The River Duchess is a nice ship,though I found the room to be a bit small. We were at the water level with a long small window. The bathroom is the smallest I have ever seen. The shower was comfortable for me, but I cannot imagine how a large person would fit!
The ship staff was very pleasant, a mix of European and Indonesian men and women. I never had a problem with any of the staff. A person who is not patient may have a problem with communication, but in todays world there are many languages to contend with.
The food was good to very bad. I had what was described as a quiche Lorraine one evening. It was a quiche with more vegetable than I have ever seen in this type of food. I could see before I bit into it that it had been overcooked, but thought I might find a palatable portion in the inside, but unfortunately it was dry all the way through. I could not understand how this could have made it out of the kitchen.
I found the wine, red or white and different vintners, included at night with the meal, to be pleasant. My travel companion was much more critical. Wine is a very personal thing so cannot comment for others.
The breakfast buffet was the best meal of the day. Lunch was a buffet and alright.
We heard from other passengers that there were a number of people sick from stomach problems. We heard numbers from 5 to 50. Considering that the cruise had about 90 people that is a large number. We could not confirm the exact count, depending on the word of two couples.
The big plus of a river cruise is that people subject to motion sickness will be very comfortable. I never had a problem with it on this trip.
