I read the responses to the questions posted earlier today about the Seine cruises and am curious to get some reaction to the issue of commentary with the cruise versus no commentary. Is the commentary interesting and can you understand it--I've been on some tourist bus operations with taped commentary where the audio quality was so bad you couldn't figure out what was being said. I'd like to take a river cruise on my first trip to Paris next spring and would appreciate input on this question. Thanks.

I've taken the Bateaux Mouches or equivalent a few times, on my own, and with student groups. Even with commentary which you can hear, I find that I tune out, and usually talk with whomever I am with, pointing out sights, etc. Take the outing regardless, but especially at night. It is beautiful after dark, and you can see the sights you have seen during the day under different circumstances. Depending on who you're with, it can also be quite romantic.

I've taken the Vedettes and the Bateaux Mouches; the Vedette had a live person doing the commentary, and she was excellent. The Bateaux Mouches was several years ago; I think it was a recording, but it was understandable. Even after many trips to Paris, commentated tours still give me new info.

Highly recommend the Bateaux Parisiens (sp?) which you can catch on the opposite side of the bridge at the Tour Eiffel.

Thanks for all the input and my apologies for the fact that my question got posted twice. This forum is really a wonderful source of first-hand information.