We are experienced ocean cruisers and thought we would try a river cruise with Scenic on the River Rhone from Lyon to Avignon.
Firstly our cabin, a Royal Balcony Suite, was very comfortable from the generous oversized bathroom to the adjustable beds.
Our butler and indeed all the staff and crew were charming and attentive throughout.
However, we didn’t like that there was only one indoor lounge space on the ship so nowhere to escape to if you wanted a bit of quiet time other than your cabin.
This, unlike an ocean ship, where there are plenty of lounges where you can go to read a book without a fellow passenger sitting down wanting a chat.
We are not hermits & we enjoy company (we met charming fellow passengers and a lot from Australia & Canada) but we found the constant fellow passenger interaction every time you sat in the lounge quite tiring.
The weather on our cruise was not the best so we were unable to use the sundeck very much at all.
Due to the small nature of the kitchens on board we found long waits between courses at dinner – sometimes up to 45 mins.
It appeared that the whole dining room had to be served their starters before they started serving the main course.
We found that by the time the main course had arrived, we had lost our appetites.
Finally, many of the shore excursions were very walking intensive – not necessarily long distances but 2/3 hours of standing and walking on cobblestones & uneven steps.
For my husband, this proved to be difficult as his mobility is not what is was.
As a result we missed out on many of them.
Just a comment on the Rhone itself – its not a terribly picturesque river but some amazing locks & engineering.
We heard from fellow passengers that the Rhine is better for scenery etc.
We guess that most river cruises operate in the same way so on balance river cruising is not for us and we will stick to ocean cruises.