Denise -

Todd and I had checked out Viking River Cruises about a year ago. When Todd called to inquire about the smoking policy, he was told that on the ships which cater to North Americans, there is NO indoor smoking. At that time, they supposedly had a very restrictive smoking policy. The China boats were an exception to that. At the time, they allowed more smoking on the China boats. We always have to check it out. Todd and I are very sensitive to smoke and my Dad is even more so. He smoked two or three packs a day years ago, but he can't stand to be anywhere near the smell today. I know lots of ex-smokers who have that same reaction.

Might be worth checking out Viking River. One other thing to keep in mind, though. Don't know what the river level is like now, but last year a number of people ended up on a bus rather than the river cruise they expected. Apparently the water levels on the river were so low they couldn't move the ships.

Betty - small world. It's rare that I run into anyone else who is Czech or Slovak. I missed such an opportunity years ago to get tons of geneological info. By the time I got interested in doing the research, my Grandmother was too far gone to remember anything. I'm still kicking myself!