Europe River Cruise Reviews

The trip was a special romantic birthday present from me to my husband, and it met all our expectations.  We made our own travel arrangements to reach Strasbourg by train, boarding our ship MS Modigliani there.  The vessel was an absolute delight, from its comfortable lounge and bar to our lovely cabin with its views of the river, and from the sun-deck to the dining room, we can honestly say we were delighted. The ship was immaculate.  The atmosphere - and food! - on board were unmistakeably French.  Full marks for the delicious meals and ample portions. Our hostesses (Yasmine, Jessica and Emilie) and indeed all the crew were friendly, welcoming.  Nothing was too much trouble, it seemed.

In the three days (4 nights) we were treated to a perfect view of all the magnificent castles, churches and pretty riverside towns of the Romantic Rhine, while enjoying a coffee or drink on board, as well as fascinating visits ashore, including picturesque Rudesheim and a particularly good value guided tour of historic Heidelberg.

The holiday more than fulfilled our hopes and was over all too soon, leaving us only our memories - and many, many photographs!

I travelled with my sister, and this was our first river cruise.  We found the ship (Douce France) pleasantly comfortable and the staff accommodating and informative.  We were entertained well, and dined quite extravagantly each day with a wide variety of dishes.  Despite being two of only three English people on board, all communications were translated for us from the French, by one of the crew, which ensured we were fully informed at all times about forthcoming excursions, activities, and general announcements.  We appreciated the written information supplied about the sights along the river side, as we passed each castle and city, and took advantage of all the on-shore trips which enhanced our trip.  We have recommended the cruise to our friends, and will certainly consider joining the same company for one of their other cruises in the future.

My mother in law is 92, and wanted a holiday to look forward to.  We chose a river cruise as this seemed to be the easiest way for her to see a lot of different sights without packing and unpacking.  I had never been on a cruise before, so didn't know what to expect, but everything went well.  We got on the Viking Sun in Basel and cruised down to Amsterdam, starting on May 3. We had good weather the whole way. The ship was very comfortable, and the food exceptional.  Service was good,and the organisers insisted on strict discipline on starting  and meeting times for the tours; this meant I had to allow lots of time to get my mother in law to places promptly. The Black Forest tour on the first day was especially good, and included a very large cuckoo clock and a slice of Black Forest gateau. Some of the walking was too fast/steep/slippery for my mother in law, but we took our time and left out the parts of the tour which were too difficult. The stretch along the Rhein with the castles was extremely picturesque. The mooring at Cologne was very central and we could walk very easily to the cathedral and other sights such as the Chocolate Museum. The majority of the people on this cruise were from the USA - some even came up to my mother in law and exclaimed over her age and overall good state of health (Gee, you look so swell!).  Overall, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this cruise for someone elderly - they just have to be able to get up and down short flights of steps.  And my mother in law said at the end that she would never have dreamed she would have had such a good time!

Our ship was the Douce France. At first it felt a bit dated but I soon got to really enjoy it. It was really comofrtable and well-equiped. I'd never been on a cruise before but soon learned to relax on the deck with a book and watch the most beautiful stretch of water in Europe pass by.  It felt exotic and cosmopolitan and so far away. The food was excellent and French and it must have been a feat of organisation to serve so many people so well. My dietry needs were catered for. It was amazing to wake up and just look out the window and see darkened river banks and forests then drift back to sleep. The staff were young and friendly and full of life. The fellow passengers were mostly 60+. The excursions were a bit disappointing and in retrospect I would have explored alone for one of them. I really enjoyed the gala night and the lovely young animatrice managed to get me to dance. I was sad to leave the boat. I think the gala evening was spoiled slightly by the relentless giving of leaving instructions. That should have been got out the way before the night began.

This was a really good cruise despite temperatures being sub zero most of the time.

We were on the MS Europe which was French making the food excellent but the 'English' announcements were pretty ropey.  The cabins were very good and the lounge and restaurant  were fine.

The stops were interesting at Nijmegen, Cologne and Rudesheim whilst at a couple of overnight moorings it was OK to pop to local bars to ring the changes.

The stretch of the Romantic Rhine had some spectacular views and we did the Heidelburg trip which was very worthwhile.

Strasbourg at the end is a beautiful city with a great cathedral, canal tour, shops and restaurants.

For canal fans there are some huge locks to go through.

The 2 gala nights on board were very good especially the New Year's Eve bash with 6 courses and free wine. The service, in general, was first class, mostly Hungarian.

On the down side the entertainment was repetitive and the Crew Show embarrassingly bad. Also our party and others didn't know about the return transfer to Amstedam from Strasbourg so we had made our own return travel arrangements when the tickets/info arrived.

The Croise cruise was excellent overall.  The boat was well turned out; all the staff were friendly and efficient; and the food was well presented and delicious to eat.

All in all a memorable trip

Amstersdam Spring Cruise 10th-14th April 2008.
Our cruise was a great success in celebrating my 60th birthday.  We were forwarned that there may not be any other Brits on board which did not worry us at all.  It was a surprise to find ourselves amongst the rest of the party on board who were all French!! 

We have all cruised before on larger ships.  The Victor Hugo cruise was rated 3 star but it felt more 4 star with excellent staff and accommodation and the food was a 5 star rating.  There was no choice of menu but each meal was beyond expectation and very well presented. The french crew were friendly and made special efforts to include us in all the aspects of cruise life.

We all came away feeling we would like to experience more river cruises especially if the standards remain as high as we experienced.

Why did we choose Blue Water Holidays and Avalon again for our second river cruise holiday?

The first cruise was selected purely on brochure and website info.  We wanted luxury and service.  We got much more!  This latter cruise on the Rhein was an easy choice.

River cruising is a floating hotel, with ever changing scenery.  Docking at selected places, you can go on the tours or just do your own thing.  Then in the evening enjoy superb food and good company.  I could get used to this !

About the pictures :-

Heidelberg - a general view from the castle.  The walking tour was too arduous for me, so I sat outside with Max from Tennessee, a fellow traveller, who at 80 had an impish sense of humour.

Café - Again I sat out whilst the group did the walking tour of the town.  Sit in the sunshine and have a coffee.  I like this photo for the ambience of Heidelberg.

Rudesheim - The Mechanical Musical Instruments Museum - fascinating.

Rhein Castle - This is the stretch of the Rhein from Koblenz to Köln that gives the cruise its name, the twisty bit in steep valleys with castles and legend.

Amsterdam - You just have to do the Rondvaart.

Food and crew excellent. Guided tours generally good. More commentary on passing scenery would have been welcome.Can recommend.

It's hard to find reviews for the above company so I thought I'd add my own.  We have just returned from a 5 night cruise from Strasbourg to Coblence and return.  We made our own way to Strasbourg and it's a gorgeous city and worth spending a couple of days there.  Then we caught the cruiser.

This ship is usually mainly for the French but on this cruise there were 42 Brits, including us.  The Brits made it a fun cruise.  If you go on this ship I suggest you ask if there are any Brits on board - it makes a huge difference.

The boat - well, it's clean and the public areas are nice.  It's a 3 star boat.  the cabins are far too small.  The small double bed is up against the wall so you have to climb down the bed to get out or climb over your partner.  There are single bed cabins which might be a little bit more practical.  The shower room is tiny and it is impossible to get a proper shower - my hisband had to hold the shower head and just sort of rince himself.  There is not enough room to get dried either.  It was clean though.

Noise - we were on the upper deck but the vibration and engine noise was really loud and they cruise overnight most nights.

 The food - no choices but the food was really very good.  If you're veggie or need special diet then they will cater for that.  We really enjoyed the food.

 Drinks - wine, beer, water, coke etc were included with meals and they were very generous.  The wine was decent too.  Drinks at the bar had to be paid for but the prices were reasonable.  No grumbles there.

 Itinerary - well the stretch between Strasbourg and Rudesheim is ugly and on most of the cruises you have to do this stretch twice.  On this itinerary we stopped in Rudesheim on the way there and back too which I thought was a waste.  Coblence is nothing to write home about.  Heidelberg was nice.  We were originally booked on a better itinerary - 3 rivers - but had to change it.

 Trips - reasonably priced - we only did the Heidelberg though as the other places were easy to do on your own.  Heidelberg isn't as there isn't really enough time to do it independently.

Price of Cruise - we paid direct in Euros and I think it was dear for a 5 night holiday but the posher cruiselines are much more expensive. 

Would we go again - No.  We much prefer the big cruise liners and luxury!  However it was nice, though basic.  The crew worked very hard and there was a good crowd on board.  We personally wouldn't bother with a river cruise at all a second time.

Hope this helps.  The upshot is - if you get an inclusive deal (travel to Strasbourg included) and you're with other people from the UK and you don't pay too much you'll have a good time.  Don't take a lot of clothes though - nowhere to put them.  Also, be prepared to grit your teeth and face the ordeal of taking a shower.

The service and friendliness of the staff on CroisiEurope were outstanding. My wife and I were made especially welcome even though we (and one other couple)were English speaking and all the other passengers were French speaking. We were encouraged to participate and our basic French language skills were encouraged.

It is difficult to single out individual members of the crew but I do want to thank Nathalie in particular who translated announcements for us and made sure that we could understood. She also assisted us with the on-board entertainment and with the excursions. Mannue (? spelling) was an excellent master of ceremonies.

Now, about 6-months on from the cruise, we still have very happy memories of a wonderful holiday which we would happily recommend to others.

(And what a wonderful way to combine an excellent holiday with excellent food with an opportunity to improve one's French.)

We travelled on the Viking Sun on a 15 day river cruise from Antwerp to Basel in July 2009.

This was our third river cruise having cruised the Rhone and Budapest to Amsterdam, but the first with Viking. We chose this particular cruise because we like to cruise for longer than 10 days and we hadn't visited quite a few of the towns along the Rhine or Moselle.

We found the customer service, the food and cleanliness to be excellent. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff.

I would highly recommend Viking