I thoroughly enjoyed my 1st river cruise on Crystal Mozart, sailing the Danube for 10-nights. I’m going to use a different angle to view this cruise and write a not-so-common trip report. I’ll start with a list of the pros and cons of this cruise. Of course, it’s only based on my own opinions, but hopefully it would be helpful enough for fellow cruisers to learn more about the 5-star river cruising experience on Crystal Mozart, as I found that I got very limited information regarding this while doing my research homework on the cruise throughout my almost 2 years’ planning period. I spent a ton of time to write on Wismergirl’s travel blog to include a lot more details if you are interested in my daily activities on board.
Refer to photo: Crystal Mozart, “the Giant” of Danube river cruising, docked at Linz on July 13, 2018:
Pros
The S1 suite #203 that I'm in has the best location of all French balcony suites (see photos). It's close to the spa relaxation area which was hardly occupied by anybody on our cruise. I always wrote my travel blog there while watching the ship go through the locks. Look at the beautiful view from the front windows of the spa (see photo). As for the room size, it's only 219 sq. ft., so it's much smaller than a regular hotel room but it's good enough for a 10-day river cruise. Just pack light for the river cruise and there would not be a problem to fit 2 suitcases of clothes in the closets or the drawers. Even when the ships were double- or even triple-parked, this room almost never got blocked.
Many guests complained that the bathroom was too small but I found it actually bigger than those on the ocean cruise ships. We always closed the bathroom door so the Toto toilet wouldn't keep opening and closing. We chose to operate it using the control pad on the wall manually, so it's less annoying but very convenient and hygienic as we didn't have to use our hands to touch any part of the toilet.
Drove around "The Ring" to see lots of city sights.
We only visited the outside of the Schönbrunn Palace but the ground was absolutely stunning.
We boarded the Old Town Trolley and it was really fun! We took the Red loop and it took 30 minutes. It was great that we could see our ship from the bridge while crossing the Danube.
Totally worth the 2-hour drive from Linz. We started from the top of the castle and walked downhill, passing by many courtyards. We had our lunch by the Moldau River and both the food and the scenery were fantastic! Had a nice stroll to the Old Town Square and its surroundings with cobble-stoned narrow streets.
We were on the ship excursion to Chatam Sofer Memorial, an important Jewish heritage site & took some panoramic photos from the Bratislava Castle. Didn't visit the inside of the castle. After the excursion, we went on the Old Town trolley on our own which was more fun than the ship ecursion.
Visited the Budapest Parliament Building and had a great guided tour. Had some free time at the Great Market Hall.