Renamed THE B in April 2018
The River Baroness worked the Seine until April 2018. The hull then moved to
the same young brand in the group as her sister hull, under the name
THE B. That brand has since been shut down, and the hull's
fate is no longer published.
As with her twin, nobody says where she is today or who operates her. Two
hulls that left the same year for the same marque, and the same silence about
both. We flag it because a traveller who sailed aboard and goes looking for
news will find nothing reliable unaided.
A ship built for the Seine
Built in 1994 at the De Hoop yard, Lobith, in the Netherlands, rebuilt in
2018 just before the change of marque. One hundred and ten metres, 62 cabins,
116 travellers. Capacity differs depending on whether you read a source from
before or after that rebuild, which explains the contradictory figures still in
circulation.
The Seine imposes its own discipline: a short run between Paris and the
estuary, narrow locks, and moorings in central Paris where space is negotiated.
The hulls that work it are therefore all of similar dimensions, whatever brand
is painted on the side.
The Seine and the other French rivers
The S.S. Joie de Vivre took over this river for the brand. The S.S. Bon Voyage works Bordeaux, the S.S. Catherine the
Rhone and the Saone. The S.S. La Venezia covers the Venice lagoon.
Owned or chartered
Both, depending on the hull. This line owns part of its fleet and rents the
rest from shipowners who keep those vessels in their own catalogues. The sales
material does not draw the distinction, which is why some disappearances stay
unexplained.
A chartered ship can leave the programme overnight without being sold,
without being scrapped, without even changing name. It simply goes back to the
company that has always operated it.
The inclusions, unrounded
The fare covers onboard gratuities, drinks at meals and the excursions
listed in the itinerary. It also covers internet access, with no promise of
performance whatever: coverage varies enormously from one stretch of river to
the next.
It does not cover the air. Nor does it cover gratuities to coach drivers
during shore excursions, unlike those to the crew. And airport transfers are
included only provided the ticket comes from the line.
Reduced mobility: read this before booking
Able companion required. Folding wheelchair only. Mobility scooter refused.
Disembarkation possible mid-voyage, with no refund, if the crew judges the
traveller can no longer follow the programme.
The number of adapted cabins is published nowhere, on any ship, and the
site's accessibility statement covers only the site itself. Bathrooms are
fitted with grab bars, which does not make them accessible bathrooms. Your
advisor asks the questions case by case before confirming anything.
Three legal systems, none of them Quebec's
River transport is contracted under Swiss law, with venue at Rheinfelden;
the line's own documents name Rheinfelden in one place and Basel in another,
and that contradiction sits in its own conditions. On the Canadian side, it is
Ontario. On the American side, California.
No Quebec licence is established for this operator. It is the agency that
brings the protection from here: a licence from the Office de la protection du
consommateur, a trust account separate from the firm's own funds, and the
Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents. Those three follow a booking
made here, and only that one.
