@mckaylabaloney this will be my second one; I imagine it will be much like my first. Let me know what you're interested in and I can give you my feedback based on my first one now. I'll forget to get back to you after my second one mid-August!
Oh, cool -- that's a good endorsement in itself, I suppose. One thing I'm curious about is what the experience of just being on the boat is like -- I know they're not the same as ocean cruises, with an excess of entertainment, so what do travel days feel like/what do you do? I'm envisioning a lot of time reading books on a quiet deck (which to me sounds much better than an ocean cruise), but I don't know if that has any basis in reality :) Also, do you eat all your meals on the boat, and if so, do you feel like you're missing out on experiencing local restaurants etc.?
Well, I go with my Dad. He's 85, has mobility issues, but likes to travel. So he invites me along to help with mobility logistics and just to travel and spend time together. Overall they're enjoyable enough but I doubt I would do one on my own.
The boats are tiny compared to ocean cruises - the one we're on has 93 rooms, so only about 186 passengers on board, plus maybe 20 or 30 crew. So you do tend to get to know other passengers much better, which I like.
The rivers are generally calm, and the boats are long, so there's really not any issue with sea sickness. I suppose it depends if you're going upstream or downstream, but they go pretty slow too. We're taking 10 days to get from Passau, Germany to Budapest, Hungary, to give you an idea.
The European rivers have a bunch of locks on them to raise/lower the ships periodically. Those are kind of cool the first few times.
Usually there's one destination per day, with a free walking excursion of whatever city you're at to see the local sights in the morning, then some free time to explore on your own. Then maybe some paid activities on shore in the afternoon, or reading on board, or occasionally a local cultural lesson / demonstration, like local singers, or a local discussion of a historical event (we heard a good lecture on the bridge at Remagen and the history around that). Dinner is somewhat long, with five courses or so. Depending on the next destination, the ship usually gets underway in the afternoon, and people tend to enjoy just watching the scenery - which usually includes picturesque villages and also castles.
As far as meals, they have all three on the ship every day, but some people will choose to skip the shipboard lunch to eat on shore to experience, as you say, the local cuisine. Occasionally on the walking tours the ship guide will buy a local treat of some renown, like chocolate or cheese. Several of the stops on the last one we went on had village markets of fresh food which you could buy. In Strasbourg I found a cheese shop that I liked and bought a random block of cheese which was really good. And the paid excursions often include a wine tasting / vineyard visit or similar, and people often buy wine from those either for onboard consumption or more often gifts to family (hard to get back home in your luggage safely, but you can try it or have it shipped).
It's mostly people over sixty, but they're usually interesting - not to be snobby, but river cruises tend more towards the cultural and mobile set vs. ocean cruising which is more entertaining and staying on board ship. There are middle aged people like me, and occasionally college age or so grandchildren.
I would say that the pace is leisurely, but not slow. Depends on your travel personality I suppose.
HTH.
