Crystal's tour of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna offers private early access. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldberg
Passengers aboard Crystal Cruises’ first river ship, the
Crystal Mozart, may select from an extensive list of complimentary and add-on
group excursions in every port.
Included in the cruise are activities like a schnapps
distillery tour and glassblowing studio visit in Passau, Germany; a horse farm
trip and carriage ride in Budapest, Hungary; and a tour of the Mauthausen
concentration camp in Linz, Austria.
For an additional cost, guests can enjoy a beer lecture and
tasting, ride on a whitewater slalom course, learn the Viennese waltz or book a
private van and guide. Some excursions, like visits to Salzburg’s Christmas
markets, are seasonal.
As part of a preview of the refurbished ship, we were able
to attend a shore excursion in Vienna dubbed “Chamber of Arts & Wonders
& Hidden Secrets,” which included transport in one Crystal’s posh coaches
and guided visits to the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Imperial Treasury.
A phoenix sculpted from ivory at the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldberg
Housed in an impressive neo-baroque building along Vienna’s
ring road, the art museum opened exclusively for Crystal’s group 30 minutes
early. That meant we could enjoy the cabinets of curiosities and treasures from
the Habsburg dynasty in relative quiet, without the clamor of schoolchildren or
throngs of tourists. In dim, climate-controlled rooms, sculptures, ornate
tableware and other relics glowed under spotlights.
Rather than attempt to survey the entire museum in an hour,
our in-house guide focused on in-depth discussion of a few notable pieces,
including “Saliera,” a gold sculpture made by Italian artist Benvenuto Cellini
for King Francis I of France in the 1540s. The piece is most famous for having
been stolen in 2003 and recovered three years later buried in an Austrian
forest, but our guide quickly added that the work itself —
a hand-hammered salt-and-pepper holder that depicts Neptune, Tellus, the four
winds and various creatures real and invented — is far
more interesting than any robbery.
The Imperial Treasury inside Hofburg Palace feature royal vestments. Photo Credit: Sarah Feldberg
The second half of the tour took us to the Imperial
Treasury, housed inside the Hofburg Palace, which holds sacred and secular
treasures. On display were elegant vestments, glittering relics and a “unicorn
horn” (actually from a narwhal). While the large crowds made absorbing the
stories a bit challenging, pieces like the crown of the Holy Roman Empire,
shining in gold and adorned with large gemstones, still drew “ahhhs.”
Some stops on the Mozart’s route offer as many six
complimentary excursions, along with optional upgrades that range from 59 euros
for the beer tasting to 1,599 euros for a flightseeing tour of the Austrian
Alps followed by a gourmet lunch in the mountains.
The Mozart sets sail on the Danube July 13 on its maiden
voyage.
First impressions of the Crystal Mozart