PHOTO: The ship docks just a short walk from the center of Venice.

It's one of the newest river cruise destinations in Europe, though it’s by no means a new European destination. But over the past few years river cruise companies have begun offering sailings in Italy, specifically in the Venice area. It’s yet another way to see Venice and perhaps not pay exorbitant hotel prices. CroisiEurope’s river cruise offering is on the Michelangelo, the aptly named ship that sails Venice itineraries.

For North American passengers, a cruise on CroisiEurope’s Michelangelo, a 158-passenger ship that plies through Venice and its lagoons, is an experience that feels both foreign and familiar, which may be the best of both worlds. The ship, with its French cuisine and crew, has a decidedly French ambiance on board. And with passengers from mostly European cities, the ship certainly has an international vibe.

CroisiEurope wants to see a lot more Americans on its river ships and barges. For nearly four decades, the family-owned, Strasbourg-based cruise line has been a leading European river cruise company, offering more affordable options for mostly European travelers who want to ply the rivers of France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Belgium. This year CroisiEurope is expanding to reach passengers from the United States and Canada. It recently opened a North American call center to handle travel agent inquiries and hired a director of sales for the region. Here are 13 ways you can sell the ship to your clients

Sell a great dock location just minutes away from Venice’s center. While the enormous cruise ships chug past the city up to the cruise ship piers, the Michelangelo is docked right in Venice, just seven bridges away from St. Mark’s Square (less than a mile). That makes it easier for your clients to visit the city and its many attractions.

Sell an all-inclusive product and get commission on the entire sale. CroisiEurope recently introduced an all-inclusive “open bar.” Fares include complimentary drinks at the bar as well as house wines, beer and drinks with meals. It excludes champagne and brandies. More to the point, fares also include all meals, accommodations and many excursions. So your clients don’t have to dip in their wallets while on board. For your part, you get commission on the entire sale, just like you would with many other river cruise companies.

Discover a dress code that is exclusively casual. The dress code aboard the Michelangelo is as relaxed as the ship. Even the formal night isn’t really formal, with most women opting for slacks or dresses over gowns while men wear jackets and ties, not tuxedos or suits. This is definitely a selling point these days, where formal dress seems to be on the way out throughout the cruise business.

Sell a river cruise with a distinctly international vibe. While on board, your American clients will mingle with French, British, Belgium and German passengers. The crew is predominantly French, although almost all speak English as well as other languages, such as Italian, Spanish and German. The ship accommodates its multinational passenger list with daily newspapers from the regions represented on board. River cruising was “Americanized” back in the 1990s, but now many of your clients may be ready to sail with other nationalities. After all, they are in Europe, in part, to meet Europeans and experience their culture.

PHOTO: Gourmet French and Italian cuisine are featured in the main dining room.

Get top cuisine that passes muster with the line’s French owners. CroisiEurope places a lot of emphasis on its French heritage. The three-course lunches and dinners feature many classic French dishes as well as Italian favorites. CroisiEurope’s head chef, Alain Bohn, was recently nominated as a member of the Maîtres Cuisiniers de France. This esteemed French association, created 50 years ago, includes only 250 chefs worldwide, so tell your clients they can expect to eat very well on board. The ship offers a breakfast buffet from 7 to 9:30 a.m. featuring croissants, fruit, cereal, yogurts, eggs, sausage, coffee and juices.

There is one seating for lunch and dinner. The three-course lunches and dinners are French and Italian-inspired, and include regional favorites such as minestrone soup, duck paté, breaded veal cutlets, chicken in marinara sauce stuffed with ricotta, gnocchi in a red sauce, as well as tomato, basil and mozzarella and prosciutto, melon and arugula salads. Dessert includes chocolate mousse with lemon sorbet, panna cotta with fresh berries and tiramisu. Each night there is a bottle of red wine, such as Côtes du Rhône Village Domaine de Rabusas, on the table along with a white wine, Les Tortues Gros Manseng, chilling in a bucket.

Since there is a set menu onboard, CroisiEurope must be informed before the date of departure about customers with special requests or special diets (gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian), Although the ship can accommodate last-minute requests, it would be easier if they were made in advance.

Get a full immersion in the culture of Venice. With oceangoing cruises, sometimes you are in and out of a port so quickly that it feels akin to reading the abridged version of a classic novel. While there are excursions to nearby islands and Venice’s lagoons, the Michelangelo spends most of its time in Venice, so your clients can really immerse themselves in the city and its culture.

Sell a river cruise that offers several options. The Michelangelo does five-, six- and seven-day sailings through Venice and its lagoons, with additional stops along the Po River during the longer cruises. There are boat trips into the islands of Burano, famous for its lacework, and Murano, known for its glass blowing. Michelangelo also cruises to Chioggia for a few hours where passengers can wander the old fishing village.

Afterwards, there is a boat trip to the pilgrimage town of Padua, where a local tour guide leads the group through Basilica of St. Anthony, one of eight international shrines recognized by the Vatican and considered part of the Vatican.

On the longer cruises, there are stops in Bologna, Verona and Ferrara with shore excursions through each region. The ship spends its nights in Venice, and there is a full day as well as a few half days for passengers to explore the city. There is also an optional tour through the Doge’s Palace.

Sell a cruise that is a great add-on to a land tour. Since CroisiEurope, unlike most other river cruise companies, features shorter and longer sailings, you can combine a cruise on the line with a longer land tour. For example, the Michelangelo’s four-night cruises are a great way to wind down or start off a more extensive trip through Italy.

PHOTO: The Michelangelo offers a great way to see Venice at affordable prices.

Push the value of a CroisiEurope cruise in Italy. Anyone who has been to Venice knows how expensive the hotels along the Grand Canal can be. Fares start at $630 for the five-day excursion and $1,424 for the seven-day trip. With the exception of tours as well as champagnes and cognacs, everything is included in the fare. That makes the family owned company is a very affordable option for your clients who many not want to pay higher prices for a river cruise. In addition there’s free Wi-Fi access — always a nice bonus for guests.

Get great onboard service from an enthusiastic crew. The 32-member crew is a young group that wears many hats while on board. It isn’t unusual to see the ship’s housekeeping staff help load the week’s supply of food onto the ship or one of the ship’s entertainers double as an aerobics instructor.

Give your clients access to knowledgeable tour guides. On a recent cruise, the tour guides for the Michelangelo’s shore excursions were all natives of the region. They offered valuable insights that only insiders could provide.

Sell a river cruise with a relaxed atmosphere onboard. The Michelanglo is definitely “chill.” Guests simply leave their keys at the front desk when they disembark the ship to tour the city. They push a code to embark. While there is one dinner and lunch seating, the wait staff is flexible if you’re early or late. Many guests wander into dinner a half hour later than the scheduled time.

Sell a company that has lots more itineraries on the way. Your sales don’t have to stop with the Michelangelo. CroisiEurope in April will introduce the 96-passenger Loire Princesse on the Loire River in France. The ship will operate six- and eight-day cruises in the Pays de la Loire region, visiting places such as Nantes, Saint-Nazaire, Ancenis, Angers, the Castles of the Loire, Saumur and Bouchemaine. It will be the first vessel to operate overnight passenger cruises on the Loire, thanks to some updated paddlewheels that take up less space underwater so the ship can safely maneuver in the shallow water.

Also to be christened this spring is the 132-passenger Gil Eanes on the Douro River in Portugal and the newly renovated Camargue on the Rhône and Saône. CroisiEurope also has expanded its operations on the Mekong River in Vietnam and Cambodia with the purchase last year of Compagnie Fluviale du Mékong, or CFM.

For more information, call 800-768-7232 or www.croisieuroperivercruises.com.