ABOUT US
Our company was started in 1998 to specialize in European barge and river cruise products. We represent most of these European companies that sell these products. Affordablebargecruises, a division of Europeanbarging, is located in Spring, Texas, a suburb north of Houston, Texas.
Our products
We offer a line of French barge cruises at an affordable price. Our affordable barges hold up to 22 passengers.
Our barges are cruising almost all areas of France, including Burgundy, Chablis, Alsace, Provence, and Belgium.
Experience
We visit Europe at least twice a year to sail on these vessels and inspect them thoroughly. We are in touch with the owners who keep us updated on improvements to their barges, changes in itineraries, and events such as water levels, weather, and travel advisories, etc., to make sure our clients have a good experience.
We took our first barge cruise on the Continental Waterways Chanterelle barge in the late 1980s, and were hooked on barging. We decided to start a new division of our company to focus on barge and river cruises - Europeanbarging.com.
Through the years, we have enjoyed meeting the different barge captains and visiting their cruising areas. The captains/barge owners and staff often have such fascinating life experiences, and how they came to be involved with this industry.
Some of our Personal Special Experiences Include
In 2004, we were invited to a Waterways Symposium in Belgium. We were not exactly sure what the conference was about but were honored with the invitation. This conference had representatves from most European countries and was designed to figure out how to clean up the waterways of Europe and how to bring canal cruising to new areas. One discussion was a company looking to bring barge cruising to the Danube Delta, south of Budapest. This conference and meeting so many people involved in the canals, really gave us a bigger overview of canal cruising.
Leigh Wooten taking us to visit the troglodytes from the Nymphea barge in the Loire region of France.
Cruising with the new owners of a barge as they learned to navigate the barge through a small tunnel on the Canal du Midi.
Cruising the small waterways through Holland and Belgium, during tulip season, on the 50 passenger Van Gogh and then again on the Mosel River as the Charlamagne.
We only had 2 days to spend looking at one barge - the Elizabeth, and the owner took us by car those days to see all the sights the guests see when cruising their 2 different itineraries in Burgundy. They also took us to visit their son, working at a Michelin Starred Restaurant, where my partner enjoyed 5 different types of Pate.
Many of the chefs on the barges have trained in Michelin Restaurants. One chef was actually a personal chef to a famous singer when she was in Europe. The food was always excellent. I happen to be a vegetarian, and the chefs were always making me special meals - never putting less thought into my meals than the complex regular meals.
Most barge owners are French or British, but there are a couple from the US. One such couple from the Cest le Vie, we were surprised to find they were from our own town near Houston, Texas. We got to experience their barge, and it was a great cruise. The barge was originally built as a private barge for a family, so there is a lot of storage and great decor.
Guest Enjoyment
Whether we experience a barge cruise with other passengers or talk to guests we have sent on a barge, the reviews are almost all 100% great.
We have found the other passengers on the barges to be well-traveled and friendly. In the evenings, as there is no entertainment (unless docked in a town with a bar), guests tend to enjoy drinks after dinner and talk among themselves.
Some of the guests we have sent have been incentive award winners, lots of families and friends, as well as companies bringing employees.
One fun story was I sold a family of 50 guests that were Indian, and the staff on the barge had a great time with them, and the head of the family later told me that the captain and staff dressed in costume and performed a magic carpet dance for them. The guests were very touched by this.
Another group was 50 Mormons on the Charlamagne cruising the Rhine. This was a bit tricky because of liquor, coffee, and tea on board. The barge staff removed the beverages from the barge and worked with them to get to some special sites of the Mormon religion.
On the Charlmagne, we also had a couple of departures featuring a chef and people from her cooking classes enjoying cooking demonstrations and enjoying good food and wine along the Seine and Mosel Rivers. We also had several members of wine clubs to travel together.
Another memorable group was on the Madeleine cruising the Alsace Region. This group of 20 was made up of all volunteers from around the world. Through a 30+ year history, these people had crossed paths, and this was the first time they reunited in many years. The leader was a beautiful lady who had spent years in Africa helping to teach children. Others were translators in different parts of the world, UNICEF workers, a worker with the Helen Keller Foundation, and many more. I did several trips for this group, and the people were so interesting to talk to and really appreciated the chance to connect with past friends.
Contact information
Europeanbarging
Mailing Address:
330 Rayford Rd # 704 Spring, Texas 77386
Telephone: 713-240-6753 / Toll free 1-888-869-7907
Email: jan@eurpeanbarging.com