My trip on the Mekong!

Last week as was luck to take my first River Cruise and even luckier to be doing it on the Mekong river sailing through cambodia and Vietnam. ill tell you more about the itinary next time but for now i thought id introduce you to Croisieurope and what exceptional value they  offer

I sailed with Croisieurope a french family owen company who if i am being honest didn’t know a great deal about them, i knew they were not as luxurious as some of the other River cruise lines ie Ama Waterways etc but then croisieurope don’t come with the Price tag some of their competitors do.

I sailed on the RV Indochine II a relatively new ship only launched in 2017. The ship is small (only 62 passengers) as you would expect but wider than what you might find on the europe river cruises, 3 decks with the most stunning sun deck and very good size pool on top.

 

First impressions were good we were met by several members of staff who took our luggage from us as we boarded the ship we were then immediately taken the the crew to our cabin (no long lines for check in here!!!)

My cabin was on the upper deck and was a great size with separate toilet and bathroom and a comfortable balcony so you could sit and relax and enjoy the mekong.

             

As i mentioned first impressions of the staff were fantastic and what makes Crosie europe stand out is all the crew are local to the areas, vietnam and cambodia so you really could immerse yourself in your destinations. I have to say all the crew were fantastic very friendly nothing was a problem especially the waitresses and the barmen soo got to know your name and looked after us very well. On each ship there is a cruise director , ours Sophie was french and was always about if you needed her. Before dinner Sophie would run through the following days itinary and exactly what we were going to experience and after would also join us on the excursions.

i’ll tell you more about the excursions later but briefly all the excursions were included in the price so no extras to pay for here. There isn’t a choice of excursions with Croisieurope as you get with some competitors but what they did offer was very good value perhaps a little repetitive on occasions but again unfortunately we missed the stand out tours in siem reap where they are more varied. One think i really liked was that again the tour guides were all local but even better than that they sailed  with you on board so while we were on board for the 5 nights we had 2 guides who with us so you had a familiar face each day as you went  to explore.

So as i mentioned this is a small ship you have 1 bar lounge area and then the dining area for Breakfast lunch and dinner. All meals are included. for breakfast you have a buffet breakfast  and buffet lunch, the chef has a small table for cooking fresh eggs at breakfast and fresh meat for lunch. For Dinner it is a set menu with a couple of choices all the food is locally sourced so you can guarantee its fresh! Now if you have never been on a river ship before just think on there is no 24 hour buffet so food is limited to dining  times, i have to say for me the time between lunch and dinner can be quite liong  and after been on excursions all day i did miss and afternoon snack.

                                                                              

   

Drinks are not all inclusive instead you have the Choice of 1 beer or 1 soft drink with lunch and dinner, however this is not really an issue as the drinks are very reasonably priced.

Entertainment on board is no really part of the set up but then why would you need it when you have the best entertainment right outside as you are on the Mekong. There was some entertainment some nights in the form of local dancers coming on board to perform traditional dances other that that there was a movie played in your cabins or  in the lounge, the choice of movies also  centers around your excursions for example on the day we were in Phnoem Penh and we visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum the Movie Killing fields was played.

Most evening we headed up on the sun deck for drinks and a game of cards and for us that was all the entertainment we needed.

     

Overall i have to say i was very impressed by the Ship and the service, you might not get champagne on arrival like some of the others but then your not paying through the nose with Croise europe,  the ship is very beautiful comfortable and everything you need the extras on board are  very good value as you can see below.

I’ll tell you more about the itinary next time and the excursions that are included.

 

 

 

 

 

 


About Me

Hello, I'm Carl, I was born and still live in Leeds, West Yorkshire with my wife, our  3 year old daughter Ava, along with our first 'child' our 12 year old dog Molly. Since an early age I have always loved being on holiday. From a young age I spent…

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