Locaboat P1180 FB

Testimonials for the P1180 FB

Rick Goudie. Alsace

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 the comfort of the vessel.

We appreciated the warmth as it was a very cold time when we were on the barge so the heating was much enjoyed. We liked that the barge could be driven from the inside or the outside as due to the cold we were mostly indoors. The full sized fridge and the kitchen facilities were great too as we could stock up and prepare meals as required.

The scenery was amazing and so green and lush, we strolled around Hesse, were very impressed with the inclined plane at Arzviller and the efficiency of it. We loved Saverne, enjoyed the market, the lovely pastries and interesting shops and pedestrian streets. We had no problems at all filling up with water or on our overnight stops.

As for hotels afloat, we were collected from the railway station as arranged by your staff and also taken back there after our trip. The lady in Lutzelbourg was ok but we all thought she could have been a little more friendly and informative. Luckily for us my husband has boating experience which was handy My correspondence with the company was terrific prior to our trip and all questions were answered promptly and well.

All in all though we had a lovely time and would like to do a longer cruise at a latter date in a different area.

Stuart Ritter, Canal du Centre; May 2017

The boat was as expected.  Appreciated it's size.  I rate it 8/10
We cruised on the Canal du Centre... easy to deal with the locks
We rate Hotels Afloat 10/10 for attention to details and will book again.
Would have prefered all cotton sheets instead of polyester.The water capacity of the boat was limited for the number of people on the boat.

Donald Elliot. Germany

The route (Furstenberg - Ketsin) was difficult to navigate in/out of the lakes: poor signage and marinas a challenge to locate, but the Germans and lock keepers ere helpful.

We like the layout of the Penichette 1180FB, one toilet per cabin and no equipment failures.

Hotels Afloat is an excellent agent for Locaboat, and Emma is a pleasure to work with.
Would book again.

Susan B. Negra-Lattes on the Midi canal

We are now home from a wonderful trip and I want to thank you for all your help. Please feel free to use me as a reference if you are asked.
Locaboat did a very good job. Our boat was certainly comfortable and well-appointed.
The direction we went (largely downstream) was wonderful and I would recommend it to anyone wanting this trip.

Maire Peate.

The 3 aspects we liked most about our boat, Le Grec, are:

* The outdoor seating space and flying bridge steering.
* The well appointed kitchen, as we all love to cook.
* The positioning of the ropes on our boat.... We saw a lot of boats struggling with ropes because they were placed in awkward positions, and the crew were putting themselves in danger.

The 3 aspects of the route we took, Negra to Argens that we liked the most are:

* The Plane trees, probably the main reason we chose this route.
* We travelled further, we made it to the Mediterranean, so we were able to do the 7 lock staircase at Beziers as well as the aqueduct going into town.... A real highlight.
* The variation in regional food, from hearty cassoulets at the beginning to fresh seafood at the end. This was perfect as the weather started very cool and ended up very hot!

The 3 aspects we liked most about dealing with Hotels Afloat are:

* Emma James! You are such a helpful person. Your emails are always prompt and informative. A real pleasure to deal with you twice!

* The variety in companies that you deal with. Although we've chosen Locaboat twice, we still had plenty of options, prices, styles of barge to choose from.

* Insider knowledge. You know the regions, canals and what the specific appeals of them are. This was very helpful to us, as we really were babes in the woods for our first cruise. To be honest, we all preferred the Nivernais, so it was perfect that you suggested this for our first trip, as we now know what is important to us if we go again!

To sum up, we have been really happy with our choices of barge and booking company. We probably will go again in a few years time, the Alsace region is looking tempting! I wouldn't hesitate to book through you, and choose Locaboat again.

I've attached a favourite photo and I'll send a few more through.