MS Loire Princesse, 5 Night Royal New Year cruise on the Loire ex Nantes, France Return

Join us for a magical cruise along the Loire for an unforgettable New Year's Eve! Discover the many Chateaux of the Loire, Nantes and its historical treasures, or Saint-Nazaire where you can admire the shipyard where the Queen Mary II ship was built.

Day 1
Passengers are welcome to board our ship at 6:00 p.m. After comfortably settling into your cabins, we'll introduce our crew at a welcome cocktail before dinner.

Day 2
Join us this morning for an optional tour of Nantes and the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany. This afternoon, join us on an optional excursion to the seaside town of Saint-Nazaire (This excursion must be booked in advance through your travel agency. Each passenger will be asked to produce a valid passport in order to book the excursion and gain access to the shipyard.). We'll return on board.

Day 3
The morning will be spent cruising. Join us on an optional excursion to the Muscadet region with a stop off at the Cassemichère Château (or similar site).

Day 4
Join us on a full-day excursion to the Châteaux of the Loire Valley. We'll leave by coach for the Château d'Azay-le-Rideau, built on a small island in the middle of the Indre River. We'll continue on to Chinon where we'll enjoy a wine tasting*. After lunch, we'll visit the Château de Chinon. We'll return to the ship. Tonight is our special New Year's Eve dinner and evening.

Day 5
Join us on an optional excursion to Angers. We'll return on board in Chalonnes-sur-Loire and spend the afternoon cruising towards Nantes. Tonight is our gala dinner and evening.

Day 6
Enjoy one last buffet breakfast on board before disembarking at 09:00 a.m. End of our services.

The design of this ship is exclusive to CroisiEurope since it is the first French ship to sail on the Loire, the last "wild river" in France. Built in 2015 in Saint-Nazaire, its specificity lies in its side paddle wheels and shallow-draft. The noble burgundy and pearly colors mingle with copper elements, which give a prestigious character to the interior decoration. A “royal” atmosphere to discover the Loire châteaux from the water. A nod to the famous “inexplosibles” that once crisscrossed the Loire: a large fireplace is located in the middle of the lounge. The welcoming public spaces have large window areas and the cabins on the upper deck have terraces with outdoor furniture. All meals during the cruise are served in the restaurant on the main deck. Onboard fun, music and dancing happen in the lounge / bar on the upper deck, where a cozy patio also provides great landscape views. The sun deck has deck chairs and sun loungers ideal for relaxing. In the reception area you can admire the mechanism of the paddle wheels during navigation.

CroisiEurope has a fleet of Prestige category boats with cabins, which ply the most beautiful rivers in Europe. Spacious and light, they offer a welcoming and refined setting. Accommodation capacity varies from 100 to 180 passengers depending on the boat's design. At the cutting edge of technology, their facilities offer comfort and safety.

Carefully maintained and partially renovated each year, the CroisiEurope fleet is largely made up of recently built vessels, less than five years old, all with Veritas certification. The leading European river tour operator, our company owes its international reputation to its seriousness, its dynamism, its sense of innovation and its recognised value for money of long standing.

Vessels are rated four-star and food is superb – as you’d expect on a French-owned cruise line, staffed by French chefs and with top French and German wines aboard. One cruise of the Rhone and Saone Rivers in France concentrates on gastronomy and traditional French cusine, visiting Collonges Abbey, renowned for its great French chef, Paul Bocuse.

CroisiEurope is a family-owned and operated firm, with brothers and sisters running different aspects of the company and keeping a close eye on all operations to ensure excellence.

River cruising offers much free fun. Wake in the morning and observe the passing riverside scenery through your cabin window – perhaps from your bed. Gaze upon village churches or a patchwork of fields sparkling in the morning sun.

CroisiEurope’s network traverses a phenomenal number of European rivers and waterways. They range from the Guadalquivir and Guadiana (flowing through Spain and Portugal respectively); the Douro in Portugal, the Po and Venice Lagoon in Italy; the Rhone in Provence, plus the Seine from Paris to the Normandy Coast. And there’s more: the Moselle, the Neckar, the Saar, the Oder, the Havel, the Baltic Sea, the Camarge, the Rhine, the Main and the mighty Danube; the Tisza and the Black Sea; the Belgian and Dutch waterways. Everything from tulip time in Holland to Christmas Markets in Germany.

Drinks included with on board meals: mineral water, house wine, beer, fruit juice, and tea or coffee.