On a Moselle cruise with Viva Cruises

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On a Moselle cruise with Viva Cruises

Published by Petra Kirsch at 27. February 2025

Moselle Romance

“I get gray hair from all the narrow locks and low bridges,” says Narcis Midvighi with a booming laugh. Locks and bridges are not really a headache for the captain of the Viva Tiara. The 52-year-old Romanian from Brăila
in Wallachia on the Danube is a veteran who has been working on ships for 30 years and for many years for the Swiss shipping company Scylla, whose fleet includes 42 ships, eight of which operate as Viva Cruises on the rivers of Europe. The Viva Enjoy will be added at the beginning of 2025.
Nevertheless, concentration is required at every lock on the four-day Moselle cruise. “The Viva Tiara is 11.4 meters wide and the locks are 12 meters wide. There's not much play on either side,” says Narcis Midvighi and laughs again. Locking is precision work, but for him and his crew of second captain, engineer, helmsman and three sailors, it's child's play. The crew of the Tiara is a well-rehearsed team, all of whom are from Romania and shout commands to each other in their native language. The Viva Tiara has to sail twelve times on the route from Koblenz to Bernkastel-Kues and back again, and as a guest you don't notice much of this: You often sit comfortably at dinner in the Riverside Restaurant, on the sun deck with a Moselle wine or you lie in your cabin in a deep sleep when the lock falls on a night trip.

: Captain Narcis Midvighi has been working for the Swiss shipping company Scylla, which also owns the Viva fleet, for 30 years

: On the trail of the Zell “Schwarze Katz” – a famous vineyard

The cruise starts for us at kilometer zero of the Moselle. The Viva Tiara is moored at the quayside in Koblenz shortly after the Deutsches Eck, where the Moselle flows into the Rhine. Before embarking, some guests took the cable car up to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and admired the breathtaking panorama and the slight difference in color between the two rivers from above. From Koblenz, the journey takes us upstream along the Moselle, which meanders through the valley as if it were tipsy and is lined with picturesque half-timbered and Art Nouveau towns, wildly romantic castles on rocky outcrops such as in Cochem and steep vineyards. The hills on the banks are so steep that the mere sight of them can make you dizzy. The Moselle is the largest steep-slope wine-growing region and the largest Riesling-growing region in the world. Nowhere is this more evident than on the terraced Moselle, where the vines on the Bremmer Calmont grow on a slope of up to 68 degrees. For the winegrowers, this means that the grapes can only be harvested by hand and with muscle power. As the Viva Tiara glides slowly through the Moselle loop, you can see the harvesters starting to pick the grapes on the steep slope at the beginning of October. Every free plot along the route that is even halfway south-facing is planted with Riesling vines. Those who check in on the Viva Tiara taste the Moselle Riesling on board or during the excursions: What will it be - dry, off-dry or sweet?

: The view from the impressive Reichsburg castle in Cochem is almost fairytale-like. In 1868, the Berlin councillor of commerce Louis Ravené bought the castle ruins from the Middle Ages at a bargain price and rebuilt them. Today, guests from all over the world visit the Reichsburg

: Moselle romance in Traben-Trarbach: the Viva Tiara is located directly in front of the Buddha Museum

The Viva Tiara is a cozy and tastefully furnished ship with a wonderfully relaxed flair, good cuisine with an all-inclusive concept and a small spa area with sauna and steam bath, for which guests must reserve a time slot in advance. The sun deck has a whirlpool, sun loungers and seating areas to relax in. The Tiara was launched in 2006 and the 76 cabins for 152 guests were renovated in 2020. The result is successful and radiates comfort: Maritime shades of blue and beige dominate the carpeting, for example, whose pattern echoes the reflection of the river water. The 15 m² two-bed cabins on the three decks are equipped with comfortable beds, upholstered chairs, writing or dressing tables, capsule coffee machines and clock radios. Cushions upholstered in midnight blue velvet and the bed headboard in shades of blue create harmonious accents, while the large mirrors and French balconies on the Diamant and Rubin decks provide visual space. The cabins on the lowest Emerald deck have the same furnishings, but forgo the French balcony for a window that cannot be opened. The bathrooms score points with underfloor heating, beautiful cosmetic products and a spacious, semi-circular shower in which even a two-meter man with broad shoulders has plenty of room. The drinks in the mini-bar are included in the all-inclusive concept, as are most drinks with and without alcohol during the entire cruise.
On our Moselle cruise in the first week of October, the Viva Tiara is almost fully booked with 128 guests.Most of them come from Germany, supplemented by travel groups from Norway.“Our guest market is distributed, with half coming from the DACH region and the other half being international.The Benelux and Scandinavian countries and North America are particularly strong markets for us,” says Johanna Biegalla, Marketing Manager.
As with most river cruises, many guests on board are silver agers who enjoy traveling, often accompanied by their children, who appreciate the relaxed, enjoyable way of traveling and the comfort on board, which includes an elevator.The elevator transports guests from the lobby to the Diamond and Ruby Decks so that everyone can easily reach the restaurants.

: The restaurant in the stern of the Viva Tiara is a cozy place to sit

: Humorous tour in Zell with the costumed “Riwigmännchen”. A sip of wine is part of it

The main restaurant, Riverside, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, while the small bistro in the stern of the Viva Tiara offers a more intimate setting for lunch or dinner if ordered in advance. The menu sets luxurious accents with, for example, a spicy lobster bisque or beef tartare as a starter followed by grilled rib-eye steak, tiger prawns or rack of lamb with a choice of sauces and glazed vegetables.If you like, you can order US-style cheesecake for a sweet finale.At Riverside, the choice of menu is much wider.Start with a fine beef carpaccio, followed by a small, crunchy spinach salad with a fine honey and mustard dressing, enjoy a creamy cauliflower soup with Munster cheese and then think about what you would like for your main course: tender duck breast cooked sous vide, a fresh river trout or a vegetarian dumpling duo that tastes as good as in its South Tyrolean homeland. A selection of cheeses, fruit or dessert round off the menu.Service is provided by an extremely friendly, attentive team, most of whom come from the Balkans and Asia, speak English and often understand German.The team also serves a vegan menu and a local specialty every day. “On the Moselle cruise, this could be the “Winzerpfanne” or the “Hunsrücker Spießbraten”, says Ringo Karsch, who has been with Scylla for 16 years and has been responsible for the gastronomic concept of the Viva fleet as Culinary Director since 2018. Wines from the respective cruising areas are also served to accompany the dishes.On the Moselle, for example, this is the sparkling Riesling “Bulli T1” from the Selbach-Oster winery or the fruity rosé “Reisling” from the Zeltinger-Hof edition - delicious with a vintner's pan or river trout.If you're on board at Oktoberfest time like us, you'll be served a tasty Helles from Bavaria at lunchtime with roast pork, Obazda, pretzels and more - accompanied by brass band music, the atmosphere in the Riverside couldn't be better.

In short, the guests love the food, but see a downer elsewhere. The Viva Tiara has no berth in Bernkastel-Kues. The day trippers therefore have to be bussed from Traben-Trarbach to the popular town.“We are disappointed,” says a German couple. The berth has been canceled at short notice, according to the ship's management, and some people suspect that shipping companies that have bought a berth may have priority. In Koblenz, there is also no berth available for the Tiara at the end of the cruise. Tens of ships are moored at the quayside and Captain Narcis Midvighi is discussing where he should park the Tiara with an employee of the harbour master's office. “The problem is that the Rhine and Moselle are carrying a lot of water due to the heavy rain. As a result, the current is stronger, the ships move faster and arrive well before the reserved time slot for the berth. The previous ship is still on site and the next one is already there,” says Thorsten Cornehls from the harbour master's office in Koblenz. He rejects preferential treatment for selected shipping companies. “We book the reservations for the ships as soon as the emails reach us,” says Cornehls. After some back and forth, the solution for the Tiara is to park in the second row behind another river cruiser.

: Fine dining in the stern of the Viva Tiara: In the bistro, you can enjoy lunch or dinner in a more intimate setting if you book in advance

: The lobby on the Viva Tiara is spacious with a store and reception area

Back on the Moselle: Cruise Director Reinhold Galgon offers a vintage van tour through the vineyards above Bernkastel-Kues as a highlight of the tour, which is booked up in no time. But the city tours in the picturesque half-timbered village of Beilstein, the Art Nouveau town of Traben-Trarbach, the humorous tour of the costumed “Riwigmännchen” in Zell or the tour of the impressive Reichsburg castle with its panoramic view of the Moselle in Cochem are also very popular with English and German-speaking guests. The low excursion prices are a plus point: The city tours cost between 15 and 18 euros per person.If you like, you can also discover some surprising things on the route on your own, such as the Buddha Museum in Traben-Trarbach or the old Bundesbank bunker in Cochem, which was once the best-kept secret in the Federal Republic of Germany. Back on the Viva Tiara, guests enjoy a raffle or music bingo with cake in the Panorama Salon, while Captain Narcis Midvighi sails back to Koblenz and counts one more gray hair after the last lock with a wink.

: Exciting excursion: the Buddha Museum in Traben-Trarbach

: Half-timbered romance in the village of Beilstein with its 120 inhabitants: the place is so picturesque that it has been used as a film set several times, such as in “If we were all angels” with Heinz Rühmann