The history of our company, which was originally called Alsace Croisières, began in 1976, near Strasbourg, on the edge of the Plobsheim lake.
Gérard Schmitter, son of a potter from Betschdorf and inventive technician, had given up everything to indulge in his passion: the hobbies of others. There had opened a restaurant. One fine day, he had the idea of renting a boat for the day to attract the many tourists from Strasbourg to this popular vacation spot. It was unprecedented, the success was immediate.
He then bought a first boat, the Alsace 1 , which he renovated. It extends the walk and goes up the Rhine to Rudesheim. Embark on cabin boats to offer a night on board. Upmarket in the 1980s with four other used boats: the Hansi , the Petite France , the Kléber and finally the prestigious Kellermann . He had launched river cruises in France.
In 1990, on the strength of its success, the company opted for shipowner status and had its first boat built: the MS Liberté. This elegant ship, with its exclusive line, foreshadows the fleet that was to be born and which today numbers 55 units around the world. He will sail on the Rhine, where it all began …
The boats, built in Belgium in Namur, in France in St-Nazaire and in Vietnam in Ho Chin Minh Ville (Triyards) and designed by the respective architectural firms, will arrive one after the other. The destinations are expanding at the same rate: Rhône and Saône, Danube, Seine.
In addition to the freedom to be able to steer our boat as we please, now we are the owner of our fleet from start to finish: from construction to marketing, including logistics and control of all on-board services.
In 1997 our company affirmed its new European dimension by changing its commercial name and became CroisiEurope.
Gérard Schmitter left the helm of the company in 1999 to his four children, the horizon widened to favor the development of the North / South European axis. Italy, around the Venetian lagoon, Portugal on the Douro and Andalusia, the Elbe around Berlin are initially expanding the offer.
After one of the only river-sea vessels in the world, built and put into service in 2005 on the Guadalquivir so that it can sail up to the Guadiana in Portugal by sea, CroisiEurope is trying its hand at sea. A 4-person maritime boat equally new bridges, with a capacity of 200 passengers, will be built in Brussels in 2007. It will sail in the Adriatic Sea and explore Croatia in season. It is unique in the world and is the result of technical and technological prowess which testifies to the know-how of our teams.
With the MS La Belle de l’Adriatique , a new seaway is emerging, a route which will be widened in 2019 with the Belle des Oceans, the latest flagship of our maritime fleet.
A new perspective of distant destinations has also opened up on other continents. Russia along the Volga and Neva, on chartered boats, Burma on the Irrawady River, Vietnam and Cambodia on the bewitching Mekong, are among the very high-end cultural destinations that have been successfully launched.
They will be followed by many other destinations, in South America on the Amazon and in Peru, in Southern Africa in the heart of Chobé National Park and Lake Kariba. They are all built on the same fabric of the original, of authenticity, far from mass tourism, to get as close as possible to local life.
Gérard Schmitter, the founder of the company, who died in 2012, left a legacy of the taste for novelty, the desire to innovate and to give himself the means to make the dreams of his customers come true. Her children and grandchildren keep the ship moving with the same passion and professionalism. They still promise you many surprises.
CroisiEurope is today considered the most important European shipowner in the river category.
Our range of destinations is the broadest and most nuanced on the market. The advanced technology that equips our fleet allows our boats to have exclusive access to certain rivers and to moor in the heart of cities.
From 2 to 16 days for longer stays, our cruises aim to discover the most beautiful historical, artistic and architectural treasures of the world and in particular those which are classified as World Heritage by Unesco, by taking our passengers on board at aboard a real floating hotel where all they have to do is unpack their suitcase once and then let themselves be carried away.
Make every cruise unique, every experience unforgettable, every memory lasting. Every year, allow our passengers to travel the most beautiful rivers and the most beautiful seas in the best conditions. To “dream of the world” and to discover its riches through spectacular and authentic itineraries, aboard magnificent ships on a human scale and in a friendly atmosphere. This is the philosophy of CroisiEurope, firmly anchored in its corporate culture. Its daily requirement, its trademark.
