A French river cruise sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? I mean, who doesn’t like staying in a floating hotel, being magically and serenely transported from one charming French town to another?
With my husband, I recently sailed on the A-ROSA Luna from Lyon to Lyon. Fourteen nights sailing on the Saône River to Chalon-sur-Mer and then on the Rhône River to Port St. Louis (near Marseilles). It was my first time sailing with A-ROSA and my first time on a river cruise in France.
Sailing and Ducking
Sailing out of Lyon was fabulous, especially sailing past the Old Town. For one-of-a-kind memories, there were many bridges to pass through. Several were so low that the ship passed under with centimetres to spare. One bridge was so low that we all had to vacate the Sun Deck whilst the Captain maneuvered the boat sideways under the bridge.
This is something unique about river cruising – the Sun Deck (top deck) continually has to adjust to fit underneath bridges. The Bridge (i.e., the inside section of the ship where the Captain steers) pops up and down as required, and the sun loungers and pool fence are regularly collapsed and reassembled.
Our first port was Chalon-sur-Saône in Burgundy. The town developed around shipping as it became a trading centre of South Burgundy. It was a Monday when we visited, and all the eateries and shops were closed (we had found this the day before also – Sunday in Lyon). Full of stone and half-timbered buildings, it was charming nevertheless.
Riding Our Bottoms Off
We had signed up for an e-bike tour in the afternoon. We met our Guide, Richard, who gleefully announced that the ride was to be about 47 kilometres (almost 30 miles). As an infrequent bike rider, I’m glad that I didn’t know this beforehand, as I think I would have pulled the pin.
Had I pulled the pin, I wouldn’t have experienced the beauty of the green fields, the stone buildings, the charming villages, and, around the town of Rully, the incredible chateaux.
Part of the ride was along the Chemin Vert – a small canal connected to the Seine and leading to the Mediterranean Sea. We saw swans on the canal and cranes. My husband even saw a beaver pop out of the water. All the French people we passed greeted us with a friendly “Bonjour.”
The ride was mostly flat (thankfully), and the e-bike was easy to use. With four modes – Eco, Tour, Sport and Turbo – I thought that I would just use Eco or, maybe, Tour. After all, I didn’t want to cheat. However, by the time we were heading back to the ship, rain was threatening, so Richard picked up the pace and I decided that it was not cheating to turn on Turbo and remain there.
Despite a sore bottom, I did three more bike tours on this trip. Two were organized through A-ROSA and another was an independent use of the A-ROSA e-bikes around the gorgeous town of Arles. E-bike riding in France – highly recommended.
Was There Enough to Do?
People criticize cruises on the basis that the stops are too short. While that can be true, it’s not on a river cruise where travel is luxuriously slow. For example, we had overnight stops in both Arles and Avignon.
In Arles, we had time to explore by bike and by foot and then to train to Nîmes for an afternoon. In both cities, we concentrated on the Roman sites.
It’s hard to find the words to express the wonder of looking at or meandering through a 2,000-plus-year-old structure. How the Romans built what they built so long ago defies belief.
People also criticize cruises on the basis that the travel style is too sedentary. Lazy even. Beg to differ. Not only did we do a few e-bike rides (over a hundred kilometres [62 miles] in total), we also walked our feet off in port and, for the pièce de résistance, we hired a kayak and paddled downstream for a couple of hours right under the Roman Pont du Gard.
There is plenty to do onboard from a gym, a sauna, a massage room, a spa and a lounge where you can read, chat, play games or look at the beautiful scenery. There is no need to disembark the ship if you don’t want to.
The A-ROSA Luna also has a pool on the Sun Deck and heaps of sun loungers. There were always sun loungers to spare. There are tables and chairs (shaded and unshaded) on the Sun Deck, too. We spent hours up there.
The ship also had complimentary WiFi (although it wasn’t working in the cabins). You are never far from land (unlike an ocean cruise), so you can use an e-SIM or your own data without fear of expensive global roaming being activated.
A-ROSA also offers shore excursions. On our cruise, they were all in German except for the e-bike rides, which were led by Richard, who is a fluent English speaker.
A German-Speaking Ship When We Don’t Speak German?
We were the only non-German speakers on the ship, but it didn’t affect us. All the crew spoke English (and were keen to practise their English).
A lot of the passengers spoke English, too (Europeans put us Aussies to shame with their foreign language knowledge). All the signage and announcements were in both German and English.
Food and Drink
All meals were buffet-style, but there was a wide range, and the meals were ever-changing and very tasty. Over two weeks, we were never bored with the food.
We had the Premium All Inclusive package (which meant we had included beer, wine, sparkling wine, specialty coffees, juice, sparkling and still water). Service was generous and frequent. There was no begging for a drink (or a second drink.)
So, What’s My Verdict?
We unpacked once and were taken from port to port without any stress whatsoever. There was a good range of food and drinks all day long. We had as much to do as we wanted and we were always metres away from the town or a few hours’ sail from a town, so we never had cabin fever. Oh, and the scenery was magnificent.
French river cruising is “da bomb.”
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Author Bio: Leonie Jarrett lives in Melbourne, Australia. She has travelled to all 7 Continents and to over 60 countries. She has cruised 15 times…and counting! Avid traveller Leonie loves writing about her travels and her experiences.
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