This river boat from Gota Canal Steamship Co. was built in 1931 as Finland's last canal boat for cargo and passengers. Swedish officers and crew carry up to 55 passengers in 28 cabins on this trim vessel of just under 105 ft.
She cruises at up to ten knots and displaces 269 tons, and is one of three boats sailing Sweden's Gota Canal on 4- to 6-day Stockholm-to-Gothenburg voyages from May to October, and in addition short 2-night getaway cruises. The boat was last renovated during the winter layup in 2003-2004.
Gota Canal cruises have operated since 1869, and today the scenic route across Sweden carries mostly pleasure traffic. The combined river and canal route links Sweden's two major cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg on opposite sides of the country.
The clientele is Scandinavian, German, other Europeans and some few North Americans, and informational languages catered to are Swedish, German and English. The ship caters to an older clientele; few children will be aboard as there are no facilities and jolly little space to roam around.
The itinerary connects two seas and covers one river, three canals, eight lakes and 66 locks. It includes stops at rarely visited towns and villages offering fascinating glimpses into Hanseatic history, as well as at museums, spas, fortresses, churches and forests teeming with wildlife. Several cruises are tailored for golfers.
The Diana undertakes all the itineraries lasting two, four and six nights. The longest cruises linger at more stops and do not include much night travel, while the four nighters will have some overnight running. Excursions include guided walks, and independent exploring by foot and bicycle.
The dining room seats all passengers at one sitting and serves hearty Swedish fare. Lunch and dinner are from a set menu with two and three courses respectively and some choices. Specilaties are caviar-stuffed eggs, sherried herring, gravlax, reindeer and cloudberry jam.
The covered sun deck and windowed lounge provide good canal views. The second lounge has a small library but no windows. The low-key local entertainment may include costumed Swedes performing country dances dockside. The ship has no elevators, TVs or radios.
Cabins are about the size of train compartments, with limited stowage. Suitcases are stored under the bunks. Beds are mainly upper and lower berths. Main deck cabins offer two lower berths but have portholes, while Shelter and Bridge Deck cabins have windows. Toilets are in hallways on all decks, and showers are on Main and Bridge decks.
Diana offers a friendly but fairly spartan way to see rarely visited parts of Sweden by water and at a pokey pace. A comparative small-scale canal trip would be the Caledonian Canal trip across Scotland where the conveyance is far more luxurious. Most European canal barge trips carry fewer passengers in much larger cabins.
