We have been on 10+ ocean cruises but this was our first river cruise. We arrived in Zurich a day early for some sightseeing and departed Basel for a 7-night cruise on the Rhine River to Amsterdam. Upon arriving in Amsterdam, we stayed an additional night and then took the train to Paris for 3 days, returning to Amsterdam for one more night before our flight home.

We did the Rhine Falls excursion in Zurich..."the highest waterfall in Europe"...very pretty but no comparison, height-wise, to the falls in Yosemite (we're from California). The transfer from the Movenpick in Zurich to the dock in Basel by bus was efficient.

Upon arrival, we were escorted to our cabin and our luggage was delivered within minutes. The ship was very nice and the staff very accommodating. We originally wondered what we would do in the evening, since we are used to ocean cruises with their stage shows, casinos, spas, lounges, etc. However, it turned out that after our dinner (usually over around 9 pm) we were too tired to do anything but go to sleep! There was a pianist in the lounge and he was good for background music in the early evening before dinner. And we watched a LOT of movies over the course of the week--sometimes in the middle of the night if we couldn't sleep. There was a good selection available in our stateroom. Read more