I thought this would be a good choice for my very elderly mother and I as we were unlikely to do the tours but wanted to see different places and not have to pack/unpack. We were recommended cabin 301 as being near the lounge, having a balcony and being fairly roomy. We realised on the 3rd day that we would never have a view of the river - only the dock or another boat. Very very disappointing, but I guess I should have done my homework and picked the other side.

Never again. From the moment we got on, the boat smelled horribly of sewage, particularly each time it docked. Although it was worse in our cabin, it was also evident on the bow terrace and the upper deck. I complained on the second day and was told to put it on the comments form at the end of the week!!

I complained loudly on the 4th day (with a lot of people listening) and made my point that I did not pay almost £7,500 to smell sewage every day and that I would be expecting a big refund. The hotel manager offered me an upgrade to a suite on the other side of the boat. Interestingly, the smell was not at all evident in the new cabin - and of course we now had lovely river views. Read more