By
Elizabeth Robinson |
CroisiEurope has launched Indochine II, a new vessel which has been commissioned in response to increasing demand for cruises on the Mekong River in Southeast Asia. It will be inaugurated in September 2017 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Designed by France-based Stirling Design International, Indochine II was inspired by the style of the commercial fleets cruising on the Mekong – curved, wide, low vessels with outside decks and a wheelhouse at the top of their bows. The vessel’s structure was designed by Ship-ST, and she was built at Vietnamese shipyards.
Indochine II is 63 metres long, 13 metres wide and has a 1.6 metre reduced draft that allows her to cruise further than other ships on Cambodia’s Tonle Sap Lake. The ship can accommodate 62 guests in 31 cabins with private balconies, and also has a restaurant at her stern and a lounge bar at her bow. Both venues have large windows and lead to an atrium. Other onboard venues include an outside bar and lounge and a pool on the upper deck, and a treatment room on the main deck.
As with CroisiEurope’s four other ships on the Mekong, Indochine II will cruise in both directions between Siem Reap, Cambodia and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, offering nine-day itineraries from August to April. Highlights will include a tour of the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a cruise along the Cho Gao Canal, and a choice of international and local cuisine onboard the vessel.
The ship’s low-emission engine provides efficient propulsion, while a bow thruster guarantees manoeuvrability in the narrow canals connecting Ho Chi Minh City to the Mekong.