The cruise was directed towards French senior citizens. The ship staff tried hard, but were not especially well trained. Their language skills were impressive and they were personable. The ship crew (serving, cleaning, mechanical) were uniformly cordial and helpful.
For persons wanting to explore on their own, the staff had little information. They did not know the docking locations or sometimes, the exact times for returning to the boat. The exact itinerary was never printed, butwas delivered orally the night before in four languages. This was an annoying waste of time and easy to forget by the next day.
The excursions became tedious because at each stopping point, because the guides repeated the information in multiple languages. The Lafayette is a new ship and the lack of effective, innovative technology to impart information was disappointing.