MS Bellriva

MS Bellriva cruise ship is an elegant riverboat with 4-star hotel ranked staterooms. The ship features stylish interiors, an intimate environment, excellent service delivered by professional staff and crew. Bellriva cruises on Rhine, Moselle and Main rivers, with roundtrip departures from homeport Cologne-Koln and cruising on the Belgium and Holland inland waterways. Passengers are predominantly German. Sistership is MS My Story.

Shipboard facilities

MS Bellriva has 3 passenger decks, complimentary Panorama Restaurant (5-star dining room, also accessible via stairlift), lobby area (ship entrances, 24-hour Reception Desk, Tour Office), Panorama Salon-Bar (main lounge with dance floor), Boutique Shop (selling souvenirs, logoed clothing, jewellery, cosmetics, toiletries, sweets), Library (reading lounge with books, DVDs, puzzles, board games), Sun Deck with shaded seating (retractable awning, 4-seat tables) and sunbathing area (deckchairs, sun loungers). Through sinking the Wheelhouse (Navigation Bridge on Sundeck) and folding the railings and awnings, ship's height is reduced to ~7 m (23 ft) for passing under low bridges.

On Promenade Deck are located Bar-Salon Lounge, Restaurant-Galley, Retro Bar, Gallery Bar, wraparound promenade (outdoor walking area). On Lower Deck is boat's wellness area with Finnish Sauna (6-person, free of charge, 1-hour advance reservation required), adjacent Shower Room and Solarium (spa massages and tanning bed, at surcharge per 0,5 hour).

One stairlift and a grand staircase connect decks Main and Promenade. Four staircases (2 forward plus 2 aft) connect decks Lower (Rheindeck) and Main (Loreleydeck). Laundry and ironing services, bicycle rental, Wi-Fi (WLAN) connections, Internet and shore excursions cost extra. Smoking is permitted only at the designated area on Sun Deck.

Onboard dining is complimentary, fixed (with assigned seating) and includes buffet breakfasts and lunches, and waiter-served 4-course dinners with themed menus and local (cruise itinerary-based) cuisine specialities. The main course for dinner is selected at noon, from an a la carte menu. All meals are served in common dining times. Tea, coffee with cakes and pastries are offered in the afternoon as well as late-night snacks. Open bar and table drinks like draft beer, house wine, soft drinks (coke, lemonade, juices, mineral water), tea and coffee (from 8:00 to 24:00) are included. Dishes for special diets (gluten-free, lactose-free, diabetics, etc) are provided upon request. Special dietary requirements, food allergies and intolerances must be notified in advance. The traditional Captain's Reception (cocktail party) and Captain's Dinner (gala dinner menu) are formal events held in the Restaurant.

The well-stocked breakfast buffet (7-9 am) offers eggs, sausages, bacon, various breads-rolls, types of sausages and cheeses, dairy products, yoghurts, fresh fruits, eight muesli varieties. Lunch buffet's opening hours are cruise tour itinerary-based (ports and excursions). At lunch are offered 1 fish dish, 1 meat dish, hot side dishes, 1 soup, salad buffet, dessert station. On embarkation day, coffee, tea and cakes are available in front of the Restaurant, but for just about 30 min. On days without tours, a cake is served in the Lounge. On "tour days", the offer is limited to coffee-tea and midnight snacks (canapes).

The 4-course dinner is served on-site and includes 2 appetizers, 1 soup, 1 main course (pre-order in the afternoon is required), 1 dessert. Main course choices always include 1 meat and 1 fish dish. Dietary requirements, light diets and vegetarian preferences are catered for. Waiting staff (mostly from Eastern European countries) is German-speaking, well-trained, friendly and helpful.

Onboard entertainment (in the Salon-Bar / Lounge) includes live music performances, crew show, playing cards and board games, bingo, skat tournaments, music quiz, napkin folding lessons, evening dance parties. Shore excursions are offered at additional cost in every port of call along the cruise tour itinerary. At each stop are complimentary provided maps and tour guide explanations.

Cabins

MS Bellriva has a total of 90 staterooms (all outside), of which 37 are on Lower Deck (Rheindeck, also causing all crew cabins) and 53 are on Main Deck (Loreleydeck). Double cabins are sized 10-12 m2 (100-130 ft2) and feature 2 separate lower beds (80x200 cm, parallel or L-shape arranged). One of the beds is daytime sofa (during the day can be used as a couch, while the other bed is fold-away. Single cabins are sized 9 m2 (95 ft2) and have 1 lower plus 1 upper bed (bunk). Some twin cabins can be booked as singles (at 50% supplement). Some staterooms are with triple occupancy, providing a 3rd folding bed (upper bunk).

All MS Bellriva cabins offer as standard amenities either partially opening window (with sliding down upper section) or non-opening Porthole windows, en-suite bathroom (washbasin, WC, shower, under-sink storage, hairdryer, razor socket), flat TV (satellite reception, ship info channel, real-time bow camera views, weather forecast), phone (onboard calls only - Reception Desk, passenger cabins, wake-up service), wall-mounted mirror, round table with chair, above-bed shelf, wardrobe (hangers, no drawers), electronic safe box (in the closet), 220V power sockets, individually controlled air-conditioning.

Cabin categories include:

• Double Cabins (with non-opening Porthole windows) are in categories HDD, HD2 and HDA (all on Lower Deck).
• Double Cabins (with partially-opening windows) are in categories OD2 and ODP (on Main Deck).
• Single Cabins are in categories HD1 (Lower Deck) and OD1 (Main Deck).

For two full-paying adults in a 2-bed stateroom or one full-paying adult in a single cabin (with extra bed), kids and teens (ages 2 to 19) travel for free (sleeping in a folding bed).

MS Bellriva ship is not suitable for wheelchair passengers. Moorings are often not handicap-accessible.

1avista Bellriva cruise itineraries

Next, are listed all 1avista Bellriva cruise tour itineraries (roundtrips from Cologne Germany) as call ports and port times.

• The 7-day "Rhein-Romantik" cruise tour visits Rudesheim (3-9:30 pm), Speyer (8 am - 6 pm), Strassburg France (6 am - 4:30 pm), Basel Switzerland (8 am - 6 pm), Breisach (1 am - 1:30 pm), Worms (7 am - 1 pm), and Mainz (3-10 pm). Cologne departure is at 11:30 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• The 4-day "Kurzurlaub Holland" cruise tour visits Amsterdam (overnight, 9 am - 4:30 am), Enkhuizen (8 am - 1 pm), Hoorn and Ijsselmeer (3-9 pm), and Nijmegen (8 am - 7 pm). Cologne departure is at 5 pm, with arrival at 9 am.
• Customers booking B2Bs / back-to-back cruises (two consecutive itineraries with min 7-day combined duration) receive EUR 40 per person in onboard credit. Solo travellers booking single cabins pay a discounted surcharge of EUR 50.

1avista Reisen cruise deals are inclusive of:

• River cruising, stateroom
• shipboard dining - breakfast (buffet), waiter-served lunch and afternoon coffee-tea (with pastries), waiter-served dinner, late-night snacks
• Captain's Dinner (special menu), Welcome Cocktail party
• Unlimited beverages (between 8 am - 12-midnight) - house wine, draft beer, soft drinks (cola, lemonade, juices, mineral water, coffee, tea
• onboard facilities and live entertainment program
• German-speaking tour guide
• luggage transport (embarkation and debarkation)
• all Gov taxes and port fees

Not included in cruise fares are arrival-departure and transfers (to/from the boat), personal expenses, tours (shore excursions), gratuities (recommended EUR 7 pp per day).