MS VistaStar

MS VistaStar cruise ship is a 4-star hotel ranked riverboat owned by Konigstein River Cruises GmbH and operated under charter by 1avista Reisen. The new ship (2018-built in Holland) is stylishly furnished, with spacious interiors and excellent service delivered by professional staff and crew. Vista Star cruises on Rhine, Moselle and Main rivers, with roundtrip departures from homeport Cologne (Koln) Germany, also cruising on the Dutch and Belgium inland waterways. Passengers are predominantly German.

Shipboard facilities

MS VistaStar has 4 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, jewelry, cosmetics, toiletries, sweets), Library (reading lounge with books, DVDs, puzzles, board games), Sun Deck with shaded seating (retractable awnings, 4-seat tables), sunbathing area (deckchairs, sun loungers) and deckgames area (mini-golf putting green, Shuffleboard). Spa Magrodome (located at the stern) is a premium wellness complex (covered by a retractable glass-roof) with swimming pool (infinity pool), sauna room (6-person, free of charge, 1-hour advance reservation is required), Pool Bar, Gym (with modern fitness equipment), Beauty Parlor (hairdresser-barber services).

Solar panels (installed on Sun Deck) produce power for onboard consumption. One Lift (passenger elevator) connects all cabin decks. All decks are interconnected via stairs (forward, midship and aft). 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. The ship carries bicycles that can be rented at the Reception Desk.

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 various breads-rolls, eggs, bacon, sausages, cheeses, dairy products, yoghurts, fresh fruits, muesli varieties. Lunch buffet's opening hours are cruisetour itinerary-based (synchronized with ports and shore 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-cakes are available in front of the Restaurant, but for just about 30 min. On days without tours, cake with tea-coffee is served in the Lounge. On tour days, the offers are limited to coffee-tea and midnight snacks (canapes).

The 4-course dinner is table-served 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, popular quizzes, skat tournaments, napkin folding lessons, evening dance parties. Shore excursions are offered at additional cost in every port of call along the cruise itinerary. At each stop are complimentary provided maps and tour guide explanations.

Cabins

MS VistaStar has a total of 98 staterooms (all outside). All double cabins are equally sized (16 m2 / 170 ft2), while the 4 standard cabins are smaller (15 m2 / 160 ft2) and with 2 separate lower beds (80x200 cm, parallel or L-shape arranged) and non-convertible to double. One of the beds is daytime sofa (during the day can be used as a couch, while the other bed is foldaway. Single cabins are with 1 lower plus 1 upper bed (bunk). Some twin cabins can be booked as singles (at 50% supplement). Main Deck cabins (categories Comfort and Standard) don't have opening windows. These cabins are with triple and quad occupancy (can be occupied by 3/4 passengers) via 3rd/4th Pullman bed (upper bunks). All Middle and Upper deck cabins are with French Balcony (floor-ceiling sliding windows opening to a railing).

All MS Vista Star cabins offer as standard amenities either French Balcony (slide-opening floor-ceiling windows) or Portholes (fixed / non-opening windows), en-suite bathroom (single-sink vanity, WC-toilet, shower, under-sink storage, magnifying mirror, hairdryer, razor socket), hotel beds (double convertible to twins) with leather headboards (LED lighting), 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), mirrored vanity table (writing desk), bedside cabinets, wall-mounted reading lamps, low round table with 2 chairs, mirrored wardrobe (hangers, no drawers), radio, electronic safe box (in the closet), 220V power sockets, individually controlled air-conditioning. VIP cabins additionally receive a welcome basket with a bottle of sparkling wine and a gift.

Cabin categories include:

• Double-Triple-Quad Cabins (with fixed / non-opening Porthole windows located near the ceiling) are in categories HD2-HD3-Comfort and HDV-Standard (Main Deck).
• Deluxe Double Cabins (with French balcony) are in categories OD2, ODA and ODV - all located on Upper Deck.
• Superior Double Cabins (with French balcony) are in categories MD2 and MDA - all located on Middle Deck.
• Single Cabins (with French balcony) are in categories MD1 (Middle Deck), OD1 (Upper Deck) and HD1 (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).

The cruise ship is not suitable for wheelchair passengers as moorings are often not handicap-accessible.

1avista VistaStar cruise itineraries

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

• 4-day "Christmas Shopping" cruisetour visits Amsterdam (9 am - 1 am; 2 days) and Nijmegen (9 am - 3 pm). Cologne departure is at 3:30 pm, with arrival at 9 am.
• 4-day "Christmas Market trip from/to Cologne" cruise tour visits Bonn (6:30 pm - 0:30 pm; 2 days), Koblenz (6 - 12 am), Ruedesheim (6 - 11:45 pm), Frankfurt am Main (7 am - 1 pm), and Mainz (6 pm - 11:45 pm). Cologne departure is at 3:30 pm, with arrival at 9:30 am.
• 10-day "Christmas trip from/to Cologne" cruise tour visits Bonn (6:30 pm - 0:30 pm; 2 days), Koblenz (6 - 12 am), Ruedesheim (6 - 10 pm), Frankfurt am Main (8 am - 6 pm), Speyer (9 am - 7 pm), Strasbourg (7 am - 5 pm), Basel (7 am - 7 pm), Breisach (1 am - 2 pm), Mainz (8 am - 11:45), St. Goarshausen (8 - 12 am), and Andernach (4 - 11:45 pm). Cologne departure is at 3:30 pm, with arrival at 9 am.
• 8-day "Experience the Carnival on the Rhine" cruise tour visits Mainz (10 am - 11:45 pm), Mannheim (10 am - 7 am; 2 days), Worms (8:30 am - 7 pm), and Frankfurt am Main (8 am - 2 pm). Cologne departure is at 4:00 pm, with arrival at 5:00 am.
• 5-day "Short break Holland" cruise tour visits Amsterdam (10 am - 4:30 am; 2 days), Lelystad (9 - 12 am), Hoorn (2 pm - 9 pm) and Nijmegen (8 am - 3 pm). Cologne departure is at 5 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 8-day "New Year's Eve trip from/to Cologne" visits Nijmegen (0:15 pm - 4 pm), Antwerp (6 am - 7 pm; 2 days), Rotterdam (2 am - 1 am; 2 days), Amsterdam (9 am - 11:45 pm), and Arnhem (10 am - 4 pm). Cologne departure is at 3 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 8-day "Holland and Belgium" visits Amsterdam (10 am - 4:30 am; 2 days), Lelystad (9 - 12 am), Hoorn (2 pm - 10 pm), Rotterdam (8 am - 1 pm), Willemstad (4 - 7 pm), Antwerp (7 am - 8 pm) and Nijmegen (9 am - 3 pm). Cologne departure is at 5 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 8-day "Mosel-romance" visits Ruedesheim (2 - 10 pm), Alken (5 - 11:30 am), Zell (7 pm - 5 am; 2 days), Bernkastel-Kues (9 am - 3 pm), Piesport (7 pm - 5 am), Trier (9 am - 11 pm), Cochem (0:30 - 10 pm), Winningen (2 am - 10 am) and Koblenz (12 am - 10 pm). Cologne departure is at 11 pm, with arrival at 8 am.
• 8-day "Rhein-romance" visits Ruedesheim (3 - 9:30 pm), Speyer (8 am - 6 pm), Strasbourg (6 am - 4:30 pm), Basel (8 am - 6 pm), Breisach (1 am - 1:30 pm), Mannheim (7 - 12 am), and Mainz (4 - 10 pm). Cologne departure is at 11:30 pm, with arrival at 8 am.

1avista customers booking B2Bs / back-to-back cruises (two consecutive cruises 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 pp.

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 (Bar Lounge)
• 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 1avista cruise fares are arrival-departure and transfers (to/from the boat), personal expenses, tours (shore excursions), gratuities (recommended EUR 7 pp per day).