We just got back from our fabulous cruise on the Rhine River from Amsterdam to Basel. We sailed on the Avalon Affinity with 6 friends and everyone had a wonderful time. The crew was friendly and helpful and our cruise director Karolien was personable and always cheerful. She (and the crew) had to deal with a barge accident up river so they made last second arrangements for docking and bus transfers in the Rudesheim area and I thought it was all handled very well.

The food was excellent with a variety of choices at every meal. They even brought in a local chef for one evening's meal. There were 2 tables for 8 people in the dining area and we managed to get one of those tables every evening but one, so we enjoyed eating with our group. We got to tour the galley area and they perform magic in that small area getting the food out to all 138 of us.

Most evening's entertainment was Vesco at the piano but we mostly sat on the top deck and visited, enjoying the scenery. The included shore excursions with the local guides were great. They gave you a quick flavor of the town and then let you have an hour or so to explore. Karolien provided pretty good town maps each morning so you could navigate on your own. I had downloaded the iphone app "Planet Earth" so I had a more detailed map that I could access off line. Read more