CLIENT REVIEWS


 

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 BARGE CRUISE REVIEWS

 

It was a fabulous trip.  Very nice, knowledgeable, and attentive crew.  Food was way beyond our expectations; on another level compared to a standard typical Caribbean cruise food.  We would do another barge cruise. 

RG
Luciole

The Fiep was a great boat. Captain and crew were very nice and the food was very good.  We could bring wine on board and they charged a five dollar corkage for a bottle of wine.
They had a housekeeper that made up our rooms every day, which was a nice surprise.  

Thanks for helping make this a great trip.  It’s perfect for a family.   
 
MG
Fiep

We enjoyed the cruise immensely and will recommend it to our friends. I'm also in an informal travel group which meets at the library to exchange info and reviews of trips we've been on. I'll share your website with the group soon and plug canal cruising.

RH
Madeleine

It was a wonderfully relaxing trip and I agree with Sue, I'd also definitely do another barge trip. The crew was outstanding, the boat was practically new, I loved my cabin, lots of room to spread out - no complaints on any front.

KT
Madeleine


We have returned from our bike/barge trip on the Fiep from Bruges to Amsterdam. It was a wonderful trip, and I thank you for your arrangements. I highly recommend the barge Fiep, and the crew. Touring Flanders by bicycle and the barge allowed us to enjoy excercise, nice people, beautiful scenery, great food, and comfortable accommodations. We are eager to go on another such trip! Thanks for all your help!

NH
Fiep - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise

Jan -
The family loved the trip. The hotel in Avignon is and was perfect. Very easy to get too and central to the city.
The barge trip was great. The food was excellent and very accommodating for our gluten free allergy requirements.? Sleeping accomadations and amenities on the boat were not up to par, they were ok but not as comfortable in the sleeping cabins as they could be, cabins were kind like glorified camping. The cycling during the day made up for it and the sites and distances were perfect. The bikes could have been one notch up from what they were including shock absorbers up front since we travelled on many stone dust trails.
The items for improvement are at the fringes. Overall 3.5 out of 5. Well worth the money.

*NOTE: Bikes have been upgraded on the barge. As this is a casual bike and barge cruise vessel, the accommodations are not the same quaity as a deluxe barge vessel.

S.S.
Soleo - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise

The barge trip was very nice.  The food was excellent and the staff on the boat was very helpful.  Both Ruth and I had a great time.  Lots of things to see on this particular route.  Great experience. 
DM
Fiep - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise


Just a quick note to let you know what a wonderful time we had on our bike/barge trip. Kris and Patsy were the perfect hosts and catered to our every need. They were pleasent and flexible with all our planning and the meals were out of this world. The accomodations onboard were stunning. Clean, Neat, and far exceeded our expectations. The bicycles were in excellent condition and Kris provided us with detailed maps and recommendations every day. I would give my highest reccomendation to anyone wanting this type of trip. We plan on using them again in the future. We stayed at the Kasteel en Kotshueys in Veurne and it also was fabulous. I would highly recommend in for pre or post trip accomodations in Veurne. Thanks again for your help in planning this.


DK
Johanna
 
Our vacation aboard the Johanna was truly special. We found it to be an ideal way for a small party to enjoy the private use of a newly refurbished and very comfortable barge, while cycling or simply barging the canals of Belgium. 
We spent seven days traveling through Flanders (the NW section of Belgium) at a really enjoyable pace, cycling daily while learning a lot about WWI and the battles in that area.

The comforts of the Johanna were easy to get used to as our floating hotel. It was so relaxing not to have to pack up and move our luggage nightly. The evening meal was another high point, so well prepared, artfully presented and always delicious. Our group loved the fact that we could decide each day, based on the weather and how we felt, exactly what route we wanted to cycle and how far we wanted to go. The Belgian countryside was lush and serene, with extremely well marked trails making for easy cycling terrain. 
The crew of the Johanna was Kris and Patsie - captain and kitchen help, cook and deckhand! They were a very nice couple and thoroughly enjoyable to spend time with.

They made sure that we were well looked after, but in a very unobtrusive way. Their redesign of the Johanna, previously a coal barge, was completely well thought out spacious, light-filled and airy, a very relaxing environment with all the amenities we needed.
For an excellent vacation trip at a pace you can direct and with first class accommodations and service, book the Johanna

C & M B
Johanna

Hi Jan,
We are back to reality after our wonderful trip to France and Switzerland.  All in all the trip was lovely.  Le Phenicien is quite a nice barge with an excellent staff and wonderful food and drink.  The downside was the lack of access to biking routes and information.  We realized going in that this was not a scheduled "bike cruise" per se but that biking would be available with maps supplied, etc.  In this regard, the cruise was lacking. .  If it isn't a biking cruise, biking is spotty and disappointing.

That said, I do want to thank you for your efforts in helping to make our trip memorable.  The hotel in Geneva was very nice, modern and clean and in a good location.  We had incredible weather and would return to this area in a heartbeat.

GH
Le Phenicien


Jan-
We are back. Through the haze of jet-lag and post-trip remorse that, after a year of planning, the week flew by so fast and it’s OVER.
Thank you for everything you undertook to assure the four of us a wonderful trip. 
I’ll call it a once-in-a-lifetime adventure when I truly hope it is not. 
 In many respects it MORE than lived up to expectations so I wanted to be sure to let you know that. 
The meals were exceptional and the service by the entire boat crew was extraordinary.
There were many surprising  parts to this adventure. I would never have set out to go to Le Beaux or to “the other” Avignon, across the Rhone.
The wine excursion to Chateau de Pape (not sure of spelling) was further enhance by the brilliant fall colors of the vineyard foliage.
Again, we had a wonderful time. We are very appreciative of your efforts on our behalf.

ML
Le Phenicien

1. AMBIENCE AND COMFORT - Excellent.  Cabins roomy with lots of storage and very comfortable beds.  Even had heated towel racks.  Perhaps another hook to hang damp towels could be added.  I suggested a hairdryer, which Patsy immediately ran out and purchased for each cabin.  Main Cabin - Also roomy with comfortable seating.  New and modern furniture with large picture windows.  Sundeck - Large with plenty of seating.
2.  SERVICE - Excellent.  Both Kris and Patsy strived to make sure we had what we needed and were cheerful and fun.
3.  FOOD - Excellent.  This was above and beyond what we expected.  Not the 5-star deluxe, white table cloths, etc service one gets on the more elaborate, expensive boats and which we did not expect; but the delightful surprise was that Patsy is a gourmet cook and puts great time and effort into every meal, even to making triple-reduced sauces and elegant desserts.  What we taught her was to make the portions much smaller! 
4.  WINE & BEER - Both were offered at lunch and dinner and were both very nice.  Because we do enjoy wine, a couple of times we brought on board extra bottles.
5.  ADVENTURE - The bicycles were new and great fun to have to go into town.  The cruising down the canals was leisurely and very lazy.  Sights and museums were recommended along the way.  

MM
Johanna

Hi Jan,
We enjoyed the trip! The crew was great, all very helpful. The biking was a bit difficult because of the strong Mistral winds that were blowing the whole trip, but the countryside was beautiful. We had great weather other than the wind.
Thanks for all your help with trains, everything went smoothly.

J.R.
Soleo - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise

Jan,
Ken and I finally got our thoughts on paper regarding our trip on the C’est la Vie.  Needless to say we had a wonderful trip.  We appreciate your help.


Our trip on the C’est la Vie was amazing.  We received 5 Star personal service by the staff, and the canal and countryside of France were beautiful.  (We stayed in Paris a couple of days following the barge trip and we were in culture shock with all the tourists after floating along the canal that was so peaceful.)  The inside and outside common areas of the barge were comfortable and spacious.  The food, wine, cheese, and cabin accommodations were beyond our expectations.  At every meal we had 2 wines and 2 or 3 cheeses. We loved how the staff would share with us what region of France they came from and how they were made.

 
We put ourselves in the hands and the expertise of the staff.  Our days were planned by them and so no decisions needed to be made of what we were going to do as a group.  They had an excursion from the boat with our personal tour guide planned each day to an abbey, chateau, market, winery, and small town.  But there was plenty of free time to be able to leave the boat and walk or bike along the path and into the little villages.   Or we could choose to stay on the boat and relax while the barge was traveling down the canal.

 
It was a great trip to take with our adult children since I think they were a little nervous about being on a barge with Mom and Dad for a week.  We all found there was lots of time and space to be together or separate ourselves for personal time.


When we got to Paris we looked around and said, “Where is Glen our tour guide?”  When picking out a restaurant we all could agree on, we said, “Where is Jerry with all that wonderful food?” and “We want Jo and Deb to tell us all about the wine and cheeses?”  And “We want to be back on the barge with Captain Olivier whose skill motoring the barge on the canal and in the locks was amazing.”  
It was the most relaxing vacation for all.

K and J E
Cest le Vie
 
Jan, we absolutely loved it! The boat is very comfortable, the crew wonderful, our guide was great, the countries awesome, the other passengers were so much fun! Most of all, we were able to do every bit of biking. It was perfectly geared to us. The other passengers were almost entirely couples in their 50's and 60's, with one 40 year old woman and one 71 year old man. We hope to do another bicycle/barge trip!


SE
Iris - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise



Caprice Experience:

Food, service, cleanliness, personnel were all outstanding.

Cabin was really compact, especially the bathroom. 

One day we toured an old hospice hospital.  Another day in another town, we toured another old hospice/museum hospital.  Wine tasting and castle tours were good.

The small canals were very picturesque. 

The free Happy Hour was a nice touch.  I don't recall ever having that perk on any cruise previously.  This included any drink and any quantity for an hour, self serve.

BB
Caprice



Just a note to let you know what a great trip we all had!  Everyone was just superb!  Starting with Capt. Kevin and chef Jody to Niko and his wife!   What a ball we had and "thank you" for getting us there!  We would like to do the South of France barge trip but will probably hold off for a year or so!


DH 
Saroche


The barge was extremely pleasant.  Cabins were small, but you expect that on a barge.  They were very clean, beds were comfortable and we had all the storage space we needed.  Private bathrooms in each cabin were small but functional and we never ran out of hot water.
There was a nice sitting room where folks would congregate to chat and watch the scenery go by out large windows.  The dining area was also bright and cheery. Meals were delicious. Breakfast: Every day, there were various breads, meats, cheeses and fruit.  Each day was a different hot dish - French toast, eggs, pancakes, etc. At breakfast, we were provided with Tupperware-type containers so we could pack our own lunch with whatever we desired.  (The freshly baked hard rolls were a favorite for sandwiches).  In addition to the breakfast items, there were juice boxes, cookies and candy available. At all times, there was coffee, tea, hot chocolate, cookies and candy available in the dining area. Dinner: Each evening, we have what was called a 3-course meal....but it seemed like much more than that.
We would have a soup or salad started, then a main course with multiple sides followed by a scrumptious dessert.  Everyone raved about the delicious food - and often asked for recipes.


After dinner each evening, our cycling guide would take us for a walk into the little town where we had docked.  He would show us around and tell us a little about the area and it's history.


The bikes were easy to use and our guide was extremely adept at taking care of the few problems folks encountered (a couple of flat tires). The seats were a bit hard and we benefitted greatly from the slip-on gel seats we took with us (purchased from REI).
The bike routes were beautiful.  Personally, I enjoyed the Netherlands area more than the Belgium area - not that I didn't enjoy the Belgium rides, it's just that every Holland rides was like a postcard.


Each evening, our guide (Thomas) would tell us about the following day's ride and the options.  Some days you could ride half-day and meet up with the barge.  Other days, if you were riding, you had to ride the whole day. On every full day ride, there was always an afternoon stop at a local pub.


We mostly rode with the group.  However, on 2 days, my husband and I wanted to go at a slower pace (because we took so many pictures).  Thomas was terrific.  He provided us with maps and suggestions on where to stop for lunch, if we wanted.
One day, I stayed on the barge and just enjoyed the scenery as we meandered down the river.  This also let me get into our little port a bit early and stroll around with some of the other  people who had chosen to cruise that day.


The staff of the Iris (captain, first mate, cook and housekeeper) were all extremely friendly and knowledgeable


Ours was called a casual bike and barge tour.  I understand the biggest differences between that and the tours conducted by deluxe barges
1. Alcohol is not included in the tour price.  Onboard the Iris, it was the honor system.  If you wanted a glass of wine or a beer, you took one and put a stroke by your name on the tab tally.  You could also purchase a full bottle of wine and just enjoy it at your leisure.
2. I've heard that some tours have a van accompanying the cycling group in case someone wants to take a break.  On our tour, we had a terrific guide with us, but you couldn't really call it quits in the middle of the day.  That's why it was so nice to know all of the options the day before - so everyone could make their own plans.
3. Any admission charges to local sights (like a working windmill) were not included in the tour price.  Our guide paid the admission then everyone would pay him at the end of the day.  This worked out very well.
We have travelled quite a bit and we loved this tour.  We are already looking at a trip on the sister ship to the Iris, the Fleur.

KT
Iris - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise


Everyone loved the boat.  The food was beyond incredible.  It was the richest French food and we all ate until we couldn’t move. If we were to do it again, I would make the request that dinner be served in an hour and a half to two hours (at the longest) as the meals did last forever. but boy were they enjoyed!


Bad Wimpfen was a highlight.  Everyone loved it. Heidelberg was great. We definitely need to tip 100 Euros per passenger. They did a fantastic job.


Again, I can’t express how great the crew was.  I think we have a whole “boat load” of converts

L
Charlemagne

My clients thoroughly enjoyed the Shannon Princess.  My clients who have been on barge vacations before told me it was the best barge they had been on.  Everything was great including the crew.  Please pass this info on to the owner and crew.


Shannon Princess

The L'Impressioniste's crew was great!  I'm quite sure that if any of us were to book another trip, we would request Jennifer MacStay as cook; the quality, creativity, and presentation of her meals were wonderful (as was her personality!)  Our captain, Nicolas Guedet, had a challenging job dealing with the weather, but handled it as best he could, giving us as many options as he could. 


 I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of room, since we could store suitcases, etc., elsewhere.  All in all, an excellent trip, with all five of the crew members as helpful and accommodating as they could be.

MH
L'Impressionniste


We had a great trip, except for the weather.  The cook was great as was Nickolas, the skipper and all the other help.  They did their best to provide alternative experiences when the weather caused problems.  The barge was clean and comfortable.

EP
L'Impressionniste

We got back last week and had a wonderful time. The barge/bike experience was great.  I wasn't sure what to expect and everything exceeded my expectations. The boat had recently been redone so the accommodations were great!  It turned out that it was unusually hot so the fact that the boat was air-conditioned turned out to be important (spoiled Americans......).  Some of the other companies' boats did not have air conditioning we learned.  I didn't realize how many companies there are that do this type of trip.


The staff was great!  The captain was very gracious (also part owner) and allowed my husband to spend some time with her in the pilot house which was something he wanted to do.  He was a tow boat captain here on the Mississippi so he was very interested in the boat and the canals. 
The chef and other crew were great!  They were friendly and helpful.  Their English was good which of course that made it easier for us.  The food was good.  Dinner every night was well prepared, well presented and well eaten.


The biking was also great!  Nice bikes and an easy pace.  After the first couple of days, they kind of changed the agenda so that people could bike the whole day, the morning, the afternoon or not at all.  Because of the heat, a number of people chose to bike only in the morning when it was cooler, like my husb


I enjoyed the route through Belgium and Holland.  Both countries have a little something different to offer.  I would recommend the trip to anyone.  I would also recommend an 'international' group.  It turned out that there were Norwegians, Danes, Germans, Dutch and Americans on the cruise and that may the trip more interesting for us.  (Most everyone spoke English pretty well and of course, we don't speak any other language)


Thanks for the recommendation.  We might have to try another one in the future.  I hear they have more of these trips in France.

JB
Iris - Casual Bike and Barge Cruise 

I just wanted to let you know that  I had a nice time on the barge and wanted to thank you for what you had arranged.
The barge itself was beautiful and the food was terrific.
The captain, Max, was a young enthusiastic, knowledgeable and likeable youthful 40ish person who greatly added to the ship’s ambience.
I have no idea when I will be able to repeat a trip such as this one but it was indeed memorable for all of the right reasons.

DG
Le Reine Pedauque


To the crew of Absoluut2.
Thank you for making this vacation so special!
The food was first class, the towns were great and thank you for sharing your experience of Dutch history and it's people. 

Best wishes from
L, J and J.
Absoluute 2

Dear John and crew:
John: I can't begin to express how absolutely wonderful the fairytale trip on your yacht was. Carol and I still have to pinch ourselves to make sure it was real. Our every wish you made come true. The first night Carol asked for Canadian Club and you didn't have it on board. The next day, there it was.  You were more than accommodating on everything, making this the most wonderful thing we every thought possible.  I also appreciate the Top Gear info you sent along on the disk.  I will send you some copies from the slides I took.  Not all 10 rolls, just the better pictures.


I forgot to get your email address before I left the boat.  I got Budhi's, but didn't get yours, so I hope this reaches you okay.  I will send you any information that comes out in the Denver Post, etc. and will also try to put something together with the Garden Writers Association.

Luke:  Thank you for everything.  You had answers for anything we wanted to know and were always at the ready to lend a helping hand, lead a side trip, set up abicycle, etc.  You helped to round out the most wonderful experience we have ever had.  Better than New Zealand, or any other place we have been.  Our daughter said that being able to get email from us and to send an answer made her feel much more secure since she was taking care of our horses, greenhouse, etc.  You went the extra mile, (kilometer), to make that happen.
 
Penny:  Carol and I really enjoyed visiting with you and Budhi.  You keep the yacht so clean that we were almost afraid to touch anything on board because we would leave a smudge or a fingerprint.  Thank you so much for the cake, we ate on it the rest of the time we were in Amsterdam, and it was just what we needed.
 
Budhi:  I think I gained a lot of weight on the trip.  Sitting back and watching the countryside go past was great, but your wonderful food made it very special. Every time we turned around you had something else for us to eat and we just couldn't pass it up.  Carol bought several cookbooks in Amsterdam, but she will never be able to give the food she fixes the same wonderful flavor that you do.
 
We will keep in touch with everyone as you feel like family rather than a boat and crew we hired.  If any of you get to Colorado, be sure and stop to see us. We have plenty of room and would be happy to show you the sights.
 
Sincerely,
 
J and C P
Absoluute 2


I don't care what boat, barge, or yacht you compare it to, the Absoluut 2 has to be the best in the business.  The next time we decide to do any cruising we will definitely go with the Absoluut 2 as we are sure any other cruise would not even come close to this cruise.   John and his staff are perfectionists and your wish is their command.  If you mention something and they don't have it they will get it.  If you mention something you want to do or where you would like to go it is granted.  Keukenhauf was at the perfect time with more flowers than I have ever seen in one place at one time.  John was willing to spend the entire day there if we wanted, but I was getting sensory overload with all of the wonderful flowers.  I got the pictures I wanted for publication, and it was a great experience.  At mid-morning here was Captain John with cake and drinks for a welcome break.  At lunch here he was again with just what we wanted for lunch, and drinks.   Every night we docked at a beautiful location.  During the day we cruised through beautiful country.  The Dutch seem to have most of their beautiful gardens and flowers in their back yards between the house and the canal.  So all I had to do was sit there and relax and watch the beautiful garden scenes go past.   The last evening we were suppose to dock in Amsterdam, but with Queen's Day the following day there were not many good places and John wasn't satisfied with where we were located.  He put in a couple of extra hours and got us to a nice quiet place in a small town within about a hundred yards of a beautiful windmill.    My wife hasn't had a good nights sleep for months, but she said she slept better on this cruise than she can remember.  The cabin was very quiet, and the crew seemed to go out of their way to keep from making any noise after people went to bed and until they got up in the morning.   John keeps the yacht in perfect shape.  I have never seen a cleaner engine room on any boat I have ever been on.  In addition, Penny keeps everything cleaned and polished and in it's place.   Budhi makes the best food we have ever eaten.  I am sure we both gained weight on this trip.   Luke is a real key part of the crew.  When John is busy he takes care of anything the passengers need.  He also leads great tours and goes the extra mile to make the passengers comfortable.   This yacht has everything you might want, from flat screen satellite TV to Internet service.  But, the best part of the whole cruise was the wonderul scenery and great crew.   Well, we have just traveled from Amsterdam and have been traveling for the past 24 hours without sleep, so my note might not make sense as we are very tired, but I just had to tell you how great the cruise was.  

Sincerely,   J P
Absoluute 2


 
Just recovered from pampering on the Absoluut2. The trip was wonderful, Captain John and the crew treated us like Royalty. The barge, weather were terrific, I even got to use the hot tub on deck twice. We were lucky with our fellow passengers, a couple from Colorado, one of whom was a retired horticulturist from Colorado State who took amazing photos see attachments) could explain all the plant life. The hotels in Amsterdam turned out well, located in the middle of the major squares and walking distance to museums and flower markets etc, we even did well for the Queen's birthday for food and museums.   Thanks for all your help and we hope to join the Absoluut2 and its crew sometime when they are in France. Carol and i have some information about French history that we would like to send on to Captain John, could you send us his email address or forward our note when we get it finished???  

Sincerely,   C & P
Absoluute 2

 

AMAWATERWAYS RIVER CRUISE REVIEWS

 

We had a great time on our cruise we could not have asked for anything else. We very much appreciated the upgrade you managed to get for us and would highly recommend it to anyone who enquires about the trip. We had so much fun and it was such a lovely break for us not to have to think about where we were going to next or how we were going to get there. Everything was organised for us and we met some lovely people on the cruise. We would really love to go on another cruise and would be interested if you have any good deals coming up that we could look at. Thanks again for all your help and look forward to talking to you about another cruise in the future.

Kind regard Greg and Janine, Australia

AmaDolce




It's Sue, writing to you from Niger. My Amawaterways Danube cruise w/ Jeannette and Susan was wonderful. As were you, in arranging all of it, which is why I am writing to you again to book a group of us on a French barge cruise. 

SR (AmaDolce satisfied customer!!!)
AmaDolce

 


The cruise portion of our Music at Sea on Ama went great as usual and as we have come to expect from Ama.  On that score Ama delivered. 

As always any reasonable on board requests for our group was met with a smile and professionalism.  It was great 
and our guests were very happy.

JR
Amalegro

 

Just wanted to tell you that I was really impressed with how well AMA Waterways handles their river cruise.
My trip on the Amalyra was perfect.  The ship is beautiful and new, the management well-trained and friendly, the shore trips well-planned, the food upscale, the cabin large and beyond expectation with its robes, free Internet and 3-spray shower.

BB
AmaLyra

 


A-ROSA RIVER CRUISE REVIEWS


 

I found a German River Cruise Line - A ROSA- that I wanted to book but the time difference and language barrier made that difficult. I spoke with Jan on the phone and she was able to answer my questions and book the cruise. We are in California and she is in Texas but she was always available to answer my questions. We had a once in a lifetime cruise and we could not have done it without all Jan's help. 5 stars!

AM
Aqua - Rhine

 

This Mini Rhine River 4 night was a perfect cruise to spend time together for 3 generations—ages 9year old boy, his 47 year old Mom, and her 75 year old Mom. The AROSA, Jr Suite was very comfortable and scenic. Being in a traveling hotel is the way to go! Hoping off at Amsterdam to explore on a canal boat was terrific. Walking around felt very welcoming and was beautiful to mingle culturally. Back in Cologne, the Chocolate Factory is awesome. You can order a custom chocolate bar made for you while you tour, and collect it at the end! The perfume tour is a must in Cologne as well. We enjoyed the ease of leaving the boat on excursions and returning to the comfort of our beautiful quarters & yummy restaurant on board. Highly recommend this safe adventure!!! Felt like a 5 STAR EXPERIENCE. The crew is multilingual. The boat is beautiful. The size of the boat feels perfectly adequate and not too big. James, Dolly, Jamie from NYC

 

JF

Silva

We took the Rhine river cruise from Cologne, Germany to Basel, Switzerland. The ship was great, our cabin with French balcony was the best! The food was super and the crew very friendly and helpful. The bike excursion was really fun even though we got caught in the rain - a fun memory. We would definitely go again with Arosa.

VS
Silva - Rhine

 

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Arosa Flora Cruise line. Thank you Jan at European Barging for finding something that would work for our time line. The German/English cruise team on board was lovely and the buffet style food was wonderful. Always a great selection for every meal. Lovely cabins we stayed in, very clean and well serviced. We did the Cologne to Rudisheim to Mosel River back to Cologne route. It was lovely and so much to see and enjoy. I would highly recommend this cruise, the Arosa Cruise line and Jan at European Barging for any future cruising plans that you have.

TE
Flora - Rhine

Found European Barging when looking for European River Cruises and was extremely happy! Jan was an absolute pleasure to work with....some of the best customer service I've experienced! We were booked on a lovely cruise also! Highly recommend!

We loved the cruise! We were the only Americans and only with kids lol. The looks we got from fellow cruisers initially were kind of ppl worried about us being there but we warmed everyone up and everyone was super friendly! 

The pick up drop off situation was a bit frustrating and it was kind of confusing where we were getting picked up at from the train station but we figured it out and it was well run otherwise.

We took a taxi to the Heidelberg castle and it was great! Definitely worth it and the change of itinerary made it easier bc we were only 30 min away.

Loved Arosa and my German cousins told us it is highly regarded in Germany :) 

Would definitely recommend you all as well as Arosa! Great accommodations, friendly staff, delicious food, etc!

Thanks again!

NP
Silva

Hi Jan,
     I just wanted to tell you what a wonderful time we had on our Rhine river cruise (May 3-7).  Also thank you for all of your help.  Being the only Americans made it even more of an adventure and 5 of the crew members went out of their way to help us and make the trip even more special.  The Cruise director even put us on an English speaking tour in Heildelberg which was fantastic.  I will be passing your info to a couple of people that are interested in (an American) Rhine cruise.  Thanks again,

CSC
Arosa Viva

 
My friend and I had a wonderful cruise on the Viva from 5/3-5/7/2014!  We knew when we booked it that this was a German cruise and we are Americans.  We were prepared to stumble along.  We cannot thank Catalina Mateos for making this a special trip for us.  She made us feel just as important as the other passengers, arranged an English tour for us and helped us by interpreting the German things we needed to know.  Pedro Carreno was also a big help to us and even assisted us on his off time to get train tickets.  We were also very fortunate to have found Raynaldo and Jaydeep in the dining room.  They spoke some English and were very friendly.  Our cabin steward, Dionards was amazing in keeping our cabin in wonderful condition.  Finally,  I was not always sure what I was eating, but it was delicious. My freshly scrambled eggs started my day and my day ended with with the dark, fruit nut bread that I now miss every day.  I hope to cruise again.


CG
Arosa Viva

 
 The boat (Arosa Riva) was really terrific, comfortable spaces, warm and helpful staff, accommodated our group’s needs very well.  Stephan Zimmermann was especially helpful and friendly.  I think they provide a real alternative to the Viking line.  They will be more attractive to conventional US travelers when they are able to do more of the tours in English for us it wasn’t a big deal as we made many of our own arrangements and used the Hop-On-Hop-Off buses, but for some cruise travelers those are not great options.
- Hotel das Triest was terrific - everyone liked it, the location was fabulous, rooms were very comfortable, etc.

Thanks for your help
KB
Arosa Riva

I would recommend Arosa for experienced travelers, comfortable being “out of their comfort zone” who are flexible about languages, currencies and  cultures, capable of having adventures in a non-traditional cruise ship.  Not for those needing coddling.  For us, it was a good recommendation.   Thanks for your help.

MT,
Arosa Riva


First of all, thanks for asking. 
Secondly, I completely agree with Mike's comments about the cruise.  I remember the conversation I had with you early on about the difference between the boats with sit-down dinners and "wine included" options.  You were right to point out that even though Arosa had only buffet-style, the food was very good and everyone could customize their meal and have it on their own time.  I was also disappointed they did not have WiFi onboard in this day and age, but it sounds like they will have it soon.  
I would also add that our cruise was a good value, given it's overall quality, for the money compared to some other cruises we reviewed. 
I would also like to thank you for helping us with the land arrangements in Munich and Prague.  As much as we enjoyed the cruise, I believe the time in Prague was the best part of the trip. 

BT,
Arosa Riva

The cabins were bigger than we expected and there was plenty of room to move around.  The staff spoke English and were very friendly and helpful.  The food was excellent.
I recommend this ship and look forward to cruising on Arosa in the future. 

HW
Arosa Mia

 



CROISI RIVER CRUISE REVIEWS

 

 

Jan was absolutely wonderful setting up and walking us through the trip! The boat, accommodations, crew, food, etc, that she recommended were well above expectations, we had a ball!

MS
Croisi Renoir

We had a great time! Your services were great as well, thanks again. I think it did live up to our expectations. I say "I think" for the following reasons:

  1. We were never "cruise people" so this was a good way to test the theory without getting on a huge ship
  2. While we did expect to be on the younger side, the other passengers were way older than I thought they would be
  3. Excursions, while nice, are not what we are used to since we are normally traveling on our own and therefore more mobile/have more time to see things. Tours seemed rushed in parts to stay on schedule
  4. Rooms were great, however, it is hard to sleep with the constant hum of the ships engines. Also, while the ship was recently renovated, there was a significant amount of "squeeks/rattles" coming from wall and ceiling panels that were made of metal.

 

Positives:

  1. Loved not being on a ship full of americans
  2. Food was great
  3. Open bar very nice
  4. small boats are great since they dock often, you don;t feel like you are a prisoner
  5. staff were amazing

TD
Croisi Rhone

The Trier to Strasbourg trip was lovely. I was one of 4 Anglophones on the boat and we all got along beautifully. Doing my own touring stops worked out fine.  It looked like a couple other folks on the boat did so also.

That said, I appreciate all your efforts toward a wonderful trip.

JB
Monet

I'd just like to thank you for all your assistance in organising our cruise. We are now safely home and had a wonderful time. The crew on the Symphonie were particularly kind in accommodating my father.
Best wishes
LR
Symphony

 
The ship, and all else was just as you described it. It was clean, the crew attentive and helpful in explaining things to us (and 6 others)in English and, we had English speaking guides for the land trips. The room was smaller than expected and the food and wine was plentiful and quite good. The itinerary covered (as our German friends told us) the prettiest part of the Rhine and the trip to the beautiful city of Heidelberg was a highlight of the trip. It might not have been quite as plush as a Tauck tour, but we were never inconvenienced and we saw everything there was to see.
Seeing Strasbourg and the Cathedral was really worth the trip; the Cathedral is magnificent and the town is charming.
All in all it was a terrific trip, so thank you for putting it together for us.


B &P C
Mogiliani

Crew is great, accommodating and translate the pertinent items into English
They arranged an english speaking guide for us and a few Canadians
Cuisine is classic French-if you enjoy great food and are somewhat open to expanding your palate it is great. We enjoyed it. 9 wines and other beverages are included in price so that was a nice surprise
Age range on cruise is 60 plus with 72about average. Nice group, all French.  
Dress is casual, with polo shirts and silk print shirts fine for men, along with shorts, long pants all fine. 
Only one man wore a jacket to dinner--it was 98 degrees yesterday so that might influence the dress.  

GW
St Odile



Dear Jan,
I think Lafe said everything pretty well.  It was a tremendous value, everything was well done.  I also have a couple of suggestions.  The brochure did say that the scenic part of the trip was leaving Coblenz...that was an understatement!  Perhaps an announcement prior to leaving.  I just happened to open the curtain & saw the statue (I'm assuming of Napolean) & yelled "Grab your camera quick!"  That would have been a marvelous time to be topside.  My other suggestion is to put more info on Stausbourg.  Those of us that don't don't know Europe have no idea what a hidden gem that is!!!  Considering this is your home port, it's perfect overnighter, which is what we did, but quite by accident. (I thought we were headed to Stuttgart , which in reality was the next day)  So as it worked out we spent the night in Strasbouhrg & we were sooo impressed!  The cathedral, the plaza, LaPetite France & the river tour!  Excuse the pun, but all so foreign to us & we almost missed it!!!!
Your staff is very efficient & helpful.  All meals & clean up fior the next one went off like clock work.
Thanks for the wonderful tour.

MS



We had an amazing time on the boat. As you had indicated it was mostly French and the language barrier was interesting but still enjoyable. We had a lovely group of Dutch people who joined us for the trip and we made fast friends with a few of them as well. Some of the things that I would share with you would be as follows:
1. We found Coblenz to be an absolutely undersold, amazing hidden gem. We really wished we would have arrived earlier to spend more time there, possibly even 1 night overnight. AMAZING!
 2. The staff was very attentive and pleasant to deal with in all interactions.
 
I've CC'd mom to let her know I responded and see if she cared to add anything to the review. All in all, we loved the trip, it was a great way to be forced to relax and just enjoy the scenery. And, what amazing scenery it was. Loved it.

JS


Just wanted to let you know that the clients had a good time.  The food was very good and the room was comfortable. 
It was fun and they did learn a little French in the process!  The weather wasn’t good but they made do.  The hotel you booked for them in  Strasbourg was lovely.  Thank you so much for all your help.

TW

 

 

OTHER SMALL SHIP CRUISE REVIEWS

 

I just finished a three-week vacation in Norway, expertly organized by Jan at European Barging. Over the past year, a friend and I exchanged numerous e-mails with Jan about what we wanted to see and do: 3 days in Oslo, a train ride from Oslo to Bergen, a cruise on Hurtigruten's coastal Norway trip, 3 days in Trondheim, and finally, another train trip from Trondheim to Oslo and an airport hotel for our final night in Norway. Everything was perfect! We liked all 4 hotels we stayed in and Jan was extremely patient with us as we worked through our itinerary, fielding our innumerable questions in a very timely fashion. I received all our vouchers, train tickets, trip information, etc. before I left the U.S. even though UPS lost the first packet and Jan had to re-send everything.

This is the second trip I've taken that Jan organized and the first one, a barge trip in France, for a dozen friends, was equally well-done. I highly recommend European Barging!

KT
Kong Harold - Hurtigruten
 
I have traveled twice using the services of European Barging. Both times were excellent experiences. Through these bookings i have seen parts of the world which have enriched my life.

JM
Kong Harold - Hurtigruten
 
I just returned from my 3rd trip planned by Jan at European Barging. It is a pleasure working w/ Jan. The first time we were a group of 5 cruising the Danube w/ Amawaters. The 2nd time we were a group of 15, on a barge exploring the canals of Alsace, France w/ CroisiEurope. The 3rd time we were a group of 7 cruising coastal Norway w/ Hurtigruten. In addition to Jan's securing the rooms at the comfort levels we wanted, she was helpful in making hotel reservations in various cities, amenable to modifying those reservations at our suggestions, and procuring train tickets for us. She was able to alert the cruise lines to dietary restrictions. When cruising again in Europe, I will always ask Jan to set up our trips. I highly recommend her. SR (American living in Africa)

SR
Kong Harold - Hurtigruten
 
We really loved it . It suited us well at the end of  a fairly exhausting holiday . Great service and well planned itinerary.

JB
Spirit of Chartwell

We are half way on our cruise. This ship is brand new in 2014. 3rd deck rooms are all suites. Food service and tours are up to Tauck standards. If you can book a client.this year on� this boat, you will be giving them a special treat.

C and C W
Avalon Poetry

l

Staff - Very good.
Cruise directory  "Werney" was very good. Beyond good. I do not know when he slept.

Service:  Very good. Beyond expectations.

Tours: Overall, very good. There was always a lot to do. We always went to bed tired. That is good.
Concert at the Lichtenestein palace in Vienna was the excellent.
Bus excursions and tour guides were very good.
Walking tours were very good. The tour audio system is very effective and the guides very knowledgeable.

Food: Overall, Excellent.
Breakfast:  Lox on breakfast buffet was very fresh and tasty. Everything else was pretty good too. Egg dishes and bread/pastries were first class.
Lunch:  Always pretty good. More traditional German sausage lunches would have been better. No coffee available with dessert. Had to go to lounge. Pizza was on the lunch menu only once. Would like to have seen more.
Dinner: Beef, pork and veal was excellent. Appetizers were excellent. Desserts were fair. No coffee available with dessert. Had to go to lounge.

Atmosphere: 
Cabin/Room: Very nice and quiet. Bed was comfortable. Restroom was roomy, for a boat. I liked the full balcony because, even though it was cold, we could go out there without freezing out the cabin.
Lounge: Roomy and comfortable with great views. Lighting was harsh. The coffee/tea service was great. Did not use the bar. The entertainer, was only so, so. In the late evenings, the music was way too loud. Couldn't even think, much less talk.
Dining Room: Noisy. Hard to converse when the room was full. Needs acoustic ceiling and/or baffles. Otherwise, comfortable and efficient. Great views.

Internet: Poor availability at locks was expected.
Airport transfers were handled very well.

E and P E
Scenic Diamond

Just want to let you know what a wonderful trip we had on the cruise.  The ship is wonderful and really friendly and clean.  Furnished very elegantly and the staff could not have been nicer.   Going thru the locks and seeing the different places is the way to go.  I really would recommend the PD line for it's friendliness and cleanliness and just the professional manor of the cruise line.  The places we saw were really great.  My group meet last night for dinner with a couple of other friends and that is all my group talked about was what a good time they had.  I sat back and listened to their conversation and was so pleased that they had a good time.  Was interesting as to what all their concept of the trip was.  Everything was extremely favorable.  So again it was really delightful.  I would recommend that cruise line for anyone to take as it was so organized and the attention to the ammenitities was above and beyond.  Thank you again for all your hard work in organizing the trip. 


PL
Casanova

 

The ship is very comfortable. We enjoyed the trip immensely.   We had wonderful service.  The staff that waited on our table was superb (Levi and Agnes).  
They became a big factor in how much we enjoyed the trip.  I lost my luggage and the ship staff stayed on top of it until it was returned to me.   Feel free to pass these comments on to the cruise line.


PW
Heidelberg


 

Just wanted you to know that the cruise was wonderful. Those Deilmann people really know what they are doing.


CS


 

Our trip on the Princess de Provence was wonderful.  The food and the services were outstanding.  The side trips were just enough and perfect.  I would recommend this trip and your services anytime. Thanks for your help and you might be hearing from us again.  the train and Normandy worked out well also.


L
Princess d Provence