Romantic Journey on the Romantic Rhine River Cruise By Clint Sakai Amsterdam to Basel Aboard the Avalon Affinity June 21 - 28, 2009 The Ship The Affinity is brand new. Just started sailing in April of this year. Cabin is about the size of any big cruise ship. But the shower was larger so you can bend down and not hit your head! Of course the furniture was all brand new......warm tones. There's good storage space for all your clothes and a flat screen TV and hairdryer in cabin. The ship can accommodate up to 138 passengers but our sailing only had 87 onboard making it much more intimate and we got to meet most of the guests. You see the same people all the time in the dining room and on excursions so by the end of the cruise, you really know your fellow passengers well. We had mostly Aussies and Kiwis onboard our sailing. The ship has one dining room, a lounge with bar, a club lounge, a very small workout room, a hair salon, and one whirlpool. It also has two computers with internet access. Cost is 5 euros per hour. Wireless access will cost the same and can only be accessed in certain parts of the ship. There's also an elevator onboard. The Food Food was great. Buffet breakfast everyday at about 7am in the dining room. There's an early bird breakfast (just pastries and coffee/OJ) in the club lounge at 6am and a late risers breakfast at about 9am. The buffet had the usual bacon, sausage, eggs, fruits, pastries, pancakes, and cook to order omelettes. Lunch buffet had two stations with main dishes, soup, salad bar, and desserts. For dinner, you usually havea choice from about 3 main dishes, choose a salad, a soup, AND a dessert. Wine is complimentary with dinner and they come around and refill too! Ooooh, I loved that part! The Service Although this was a new ship, the service was excellent! The people at the reception desk, the cabin steward, and the wait help in the dining room........all excellent! You'll get to know their names and I found some passengers preferred to sit in the same section of the dining room everytime because they really enjoyed the same server. The cruise director was terrific! Ours was Gusta and she was always available at her desk (next to reception) and she gave a port briefing everyday in the lounge. She was very helpful, knowledgeable, and pleasant to talk to. The Itinerary We visited Cologne, Koblenz, Rudesheim, Heidelberg, Strasbourg, and Breisach. To be honest, most of them look alike with their gothic cathedrals and half-timbered buildings. As they say, you seen one, you seen them all. Some excursions are included, but they are all half-day excursions held in the morning. They offer optional excursions in the afternoon and they always bring you back in time for dinner. There's usually only 1 or 2 options for afternoon excursions and the price will range from 25-38 euros per person. There is little time for shopping unless you choose not to do an afternoon excursion. Upon arrival in Amsterdam, we were met by a local rep who took us to a hotel where they store our luggage. There is no access to a room to freshen up so you're on your own until about 1pm when they offer an optional excursion which ends at the pier where you embark. At the end of the cruise, the cruise director will advise what time your transfer will take you to the airport or next destination. My favorite part of the cruise was the day we sailed from Koblenz to Rudesheim during the afternoon hours. There are a lot of castles along this stretch of the Rhine and we had an ice cream party of the deck as the cruise director narrated on the loud speaker. Weather was perfect that day. What an experience! Overall, it was a great cruise and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing getaway. I think for those who haven't been to Europe before, it's best to see the major sites in Rome, Athens, etc. first and do the PCL Grand Med itinerary or similar land tour. But for those who have seen the major sites and want something different, river cruising is a great option!