Uniworld's "Castles Along the Rhine" riverboat tour was a very enjoyable experience for my wife and I, and we're not big fans of group tours. The boat, the itinerary, the food, and our fellow passengers were all quite pleasant. Uniworld offers this tour on the Rhine River from Basel, Switzerland to Amsterdam, or the reverse starting in Amsterdam. We took the "reverse" and departed Amsterdam on July1, 2007.
The Boat: The River Ambassador is one of Uniworld's older boats, but was completely renovated at the end of the 2006 season. The interior and exterior are in excellent condition, the carpet is new, the wall coverings are fresh, and all of the "stateroom" fittings and fixtures are new and bright. I used the term "stateroom" in quotations, because these rooms are all quite compact - in fact it is difficult to turn around in the shower without banging your elbows. But even though the room is small, it is incredibly efficient with lots of storage in built-in closets and in deep drawers under the bed. You still have to put everything away as soon as you are done with it, or the room quickly becomes unmanageable. The corridors down the length of the boat are plenty wide and bright, but the stairs going down to the lower level restaurant are quite steep. On the main level you are met by the front desk, which is staffed with pleasant and efficient crewmembers 24-hours a day. Just past the front desk, you walk into a small area with large windows, comfortable seats, and 24-hour coffee, tea, and iced-tea service. Continuing forward, you enter the spacious lounge & pub area. There are groups of comfortable new seating around the large windows, and a there is a small library of paperback books ranging from the classics to recent thrillers and beach reads. The bartender and wait staff are unobtrusive but available. In the evenings, Tony plays sentimental oldies on his keyboards - music more for the Lawrence Welk set than for fans of U2.
Upstairs there is a large open area with comfortable deck chairs and sun lounges, as well as a glass-enclosed roof-covered area with wicker chairs and tables. Sun, rain, or wind is no problem if you want to sit up top or walk the deck. I enjoyed spending some very relaxing time watching the world glide by and reading a book or having a drink.