[Hyacinth Bucket]

Jan wrote the following "There are lots of riverboat cruises in Europe, too. Haven't gone on one yet, but anyone who's been on one loves them."

River boat cruises are not for everyone. If you think you would like to go on one I would suggest you look at the various companies that offer this type of cruising. If you are thinking of going on a river boat cruise with a company that is based in Europe, it is important to find out what is the primary language they will be giving information in.

When thinking about a river cruise and wondering if this is for you please remember that there is no; casino, Las Vegas style shows, room service, buffet open 24 hours a day. They do have coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cold water all day and on some boats they will leave out cookies. There are other minor differences between companies along this line.

They do have port lectures on what to see and do. They do not have lectures on where to shop for items. They do have a walking tour of the area you are visiting at no extra cost, it is part of the package you are buying. The tour we were on offered a few optional packages that we did not take. We did take the morning walking tours which we found fascinating. In the evening they may have a guest lecturer come on board, a group of local singers and/or musicians.

On some of the ships there may not be an elevator or lift so that you have access to all the decks of the ship. This is important to someone who may not be able to walk up and down stairs, broke a leg, etc. To disembark at ports, or other times, you may have to walk through another boat. The first boat to arrive at a port is right at the dock, the other boats dock parallel to the first boat.

All cabins have a window or sliding doors depending on which cabin you choose. This doesn't mean you will have a scenic view 100% of the time. If a boat is docked parallel to the boat you are in - your view is of the next ship. If when you dock and you are in the boat that is closest to the dock, please remember to close your drapes if you face the dock. People will be passing your window as they walk on the dock.

On our river boat cruise we had a boat parallel dock to our boat only once.

Please remember this is not an inclusive list of all the differences but just a quick synopsis.

Hope this helps answer some of your questions. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to post them.

HB