“The journey started at St Pancras Railway Station meeting our excellent tour manager Rebecca White. She escorted us on our very comfortable and punctual Eurostar to Amsterdam. Rebecca left us in Amsterdam onboard our cruise ship Amadeus Star which looked after us as if we were royalty. The whole staff from Cruise Director to cabin cleaner had our enjoyment and wellbeing at the heart of their daily employment. What seemed too soon we landed at Strasbourg and back into the competent and capable hands of Rebecca for our onward journey to Zermatt. We should have experienced the Gornergrat Train up part of the Matterhorn but a cruel act of Mother Nature thwarted this excursion in the form of a landslide covering chunks of the railway line. Rebecca did not accept this as an obstacle to spoil our trip and substituted this trip with that of a cable car trip up to 15000 feet above sea level. This awesome trip was far, far better than any words that I could use to describe it and I am of the opinion that the company should consider making this a permanent part of their holiday package. This was then followed, on our last tour day with a fantastic trip on the fantastic Glacier Express which included lunch onboard the train. Whilst in Switzerland two of our party experienced a medical emergency in the night and Rebecca’s superb management skills came to the fore and she organised medical assistance which allowed the couple to rejoin the group and make their way back home with the rest of the group. Conclusion - an excellent experience which should not be missed. p.s. I forgot about Great Rail Journeys brilliant use of a company called Baggaman who collects your suitcase and take it to the cruise ship for you. It is in your cabin on your arrival. Our suitcase was returned to us the day after we arrived home. An absolute joy not to have lugged this on and off all the rail elements of our trip.

“We've been with GRJ now for many years. Last year with GRJ we enjoyed The Douro, this year we did The Rhine. It was absolutely brilliant, a great atmosphere on board with good organisational skills displayed by Lucy, the Cruise Director, and Andrew, the Tour Manager. The ship, officers and crew, were excellent. We had a problem at Eurostar Security in Paris coming home but Stephen, the homeward bound Tour Manager, was first class in helping to overcome the matter. Eurostar Security lost a suitcase off the conveyor belt and initially for 10 minutes did not show must interest then Stephen stepped in and as a result it was soon found, well done Stephen.

“A wonderful experience that was greater than our expectations.

“The cruise was magnificent from the pretty villages and castles to the wonderful view. The crew, staff and amazing food made this a truly luxurious experience.

“Just wonderful.

“It was first class. I have already submitted a very detailed review to Great Rail Journeys

“This 4-city cruise was a great introduction to the Rhine and the fabulous German Christmas markets. Food was excellent, the stateroom felt luxurious, the walking tours informative, and for travelers who speak only English, there are no language barriers. Most helpful was our Great Rail Journeys coordinator, who gave me such helpful advise when I opted to spend an additional day in Germany and return to the UK on my own.

“Fantastic, everything was great, competent and friendly staff on the ship, most helpful tour manager John on the Swiss extension. Food on the ship excelent,especially 5 course dinner, though more than just one vegetarian option would be appreciated.

“First Rhine cruise and it will not be the last - thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, your in house team were excellent. We had a taste of DB in Koln we thought British Rail was bad it was chaos with changing times we were fortunate to have Steve looking after us all - he was truly excellent we would still be in Koln but for him