Cruise Buzz

Uniworld River Cruises Wouter Vercruysse Shares Tip for Rudesheim, Germany

Not to miss in Rudesheim, Germany: Schloss Restaurant and Drosselgasse

A significant factor to making a good river cruise a trip of a lifetime falls on the shoulders of the cruise manager.

While the captain is responsible for the ship and the hotel manager is charged with guest relations regarding lodging and food, the cruise manager ensures that cruise guests enjoy their time off the ship. During our 7-night Rhine Christmas Markets cruise on SS Antoinette, our cruise manager on Uniworld Boutique River Cruises was Wouter Vercruysse.

Rudesheim is a beautiful little town with a long history going back to the Roman times. Arriving in the afternoon, our group was escorted into town via a small train to deliver guests to the included tour of the Mechanical Instrument Museum. Wouter waited outside in the cold to personally ask each guest if they had questions about how to get back to the ship or to provide suggestions about what to do and see in Rudesheim.

In the video below, you will see Wouter’s insider tip about not missing the Schloss. In fact, some of the passengers would go back later in the evening on an optional tour to eat dinner in the famous restaurant.

Throughout the cruise that sailed from Basel, Switzerland to Cologne, Germany, Wouter was very visible. His duties included  leading nightly briefing sessions about upcoming tours; working at his desk to answer individual questions; escorting group tours; managing logistics for our tours (in some cases modifying the program to benefit the guests); and he would always greet guests in town at the completion of a tour to give assistance to those that wanted to explore on their own.

Wouter’s parents were in the travel industry and he has a lot of patience when dealing with the demands of cruise passengers.  Wouter speaks many languages and lives in Rome with his wife and two kids. When he is not on assignment with Uniworld, Wouter has a tour company he operates in Rome creating private tours for visitors.