Before the First Guests: Getting a River Cruise Ship Ready for the Season
Updated: 6 days ago
Before a river cruise starts, there are a few things guests probably don't think about. Like who's going to count all the forks.
Well, apparently, that's us.
I was back in Cologne Winter Harbour, standing on what would be my home for the next few months. It felt good to be back on a ship, especially because I had reunited with three friends from the previous season.
We had another season of sailing along the Rhine ahead of us. Castles, vineyards, beautiful towns and new guests every week.
But before any of that could begin, we had to get the ship ready.
And there's quite a bit more to that than putting a few glasses on the tables.
Getting the Restaurant Ready
The first two days were spent cleaning, counting, and organizing everything in the restaurant.
Plates? Counted. Forks? Checked. Glasses? Dropped a few, but don't worry about that.
Before anyone could sit down for dinner, everything needed to be in its place. It's one of those things you don't really think about when you're staying in a hotel or going on a cruise. You arrive, sit down, order something, and everything is already there.
But somebody had to prepare all of it.
In our case, that meant spending our mornings scrubbing, organizing, and lifting heavy stacks of plates.
Not exactly the glamorous cruise life you might imagine.
At least we were all suffering together.
When the Crew Becomes the Guests
When we weren't organizing the restaurant, we were practising service.
Even though many of us had worked on ships before, we still had to go through training to make sure everyone knew how things were supposed to be done.
And believe me, serving your colleagues can sometimes be more stressful than serving actual guests.
Why? Because they know everything.
Forget to pour wine from the correct side? They're going to notice. Guests might politely pretend they didn't see your mistake. Your colleagues won't.
But the funniest part was when we had to switch roles.
Some of us became the guests.
We sat at the tables, ordered food, and pretended we were enjoying a lovely cruise vacation while our colleagues practised serving us.
Ever tried acting fancy while your friend across the table is giving you that don't laugh look?
Impossible.
It was a good way to practise though, and definitely more entertaining than another morning spent counting forks.
Loading: Getting Everything on Board
Then came one of the busiest parts of the preparation: loading day.
Before guests arrive, the ship needs to be supplied with food, drinks and everything else required for the cruise.
And all of that has to get on board somehow.
Imagine a human conveyor belt, except instead of products moving through a factory, it's the crew passing boxes, crates and supplies from one person to another.
At one point, I was beginning to wonder whether I'd accidentally signed up for a gym membership instead of a restaurant job.
I was carrying so many things that I just accepted my fate: If I drop something, I'm going down with it.
But eventually, we got everything on board.
The ship was stocked, the restaurant was taking shape, and I was pretty sure my arms had gained some new muscles.
Preparing for the season also meant going through safety training.
We did a full emergency drill with another ship, where some of us played the role of guests while others acted as crew members responsible for helping them.
The goal was to practise how to assist passengers in case of an emergency.
Did I feel 100% confident after this training? Not really.
Would I follow the guy who actually knew what he was doing in a real emergency? Absolutely.
Then there was Viking's STAR training, which focuses on service, taking care of people, and handling different situations on board.
One of the things that stuck with me was the importance of smiling and making a connection with guests, even when your feet are completely dead.
A smile brings another smile, and that positivity will help you survive 80% of the job.
Where Are We Actually Going?
One of my favourite parts of the training was going over the destinations.
Our itinerary would take us between Amsterdam and Basel, with stops including Kinderdijk, Cologne, Koblenz, Rüdesheim, Speyer, Strasbourg and Breisach.
I'd already been to these places during the previous season, but hearing about the excursions and everything guests could experience made me excited to return.
That's one of the things I enjoy about working on a river cruise ship. Even though you're working, you're travelling through different countries, and sometimes you get the opportunity to step off the ship and explore somewhere new.
I was looking forward to doing exactly that.
Finally, Time to Leave Cologne
After more than a week of cleaning, organizing, training, and carrying boxes, we were finally ready to leave Cologne Winter Harbour.
Our next destination was Basel.
For the following three days, we'd be sailing toward Switzerland, where the first guests of the season would join us.
No more practising restaurant service with friends. No more pretending to be passengers.
This was the real deal.
And honestly? I was equally excited and terrified.
The good news? I hadn't dropped a full tray of drinks yet.
The bad news? There was still plenty of time for that to happen.
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