The idea of a river cruise was new to us and we did enjoy the scenery, although only two of the days involved sightseeing from the ship. Otherwise we sailed overnight.
PROS: The towns of the Rhine Valley. Gorgeous and amazing even on cold, rainy winter days. They must really be stunning in the spring time. The breakfast oatmeal! Everyone, including the crew, said it was the best thing on the menu. Breakfast and lunch were fine. New ship! Fit and finish was immaculate as you would expect. Getting on and off very easy. Nice itinerary (Basel to Amsterdam).
CONS: Not much to do on board. Dinner quickly became tiresome. Didn't open dining room until 7pm. Didn't eat until 8. Didn't get out of there until 9:30 most nights. The whole evening was wasted in a very loud and uncomfortable atmosphere. The food was as good as you can expect on a cruise ship, meaning good but not gourmet. Although they said up front that you could always get food in the lounge, there were only five rather dull, unhealthy choices on the menu. No comfortable furniture anywhere. The four of us wanted to play cards at a normal table. Sorry! There were only three and they were out on the cold afterdeck. Rest of the furniture was modern, low and slouch-inducing. Our room also smelled bad. Other guests also complained but they were unresponsive. Finally, I returned after an excursion half-asleep on the bus and managed to leave my pack with glasses, hats, Kindle, etc. Discovered my mistake about an hour after leaving bus. They said they called bus company but never got my stuff back. What bus driver doesn't check his bus after a tour for lost items?
235 - Well appointed. Somewhat noisy when boat is maneuvering at night. Smelled bad. Hard to control temperature.