This was our first time on a river cruise. I loved loved loved it! My husband liked it very much but the jury is still out on river vs ocean for him. We both thought the ship (Avalon Visionary) was lovely. While the cabins were nicely appointed and the beds extremely comfortable, I would not get the basic cabin again. We had a long narrow window up at the ceiling that I could not see out of. My husband thought it was fine but I like a better view....live and learn. It was a small cabin and people we met assured us the cabins on deck 2 and 3 were much more spacious ...205 sq ft. as opposed to 135 sq ft. All in all there was a lot of storage space and closet space anyway.

The food was excellent and the service in the dining room wonderful. You barely took a sip of wine when it was being refilled. There wasn't anything the waitstaff wouldn't do for you or try to get for you. We dined with someone with a special dietary need and the waiter was constantly checking to make sure she got what she needed.

The stops were great. I'm a history buff so I enjoyed that all of the walking tours were historical in nature. We were off the ship by 8:15 - 8:30 every day so this is not a cruise for people who like to sleep late. Some days there were 2 stops and 2 included tours. We only felt the need to book 2 optional excursions and they were very reasonably priced at 45-49 Euros each. All of the staff was so helpful. We were booked into pre and post hotels by Avalon and couldn't have asked for better. We were provided with private transfers to the airport at the end of our stay. Getting on and off the ship was simplicity itself. A rep from Avalon came to our hotel in Amsterdam and collected all the luggage and just told us when to be at the ship so we had an entire extra day to explore the city. Nights are a bit quiet and the entertainment such as it was was adequate. You're fairly exhausted after a full day of touring and really...getting into bed to get up early the next day was great. I'd recommend this trip to anyone!!!!