Nenuphar Review

The best vacation, ever.

Review for Europe River Cruise on Nenuphar
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emmaausten
2-5 Cruises • Age 20s

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Sail Date: Oct 2011

We had several reservations about booking this trip, but our travel agent's endorsement, along with glowing reviews in the NYT and Huffington Post, convinced us. And we are so glad we did. This was an incredible, delightful experience. I'll start by giving our reservations, and why they turned out to be groundless, and then add whatever is not covered that way.

1. The rooms/boat will be cramped, uncomfortable and/or shabby. This was based in part on our experience on the Le Ponant a couple of years ago, and partly on the company's online photos. Turns out, the Nenuphar was beautifully updated, and much, much nicer than the Le Ponant. In particular, the bathroom was much more spacious, with the shower being about twice the size of the one on Le Ponant. The bedrooms were small, but we had a king, and it was so well laid out that there was actually enough room for two full-sized adults to get around in--even at the same time. The public rooms were similarly comfortable, with the right amount of seating and space. The finishes were also lovely, with dark wood and granite in the bathrooms and on the bar, and really lovely cherry walls and ceilings. (You'll have to take my word for it--the photos don't do it justice.)

2. The food will be mediocre. This was based on experience with Celebrity, which ranged from bad to better than average, and the Le Ponant, which was average to somewhat above average. In contrast, the Nenuphar's food was generally excellent to really superlative. I can be a bit demanding, but I had no reservations whatsoever, and in fact, I still fantasize about the incredible lunches we had every day. In addition, every lunch and dinner includes very thoughtfully selected white and red wines from the region, including premier and grand crus both red and white. Lunch and dinner also includes three cheese selections, which are presented with a discussion of their origin, history and flavor (which is done with the wines as well).

Cabin Review

Cabin N/A

The cabin was great. It was, however, next to the engine, which functioned nicely as an alarm clock--started up every morning at 8:15!

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