MS Loire Princesse: 15 metres wide, the broadest hull in the fleet, on Europe's last wild river
The MS Loire Princesse is 88.8 m long by 15 m wide, has 2 decks and carries 94 passengers with 24 crew. Built in 2015 at Saint-Nazaire, rated 5 anchors, driven by side paddle wheels: 11 years of hull. She sails the Loire from Nantes, at 3.9 guests per crew member.
Short and broad, against the whole fleet
CroisiEurope's European fleet is built on 110 m of length and 10 to 11.40 m of beam. This boat is 88.8 m by 15 m: twenty metres shorter, four metres wider. That is not a designer's whim, it is hydrodynamics. The Loire is Europe's last wild river: neither canalised nor regulated, its bed shifts and its depths change from season to season. A boat floats there by spreading its weight over a large area rather than sitting deep.
Hence the side paddle wheels in place of propellers: they work the water at the surface instead of reaching for it below. The reception desk on board looks onto the mechanism, and you can watch it turn.
Terraces, not French balconies
This is the most useful distinction on the page. Everywhere else in the fleet, a "French balcony" is a glazed opening onto a railing with no floor space. Here, upper deck cabins have genuine terraces. You can step out. Of the 24 CroisiEurope boats we have documented, this is the only one with them, and it changes what an upper category is worth.
Two decks, so no lift
CroisiEurope fits lifts only to its three-deck boats. This one has two, so she has none. The restaurant is aft on the main deck, the lounge bar aft on the upper deck with its terrace, and the sun deck carries loungers and armchairs.
Where she sails in 2026
Five programmes, nearly all from Nantes. The Loire Renaissance escape in 5 days via Saint-Nazaire, Ancenis and the châteaux, 9 to 13 August. Brittany and the Loire in 8 days, adding Vannes, Quiberon and Carnac, on 24 August. The châteaux of Chambord and Chenonceau in 7 days, this one starting in Paris, on 19 September. Then a Loire Christmas in 6 days on 22 December and a New Year cruise in 6 days on 28 December.
Nantes has no non-stop flight from Montreal-Trudeau. Plan a connection, usually through Paris, which is served non-stop, then two hours by TGV. The châteaux programme boards in Paris and spares you that transfer, which is a real argument when choosing between two itineraries. Bordeaux, on the MS Cyrano de Bergerac, is the only other western French embarkation reachable without a connection.
Choosing a cabin
The upper deck, for the terraces and because the lounge bar is there. The main deck gives onto windows. Categories A, B and C differ by location. Cabin size is not published for this boat, but a 15 m beam leaves more room across than the 10.10 m of a Rhône boat, and you feel it in the width of the corridors as much as in the cabins.
What the fare includes and what it does not
Included: full board, drinks with meals and at the bar, Wi-Fi, port taxes and onboard entertainment. Not included: shore excursions, gratuities, the premium wine list and transfers. On a châteaux programme, where the visits are the entire content, price the excursions before you leave.
Who this boat is not for
Anyone who cannot manage stairs. Anyone who wants to board without a connection, except on the Paris programme. Anyone looking for a pool, a spa or a gym, none of which are on board. And anyone who needs a guaranteed draught: on an unregulated river, a low Loire can alter a route, and that is the price of Europe's only wild river. See also the MS Elbe Princesse and the MS R.E. Waydelich L.J., the fleet's two other paddle-wheel boats, and our CroisiEurope page.
