We have ocean cruised 188 nights and this was our first river cruise. We paid for the best room on the ship but found out it was not worth the cost. We would have been fine in a smaller room. This was not a quiet cruise for the educated person. There were at least 4 large groups of people on this cruise and therefore it was a loud and drunken cruise. Not quiet elegance. The main dining room was loud and had only large tables. The food was ok but our friends said the fish was wonderful every night.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We received a warm welcome by the maitre 'd, George. Nice person and attentive. We were taken aback when we were told dinner was at 7pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Drinks were free flowing. Some passengers were over-served to the level of falling over. The main dining room was extremely loud so we ate mostly in the Aquavit Terrace. Even though there were 5 tables in the Aquavit Terrace some passengers wanted to be drunk and spoil the cruising experience. The food was ok to very good. The menus are standard for all of the river boats except for the one regional specialty dinner. Our waiter was rude and would ridicule what I ordered. We were told that the crew eats after the passengers and it felt like they held back some food for the crew.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
It is a river cruise so there isn't much to do but listen to the crew while on board. There were a couple enrichment courses but overall lots of passengers drank to excess to fill their time.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The entertainment was a pianist, trio and duet. They were very good but mostly couldn't hear them due to the super loud passengers.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
The staff was either very good or not good at all. Being own the largest suite we would have liked to meet the attendant. She didn't show herself for 3 days. One day she even forgot to give us bath towels. This is disappointing since as she is the head housekeeper. She gets 1 star. The main server in the Aquavit Terrace gets 1 star because he was unpleasant and close to rude. The second server gets 1 star because of a bad attitude. He felt that he should throw plates and silverware to make as much noise as possible. There were 2 other servers who were great.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
The ship was nice but since the weather was cold and rainy, most people stayed indoors while the ship was moving. Too noisy since some passengers were drunk. There are 2 coffee stations but one was broken most of the cruise. The cookies were ok but the Madeline's were great.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
The room was great in size and design. The carpeting and/or the curtains are dirty. Due to my allergies, my sinuses were closed due to the dirt and dander while I slept. We had hypo-allergenic pillows and comforter so we know it was the carpeting and curtains. The room was fair in cleanliness. The attendant did fair job at cleaning the room. We didn't have bath towels one morning which we noticed after we finished showering. The lights in the bathroom were very dim. Shaving was difficult with the limited light. The room attendant even left dirty dishes on the counter after her cleaning. We would recommend that the people paying for the best cabins on the ship be allowed to choose their dining table. The second to the last day, the dying flowers were replaced which was nice.
Ship tip
Do not go on this ship if you want a peaceful, quiet and relaxing experience. The cruise probably would have been better if the weather was better. The excursions were the best thing about the cruise.
Even though everyone seems to smoke and the city is generally dirty, the museums and sights to see are a must at least once in your life. Trying the frites at a couple places is fun and enjoyable.
We took a walking tour of Cologne. Excellent tour guide. We also did a bike tour. We would give this bike tour guide 1 star because he endangered our life by telling us to cross in front of a moving train. Very stupid. He also barely said much about the sights along his route. It was just a bike ride.
A very busy day. We had a great tour of Strasbourg with a great tour guide. We also did a wine tour and that wasn't received very well since the wine tasted mediocre. The winery was less than 15 years old. Why would anyone want to visit a new winery.
Wonderful tour of the Medieval Village of Colmar. There were 2 tour guides and each were knowlegdable about different subjects. The tour was excellent!
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