This river cruise exceeded our expectation. We participated in all the "optional" excursions which added greatly to our enjoyment. It would not have been the same trip without them. All were interesting and for the most part unique except for the "cruise" on the Erdre River which we found to be beautiful but not any more beautiful than other rivers of its ilk. Furthermore, the outing scheduled at 9 p.m. after a bountiful meal, was at a time when we "seniors" would prefer to be winding down. It grew quite dark and it was not possible to see the chateaus and villa alongside the river as the night wore on. The Loire Princesse is lovely--new, quiet, and well-maintained. he lounge and dining room are spacious and furnished pleasingly. The food, of course, is wonderful, although the breakfast cook did not fry eggs to American tastes! It was fun that the villagers, old and young, along the river came down to the banks to see us sail by and wave, the Princesse being the ONLY boat on the lower Loire. We appreciated the efforts of the staff to include non-French-speakers in all announcements. Two separate buses were provided for excursions; one with a French-speaking guide, one with an English-speaking guide, and a dedicated guide for those who only spoke Spanish. It was a positive experience in every way, even including transportation from the airport before boarding and to the train station at the termination of the cruise. Read Less

A very good friend showed me Great Train Journey brochure there were eight adults in our party. We travelled from St Pancras to Paris then transferred to Raymonde Barge in Joigny. No tour of Paris other than driving through the centre of the city. Transfer from Paris to Joigny was unacceptable bus too small very cramped and journey to Joigny is over two hours so very disappointed...not a good start to an expensive holiday and we anticipated that we would travel in comfort. Both embarkation &disembarkation was efficient and smooth thanks too the professional crew on Raymonde Barge. The crew on Raymonde were very welcoming helpful and nothing throughout our stay was too much trouble. The Barge Raymonde had been recently exquisitely renovated the lounge was comfortable clean and spacious. The cabins were Small but thoughtfully designed storage was excellent beds were very comfortable shower efficient sumptuous clean towels daily very clean and attention to detail. Air condition not brilliant cabins sometimes got extremely hot. Dining on Raymonde was an awesome experience the presentation and content divine the cuisine was first class our chef explained our courses prior to lunch and supper daily breakfast was buffet style with fresh produce daily Silvi our waitress was always on hand but discreet with excellent knowledge of wine. Laurie team leader introduced daily new French cheeses to our palette.. Dining on the Raymonde was fabulous and memorable. Laurie who was overall encharge of the crew ensured entertainment and activities were there when and if we wanted. There was great crew participation and fun with all our activities and entertainment from riding the Raymonde bikes alone the towpath to playing boules to charades wonderful fun and laughter. Thank you Laurie Silvi Alan Nikki MoMo and Silvi you guys are simply the best. Service in a word excellent 5 Read Less

We booked this cruise through great rail journeys. We had originally booked to go through champagne region, but a couple of weeks before they contacted us and said we couldn't go because of lock maintenance. We were offered a refund, a later date or an alternative route. After much conferring, we chose the alternative route, which embarked at Joigny. When we received our itinerary we noticed that they were sending us on a dog leg route, quite pointlessly sending us on another train after the Eurostar, and then a long coach ride. After this was pointed out, it was changed, and we had a two hour trip on an extremely uncomfortable mini bus. Not the greatest start! We were a party of eight, and we discovered that the rest had cancelled. The barge has the capacity for 24, so we were more than delighted to have it to ourselves. When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by a crew of six, all of which were absolutely fantastic. They were Laurie, Sylvie, another Sylvie, Nicky, Mohammed, and Alain the captain. Nothing was too much trouble, the food was excellent, all the excursions were brilliant, with knowlegeable guides, and the barge was superb. We enjoyed cycling along the tow paths. We spent our last day seeing Paris, and moored under the Eiffel Tower. Champagne in the hot tub is recommended. So do book this fabulous trip, but do it direct with croisi Europe. Read Less

Visit to Camargue area on first day was very long time on the bus with very little wildlife to see. Would recommend leaving it out. Especially after a 5hr bus ride from Lyon to meet up with the tour the day before. Then my bag was dragged up judder bars onto the boat by a young girl and broke off the wheel. Staff tried to fix it but I have had to buy another bag. No apology given. Instructions to find meeting point at Georges Brassiere were very poor. We wandered around for an hour after getting off at Lyon Panache station. Very stressful. Not a good start. All other sightseeing destinations were very good. Guides were excellent and very personable. Very busy days and too long on buses though. Needed to be given more information on thevery time frames. Doing walking tours in the afternoon in 32 degrees with no water given as we left boat. Need more flexibility if staying in a certain place. Breakfasts were boring. Only pineapple and melon offered 2 days. If you didnt drink coffee you had to get your own tea in very small cups. Same hot food every day. The scrambled eggs were not nice. Need more choice. Lettuce during lunch was old and withered. I told waitress and she just shrugged her shoulders. Lunches were set menus. A choice would have been good. Purser was very good. Helpful and personable. Night time skit was so amateurish and embarrassing to watch. It was done by the waiters and was dreadful. LEAVE IT OUT. Need more night-time entertainment. Need to enforce casual tidy dress for meals. One man near us wore a scruffy singlet EVERY night for dinner. DISGUSTING. Staff should have asked him to go and change. He did have shirts with him. Wine choices for meals were very limited. Gala dinner was excellent. Mainly French speaking. Some Americans, Norwegians and Four New Zealanders. They always gave the ship information in French first. Then the French would start talking when giving the information in English and Portuguese. It made us feel like we weren't equal.They needed to alter it around as to what language they used first. Enjoyed the destinations. Loved the Lyon night cruise but improvements need to be made as mentioned above. Read Less

A family friend chartered the Jeanine for a week long cruise from Dijon to Beasancon in France. I had never cruised on a barge before so really didn't know what to expect. This was a great trip. The barge itself, was very nicely furnished with lots of color. It was very bright. We were greeted with champagne when we boarded. The crew was a mixture of French and Hungarian and they could not have been more accommodating. While English was not their first language, we had no trouble at all communicating with them. The cabins were on the small size, but very well equipped. The bathrooms were very well set up. Everything was very clean and was kept that way for the entire week. The weather was a bit cool, so we were unable to use the outdoor seating very often, but a few brave souls did use the hot tub every evening! The lounge was the gathering spot and everyone could sit there at the same time. The food was really above our expectations. It was certainly better than we experienced on the larger ocean cruise ships. The deserts were too tempting to pass up. The chef does Elvis imitations and he came out one night and sang for us! My fried arranged the trips and this area of France was very scenic and historic. Our trip to Baume les Messieurs was long, but very interesting. We are already taking about another cruise for 2017. I hope it comes off. Read Less

Our river cruise out of Bordeaux on the Gironde estuary was very enjoyable. The crew was exceptionally pleasant. Food was very good, well presented and varied. Wine was included and definitely a step up over what you expect on a cruise. Being an American I particularly enjoyed the interaction with a varied group of European travelers. The excursions were well thought out and well organized. We only speak English and it was not a problem. The ship is new for 2014 and nicely decorated. Cabins were very comfortable with large windows. Ship size (175 passengers) made all activities easy. The area would be very interesting to wine connoisseurs but there was also many other sights to see and places to visit. The climate is very mild. This is our second CroisiEurope cruise and hope to do many more. joe from port jeff   Read Less

It wasn’t without hesitation that I decided to offer European river cruises to compliment my firms custom tours in France. After some research I selected CroisiEurope. A family owned company based in Strasbourg France. They had a full portfolio of European river cruises, and were just entering the American market. River cruising is the European equivalent to Caribbean cruising in the US. Lots of ships (only with 100, instead of 1000 passengers!) cruising to the same destinations. After some advertising I had some bookings and decided to make sure things went smoothly I would go too. Paris to Normandy via the Seine River, and the Bordeaux wine country were to be the destinations. There wasn't any reason to be concerned. The ship was quite spacious, incredibly quiet and the cabins sparkled with a great view and plenty of closet space. The majority of the passengers were French, with a group from Cologne Germany nearly matching their numbers, and the remaining 15 were British and us. Conversations came easily and I discovered that for many this hardly anyone’s first cruise with CroisiEurope. A German couple told me this was their 15th trip with CroisiEurope! French style seemed to be why they chose CroisiEurope over other cruise lines. Unmistakable once it is experienced French style is absolutely charming. You could describe it as savor faire + joire de vivre, or to put it another way, knowing just what to do and doing it in a way that says - I enjoy doing this. CroisiEuropes' French style showed itself in ways like the crews friendliness and constant attention to doing everything "just right" (only white gloved hands touch plates and silverware). Or asking how many cubes of ice would you like in your drink? France and culinary excellence are synonymous and the ships chefs never let you forget that. Four to five courses, with a like number of wines, was standard fare. Quail, duck, pork, rabbit, foie gras, even baked Alaska, it did not take long before you were looking forward to the next meal. No one was ever late to the dining room! So what is the bottom line on CroisiEurope? Comfortable ships, dining like you have never dined before, plenty of nice extras (complimentary beverages, wines and spirits), interesting excursions, and a mix of passengers from different countries. Delivered at a lower price than their competitors. Not bad, not bad at all. Read Less