Deborah Cabins

With the small size of hotel barges, you expect cabins to be tight. And while our lower deck cabin wasn't huge, we found it surprisingly well-designed, with excellent lighting, storage and a larger-than-expected shower.

All of the 11 cabins on the lower deck are the same size and layout. The decor is modern, with purple carpets and bed accents and gray velvet curtains on the windows (which are placed at water level toward the top of the room -- you have to stand to see out).

Every cabin has two twin beds that are fixed (meaning that couples will have to sleep apart) and a small desk with a stool. There's a closet with space for hanging clothes on one side and cubbies on the other. More storage lies behind the beds, above the headboard, with a door that flips down; there's a safe up there too. Right behind the pillows there are two extremely convenient cubbies, both with electric outlets (European plugs only) and one with two USB slots.

A flat-screen TV is high on the wall near the door. While most of the channels are French, you can get English news channels such as CNN and the BBC.

While the bathroom is small, more square footage within the room is given over to the shower, so you do have room to turn around. It even has a folding glass door! (That's a nice change from small expedition and sailing ships we've been on, where the shower is essentially over the toilet.) There's a ledge that can be used to place some items, as well as hooks. Shampoo/conditioner and lotion are Croisi brand, and there's a hair dryer tucked under the small sink.

Lower Deck: The 11 identical cabins on the lower deck are accessed by a spiral staircase. Each cabin is 95 square feet, including the bathroom.

Main Deck: One cabin is available on the main deck for passengers with reduced mobility. This cabin offers the same square footage, but the bathroom is larger to accommodate a roll-in shower and the bedroom has a single double bed. You’ll also see more from the larger window.