Our breakfast is in the front restaurant, not the one we ate in last night.
I was up at seven and at the coach by eight to put another parking ticket on that will take me up to our departure time.
I walk back to the hotel for my breakfast.
Our breakfast room is clean and tidy and tastefully decorated in wood, so typical of this part of Europe. The only thing missing was any hot food!
I am not happy as we (as always) include a hot buffet breakfast and it was clearly stated on the hotel voucher I gave in at reception on our arrival.
I complain to the man in charge of the restaurant and he goes off to check, eventually returning to say I am right. I know I am right! He is very apologetic and says we should be in the main restaurant and the passengers can go through if they wish but the problem is most of them have either finished eating or are in the process of finishing their breakfast.
This is not good enough and I’m annoyed as this is an old problem that shouldn’t arise any more.
I am approached by a waitress who says we can have some food to take away with us, which I agree to, and Sheila asks in her fluent German if we can have champagne instead!
I bring the coach to the hotel and am given three bottles of sparkling wine and a box with small croissants, fruit pastries, packets of nutela and cartons of orange juice for everyone.
We are away at ten and soon on the motorway south, heading for Passau and hoping to arrive by about 14:00.
Colin, Pat and Ann are serving drinks for me and we have a veritable feast on our hands this morning! Lynn has also been roped in and I think there are more passengers serving than being served!
We have a half hour stop on the motorway before arriving in a very hot Passau at 14:10.
I haven’t been here before and am in the hands of the sat nav once again which directs me straight to the coach park on the quayside.
Our boat, the MS Serenity, is there waiting for us and it is a big old beast.
The only other cruise ship we have been on is the Esmeralda, which is smaller and as a quirk of fate is moored up in front of the Serenity. All very exciting as a lot of my group have been on the Esmeralda with me before.
I walk up to the ship and am told I can drive alongside and unload all of the luggage, which I do. We can start checking in from 15:00 and the ship departs at 17:00.
It is a relief to have found the ship so easily and once I am empty I drive the ten minutes to the bus garage of Eichenberger, where for €120 I can park the coach for a week. All very professional and obviously something that they doo all the time judging by the cars being left by people going on the various cruise ships.
Once parked and paid I am transported back to the ship in one of their lovely coaches and make my way on board. It is now 15:45 and I thought I would be one of the last to check in but it transpires that they are running a little late and I have strolled in to the front of the queue! Not bad going on a German ship with a vast majority of German passengers!
As I hand my passport over I’m given my cabin key card (125) and a young stewardess shows me to my cabin.
The cabin is great with everything you would expect from a 4 star ship. The finish is beautiful and it is really a class above the Esmeralda. The bathroom is also very nice with a lovely shower and the whole decor of the cabin is as a hotel room. Impressive.
We are supposed to set sail at 17:00 but are delayed by a late group who eventually arrive at 17:20 and we are away.
The sun is still out, the bus is parked up and I can finally relax for the next week.
We are given a short talk on the do’s and don’ts of the vessel before our dinner.
Dinner is a 4 course meal with a choice of main course and the staff are very attentive and efficient.
In fact there are a lot of staff, all smartly dressed in uniform, buzzing about keeping everyone happy.
Am more impressed by the minute.
And the beer on tap is Bitburger, my favourite. It doesn’t get much better than this!
They are very health conscious and each time you enter or leave the restaurant you are expected to wash your hands with the little cleaning spray from one of the machines by the restaurant entrance.
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