“We have river cruised in Europe many times and in no way am I trying to make a direct comparison. In Europe the ships take around 130 guests and so I appreciate everything can be done at a different level.
Having said this, I feel some very small and simple changes would put the Edward Elgar into a different league. I got the impression that the company is trying to provide a reasonably high standard of service.
Firstly the delightful staff need very simple additional training. For example: drinks need to be served in the correct glass. The announcement that drinks would be available in the bar 15 minutes before the meal was much too late. By the time some guests were served, we were being called to the table. As an all inclusive holiday, some knowledge of wine and spirits should be taken as given. It is going to sound very petty but any chance of presenting a more up market holiday was immediately lost with the provision of the cheapest and lowest quality of napkins. They were of a quality served in Costa Coffee.
There are very good material imitation disposables available. The napkins provided really were unforgivable. Would napkin rings numbered 1, 1a and so on to 11a with a cloth napkin for the week be an idea?
For this type of holiday,food is quite an important consideration. It was not good. In fact on the first night, much was inedible. Frying and poaching eggs should be a basic ability.
I appreciate using the boat House was a recent experience and will require some practice.
Let me say, I and my friends had a most enjoyable time. I don't want my comments to be negative and as a small business would very much like to see it grow and to be something to recommend. Our frustration was that any changes need not be big. Very small changes would make a remarkable difference.
We all said, we would delight in a short period of staff training.
Very best wishes for a successful future.
Yours
Robert Williams”
Dear Mr Blundell,
Thank you for your review, and we're glad you enjoyed your time with us.
We take a great deal of care to outline the facilities on board before bookings are made, including publishing an assessment conducted by visitEngland for accessibility. The inspections and guidance are published on our website and available in print as well. It can all be found here: https://river.englishholidaycruises.co.uk/access-guidance-for-english-holiday-cruises/
Thank you for your feedback, and hopefully, you will be on board again soon.
“Staffing of the boat. All staff work incredibly hard, they are polite and helpful.
The itinerary is good but the lady guide on the first two tours needed more training. Half the passengers left her tour after a short period. On the second tour most had left before the tour ended. We go on tours to learn about the places we are visiting.
The menue was good, with only one bad meal where the beef wasn't cooked to any ones liking if it was cooked at all. The chef did a great job in a very small space. The boat was clean and amazingly everything worked well. Unfortunately. The cabins are so small it is the only thing which will prevent me from travelling on it again.
We had amazingly good weather which helped the holiday. You can obtain maps that could go on the monitor which would tell people where we were.
ONly given 3 star due to size of cabins
Regards
Sylvia Fayers-Morrissey”
“Whilst the wet weather was not the fault of English Holiday cruises it affected this holiday badly. If we had wanted coach tours we would have booked one.
However we appreciated the efforts made to present an acceptable alternative programme”
