We took the cruise “From the Châteaux of Chambord and Chenonceau to the Loire Valley” Sep/12 - Sep/18 Just some dry stats Time spent sailing: 16 hours Time spent on excursions: 20 hours Time spent in the bus: 24 hours Time spent on a boat at the dock: 61 hours The planning department of the company could have done a much better job. So little time sailing and so much time on a bus can not be attributed just to the river conditions. Many times while we were bussed to the excursion the boat was simply following us on the river. In summary it felt more like a bus tour, with docked boat used as a hotel. While the corporation certainly messed up, the crew and the boat must be commended. The boat architect did a nice job designing the cabin layout. Despite the obvious size limitations there is plenty of compartments to put your stuff in. The suitcases can be nicely hidden under the bed. The bathroom is very convenient to use. The shower cabin is quite spacious. The crew was extremely attentive and courteous. The kitchen did outstanding job, very delicious French food was served every day. We truly enjoyed every single meal on board. All announcements were done subsequently in French, English and Spanish, so sometimes it didn't help the clarity of the message. Probably the corporation could have invested more into printed booklets and more detailed information shown on TV. Read Less

Pros and cons but overall a very pleasant cruise. We would choose Croisieurope again but not the Douro Booking procedure and communication etc was excellent The price was very reasonable and included drinks Check in process was smooth and all the staff were extremely friendly and helpful The boat docked in the middle of nowhere, the only way to get there is a taxi, there is nothing nearby. Other cruise lines seemed to dock near the Luis 1 bridge which has much much more to offer considering you board in the afternoon and do not sail till the following lunchtime so there is nothing to do with yourself in between times Unfortunately on our trip were 20 children - 1/5 of the total passengers They monopolised the pool completely and any daytime activities were only for them There are plenty of chairs and sunbeds on the top deck and a cold juice dispenser was sometimes put up there but it would have been nice for bar staff to wander around occasionally too because it's two floors down to the bar Our cabin was fine, number 304 on the upper deck at the back. The engines are extremely noisy though, so don't expect any lie-ins Luckily the sailing was not done at night, otherwise we would not have slept at all We had a large opening window with Juliette balcony. The lighting is good. The beds are comfortable. The cabin is very clean. Water and toiletries are supplied. There is only one plug! So take a four way adapter.The shower pressure is poor. You are allocated your table in the dining room for the whole week and share with other people of the same language. We had a nice table for 5 near a window. The food is tasty but absolutely no choice whatsoever for lunch or dinner. You get what you are given. Not even one single choice. My husband does not eat fish and therefore they did cater for him separately on those occasions. Water and wine are supplied at the table and they would bring you a beer or similar if you prefer. Starter, main course, dessert and coffee. Breakfast is a buffet and that was very good but they only had the egg station running for one morning which was a real shame. The lounge/bar area is a very good size with plenty of tables and chairs and a dance floor. Unfortunately because we had 20 children on board, they monopolised that area during the day playing noisy games and therefore there was nowhere quiet to set and play cards or read and have a drink etc. There was 'entertainment' 3 nights out of 5. One was the crew - this was awful, sorry. One was a Spanish dancing performance and one was a Portuguese dancing performance. Nothing during the day for adults. There was a daily picture quiz sheet but everyone was googling the answers so what's the point! It would have been really nice to have a talk about the river and the history of the dams and locks perhaps or generally about the Douro and Port etc but there was nothing. It would have been nice if a couple of films were available in English in the cabin but only 2 English channels and they were American news. Apart from Porto and Salamanca, the ports of call were awful - absolutely nothing there! Salamanca was wonderful but it was a 9 hour paid-for day trip and goodness knows what there was to do if you didn't go on the trip! The locks were fun, 5 of them, very low bridges and quite entertaining with the upper deck roof being lowered and everyone advised to sit on the floor haha The river is beautiful and the passing scenery was lovely Tea and coffee and water are left out in the bar to help yourself together with plain biscuits and cheese cracker biscuits. There were a few pastries first thing each day but unfortunately the 20 children on board seemed to enjoy those every day The boat itself is nicely presented and clean and the staff are all lovely We would choose a river cruise again one day and perhaps with this company but not on the Douro and not with so many children on board if we can help it. We would also take more nibbles and snacks on board because there is nothing to eat between meals and nowhere to buy anything We would also try to find a cruise with at least two choices of food for lunch and dinner. Read Less

The La Belle de L'Adriatique is a old vessel with a capacity of 150 passengers. We cruised the Adriatic Sea from Dubrovnik to Naples. I would not recommend this vessel for those expecting a luxury cruise. I think the European market is a better fit, but not for the American cruiser that expects a certain standard. The lounge on this vessel is the ugliest I have ever seen on a cruise ship. I have cruised 23 times. The colors are dark chocolate brown & milk chocolate brown. No cheer what so ever. There are many oil paintings on the walls throughout he ship which did not inspire me at all. The art in the cabin was amateurish. As this was a charter cruise I cannot comment on the beverages included. Food was good for all three meals. Service by the Philippino staff in the dining room was okay. They would at times reach over in my face to deliver & take plates. I had to be vigilant as at times they would take away my unfinished meal. The maids were cheerful. The laundry room for the ship was a few doors from our cabin with an open door. I have never been on a ship that had the ship's laundry on the same floor as guest cabins. This could be a problem with people sensitive to laundry products. If you don't mind the rough edges this is a ship for you. Looking for a more luxury experience you need to go elsewhere. Read Less

The ship itself was nice and clean. Our cabin was a decent size. The beds were extremely comfortable!! We had the upper French balcony. The food was excellent except for the breakfast. There were either very soupy scrambled eggs or boiled. I thought there would be more pastries. There just wasn't much variety. We went in april-the Amsterdam to Antwerp cruise. You couldn't see much scenery-being it is so flat and usually built up along the canals.They usually had the top sun deck closed off. They did let us up there when we asked-when we were going through the locks. The gift shop was only open for about 1 hr. a day and it was total chaos. So you couldn't even look at anything. We were English speakers along w/ 6 others on the ship. It was not an issue other than sometimes ordering drinks. Embarking was very smooth and fast. Staff were helpful. Not much to do on the ship but fine for a short river cruise. On ours there was not a mix of ages if that is important. The excursions were good and well run. The bus they used was very nice. 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 small ship, with a nice Atmosphere. The crew are very friendly and helpful. However the biggest disappointment was the food. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner, were well below an acceptable standard. Lunch and dinner was a set menu, no choice, apart from a couple of buffet lunches which were quite good. Cannot understand why all the lunches were not buffet type. Really did not enjoy any of the main courses, this was not fine dining. Also if I was being pedantic the entertainment is not up to much. Bingo, or quizzes seem to be the order of the day. Apart from the Gala night where the crew put on an enthusiastic and entertaining display. This ship is quite low key and very relaxing. The standard of cleanliness is very high. Had a very nice cabin with excellent shower. You probably pay for what you get, so this would be at the cheaper end of the market. However, if the could drastically improve the food, this ship would be great value for money. Read Less

We fancied the Douro. Very beautiful but there are no towns to stop at so you moor in the middle of no-where! We did stop at Regua for 45 minutes so could not get off and explore. Staff all very helpful. Very clean ship and quite comfortable, bathrooms have a very high step to get into and out of. Food very poor. No choice. miniscule portions of meat. The vegetables had been cooked for hours and wete soggy and seved in teaspoonfuls! Puddings came from Tesco or similar. Will not go with this compan again although the free drinks are quite good. Transport to and from ship badly organised. For instance on the way home a lot of people were on the same flight. This entailed a coach and 4 taxis although all could have fitted in one coach. I counted 8 coaches which would take 400 people but 2 ships at 140 each would only need 6 and no taxis of which there at least 10. For the sake of the environment changes have to be made. Read Less

This is a brief comment about a past experience I had a few months ago from Paris. My best description to this experience is that we got what we paid for. Me and my wife had sailed with some other River Cruise Lines. We had paid much more for our previous sailings,with some of the other competitors ( AMA, AVALON, EMERALD) just to mention some of the ones we have used in the past. Overall experience: O.k. Great food, drinks included almost 24/7, staff is friendly and although the english is not their primary language, we had no issues communicating and mainly because we can communicate in other languages. Ship is dated and this is what we would like to mention. Big French Company with more than 40 Ships but probably 75% of the fleet is not updated and need some kind of retrofit. The Company seems to be very focused in the European market and of course, to the French but they may have to think outside the box, if they wish to penetrate the US Market. I live in the States but my brother made the reservation in Europe. However, I tried to get some feedback from CE with some local agencies in the US and I was surprised of learning that the agents didn't know much about it and the few ones who have some minor knowledge, didn't feel to comfortable in recommending the Company and its products. Final words. You can use this Company if you are looking for a budget Company. Way far from an Premium, Luxury and Contemporary Company. Read Less

A silver wedding anniversary with a french company promising high quality french cuisine. Completely underwhelming. the food was more like autoroute fayre. Vegatables soggy. Pastry undercooked. Meats difficult to identify. Thefood was tasteless and bland.The only french aspect to the food was breakfast. even the wines were not great. I am sure that the company has very little involvement in the quality control of its cruises. the staff who are 99% non french were as good as they could be under the circumstances. The entertainment in the evenings was okay. Some of the excursions were okay but I would be choosy and not take them all. overall I don't think it was real value for money and was in my opinion mis-sold. Perhaps i expect more than their usual clients. if you are travelling from Strasburg be aware that the company charge for parking at their car-park facility. €8 per day. Read Less

Arrived at ship at about 3 pm and asked to wait in lounge as cabins not available. About 20 other English people who had arrived as a group about 45 minutes before us were also waiting in lounge and like us were there early because of arrangements made by their tour companies. No refreshments offered until asked for/demanded even though we had all been travelling for at least 9 hours. Bad start - how much does a cup of tea cost for the sake of good will? On the plus side the staff were friendly and helpful but I have always had better quality food on other company's ships. No choice either. Also, unlike most other river cruises on this one it was stay on the ship while it sailed up river or pay to go on a coach trip as it never actually stayed anywhere except for the first full day. Fortunately we were paired with a great Australian couple at meal and other times and the scenery was magnificent. Even though I would like to have been more positive as I have been in other reviews I would warn potential travellers about the miniscule toilet/shower rooms designed for Hobbits where it is possible to perform three forms of ablutions simultaneously. I would not travel with this company again Read Less

This was my second River cruise. The first was with Avalon. They are like night and day. The ship is older and very outdated... from the furniture, to the light fixtures. As another reviewer posted, the shower was smaller than I have ever seen. It's awful!! the cabins are small, as to be expected, but the beds are not comfortable. We had to ask for extra pillows as there was only one little pillow on each bed. From the time we walked on board the hotel manager was nasty. She is French, and immediately made everyone feel like we were interrupting her day. If you asked her anything, or told her there as an issue with anything, she argued with you and got angry. She should not be in the hospitality industry. She made the trip kind of stressful. The staff was also not very helpful or forthcoming with information as far as when you got off the boat. IT seemed to be more of an inconvenience if you asked them anything outside of what you were told during the daily announcements. Thankfully the dining room staff staff made up for it. The internet I worse than archaic. The router they are using is worse than mot people have in their homes. It is meant for 5 connections, so it is excruciatingly slow and drops the connections every 30 minutes. That is if you sure lucky to even get a connection. The router constantly had to be rebooted. This caused problems for people who relied on having internet service for work or staying in touch with family members at home. There were not many English speaking people on the cruise, but the ones we met were wonderful. We made several great friends from Ireland, Australia, and Malta. The excursions were good as well. The food was a fixed menu everyday. If you let them know about any dietary requirement, they were very accommodating. However, if you are a picky eater, you don't have a choice on this boat. Otherwise we had no complaints about the food. Other company's give you a menu to choose from each night, which is MUCH better. Drinks are included, but limited. They couldn't make a cosmo or even a dirty martini. They said they had no cranberry or olives. We mostly stuck with wine and beer, which was good for house wine. And the Lounge entertainment was a joke! Compared to Avalon, this company is steerage. I recommend paying the extra money and going with a better cruise company... even if the drinks are not included all ay. You can bring anything you want on board, and wine/beer is cheap in Europe. Read Less

As an avid Cruiser, I had not been on river cruise and Croisi offered a combo Cruise where we'd stay 5 nights on the Symphonie, cruising the Rhine, then transfer to the Van Gogh to Cruise the Rhone- ( Read the second half of this review on the Van Gogh pages). Upon arrival we were met by the purser who was pleasant and gave us a very warm greeting. I knew we might be in for somewhat of a budget vacation when we received our table assignment on a yellow sticky note but that aside the initial arrival was great. A staff member escorted us to our cabin. The Cabins. I feel I need to add some color here. The Symphonie is an older ship. The cabins are small and the bathroom even smaller. Very basic in design, reminded me of ships from the 80's and 90's. The big note here is the beds do not make up together on this vessel as the rooms air conditioning vent, is located inside the cabinet between the two beds and thus is set and unmovable. We saw a much newer Croisi ship in a port and looked into their windows and saw that this was not the case so BE SURE to check bed configurations with your travel agent. As we sailed in late June/July it was warm outside but the cabin could always be kept at a cool temperature. There is ample storage both under the twin beds as well as in a wardrobe closet. The Bathroom is tiny and note there are no washcloths on the ship. That may be a common thing in Europe, but we missed having them). No bar soap ( Again, is that a euro thing?) but shampoo and conditioner was provided ( so if you are a "bar of soap" kind of person bring some!). The Public spaces-Again with an older ship comes challenges, there are two reasons why I didn't rate the ship higher- One was the Public spaces and I'll get to the other later. Both the Dining Room and the Lounge once filled for presentations or meals were hot as heck. Staff were sweating, guests were sweating, it was unbearable at times and we had to leave a couple of times to go outside to actually cool down. The biggest issue I had however was the fact that the ship is 100% nonsmoking (Inside) which I thought was great, but in the forward section of the main lounge is a stairwell that leads to both Crew and Guest areas on the lower deck. Obviously the Crew is allowed to smoke inside their cabins on this ship and that cigarette odor traveled and permeated throughout the main lounge. This is obviously a policy issue that Croisi needs to deal with this right away, as many guests commented on how smoky the lounge smelled. Dining-The food was excellent - Top notch - I'll admit I was a little scared about not having any choices for dining. It was like eating in someone's home every evening. You ate what they served. Our table asked one night if we could pass on the cod in Lobster sauce an get something else instead and it was done without a fuss from the staff. The breakfast is a buffet - Similar to what you'd see in small European hotel- Meats cheeses - very different from what we normally see. Fruit was limited in choice but fresh and good - One thing- Powdered eggs on the buffet- Big miss! So easy to keep real scrambled eggs coming to the buffet. Lunch was like a dinner at mid day- Multiple courses and again very good. Desserts were amazing. I wouldn't call this 5 star cuisine but a solid 4 star for sure. Crew- On this ship versus the Van Gogh - English was a distant language and we often were met with stares when speaking with the crew. For example, I asked for a plate, the waited just stared and repeated the word plate ( The plates on the buffet had all been used and needed to be replenished.) I went over to a table which had dirty dishes on it and pointed at the plate, It was frustrating but in the end together we managed to get more plates onto the buffet. there is very little "interaction" with the crew as they serve and that's it. Dining staff simply drop plates pick them up and don't engage with the guest ( any language) much at all. the crew on board was mainly from Hungary. We saw lots of eye rolling from crew members when they were asked this or that and there were just so many misses in terms of crew performance this is the other reason I can't give the ship better marks. On our voyage we had open bar and that was great but a huge amount of time we were sailing on the river thus everyone was up on the top of the ships, lounge staff never came up to the top deck and often we'd collect empty glasses and bring them down to the bar. In a way the cruise felt like a cruise from 20 years ago and while I love nostalgia, the newer Croisi ships I'm sure provide a different experience of a higher caliber. We found this to be a great "value" for the money but be aware of limitations based on the ships age. Read Less

I got off the Coisieurope boat two days ago. Staff was very pleasant and helpful. Jerome, purser, and Golo spoke English well enough that we generally understood each other. All staff worked very hard and usually had a smile although most spoke no English. The cabin was,modern and well designed and except the shower. It was hand held. There was no way to use it without flooding the bathroom. We always got extra towels in order sop up the water and not slip. Still, I slipped and got a bruise on my face and one on my knee. Very few of the passengers spoke English. Announcements were in French with a one minute translation. The food service was a major problem for me. Breakfast was a buffet which was rarely refilled. Thus, you had to go early to get eggs. We were aware that there was no choice for lunch or dinner when we booked this river cruise. Both lunch and dinner were four course hot meals. Portions were very large, usually drowning in gravy. Special requests could be made before each meal. I got chicken the first night and it was fine. I ordered the same thing the second night and it tasted like it was reheated from the night before . After that, I ordered cheese and fruit for almost every meal. An English speaking lady at our table called the food passable . All of this was particularly disappointing because I expected better from a French cruise company. Wine was good and you could get as much as you wanted. The bar was open all day. Most alcohol was included in the fare. Perhaps the French liked the food. I don't know. We chose this company on our own. They are trying to become known in the American market. I would never go again with this company. Read Less

I looked for a cruise to fill in a week at the end of another cruise with Avalon and found Croisi. I was aware that this cruise was a lot cheaper than most of the others I looked at but I should have researched a bit better. Cruise line is obviously for French speaking people, meals were set menus with no choice, seating was determined by staff at the beginning and that was your table for all three meals per day for the whole cruise. Not a good way to meet other travellers at all which is one of the best parts about travelling! The shore excursions were all extra which is probably the reason for the lower price of the cruise. No, I won't be travelling with them again, I don't care how cheap they are. Read Less

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. The cruise was 25% English speaking, but none of the staff was really proficient in English. This is an observation, not a complaint. If CroisiEurope desires to attract more of the mono-lingual American market, this should be a priority. The breakfast buffet was adequate, but fresh fruit was only put out every other day. The lunch buffets were adequate unless you wanted a salad or healthy, heart healthy fare. The other lunches and all the dinners were heavy, old style country French cuisine. Lots of meat, cheese, butter with few fresh fruits and vegetables. If you want healthy meals, inform CroisiEurope well in advance of your specific needs. The cabins were well laid out and the floor to ceiling windows were a treat. The boat common areas were tasteful and spacious. The WiFi almost never worked once the boat left Amsterdam. If you need internet, buy a cellular plan where you can use your phone as a hotspot. I racked up over $200 in extra cellphone data charges trying to find information about the next day's itineraries and to keep from getting lost on our shore excursions. There is no exercise equipment. Again, this is just an observation. If CroisiEurope wants to attract a younger demographic, they might want ot address this omission. Read Less

While the price was excellent, we were truly disappointed with our 8 day Blue Danube cruise with CroisiEurope. The entire program was mainly directed towards older, middle class French citizens, who seemed to thrive on meals which lacked fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. We had two fresh salads during the entire trip. While there was some variety with the breakfast buffet, all lunches and dinners were fixed with no alternatives. Lunch was an hour and half each time, with dinner even longer. On a positive side, all drinks were free. When we asked for an American martini, it was sort like a deer in the headlights. Much to the staff’s credit, they found several martini glasses, we conducted a quick course for Martini 101. The tours and itinerary were excellent. Since there were only a handful of English speaking guests, we had our own bus with great tour guides. The internet service was archaic and only functioned in the dining room. While cabins were good size and we enjoyed picture window, the shower was the smallest we have ever experienced. The beds were substandard and when pushed together there was a ravine which we stuffed with bedding. The entertainment was an electric organ player who looked and acted like Mr. Bean. He was the type of musician who played for himself and seemed to be indifferent to the guests. Unless there were substantial changes, we would not use CroisiEurope again and would not recommend the company to any of our friends.   Read Less