Majestic Danube River cruise: A dream adventure for Canadian foodies

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The world’s waters are full of cruises. On any given day, in any ocean, lake or river, you’re bound to find a ship of every size to suit every holiday dream, be they massive ocean liners, elegant yachts or small, intimate river ships that travel the world.

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There’s a cruise for everyone — mine happened to be a relaxing and utterly delightful river cruise along the Danube, where my week-long adventure aboard the Emerald Sky was packed with the most amazing experiences that also included an opportunity to meet and eat alongside celebrity chefs Canadian Dale MacKay (who brought along his business partner, award-winning chef Christopher Cho) and Germany’s chef Tom Goetter, of Top Chef: World All Stars fame. Goetter is now the VP of oceans hotel operations for the Scenic Group, overseeing the entire culinary program for both Scenic Eclipse Discovery Yachts and its sister brand, Emerald Cruises. 

In fact, celebrity chef cruises are gaining in popularity, and there’s a whole list of chefs who travel with guests to offer everything from specially-crafted award-winning meals to cooking and cocktail classes. (Celebrity chefs Michael and Oscar Bonacini, will be participating in an exclusive river cruise through some of France’s most flavourful cities next spring!) 

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These cruises are particularly fun, given guests have a chance to eat at the chefs’ table and interact with them on a daily basis. 

Saskatchewan-born chef MacKay brought to the table an impressive repertoire, having travelled the world and worked his way through the kitchens of Daniel Boulud and Gordon Ramsay before winning the first season of Top Chef Canada. MacKay has since appeared on a variety of culinary shows including Fire Masters, Wall of Chefs and has competed internationally on Top Chef: World All-Stars. He and his long-time chef collaborator Christopher Cho are at the helm of a plethora of award-winning restaurants in western Canada.

The beauty of a river cruise is that it’s quite leisurely, offering an amazing backdrop for every country visited, and a shoreline that was always in view. Emerald Cruises does not disappoint: the company is award-winning on a number of fronts, including the 2023 Conde Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards as a favourite river cruise line and was voted the number one small ship cruise line for the company’s fleet of luxury ocean yachts.

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If we weren’t eating, we were sightseeing and when we weren’t doing that, we were relaxing aboard a vessel that was spacious yet intimate, with rooms that were cozy yet not confining, every window offering a spectacular view.

And every day of our adventure, which started in Hungary and gently coasted to famous cities in Slovakia, Austria and Germany, revealed magnificent scenes of beauty — panoramas of valleys and mountains, walks through historical cities and nights where one could get lost in the crowd of stars and the biggest full moon that filled the sky.

Our travels took us to Budapest and Bratislava, Vienna to Passau, to name just a few places we stopped in and explored. We visited the famous Benedictine Gottweig Abbey in Krems, with panoramic views of the Wachau Valley and a somber history tied to the Second World War.

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In Vienna we happened upon a chance encounter with the Vienna Boys Choir — a group of lovely boys and teens who were happily lining up to have a group photo taken for the upcoming holiday season.

Some of the towns, like Bratislava, were small enough that one could spend the day walking the ancient streets, checking out where Beethoven performed his “Opferlied” cantata, dedicated to the town of Bratislava (where I also stumbled upon a colourful Sicilian food and wine festival serving up such traditional treats as supple fried rice balls and pizza by the slice!) and later catching a rambunctious group of soccer fans whooping it up in the town square.

We ate delicious traditional schnitzel in Budapest, a stunning city that was once two (Buda and Pest) and there was a particular reverence in each step we took, given its history, knowing that the Russian Revolution had taken place only a few blocks from where we wandered around looking for Hungarian paprika to purchase and take home.

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Every street one turned into revealed majestic buildings shoulder to shoulder with more utilitarian buildings built after the war. We visited Heroes’ Square and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Andrassy Avenue, home to some of Budapest’s finest cultural thoroughfares. We visited the famous St. Stephen’s Basilica. But it was one street in particular where something caught my eye: A statue of — of all people — the late, great actor Peter Falk, in his traditional trench coat, bending down to pet a small dog. “What’s Peter Falk doing here?” someone asked. Our guide patiently explained many actors of Hungarian origin immediately came to the country’s aid after the war, raising much-needed funds to get the city back on its feet. “Peter was one of many,” added our guide thoughtfully.

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Every city opened doors to so much of Europe’s history. With its sweeping boulevards and opulent vistas, Vienna, also, was full of surprises and many delights including a visit to one of the most famous museums in the world, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, an institution brimming with 650 years of history, and home to such masters as Rubens, Rembrandt and Raphael.

We were able to get up close and personal with Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini’s prominent Saliera — an elaborate, ornate gold salt and pepper shaker created for King Francis 1 of France back in the 1540s. The art object had its own personal drama in 2003 when it was stolen by a frustrated security specialist who kept warning the museum that security was lax and precious artwork could be carried out easily. 

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To prove his point, the thief, Robert Mang, walked out with the Saliera and buried it in box in a forest 90 km north of Vienna, where it rested for three years. Mang did turn himself him to the authorities (after having a heck of time persuading the local constabulary of what he had done, given the police officer was clueless when it came to famous art) and the precious object was safely returned to the museum, where it sits today in a very secure glass box for all to enjoy.

Back on the ship, we enjoyed excellent meals, evening entertainment and just timeless moments of the most wonderful solitude you can imagine set against an ever-changing, ever-moving landscape. For me, the best part was making new friends with people from around the world as well as Canada. 

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How did the chefs find their adventures? “This has been an amazing experience, especially given the opportunity to meet people who have a real interest in the culinary histories of the places we visited,” said MacKay.  “This was a very fun group and I really enjoyed meeting everyone as well as giving lessons on how to make the perfect cocktail!” added chef Cho.

My take-away was this: The week was full of adventure yet the tone was relaxed. The food on board our cruise was fantastic but what made everything so memorable was the attentive staff, and the new friends I made along the way.

The next Danube Delights cruise runs in April 2025.

Rita DeMontis was a guest of Emerald Cruises which did not preview this story. 

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