squarevanman

When I went a few years ago the tour operator in the UK used Vodohod which I believe was the biggest operator of ships in Russia. I know they offered just the cruise part of my trip on some of their ships. One of the sister ships traveling with us most of the time was full of US travellers on a Gate1 trip.

I do hope your wife is recovering from the operation. I had my left knee replaced on 17th March and am off to Paris and the Seine next Friday (5th). My only concern for this trip is the walking excursions but as they are optional I may spend time relaxing on board for a change. Good luck with the cobble stones they are something I am not looking forward to. I will be using my trusty chair stick which has served me well for the past 3 years and keeping my fingers crossed for decent weather.

A couple of years ago my son wanted to visit NYC. I thought it would be nice to go with him although I was absolutly terified. I was sure I would get shot or mugged or worse.(sorry but watched far too much U S police dramas on TV). However I felt if I did not go I would never forgive myself and would regret for the rest of my life. I went and even walked around the city on my own late at night. My fears were unfounded and I had one of the best trips of my life. I can understand fully the fears anyone can have coming to Europe in the present climate but would say please don't be put off and let these people win.

If you don't want to depart with more money than necessary, avoiding anything, anywhere branded "Travelex" is a good idea.

I have no idea if they have ATM's but I would also avoid Moneycorp as well. We all know buying currency is expensive at airports but MC were charging 1.04 for euros to the pound when I had seen them at Travelex at 1.10 (oops sorry this was at Gatwick). This side of the pond our money programmes always advise credit or debit card payments be made in local currency. I have stuck to this when asked and have always had a better rate.

I got caught out in Prague a few years ago. Stupidly left my cash in the room safe and went out exploring. Needed some money so used my debit card just to draw out a few Crowns. When I got home and saw my statement charges were around 20% because of such a small transaction. I now have a specialist debit card with no charges in Europe.

My CroisiEurope Seine cruise is in a little over 2 weeks. The only things concerning me are getting through the pipe connecting England and France as the migrant problem can disrupt this and to make sure my son has enough food in to feed my cat. Otherwise for me it is go with the flow and just be as vigilant as I am in London.

I have been on 4 Croisi trips with the 5th in August. Normal evenings ladies wore smart dresses or trousers and tops with most men dressed in casual trousers and normal shirts. On my first gala night I wore smart trousers, long sleeved shirt, tie and jacket. I was in the minority and now no longer pack a jacket. In fact my last 2 trips Douro and Po I was in the minority with a long sleeved shirt and tie on the gala evening. Ladies semed more dressier on the gala nights with many in longer dresses (regret I am not an expert on female fashion). The interesting thing is no one batted an eyelid over what was worn. On the Douro trip in 2014 the majority of the passengers were English speakers with just one couple from the USA. At dinner the man always wore shorts and a tee shirt apart from the gala when he wore shorts and a short sleeved normal shirt. Hope this is of some help to you

Just had a mailing from CroisiEurope the new ship for the Douro will be La MS Miguel Torga

Thank you Thom, Pacmom and Squarevanman. Your feedback has been very reassuring and valid. Next question please!! Should I book all excursions or is it more fun to do it on your own. We usually plan our own holidays from A to Z. This time I was tempted to book the excursion package and just go where they take me. What are your ideas please? Thank you so much for sharing your experiences.

In the past I have always taken the excursion package. I have found them pretty good value and informative. However this year for Paris and the Seine I have not booked anything. As the ship docks only 10 minute walk from the Eifel Tower and that is a pick up point for the hop on hop off tour I have decided to do that instead. Also as I have visited the Normandy beaches I may give that a miss as well.

Thank you again Squarevanman. Two questions please. What is the dress code for the cocktail reception and gala dinner? What is the age (in general) of river cruisers? Any additional information and comments are most welcome.

Dress code was very informal on CroisiEurope even for reception and gala. Ladies ranged fom long evening dresses to short dresses or even designer jeans with a dress over them. Men very rarely wore ties (often I was in the minority) and even less wore jackets. On my Douro cruise the one U.S man on board wore shorts to evey dinner including the gala and no one to my knowledge batted an eyelid.

Age group is difficult as it depends on the nationalities on board. Being French it seems families holiday together. I have seen upto 4 generations ranging from 1 year old upto great grandmother in her 90's. As far as English speaking passengers go the youngest I met was 12 and the oldest 94. CroisiEurope passengers in the main seem to be late 30's to mid 60's. However on the Venice Lagoon last year there was a very large group of Belgians in there 60's and 70's. Therefore it is very difficult to generalise.

My French is schoolboy french and I left school 49 years ago so it is very rusty. On my 4 trips so far the smallest English speaking group was last year on the Venice Lagoon with 8 of us on board. We did out number the Spanish speakers though. In Portugal the year before the Engish speakers outnumbered the French speakers. The main language is of course French with English being the second language on board. I have not noticed or experienced any problems by not being fluent in French. The only problem I could forsee is being a solo traveller I could easily be the only English speaker on board. To overcome this I check on dates where British tour operators send groups on the cruise and book the same dates. The only activity I have ever seen taking place in French only is the kids club for the young travellers on certain departures.

xiki66 if you use the search feature on cc you will find a few notes I have posted about croisiEurope. I have never had any problems with them. I do like the multi national aspect of their ships.

oceans52 if you search for croisiEurope on c c you will find some feedback I have given. My first trip with them was from Vienna on the Danube. Since then I have been on the Douro, Venice Lagoon and Adriatic with them. I am also due to cruise the Seine from Paris in August.

I have never had any problems with them. The main onboard language is French followed by English then others as needed. Once we had 14 nationalities on board with announcements in French, English, German, Spanish, Italian and Norwegian.

Ages I have seen range from a 1 year old upto people in their 90's. Often 3 or 4 generation of families holidaying together.

Thanks square van....size of cabin doesn't matter to me, and paying for excursions I wanted is ok too.

Oops reminder to self proof read posts so sorry about that

Getting back on topic. My first "proper" river cruise was on CroiseEurope. Being a solo river cruiser the cabin size suited me as did not having to pay out for excursions I didn't want to go on. Also the mix of many different nationalities is a plus for me.

I WILL return to Paris and plan to do so this next Spring. I have no intention of letting these murderers win.... I stand with Paris and the French people!

I very much agree with you. I have lived through the terrorist attacks that took place in London and refused to be beaten then. I will not be beaten now and look forward to my Seine cruise next August.

I think the answer is horses for courses it just depends on each person and who they wish to buy for. On my Venice and Po trip in August I purchased a full Roma FC kit for my grandson as he is called Roman cost €69 a thimble from every place visited for myself cost no more than €4 each and 2 glass figures for female friends cost €8 each. It just so happens my circle of family and friends do not go in for ott souvenir purchases as most (excludes me) pop over to Europe 3 or 4 times a year.

Members may be interested in my experience with the now defunct easycruise. My friend and myself went on the barge trip easycruise2 from Brussels to Amsterdam. We enjoyed this trip and booked to do the reverse journey a few months later. In the meantime Boonstra River Line the franchisee folded. Easycruise not only refunded my money within 7 days they paid for my unused air tickets London to Amsterdam and gave me a free 10 Greek island cruise the following year on easycruise1. It made me talk to friends and family about what happened and has resulted in easy jet being favoured in my group over other low cost airlines. To me this is the type of customer service I would hope to get from other businesses wishing me to spend money with them.

http://www.rivercruiseadvisor.com/2015/03/which-river-cruise-companies-allow-children/

 

This is a link to an article which outlines all the different cruise companies, the ages that they allow and what the restrictions. A couple of companies run family specific cruises. If the link does not work, just Google age restrictions for river cruises and this is written by River Cruise Advisors.

 

Have fun and good luck finding the right cruise for your family

I would certainly check the information on this site. For example it states no special facilities for children on CroisiEurope. This is incorrect as certain sailings do have a specific member of the entertainment staff assigned to young traveller activities. On each of my cruises with them there has been as least 1 and often more travellers under the age of 15 of differing nationalities.

The EU261 directive has been mentioned a fair amount on British Television over the past few months. Some passengers delayed on the cheapo no frills airlines have had compensation higher than the cost of their original flights. Also certain airlines who have offered credit have come unstuck and have been told compensation can be claimed as cash. I cannot remember the limitation for claiming but I think you can claim upto 7 years ago.

If any help to you. On my Venice trip with CroisiEurope the Uniworld ship was rafted next to us. A lady was assisted across our ship and down the gangway to her wheelchair by family and Uniworld crew.

On my Russian trip using Vodohod one passenger needed a wheelchair at times due to MS and was helped by crew and other passengers in ports.

Received a brochure from Hurtigruten. She will be sailing with MS Lofoten on departures from Bergen but missing out the overnight ports to give more time in day ports. Example northbound Floro, Stokmarknes and Hammerfest are among those sailed by. Southbound includes Berlavag, Finnsnes and Bodo on the sail by.

It is no secret to cc members I find CroisiEurope to my taste. More Best Western than Hyatt or Savoy. For me one of the reasons I like is the truly cosmopolitan nature of the passengers. Chatting away in very bad French one minute then being chatted to in excellent English the next by the same person. Also excursions are extra so if you wish to miss this Abbey or that Castle your not wasting money which helps keep my costs down.

Of course each of us have different requirements and expectations and one of the great things about cc is getting information from different posters.

Of the 6 rivers/sections of rivers I have so far cruised my favourite and the one I would go back to is The Douro in Portugal once I have tried as many more as possible.

Still researching :) this is defiantly the operators site

http://www.african-queen.co.uk a 14 passenger barge offering up to 5 day holidays. One thing I noticed the single cost just £10 more - big boy companies take note for your extortionate single supplements.

I have just found online details of barge cruises on the Thames. I have not put a link as I am not sure if they are operators or agency. I googled overnight Thames River Cruise if that's any help to anyone.

Host Jazzbeau I have just watched Rumpole at Sea where he ordered a glass of Chateau Bilgewater :) That will not be available over here.

Admin please forgive me if you have posted this but I cannot see anywhere. I have just seen on the CroisiEurope British site that to celebrate 40 years of the company they will be having a 42 day spectacular next year. Starting and finishing in Paris they will be offering a cruise incorporating the Guadalquivir, Guadiana, Gironde, Loire, Seine and Danube rivers with transfers between each section. Cost is almost £8000 and there seems to be more information on their .com site in French, not sure what dot they use for the U.S. Market. All I need to do is win the Euro Lottery to secure my place:)