By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71. Europe Destination Specialist and Europe River Cruise Expert
Anne Schrader, Certified Travel Counselor & Certified Luxury Cruise Specialist
One of the biggest changes lately on many river cruise lines is an added emphasis on alternative dining. There are several innovative changes to rivership cuisine, so here is a good update of the recent changes.
Before we start, here is a general overview. Riverboats have small galleys and little storage space. Each of the 7 lines described here uses a buffet for breakfast and lunch (some lines are doing away with buffets due to health concerns and to provide a more upscale experience) and a sit down meal for dinner—usually 3, 4 or more courses.
Most have at least one or two special meals per cruise, with enhanced food offerings. Despite the claims of 5 or more dining spaces on some lines, some of these are just small buffet style venues, usually added to the main lounge area. There is just not space for large alternative dining spaces—two distinct dining spaces is about all the size limitations on riverships can accommodate.
The exception to this is the AmaMagna, which is double wide and has 4 dining venues.
AmaWaterways Galley
AmaWaterways Galley. We were escorted by Miguel, the Hotel Manager
Scenic Galley
Scenic Galley
Now, let’s examine food and beverage offerings of each of the 7 major river cruise lines that market to US customers and highlight the alternative dining options for each line..
AmaWaterways
Cuisine has always been very important to AmaWaterways. They consistently are cited in the travel media as having great food or the best food in the industry (they get my vote). Perhaps the biggest change is the elimination of most buffets at meal times for both health reasons and to provide a more elegant feel at meals.
The main dining room serves most of the meals you will eat on board this river ship. Breakfast and lunch used to be buffet style with options to order off the menu, but now all items are served to guests except for a few items at breakfast.
Most days I select the Eggs Benedict along with complimentary unlimited sparkling wine and fresh juices to start my day. All breads are freshly baked every day and they even make homemade ice cream for dessert at lunch.
Every evening on the dinner menu (a 4-course affair of an appetizer, a soup or salad course, a main course and dessert), there are 3 Entrée’s choices—usually a meat dish, a fish dish, and a vegetarian option—all are excellent! Here are some of our meals—they were impressive!
Always available steak
There is an Always Available Menu that features a steak, a grilled chicken breast, and a vegetarian or pasta option.
The lunch and dinner meals feature a white and red wine from the region you are sailing thru, and they change daily (not every river cruise lines changes wines every day or offers included wine and beer). There is also beer and other beverages.
In Europe, each AMA ship has the chef’s table specialty restaurant. This program began in 2012. This small dining venue (usually no more than 28 guests) features a kitchen where your meal is prepared right in front of you. This unique tasting style menu is paired with carefully selected fine wines. It is truly a great experience. I wrote a whole blog about the experience and it changes every year and by region, so the experience is seldom the samr.
AmaWaterways chef preparing our meal
The main course of the tasting menu
Dessert to finish off a great meal at the Chef’s Table
AmaWaterways spends more than most other river cruise lines on the food and wines, and it shows, especially in this unique dining venue. We always go during our cruises and always arrange for the groups we led to dine together—it’s always a superb experience!
AmaWaterways is the first river cruise line member of the invitation-only La Chaîne des Rôtisseurs, one of the world’s most prestigious culinary organizations.
Avalon
Some Avalon riverships have alternative dining area called the Sky Bistro. It offers a choice of grill fare on the Sky Deck (weather permitting). You can also have light lunch in the Panorama Lounge.
Avalon is adding Avalon Fresh, which is locally sourced vegetarian cuisine. The additional dishes are the creation of Austrian chefs and brothers Karl and Leo Wrenkh. These chefs are emphasizing fun and tasty food that is both fresh and healthy. These new dishes will be added to the regular entrees for the evening meal and will be featured on the menu with a special Avalon Fresh logo.
Avalon usually gets the poorest marks for cuisine by reviewers, so maybe this new approach will improve their ratings.
Emerald
The main restaurant is called the Reflections Restaurant. They use buffets for all meals. You can also order off the menu on an a la cart menu.
You can enjoy breakfast and a light lunch on the Terrace.
In Avignon they have a special meal prepared by Fabian Morreale, a finalist from the French culinary competition . The meal is an authentic menu highlighting the tastes of the region.
Tauck
Tauck is changing its onboard menu to add healthier choices to all meals and upgrading the wine selections. They have a shore dining option offering guests the chance to enjoy regional cuisine at local restaurants and this has become a very popular feature on Tauck cruises. Some are at spectacular venues like castles and palaces. For example, on the “A Taste of France” itinerary on the Rhone, Tauck takes guests to Abbaye de Collonges, the restaurant of Michelin-starred chef Paul Bocuse.
Tauck also has its Arthur’s dining venue, a more causal alternative to the more formal cuisine in the main restaurant. In conversations with another river cruise industry expert, he told me that Arthur’s had an excellent steak dinner. This restaurant features more American fare than European style cuisine, so those looking for a more European experience may be a little disappointed in this approach.
Scenic
Other dining venues include the River Café (a casual all-day dining place), Portobellos and the Table La Rive. Portobellos Restaurant is for 32 guests at one nightly seating, and reservations are necessary, but each guest is given at least one chance to dine there during a 7 day cruise. We thought the five course Italian meal that was paired with Tuscan wines was excellent and a special feature of the cruise.
Portobellos Chef prepares our 5 course meal on the Scenic Opal 2015
Scenic Main Course at Portobello’s
Dessert at Portobello’s on the Scenic Jasper
You can also get room service from your butler, certainly not a standard feature on most river cruise lines. During good weather there sometimes are special meals served on the Sun Deck area. Some guests, on the upper diamond deck, can have a special dining experience at the Table La Rive (they have changed this option for only 10 night or longer cruises but we got to sample this on our 7-night cruise). My problem with this, is the dinner occurs in the same dining room as the other guests.
With superb dining (based on our 2015 cruise) and fine wines, Scenic has gone a step further and is introducing an on board cooking school on their French sailing ships, the Scenic Sapphire and the Scenic Diamond. This new space will be called “Scenic Culinaire”. The school will feature cooking stations and the lessons will center on the regional cuisine of the areas of France the rivership is sailing. This is an excellent addition!
Uniworld
Along with the main dining room, some ships have a Sky Lounge, glass-enclosed Lounge or have dinner on deck under the stars. There are special dinners on select riverships such as on the S.S. Maria Theresa, in the Leopard Bar. The bar converts to a special dining room that holds up to 20 guests on select nights during the cruise. I talked with a highly respected river cruise advisor, who told me the 5-course meal was excellent and one of his favorite among river cruise lines.
Uniworld’s has an “Epicurean Adventure” program on select European itineraries, that includes wine tastings, culinary demonstrations, and special dinners.
Uniworld continues to upgrade its cuisine. This will be especially true on its newer ship, the S. S. Joie de Vivre (joy of life), that will cruise on the Seine starting next month. This new rivership will have 2 dining rooms, and both will emphasize French Cuisine. Along with the main restaurant, called Le Restaurant Pigalle, there will be a private dining area featuring wines.
Uinworld’s food is inspired by Bea Tollman, whose cookbook, A Life in Food, contains many recipes used onboard. They are also featuring a wider variety of vegetarian options and a Traveling Lite menu that features the flavors of the traditional menu but with fewer calories.
Viking
Viking has an outdoor venue called the Aquavit Terrace in addition to its main dining room. It is a combination indoor-outdoor dining area. It is a more casual meal with a lighter fare. Sometimes they also serve on the upper deck (called the sun deck).
The Aquavit Terrace on a Viking longship docked in Cologne
For breakfast on the Aquavit Terrace they offer a typical breakfast you might get on land in most smaller B & B places in Europe—sliced meats, cheeses, and breads. You can also order egg dishes.
Viking also has on shore dining experiences but they usually come with an extra cost. I recently wrote about some of these experiences in our blog about comparing river cruise companies on the Rhine River. Having visited many of these ports beforehand, I can promise you you can often replicate the same experience for far less cost. A great example might be flammenkuchen in Strasbourg. Not only is it easy to find in the numerous small bistros, you can control you exact cost.
flammenkuchen in Strasbourg we bought without an excursion
Our Final Thoughts
There sure are some good food on river cruises and I think all are trying to improve. The trend is towards better dining options. Food and wine are generally very important to our guests and we see improvements everywhere.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
ANNE has earned a degree from the University of Houston in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Serving as the President of Visit Dream Destinations, LLC, since 2016, she is uniquely experienced professional travel advisor with over 26 years’ experience in the travel industry. Among her numerous certifications, she is a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) by the Travel Institute, considered the gold standard in travel agent certification and she is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC) by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), as well Luxury Cruise Specialist also from CLIA. Having traveled often to Europe since 1989, she has expanded on her certification as a Destination Specialist in Western Europe (DS) with extensive first-hand experience in luxury vacations. She holds numerous other specialty designations from individual vendors. An expert photographer, she delights in capturing the true essence of destinations to share with all.
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 51+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
