Diamond Reviews

Even though we only did most of the included excursions it was still fairly full on with something to see every day. The highlights of the trip for us was cruising the rivers admiring the castles and small towns along the way and to have a room with a view where you could relax on your bed and watch the countryside glide by if you desired. The icing ...read more on the cake was the night cruise along the river in Budapest seeing the bridges and buildings lit up with lights along with music amplified up on the Sun Deck. It was spectacular.

Our Cruise Director Mr Roland Noordermeer was exceptional with his knowledge of the river and the various points of interest along the way along with history and politics of Europe. There was abundant amounts of beer wine and soft drinks at meal times. When booking a room, I would suggest a room from the middle of the ship toward the rear is the best location as there are less people passing your door.

We are experienced ocean cruisers but this was our first-ever river cruise, on the Travelmarvel Diamond. We had an excellent Cruise Director who kept us very busy. It was less relaxing than an ocean cruise.

We were very happy with all aspects of the Travelmarvel service. Our tour and cruise directors were all excellent - friendly, helpful and informative. The attention on the cruise was superb - the meals were amazing and a real bonus for me was the careful attention to making sure all my meals were gluten free - no issue at all. Even the birthday cake ...read more made for my husband was gluten free so I could share it!

Accommodation on the boat was excellent as was our hotel in Prague. We were a bit disappointed with our hotel room in Paris but understand that Paris accommodation must be very expensive. The only downer for us was once again (as on our trip last year) was the number of people sick with bad coughs and colds - virtually everyone on board. My husband has come back again bordering on pneumonia. The ship was very diligent however in maintaining a really high standard of hygiene - regular wiping down of all surfaces and supervision of use of hand sanitizer before entering dining room and when returning to boat. They couldn’t be faulted in this - just a hazard of being in close proximity with infected people. More than happy overall and would use Travelmarvel again. Also very happy with support of Global Journeys. Thank you!

Outstanding service with Travelmarvel and Global Journeys. Passengers were friendly and happy throughout the tour. A tour NOT to be missed.

The boat was faultless. Staff could not do enough to make it an easy, enjoyable and happy experience. Cabin was roomy enough and spotlessly clean. Little touches such as finding my sunglasses on a dog fashioned from a towel on the bed was indicative how much the staff wanted you to have a good trip. Food did not stop, every meal was a feast of quality ...read more and variety served by good humoured staff.

Shore excursions were good but we would have liked a little more time in each port to explore on our own. The visit to a private home to meet a typical family was a real highlight. On board entertainment was enjoyable with a good variety of entertainers who suited our age group. Flights organised by Hannah of Global Journeys all went well. We have no reservations in recommending Global Journeys and Travelmarvel.

Very well organized. We enjoyed every minute of our holiday. The assistance on every part of our journey, by Travelmarvel people was fantastic. We would love to travel with them again soon.

We started planning our river cruise with Global Journeys in early 2016. From start to finish their service was excellent, thanks Yvonne. The river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest is the way to go. Budapest is the jewel in the crown. What a way to finish our trip with an evening cruise through Budapest. Simply magnificent, the Captain joined us on ...read more the Sun deck for the experience.

The Travelmarvel cruise represented great value for money. The TM Diamond was a comfortable ship with the friendliest of staff. The food and service were excellent. There was plenty of opportunity to exercise on our daily shore excursions. The home visit for afternoon tea to the German family in Miltenberg was very special. We would recommend this experience to all.

Scenery and trips were excellent, supported by the outstanding social directors-Roland and Adela were so professional, helpful and fun. The trips were interesting, well organised, and generally guides were sound. Home visit was fascinating.

We booked the trip in order to visit some of the cities of eastern and central Europe, without the fuss of packing and unpacking and getting in and out of hotels every other day or so. From this perspective, the trip was excellent and we've achieved our goal, having seen Prague, Budapest, Vienna, several German cities including a glimpse of Cologne, ...read more Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Paris. It was a good mix of people and we became friends with several couples. Also there was evening entertainment on the ship and the food was good and plenty. We'd have liked to be able to explore more of some of the cities along the rivers Maine and Rhine (in Germany).

For us, the highlights of the trip were Prague and Paris. We stayed several days in each of these cities and enjoyed exploring their beauty, historical places and food. We enjoyed traveling by ship but were slightly disappointed by the lack of a balcony and restricted access to the sun deck and fresh air. Didn't quite like the air conditioning having to be used at all times. Some port locations such as the one in Cologne were rather unpleasant, with a wall in front of our window. Overall it was a good experience but I'm not sure if I want to do it again.

Trip began in Budapest which is an amazing and beautiful city. We did the side trips into Slovakia & the Czech Republic and loved them. A highlight of the trip was coffee & cake in a private home in Bamberg. The people that we met on tour and the food was excellent. I would recommend this trip with Travelmarvel to anybody.

We enjoyed the whole trip - what was so good was being able to open up the door and curtains to the room and lie in bed and watch the world go by in the morning, as it was light at 4.30am, listen to the birds singing and the ever changing landscapes. It was so relaxing, the best part was not having to pack and unpack each day, but still visiting so ...read more many places from the boat. The only problem we had was when we arrived in Amsterdam somehow we missed seeing the pickup people and went to the meeting place and still didn't see anyone - we had to ring and speak to them. We did have to wait for quite some time, and did get our transfer to the ship, but after 30 odd hours either in airports or planes you're not in the best of moods.

Wow, this trip met our expectations and more. So very happy to recommend this trip. From the delivery of our travel pack, being met at the airport, transfers, land guide, coaches, hotels, river ship, all staff onboard..... exceptional. Our land guide was very knowledgeable, having studied history at university, and also being fluent in the languages ...read more of the countries we visited. The hotels were 5-star, and locations were very good. We travelled on Travelmarvel Jewel and can not fault the staff who were all very friendly and obliging. The food was incredible, with a great variety. The entertainment onboard was varied and relevant to the areas we were travelling. We will definitely be travelling with Travelmarvel again.

What a great way to experience Europe - a leisurely sail down the Danube and Main Rivers. The scenery was spectacular, with history around every bend. Travelmarvel was exceptional. Our tour guide Roland made the trip. Nothing was too much for him and his sense of humour was spot on. All staff were friendly and professional. Although this was the ...read more first trip of the season, everything was perfect. Oh the food....so many choices and of such a high standard. The menu had many options for those like me who have allergies. Thank you to everyone for an absolutely fabulous cruise.

Global Journeys organised our European Gems River Cruise (Amsterdam to Budapest) earlier this year. In terms of Global Journeys, Yvonne was very knowledgeable and helpful - always following up on specific questions that we had. In terms of TravelMarvel - we thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of the cruise including the ship, the itinerary, the tour director ...read more (Roland was amazing), the individual tour guides (all very knowledgeable about their respective regions) and the cruise-boat staff. The catering staff need to be called out for special commendation - they quickly came to understand the dietary requirements / constraints of all of the passengers and always accommodated these needs accordingly with a nourishing selection of meals.
We made lots of new friends on the cruise and I think our wife summed up our sentiments best of all when we got to the end of the cruise by saying 'I could just turn around and do the return journey' from Budapest back to Amsterdam.

I am a solo senior traveller & this was my first trip to Europe. Global Journeys set the high standard with the booking being made so easy, Hannah was so helpful. Travelmarvel Jewel was also of a high standard, all of the staff were so helpful, cheerful & always very professional (it was the little things they did that meant so much) The food was ...read more a culinary delight every meal, so much variety, very exciting meals of the region that we were passing through. I found the ships cleanliness was excellent throughout, along with the coaches we used on our city tours. The novelty towel creations in our cabins were a delight!

Our Cruise Director was fantastic, very easy to listen to at his 'coming events' talks, & his cruising commentary along the way. He was always so cheerful and made himself available onboard & on our land tours to anyone who needed his help or had a question to ask. I did all the land excursions I could and found the local tour guides were very passionate about their towns & it showed as they guided us around professionally, giving us commentary along the way. The age of the passengers on this cruise were mainly of senior years but everyone mixed in well together.

Travelmarvel Jewel did an excellent job of decorating the ship for Christmas & New Year, & made it a great celebration for us! River cruising was excellent & interesting (even when Mother Nature tried to upset things - low water level in canal & snow). Travelmarvel had everything under control at all times! The hotels used in our extensions (Prague & Paris) were also of a high standard. The trip to me was very full on, and we were always on the go, but a real pleasure & so many wonderful sights and attractions to see. (I wasn't going to miss out on anything). I would totally recommend Global Journeys and Travelmarvel for a real worry free holiday, where everything is taken care of for you. Thank you!

We found October was a lovely time to go many shops with there Xmas decorations and markets looked beautiful. We went on travelmarvel diamond and it was fantastic. Everything went smooth thanks to Hannah at Global Journeys from the moment we boarded the ship. Absolutely beautiful to travel on the river and see the beautiful towns with so much history. ...read more Everyday was fantastic with new friends we meet on board. Thanks Hannah for all your help you excelled our expectations. Look forward to another cruise with the help of Hannah.

We think the length of the trip could be extended - river cruising for 20 days would allow an extra day in both Budapest and Amsterdam as well as a visit to Cologne, together with additional time in some of the cities along the river. We felt it was all a bit rushed in some places.

Travelmarvel's river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest was in our opinion pitched at the right level, the comfort, cleanliness, quality and variety of food and beverages were all excellent. The friendliness of all the staff from Captain to cleaner made us feel so welcome and at ease which undoubtedly added to our enjoyment of the holiday. Would not ...read more hesitate in using the Travelmarvel brand again should the opportunity arise.

The whole trip from start to finish was just brilliant. Small enough for it to be very personal. I needed a gluten free diet and that was extremely well catered for by everyone on staff. The included tours were great and due to our trips timing we did the extra tour to the tulip gardens and that was excellent, also the Vienna concert was well worth ...read more it. As we were early in the season (April & May) it wasn't as busy as later on and even though the weather was cool at times it was great. Food and wine were exceptional, staff great and Marion was so good at keeping everyone on track.