"Carefully created cruises, just for you"™

Cruise with Emma

Hi, I’m Emma James-Aldridge, and my company is dedicated to organising hotel barge and self-drive boat cruises on the inland waterways, canals and rivers of France, other European countries and Canada, for clients from across the globe. If you're a family, group of friends, couples or individuals, I have the perfect cruise for you.

Why choose us
Self-drivesHotel barges

Our clients have awarded Hotels Afloat
★★★★★ (4.9) stars

Discover the best cruise routes

Top cruise destinations

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Charente

Charente

France

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

A selection of hotel barge cruises

Check out the best deals

Last-minute
Maïtena barge cruise

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

Holland and France
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Saroche barge cruise

Saroche

Champagne
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Saône Valley
Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Rendez-Vous barge cruise

Rendez-Vous

Burgundy Canal
4 guests
★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Save up to 20%
Finesse barge cruise

Finesse

Canal du Centre
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
Last-minute
20% off
Aurora barge cruise

Aurora

8 guests
★★★★★★
Belgium
Belgium - France
France
Holland
Flanders
Bruges to Haarlem
Rotterdam to Paris
Dutch Waterways
Île-de-France
Champagne
Bruges to Paris
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal

A selection of self-drive boat rentals

Discover the offers and discounts

The price shown is based on a 7-day cruise and indicates the lowest starting price, and excluding any special offer or discount.

Last-minute
Save up to 30%
Elegance Self-drive rental boat

Elegance

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Comfort
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
La Péniche P Self-drive rental boat

La Péniche P

7 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2475€/7 nights
Save 25%!
Panoramic P.1500FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 8 to 12 people

Panoramic P.1500FB

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
4 bathrooms
★★★★
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
Crusader Self-drive rental boat

Crusader

6 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Value
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
Horizon 5 Self-drive rental boat

Horizon 5

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
5 bathrooms
Premier
Save 25%!
N1160N Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort 8 to 10 people

N1160N

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★
Save 25%!
Europa 300 Self-drive rental boat

Comfort Premium 4 to 6 people

Europa 300

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
Last-minute
Save up to 30%
La Peniche F Self-drive rental boat

La Peniche F

12 guests maximum
6 cabins
Ideal for 12 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2465€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

We booked a Penichette 935W but we were upgraded. The boat was wonderful & we had plenty of room.
I rate this boat a 9/10 - as great!
Canal...

We have very much enjoyed our week of canal and river cruising on "La Vie en Rose". We had some fabulous food, cheese and wine and learnt a lot...

The Horizon 4 was as expected: I rate it an 8/10
The cruise on the Lot River was as expected but expected more mooring spots and more moorings with...

After dealing with Emma pre and post Covid, I felt as though we had become good friends! Emma helped us plan a family barge experience to...

"We all had such a lovely time on La Belle Epoque that we are now thinking of booking a cruise for next year. The Dolce Vita looks lovely: Which...

We chose the Octo with a senior member of the party (87 years) in mind. Amongst other things, we liked the outdoor eating area which was all in a...

How would you rate your boat?  5 stars
How would you rate your cruise destination?  5 stars
How would you rate the Customer Service from Hotels...

We had a lovely time on "our" Penichette 1180fb on our cruise from Lutzelbourg in May of this year. Each of the three couples enjoyed the trip and...

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