Camargue, Loire Princesse and Gils Eanes will all sail on European rivers after joining the fleet this month
By
Rebecca Gibson |
European river cruise operator CroisiEurope will have christened three new ships by the end of April 2015.
On 1 April, the line’s first newbuild Camargue was christened by CroisiEurope’s Swiss representative Sylviane Christinat in Lyon, France. Other attendees at the event include the ship’s godfathers Gilbert Bouchet, senator-mayor of Tain-l’Hermitage in France, and Jean-Pierre Michel from Voyages Michel.
Designed to reflect Lafayette, which was launched in 2014, Camargue has two decks and can accommodate 104 passengers in 54 cabins. She will sail six- to eight-day cruises from Lyon to Macon, Vienne, Arles, Avignon, Viviers and Tournon in France.
On 2 April, Loire Princesse was named by godmothers Johanna Rolland, mayor of Nantes in France, and Charlotte Britz, mayor of Sarrebrucken in Germany. The ceremony, which took place in Nantes, was attended by the vessel’s godfather Laurent Castaing, general manager of STX France, and Jean Verne, great grandson of author Jules Verne, and Daniel Richou, group CEO of Richou Voyages.
Able to accommodate 96 passengers in 48 cabins, Loire Princesse was developed at the STX France yard in Saint-Nazaire and uses paddlewheel propulsion to enable it to cruise in rivers with a shallow draft. The two-deck vessel will sail from April to November offering six- to eight-day trips calling at various French ports including Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, Ancenis, Angers, the Châteaux of the Loire Valley, Saumur and Bouchemaine.
On 17 April, Isabel Morais, wine and tourism manager at Sogrape, will christen the 132-passenger newbuild Gil Eanes in Porto, Portugal. Morais will be accompanied by the ship’s godfather, Eduardo Vitor Rodrigues, mayor of Vila Nova de Gaia,
Built at the Meuse and Sambre shipyard in Namur, Belgium, Gil Eanes is a traditional propulsion vessel and will join three other CroisiEurope ships in Portugal – Infante D.Henrique, Fernao De Magalhaes and Vasco Da Gama. The newbuild will offer eight-day cruises from Porto to Regua, Vega de Teron, Ferradosa and Pinhao between April and November.
CroisiEurope will launch four ships in the 2016 and 2017 seasons including Elbe Princesse and Princesse Apsara, which will sail on the Elbe in Germany and the Mekong in Southeast Asia respectively. The barges Danièle and Déborah will be launched on the Canal de Briare and the Canal de Garonne in France.