Marine Cruises Reviews 

We spent a week on Maia over half term, cruising the glorious Llangollen. This boat was perfect for us in every way - 2/4 berth reverse layout which allowed for one of us to be pottering in the galley whilst chatting to the other at the helm.
I have always been well-treated by boat hire companies, but Hayley and the team at Marine Cruises went the extra mile. The customer service and the care were as though they were welcoming a friend rather than a client and I can recommend them unreservedly.

Absolutely fantastic holiday with an amazing friendly company. Extremely helpful and Hayley and Stuart couldn’t do enough for us. Had an amazing holiday and the canal boat was extremely clean. Would highly recommend them and this type of holiday

Wonderful holiday and a great company to deal with

We had a fabulous week on the Kimberly boat provided by marine cruises. This company has exceptional communication both before and during the holiday and we would definitely recommend using them. Our boat was perfect for us and much better equipped than we had expected. The training provided meant we could confidently sail the boat despite not having done this before. When there was a problem with a broken lock on the last day they communicated well and sent a taxi to collect us instead. A really good family run business. Thank you for giving us such a special holiday to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. They even provided Prosecco so we could celebrate!

Excellent communication; wonderful boat (clean, modern, very well maintained, spacious) and just a lovely experience going from the Falkirk base. Can't fault it; thank you Marine Cruises

We had a wonderful holiday and agreed you unanimously that it was a 5* experience. Despite having had to postpone the holiday by a year due to the pandemic, the Marine Cruises Team were ever helpful and friendly and made the entire process easy. Whether by Email or on the phone, the staff went out of their way to try and smooth the process and make us feel genuinely welcome guests.

The local Team at Falkirk were equally impressive, both front of house in the Marina Office and boat side. Nothing was too much trouble, we received lots of great advice and people went out of their way to be helpful. Everywhere we went we were met by smiling, friendly people who took the time, despite being busy, to pass the time of day as well as attend to whatever ‘daft’ question we threw at them.

The Boat was well equipped, spick and span and well maintained. She handled well, was warm and comfy and never let us down. We were so impressed that we are already planning a new holiday for next Summer departing from the Swanley Bridge Marina and very much look forward to enjoying another superb holiday. Thank you for a great experience.

Absolutely fantastic experience with Marine Cruises, starting from Falkirk Wheel Base.
Admin and paperwork pre-arrival was friendly, informative and helpful.
The narrowboat itself (Suzanne Marie II) was absolutely beautiful - pictures on the web do not do it justice. It was clean, modern, fresh, well-equipped and had a clever layout which worked well for our family of two adults and four teens. Loads of storage, shelves, drawers etc.
Galley was brilliant - had everything I needed to cook for the six of us. Full size under counter fridge.
All the technical stuff (engine, water, pumps, showers, etc) worked well and was simple to understand and use.
The canal experience was also awesome - Scottish Canals staff and volunteers are friendly and efficient and helped to make it a lovely wee holiday.

Another brilliant holiday with Marine Cruises on Kimberley, this time. The team who greeted us were friendly, accommodating & welcoming & the boat was immaculately presented with beautifully made up beds (additional bedding & towels for our second week) & loads of little extras like lovely smelling eco hand wash & shower gel & a bottle of cava & biscuits (perfect to grab with the first morning’s coffee). We had a great time on the Four Counties Ring, caught fish for the first time on the canal & basically can’t wait to come back. Thanks Marine Cruises, you have it all ‘spot on’ 😃

For anyone wanting to hire a narrow boat, especially for someone like myself who had never attempted it before, I can totally recommend 'Marine Cruises'. I booked the 8 berth boat 'Suzanne' with Hayley who was very helpful and gave some wonderful advice to us novices to help us with our way. When taking over the boat we found it to be absolutely immaculate. We had a very comprehensive hand over by Dave explaining everything about the boat, handling it on the canal and even helping us through the first lock. I felt very reassured if we needed help on our adventure that it would be only a phone call away. The boat turned out to be very comfortable, clean and well equipped, in fact, it felt almost new. We made our way to Llangollen, stopping at places recommended by Hayley and Dave. It is a beautiful canal with a good mixture of locks, tunnels and Aqueducts. Great pubs on the way with Tesco half way on the route to stock up on onboard drinking. Great canal, Great Boat and thank you Hayley and Dave helping us with a great holiday with Marine Cruises.

James Ellis
Somerset

We are just back from our first canal holiday and we all had a brilliant time on the Lucy Michelle boat. The boat was immaculate, perfect handover from the excellent Stuart who gave us lots of top tips. The customer service from Hayley and the team has been amazing. We'll definitely be back.

We had a lovely 4 night cruise. The whole family enjoyed it. We definitely would book again with them. The guy who handed the boat over was brilliant. He was absolutely passionate about his job and the tips he gave us were very useful.

My wife and I had a lovely holiday with Marine Cruises, we knew that we would have a great experience having booked with Marine in 2019. The barge was super, the staff are really friendly and knowledgeable about all you need to know, Marine Cruises are very reasonably priced compared to other vendors in the Cheshire region, it was our silver wedding anniversary while on holiday and Marine Cruises put a bottle of Prosecco in the fridge for us which was a really nice touch, thank you Hayley and all the team at Marine Cruises see you again soon Gary and Lindsey.

Recently used Marine Cruises for our first canal boating holiday. Everything was perfect, lovely boat very all looked after and we’ll equipped. The instruction was excellent, so well done Ian, Stuart and young Gareth. Hayley you have a great team. You may be a small company, but huge on experience and service. Thank you for a lovely week.

I cannot praise Marine Cruises enough , as novices to a narrow boat holiday we were slightly apprehensive as well as excited as we had never done anything similar before. We needn’t have worried as we we’re given excellent tuition by the team who talked us through the boat, how to navigate, turn and manage the locks. The boat was immaculate , really well equipped and very comfortable, we were a party of four, two couples in their 60’s in an eight berth, so worked perfectly for us.
Unfortunately, I managed to lock us out of our boat at one of our moorings which caused us to panic slightly, but one phone call to Hayley in the office sorted the situation very quickly, within 30:minutes Stuart had come to our rescue with a master key and saved the day.
This is a family run firm which obviously takes great pride in both their boats and holidays. We were taken care of from start to finish by a really friendly and efficient team and would thoroughly recommend using Marine Cruises to anyone looking for a narrow boat holiday, they definitely give a 5 star service.

Thank you Marine Cruises for providing us with an excellent holiday. Being a family run business, they were able to offer us a very friendly and personal service. Due to illness we had to postpone our holiday from September 2020 to June 2021. Even though they were given very short notice, it was done in a pleasant and understanding way. As there were just the two of us, we chose one of their smaller 47 footer – Maia. It was fully equipped and had a surprising amount of storage facilities – an extremely well designed boat that was in good maintenance order. We just couldn’t fault it. It really was perfect for us. We highly recommend this company and we will return. A very worthy five star

Great service and friendly Haley is lovely. They do their best to make your holiday and answer all of your questions. Would not hesitate to use again we have been with them 5 times now.

My husband and I had a weekend away in a beautiful boat our first experience.
We glided along the tranquil canal absorbing the beautiful scenery.
The staff were very helpful in guiding us through the handling of the boats and promised to be a phone call away if needed- we did indeed ring for advice on the best pub to stop at! This request for information was greeted well by knowledgeable staff. Nothing seemed too much trouble.
We were saddened to miss out on another adventure due to covid pandemic but are very much looking forward to using their services again.
I loved reading the personal story of the family business it makes for a beautiful personal service.
Great team, great boats
Highly recommend

We were lucky enough to stay on Kimberley narrowboat for a week. These hire boats are the cleanest inside and out that I’ve ever seen. It has everything you need and is very child and dog friendly. The staff are amazingly kind and welcoming, the knowledge they have is fantastic from any small to large detail you want to know they have an answer. They take good care of you and make you feel comfortable with every detail of the handover. We can’t wait for our next trip.

Have enjoyed 3 fantastic holidays with this company. Had to write a review as I saw the 1* review earlier today and I am convinced they've reviewed the wrong company.
All the boats within the business are new... every year we have been they have added a new boat.
ABSOLUTELY spotless, with every detail thought of - we were new to canal boating and wasn't sure what we would need to take but the boats are fully equipped.
The staff are exceptional... so knowledgeable and caring... talked through our plan to make sure we got the most out of our trip including where to stay overnight, best places for food, walks etc.
We took our dog with us. The boats are dog friendly. No evidence of dogs been on there though... the level of cleanliness is of a really high standard.
The bathrooms really surprised me... fabulous shower, and plenty of space so you can feel really fresh throughout your holiday.
Cannot recommend enough. 5* isn't enough

We have done this every year for the past 4 years. I’ll be honest I wasn’t excited for it when I went on first as I thought it would be a bit drab but I’ve absolutely loved it!

We were met at the boat by a lovely gent who showed us round the boat that had far more luxuries than I thought it would have - good shower, good cooking facilities and good heating! He takes you out of the marina and to the first lock to get you going…

We’ve gone a variety of directions over the 4 years and loved each one with a good mix of things to do on the journeys. We’ve done journeys as a group and others as a couple.

Boats are well serviced, pricing is reasonable given the standard of the boats. Couldn’t recommend this company enough!