"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

Loire Valley

Loire Valley

France

Bodrag River

Bodrag River

Hungary

Canal du Midi

Canal du Midi

France

Camargue

Camargue

France

Shannon

Shannon

Ireland

Selected of hotel barge trips

Check out the best hotel barges

Last-minute
Magna Carta barge cruise

Magna Carta

Tested by Jane McDonald
8 guests
★★★★★
England
River Thames
New route for 2026
Elegance barge cruise

Elegance

6 guests
★★★★★
France
Aquitaine & Bordeaux
Last-minute
2027 offers!
La Bella Vita barge cruise

La Bella Vita

Venetian lagoon
20 guests
★★★★
Italy
Venice Lagoon
Shannon Princess barge cruise

Shannon Princess

Ireland
10 guests
★★★★★
Ireland
Shannon
La Nouvelle Etoile barge cruise

La Nouvelle Etoile

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

Maïtena

4 guests
★★★★★
France
Saône Valley
Burgundy Canal
Last-minute
2027 offers!
L'Art de Vivre barge cruise

L'Art de Vivre

Nivernais Canal & Yonne
8 guests
★★★★
France
Nivernais & River Yonne
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

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.

Save up to 50%
N SIXTO PRESTIGE C Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium+ 4 to 6 people

N SIXTO PRESTIGE C

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 2843€/7 nights
Last-minute
Haines Rive 40 Self-drive rental boat

Haines Rive 40

8 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 2 children
3 bathrooms
★★★
From 1679€/7 nights
Last-minute
Tarpon 37 DP Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37 DP

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 1100€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
P.1022FB Self-drive rental boat

Pénichette Premium 2 to 3 people

P.1022FB

3 guests maximum
1 cabin
Ideal for 2 adults
and 1 child
1 bathroom
★★★★
From 2268€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
N OCTO Fly 12 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Premium 8 to 12 people

N OCTO Fly 12

12 guests maximum
4 cabins
Ideal for 8 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
★★★★★
From 3095€/7 nights
Last-minute
Caprice Self-drive rental boat

Caprice

6 guests maximum
2 cabins
Ideal for 2 adults
and 2 children
2 bathrooms
Comfort
From 1039€/7 nights
Last-minute
Tarpon 37 Self-drive rental boat

Tarpon 37

9 guests maximum
3 cabins
Ideal for 4 adults
and 3 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1250€/7 nights
Save up to 50%
N1310 Self-drive rental boat

Cruiser Comfort XL 10 to 12 people

N1310

12 guests maximum
5 cabins
Ideal for 6 adults
and 4 children
2 bathrooms
★★★
From 1995€/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...

Our time with you both on Maitena has been one of the most memorable of my life. You make an exceptional host and hostess, spoiling us with...

Hotel afloat and Emma were fantastic. They gave great service with no hassle booking and very quick response to any queries. Highly recommend and...

Emma made the whole process very easy, from payment schedules to helping us organize transportation to and from the staging area.. We asked many...

Thank you all so very much for an absolutely marvellous week! Your hospitality, flexibility, understanding and company were wonderful! You shared...

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...

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...

Dear Emma, I just wanted to thank you for a delightful and wonderful trip on your Locoboat two weeks ago. We had a wonderful time. The boat was a...

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