pontac

Day 1 Saturday - Napton to Baunston We met Dan and Krisie at Napton Marina at 14:15. The staff showed them the gubbins (technical term) of Annabelle (above) our home for the next two weeks and we were off at 15:30 heading eastwards to Braunston, five miles away on the Grand Union Main Line Canal. We arrived two hours later at 17:30. Cruising in the dark isn't allowed so shorter winter days limits cruising time. It was bright and sunny but cold. The route Dan planned was to head east to Braunston, and from there north up the Leicester Branch of the Grand Union, turning west onto the River Trent, then turn south on the Coventry Canal back to Braunston, and then west to return the boat to Napton Marina, following the blue route (above) anticlockwise Dan had made a booking for us at The Boatyard at Braunston where the Steak and Ale pie enclosed in shortcrust pastry satisfied a boater's hunger. There was a complimentary bottle of Champagne in Annabelles fridge which we enjoyed before dinner. Napton to Braunston - 5 Miles - 0 Locks - 2 hours

We took our third cruise of 2022 in October, but this was unlike our previous Viking & Scenic River cruises because we hired a narrowboat and cruised for two weeks on some of the English canals and rivers. There are more than 2,000 miles of navigable waterways managed by the Canal & River Trust, and while some are standalone, most connect making a vast network. We made a circular trip. Canal builders used contours to keep the canal at the same level, so they twist and turn and often the ground drops away on one side while level or rising on the other. The canals pass through ravines and along embankments, cross rivers on aqueducts and sometimes pass through tunnels. Canal builders used rivers where they could; we travelled on Rivers Trent, Saor and Sence. We used Nicholsons’ Waterways Guide which is based on the very detailed official Ordnance Survey maps. It’s at a scale of two inches to one mile and every lock, bridge, marina, waterside pub is shown, also information on sights along the way, towns and more. It was invaluable. Where the ground level changes too much, there are locks. These generally are 7ft wide and 70ft long, restricting the size of narrowboats to 6ft 10 inches wide and under 70 feet long. On rivers they built weirs to maintain the upper water level and locks to bypass weirs We rented a 68 foot boat. One doesn’t need a license to drive a narrowboat and instruction is given. It’s quite simple. There’s a lever for speed forward and reverse and a tiller to steer. To operate locks you use the supplied windlass to open & shut gates (paddles) which let water in and out and your body to push lock gates open and closed. Maximum allowed speed is 4 miles an hour, or less if the boat causes a wave to break on the bank, and minimal when passing moored boats and anglers. Together with time spent in locks average speed is 2 or less miles an hour. Travel in the dark is not allowed, so possible cruising time is much shorter in winter. We’d rented boats in the distant past but didn’t feel up at our age to leap off a boat to manage locks, but our son Dan and his partner Krisie take canal holidays every year and they agreed to crew the boat. In return we paid for the boat and evening meals. The only time Dan & Krisie could get two weeks off work at the same time was October so on Saturday 8 October we met at Napton Marina at the start of our canal and river cruise.

@3littlebirdz If you're with Viking or Scenic then there's no curfew, however it's up to you to be onboard when the boat departs. On Viking's Rhine Getaway cruise earlier this year they had an optional dinner in a restaurant at Rudesheim and some couples found their own restaurant to dine in. The boat departed Rudesheim at 08:00 the following morning, so Rudesheim should be a good bet. At Koblenz the boat departed 03:00 - so time for dinner certainly. On that trip.

How can a proper answer be given without knowing which cruise line is being used? Perhaps @3littlebirdz would share that with us. @CPT Trips Viking used to do that, but on our 2022 cruise Basel>Amsterdam the room key was also used to log you off/on the boat using a reader at the door. @travlr21 Scenic used several jettys that needed key codes out of hours on their Bordeaux cruise this year. Not all jettys have gates though. I agree with @Canal archive about telling reception if one will be returning late, and double checking when debarking when the boat is departing as the time may have changed from previous info based on locks etc.

That's true, I exaggerated a teensy bit, but the only two bits of paper we received on board were the invitation to dine at L'Amour and since we got it the evening before the booking it didn't need keeping. The other piece was a sheet with the times of departure which we go the last evening. But there was no Portobellos or Chefs Table restaurant on our boat, so we were on different cruises and it seems had different experiences, not to mention different needs, as the only time we spent in the cabin was to change and sleep so we don't feel the need to decorate it with lights. All other documentation, e.g. which tours we'd booked, were emailed to me as PDFs and I had them on my notepad.

I've never bought the SSP, but was given it on our cruise earlier this year, and it's included in 2023 cruises. You say you have in the evening. If it's just one glass and only in the evening it's definitely not worth it. Remember both of you have to purchase the package for every night you are on board. The house wines - red, white & rose are good and there's plenty of it, they'll just keep refilling your glass at lunch and dinner. What you get with SSP is to choose from the wine list, but not all wines are available on SSP, there's a cut off based it seems on price. And on the cruise we were on, one of the popular wines had run out. You can buy bottles in wine shops and supermarkets ashore and have them on board for zero-corkage If you are undecided, as your post would suggest, why not wait till you are on board. Ask to see the winelist on that boat on the first day when you arrive, look for the asterisks against the wines not included in SSP and look at the prices of bottles you may be interested in. And then - if you think it's worth it - buy the SSP on board

What do you want to stick up? Scenic is paper free.

My apologies, I didn't realise that from your post, but it does means we can geek about Bdx, but Should @Canal archive take another Bordeaux tour with Scenic she'll find non-Bordeaux red wines on their list that do not contain Merlot. There are, of course, Bordeaux wines that do not contains Merlot but as Scenic only had inexpensive wines it's unlikely they will list such wines. 🙂There are Califorian wineries that label their fizz as 'champagne', and last time I was in Los Angeles I had a locally made 'chianti', so I can't take a negotiant calling their bottling a Bdx blend, when it patently isn't, anything other than marketing. Bdx is pretty good as is, that’s why a US marketeer incorrectly describes his red as a Bordeaux blend, and that’s why Bdx blends are made in many other countries that have no restrictions IMO. The Bordelaise listened to the terroir and decided the 6 varieties that best suited the terroir. Problem with Petite Verdot is it wouldn't ripen most years. Well it does now, and more is being used and planted and PV makes a very good wine and adds a lot to a blend. Geeking now, but is that really faint praise? Out of more than 2,000 Bordeaux chateaux only 61 chateaux have 1855 Grand Cru classification. Being a 5th growth is higher than 1,940+ others 😁 which include Bordeaux varieties. Such Fun!!

Maybe it did when you took your last trip with Scenic, but not on my cruise in August. Click below for my post on Scenic's magic Champagne bottle

California wines are not restricted by regulations about which grape varieties they use, and the Cameron Hughes wine is not a Bordeaux blend as it has Syrah which is not a Bordeaux grape. There are 6 varieties allowed to be used for Bordeaux red wines, and Bordeaux wines can be made with just one or any proportion blended of the allowed varieties. However, Merlot is the most grown variety by far (because it suits the clay soil that comprises the majority of the Bordeaux appellation). The six varieties are Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Petite Verdot and Carmenere. Most blends use 2 or 3 of the first 3. The is very little Carmenere planted. (They are trialling some warm climate varieties as a response to global warming, but only a small amount is allowed to be used in a blend and they can't be named on the label. I don't know if any of these are being used- as it takes at least 3 years from planting till using the grapes I suspect none in wines currently on sale.) I went on Scenic Bordeaux in August this year and they had non-Bordeaux wines available so finding a wine that didn't include any Merlot was simple

I went on Viking Rhine Getaway Basel to Amsterdam in April this year. Day 1 Basel - casts off at 21:00 Day 2 Breisach - arrive 04:30 - departs 19:00 Day 3 Kehl Arrives 04:00 departs 23:00 (note: included tour to Strasbourg in morning; free shuttle busses in afternoon, so you could get taxi to/from Strasbourg or go on the bus taking the included tour, do your own thing and catch shuttle bus back in afternoon) Day 4 - Arrives Speyer at 08:00 departs 08:45 Arrive Rudesheim 17:30 (note: the walking tour of Speyer in morning is bussed back to the ship as it stops in Worms to pick them up. If you plan to do your own thing in Speyer ensure you know where and when the coach pick up is) Day 5 Departs Rudesheim at 08:00 arrive Koblenz at 13:00 Day 6 Departs Koblenz at 03:00 arrives Cologne 09:00 Departs Cologne 22:30 Day 7 Arrives Kinderdijk at 16:00 Depart Kinderdijk 18:30 Day 8 Arrives Amsterdam 02:00 - vacate rooms by 08:00 PLEASE NOTE: these are timings in April 2022, later years might be different. Although we always arrived before scheduled time, this depends on how crowded river is, time waiting on locks and later in year there were serious low water problems on Rhine which seriously affected schedules.

No, previous Bordeaux trip was with Viking. For tips, see my review of my Scenic trip in August

It'd be nice to know when was this, and where was it that had low water. Because I am surprised as the water ways are tidal, and there was plenty of water when we were there in the last week of August. I can only think it was for a short while at low tide up the Dordogne or Garonne. The furthest inland on this trip is Cadillac on the Garonne and Libourne on Dordogne. However, sandbanks keep forming and reforming; perhaps one formed to block access to a mooring. The distance by road is not far, nowhere visited is very far from Bordeaux - Cadillac is 42km by road, 45 mins by fast road, 54 mins on the longest route. Libourne is 44km, again under 1 hour from Bordeaux, fastest time 51 mins. * So I don't think that @Los_Pepes needs to worry about a spoiled trip. As you say, @Canal archive your relative only had to bussed 'a little further', but It'd be nice to know where the boat couldn't get to. Nothing like the poor devils booked on other rivers that have to bussed the entire way.... *according to Googel Maps

What you should know if considering this cruise. The three rivers sailed on are tidal and at Bordeaux, some 50 miles from the sea, the river level rises and falls by 20 feet, meaning the gangways can be at a steep angle. The scenery is nothing much compared with the Rhine, Mosel, Danube and Douro and the rivers and estuary in particular are wide, meaning that the banks are far away. The left bank is very flat and most of the time nothing is visible apart from the trees lining the bank. Bordeaux is the world’s largest fine wine region, so there are several tours to wineries and included wine tastings. Times are shown on board using the 24 hour clock.