Following a previous very successful cruise on the Rhine and Mosel with Riviera, my friends and I, aged 70, decided to repeat the experience.

After 2 nights at the Sheraton, Bucharest, we embarked on the Emerald Sun at Silistra to sail up the Danube to Budapest.

When I booked our holiday, there were the only 2 cabins left on the Vista Deck, 237 and 238. I was concerned about the possible noise from the engine because two of us have real problems with sleeping, so I asked a member of staff very specific questions about this. I was reassured that this should not be a problem as she said there was very little night sailing on this cruise. I informed my friends and, on the basis of this information, we booked those cabins the next day. The cruise was expensive but we were celebrating our coming of age so willing to splash out a bit. Read more