CroisiEurope: 64 boats, 4,070 departures on our calendar, and a name that does not say where the volume goes
Start with the fact that surprises everyone, ourselves included when we counted. The four busiest boats in our CroisiEurope inventory do not sail in Europe. RV Indochine carries 321 departures on the Mekong, MV Zimbabwean Dream 293 on Lake Kariba, RV African Dream 280 on the Zambezi, and RV Indochine II 216 on the Mekong as well. Between them: 1,110 departures, more than a quarter of everything we carry for this house. The name records where the line came from, not where it takes you.
What we carry, measured
Sixty-four boats in our inventory, 4,070 departures across 555 dates and 354 routes, from 24 July 2026 to 25 April 2028. It is the fourth largest fleet on this site by departure volume. Three hundred and fifty-four routes for four thousand departures means the same course is run again and again: that is the nature of river work, the same locks and the same towns, with variety coming from dates rather than tracks.
The house
Founded in 1976 by Gérard Schmitter, in Strasbourg, and still held by the same family into a third generation. 2026 is its fiftieth year. The line presents around fifty boats; we carry sixty-four, because our inventory keeps chartered hulls and hulls that have left the fleet. The gap is not an error on their side or ours: they are two lists that count different things.
The sixteen that carry nothing, and what they are
Sixteen of the sixty-four carry no departure with us at the moment. We do not treat them as one block, because they are not one. Four are Russian boats that never belonged to CroisiEurope: they are owned by Vodohod, the Russian river line, and were chartered. Two belong to Pandaw and work in India today, on the Brahmaputra and the Ganges. One belongs to Jungle Experiences, in Peru. For the rest, no source tells us what became of them, and we will not write it.
What the line says is included
Full board, drinks included at meals and at the bar — the special list and the wine list excepted —, onboard entertainment, audio guides during excursions and Wi-Fi. Drinks at the bar, and not only at meals, are what sets its fare apart from most river houses: that is the point to hold on to if you are comparing. Optional excursions are charged on top of the ones announced, and on gratuities the line says nothing — so we will not assert it either way. We report what the line announces; we have not checked it departure by departure. Ask your advisor for the written list before booking.
Where to look next
MS Michelangelo is the first properly European boat in the ranking, with 165 departures. It makes a useful comparison: same owner, same announced fare, ground with nothing in common with the Zambezi.
![Cruise CE Croisieurope MS La Belle de L\](/cruise-ce-croisieurope-ms-la-belle-de-ladriatique-ship__177b113d8cd35c149a8910338c023c9b.jpg "Cruise CE Croisieurope MS La Belle de L\")
