When I was told my husband Jamie and I had been selected to go on a River Cruise Fam trip I was absolutely thrilled.

All year round I have been booking peoples cruises both Ocean going and on Rivers. I ever earned a place within the cruise.co.uk River’s team, in recognition of the level of River cruise bookings I have made.

But what did I really know about River cruises from personal experience. Well actually very little, you see over the past 10 years I have been on over 7 cruise ships ranging from vessels that carry over 1,000 passengers to 5,000 passengers.

This was the first time I would sail on a small river cruise which had a capacity of just 202 passengers.

We pulled into the dock of St Danis just outside of Paris.

The first thing that I was struck by was the length of the vessel The A Rosa Viva part of A Rosa brand of River cruises. We have heard so much about this fleet of boats from Shearings who we were invited here by.

Look out for my overview blog on The A Rosa so I can tell you my thoughts and experiences.

This blog is about my experience in The Locks on The French River Siene.

I will admit, I was a little naive about the Locks. I understood this was going to be very different to Ocean barring cruises but the thing i was most surprised about was the Locks.

The locks on Rivers are used to regulate the current and depths of the waters and actually they are responsible for regulating traffic on the river.

A traffic light system is used with minimum and maximum speed limits are used at varying positions along a river as you enter the lock.

Think of it like transitioning through the Panama Canal the boat has just a few inches of room either side as it enters the walls of the lock. Then often you are lowered to varying heights within the dock.

This can take up to 20 or 30 minutes and is quite an interesting time. You go from seeing gorgeous French countryside scenery to seeing just a few inches separating you from a vast concrete wall either side of the vessel.

This regulates the flow of traffic as well as the depth of the water which in turn means you do not feel like you are sailing at all.

Interesting Fact from Wikipedia…

At Paris there are 37 bridges. The river is only 24 meters (79 Feet) above sea level 446 kilometres (277 mi) from its mouth, making it slow flowing and thus easily navigable… Haute Seine from Paris to Montereau-Fault-Yonne is 90 km long and has a total of 8 locks. At Charenton-Le-Pont in the mouth of The Marne.

Before I cruised on a River I was concerned I would really feel the motion of the water and that I could be a victim of sickness but these clever locks make for an incredibly smooth journey as the tidal waters stay at the same depth for the whole duration.

The journey from Paris to Rouen we went through 4 locks even waking my husband up at 2 am in the morning as the locks have bright lights and some noise as you pass through.

I am told that some rivers in Europe during busy seasons have ques of boats waiting for their turn in and out of these locks which can cause a bit of a delay on the River.

What is your experience with The locks on your river cruise?