3 Star Normandie boat/barge tour reviews — 1 to 4 of 4

We had a wonderful time on this very active vacation. I most enjoyed seeing Dutch country life in a relaxed and independent way. We did face many challenges on this trip as the three of us in our group were the only English speakers. The trip leader debriefed us separately each evening but I feel we missed out on a lot of the information that the German speakers received in their debriefing later. We weren't given an orientation on how to use the e-bikes and had to figure that out on our own. We also weren't given an orientation for the boat the first night as it was given all in German and we had to figure out where everything was on our own as well. While everyone on the boat was very cordial I felt like a burden because I didn't speak German and was excluded from the larger group because of it. The maps and route descriptions were difficult to follow and it took all three of us to find our way each day. One of us needed to have the app open (my phone wasn't working so the app was useless to me), one of us had the map and the other used the route description. We frequently missed junctions and turns either because the sign was down or the route wasn't explained in enough detail. Riding in the cities was the most difficult. The app often contradicted the route description and the map. When we asked the trip leaders about it at the end of the day we were given the impression that we just didn't follow it correctly. I'm wondering if the debriefings had been better the night before that maybe we wouldn't have had so many issues.

Riding along the Danube offered many beautiful vistas. The bikes were great, the seats very comfortable, which made for a nice ride. We met some fun people on board although a greater mix of English speaking to German speaking would have been even better. Suggestions as mentioned to Tripsite staff would be to make this tour guided (the entire group of 100 passengers were lost on several days which minimized the opportunity to make it to some of the sites), to include ferries in the pricing, so that passengers aren't always searching to make sure they have cash (our previous trip included the ferries so wasn't an issue.), and the excursions were sometimes canceled so these could also be improved. All in all we had fun and the cabin staff took great care of our rooms...I'd make a different selection though next time.

This is my 3rd trip with Tripsite and they do a good job...but the instructions to the boat were a tad misleading. If there are detours/changes, I believe they should keep on top of that and be sure to report to their customers.The bike ride was amazing. The scenery was like all the other reviews stated......I would NOT recommend the ride in Vienna or Budapest; way to much traffic. The crew was not customer focused. The cruise director/bike tour director, Monica, was often short and rude to passengers. Unlike the other 2 trips I took, the crew was not welcoming or eager to help. There were a few in housekeeping and wait staff that were nice. The captain was cold and never engaged at all with the passengers. This is NOT a tripsite issue but this crew needed a kick in the pants from above to treat the passages better........recommend the trip but I hope you don't get this negative crew.....

Most Memorable Part: The last day of our trip we cycled through small towns and vineyards. Stopped at a beautiful small church and were able to hear the choir practicing. We (6 of us) will never forget that part of the trip.