{"id":23830,"date":"2016-04-25T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/?p=23830"},"modified":"2022-05-21T16:49:51","modified_gmt":"2022-05-21T20:49:51","slug":"elbe-princesse-summing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/2016\/04\/elbe-princesse-summing\/","title":{"rendered":"Elbe Princesse: Summing Up"},"content":{"rendered":"

CroisiEurope\u2019s Newest Ship Reaches For the Stars<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"CroisiEurope's<\/a>

CroisiEurope’s Elbe Princesse, docked in Berlin-Tegel on a stormy afternoon. Photo \u00a9 2016 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n

Four days is a short time to be aboard a river cruise ship, but it was all the time we needed to officially welcome CrosisiEurope<\/a>\u2019s <\/strong>new Elbe Princesse<\/strong><\/a> into the world of river cruises. Christened on April 14, 2016, we stayed onboard for the official event in Berlin <\/strong>and a short mini-cruise down to Potsdam<\/strong> and back.<\/p>\n

Driven by two stern-mounted paddlewheels, CroisiEurope\u2019s Elbe Princesse is the second ship in the fleet to sport paddlewheel propulsion, after the Loire Princesse<\/strong><\/a> was launched in 2015. In doing so, the Elbe Princesse \u2013 with its 2.95 feet of draft \u2013 becomes one of the only river cruise ships to sail from the heart of Berlin straight into the city of Prague. It\u2019s also better equipped to handle low water conditions, like the ones that plagued the Elbe last year, than many of its competitors. And it\u2019s just one more sign that the company, which just celebrated 40 years in business, isn\u2019t backing down in the face of its North American competitors.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>

Two stern-mounted paddlewheels allow Elbe Princesse to sail into the heart of both Berlin and Prague. Photo \u00a9 2016 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n

CroisiEurope wants to appeal more to English-speaking guests from North America and the UK, but it is doing so in a cautious, humble way. Ever mindful of the line\u2019s family-run heritage (it was founded by the late Gerard Schmitter<\/strong> in 1976 and today managed by his descendants), CroisiEurope doesn\u2019t intend to change its proudly French product to suit American tastes. Rather, it wants to offer a fully-immersive experience that is both French, German and European in nature to adventurous English-speaking guests who are looking for a truly original experience.<\/p>\n

Unusually, the line also had nice things to say about its American-based competitors, like Viking and AmaWaterways. In an arena where companies take every available opportunity to trash the competition, CroisiEurope\u2019s outlook \u2013 there\u2019s space here for all of us \u2013 was refreshing.<\/p>\n

\"Elbe<\/a>

Elbe Princesse dining room. Photo \u00a9 2016 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n

Holding just 80 guests in 40 staterooms, the atmosphere onboard is intimate and inviting, as if you\u2019ve reserved a spot at a nice little boutique hotel in France. It\u2019s not fancy, and it\u2019s not luxury, but it is warm, comfortable, and semi-inclusive, with complimentary wi-fi, drinks, and select shore excursions included in the cost of the fare.<\/p>\n

That fare, mind you, tends to be substantially lower than most other competitors, making Elbe Princesse a great value river cruise. Some of the line\u2019s older vessels may not have been worth writing home about, but this new generation of CroisiEurope river cruise ship certainly is.<\/p>\n

Strengths:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Beautiful Vessel: <\/strong>There\u2019s no getting around it: Elbe Princesse is a beautiful ship that grows on you as you spend more time aboard her. Filled with bright, airy public spaces and small yet efficiently-designed staterooms, it\u2019s no hardship to spend the nine days aboard her.<\/p>\n

Authentic European Experience: <\/strong>To us, this is a huge strength: a river cruise that lets guests experience Europe, with Europeans, by a European river cruise line. Sure, you\u2019ll have announcements in three languages and you\u2019ll have to bring an electrical adapter, but CroisiEurope offers something aboard Elbe Princesse that other North American-based river cruise lines can\u2019t, and that\u2019s a fully-immersive experience from start to finish.<\/p>\n

Amazing Staff:<\/strong> Enough good things can be said about the staff of the Elbe Princesse to fill a small book. Kind, attentive and personable \u2013 not to mention fluent in multiple languages \u2013 the crew onboard embody the personable and friendly atmosphere that the family-run CroisiEurope has spent so many years perfecting.<\/p>\n

Could Improve Upon:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Fit And Finish<\/strong>: When Elbe Princesse gets up to full speed, things start to shake and rattle like a car driving over a dirt road. While the shaking (caused by the ship\u2019s two paddlewheels) is quite endearing, the rattling of wall panels and ceiling tiles is not.<\/p>\n

Bathroom Storage Space<\/strong>: While there is a cupboard underneath the sink, a few shelves to store toiletries on would be nice.<\/p>\n

The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"One<\/a>

One of Elbe Princesse’s French Balcony Staterooms, at dusk. Photo \u00a9 2016 Aaron Saunders<\/p><\/div>\n

CroisiEurope\u2019s second paddlewheel-driven ship is a real winner, particularly if you want to sail the entirety of the Havel and Elbe Rivers between Berlin and Prague. The line is so pleased with the innovative design it has developed for Elbe Princesse and her near-sister, Loire Princesse<\/strong>, that it announced the development of a third paddlewheel-driven ship, to debut in 2018 on an as-yet-unannounced river.<\/p>\n

Related Links:<\/h4>\n

Elbe Princesse \u2013 in Pictures<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Live from the Havel: Elbe Princesse Sets Sail<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Elbe Princesse Ship Profile<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

CroisiEurope\u2019s Newest Ship Reaches For the Stars Four days is a short time to be aboard a river cruise ship, but it was all the time we needed to officially welcome CrosisiEurope\u2019s new Elbe Princesse into the world of river cruises. Christened on April 14, 2016, we stayed onboard for the official event in Berlin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":23735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"full-width-content","footnotes":""},"categories":[171,504,465],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23830"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23830"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23830\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rivercruiseadvisor.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}