After having unveiled plans in February to build a paddlewheeler for the Loire River, French river cruise company CroisiEurope this week said it will build another paddlewheeler for the Elbe.
The 80-passenger Elbe Princesse will launch in spring 2016. Its two paddlewheels will allow for a shallower draft, enabling the vessel to sail the Elbe’s shallow waters year-round, according to CroisiEurope.
The new paddlewheeler will sail the Elbe and Moldau rivers between Berlin and Prague, stopping in the German towns of Potsdam, Wittenberg, Meissen and Dresden, and in Litomerice in the Czech Republic.
The vessel will feature 40 outside-facing staterooms with WiFi, air conditioning and heating, a flat-screen TV, a hair dryer and a safe.
Like the company’s three vessels that are launching in 2015 — Loire Princesse, Camargue and Gil Eans — the Elbe Princesse will be decorated with Missoni Home textiles and furnishings.
The Elbe Princesse will also feature a panoramic restaurant, a lounge bar with a central dance floor and a sun deck.
CroisiEurope’s other paddlewheeler, the 96-passenger Loire Princesse, will begin sailing five- to seven-day cruises, starting in April.
CroisiEurope is based in Strasbourg, France, and with the launch of the Elbe Princesse will operate 44 ships, 40 of which the company owns.