I chose this cruise because I had been to Lyon once before but only for a day and I wanted to see more and I am a fan of French food, history, culture, wine and pretty much everything else. The stops were all wonderful and the tour guides quite good. The staff on the ship was observent and attentive, all spoke English (since my French is pretty creative that was helpful!). The wine and truffle day was most amazing- my favorite and well worth the investment. My room was nicely appointed and larger than I expected. The food and wine onboard was superb. One little story: After tramping through the damp, rainy, muddy forest in pursuit of truffles, my suede hiking boots were trashed. There was no way I could get the mud off the soles. I finally took them to the desk for some help. 2 hours later housekeeping returned them to me in a logoed box, wrapped in tissue, looking brand new! That was above and beyond expectations for sure!!! So the onboard experience was ib a scale of 1-5-- it was a 10! But the arriving and leaving, not so much. Arriving in Lyon in the pouring rain, the 11 travelers on this ship were greeted by one woman with one umbrella. After traveling for 12 hours, we had to gather all our checked and carry on luggage and drag it, in the cold rain for about a 10 mionute hike across the parking lot to where the bus was parked. She left us cold and wet on the bus to get another group. Upon leaving at 4 in the morning to Marsille, we were once again deposited in the icy wind, to get all our luggage off the bus and find the terminal from which we would leave, again a long walk with all our luggage, no help at all and no one to tell us where to go or what to do when we go there. An inauspicous end to what was a an overall wonderful experience, Beginnings and Finishings count. score 2 in my book.