Princess: Luxury hotel barge · Champagne
Champagne by canal, for eight guests
French Country Waterways · 8 guests · 4 cabins · charter or by the cabin
Princess is one of the two eight-guest barges in French Country Waterways' fleet of four. She is 128 feet long and air-conditioned, with a crew of six. The main deck is divided into a saloon and a formal dining room, furnished with custom seating and handcrafted cabinetry, and her plan shows a bar in the saloon and a sundeck with a canopy. Her four suites are on the lower deck, each with a private bathroom and double closets.
She cruises Champagne — the region that produces what the operator calls the world's most celebrated wine, and one that has seen centuries of history-shaping events. Her 2027 itinerary lists a private tasting at a historic champagne house in Châlons-en-Champagne, an immersive champagne museum, a walking tour of Reims and its Gothic cathedral, the 16th-century Château de Condé-en-Brie, and the First World War battlefield and cemetery at Belleau Wood. The cruising is on the Canal latéral à la Marne and the Marne River.
A week is six nights, starting on a Sunday. Guests are met at a meeting-point hotel and taken by private motorcoach to the mooring. Each morning the barge gets under way through the locks, and guests can step ashore for a walk, take one of the barge's bicycles or stay on the sundeck. One evening is a dinner ashore at Les Crayères in Reims, which the operator describes as Michelin-starred; the dinners aboard are four courses, by candlelight.
Booking through Via Privata: USD 1,500 charter credit
Credited by Via Privata on bookings of USD 40,000 or more — on top of the barge's own inclusions, at the rate you would pay booking direct. Below that, Virtuoso amenities apply instead where the departure carries them — we confirm what your dates include before you book.
- Boat-selection guidance across the barges we book
- Every benefit confirmed in writing before you commit
- Hotels joined either side of the cruise, as one trip
The cruises
Champagne
6 nights
Sunday departures, April to October 2027. The operator lists highlights rather than a day-by-day running order: a private tasting at a historic champagne house in Châlons-en-Champagne, an immersive champagne museum, a walking tour of Reims and its cathedral, cruising the Canal latéral à la Marne and the Marne River, the 16th-century Château de Condé-en-Brie, the Belleau Wood battlefield and cemetery, and dinner ashore at Les Crayères.
On board: the cabins
Grand King Suite
Two of them, on the lower deck, each with a private bathroom and double closets. Twin beds on request.
King Suite
Two of them, also on the lower deck, each with a private bathroom and double closets. Twin beds on request.
On board
The saloon
On the main deck, with custom seating and handcrafted cabinetry. Her plan shows a bar in the saloon, and across the fleet the operator keeps complimentary bars stocked with a wide selection of spirits and liqueurs.
The dining room
A formal dining room on the main deck. The operator serves continental breakfasts, buffet lunches and four-course candlelit dinners, and offers more than two dozen different wines over a cruise.
The sundeck
A sundeck with a canopy is marked on her plan; across the fleet the operator describes sundecks with built-in canopies or large umbrellas for shelter from the sun.
Bicycles
Each of the operator's barges carries her own bicycles, for guests who want to explore the quiet lanes and villages nearby on their own.
Booking this boat
Princess is sold two ways: per person, based on double occupancy, or as a whole-boat charter for her eight guests. Every cruise is six nights, with departures each Sunday from 4 April to 31 October 2027. In its brochure the operator includes the six nights' accommodation with a private bathroom, all meals with estate-bottled wines at lunch and dinner, alcoholic drinks, all side tours and excursions, bicycles, games, Wi-Fi and a library, and transfers to and from the barge and the meeting and return hotels. Air travel, crew gratuities, insurance and laundry are not included.
Questions, answered
Which agency offers the most perks for booking Princess?
Compare totals, not headline perks: the barge's own inclusions, Virtuoso amenities where the departure carries them, and any agency credit on top. Via Privata books Princess at French Country Waterways' own fare and adds a USD 1,500 charter credit of its own on bookings of USD 40,000 or more. Every benefit is confirmed in writing before you commit.
How many guests does Princess take?
Eight, in four suites on the lower deck: two Grand King Suites and two King Suites, each with a private bathroom, with twin beds on request. She is 128 feet long and air-conditioned, with a crew of six. French Country Waterways has four barges, and Princess and Horizon II are the two that carry eight.
Where does she cruise?
In Champagne. The operator's 2027 itinerary for her lists a private tasting at a champagne house in Châlons-en-Champagne, a walking tour of Reims and its cathedral, cruising on the Canal latéral à la Marne and the Marne River, Château de Condé-en-Brie and Belleau Wood. Sailings leave every Sunday from 4 April to 31 October 2027, six nights each.
Is Princess charter only, or by the cabin?
Both. French Country Waterways publishes individual rates, per person and based on two sharing, and separate charter rates for the whole boat, which takes up to eight guests.
Where is the dinner ashore?
At Les Crayères in Reims, which the operator describes as Michelin-starred. Each of its routes has one dinner ashore at a celebrated restaurant near the route, where the chef proposes a special menu from his kitchen. Her week also takes in a walking tour of Reims and its cathedral.
Hold a week aboard Princess
Tell us the party and roughly when, and we will confirm the current itinerary and hold the week with French Country Waterways.
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