We had a delightful time on our first river cruise. I was somewhat nervous about river cruising as I love the sense of expansiveness with ocean cruising. I absolutely loved the simplicity of getting on and off the smaller ship and I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere. The cruise manager, Nick Hartog was amazing: knowledgeable, helpful, and great at handling the myriad of details in making the cruise run smoothly. I appreciated his dry sense of humour. Also, the food was first rate. The room was amongst the best appointed I have experienced (about 10 ocean cruises ranging from ocean view to suite). The pianist who played every day was tremendous.
One suggestion I would make is to have some covered area on the sundeck. My husband is a smoker and he said that it was really windy whenever he went for a smoke. Also, my husband said the treadmill was very noisy.
The daily excursions are a more integral part of the river cruising compared to ocean cruising. If someone is looking for lots of on board stimulation they are probably better off taking an ocean cruise. Otherwise, I highly recommend river cruising and AMAwaterways.
I loved this stateroom. It wasn't as big as some of the staterooms I have been in, but it was well designed, bright and cozy. I liked the French balcony - the first time I had one.