Hi, my husband and I will be taking our first river cruise on Dielman's cruise line to Provence in August. Can anyone tell me what makes this cruiseline so called the best one out there? Don't know what to expect, but we liked the itinerary so we booked. Friendly service etc?

Thanks to all!
Nawlins

Well-maintained boats with excelent staff provide very nice standard for your trip.
Boats are appointed better than most others in river cruise category.
Food is excelent.
While you may pay a premium price for the above many consider it well worth the added cost.
Most cruises have more european passengers.

Friends just did the Provence River Cruise on Dielmann last summer -
loved the ship--Only complaint : lots of Germans on the ship and not many Americans..

This is NOT a bad thing in my book , as I go on River Cruises to meet people from all over..But some people like to be surrounded by Americans..This is the only complaint these people had with Dielmann..

While we took a cruise on MS Cezanne via Elegant Cruises-our ship also had lots of Germans, a handful of French and more than a handful of Americans..a little more balanced country=wise on our ship vs Dielmann cruise...

Traveling anywhere with a large group of german tourists would not be an attractive prospect.

Thanks for your input. Question: do the Germans just ignore others and are they friendly or just speak German and ignore Americans? You know us Americans, we are friendly.

Thanks

Nawlins: My husband and I went on a bus trip to Rome last year - we were the only Americans, the rest were Germans. As a whole, they weren't very friendly (we understand and speak German)and it seemed as if everyone wanted to be the first to be off the bus at a stop. This is funny, considering that if you don't use the correct form of address, their noses get out of joint.

Does anyone know what the weather will be like in Provence in mid August? I would like to pack the least amount of cloths possible. Thanks

Nawlins

We have done two Deilmann river cruises, one in Provence and one on the Danube. Both were excellent. We spent a lot of time dining and the food ranged from quite good to excellent. Passengers were predominately German; on both of our cruises about a third of the passengers were English speaking. The groups tended not to mix, but were cordial to one another. Learn to greet fellow passengers with guten morgen or guten abend. They will respond with a smile and good morning or good evening. If you set the tone, you will have a positive experience; don't expect that the groups will mingle, however.

In July, 1999 we had some very warm days in the south of France, some showery (rainy) days, and a couple of days when the mistral blew and the weather was cool. Be prepared for the weather to run the gamut--take rain gear and layers.

Thanks for your remarks. Can you tell me what casual elegant means for the nights where there is not a dress up code? Will slacks and a blouse do or will we need more? Thanks again for your help. I already wrote down your suggestions on the Germans and the weather.

My husband and I are thinking of booking this cruise and them traveling to Paris for a few days after the cruise on ne of their late Sep;tember cruises, Could you tell me if you liked it? Ages of the people traveing? Were they all Germans as most posted replies stated or a mix and were you incomfortable or did you have anyone else to talk to??? What kind of clothes did you need? Did any of the tour guides speak English - sorry for all the questions but reviews on this ship are great for food and staff, but not so great for other passengers. Anthing else I need to know would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

It is typically very hot in Provence in August. While many restaurants are now air conditioned, many still depend on outdoor dining--we suggest filmy skirts and cami tops, capris, shorts during the day are fine for men.

Robyn France