Boarding is done at the earliest one hour and no later than 15 minutes before departure. The ship guide welcomes you at the gangway, after which the crew will help you with baggage and finding your cabin. The ship's guide holds daily information meetings in three languages (Swedish, English and German) to let you know what is going to happen during the day, tell you the history of the canal and the local sites, as well as provide practical information. The guide is available throughout the cruise and even leads some of the shore trips on the 4- and 6-day cruises. Seating for meals will be arranged by the crew. Please go to the dining room to check out your placement as soon as possible after boarding. The menu at lunch and dinner is fixed, with two courses for lunch and three for dinner. Though the kitchen has high ambitions, space on board makes it impossible to offer an à la Carte menu. A generous breakfast buffet is served every morning except on departure day. Dietary and special food is offered, for example vegetarian or diabetic, if you notify us at least three weeks in advance. The dining room, saloon and bar are on the shelter deck, the bar and the saloon being one. There is neither radio nor TV on board. The cabins are charming, but small! With the exception of the cabins on the main deck of M/S Diana (and a few other cabins), they are fitted with bunk beds and are about the size of a sleeping compartment on a train. For reasons of space, we recommend that you only bring a travel wardrobe and a medium sized bag to push under the berth. Large suitcases can be stored in a luggage room on board. As the berths vary in length, we ask that you tell us ahead of time if you are above medium height. The cabins have a washbasin with hot and cold water. There are showers on all decks, except for shelter deck on M/S Diana and toilets on all. The boats have 220V outlets in all cabins. The ship's library and kiosk are found in the ship's saloon. The library contains varied non-fiction in Swedish, English and German, including material on the canal and its surroundings. We try to supply the library with Swedish dailies along the travel route. There is a small onboard kiosk with maps, books, postcards, souvenirs, clothing, film, candy and ice cream. Clothing chosen for daytime wear should be comfortable as much of the time is spent outdoors. Do bring a something warm and a windproof jacket, but also your summer wardrobe. We recommend walking shoes for the excursions. Tradition has it that the guests change to something a bit more elegant for dinner, but going so far as a dark suit is not essential. Casual elegant is enough. The guided excursions are most often on foot and require that you can manage a normal walking pace. Walking, jogging and cycling along the old towpaths beside the Göta Canal offers much glorious enjoyment. And you can borrow one of the ship's bicycles for a longer explorations along the waterway. Paying on board for such things as mealtime drinks, kiosk purchases and bar expenses are put on the cabin. The bill is then cleared on the last day either in cash (SEK) or using the most common credit cards (VISA, American Express, EuroCard, Master Card and Diners Club). Safety instructions are supplied at the information meeting on the first day of the cruise. Children must be at least seven years old and sleep in a separate berth. There are no child discounts. Physical barriers on board that might affect physically disadvantaged persons include high thresholds, steep stairways and the fact that most shore excursions are made on foot. For this reason physically disadvantaged individuals should indicate this when booking and bring along a personal companion. Smoking is only permitted outdoors at the places so marked. Safety prohibits smoking in the cabins, dining room and saloon. Mobile phones use should be avoided on board, for everyone's pleasure and relaxation. There is time enough ashore when the ship lands. Special needs and any complaints should be brought to the ship's guide at once. Problems can often be solved! Long-stay parking is not available at the quay in either Göteborg or Stockholm. However, the shipping company can provide information about parking possibilities. Hotel rooms can be arranged in centrally located first-class hotels in Stockholm, Göteborg, Motala and Söderköping.

The Gota Canal Experience

The Ships

Rates/Map

6-day Itinerary

4-day Itinerary

We offer the right cruise at the right price. Call 1-800-334-6544 (U.S.) or +1-212-480-4521 (International) or go to How to Book.