MS VistaExplorer

MS VistaExplorer cruise ship is a premium riverboat featuring 4-star hotel-ranked staterooms. The vessel offers stylish interiors, an intimate onboard atmosphere, and excellent service delivered by professional staff and crew. VistaExplorer cruises on the Danube, Rhine, and Main rivers, with roundtrip departures from Passau and Cologne. Passengers are predominantly German.

Shipboard facilities

MS VistaExplorer has 3 passenger decks, a complimentary Panorama Restaurant (main dining room), a lobby area (ship entrances, 24-hour Reception Desk, Tour Office, Boutique Shop), Panorama Salon-Bar (show lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows, dance floor, electronic piano, full-service bar), 24-hour Coffee Station, and a Library (reading lounge with books, DVDs, puzzles, board games, and an Internet corner with two computers and one printer). The wellness complex includes a Spa massage room and a Fitness/Gym Room. The Sun Deck features shaded seating areas (retractable awnings, 4-seat tables), a sunbathing area (deckchairs and sun loungers), and a roof-covered, glass-walled Sky Lounge located forward.

One lift (passenger elevator) connects all cabin decks. All decks are interconnected via stairs (forward, midship, and aft). Laundry and ironing services, Wi-Fi (WLAN), Internet access, and shore excursions are available at an additional cost. Smoking is permitted only on the Sun Deck.

Onboard dining is complimentary, with fixed seating. Meals include buffet-style breakfast and lunch, and waiter-served 4-course dinners featuring themed menus and regional specialties based on the cruise itinerary. Dinner main courses are selected at noon from an a la carte menu. All meals follow common dining times. Afternoon tea and coffee with cakes and pastries, as well as late-night snacks, are included. Open bar and table beverages—draft beer, house wine, soft drinks (cola, lemonade, juices, mineral water), tea, and coffee—are available from 8 am to midnight. Special dietary needs (gluten-free, lactose-free, diabetic meals, etc.) are provided upon request, and must be communicated in advance. Formal events include the traditional Captain's Reception (cocktail party) and Captain's Dinner (gala menu).

The breakfast buffet (7–9 am) includes eggs, sausages, bacon, a variety of breads and rolls, cheeses, dairy products, yogurts, fresh fruit, and eight types of muesli. Lunch buffet hours vary according to the daily itinerary and shore excursion schedule. Typical lunch offerings include a fish dish, a meat dish, hot side dishes, one soup, a salad buffet, and a dessert station. On embarkation day, coffee, tea, and cakes are served near the Restaurant for approximately 30 minutes. On days without tours, cake is served in the Lounge; on tour days, the offer is limited to coffee/tea and midnight snacks (canapés).

The 4-course dinner includes two appetizers, one soup, one main course (pre-ordered in the afternoon), and one dessert. Main course options always include one meat and one fish dish. Dietary needs, lighter options, and vegetarian dishes are available. The waiting staff (mostly from Eastern Europe) is German-speaking, well-trained, friendly, and attentive.

Onboard entertainment (in the Salon-Bar/Lounge) includes live music, crew shows, card and board games, bingo, skat tournaments, music quizzes, napkin-folding lessons, and evening dance parties. Shore excursions are offered at additional cost at every port of call. Complimentary maps and guide explanations are provided at each stop.

Cabins

MS VistaExplorer has a total of 85 staterooms (77 cabins plus 8 suites), all of which are outside. Upper Deck cabins (Deluxe and Suites) feature French balconies (sliding glass doors opening to a railing). Middle Deck Superior cabins have partially opening windows. Comfort Cabins (forward on Middle Deck) are situated half a deck lower and feature two large non-opening windows. All Main Deck cabins have two small non-opening windows. Main and Middle Deck cabins are fitted with two separate wall beds and a small table with a chair. Upper Deck cabins feature double beds (convertible to twins) and a lounge area with a round table and two chairs.

All VistaExplorer cabins offer standard amenities, including an en-suite bathroom (washbasin, WC toilet, glass shower, under-sink storage, hairdryer, razor socket), bedside cabinets with reading lamps, underbed storage, wall-mounted flat TV (satellite channels, ship information channel, real-time bow camera, weather forecast), radio, telephone (onboard calls only—Reception Desk, other cabins, wake-up service), round table with chair, above-bed shelf, mirrored wardrobe, electronic safe (in the closet), 220V power sockets, and individually controlled air conditioning.

Window and French Balcony cabins are similarly sized (14–15 m2 / 150–160 ft2). Suites are larger (25–28 m2 / 270–300 ft2) and additionally offer a more spacious lounge area (round table with two armchairs), minibar (refrigerator), and CD/DVD player.

Cabin categories include:

• (HDV-Forward, HDA-Aft, HD1-Single, HD2-Double) Standard Cabins with two small fixed windows and two separate beds, located on Main Deck.
• (MDV-Forward, MDK-Gluck) Comfort Cabins with two large fixed windows and two separate beds, located in the forward section of Middle Deck.
• (D1-Single, MD2-Double, MDA-Aft) Superior Cabins with opening windows and two separate beds, located in the aft section of Middle Deck.
• (OD1-Single, OD2-Double) Deluxe Cabins with French Balcony and a double bed (convertible to twins), all located on Upper Deck.
• (ODS) Deluxe Suites with French Balcony and separable double bed, located midship on Upper 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).

1avista VistaExplorer cruise itineraries

Below are listed all 1avista VistaExplorer cruisetour itineraries (roundtrips from Passau, Germany) with call ports and port times.

• 4-day "Christmas Markets" cruisetour visits Bonn (6 pm–1 am), Koblenz (7 am–1 pm), Ruedesheim (6 pm–6 am), Wiesbaden (8 am–2 pm), Mainz (3 pm–9 pm). Cologne departure is at 3 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 6-day "Christmas Markets on the Danube" cruisetour visits Vienna (12:30 pm–11 pm), Esztergom, Budapest (1 pm–9 pm), Bratislava (1 pm–6 pm), Melk (11 am–2 pm). Passau departure is at 4 pm, with arrival at 9 am.
• 6-day "Danube Metropolises" cruisetour visits Vienna (4 pm–11:45 pm), Esztergom (8:30 am–9 am), Budapest (1 pm–8 pm), Bratislava (1 pm–6 pm), Durnstein (8 am–12:30 pm). Passau departure is at 6 pm, with arrival at 8:30 am.
• 7-day "Pearls of the Danube" cruisetour visits Vienna-Nussdorf (1 pm–12 am), Budapest (3:30 am–7 pm), Bratislava (12 am–7 pm), Melk (1 pm–3:30 pm). Passau departure is at 5 pm, with arrival at 8:30 am.
• 8-day "Holiday Trip on the Danube" cruisetour visits Durnstein (10 am–1 pm), Budapest (10 am–2 pm), Bratislava (8 am–1 pm), Vienna (8:30 pm–11 pm), Melk (9:30 am–1:30 pm). Passau departure is at 4 pm, with arrival at 9 am.
• 8-day "Christmas" cruisetour visits Nijmegen (3 am–4 pm), Antwerp (8 am–10 pm), Willemstad (3 am–10 am), Rotterdam (2 pm–8 pm), Amsterdam (3 am–11:45 pm), Arnhem (10 am–4 pm). Cologne departure is at 4 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 9-day "Schlager Special" cruisetour visits Regensburg (9 am–2 pm), Kehlheim (7 pm–7:30 pm), Nurnberg (9:30 am–6 pm), Bamberg (7 am–12:30 pm), Wurzburg (9:30 am–6 pm), Wertheim (7 am–1 pm), Frankfurt am Main (8 am–1 pm), Ruedesheim (8 pm–7 am). Passau departure is at 6 pm, with Cologne arrival at 5 pm.
• 15-day "Danube Total – Passau to Black Sea" cruisetour visits Vienna (1 pm–6 pm), Kalocsa (3 pm–7 pm), Mohacs (9 pm–12 pm), Belgrade (1 pm–10 pm), Iron Gate (Serbia/Romania), Rousse (10 am–1 pm), Tulcea (8:30 am–3 pm), Fetesti (7:30 am–8 am), Oltenita (3:30 pm–5 pm), Belgrade (1:30 pm–3 pm), Novi Sad (8:30 pm–9:30 pm), Mohacs (11 am–5:30 pm), Budapest (7 am–10 pm), Bratislava (1:30 pm–6 pm), Durnstein (10:30 am–11 am), Melk (2 pm–3 pm). Passau departure is at 5:30 pm, with arrival at 8 am.

1avista customers booking B2Bs / back-to-back cruises (two consecutive cruise itineraries with a minimum combined duration of 7 days) receive EUR 40 per person in onboard credit. Solo travellers booking single cabins pay a discounted surcharge of EUR 50 pp.

1avista Reisen cruise deals include:

• river cruising and stateroom accommodation
• shipboard dining – buffet breakfast, waiter-served lunch and afternoon coffee/tea with pastries, waiter-served dinner, and late-night snacks
• Captain's Dinner (special menu) and Welcome Cocktail party
• unlimited beverages (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 government taxes and port fees

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