For the 2025 travel season CroisiEurope, the France-based river cruise operator, is offering some new destinations and itineraries, as well as some exclusive departures for the U.S. market. The company is introducing new cruise itineraries in Belgium, the Netherlands and India.

These three new entries are added to CroisiEurope’s roster of some 170 itineraries on 50 ships in 37 countries, stretching across Europe, the Mediterranean, Northern and Southern Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. Read the rest of this entry »

Nestled between the vast Atlantic Ocean and the serene Mediterranean Sea, the border that Spain shares with France is a blend of geographical marvels and rich cultural tapestries. Stretching from the rugged Basque coastline to the stunning peaks of the Pyrenees and dipping down into the charming landscapes of Catalonia, this cross-border region is a living mosaic of history, art, and nature. Travelers exploring this area are treated to a magnificent variety of landscapes and an intriguing mix of cultural influences that tell a story of centuries-old connections between the two nations.

Paris offers so many opportunities for river cruisers. You can hop on a barge and cruise the Oise (or the many other regional canals and rivers). You can cruise the Seine or make your way by fast train (about two hours from Paris) to Bordeaux or Lyon for river cruises through beautiful wine country on the Rhone, Garonne and Dordogne. You can even get to Amsterdam or Basel, both about three hours by fast train, for Rhine river cruises. Read the rest of this entry »

With more than 15 million people expected to descend on Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic games, tickets—and hotel rooms—will be tighter than ever. To help travel advisors put together amazing packages, luxury villa company Rental Escapes is offering up packages that include beautiful private accommodations and tickets to the games.

The Rental Escapes collection in France includes:

Pompidou, a 19th-century building built by Gustav Eiffel that has been transformed into a loft with two lounge areas, four bedrooms and a kitchen with a mobile island.

St Didier, a two-bedroom duplex apartment with views of the Eiffel Tower, a library and a luxurious living room with lots of natural light in the 16th district.

Villa BB, in an exclusive residential area of Saint Tropez, a new five-bedroom villa with a private terrace and balconies that accommodates up to 10.

Bastide Des Chenes in Provence, a 17-acre farm with a main house and an attached farmhouse.

Fleurs De Provence in Avignon, a private estate with fruit trees, fountains and streams that can accommodate up to 24 people, with a heated swimming pool, a well-equipped gym and fitness room, a tennis court and plenty of outdoor seating.

Rental Escapes’ concierge service can help arrange a private chef or massage, exclusive tours or special amenities. And for the Olympics, they can provide tickets and transportation, as well as unique experiences like sitting with an expert or an athlete.

As always, Rental Escapes will pay a 10% commission and one reward point for every $1 travel advisors book. And under a Thanksgiving promotion announced this week, advisors who book a client in November for travel before 12/31/2024 will earn a bonus commission via Amazon gift cards valued at up to $5,000.

“Attending the Olympics is a bucket list, once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the dedicated support Rental Escapes provides will ensure a vacation surpassing those in dreams,” said CEO Brian Schwimmer, co-founder of the Montreal-based company. But, he cautioned, “we encourage travelers to plan well in advance and begin booking now.”

Viking® will welcome a new Viking Longship®, purpose-built for the Seine River, to its fleet in 2025. Sailing the company’s popular eight-day Paris and the Heart of Normandy itinerary, the new sister ship will join four Viking Longships that were officially named in 2022, the Viking Fjorgyn®, the Viking Kari®, the Viking Radgrid® and the Viking Skaga®. All five ships are designed specifically to navigate the Seine River and bring guests to the heart of Paris, just a short walk from the Eiffel Tower.

This week, Britton is gearing up for her Rhine river cruise on Riviera’s Geoffrey Chaucer. That means arranging for pet-sitters, shopping for new clothes (of course), and finalizing the logistics of her trip. She’s become quite the traveler, something that she began training for early on in life. In fact, she was only approaching her first birthday when she crossed the Atlantic on the venerable Queen Elizabeth 2, the first of many cruises for the now 27-year-old.

Few countries in the world are more well known for their wines than France. Often paired with excellent culinary treats and opulent architectural settings, there are many spectacular sights and tastes in France. But, for wine lovers and francophiles, there is no better example of this than the Loire Valley. This valley has castles dotted across green rolling hills for the traveler to explore, and a food scene to rival the best in the world.

Onboard Viking Radgrid on the Seine — Monet’s Garden is not yet open and the cherry blossoms are just beginning to bloom. Even so, all of us in attendance were thrilled to kick off this year’s river cruise season in Europe, at the official Naming Ceremony of eight new Viking longships.

The actual ceremony was a joyful reunion of travel writers, travel advisors, Viking executives and Edelman PR folks, many of whom have not seen each other since 2020, when Viking decided not to launch these ships at all. Two years and five days later, we arrived on the very day France lifted most of its Covid restrictions, including pre-arrival testing for vaccinated travelers and masking at indoor venues.

Back then, Hagen noted, Viking had 10,000 employees, $3 billion in revenue and an annual Read the rest of this entry »

It wasn’t long after we published last week’s post, Seven Workarounds To France’s Pass Sanitaire, that we learned of the French government’s plans to drop requirements for the health pass. This comes as welcome news to travelers heading to France this spring and beyond. In fact, Britton is headed to France on Monday. See I’m Going To Paris On Monday.

While we won’t know the full details until next week, this site, www.gouvernement.fr/info-coronavirus, (translated from French), suggests that the Pass Sanitaire will not be required for most activities: From March 14, the application of the “vaccination pass” will be suspended in Read the rest of this entry »

With summer underway and France officially re-opening to North American travelers in early June, CroisiEurope is marking the 2021 summer season with the resumption of the company’s diverse itineraries throughout France. CroisiEurope’s first river itinerary set sail at the end of June, with the canal and river itineraries to follow this month.

We’re big fans of CroisiEurope’s canal cruises. Here are a couple more itineraries offered by the French river cruise company: Read the rest of this entry »

If some of your clients love cruises, they may have promised themselves that – if they got through the COVID crisis unscathed – they’ll find some new places to visit. Here’s how you can help them fulfill these promises. Suggest some new places to explore and provide them with enough information to turn their dreams into reality. Read the rest of this entry »

In previous posts, we learned how river cruising evolved from an experimental steamboat on the Saône to paddle-wheelers plying rivers in the United States and Europe to something resembling river cruising today: the first hotel barge in France. Since that first barge made its debut in 1966, forward-thinking entrepreneurs continued to develop and build riverboats that were the blueprints for the industry today. Next, we’ll head to a city on the Rhine to what may well be considered the birthplace of modern-day river cruising. Read the rest of this entry »