As experienced ocean cruisers we had been curious about river cruising for sometime. Since this year was our 35th wedding anniversary that seemed to be a good excuse and we decided to take the plunge. We did pre and post cruise on our own-our fabulous travel agent set some great things up for us. We sailed from Basel to Amsterdam to enjoy the Christmas markets and the Rhine gorge. We were blessed in that, after a period of prolonged drought in Europe it Rained and rained and rained and the Rhine rose. Our cruise was the first northbound cruise in 12 weeks with out busing or ship swaps.

Embarkation was so easy-an AMA baggage handler took our bags from the taxi and we saw them again at the room. Check in took a couple of minutes-no line-and we were good to go. Explored the ship, got the lay of things and then checked out our room. We had opted for a fixed window room since I didn't think that having a balcony in Germany in the winter was a huge need. It was a good choice but a lesson learned-the fixed window rooms lie below the water line and you can be subject to some noise in locks and when passing other ships on the river. Next time I will get a French Balcony room. The room was small but efficiently designed and once were unpacked and had the luggage stowed away it worked just fine for us.

The food was fabulous at every meal. Between the wonderful food in the markets and the wonderful food on board it is a very good thing we opted for active tours with lots of walking! I loved the regional wines poured in unlimited quantities at dinner. It gave one a great opportunity to learn about different wines from that area. The Chefs Table is a do not miss experience as well. Read more