My wife and i had seen the commercials on public television for years and always talked about how much fun and how different we imagined a river cruise to be. When we were married in 2015, our crazy schedules didn't allow us to take a proper honeymoon. So we decided to save up for something really special -- and three years later, we were sailing up the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam.
We enjoyed pretty much everything about our cruise. The staff was amazing, the ports were varied and interesting, and the excursions were fun and educational. And don't get me started on the food. Made some great friends and fortunately were able to walk off most of the calories.
The only hitch came when they switched our ship from the Hjin to the Kara shortly before our departure date due to low river levels. But as far as we could tell, it made no real difference. Our trip was everything we had hoped for and more.
Not big, but roomier than we expected. Everything had a function and was designed to be as compact and efficient as possible. We loved having a veranda and being able to watch the world go by.
Our guide was quirky, but we enjoyed our walking tour. Plenty of free time to explore this interesting city.