River Venture Review

4.0 / 5.0
22 reviews

Not A France Culinary Delight!

Review for Europe River Cruise on River Venture
User Avatar
CordovaChick
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2018

This is a review of our second Vantage European River Cruise entitled “France Culinary Delights: Paris to Normandy” (MS River Venture, 13 days, June 2018). We took our first river cruise last year with Vantage (Majestic Rivers of Europe: Castles, Cathedrals & Fairytales, Budapest to Amsterdam, MS River Splendor, 15 days, June 2017) and rated it five stars. This cruise (2018) was barely three stars. For the following reasons, we felt this cruise was well below what we experienced in 2017:

• The River Venture was originally due to depart Paris at 6:30 pm (according to the Daily Program), but for some reason it left around 4:00 pm. That meant that several passengers who flights arrived after the ship left Paris had to get their own transportation from the airport and catch up with the ship. Several of these passengers stated they had to pay for this (around 200 Euros) and then Vantage reimbursed them.

• The Cruise Director, Concierge, and front desk staff would hardly do more than their job. There was no going beyond and above. The hairdryer provided by Vantage in our room died half-way through the cruise and when I went to the front desk for a replacement, I was told they did not have any (the Captain apparently had some on order). Nor did they have any US to European electrical adaptors. Another passenger and I had to go to a store while in port and buy our own European hairdryers. Also, there was a couple we became friends with that had booked their flights and travel insurance through Vantage. His bag did not make it to Paris from Atlanta on Delta/Air France. They are also some of the passengers who flights arrived after the ship departed Paris. His bag made it to the CDG Airport the next day, but Vantage (specifically the Cruise Director) asked that he be allowed to communicate with Delta/Air France to get the bag delivered to the ship. Let me say that the passenger did not get his bag until arrival back home in the US after the cruise. Not sure what the Cruise Director was telling Air France, but somehow Air France decided not to make it their problem anymore and sent the bag back to Atlanta without every attempting to deliver it to the cruise ship. The only thing that Vantage did do was laundry what clothes he had and/or brought during the cruise at no cost.

Cabin Review

Cabin Category B

The MS River Venture has a 134 passenger capacity. The rooms are the same as the MS River Splendor. There were two closets (one with a combination safety deposit box) with plenty of wooden hangers. Near the desk are 4 drawers and a cabinet with a shelve that divided the space. All suitcases fit under the beds. The two twin beds were pushed together to create a queen size bed (each bed has its own bottom sheet and comforter). (Note: the comforter is encased in a duvet cover, which is considered the top sheet.) The beds are on the firm side and very comfortable to us. The bed linens were very soft and the four pillows were standard size and had enough support. The 3-piece bathroom (single sink, toilet, and glass-enclosed shower) was actually larger than ones on an ocean cruise ship or has a better floor plan design. L'Occitaine de Provence amenities are provided, but I didn’t use because I don’t particularly like the Verbena smell. The tap water is drinkable. There was one free bottle of water in the room upon arrival (fee for any additional). There was always plenty of hot water for showers, except for one morning when I was taking a shower, the water went from hot to cold and then just stopped. Each cabin has its own individual climate control. It took a few hours to get the temperature cold enough for us, but then it stayed relatively constant. A white bath robe and slippers is provided for each person to use throughout the cruise. (Note: housekeeping will remove these from the stateroom prior to the last day of the cruise.) There is free Wifi throughout the ship. Each room has a flat-screen TV with True Video on Demand (watch what you want, when you want, from the ship’s vast library of movies). You also view the following from the comfort of your stateroom: daily destination highlights, important events, flight information, follow the ship's journey through real time GPS tracking, and other key information. There is a plug for men’s razors inside the bathroom and one US electrical plug located near the desk/vanity, plus two USB charging ports. The European electrical sockets in the stateroom are recessed into the wall and require a round Schuko Type E/F (or a round Europe Travel Adapter for European Outlets - Type C, Type E, Type F).

22 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a cruise

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.