Stella Review

Fabulous Value; Relaxing and Nice Experience for the Whole Family

Review for Europe River Cruise on Stella
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Woodnshoe
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2016
Traveled with children

I'm not sure why A-rosa is bunked for Americans...in fact, I wondered why more English speaking cruisers weren't on board. The staff all spoke English as well as German (most of the crew were Eastern European) and the service was excellent. We appreciated the spotless ship; the accommodating service from all the staff (constant attention to detail...fabulous hard working and conscientious). The rooms were the same size as higher end cruise companies and we had 2 upper cabins with french balconies (full balconies are really unnecessary on these cruises as you loose precious cabin space and when you can open your french balcony windows its as if you have an outer balcony anyway).

While some purists might say the food wasn't "french enough" and, while I love French food, the quality of the food was excellent, presentation always good and they did make an effort to serve french specialities. All meals were buffet style but never tacky and really fresh and well presented food. The cheeses were good, the seafood was very good and the salads and breads always nice. The bar opened at 10 in the morning (although if asked, I'm sure they would've made a mimosa for breakfast) and the mixed drinks and liqueurs were very good. The wine was okay, but one could always upgrade for small charge (anywhere from 14-25 euro for a bottle...still a deal). We had an all inclusive premium package and I felt sure we were going to be charged for extras at the end...but no!...we even had a small break on spa services. Tipping at cruise end was expected but not forced (not automatically added to your bill)...and frankly the service was so good you wanted to tip them.

The only really bad downside was the ship wifi only seemed to function well for about 2 hours a day (generally when in a major port) This makes sense as I think many river cruise companies have issues with wifi when outside of a city. Really unacceptable for us because we were trying to communicate with work back home and could barely do so....be advised that you should probably hire your own "hotspot" if you're coming from the United States. that might function better....there are a number of companies that will rent you a wifi hotspot in France.

Cabin Review

Cabin French Balcony, level 2 & 3

Spotless and like new cabins. Beautiful colors, Ample cabin space..lots of hangers in closets. Nice amenities in the bathrooms (towels good and robes and slippers). nice french balcony windows. Great cabin service!

Port Reviews

Lyon

Great city, good museums, fabulous food experiences, good docking point and good access to train station (Perache) and close to EuRopcar car rental for post cruise touring.

27 Helpful Votes
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