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Lafayette, launched in April 2014, is a sleek and stylish vessel and a departure from CroisiEurope's usual style in that its 84-passenger capacity is lower than the usual 100 to 180 range. At 295 feet, the ship is only slightly shorter than the line's other riverboats so Lafayette offers its fewer passengers a spacious and gracious environment.
The white-and-silver décor in Lafayette's public rooms, complete with charming glass bubble chandeliers, is pretty indeed, and it's more understated and sophisticated than that on the more brightly coloured vessels owned by the France-based company.
Lafayette is also the first CroisiEurope vessel to have full floor-to-ceiling windows in every cabin, with beds placed opposite for maximum enjoyment of rolling views as you snooze.
Add to that a young, energetic and friendly crew, varied European cuisine with a distinctly Gallic twist and free onboard drinks, and you have a recipe for a quite enjoyable cruise.
There was one gala evening to give passengers a chance to put on their glad rags, but no dress code is specified, and black ties were certainly not required. Generally speaking, passengers wear casual clothing ashore and change into slightly smarter clothes in the evening.
The boat's young and lively crew prove adept at coming up with games that get people of various nationalities mingling and having fun.
They included picture quizzes (guess the famous face or place), film shows (guess the price of the most expensive burger or pudding or caviar in the world), an amusing crew show and a "guess how many people will dance to..." game, which, of course, got people dancing to the music they'd nominated.
A talented singer and pianist kept passengers entertained between such events. Is there full-on entertainment? No, but there's plenty of fun stuff, and the crew find a good balance, keeping passengers engaged and entertained without going on too much or becoming intrusive or boring.
On Lafayette, there's a restaurant, a reception area and a big lounge/bar, all prettily decorated in shades of white, silver and purple.
The lounge is very welcoming and a lovely place in which to read a book and watch the world go by, its large windows offering panoramic views. It also has a dance floor, comfortable armchairs and free drinks (including excellent coffee).
At the top of the boat, the sun deck is carpeted in green and given a pleasant garden feel, featuring white loungers and chairs and an awning to provide shade on hot days.
All meals are taken in the restaurant on Upper Deck. Like all Lafayette's public rooms, the restaurant is decorated in white and looks clean, elegant and sophisticated, with crisp tablecloths and smart napery.
Food is varied and, as Lafayette cruises through Europe, it reflects European tastes.
Cream soups and desserts, which include an airy apricot sponge cake with whipped cream, are excellent, and the weekly Gala Dinner -- which, on our sailing, started with roast quail and ended in traditional cruise style with a baked Alaska parade -- went over very well.
There was little listed on daily menus in terms of vegetarian or gluten-/sodium-free options, but passengers receive details of all menus in advance and can give notice if they're following low-sodium, gluten-free, kosher, halal or other special diets, or if there is something on the menu they cannot eat, and alternatives will be provided.
Breakfast (which ends at 9:30 a.m., so prepare to rise early) is served buffet-style, with fruit salad, a fair selection of cereals, yogurt, hot bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs and a good range of freshly baked bread and croissants. You can also make your own toast and boil your own eggs in a clever contraption which allows you to boil it for as little or as long as you like.
Lunch and dinner times are rendered a lot more convivial by glasses of wine, now included in the fares. Three whites, three reds and two rose wines are available, including a lovely Alsatian white, a respectable French Chardonnay and decent Merlot and Côtes du Rhône. Mineral water flows freely, too, so passengers needn't fear getting too tiddly. The coffee onboard is also excellent -- rich, thick, piping hot and aromatic.
Though quite a lot of wine is included, wine buffs shouldn't feel confined, though, as other wines are available at reasonable cost.
Free drinks in the main lounge bar include aperitifs with gin, vodka, whiskey, beer, Martini and Campari (and mixers), a wide range of soft drinks, speciality tea and coffee, cognac, German brandy or Pear Eaux-de-Vie, but you'll pay extra for some branded drinks like Glenfiddich, Jack Daniels and Malibu and Armagnac, Baileys and VSOP cognac.
Simple snacks like peanuts and pretzels are served in the bar before dinner.
Lafayette has 43 cabins in all: 14 on its Upper Deck (including two singles and one wheelchair-accessible cabin for disabled passengers, with a large bed and bathroom) and 29 (including two singles) on the Main (lower) Deck. Each standard double cabin measures roughly 45 square feet. There are no suites.
All cabins are outsides. They have large floor-to-ceiling windows, are modern in design and decorated in shades of gold, beige, cream and burgundy. The in-room bathrooms include showers and hair dryers (hard wired into the bathroom drawers). Other cabin amenities are flat-screen wall-mounted TVs, individual air-conditioning, minibars and telephones.
A small quibble is that the windows are dressed in heavy beige woollen curtains and would benefit from more diaphanous under-drapes. With the curtains open, passengers can feel exposed (particularly when moored alongside other riverboats), but if closed, the curtains are so dense that they block out all the light.
There's ample storage for a weeklong cruise, with plenty of suitcase space under the bed(s). (Double cabins have twin beds, which can be combined into a double on request.)
A long white shelf runs along one wall, with a large mirror above it and storage space below, and there are two slim wardrobes with shelving and space to hang clothes flat against the wall (rather than sideways). Flipping up a lower shelf provides room for longer coats or dresses.
There's another long cupboard concealed in the bed's headboard, and this contains a safe and controls for the radio and in-cabin speakers. (Find this first if you don't want to hear loud multilingual announcements in your room.)
Note that items in the minibar come with a fee.
That said, the shower booths are substantial, and jets are powerful, so you'll have no problem getting hot water to wake you up in the morning.
Bathrooms are tiled in clean and clinical white, with a strip of purple mosaic the only relief. They do have sleek toilets and sinks, well-lit mirrors, deep drawers for toiletries and three door hooks (though no towel rails).
