[jshape]

We did the Rhine on AMA from Basel to Amsterdam. There are some things I wish I knew in advance:

1. Most of the Rhine is boring - factories and trailer parks. There is really only one day that you see the “castles on the Rhine.”

2. Having a balcony cabin was not necessary. In fact, at almost every port, we were tied up against another cruise boat and the only view was another tourist cruiser looking back at me. In fact, in one port, our view was a guy in a dirty tee shirt smoking a cigarette and doing the laundry for ship next to ours.

3. The tours are great, but they are short in duration as the boat needs to get going to the next port.

4. There is really only one place on the boat to eat meals and if you are traveling as a couple and don’t want to share a table, you may be out of luck.

5. There really isn’t much entertainment in the evenings.

Food was good, staff is great, but, you’ll probably have a better time if you are traveling with a group or another couple.