2 Star Clair d’Etoile boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 4 of 4

Our trip had to be re-routed due to a bridge collapse, which is understandable yet the new route disappointing. This was not a Champagne tour -- just one day via bus to a cave. It was more of a WW1/11 site trip...which was interesting and we enjoyed that bit but not what we signed up for. The new route was 30% lovely, the rest mostly through industrial areas and unattractive routes; the guides were not well experienced with the new route and we frequently got lost. The lead guide was rather defensive when route etc suggestions were offered. The boat was lovely, though some people had trouble with power and leaks in their room; the owner did fix after a few days. The chef was excellent...food was 5 star. The captain and crew were helpful and delightful. Again, we understand that things happen...but the trip was not what we had booked and tripsite did not offer the option to rebook to a different trip or future date. We'll likley travel again with tripsite as we've had great experiences in the past (Croatia and Mosel), but wish they had offered options with such an extreme trip change.

Not many memorable parts of the journey.

The information provided about the mileage each day was inaccurate. The rides changed and the downloaded GPS maps were useless.

The guide lost members of the riding group and we had to wait long periods of time.

I requested fish and had vegetarian meals instead

I could go on. Very unexpected experience and very disappointed

The general biking was above average , with some awesome sites visited.
As far as the accommodation was concerned this was below average.
Although the space was confined more emphasis could have been done to the quality and hospitality of stay.

The ship, captain and crew were wonderful. Our guide was totally unacceptable!

My only complaint regarding the boat was due to the small cabins. The French locks are narrow, so the boat is narrow, making the rooms a bit to small for my comfort.

Our main concern was the unprepared tour group leader. She was constantly undecided on how to proceed. I think it was more trying to please the group than not knowing what to do. There should have been a route guide for each person (all we received was a large map with no route shown on it). She needed to be a leader rather than a friend!