Unbelievable experience on the Kara. Very personal crew. The best guides and tours that we've seen. Fantastic Food and definitely the best program Director--Rene. They bent over backwards for service, though they were never asked too. They were always at the top of their game. Excellent boat crew. Cabin stewards were unexcelled anywhere we've been. Wifi is free on board, the excursions were well selected and very appropriate. The knowledge of the guides was exceptional also. We made lots of friends.

Cabin was very soundproofed and you couldn't even tell when the ship was moving or docking. Very smooth in all of their operations. On board entertainment was varied and enjoyable. Wasn't "broadway" type stuff like ocean cruises. Crew appeared to be very happy. Lots of umbrellas available, and water bottles every time you left the ship. Free bottled water in rooms. Excellent movie and TV selections, including for those that needed English-speaking shows. Great ship. But the real key we felt was the Program Director, Rene, who was a very experienced young man and was simply superb in his humor, knowledge and very tightly run operations. It was clear that he was a key figure in making sure that buses were on time for the excursions, the best guides available were selected, etc. Really a very key person integral to the customer experience. You truly felt like family on this ship because they made it so.

Only thought that we had, and we understand that it's probably extremely delicate in balancing the food choices due to suppliers, cooking facilities, etc. were that perhaps there could be more pasta and salad choices. This was our first RIVER cruise. We have done many other ocean cruises. This was much more personal in nature. We've been on smaller ships on ocean cruises but this was just perfect. People with all sorts of age and physical limitations were accomodated in many ways and were able to participate in many of the tours.