Brittany Cruising

[Naughty Cal]

We have just payed the balance of next autumns cruise in Brittany onboard Le Boats Capri TS.

http://www.leboat.co.uk/boats/capri-ts

A small boat compared to the one we recently hired on the Broads. But we know that it is based on a Broom 29 and they are a spacious boat for their size. Plenty big enough for the two of us but we will have to share a bathroom this time!

We have chosen the gardens and castles cruise from the hire base in Messac to Josselin and then back to base in Messac:

http://www.leboat.co.uk/holidays/destinations/france/brittany/cruises/the-gardens-and-castles-cruise

Looking at the guide times of 7-14 days for the cruise we expect it to be an active weeks cruise. 

My question is has anyone done this cruise before?

We are struggling to find much online regarding the rivers and canals we will be cruising on. So any help, hints or tips will be gratefully recieved.

Now it's time to brush up on our French!

[mrsmelly]

Hope you have fun it should be great. I have always found English works in any country in the world and ive been to plenty. They all know what BEER means and always understand you if you want to spend money with them without exeption.

[dccruiser]

This site gives a bit more information than the Le Boat one ... hope it helps

http://www.cruisefrance.com/brittany/boat-holidays.htm

Rick

[Naughty Cal]

Thank you.

27 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Hope you have fun it should be great. I have always found English works in any country in the world and ive been to plenty. They all know what BEER means and always understand you if you want to spend money with them without exeption.

We know they will mostly understand English but we want to have at go at French as well

[Boat&Bikes]

38 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Thank you.

We know they will mostly understand English but we want to have at go at French as well

Quite right too. We always find even a bad effort at speaking their language gets a good response. I Really like France. Have a great holiday.

Ian.

[Naughty Cal]

It's a while away yet

Trying to get some idea about the area we will be cruising in though.

[Pie Eater]

Have a look at the billybubbles website. Bill Davies spent a few years boating in France and you may pick up some tips.

[magpie patrick]

I've never boated in France, but I've walked, cycled and driven around in search  of canals, including the Bretagne ones

These are good, but they are not online guides, you have to buy paper copies

Carte Fluviale guides

People are more receptive to English in Bretagne because (i) a number of Brits live there, especially folk musicians (cheap and the celtic music heritage is a bonus) and (ii) the Breton language means that many residents are not so protective of French, indeed some would rather speak English than French 

 

[Guest]

7 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

We have just payed the balance of next autumns cruise in Brittany onboard Le Boats Capri TS.

http://www.leboat.co.uk/boats/capri-ts

A small boat compared to the one we recently hired on the Broads. But we know that it is based on a Broom 29 and they are a spacious boat for their size. Plenty big enough for the two of us but we will have to share a bathroom this time!

We have chosen the gardens and castles cruise from the hire base in Messac to Josselin and then back to base in Messac:

http://www.leboat.co.uk/holidays/destinations/france/brittany/cruises/the-gardens-and-castles-cruise

Looking at the guide times of 7-14 days for the cruise we expect it to be an active weeks cruise. 

My question is has anyone done this cruise before?

We are struggling to find much online regarding the rivers and canals we will be cruising on. So any help, hints or tips will be gratefully recieved.

Now it's time to brush up on our French!

Budget a decent amount for fuel. Le Boat in France calculate it on recorded engine hours rather than actual fuel used and it can work out quite expensive. So it pays not to dawdle if you want to cover a lot of water as it doesn't actually matter how much actual  fuel is used per hour.

Never boated in Brittany but have visited many times, its a great place for a holiday.

[Naughty Cal]

22 minutes ago, MJG said:

Budget a decent amount for fuel. Le Boat in France calculate it on recorded engine hours rather than actual fuel used and it can work out quite expensive. So it pays not to dawdle if you want to cover a lot of water as it doesn't actually matter how much actual  fuel is used per hour.

Never boated in Brittany but have visited many times, its a great place for a holiday.

We have bought the all inclusive package which includes fuel, damage waiver, cleaning, bike hire and various other bits and bobs. Not a cheap option but when you tot the various bits up it is a fair old saving over the individual prices. Plus we don't have to worry about the hours fitted up.

[LadyG]

The Collins Gem or any other pocket size phrase book is invaluable, and hilarious at times. Brittany is best for oysters, 

Edited November 8, 2017 by LadyG

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

We have bought the all inclusive package which includes fuel, damage waiver, cleaning, bike hire and various other bits and bobs. Not a cheap option but when you tot the various bits up it is a fair old saving over the individual prices. Plus we don't have to worry about the hours fitted up.

Out of interest why have you paid the balance of the holiday cost a year before you go?

[Naughty Cal]

4 minutes ago, MJG said:

Out of interest why have you paid the balance of the holiday cost a year before you go?

Why not?

It's done and out of the way. Ferry is also booked and paid for as is the hotel for the Saturday we get back to the UK. 

We like to get things booked and paid for as soon as we can. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Naughty Cal said:

Why not?

It's done and out of the way. Ferry is also booked and paid for as is the hotel for the Saturday we get back to the UK. 

We like to get things booked and paid for as soon as we can. 

Why not??

I always work on not paying until I have to, I thought you were from Yorkshire?

The main reason though is that if i have to cancel before the payment deadline I dont have to rely on the company paying the balance back and I just lose the deposit.

[Naughty Cal]

5 minutes ago, MJG said:

Why not??

I always work on not paying until I have to, I thought you were from Yorkshire?

The main reason though is that if i have to cancel before the payment deadline I dont have to rely on the company paying the balance back and I just lose the deposit.

Paying full as soon as we can has not failed us yet. Perhaps we have been lucky in never having to cancel yet.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Paying full as soon as we can has not failed us yet. Perhaps we have been lucky in never having to cancel yet.

Perhaps indeed.

You will normally get your money back of course if you have to cancel.

We have over 40 odd years had to cancel between booking and final payment being due a few times. We just saved ourselves the hassle of getting the dosh back because we hadn't paid it.

[mrsmelly]

37 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Why not?

It's done and out of the way. Ferry is also booked and paid for as is the hotel for the Saturday we get back to the UK. 

We like to get things booked and paid for as soon as we can. 

Me too we always pay up front in full and its sorted. Same with car tax, insurance, dog insurance, boat licence insurance etc etc non of that paying monthly crap every bloomin month or waiting for some deadline. Our Christmas break including xmas day at a hotel was payed for months ago

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Me too we always pay up front in full and its sorted. Same with car tax, insurance, dog insurance, boat licence insurance etc etc non of that paying monthly crap every bloomin month or waiting for some deadline. Our Christmas break including xmas day at a hotel was payed for months ago

In cash presumably?

[mrsmelly]

3 minutes ago, MJG said:

In cash presumably?

 No in most bloomin cases I have to use bank transfers or even a dreaded debit card " The wifes " as I don't have one, in fact I don't have a current account.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

2 hours ago, MJG said:

Why not??

I always work on not paying until I have to, I thought you were from Yorkshire?

The main reason though is that if i have to cancel before the payment deadline I dont have to rely on the company paying the balance back and I just lose the deposit.

I think I'm with you on this payment lark, once you have paid you are then beholden to the company, you have no real leverage if there are any snags. I don't go into a restaurant and pay for the meal first for much the same reason. I also don't believe in any of this 'pay monthly' nonsense since you always pay more for whatever the service is, but I believe in paying when due and not before.

[Naughty Cal]

6 hours ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

I think I'm with you on this payment lark, once you have paid you are then beholden to the company, you have no real leverage if there are any snags. I don't go into a restaurant and pay for the meal first for much the same reason. I also don't believe in any of this 'pay monthly' nonsense since you always pay more for whatever the service is, but I believe in paying when due and not before.

I read the cancellation terms last night after this topic. And we won't lose anything if we cancel provided we do so 6 weeks before the holiday is due . After that a fee is payable. Similar for the ferry and we can cancel up to the next day on the hotel. So nothing to really lose in having everything paid for in advance.

ETA: We already have Christmas dinner and new years eve paid for. We have no choice on that one if we want to eat on those days. You can't just stroll into a restaurant on Christmas day and demand dinner!

Edited November 9, 2017 by Naughty Cal

[Momac]

I hope you enjoy the boating holiday in France. I would love to do the French canals some time.

People should keep quiet about how others spend their money unless advice is requested. If you want to pay now thats your business . Booking the ferry also seems like a very  sound plan. 

 

 

 

[Naughty Cal]

5 minutes ago, MartynG said:

I hope you enjoy the boating holiday in France. I would love to do the French canals some time.

People should keep quiet about how others spend their money unless advice is requested. If you want to pay now thats your business . Booking the ferry also seems like a very  sound plan. 

 

 

 

We very much toyed with the idea of having NC taken over but couldn't warrant the cost for such a weeks break and we won't have enough holiday entitlement to leave her over there and use her any more next year. So hiring was the sensible option.

The waterways in Brittany are we understand remote and not connected to the main system. 

Having seen our friends adventures on their Sealine 310 through Europe it is certainly something that we would consider doing later in life. Not yet though as we don't have the spare time to do it.

[Momac]

5 minutes ago, Naughty Cal said:

Having seen our friends adventures on their Sealine 310 through Europe it is certainly something that we would consider doing later in life. Not yet though as we don't have the spare time to do it.

Same here . 

Boat hire for a  week or two holiday is a sensible idea.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

I read the cancellation terms last night after this topic. And we won't lose anything if we cancel provided we do so 6 weeks before the holiday is due . After that a fee is payable. Similar for the ferry and we can cancel up to the next day on the hotel. So nothing to really lose in having everything paid for in advance.

ETA: We already have Christmas dinner and new years eve paid for. We have no choice on that one if we want to eat on those days. You can't just stroll into a restaurant on Christmas day and demand dinner!

To be clear, I wasn't suggesting you would lose anything by paying before you need to and then have to cancel. Those terms are pretty standrd tbh.