Have never been on a river cruise but Mrs Fat really wants to do one. Have heard good things about the tulips in Amsterdam during tulip season...if you have done this i would appreciate your comments.

We have been to London, Paris, Prague, Geneva, Vienna, Salzburg... so really don't need any of those places unless it is a great itinerary beyond one of those places.

What river cruises have you liked best?

What cruise companies have you traveled with... and which do you prefer?

Probably looking at an 8 - 12 day cruise since his is our first.

Other recommendations and suggestions are appreciated!

I have done the Danube cruise twice, once in the summer to see the castles, cathdrals,cities,etc. The second was in early December to see the Christmas markets, which was fantastic. I have also done the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam.

We used Ama Waterways for the Danube. They are a first class operation, although all the river boats are similar due to lock constraints. Seeing the cities from the river is different than the highways, and unpacking once is great. Most have open seating, hold about 140 passengers, and we always met interesting people.

The Middle Rhine is gorgeous, and the small towns are fascinating. The upper and lower Rhine are more akin to cruising the Houston ship channel. The scenery is nice but there is a lot of commercial traffic. We started in Zurich, and took the train across the Alps to Basel. Recommend that as well.

I would like to do the southern French rivers sometime. That is mostly an up and back cruise.

Let me know if there are specific questions I can answer.

Fat Daddy said:

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Have heard good things about the tulips in Amsterdam during tulip season...if you have done this i would appreciate your comments.

We have been to London, Paris, Prague, Geneva, Vienna, Salzburg... so really don't need any of those places unless it is a great itinerary beyond one of those places.

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You've heard correctly (although I didn't do it as part of a river cruise).

Don't go back to London. Remember it as you once did.

You've been to Geneva, if you haven't been to Zurich IMHO it's in every way superior (but not on a river cruise).

Enjoy the trip. US citizens have to get an electronic travel authorization to go to the EU now so don't neglect to do that.