Reviews

We chose the wrong week for a boat/ bike tour flooding of the Danube greatly altered our trip. But the staff and crew worked extra hard to make the best of a bad situation. The accommodations and food were excellent. The cruise director worked overtime to provide buses for side tours and additional bike rides to make the trip worthwhile and enjoyable.

We thoroughly enjoyed our Sail & Bike holiday on the IJsselmeer. The boat was well appointed and comfortable, and the crew were excellent – friendly, professional and nothing was too much trouble. The food was great, the bikes worked well and there was plenty of practical support to make the holiday run smoothly. Thank you very much.

The staff on the Swiss Crown did everything in their power to turn a tough situation into a fun week. When the boat could not move due to flooding the bussed to two Linz and Vienna so we could see those cities and provided us with guides to (at no expense to us). The bicycle riding we were able to do from two different locations was a lot of fun with beautiful scenery.

Vi kom bare til Linz pga ekstremværet og stengte sluser. Turen ble kansellert og vi forlot båten mandag morgen. Ingen sykkelturer. God forpleining ombord på båten. Nydelig mat og hyggelige ansatte. Vi burde ha fått informasjon om avlyst tur tidligere. Dette var vår femte tur med BoatBike. Veldig fornøyd med tidligere turer.

5 Stars in every aspect. Do not hesitate to book this tour. The crew, tour leaders, food and accommodations all top notch.

The boat, staff, guides, chefs, tour, communications, equipment was all first class.

This Boat Bike trip was our 2nd, and the entire experience met and exceeded our expectations! With only 10 cabins aboard The Fleur, we were guaranteed to have an intimate experience with other like-minded people. The food was excellent; full breakfasts and a three course dinner every night but one, when the chef got a night off and the guests got to try the local cuisine. The biking was well-organized and on time every day.

Overall this was a great trip despite the less than ideal weather at times. The boat itself was nice – bigger than most that this outfit uses in the Netherlands. It was comfortable in both the private and public spaces. The meals were decent thought the breakfast (and the supplies for making lunch) could use a bit more variety. The dinner portions were large and the food good. The card system for buying drinks worked well if you didn’t want to buy a drink plan. The e-bikes worked well and the crew that helped with them was great. The Ride with GPS app was fantastic and we were really glad we had it on this “unguided” tour. Though a word of warning for those who are not up on the latest technology like mapping apps and do not have a good mobile phone data plan perhaps you should consider a guided tour. A couple on our ship should have! One negative with the South Holland tour was that the ship actually was docked two of the seven nights in an out of the way dock in Amsterdam. Pretty boring if you wanted to go into town. Due to weather issues we were actually there three nights! It would have been nice to be in other ports. Another negative was that on some days we had to be back to the ship early which reduced the amount of time to explore towns, etc on the bike route even when doing the short routes. We felt rushed. Finally the two “tour guides” were helpful though at times they downplayed the detours on some routes that were not outlined in the Ride with GPS app. At times it was confusing. More time should have been spent outing those alternative routes. Despite these couple negatives it was a fun experience!

The crew were great and we really enjoyed the food,the dinners were delicious. I would suggest greater variety, even on a rotating basis for the breakfast and lunch options. While we enjoyed the snacks & coffee that were placed out upon return of the cycling day, we felt that those foods could have been left out for a longer time, those who cycled at a slower pace couldn’t take advantage of this. Additionally, we felt that water, tea, and coffee should have been free at all times. When one cyclist suffered a head injury shortly after leaving the boat and his wife requested a cup of tea while he awaited medical attention, it seemed petty to charge him for that tea, as his wife was told he’d need to be charged for it. The injury happened after his wheel had fallen off, a free cup of tea seems very little to ask. While nothing can be done about weather related delays and issues, the communication was poor and slow to be shared. We were left with questions about why some changes had occurred, a transparent and full sharing of information as it became available would have reduced frustration, for example, the first day’s warm up loop was cancelled, with no explanation given. We enjoyed the riding routes, the communities we saw, and the people we met over the course of the week. As was mentioned, the crew of the boat were hardworking, friendly and helpful. Hopefully our feedback regarding the other issues can be food for thought on some positive changes you may wish to make to improve the experience for your future guests.

Netherlands made for biking. Great trails and scenery. Fall weather windy and rainy at times, and that led to altered schedules and sometimes overly hurried rides. But the guides were helpful, as was Ride GPS and numbered trail system. Great food and drink. Surprisingly made good friends. Miss it already.