"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

Saône Valley

Saône Valley

France

Charente

Charente

France

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

A selection of hotel barge cruises

Check out the best deals

Save 20%
Maïtena barge cruise

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
C'est La Vie barge cruise

C'est La Vie

Champagne Loire
8 guests
★★★★★
France
Loire Valley
Champagne
Last-minute
Save 20%
Panache barge cruise

Panache

Holland & Alsace
12 guests
★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

Holland and France
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Holland
Alsace
Dutch Waterways
Last minute
Save up to 20%
Rosa barge cruise

Rosa

Aquitaine
8 guests
★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Last-minute
Save 20%
Enchanté barge cruise

Enchanté

Midi Canal
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Canal du Midi
Last-minute
Save 20%
Renaissance barge cruise

Renaissance

Loire Valley
8 guests
★★★★★★
France
Loire Valley

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.

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
★★★
From 1702€/7 nights
N1350 B Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 8 to 10 people

N1350 B

10 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
4 bathrooms
★★★★
From 2534€/7 nights
Linssen 34.9 GS Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium Steel 4 to 6 people

Linssen 34.9 GS

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1960€/7 nights
Panoramic P.1165FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Comfort 6 to 7 people

Panoramic P.1165FB

7 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1778€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 25%
Royal Mystique B Self-drive rental boat

Royal Mystique B

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1319€/7 nights
Tarpon 32 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 32

8 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★
From 1457€/7 nights
Triton 860 Fly Self-drive rental boat

Triton 860 Fly

3 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 1 child
1 bathroom
★★
From 879€/7 nights
Last-minute
Save up to 25%
Vision 3 Self-drive rental boat

Vision 3

10 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
3 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1719€/7 nights

Testimonials

Guests have said...

All 7 of us thank you very much for arranging our houseboat holiday on the Bourgogne canal, especially the 1300 boat - it was real luxury and we...

There are memories through our lives that will remain forever, and we know this is one. It has been a dream of ours to come on a barge trip for...

Hi Emma,

We've just returned from cruising on the hotel barge, Aurora. Words cannot express how wonderful the experience was. This had been our...

The Clipper was spacious and easy to handle. We'd rate it 8/10
Our route from Castelnaudary - Homps and back was as expected and we loved the...

What a magic and memorable time we had on Magnolia.  Never imagined the variety of things we would do in a short time! Magali's knowledge of the...

Good day Ms. Emma,
My friends and I just returned from our Hotels Afloat vacation. It met or exceeded every expectation.
Your guys on either end of...

We had a fantastic time on the barge. Everything we were expecting and more. Spoke to numerous full time bargees who recommended the Nivernais as...

We had an amazing week with Linzi, Simon and Richard on the Savoir Vivre. Celebrated my 70th birthday on the barge cruise and want to thank all of...

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