GCT

Surprised by size and comfort of river ship -- clean and spruced (1st of season) large cabin -- superior cuisine and menu and preparation and presentation -- highly creative menu and dining experience superb cook (Cocos) and maitre'D (Catalin) First rate hotel manager (Corinne) and thoroughly prepared director (Raphaele) who is expertly informed and filled appropriate moments with interesting info continuously -- she is a true professional Surprised by daily printed matter -- activity and menu program, world news, info on France and each site visited, info on wine and cheese engaging evening programs, especially a concert pianist all friendly crew worthwhile city visits and fascinating river sights -- the locks I expected a small barge and modest town visits and was surprised by the river ship and the sites visited and the attention to detail and the superior organization of the trip

I loved being led to all the great monuments of Ancient Egypt by a fantastic guide-Dina. The accommodations were terrific even though a noisy bunch of weddings required ear plugs. The trip down the Nile was heavenly with great service and food and lovely cabins. The final dinner was disappointing and it needs to be more celebratory with a choice of food and better dining quality after two weeks of great eating!

The Grand Circle river cruise was my first experience in Belgium and The Netherlands and I loved my trip! My good friend asked me to join her on this springtime experience since she and her husband travel with GCT and OAT a lot! I loved the quaint towns of Veere, Arnhern Enkhuizen, Delft, Ghent and seeing the open market, Kinderdijk windmills, "step architecture", catherals, museums, fields of daffodils and tulips, tasting the delicious chocolate and cheese, picking tulips at Annemieke's Tulip Farm, talking with local people, the home visit coffee, and learning more about the culture and history of the area. The guest speakers on board the boat were very interesting. My favorite presenters were the Arnhern gentleman, Jan, who shared about his experience as a young boy during WWII and the former Program Director from Amsterdam who shared so much current information about Amsterdam and The Netherlands. The weather was perfect with sun, little rain, and warm temperatures! I enjoyed the smooth river cruise on the rivers. I was disappointed with the Delft pottery tour with a guide who lacked enthusiasm and moved our large group through the museum and factory very quickly. Also at Delta Works, there was again a large group moving through the tour. The tour guide did a good job of explaining things though if you were standing in the back, you couldn't see anything he was pointing out on displays. Overall, the Holland & Belgium in Springtime trip was outstanding and memorable for me! Thanks for the experience!

So many wonderful moments

Both my wife and I learned a lot of the East European history, culture, and customs. The Program Directors were all very professional and friendly. I strongly recommended my friends to take the trip. Recommend: Our trip started from Bucharest, Romania to Budapest, Hungry. I believe this is much better than from Budapest to Bucharest.