Le BoatReviews 

First of all I would like to say that the staff in Emerald Star Carrick-on-Shannon were excellent and this review does not have anything to do with them.
My complaint is about the admin staff of Le Boat. Myself and my husband had booked a boat with another couple for September ’25. I understood and accepted the terms and conditions. However, two weeks before the departure my good friend and neighbour’s young son died suddenly in Australia. With the delays in bringing the body home, the funeral was set for the same weekend as the trip. As I was helping to organize the funeral, I could not possibly go. I contacted Leboat 12 days before the trip and told them about the situation. I asked to change the date. They were very unhelpful. They said the only thing I could do was lose my whole payment of €670 or transfer the name to someone else (whom I would have to find) for the cost of €100. But I had to give Le Boat 14 days notice and it was already too late for that.
I noticed on their website that the same size boat was available in 3 days time and I offered to take that instead, as they were clearly not going to sell it at such short notice. They did not even answer my emails.
In the end, the other couple had to go on the boat on their own. They said it was fine, but they did not really enjoy the experience without us there. We all felt it was a waste of €670.
I found this company to have no compassion and I will never book with them again.

My local Le Boat agent was so helpful with suggesting the rest route for my family. Booking was very easy.

What a fantastic vacation! Low stress and beautiful. Staff at Nieuwpoort were awesome. Made it easy.

We had an amazing trip in stunning Scotland with friends. The boats have been going for years and have given many happy holidays to people.

Excellent service from start to finish

I do not recommend Le Boat. Here are the reasons.

1) False Advertising
"No boat license required" sounds like little to no boat experience required but that is not the case. Our friend who captained our boat has over 30+ years of boating and sailing experience and found it difficult to maneuver through some of the locks and bridges due to current and wind speeds. This is not for beginners. "Lowest Price Guarantee" ONLY applies for "the exact same boat, date, duration and route (i.e. start base and end base) is advertised" You must prove to them that you found the EXACT same boat, dates, duration and route 90 days BEFORE your leave. Good luck. I found a similar boat (because of course the exact boat was already booked) date, duration, and route for 50% less -- that's right -- half of what we paid and they would not budge one bit because it was less than 90 days from departure. Make sure to read their T &Cs.

2) Poorly Maintained Boats
As others have stated, the boats are clean but old and in need of repair. We had a Comfort Plus boat. It leaked badly during hard rains (we have video of it dripping into the kitchen), there was mold in the HVAC system, and one of the toilets had a faulty joker valve that we had to request get fixed during the trip.

3) Poor Check Out Process
Our check-out process was conducted by a "new guy" who was supposed to be monitored by his supervisor. The supervisor never showed up and we thought we had all the information but found out later that he neglected to go over the HVAC, power panel, and electronic info.

4) Insufficient and Inaccurate Communication
The route suggested by Le Boat for our 10-day trip would have put us motoring all day from marina to marina with no time to visit the cities and sites. We proposed an alternate route which they said would be good but did not recommend a harbor due to "past client experiences" -- we decided to take the chance since we had no other options (and Le Boat did not offer any). It turned out to be the nicest marina and harbormaster we encountered. We were also told of a bridge closing due to low water that was not valid during our trip. But there was bridge reconstruction along our route that turned a 6-hour trip into 9 hours -- it would have been nice to get a call from Le Boat about that.

There are a few nice folks who work for Le Boat (the mechanic, Jean-Baptist, who fixed our toilet) but that does not make up for the expensive, badly maintained boats. Our boat cost us $900/day (that is with a 10% discount and does NOT INCLUDE gas, water, nightly marina slip, and cleaning fees). Take my advice and find a different company to rent from.

The Staff service was fantastic and they look after us as we were new to the canal boating!!!
The boat was comfortable ***

Very happy with the boat, it was spotlessly clean and in excellent condition.
The team were all very friendly and helpful.
The overall experience of a river boating holiday is sublime!

Staff where lovely boat was very comfortable.views where amazing We booked at a price which I thought was good for 4 nights. But when we arrive to pick the boat up we had to pay huge fuel charges at over 12 pounds per hour for the time the engine was running . Also insurance for 92 pounds I’ve looked everywhere to find where it states all this information but can’t find anything we wouldn’t of booked knowing this i feel very disappointed that this has happened because everyone at the boat yard seems really nice needless to say we won’t be going back

The quality and welcome of the staff at Mas d'Agenais was excellent, as was the quality and condition of the boat and the natural beauty of the region.

We were a crew of 5 women in our late 60’s and we had a great time sailing our Vision4 boat from Port Cassafieres to Homps on the Canal du Midi. The fact that we were an all women crew seemed to be novel and we had many friendly exchanges with other boat crews, lock keepers, locals and holiday makers. The scenery was lovely and the towns and villages were really pretty and interesting. It was a very different holiday from our usual city breaks. Great to be a bit more active too.

From the first momemnt you get to the first base, all the guidlines are clear, the boat is well mantained, and any neccessary information is clearly provided by the local team.
We also got execllent recomendations where to park the boat each night, where to eat, and generally how to better plan our cruise.

We had the best time on our boating holiday and would highly recommend it

Did this for my honeymoon with my brand new husband. What an incredible way to celebrate our marriage! Would highly highly recommend

The staff were exceptional, very friendly and helpful.
The scenery for the Caledonian Canal was exceptional from Loch Ness ,Fort Augusta and right through to the Neptune Staircase.
The base was well located for this, the boat was easy to handle.
Lock keepers were very friendly and helpful offering advice as we travelled the network.

What made the experience great is you have a home away from home. You can explore at your own pace, what ever along the route. Le boat understand this and accommodate you. Plan properly and you will enjoy it.

Very helpful booking and lady in charge of base.

If you're looking for an unguided boating experience, this is the way to go. Friendly staff and a good selection of vessels. Beware the extended wait times for some locks... we were traveling mid-September, kind of the shoulder season so not a lot of traffic on the water and no long waits, but we did meet a boat that had arrived at Fort Augustus the day before around 4pm - they were still waiting to start through the locks the next day until after noon. Best advice, be flexible in your timetable and don't expect they'll always be a mooring for you at your desired stop.

Fantastic first-time boating holiday! ⭐️ Gemma from Le Boat was so helpful in choosing the right boat and answering all our questions, and Aidan in the Portumna base was super friendly and welcoming. His calm and good humoured approach to the training made us feel much more confident in our ability to drive the boat. Friendly, professional team — highly recommend!

This boating holiday was exactly as described and backed up by very helpful staff