Hotel Barge Cruises in Europe
ABOVE:
La Renaissance
of European Waterways Ltd. on a canal in Burgundy.
Barge cruise review
A Barge Cruise in
France
Our 8-page review of La Renaissance, a luxury hotel barge operated by
European Waterways Ltd., is
accompanied by an 82-page, day-by-day
barge cruise
photo gallery.
Article
Barge Charters in Europe
A private cruise on a hotel barge isn't cheap, but it can offer better value
than per-person fares on luxury cruise lines if you're traveling with family or
friends. (Some smaller barges also have special honeymoon charters.)
Independently owned barges and riverboats
Canal Voyagers
Tour Britain's inland waterways by hotel narrowboat. Two vessels, the Snipe
and Taurus, travel in tandem to offer 4-, 5-, and 7-day cruises for up to
9 guests at a time.
English Holiday
Cruises
The Edward Elgar is a 22-passenger "riverboat
hotel," not a barge, but it offers a bargelike cruising
experience on the River Severn in the Cotswolds.
Esperance
This
four-person charter barge cruises between Beaucaire and Monpellier in the South
of France.
Luciole
Owners John and Penny Liley have 50 years of hotel-barge cruising between them,
and John is the author of France--the Quiet Way, a book about the French
canal and river system. Under its previous name of Palinurus, the Luciole was featured in Emily Kimbrough's best-selling travel book,
Floating Island. The barge accommodates 14 passengers and cruises the scenic
Canal du Nivernais in Burgundy.
Meanderer
George and Susan Kovalick own the Hotel-Barge Meanderer, which entered
service in 1948 as a Belgian cargo vessel. The 125-foot luxury barge carries
only six passengers, has a crew of five, and cruises in the Upper Loire region
of France from April through October.
Nilaya
Barge Nilaya carried potatoes and other cargo from 1922 until the
1980s. After serving as a houseboat for nearly two decades, Nilaya was
acquired in 2004 by Kevin Hartwell, a Briton who converted the vessel into a
luxury hotel barge that accommodates four guests on river and canal cruises in
France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. (See our
Europe for Visitors Blog
post about Barge Nilaya.)
Shannon Princess
The 10-passenger barge MV Shannon Princess offers 7-day/6-night cruises
on the longest river in Ireland or the British Isles. Recently, the company
introduced "walking cruise itineraries" with walks led by professional guides.
Takara
Roar down
the canals and rivers of England and Wales at 3 mph on a traditional steel-hulled
narrowboat with one double cabin and two singles.
Barge companies
European Waterways Ltd.
This British company has eight- and twelve-passenger barges that cruise in England,
France, Holland, Ireland, and Scotland. (See our review of the company's
flagship, La Renaissance.)
Afloat in France
This
luxury barge-cruising company, which dates back to 1958, is now part of the
Orient-Express Collection. It has five hotel barges in France, plus offices in
the U.S., England, and Germany.
The Barge Connection
Choose from deluxe and first-class cruises in France, Holland, England,
Scotland, and Ireland.
Self-drive barges are also available.
France Cruises
In addition to barge cruises, this firm offers river cruises and land packages.
One of the barges that it represents, La Reine
Petauque, is accessible to wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
French Country Waterways
Five luxury barges with English-speaking crews tour seven routes in France and
the Moselle Valley of Germany. A hot-air balloon ride is optional.
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