"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 rivers and canals

Top cruise destinations

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Camargue

Camargue

France

Friesland

Friesland

Holland

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Esperance barge cruise

Esperance

Midi Canal
6 guests
★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Last-minute
2027 offers!
Anjodi barge cruise

Anjodi

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
Enchanté barge cruise

Enchanté

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
C'est La Vie barge cruise

C'est La Vie

Champagne Loire
8 guests
★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Champagne
Grand Victoria barge cruise

Grand Victoria

River Saône
6 guests
★★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Central Canal
River Rhone
Grand Cru barge cruise

Grand Cru

Near Dijon
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Burgundy Canal
Magnolia barge cruise

Magnolia

Burgundy Canal
6 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.

Magnifique Self-drive rental boat

Magnifique

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1639€/7 nights
La Peniche S Self-drive rental boat

La Peniche S

10 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 10 adults
4 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2691€/7 nights
Sheba Self-drive rental boat

Sheba

5 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 3 children
1 bathroom
Value
From 979€/7 nights
Grand Classique Self-drive rental boat

Grand Classique

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
3 bathrooms
Value
From 1779€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
P.1020FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 4 to 5 people

P.1020FB

5 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 1 child
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1386€/7 nights
Last minute
2027!
Terrasse P.1500R Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 8 to 12 people

Terrasse P.1500R

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1925€/7 nights
Last-minute
2027
N QUATTRO S Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 4 to 6 people

N QUATTRO S

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 2059€/7 nights
Last-minute
2027
N1100 Self-drive rental boat

Cruise Comfort 6 to 9 people

N1100

9 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1470€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

The Magnolia went above and beyond our expectations!
The crew Magali & Nico (and beautiful little Mila) went out of their way to make sure we...

We enjoyed Alex's captaining of the barge and the great vineyards, castles that he took us to. We appreciated Nicole's care, her cups of tea and...

Emma,  I wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the canal cruise.  The staff were great.  Chef Emma was terrific and Matthew was a great...

It was all lovely, but the highlight was Auxerre. I knew it was a large town but we were in awe when we came round the bend in the river and saw...

Hi Emma

It was fun, would do it again.

Boat and destination: 4*
Hotels Afloat Customer service 5*
Website: 4*
We are likely to cruise again, via...

We loved the whole cruise and thought it was too short!
Our boat was perfect for two couples. The quarters were quite spacious and the galley was...

Once again, you organized the perfect trip for us.
Not only did Peter and I love our barge trip but son Doug and his girlfriend did as well. We...

Although one might wonder when we returned, inadvertently, a day early, but we had a wonderful time on the Midi.
The whole thing was a magnificent...

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