MS Van Gogh: 105 guests on 110 metres, and one wrong figure the search engines keep repeating
The MS Van Gogh is 110 m long by 11.10 m wide, has 2 decks and carries 105 passengers with 25 crew. Built in 1999, refurbished in 2018, rated 5 anchors. She sails the Rhône and the Saône from Lyon.
No, this boat does not have 20 cabins
Search for the MS Van Gogh online and you will read that she has 20 cabins. That is wrong, and the error comes from misreading the official page, which states that the 20 cabins on the upper deck have windows. Twenty is a subtotal, for one deck. CroisiEurope does not publish the total, and we will not derive it from the 105-passenger capacity, because some cabins are singles and others take three. Our advisors obtain the official deck plan before placing a group.
An exact twin on another river
The MS Renoir is 110 m by 11.10 m, carries 105 passengers, dates from 1999, was refurbished in 2018 and is rated 5 anchors. So is the Van Gogh. The two boats are identical to within one crew member, and they never meet: the Renoir works the Seine, the Van Gogh the Rhône. If you liked the Renoir, you already know what this one is like, and the reverse holds.
One hundred and five passengers, and what that changes
On the Rhône, the MS Mistral carries 152 passengers on the same hull length, and the MS Rhône Princess 138. The Van Gogh carries 105, like the MS Camargue. Almost fifty fewer people inside the same 110 metres. You see it on the sun deck on an August afternoon and in the disembarkation queue at Arles.
Two decks, so no lift
CroisiEurope fits lifts only to its three-deck boats. The Van Gogh has two, so she has none. The lounge bar is forward on the upper deck and the restaurant aft on the same deck, where all meals are served. Life on board is therefore upstairs, and a main deck guest will climb the stairs at every meal.
Where she sails in 2026
Three programmes from Lyon. Highlights of the Rhône with a Paul Bocuse dinner in 7 days, on 25 and 29 August. Burgundy to the Camargue in 8 days, working up the Saône before turning south, on 28 August and 4 September. And a Beaujolais Nouveau cruise in 5 days, on 15 and 17 November, timed to the vintage's release.
Lyon is served non-stop from Montreal-Trudeau, on a seasonal route. You board in the city you land in, with no TGV and no domestic transfer.
Choosing a cabin
Categories A, B and C differ by location, with C described by the operator as standard or slightly smaller. Upper deck cabins have windows. Cabin size is not published for this boat. On a boat with no lift, the upper deck is worth paying for mainly to avoid the stairs.
What the fare includes and what it does not
Included: full board, drinks with meals and at the bar, Wi-Fi, port taxes and onboard entertainment. Not included: shore excursions, gratuities, the premium wine list and transfers. The Paul Bocuse dinner belongs to the programme that carries it in its title: it is not an add-on.
Who this boat is not for
Anyone who cannot manage stairs. Anyone who wants the number and size of cabins confirmed before paying, since neither is published. Anyone looking for a pool, a spa or a gym, none of which are on board. And anyone who hates the downstream wind between Viviers and Arles. Our CroisiEurope page gathers the whole fleet.
