Reviews

Thank you to a wonderful staff.

The Hanseatic Tour The renovation of the De Nassau was not complete as evidenced by the non-working air conditioning in our cabin; the flickering lights in the salon during meals; and the toilet paper fixture falling off the wall. The hotel manager promised to have the air conditioning fixed on three occasions and it never happened. The tour seems organized for German tourists — the food was obviously geared toward their tastes and only minimally toward the area we were touring in (The Netherlands); and the nightly briefing by the tour guide was 45 minutes of German and 15 minutes of English. The amount of information about the area we were about to ride through was minimal. We also missed out on preparation emails regarding the GPS app that we were supposed to download. We were surprised to find the exact same breakfast and lunch every day of the trip. The selection was surprising not Dutch in the selection of cheese, etc. Our last trip (with Eurosail) was much more geared to the area we were in and there was much greater variety. Lastly the ship’s crew although very hard working and polite was understaffed. Dinner took over 2 hours each night which left little time for town walks. The bikes were not thoroughly prepped before the start. Some tires were low, and this was not addressed unless the rider requested it. The routes were lovely, the GPS app great and the itinerary seemed well planned.

We were disappointed in the unfinished quality of the room. I was injured by a toilet paper holder that fell off the wall and was only fixed when I found a carpenter working in the hall and asked him to fix it, after having mentioned it twice to the purser. The cabin air conditioning did not work we also told them about this. The lights in the salon were flickering constantly due to bad power at each meal. There was little information provided about the different sights and locales. We were hoping to be provided with much more support in that area. Instructions were vague for tours about each area. Perhaps there was more provided to the german guests, but the english speaking guests were left in the dark. The bikes were in great condition and Robb was fantastic at making sure all was in working order. Food service was very accommodating for dietary differences, although there was little variety in breakfast and lunch choices.

100% for staff on the boat. Cooking included. Only one star less for the booking side. A bit confusing!!!!

Another excellent boat bike tour. Great tour leader, Iris gave excellent briefings and was frequently seen on the cycle paths. Clear large maps and daily hints.Good food and company. Those lovely Hansa towns and lovely old “Botters”, the 100 year old fishing boats now used for leisure sailing and regattas. Must get for a sail in one next time. Only minor irritation were the tiny basins on the De Nassau, but I hope these might change before 2020. And some smoking/vapors were not to my liking. But overall another great trip. Only have the Fresian Isles and Tulips still to do. Came back very relaxed, refreshed and fit. Back again soon. Thank you all the Boat Bike Team.

We had a great time and felt the trip was well organized for the most part. The boat was nice, with good food and friendly staff and guests. I would recommend the trip to anyone.

Overall we thoroughly enjoyed our holiday with Boat Bike Tours. Communication beforehand was excellent, and we liked the relaxed style of the tour. Food, produced by chef under difficult circumstances, was excellent, and staff members were universally helpful and friendly. The maps and information provided by the company were great and we enjoyed the evening walking tours. Our cabin was compact but comfortable with just enough storage (though there’s scope for that to be improved by a better design). The ship’s refurbishment wasn’t properly completed for the week we went, but didn’t have too much of an impact on us personally (unlike the crew). The start and end of the holiday were both marred by the ship being delayed (hence the four-star rating). Neither delay was caused by the company itself, but its communication wasn’t good, so that we were left wondering what had happened. We believe there is room for improvement here, and no doubt the company will have learned some lessons for the future. Nonetheless we have subsequently had an open and honest explanation and full apology from Boat Bike Tours, which have assuaged any concerns we had about booking with them again. We’re already looking forward to planning our next trip with them now!

We had a fabulous week on de Nassau on the Hanseatic trip. Our guide, Fred, was very friendly and helpful and he ensured the trip ran very smoothly. The staff in the ship were all friendly and helpful and went out of their way to make our experience a good one. The food was fabulous and had a good variety. The bikes were excellent and the bike crew was very helpful. The tour is well designed and the ‘Ride With GPS’ App was a great support. We absolutely loved the trip and would recommend it to anyone wanting to experience a real variety of Dutch environments.

We were on a different boat than what we booked on because of incomplete renovations on the da Nassau. So the first night was a little disorganized for example no one knew how to call Another room from your own room and the waiters were running all over the place it was extremely hot the first few days and the air conditioning was not working well and no one could fix it it was really hot we changed our table so that we could be a little cooler. After that the waiters were great the weather cooled down and one of the crew figured out the phones. The food was great our guide was great “Josie” the cabins were fine the riding was good but a bit monotonous but overall I really liked the boat bike trip and would consider another one I don’t want you to think I’m being overly critical I’m just giving you helpful hints

Hansa Highlights – Great Tour! In spite of the cold and rain, we had an amazing tour through the Hanseatic region. It was a nice combination of history and pleasant country cycling; we loved riding through the forests. It seemed our group took the replacement boat, the Rotterdam, in stride, in spite of the need to use busses some. The guides were great, both organized and cheerful, and made the extra coordination look simple and effortless. It was a bonus to repeat with Paulette, also a guide on our Southern Holland Tour last summer. If we are able to come back for a third Boat Bike Tour, we would be delighted to be on a tour she is leading. Thank you for a wonderful vacation!