The Danube of Vienna and the Danube downstream
Most travellers picture the Danube as a run of capitals: Vienna, Bratislava,
Budapest. That stretch is superb and it accounts for less than half the
navigable river. Below Budapest the Danube changes character. The banks pull
apart, villages replace palaces, and sailing days lengthen. The Iron Gates,
between Serbia and Romania, are a passage few people anticipate and almost
everyone talks about afterwards.
S.S. Maria Theresa works mainly the upper section, between Passau and
Budapest, with extensions onto the Main. If you want the lower Danube, choose an
itinerary that says so explicitly rather than assuming it.
The hull
One hundred and thirty-five metres, 150 guests, 55 crew. Out of the De Hoop
yard in 2015, with 74 cabins. The decor borrows from eighteenth-century Austria,
down to the names of the lounges.
A heated enclosed pool takes part of the upper deck, which changes everything
in April and December. A cinema completes the fit-out, useful on a river where
rainy days exist.
The other Danube hulls
S.S. Beatrice carries 148 guests on 131 metres, two fewer than this ship, and sails
further downstream. S.S. Emilie entered service in 2026 on the same river. On the Rhine,
S.S. Antoinette stands the comparison, and River Duchess works the Danube, the Rhine and the Main
together on a shorter calendar.
What the package contains
Shipboard gratuities included. Meals included. A selection of wines, beers
and spirits served through the day. Scheduled excursions and the transfers in
your file included. Bicycles, walking poles and onboard fitness sessions
included as well.
Wi-Fi comes as a courtesy and without guarantee. It weakens in locks and
vanishes on some stretches. If you need to stay reachable for work, arrange
something that does not depend on the ship.
Not included: airfare, visas, travel insurance, laundry, spa treatments,
communication charges and optional excursions.
Accessibility: what the contract actually says
Reasonable efforts, with no guarantee of full accessibility. No mobility
equipment supplied. A companion able to assist is required for any traveller who
needs help. Add a gangway whose slope varies with the water level and excursions
that often run over cobblestones. The question of a lift belongs to each ship
individually and deserves a written answer before you pay a deposit.
From Montreal
Allow a full day in transit outbound. Evening flights to Europe arrive the
following morning, and the body takes two or three days to settle into the new
time zone. A hotel night before embarkation turns a ragged arrival into a clean
start.
Voyages AquaTerra operates under a licence from Quebec's Office de la
protection du consommateur. Funds are held in the trust account required by the
Travel Agents Act, and the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents
covers your booking. These protections are written down, not merely claimed.
