From sailors (middle left) right on up to Crystal’s President and CEO (with his wife Sharon, top right), Crystal River Cruises employs exceptional people. \u00a9 2019 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
While the service will certainly endure you to Crystal, the dining will wow you. Crystal boasts farm-to-table dining on its river cruises, meaning that you’re consuming products from Europe\u2019s plentiful farms and markets. I’m not the first to proclaim that if Michelin were to award stars to restaurants on ships, Crystal Bach would deserve to be in that constellation of great restaurants.<\/p>\n
With two dining venues, and an open-seating dining policy, Crystal Bach’s guests get to have it their way. \u00a9 2019 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
One hands-down winner for me was Crystal Bach’s open-seating dining. We simply needed to show up anytime between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. each evening for dinner. I also appreciated that there were plenty of tables that seated only two people. Ten nights of socializing can test even the most enthusiastic of extroverts, so being able to take a break was something that I appreciated. There were other ways to retreat also, with room service, or in the Bistro, which served a wonderful tapas menu each night.<\/p>\n
Burning The Calories On Excursions<\/h2>\n
Remarkably during our river cruise, I was able to tally up more than 100 miles of bicycling along the rivers, mainly the Moselle, with its sunny days and colorful vineyards stitching up the slopes. Crystal Bach carries a fleet of bikes for individual and guided excursions, all complimentary, of course.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWe also spent one day hiking in Luxembourg\u2019s Little Switzerland. The activity felt good given the irresistible food and drink served up on Bach – even those with superhuman willpower could not say no to the desserts. The active excursions had good participation – and good tour leaders – too. A highlight for many was a four-mile hike in Luxembourg’s Little Switzerland. The sandstone formations among the forested hills were unlike anything I\u2019d seen before.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOn an excursion from Trier, Germany, we traveled to Luxembourg to hike among sandstone sentinels in a region known as Little Switzerland \u00a9\u00a02019 Ralph Grizzle<\/p><\/div>\n
Two Special Events<\/h2>\n
While docked in Bernkastel, Germany, we enjoyed an evening at Kloster Machern where La Finesse, four female virtuosos dressed in memorable red dresses, combined classical (think Beethoven) with classic rock (think AC\/DC) in a single composition. You can hear a sample in the video below. The concert was perfect in every way. The motorcoach transfer to the venue was short in duration, about 15 minutes; the performance started without delay; and it lasted only about 45 minutes, leaving us all wanting more. We actually did get more when one of the performers came to the ship the next evening to perform a solo act.<\/p>\n