After a beautiful day and morning in Budapest, it was time to board our ship and head out for an overnight cruise to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. It was so exciting to head down to the dock and board! We were greeted by a crew member who checked us in and directed us to our cabin, a lovely room with floor-to-ceiling sliding doors that opened for us to be able to take in the river breeze and the sights. Here are some photos of our ship: the Avalon Artistry II.
Once we were settled, it was time to head up onto the sky deck and watch as we pulled out of Budapest. There were so many sights to see along the Danube as we started our cruise!
Once we were cruising, we had a safety lesson, a lovely champagne cocktail to toast to the cruise, an introduction to the crew, and then it was time to cruise for a little bit before our dinner! The meals on the ship were amazing and the staff was so pleasant. Our Cruise Director Helmut was exceptional! As night fell, hubby and I went up to the sky deck to watch nightfall and also to see another ship passing us in the night. Hubby was worried the captain might get lost, so he pointed out the way to him! LOL!
After all the excitement, it was time to head back to our cabin and get some rest! I have to confess I was a little freaked out about knowing that my bed was on a boat floating on a river. I had visions of something Titanic-like happening. LOL! Of course, very different since you can always see the shore from the boat which was very reassuring to me.
Here’s a little video of our departure from Budapest and two ships passing in the night on the Danube.