Author – Susie McDonald

Vacation can be tricky because it’s a balancing act between discovery and comfort. On one hand, when we travel on vacation we want to have new experiences that excite and delight. While at the same time we want to feel comfortable and relaxed so we have the opportunity to feel like we are at our home away from home. The team on the Princesse d’Aquitaine went out of their way to make us feel at home – below is my families list of 7 gestures that made us feel at home on our recent CroisiEurope River Cruises.

On the last night of our 5-day cruise in Bordeaux’s wine region my family and I started talking about all the little comforts we were provided that were unique to our group. Below is a list of 7 acts of thoughtfulness and kindness that made our river boat our temporary home away from home.

What you will notice about our list is each act is unique to us, an American family of 5. This is so important because each group on the boat has unique needs that originate from culture, age and personality. One of the best things about traveling on a CroisiEurope Cruise is the diverse traveler manifest. Dozens of nationalities come together on the ship giving the cruise a fun international vibe and energy. For example, every night we all had the pleasure of watching a couple from Spain dance beautifully across the dance floor or each morning my husband and son enjoyed tasting the German sausages provided at breakfast for the German travelers with us. The Croisi team does an adept job of serving the diverse international guest. I assume each group could do a top seven list like ours as well.

7 Gestures from the Staff of the Princesse d’Aquitaine That Made Us Feel at Home

1)  Custom Drinks - It’s always fun on vacation to try new drinks but sometimes you want to drink what you love. Within 24 hours we had taught the bartenders three new drinks and they were happily making them for us. You can read about the Garonne Mimosa in my first post.

2)  She’s Vegetarian - My daughter in law is vegetarian but despite the set menu for lunch and dinner the restaurant staff worked with her everyday to make sure she was well fed.

3)  Where are my English speakers? One of the best things about a river cruise are the daily adventures off the boat. Even though we were the only English speakers on the boat, every day we had an English speaking tour guide, all the announcements were in English and the whole staff spoke English.  

4)  Walking bottles of water. I think it’s an American thing, but when we would leave on our adventures we prefer to leave with a small bottle of water. The team made sure we had a fresh one every day before we left.

5)  A beer sir? My husband prefers to drink beer to wine at dinner. On the first night he ordered a beer and that was the last time he had to ask. Every dinner after that, our server Gabor had a beer in front of my husband the moment he sat down. This really made us all feel welcome and valued.

6)  This bed is just right. My husband has had 3 back operations and a hard bed can make getting a full night’s sleep difficult. The boats purser Jose made sure a pillow top was added to our bed to make sure he was comfortable and well rested.

7)  Let’s try another neighborhood, this one is noisy. At one of the ports, due to a rising tide, the boat was rubbing against the dock making a loud noise. The crew spent hours trying to make the noise go away but success eluded them. Instead of staying in this port and risking a sleepless night for the boat. The Capitan decided to raise anchor and move the boat a few hours away to a different port. This created a lot of extra work for the crew but our comfort was clearly their top priority.

A warm thanks to the world-class staff on the CroisiEurope river cruise ship the Princesse d’Aquitaine. You really made us feel at home!

Find out more about CroisiEurope Bordeaux River Cruises.