Day 8: Cologne/Düsseldorf
When we awoke on Day 8, our rose had wilted in its vase, a sure sign that it was time to go.
We headed to the restaurant for one last breakfast before disembarking from the ship. The buffet offering was much smaller, with no special menu items or drinks. Breakfast was available between 7-9am. Everyone had to depart by 9am.
A-ROSA offers transfers to the train station. We’d pre-arranged for a taxi pick-up, for a ride back to Dusseldorf (about 40 minutes away). We spent the rest of the day exploring Dusseldorf, reflecting on the A-ROSA cruise experience.
Review of A-ROSA
We’d been on several cruises, both large ships and small ships. This was our first river cruise. We’d boarded the SENA a bit apprehensive, not sure if we’d enjoy this style of cruising, worried it wouldn’t be very family-friendly.
We found the crew and passengers to be welcoming to the many children on-board. We appreciated the specially designed spaces, activities, and foods for kids. We love that children 15-years-old and younger can travel free on A-ROSA with an accompanying adult.
As for the itinerary, we really liked the ports of call. It was fun to hop between cities. The fact that the SENA could dock in the heart of each city made exploration easy and efficient. We’d previously sailed on a large ship through Europe, and often ended up in ports 45-90 minutes away from the major cities, cutting into the time we had to explore.
We liked the floating hotel experience. Unpacking once, especially when traveling with kids, is ideal. Being able to eat most meals on the ship was a cost effective way to travel as a family.
Would we sail with A-ROSA again? In a heartbeat! In fact, we’re already looking at other itineraries. A-ROSA sails the Rhine, Rhone, Danube, Seine, and Douro.
The author and her family were guests of A-ROSA for the purposes of this review. All opinions are her own.
