – as with the last cruises – and we liked the new concept very much 🙂
A river cruise with baby – Our testimonial
This river cruise was our first “longer” trip for three. We had already taken a city trip to Rothenburg and Schwäbisch-Hall together before, but were now on the road together for a whole week. To start with, it worked out fine with our little mouse, who was 10 weeks old at the time of the trip, and we can say that she is a travel baby so far ❤
Our journey by Deutsche Bahn worked without any problems. The children’s compartments were always occupied on both trips, but we found other seats where we also had enough space for our stroller.
On board the A-ROSA Silva we had a suite in which the travel cot and our stroller fit easily. We could wrap them on the bed or the sofa. When we left our cabin, we took them either in the baby carrier, the stroller or just on the arm. Even though we always had to climb a flight of stairs to get to the reception, restaurant or sun deck, it all worked out without any problems. In the restaurant she was understandably always there and either sat on our lap or was in her car.
As far as sleep is concerned, we were actually very spoiled. Thanks to the movement of the ship at night and the exciting experiences during the day, the little one slept about 7 to 8 hours every night – and we did so. It can’t be better! Since she was obviously the youngest guest on board, we were very often approached by fellow passengers and the crew and had received, for example, several offers for pushing the stroller 😉
At no time did we feel that we were out of place with such a little baby (which of course also screams) or would disturb someone. We really liked that!
All travelogues of our river cruise on the Main & Rhine
A-ROSA offers various river cruises on the Main River with different durations and destinations depending on the season. We had chosen the 7-day route "Main Romatik", as this route combines the major metropolises, natural highlights and UNESCO world heritage sites - a perfect combination for us. The route with the "A-ROSA Silva" took us from Nuremberg to Bamberg, on to Volkach and Miltenberg through the Upper Middle Rhine Valley to Lahnstein, Koblenz and Cologne.
» A-ROSA Silva - Our river cruise “Main-Romance” with A-ROSA» Nuremberg - Sights & Photo Spots in the Old Town
» Bamberg - The sights in the World Heritage Old Town
» Volkach - The wine town of Volkach on the Main River
» Miltenberg - The historic town of Miltenberg – The Pearl of the Main
» Rhine - River cruise through the World Heritage Upper Middle Rhine Valley
» Koblenz - Sights of the city on The Rhine & Moselle
» Cologne - Cathedral, Old Town & the Chocolate Museum