Kris Cruisers - Lady Suzanne
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- Change of waterway for this Easter's holiday and an exceptional boat from the Kris Cruisers fleet.
It's Easter 2022 and to be honest, we normally holiday on The Broads. However, this year we fancied a change and having done some homework, there was only one hire fleet to choose on the Thames, and that was Kris Cruisers. Their reputation for great customer service and clean craft swung it for me in making the choice.
So, on the day of pickup, it turned out that we were the first customers of the 2022 season and that great customer service was evident from start to finish. Our craft, Lady Suzanne, was built on the Broads but really suited the Thames. It was a really nice surprise to see some little extra bits waiting for us on the boat such as small complementary tea, coffee, milk and sugars just to start us off, shower gels, shampoo and even a couple of toilet rolls in each toilet...a kind of hotel touch so to speak.
Lady Suzanne can sleep up to eight people and I can say that the the boat has enough storage with wardrobes and drawers galore. A hoover is also provided which was a nice touch, as well as a hairdryer. There was even a dominoes set and playing cards provided. Other positives were the size of the water tank...we only filled up once on our seven day trip and all seven of us had showers onboard. And whilst discussing showers, the water pressure was just like home and the toilet/shower compartments were very roomy
In my chat in the video about the boat, I mention the cigarette lighter electric fitting on the dashboard for charging your phones etc. Actually, when I lifted the little cover of the fitting, it turns out that it is two USB sockets underneath the flap. What's more, there is a similar fitting in the forward main double bedroom.
Heating was adequate, inverter for 220 volt sta dard household sockets, electric sliding roof and all in all, a really great and comfortable boat that came fully equipped for cooking on board including Microwave. Modern flat screen TV with DVD player kept our young one entertained (as did teaching her dominoes).
So, my entire family and myself can honestly say, we have had the best boating holiday to date. We cruised from Datchet via Windsor and upstream to Marlow before turning and heading downstream to Kingston and then back to the Boatyard. We had stopovers at Windsor to see the Castle, Cliveden to walk around the magnificent estate, and Hampton Court Palace. It was a nice slow leisurely cruise, but we could have gone much further if we had wanted to.
We have been holidaying on boats for many years, but this was our first time on a waterway with locks. Well, they were a breeze and really added to the excitement and entertainment. We were clearly travelling at the start of the season, so some locks were unmanned. However, to operate the locks was easy. We did come across one Unmanned lock that just wouldn't work; no electric to the control panels and the manual override system was not functioning so we were unable to operate the sluices. But, a phone call to the telephone number posted at every lock that puts you through to the Environment Agency, and within a short time a lock keeper was with us and the lock control systems were reset...so no drama!
Well done Kris Cruisers for making us very welcome and presenting your boats so well. We were thoroughly impressed with Lady Suzanne and I must point out, our boat was not even one of their Elite boats. We will most certainly be back and thoroughly recommend Kris Cruisers if you are looking for a hire boat on the Thames.
And, one other recommendation if I may; we arrived into Datchet somewhat early so thought we would have a stroll around the town. We stumbled across a cafe that sits on the Village Green called The Bridge. Now, I don't know whether it's the water everyone drinks in Datchet, but like the staff at Kris Cruisers, the volunteers who served us at The Bridge were amazing too. The Bridge is a community run cafe, meeting place, book shop and all round great place. The cakes and food on offer were fantastic and very affordable. So, start your holiday early, experience the medieval town of Datchet and get your holiday off to an amazing start by visiting The Bridge.