Reviews

Our cruise guide, Andrious, was fantastic! The food was not very good. I don’t think it was the cooks/chefs, it was the quality of the ingredients. The crew for the most part were upbeat and pleasant. But the restaurant manager was less than professional, he yelled at us and we saw him treat others with the same level of courtesy.

The Danube tour was very well organised and was like a standard river cruise in many ways. Personally I prefer not to be on a cruise style boat trip with so many people or with organised boat activities. I understand that, with such vast distances to cover there is a lot of boat time to fill in. This is a personal preference not a criticism of the trip. The staff were lovely, the food was good and, most importantly, the cycling was fabulous. I prefer trips where the guide rides as well and really knows the trails personally. There were a group from The Netherlands who somehow had a riding guide which I would have enjoyed. We visited many interesting places and for late September, the weather was kind to us.

Carissima was clean, welcoming staff, and adequate food and beverage. Would have enjoyed the espresso coffee “hours” machine available a bit longer so that more folks could have a chance to enjoy their coffee of choice! The Bike director Albert was not very easy to work with. He was uninterested in the bikers comments, especially the women, and made us feel as if we were a bother to him. Overall… would recommend this tour to friends! Thank you for a memorable time on the Danube!

Great trip but basic boat. We had a great time on the Gandalph on our recent Hanseatic Holland trip. The food was excellent and the crew both friendly and helpful. The cycling was good with lovely countryside and interesting places to visit. That said, the boat itself is not as good as some of the others on which we have been. It is a little on the small side with no separate salon/seating area – all must be done in the dining area or on deck. The cabins are also small and quite basic. Don’t necessarily let that put you off, but do not expect luxury – it is not that sort of trip.

This is a great way to be active and see the country in a quiet self paced way. The route for the next day was presented to us in addition to having a booklet outlining it and giving highlights and suggestions for the day. Relaxing in small towns for coffee, wine or lunch as well as riding through beautiful treed areas along the Danube was a treat for the mind and body. I would definitely recommend this means of travel. Being able to select and make our own lunches was appreciated as opposed to a pre-packaged lunch. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

Enjoyed very much

The boat bike tour exceeded our expectations. The staff were extremely professional and yet friendly and very accommodating. Our cabin was small and surprisingly comfortable.The temperature of the cabin was individually controlled. The common areas were very nice. The meals were outstanding. We always felt very safe and secure with the sailing of the boat even in busy and tight waterways. The bikes were foreign to us yet worked well. Our cycling guides Hester and Nell were extremely professional yet personable. They made an effort to get to know everyone and supported and encouraged us. They also made it a lot of fun. An unexpected surprise was Hester’s oboe concert which was beautiful. We had difficulties with the pace of the cycling as our group of 40 were very fast and we were not. However Hester and Nell always made sure we arrived safely at our destinations.

What a wonderful week–full of adventure. I recommend Boat Bike Tours and The Magnifique.

Although the trip was interesting, the attitude and behavior of the chief leader of the trip was poor. He is one of those people who is more concerned with getting to a destination than in actually enjoying and appreciating the country one is riding through, so that often there is implicit pressure to ride faster even though there is no particular hurry, It seemed odd to us that the short and long rides were not very different in pace. Another real deficiency was the effort to enable the participants to appreciate the towns. In one instance, this was exemplified by the leader saying “here’s a map – do what you like and we’ll continue in two hours.” The deputy leader was different in attitude and seemed to make a real effort to have the participants involved with the trip. On the last day, when we wanted to ride the bikes without the leaders, there was strenuous effort to dissuade us from doing so. This seemed absurd. The notes clearly stated that participants could ride solo if they wanted to. On the positive side, the meals were very good. Would I recommend the trip? Yes, but not with this sort of leader.

We had a great trip on the Sail and Bike Frisian Sea ship Leafde fan Fryslan. The crew of 4 handled the 300 ton ship easily, the cabins were small as one would expect on ship but very comfortable and each has it’s own bathroom. The crew prepared breakfast and dinner and provided bread, cheese, snacks and meat to make sandwiches each day for the ride. After breakfast, the crew set up all the bikes on the dock so all we had to do was get off and get our bike and take off. A very good map was provided to follow the well-marked bike routes – a short and long ride were outlined. You could stay on the boat if you didn’t want to ride and go walking in the town to sightsee. Dinner was generally served at 6 PM and was always very tasteful. The captain and crew handled the ship well when we sailed and docked in a new port. Overall we were very impressed with the cruise and the service and are considering going with this same ship next year for their “Tulip Cruise”. We highly recommend this tour and this company.