boat hire in Mecklenburgische Seenplatte · Saunalounge 12.2 — Saunalounge 12.2. (2023)

A great experience and a great team building experience - within the family of 5 ;-) with a dog! Very pleasant and courteous welcome from Sandra and colleagues! Thank you very much!

In general: we were practically alone on the water at the end of October / beginning of November. No waiting times at the locks (sometimes just for the lock keeper). This meant we were able to cover longer distances per day (30km) without any problems. The disadvantage of this travel period was that many ports were already closed and electricity/water/petrol/fecal suction could no longer be offered (but unfortunately this is not communicated in detail on their website). The SennoLutz has 3 different heating systems on board: 1. a diesel auxiliary heater (almost independent of electricity) 2. Firewood in the fireplace (this only heats the sauna) (independent of electricity) 3. An air conditioner (can cool and heat) (requires electricity). All three systems worked wonderfully. You should have a shore power connection for the air conditioning. The auxiliary heater's diesel consumption was approx. 2.5 liters per week (during the above-mentioned travel period). There is also a PV system on the roof, but it didn't produce any energy during our week because the sun rarely shone. You can easily get by for a night without a shore power connection; the battery capacity on board is more than sufficient (without air conditioning operation). There is an extra battery for the starter, so you don't have to worry about the engine not starting. The refrigerator including freezer compartment ran well and is sufficient for 4 people. Hot water preparation and cooking is done with gas. However, it takes about 30 seconds for the shower water to warm up (during this time water flows through). There are 2 hobs, but unfortunately you cannot use both at the same time because the hobs are not big enough for 2 pots or pans. That's why there was only one pot and one pan on the boat. This makes self-catering for 4 people almost impossible. There is also little storage space for food and only the most necessary dishes. There is a gas grill on the sun deck (we didn't use it due to the bad weather). The sauna worked great - you could heat it up to 65C (higher is not allowed). Takes approx. 1 hour until the temperature is reached. The tool is also heated, but not excessively. The bathroom was very nice, toilet, shower, sink - all in very good condition. The television with DVB-T reception also worked well *mostly*. There is a 300l water tank and a 300l waste tank. This is enough for 4 people for about 3-4 days (with minimal showering). If you drive for longer, you have to fill it up or vacuum it. Petrol tank had approx. 55l, which lasted approx. 8-10 hours. Ride is enough. But you can easily refill from 10l or 20l canisters. The boat has a hot-dip galvanized steel frame all around, so damage can easily occur if it comes into contact with bollards/jetties/lock walls. The 3-4 fenders on the sides usually don't prevent this. It is therefore necessary to drive carefully and slowly. In locks it is helpful to have at least 1 person on each side who can push the boat away from the wall if necessary. Unfortunately there is no stern thruster - but that would be more than desirable for this boat. Houseboats of this size are very susceptible to wind. This makes maneuvering quite difficult from wind force 3-4 (especially due to the lack of a stern thruster). The driver's cab is outside, good clothing is necessary, but that was known. This makes maneuvering and locking easier than if the driver's cab were inside the boat. All in all we had a wonderful time! Beautiful landscape, almost alone on the water! We would like to come back again, but not during this period as many ports were no longer open. Communication with Riverholidays before and after booking was very good, all questions were answered promptly and the boat corresponded 100% to the description.

Super nice landlord, great communication. We clarified on site what wasn't working properly. We would love to come back to the marina.

We told Sandra directly what we didn't like so much. It was a great experience on the boat and we can only recommend it ?

All super nice and helpful. Will be back!

Very nice team and great reception. Since we had no experience with a houseboat, some of the processes were a bit difficult and therefore misunderstood. You definitely shouldn't approach the matter too naively and it sounds a lot easier than it is...

We were given a three-day stay on the houseboat for free. At the beginning, however, we had to wait five hours before we could finally set off. The reason given was a large number of bookings and too few staff. In principle, we can understand the problem, but this should not have a negative impact on the customer. Fortunately, the employee was understanding and extended the check-out accordingly. During the introduction, we were informed of various defects on the raft, such as a defective fuel gauge, damage to the deck, a broken TV antenna or an unstable railing on the roof terrace. All items that affected our continued use. However, the employee did not give the impression that this would be taken care of in the future. In principle, the raft was clean and for the most part equipped as described. It was fun to spend three days on the boat. The controls are a bit cumbersome. You should definitely take an introduction or have the relevant experience. Unfortunately, we were unlucky in that the water became too rough and we had to drive back to the jetty, where we ended up spending half of our time. There, every houseboat is parked close together and the large panoramic windows mean there is hardly any space for privacy. The same applies to the noise level. Before the trip, we were also informed that the power goes out regularly. Fortunately, this was not the case, as we would not have been able to open the cupboard due to the bent key. Finally, it should be noted that the boat's rear light is activated continuously at night and shines strongly into the bedroom. There is no curtain. The water pump is also quite loud if water has been used in any way beforehand. The smell of the toilet was also clearly noticeable in the bedroom and would have been unbearable without the window open. We recommend choosing a raft other than the Senno Lutz for longer trips and having the team repair the damage described. Because the current condition of the boat is too expensive for the price paid. Other than that, Lake Röblinsee is ideal for houseboats.