Value premium river cruise line Evergreen Tours is set to expand into two new regions of Europe, each served by a brand new custom-built ‘Star Ship’. The growing brand will make its debut on France’s Rhône and Saône Rivers and Portugal’s Douro River in 2017.

Since its inception in 2014, Evergreen Tours has successfully plied the popular Amsterdam to Budapest route along the Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers initially with four ships, which will grow to five in the early part of 2016. The two new vessels which will be deployed in France and Portugal will be similar albeit slightly smaller versions of the same design.

In France, the Emerald Liberté will offer space for 138 guests in 70 stateroom and suites while Emerald Radiance will sail in Portugal, catering to 112 guests over 56 cabins but with one . On the latter, a new stateroom design known as the Horizon Suite will offer 30 square metres of living space with floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides of the room.

On both ships, public facilities will match those of its larger sisters including an onboard pool. Two onboard restaurants feature including the main ‘Reflections’ dining room, while breakfast and light lunches will be available in ‘The Terrace’. Other facilities include an onboard hairdresser and fitness room, while a fleet of bicycles are available for guests to use.

Whereas the Amsterdam to Budapest itinerary offered by its sister vessels runs for 15 days, the new itineraries in Southern France and Portugal will each comprise eight days but have been scheduled to correlate, meaning guests can combine the two into a 15-day ‘Douro and Southern France River Cruise’ holiday priced from $7,985pp twin share including flights.