Taking in all the sights at leisure

The beauty of a river cruise, even a three-day one, is that you get to see everything various cities have to offer and, as Hilary Fennell discovered, you only need to unpack once

I’VE always had a secret aversion towards cruises as they conjured up images of cheesy entertainment, rogue waves, and possible mechanical problems, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I set off on a “river cruise” down the Rhine with river-cruiseline AMA Waterways.

First things first: If you don’t like meeting new people and enjoying random conversations, a river cruise is probably not for you. Secondly: Club 18-30 raves they ain’t. River-cruise travellers are mostly more mature people who have seen life and know what they want from a holiday.