Peter Deilmann Cruises has announced the launch of its 2009 schedule of European river cruises with full details and pricing available in a new brochure, “2009 Deluxe Great Rivers of Europe,” and on the company’s web site, www.deilmann-cruises.com. Peter Deilmann Cruises, known for its eight luxury river ships – four- and five-star vessels that are small floating hotels with exceptional passenger-to-crew ratios of 2.5 to 1, is offering 255 deluxe European river sailings between March 22 and November 8, 2009 — sailing the classic rivers of Europe on 7- to 14-night cruises with the vast majority running seven nights. Price increases in 2009 are held to 5% on all cruise-only departures. A fuel surcharge of $10 per night per passenger is additional.
Information on the company’s 9- to 17-day all-inclusive cruise tour vacations — 11 different offerings with more than 200 departures, combining cruises with shore excursions, hotel stays and sightseeing are currently available online.
Two five-star Deilmann ships — the Mozart and Casanova — sail round-trip from Passau in southeastern Germany along the Danube River, calling at Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and picturesque wine villages and small towns in Austria and Hungary, including Melk, Esztergom and Dürnstein. 10- and 11-night cruises between Passau and Romania’s Tulcea are offered in June and July. One-week cruises are $1,610 to $5,120 per person, double. The Elbe, Havel and Moldau Rivers as well as the historic cities of Berlin, Dresden, Prague and Potsdam are on the cruise itineraries of the five-star Katharina von Bora and the Frederic Chopin on weekly sailings between Potsdam, just outside of Berlin, and Prague, while the five-star Dresden makes it way along the Elbe River between Dresden and Hamburg. Fares are $1,625 to $3,895.
The five-star Cézanne and four-star Princesse de Provence, both popular with Americans, sail along France’s most appealing rivers: the Seine, roundtrip from Paris and between Paris and Rouen, and the Rhône and Saône, roundtrip from Lyon and between Lyon and Arles. Fares range from $1,545 to $2,430. The 100-passenger Cézanne, completely renovated in 2006, travels the romantic Seine, with stops at Giverny, best known for Monet’s house and gardens, and Les Andelys, set beneath Château Gaillard, the most famous castle on the Seine, among several others ports of call. Prices are $1,700 to $3,500.
The 110-passenger Heidelberg offers multiple seven-night itineraries: from Amsterdam to several Dutch cities — Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Middleberg — and the historic Flemish cities of Ghent, Antwerp and Volendam in Belgium; Amsterdam to Mainz (Frankfurt) combining the Rhine and Moselle Rivers; classic Rhine itineraries, between Amsterdam and the centuries-old Swiss city of Basel, with ports in four countries — Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland; and itineraries between Amsterdam and Trier, Trier and Basel, Basel and Cologne, and Cologne and Trier. Other offerings are four-nights between Düsseldorf and Basel, and six nights from Düsseldorf to Amsterdam. Fares range from $1,615 to $2,965.
The Deilmann ships provide relaxing travel through the heart of Europe on a deluxe European floating hotel without the bother of packing and unpacking. The award-winning river cruise vacations are designed for both the first-time and frequent vacationer who likes traveling in comfort with attentive service and fine dining. Dining on board is single seating on all the vessels and the cuisine is continental. Mid-afternoon tea and coffee is served every day both on deck and in the lounge and there is a late evening buffet. The friendly, multi-lingual staffs are there to cater to passengers’ every wish. A non-smoking policy applies to the interiors of all Peter Deilmann River vessels.
In addition to its line up of cruise tours, Deilmann also has special interest cruises catering to music, golf, equestrian, wine, gardens, cycling, hiking and wellness/spa. Details can be found at www.deilmann-cruises.com – click on “Themes.”
The company also operates the five-star MS Deutschland, an ocean-going vessel launched in 1998 that sails on cruises all over the world. The luxurious ship accommodates only 513 passengers in grand European style with three restaurants and a promenade deck. Reservations are being taken for 2009/10 and a new 63-page brochure is available online and in hardcopy.
