MS Symphonie
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MS Symphonie
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Cruises availables
The MS Symphonie is a CroisiEurope ship operating on the Rhine and the Danube in Europe, offering a river cruise experience centered on cultural navigation and gastronomy with included stops and excursions. It sails itineraries on the Rhine and Danube, covering major European river routes associated with scenic cruising and cultural discovery. The onboard experience is linked to European river cruising suitable for families, couples and travellers seeking panoramic views, with seasonal offerings including summer 2025 departures and options aligned with affordable cruise stays. This ship is suited to travellers looking for a relaxed European river cruise combining scenic navigation, guided excursions and onboard entertainment in a comfortable setting.
Itineraries of the MS Symphonie
Price and Availability Notice
Prices displayed are provided for informational purposes only. They reflect the rates in effect at the time of their most recent update and are shown in Canadian dollars, per person, based on double occupancy, unless otherwise specified.
Supplier rates, exchange rates, taxes and fees, room or cabin categories, and promotions are subject to change at any time. The applicable price is the one confirmed by a travel advisor at the time of booking, subject to availability. Only the confirmed price shall be considered valid.
It is the traveler's responsibility to confirm the price, inclusions, and applicable terms and conditions before making a reservation. While every effort is made to keep our content up to date, transmission, display, or pricing errors may occur. In such cases, the correct price will be communicated to the traveler before any booking is confirmed. Certain terms, restrictions, and exclusions may apply.
decks plans
Deck 3
Sun deck
Deck 2
Upper deck
Deck 1
Main deck
Technical specifications
- Passengers: 105
- Decks: 3
- Length: 110 m
- Width: 10 m
Frequently Asked Questions
The MS Symphonie is 110 m long by 10.40 m wide, across 2 decks. She has 54 cabins and carries 105 passengers with 25 crew. Built in 1997 and fully refitted in 2017, she holds CroisiEurope's top 5-anchor rating. Her 10.40 m beam is unusual: the line's Rhine fleet is built almost entirely on 11.40 m.
Because hull length tells you nothing about comfort until you divide it by the number of people aboard. The MS France and the MS Vivaldi are also exactly 110 m, and carry 157 and 172 passengers. The Symphonie takes 105. In practice that means fewer people on the sun deck, faster shore departures, and a less crowded restaurant, since CroisiEurope serves every meal in a single sitting.
Three verifiable facts. She is rated 5 anchors, the top tier, while the MS France and the MS L'Europe are 4. She is the only ship in the current Rhine fleet with a 10.40 m beam rather than 11.40 m. And she is by far the least crowded, at 105 passengers where ships of the same length take 157 or 172. All three figures come from the line's own specification sheet.
No. CroisiEurope fits lifts to its three-deck ships; the MS Symphonie has two decks, so she has none. The restaurant and the bar-lounge are both on the upper deck, and the sun deck is reached by stairs. A passenger in a main-deck cabin will take those stairs several times a day. If mobility matters in your group, tell us before we pick the ship: the MS Vivaldi and the MS L'Europe have three decks.
She sails the Rhine, between Basel and Amsterdam on the long runs and on the Upper Rhine out of Strasbourg for the short formats, including a gastronomy cruise and the Christmas markets. On the guarantee, the honest answer is no: CroisiEurope sells departures "or similar" and reassigns ships between seasons. We have seen one itinerary credited to three different vessels depending on which page you read. We revalidate the assignment for your exact date before confirming.
The 54 cabins are spread over both decks in categories A, B and C. CroisiEurope states that category C is "standard or slightly smaller": the entry level really is smaller, and the line says so itself. On a ship with no lift, the upper deck earns its supplement mainly because it spares you the staircase before every meal. No floor area is published for this ship, and we would rather say so than repeat a reseller's estimate.
There are three, and the list is short: a restaurant on the upper deck with wide picture windows, a bar-lounge with a dance floor also on the upper deck, and a sun deck laid out with loungers and a shaded area. CroisiEurope publishes no shop, no gym, no pool and no spa for this ship. On an eight-day run between Basel and Amsterdam, you need to enjoy the landscape, the deck and the conversation.
The absence of a lift comes first, on a ship where both living spaces sit on the upper deck. There is no laundry service on board either, which tells on an eight-day itinerary. The hull dates from 1997 and the 2017 refit is now nine years old. Passenger reviews, few in number, return mainly to weak entertainment and stage shows, and to the cost of optional excursions. No cabin has a balcony.
Included: full board from the first meal to the last, drinks with meals and at the bar — water, wine, beer, juice, coffee, tea — Wi-Fi, port taxes, entertainment, the welcome cocktail and the gala dinner. Not included: shore excursions, gratuities, the premium wine list, transfers and the flight from Montréal. The two items that lift the onboard bill are excursions and gratuities, and both should be budgeted before departure.
No, not on the port-to-port formats this ship runs. CroisiEurope's own FAQ is blunt: excursions are not part of the base fare. They are booked ahead at a reduced rate, or on board. The line offers two ranges, one classic and one more offbeat. Beware the shorthand "all-inclusive cruise" you see everywhere: it applies to certain packages with transport from Paris, not to this one.
They are not included, and CroisiEurope presents them as a custom left to your judgement, collected at the end of the cruise and shared among the crew. The line publishes a daily per-person guideline. For a couple over eight days that is a real budget line, not loose change on a table. We give you the current amount at booking, so nothing has to be decided in a corridor on the last evening.
Wi-Fi is free and available in the cabins as well as the public rooms, which is a genuine advantage over many ocean lines that charge for it. On the Rhine the ship stays within reach of land networks almost the whole time, so the connection is steadier than at sea. It is still shared among 105 people: fine for messaging and email, uneven for video in the evening.
Rarely, and it is better said plainly. The MS Symphonie has no pool, no children's club and no youth programme, and the evening entertainment is aimed at adults. Days alternate between cruising and visits to historic towns, a rhythm most children find long. Rhine river cruising is built for couples and for travellers who want to see Europe without repacking. For a family, an ocean cruise remains the better call.
Almost never, and it is the most underrated argument in river cruising. The Rhine is inland water: no swell, no roll, a steady progress at a few knots between two banks always in sight. Anyone who has ruled out ocean cruising for fear of seasickness can consider this without reservation. The real risk on the Rhine is not the wave, it is the water level, which can reshape an itinerary in late summer.
This is the one serious variable in European river cruising, above all in late summer and autumn. When the draught no longer clears, the line reshapes the itinerary, replaces a leg with a coach transfer, or moves passengers to another ship. It is not a theoretical clause: it has happened several times in recent years on the Rhine and the Danube alike. CroisiEurope's contract provides for it, travel insurance does too, and it is one reason we raise it before booking rather than after.
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