“The crew were fantastic, the food was the best I have had on a cruise. The quoits games were great fun and the trips in shore were well organised and interesting. The evening quizzes were great.
This holiday is for relaxing, not for anyone who likes to run ten miles a day!”
“The cruise we could not fault. It was so well organised with all the activities on shore as well. The staff, they catered to every need and with a smile.. always friendly and welcoming. As for the meals, top marks to the chef, the food was different for every meal always well presented and hot and everyone at the table was served at the same time. The captain, well he made the journey very interesting with his knowledge of the river, his commentaries were clear and he had great humour. We would highly recommend this cruise to all our friends.”
“From inquiring about the trip to booking it to the end of the cruise was excellent. The crew were very helpful and very pleasant. I have a very restrictive diet. The chef, Miles, talked me through the menu each day and made sure there was always something for me to enjoy. I will certainly recommend the cruise to friends.”
“A most enjoyable well-planned cruise. Boat well-designed, fit-for-purpose and comfortably furnished. Other passengers good company; crew ideal personalities for their respective jobs, "from top to bottom" which were carried out well. Food well- chosen, varied, & much enjoyed. Happy to recommend this holiday to others.”
“It was a perfect wind down trip after a hectic 3 weeks touring around the UK/Iceland. Great company & attentive, helpful staff. Nothing to complain about. Well done English Holiday Cruises.”
“The food could be much better. Go on a Majestic Line cruise from Oban and see what they manage on a smaller boat with a much smaller galley
The crew were superb.”
“We had a super time. Food, company and service were excellent. I particularly was so gratified that my husband David was so well looked after, every one of the crew were so understanding of his condition and had so much patience. It was Davids birthday on the Wednesday and a great fuss was made of him. Thank you so much for everything.”
“Great crew. Every aspect of voyage well covered - spotless accommodation, well-designed and versatile menus, prompt service especially with the wine bottle, just the right amount of information and anecdote about the passing sights, 'Premier' class games management including conflict resolution. Nearly forgot!! - MV Edward Elgar was great; very well-designed facilities, stabilisiers worked perfectly in all weathers; a bit slow but we were not in any rush.”
“A very relaxing short holiday with good food accompanied with nice wines.
The crew were very accommodating and we will certainly consider another trip in the future.
The river trip up the Avon could do with being a little longer.”
“Richard and entire crew made us at home and very comfortable. Not keen on the beds .. too hard! Blessed by good weather the scenery was beautiful and tours extremely informative. Enjoyed the entertainment very much. Miles, the chef, did us proud with a varied, interesting menu. Thank you all.”
“An unhurried relaxing cruise with a pleasant crew and bunch of fellow guests. The food was prepared and beautifully presented by Miles and served to us by Sharon and Fran (who also looked after the cabins - which had very comfortable beds and plenty of hot water). Richard and Louis handled all the nautical stuff expertly, and Richard gave us a commentary whenever we passed something noteworthy. They even gave us a demonstration of their seamanship when they rescued a quoit (with Miles' assisting Louis on the boat hook) which inadvertently went overboard during a game of deck quoits! The land excursions were interesting and well organised, and even the weather was kind to us (although we had packed our wet-weather gear just in case). A lovely holiday!”
“We thoroughly enjoyed our week aboard mv Edward Elgar; from the first moment we were welcomed at its mooring, right until we disembarked yesterday. The boat is spotless; the cabins certainly cosy but very comfortable and I slept very well ... the shower had a very good water power and the curtain masking the loo worked!!! Fran put a "pull handle" for me which worked perfectly. The meals were wonderful; I had alerted the need for vegetarian (being unable to digest "red meat" any more!) and was indulged - there is no such thing as "too much salmon" and Miles provided me with alternatives to the assorted meat dishes - perfect!! Portions were very good and the "help yourself" hot drinks were very useful and welcomed, plus the alternative to wine at meals ... the journey was excellent as well; "the man/woman at the bridge" pointing items of interest as appropriate and all moorings were excellent ... I don't walk very well but managed all the short distances and was able to decline where "necessary". The coaches which took us to more distant sites were very comfortable. We chose "Admiral" for this cruise because we celebrated our 52nd wedding anniversary on 5th August and we travelled by train for convenience. We opted for a second night at the hotel - it was spotless, pleasant and the food excellent but for us too far away - we needed a taxi to go to the centre of lkoucester - and return. However we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Gloucester, arriving just in time to attend Eucharist in the glorious cathedral!! Then we wandered to the dock.
We loved the selection of stopping places and were happy to wander a little - we declined the tours of both Worcester Cathedral and Tewkesbury Abbey, being content to wander at our leisure - but we could hear the guides, both of whom sounded extremely interesting! We were very lucky with weather, only "enjoying" rain on the final days but we were comfortable and happy in our floating home!
The crew were wonderful; attentive and smiling throughout; nothing was too much trouble. The dining room/lounge was very comfortable and the table space sufficient for all the glasses, condiments, places etc and plenty of room to sit.
We really hope we can manage a cruise next year and meanwhile will unreservedly recommend mv Edward Elgar and the English Holiday Cruises! THANK YOU VERY MUCH INDEED!! We are so very happy to have seen the advertisement in a copy of "English Heritage" magazine”
“We have just returned from a 6 night cruise aboard the Edward Elgar, and rate it the best cruise we have ever been on. The crew, as well as the office staff were excellent, and couldn’t have done any more for us. They all did ‘what it said on the tin’, and couldn’t have done any more for us. If you have never been on a river cruise, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them, although you do need to be somewhat agile to cope with the stairs and small cabin, but you are warned about these before booking.
My sincere thanks to all who made it possible.”
“Couldn’t believe how hard the 5 crew worked to look after 21 people. Always friendly and smiling. Fab food from a small kitchen. How did Miles do that? Delightful fellow guests. Loved it.”
“Everything about this cruise made us happy, from the booking process to the crew and especially the captain Steve who was entertaining and educating. His crew could not be faulted in any way being efficient, professional and friendly at all times.
However on this particular occasion the chef was on leave and his relief chef had to cry off at short notice, unfortunately the 3rd choice "chef" was not capable of meeting the required standard,in fact the food was very poor indeed.
The owner, Richard Clemens, joined the cruise for dinner for the penultimate night, having told him of our only criticism of the trip he seemed very reluctant to accept our and others very valid complaints regarding the 'chefs' capability to deliver the brochure promise food,in fact it was dire.
I regret having to post this but it is true reflection of our experience.
I would seriously suggest that you check which chef is on board before booking, if his name is Ed don't book!!”
