There was one other "tour" boat. The majority of boats on the river were local fisherman. I'll dedicate an entire post to those photos.

Our room didn't have a balcony per se, but a slider that opened. I liked it even though we really didn't spend much time in the room, except to sleep. When on board, we spent the majority of our time up top catching rays and watching the beautiful scenery go by. But in the a.m., it was really nice to be able to open the door and get some fresh air. Then again, we lucked out with wonderful weather, and I'm not a fan of a/c. If it's not nice, you'd not open the window anyway. However, be aware that the river boats dock right next to each other and sometimes, your view is of the side of the next boat, about 18" away. Also keep in mind where your cabin is...the lower down, the more likely you are to have engine noise. RoseAbbey, you won't get seasick on a riverboat cruise. The only time we ever felt the boat even moving at all was when they were turning it about to dock. Otherwise, it was less motion than even riding in a car...smooth as glass.

Some of our DH's must be brothers. Unless HE thinks it's a good idea or I drag him along, he's not for it. But like Annie's DH, he always has a good time and talks it up after we get back. Just a couple of weeks ago a buddy of his was talking about what a fabulous time they had on a river cruise, and he sort of mentioned going on one in passing one day. Imagine my shock! Even though he's been lukewarm to my ideas on it, I now have hope!! And I'm on it!

Annie, I agree about ABC : ) We went last summer with my SIL&BIL. I had lived there for a few years a while ago, so the prospect of driving around on our own didn't bother me. My BIL had been there when a young adult, but my SIL and DH had never been and were a little apprehensive. We ended up taking a week long river cruise on the continent, then spending a couple of days in Amsterdam and a week in the UK. We came into Switzerland a day before the cruise, just in case there were problems. This gave us a day and a half to wander around the town, check out how the streetcars worked, take a short train hop, and generally get used to things. The cruise was great and my DH and SIL appreciated knowing they had familiar food waiting for them on the boat. They're not very adventurous as far as food goes. The cruise tour guides were great, and were local to the city we were in. Overall, the experience was very nice, if a bit limited and structured if you only went with the offered excursions. You did have the option to get off the boat and go and do your own thing though. We got more experience in Amsterdam with trains, streetcars, restaurants, attractions, and hotels. When we got to London, we were pretty comfortable figuring out the subway and trains. The last part of the trip was driving around in the countryside, and the GPS in the car made getting around fairly easy. The hard part was driving on the other side of the road. This was my favorite part of the trip. As others have said, it depends on your personality and style. We had fun doing a lot of the research for where we wanted to go and how to get there, etc. I hope you are able to go and have a great time.