that's what i was thinking of, Scootoir - being able to unpack and settle in, knowing that you'd not have to repack for a week was very nice, and as you say, sailing along the river is very relaxing looking at the scenery is very relaxing.

What it would have been like this last week though is a different matter - I suspect [though don't know] that the rivers will have been very high and the bridges largely impassible, leading to lots of bussing around, not to mention the weather itself - not much sitting around on the sun deck I fear.

I think that we were very lucky.

so relaxing I said it twice!

Bookmarking for leisurely read.

Once again, loved hitchhiking on your travels, thank you.

We've spent a lot of time in Provence - renting gites and cycling through the area
but now in our rusty dotage the idea of being floated down the Rhone and bussed to old familiar places has its appeal.

my pleasure, immimi. yes, being organised can be relaxing, though i don't think that it would suit me on every trip - not yet!

Thanks very much for this write-up, annhig. Really useful information. A river cruise has never been on our radar, and maybe never will be, but I can see the potential for a certain appeal under certain conditions.

Thanks St C - when my friend asked me to go with her there seemed to be a dearth of information here so I thought that it would be worth writing up, AND trying to do so before I forgot it all; looks like I only partially succeeded!

Annhig, we appreciate you sharing so many details of your cruise. (You're right about your fortunate timing!) We hear you about the freedom from packing and changing locations, and the opportunity to enjoy the trip with a friend. But we like lots of time to explore, find local places for dinner, and usually stay out kind of late. Probably, at this time, a cruise isn't for us. However, we do sometimes take advantage of short cruises through spectacular scenery.

On another note: do we pick up that you live in Cornwall? Lovely area! We responded to Dukey1 with a couple of ideas from our visit. As with many places, too much to see and too little time!

Annhig, thanks again for your helpful information! The large number of responses to your post demonstrates that many others also appreciate your report.

<i>Nice</i> TR, annhig. You really gave me a sense of your cruise. One does make trade offs no matter what the type of travel. To each his own, eh?

Lyon would be a great food GTG!

Yes, good to read the single supplement info, Travelchat. Thank you.

thank you both for your kind words, tomarkot and TD - it certainly makes it more fun when others join in, even if they aren't always as complimentary as others!

oops - I didn't mean either of you, obviously, nor any of the other nice people here.

Appreciate the write up, ann. Seems you can have problems with too much water, and with too little, glad you were OK.

A river cruise would definitely be an improvement over a bus tour with one night stops, maybe not over one with two and three nighters.

thursdaysd - in retrospect we were VERY lucky with the timing of our trip what with thunderstorms, floods, high water in the rivers, rain, strikes .... it must be hell for the cruise directors and managers not to mention the ordinary people of the countries affected.

I confess that I've never done a coach tour as such, though I have been on my share of package tour day trips in the dim and distant past.

My mum likes them; on the ones she goes on they usually stay in the same place and do day trips from there so it's more like a cruise in that way.

Jumping aboard at the end, too, Ann. Glad you weren't flooded out. I can see how such a trip would be worth doing, I'd love to see those towns.

One of my coworkers and her husband did a similar cruise a couple of years ago. They had a French guide they liked very much, who tried to prod them into learning a little French language. I got the impression that not much of it stuck.

Hi stoke - welcome on board. we had different guides every day so there wasn't much chance to develop any sort of relationship with any of them but I did have a few opportunities to practice my French when I was on my own which was fun. And to practice my one word of Bulgarian with some of the crew - Blagodarya!

You've arrived just in time for the Captain's dinner which really started upstairs in the lounge with sparkling wine and canapés care of the chef, which was a very nice touch and a reward for our sitting meekly though a lecture about the arrangements for leaving the boat the following morning. We also had a chance to thank all the crew by clapping as each of them walked through the lounge accompanied by a march played by the resident pianist. [i wonder if all boats do this?]

Anyway after all that jollity had warmed up our gastric juices, we were invited downstairs for dinner, which was an entirely "sit down" affair - just as well as the crew dashed hither and thither between tables serving no less than 7 courses. Starting with a trilogy of salmon [sushi, tartar and bonbon, of which I felt the sushi was the least successful] we progressed via a beef consume garnished with the tiniest bites of root veg and chives, caramelised scallop with asparagus and corn risotto [delicious], blackcurrant sorbet with sparkling white wine, Chateaubriand with all the trimmings including more asparagus, white this time, or Jumbo shrimp with rice, and then the piece de resistance - the lights were dimmed and numerous baked alaskas were carried in on silver platters lit only by candles - very impressive. [and further enlivened by one of the waiters getting a fire extinguisher and making as if to set it off!]

Finally we were served with brandy and petit fours - those of us who could manage them [which I noted was virtually everyone!]

To the chef's credit, the menu was very well balanced and he did not fall into the error of making the portions too big which meant that I certainly did not feel too full at the end of the meal; plus he managed to serve us all at more or less the same time which was impressive. AND it all tasted extremely good - if I'd been served such a meal in a restaurant I'd have been very happy.

ten out of ten!

Finally we went up to the lounge for the last time, had a final drink with some of the people we'd met during the week, then went back to our cabins for some much needed sleep as we were due to leave the boat at 8.45 in the morning.

Night night!

You have certainly made me think that a (shortish) cruise, bookended with time at either end, could be a relaxing break, enjoyed reading...thank you.

Thanks, Adelaidean - that would certainly be one way of getting a chance to enjoy some of the food and wine! on our trip you could have rented a car at the Avignon TGV station thus taking advantage of the transfer provided by the tour company, which would make life very simple.

Given the possible problems of getting to the boat independently at the beginning, I think that that would be the safer option, as they are committed to getting you to the station or airport.

Thanks, annhig. I always enjoy your contributions, and this one is particularly timely, as we are looking for a short cruise in Burgundy. It would be our first cruise and I've had my doubts. Actually I still have doubts but they're backed up by more information. Thanks again.

Great report! We did a Danube river cruise several years ago because friends invited us. We were not sure we really wanted to go but the group of 6 promised to be fun.

We haven't done one since....like you, we were the youngsters on board (tho if we went now, we'd fit right in!) There were pros and cons to the trip and you've done an excellent and balanced job articulating them.

We would not rule out going again in the future. France would likely be our first choice.

This report is what Fodor's is for. Plenty of detail and practical information.
Thanks very much, Annhig!

p.s. I may live in Florida but this entire thread was my lovely Saturday evening in France.