THE
LOIRE
www.croisieuroperivercruises.com
Useful information before your cruise /
Boats phone numbers ------------------Welcome aboard -------------------------The Loire, the story of the river -------Our optional excursions -----------------
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Main deck
Upper deck
Sun deck
Double-occupancy cabin.
Separable beds
M.S Loire princess
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USEFUL INFORMATION BEFORE YOUR CRUISE
Access
Boarding Quai de la Fosse in Nantes or Jardin
de l’Estuaire-île de Nantes (depending on
availability).
FROM THE TRAIN STATION
Take the Tramway (Line 1, towards François
Mitterand, stopover Chantiers navals)
Boats phone numbers
(for emergencies only)
MS/Loire princess :

For any information
NANTES TOURIST OFFICE
9 rue des Etats - 44000 NANTES
+33 0892.464.044
BY CAR
* Quai de la Fosse
Parking Médiathèque : Quai de la Fosse +33 02 51 84 95 70
Parking Gloriette (Outside parking)
* Jardin de l’Estuaire
Parking Nantes Les machines
10 rue Arthur III / +33 02 28 20 01 09
BY AIR
The airport shuttle connects directly the
international Nantes Atlantic airport to the train
station in 20 minutes and 26 minutes to the city
center.
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Animals
Animals are not allowed on board.
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Money on board
All payments on board are in euro
cash, bank cards (except Electron
and Maestro), and cheques. There
are no currency exchange facilities
or ATMs on the boat.
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offices can issue you with a
certificate which serves as an
intermediate solution on request.
Remember to bring any medication
you are taking as well as a copy of
your prescriptions
the gala evening and, especially,
comfortable walking shoes for the
excursions. Towels are provided on
the boat but there are no face
flannels.
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All information is provided as a rough
guide and may be subject to
modification.
Air transport
We would ask you to respect the
check-in times mentioned on your
ticket / flight itinerary.
Climate
The climate in Nantes, and
generally in the Loire Atlantic
region is temperate and oceanic.
The influence of this climate is
greatly facilitated by the estuary of
the Loire and the lack of relief.
Winters are mild and rainy (min –
5°C / max 10°C).
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Formalities
According to the destination, make
sure that your identity documents
are updated. An identity card or a
valid passport is required. We
recommend to the non-EU
nationals to contact their embassy
in order to inquire about the
formalities*. The identity forms
must be completed and returned at
the latest, one month before the
departure. They are required for
all the destination with air travel.
* Valid on the date of printing for French
nationals. For other nationalities: please
inquire with the competent authorities.
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Specific diet
Remember to inform your travel
agent if you have a specific diet
before your departure in order that
your cruise runs as smoothly as
possible.
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Health
If you are travelling in the
European Union, remember to ask
the Social Security for the
European card. This replaces form
E111 and is valid for one year. It is
free of charge but may take up to 4
to 5 weeks to be issued! In
emergencies, the Social Security
Baggage
In the event of damage to or nondelivery of your baggage by the
airline company, please refer
immediately to the baggage
complaints department at your
airport of arrival.
A complaints dossier will be
opened. You must fill in a loss or
damage statement and provide the
following documents:
- The original of the loss or
damage statement drawn up at the
airport
- The passenger receipts for your
airline tickets.
-the original boarding pass
The
original
baggage
identification tags issued when
checking in your baggage.
Furthermore, we would draw your
attention to the fact that all sharp
instruments such as Swiss Army
knives, nail scissors, nail files, etc.
must be put in the baggage you
check in and not in your hand
luggage. They may otherwise be
confiscated.
Generally,
exept
references written on the
flight convocation:
specific
Luggage compartment:
18 kg for charter flights
23kg for scheduled flights
Cabin luggage:
5kg/115cm for charter flights
10kg/115cm for scheduled
flights
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What to pack
Remember to pack casual clothes,
a sports outfit, a sweater for the
evenings, a more formal outfit for
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WELCOME ABOARD!
Our crew will welcome you when
you come aboard and will
accompany you to your cabin. A
welcome drink will be served in the
lounge bar when the crew is
introduced. We will also give you
full information on the cruise and
present the various excursions
which punctuate the journey at our
ports of call. Our boats have a
capacity of 100/198 passengers.
Captain
This person is responsible for
navigation and the crew (sailors,
helmsmen). In the event of climatic
variation, the captain alone is
entitled to decide to modify the
itinerary of the cruise. He will also
allow you to visit the bridge.
Purser
This person is responsible for
catering
and
accommodation
aboard the boat. In a sense, he is
the boat's conductor and is in direct
relation with the passengers.
Efficient and discreet, he will be
ever-present and helpful during
your cruise.
Excursions
The excursions offered are optional.
If you did not book them when
booking your cruise, you may do so
on board. Find out about all of the
excursions offered on this river at
the end of this document.
however, during excursions and
tours.
Drinks
The drinks-inclusive package on
board includes the following drinks
with on board meals: (wine, water,
beer, fruit juice and one coffee)
(except certain programs).
Champagne, drinks on the wine list
and all drinks taken while on
excursions or transfers must be
paid for separately.
Shop
Here you will find postcards,
stamps, souvenirs and practical
items.
Smoking / No Smoking
The entire boat is no smoking
(cabin, dining room, corridors,
reception, etc. The sun deck is the
only place where a distinction is
made between smoking and no
smoking areas.
Doctor
There is no doctor on board. If
needed, the Purser will contact the
closest medical service.
Sun deck
The ideal place to enjoy the fresh
air and a wonderful view of the
landscape. It is laid out with
armchairs and deck chairs provided
free of charge
and WC. Bath towels are provided.
For your comfort, they also have
satellite television, radio, a
hairdryer and a safe. Depending on
the boat, our cabins have twin beds,
a double bed or 2 beds which can
be separated. The voltage on board
is 220V.
A telephone allows you to call other
cabins,
reach
reception
or
programme your wake-up call, but
you cannot call or be called from
outside the boat.
Do not forget to leave your keys at
reception at the end of your cruise.
Crew only…
Certain places are not open to you
for
reasons
of
safety:
companionways, the fore and aft
decks, the places behind the ropes.
During manoeuvres, going through
locks and in fog, it is not possible to
visit the bridge.
Reception
Reception is manned every day,
morning and afternoon (except on
boarding
and
disembarkation
days). You will be informed of this
on board.
Wifi on board
Our boats are equipped with wifi.
You can connect yourself to the
internet with your equipment
(laptop,tablet,smartphone). A tablet
is also available on board, this is a
free service.
Tipping
Catering
All meals are taken in our dining
room on board (unless otherwise
stated). The dining room can serve
everyone on board in a single
sitting at specific times. Breakfast is
served in the form of a buffet.
Host(ess)
This person is present throughout
the cruise. S/he will organise premeal games, the evenings and the
aerobics sessions, and will provide
you with information on the places
we travel through. S/he will
accompany
you
on
your
"exploratory" walks in certain
towns. We call upon local guides,
Tipping is left to the discretion of
the customer.
Sample menu
Entertainment
Apart from the various ports of call
which punctuate your cruise, a
certain number of events and
entertainments will be available
depending on the duration of your
cruise: pre-meal games, evening
with the crew, gala evening,
dancing…
Cabins
Smoked salmon with
a Horseradish
Quenelle and Toast
***
Filet Mignon
of Pork in pastry
stuffed with Foie Gras
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Crème brûlée
Bourbon vanilla
All of our cabins have a large
picture window and are air
conditioned. They are fitted with a
bathroom with shower, washbasin
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The LOIRE, A RIVER’S HISTORY
The Loire: The Royal River
The beauty of the Loire landscape is legendary. This
large valley—boarded by hills overlooking cities and
villages faithfully following the river’s course—has
been immortalized by painters throughout its extensive
past. A gaze across the banks gives a clear, resplendent
view for miles. Here and there, we see a château, a
fortress or a monastery. And further down, there is a
forest that frames the entire scene.
The Loire was the particular inspiration for the famous
watercolorist William Turner, known as "The Painter of
Light". Joachim du Bellay, a French poet from this
region, composed poems recounting his nostalgia for
the banks of the Loire. Jean de la Fontaine, Baudelaire,
Victor Hugo, and many other famous authors have
drawn inspiration from the misty atmosphere of the
Loire Valley—once the residence to the French kings
during the Renaissance. These royal châteaux, veritable
jewels incrusted in the remarkable landscape, are
famous throughout the world. The “Royal River” hosts
a multitude of these noble chateaux, including
Chambord, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau and Amboise.
Among these wonders is the Château d’Ussé, thought to
have inspired Charles Perrault when writing “Sleeping
Beauty”.
The Delicacies of “France’s Garden”
The Loire Valley comprises the saga of one-of-a-kind
river. It is the only river in Western Europe that has
never been canalized, and so it is commonly known as
the “last wild river in Europe”. The water follows a
majestic, natural path over 625 miles long—prone to
floods and at the mercy of its sand banks making its
draft highly erratic—from Mont Gerbier de Jonc in the
Ardeche region all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.
Although it was over 434 miles long until the 18th
century, today the Loire can only be navigated between
its mouth in Saint-Nazaire and the quaint commune of
Bouchemaine, near Angers. The river has a beaconed
channel over 85 miles long. Nonetheless, in order to
navigate these waters, one must have a well-motorized
boat, respect the beacons in place and take into
consideration the tides that continually rise up until the
commune of Ancenis.
This freewheeling river has carved the décor of the
Loire Valley and lived in perfect harmony with the
civilizations thriving on its fertile banks since ancient
times. The people learned to adjust to its overflows and
built up their communities around it. What remains
today are the flooding that protects the agricultural
valley and the cave dwellings carved out of the
limestone hills—with many having been transformed
into wine cellars, mushroom houses or even into
exclusive bed and breakfast sites.
The Loire Valley was exquisitely named “France’s
Garden” by the 15th and 16th century nobles who
appreciated its overflowing gardens of all sizes,
orchards, and vineyards that produce some of the most
famous and diverse wines. Sancerre, Touraine, Anjou
and Samur, to name a few: they are elegant and
aromatic and complement the refined, varied cuisine
and cheeses produced in the region. Famous French
writers, haughty aristocrats, unassuming sailors,
modest farmers and the everyday citizen have all
savored the wonders this land and river can provide.
And together, they all contributed to the growth and
thriving prosperity of this region.
An economic and cultural explosion
The Roman Road on the ridges of the right bank,
sheltered from the floods, was the first “regional
planning” development before the Benedictine
monasteries began to structure the valley into a cultural
and spiritual core.
In the 11th century, the House of Plantagenet built
levees and dykes to protect the banks from the river
swells, assuring the economic vitality of the river and
the stability of the agricultural activities. Up until the
19th century, the Loire was the most important waterway
bringing merchandise from the middle of the country to
the port in Nantes. The openings of the Canal de Briare
in 1642 and the Canal d'Orléans in 1692 created a
direct link between the Loire and the Seine and opened
up even further trading. Only 50 miles of land near the
commune of Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert separates the
Loire from the Rhône, the route to the Mediterranean
Sea.
The Loire Valley was also the site of a veritable cultural
explosion that began in the 16th century. The longstanding university in Orleans appealed to the
humanists of the times. Printing experienced a direct
boom linked to intellectual intensification. In 1477,
René of Anjou commissioned the first printer in the
Loire region in Angers, where he also resided in his
colossal fortress. And lastly, it was here that Charles
VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I—who had discovered the
Italian reawakening—launched the French Renaissance
and became the ambassadors for a new esthetic
movement. When Charles VII was forced to flee from
Paris, he resided in the Château de Chinon in the
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Touraine. It was here that the dark and gloomy castles
were converted to Renaissance châteaux and became
the fine examples of “the French Art of Living".
The Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and
Chalonnes has been listed as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 2000. “The Loire Valley is
noteworthy for the quality of its architectural heritage…
(it) is an outstanding cultural landscape along a major
river which bears witness to an interchange of human
values and to a harmonious development of interactions
between human beings and their environment over two
millennia.”
and up to 250 passengers on a speedy two-day trip
between Orleans and Nantes.
But with the extension of the railways between Orleans
and Tours in 1846, and then all the way to Nantes six
years later, the 6,000 person strong naval industry in
the Loire was crushed by the arrival of modernity and
speed. The last, unique steamships disappeared at the
beginning of the 20th century.
What remains on the waters today is just the timeless
pageant of sailors on traditional boats: flat-bottomed
vessels that are an integral part of the river’s history.
And yet, 100 years after the disappearance of
steamships, a new, never-seen-before river cruising
vessel will arrive on these capricious and well-known
waters and glide through this exceptional setting: a new
generation paddle riverboat—the height of modern
technology and unique in this world—paying tribute to
the naval industry etched into the history of the Loire
region. A revival of an ancient high-class boating
tradition for tourists enamored with beauty and the art
of French living. Only from CroisiEurope.
The prestigious naval industry in the Loire
The Loire was the birthplace of river travel and holds
an important place in history with the Saint-Nazaire
naval shipyard as its symbol. At the “terminus” of the
Loire, just beyond Nantes (which houses the castle that
was the residence of the Dukes of Brittany between the
13th and 16th centuries), is one of the largest naval
shipyards in Europe known for its globally-recognized
expertise.
For centuries, it has been the symbol of pride for a long
line of men with the sea in their blood.
Up until the 19th century, thousands upon thousands of
ships ensured the safe transport of passengers and
merchandise. Once the naval industry began to develop,
steam ships began to see the light of day. This technique
would revolutionize traditional navigation, but the
entire economy in the Loire region unfortunately saw
setbacks: several ships would explode. The
“nonexplosive” ships then moved to the forefront in
1834. Elegant, reliable, with luxurious interior
decoration, they stimulated the rise of steam
transportation in the Loire. They carried merchandise
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OUR OPTIONAL EXCURSIONS
Prices mentioned below are the prices of excursions booked on board.
Nantes - Tourist cruise on the Erdre River
(Transport/cruise) About 2hr45
€37
(transport/guide/entrance) About 5hr00
Transfer by coach to the Bateaux Nantais dock. At
approximately 8:00 p.m., we’ll leave for a cruise on
what King Francis I called the “most beautiful river in
France”: The Erdre. As the scenery rolls by, discover
the history of the river and its numerous châteaux.
Guided visit of Nantes
(transport/guide/entrance) About 4hr30
The Muscadet Region
€50
You’ll discover the small streets of the medieval
Bouffay quarter and the beautiful Flamboyant-style
Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. We’ll visit the île
Feydeau and its exceptional buildings dating back to
the 18th century, and then on to the quays. After, you’ll
discover the shopping districts created in the 18th
century around the Théâtre Graslin and the Passage
Pommeraye. We’ll continue our tour to the Castle of
the Dukes of Brittany. The last castle before the river
reaches the ocean, this Breton monument with its
outstanding 15th to 17th century buildings will
transport you back in time.
€50
We'll pass through several villages that are testimony
to the strong winegrowing identity in the region.
Transfer to Clisson, a charming medieval city with
15th century vestiges and a slight Italian feel. We'll
continue toward La Chapelle Heulin and stop at the
Château Cassemichère (or similar site). This
exceptional site invites you to discover its history-filled
vineyards, visit its cellars and taste the dry, light, fruity
and aromatic wine. Return on board.
The Châteaux of the Loire Valley
Guided visit of Saint Nazaire
(transport/guide) About 4hr30
(transport/guide/entrance/lunch) About 11hr00
€71
We’ll begin our visit with the Escal’Atlantic, which
ingeniously retraces the history of Norman and French
ocean liners through a unique experience. Then we’ll
continue on to the Saint-Nazaire shipyard, one of the
largest and well-renowned in Europe. Once the
birthplace of the most outstanding French transatlantic
liners, today it is the construction site for elegant
cruise ships. While following a tour designed especially
for understanding the complexity of constructing these
veritable modern floating palaces, you’ll discover the
immensity of this site (267 acres), the stunning
logistics, and the high technology put in place to build
the ships.
Angers
(transport/guide/entrance) About 4hr00
€47
Angers was the capital of the historical Anjou province
and is distinguished not only by its legacy, but also by
its modern nature. Angers, particularly rich during the
Renaissance, was home to the House of Plantagenet.
The immense walls of the famous Château d’Angers
contain the extraordinary Apocalypse Tapestry. We’ll
visit the 13th century castle and discover the
Apocalypse Tapestry, part of one of the most important
collections of medieval tapestries in the world. Lastly,
we’ll visit La Doutre, a village-like neighborhood in
the heart of the city.
included
We’ll leave by coach for the Château d'Azay-leRideau. Built on a small island in the middle of the
Indre River, the château as it is seen today was built
under Francis I by Gilles Berthelot, a wealthy financier
who wanted to incorporate its medieval past alongside
the latest architectural styles of the Italian renaissance.
The chateau is a French national monument and
possesses all the refinement found in the French
Renaissance. We’ll continue to Villandry for lunch.
After lunch, enjoy a walk through the lovely gardens
surrounding the Château de Villandry. Spread out over
an impressive area, the gardens bring together
aestheticism, diversity and harmony. Afterward, we’ll
continue our tour and visit the Château d’Ussé. Rebuilt
in the 15th and 16th centuries, this stronghold with
fortified towers, turrets and steeples looks like
something out of a fairytale. The castle is still inhabited
today and takes visitors back to a time of legends and
fairytales. It is thought to have inspired Charles
Perrault when writing “Sleeping Beauty”.
Guided visit of Guérande and its salt
marshes
(transport/guide/entrance) About 4hr00
€42
Leave for Guérande, where we’ll begin with a guided
tour. A fortified medieval city, Guérande overlooks the
salt marshes and is entirely enclosed by ramparts. It is
one of the rare cities in France to have been able to
conserve the entirety of its ramparts (4,704 feet
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around). Famous writers such as Flaubert, Gracq and
Balzac used Guérande as backdrops to their novels,
after falling in love when visiting. The tour will
continue to the salt marshes, the undeniable symbol of
the region. With our guide, you’ll discover the process
of harvesting Guérande salt and how the marshes
work. Discovering the salt marshes is a great way to
develop a global vision of traditional methods of work.
Guided visit of Saumur and the Cadre
Noir
(transport/guide/entrance) About 5hr00
€56
In 2011, UNESCO added the Equitation in the French
tradition and the Cadre Noir to its Representative List
of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity as a
school of horseback riding that emphasizes harmonious
relations between humans and horses, guided by nonviolence and lack of constraint. We’ll discover the
history of this school, founded in 1825, by visiting the
Grand Manège, the stables and the tack room. Will
continue our visit with a walk through the fortified city
of Saumur, dominate by its chateau.
The Corniche Angevine
(transport/guide/entrance / tasting) About 4hr00
€50
We’ll leave by coach to travel along the levees of the
Loire Angevine. This route touches several of the
overlooks on the great river in the Loire Valley, itself
listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We’ll stop at
the château des Vaults (or a similar site), an authentic
site in the middle of a beautiful park. We’ll enjoy a
tasting of the local wines and then continue along the
Corniche Angevine, admiring the picturesque villages
and several viewpoints along the Loire.
IMPORTANT: Spaces are limited for tours taking
place on the evening and morning after boarding.
Passengers who have registered for package tours
before the cruise will be given priority.
NOTE: THESE RATES ARE SHOWN FOR INFORMATION
ONLY AND ARE SUSCEPITIBLE TO MODIFICATION
WITHOUT NOTICE.
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