Early Bookings on European River Cruises

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Travel agents and cruisers can get ahead of the game by planning next year’s vacations now. Peter Deilmann EuropAmerica Cruises will begin accepting bookings on August 1, 2009 for its 2010 schedule of European river cruises.

Deilmann is offering 189 European river departures between March 22 and November 7, 2010, sailing the rivers of Europe on four- to 11-night itineraries with the majority running seven nights.  

The company also offers nine- to 17-day all-inclusive cruise-tour vacations in 2010. Nine different itineraries with nearly 100 departures combine cruises with shore excursions, hotel stays and sightseeing. The cruises explore the main byways of these rivers and provide visits to countryside villages, cities and sites in between. The cruise-tours expand this experience with added two- and three-night stays in nearby grand cities.

The Danube River involves two Deilmann ships, the Mozart and Casanova, sailing seven-night round-trips from Passau in southeastern Germany, just two hours from Munich.  

Highlights include overnights in Vienna and Budapest as well as stops in Slovakia's capital city of Bratislava and wine villages of Melk, Esztergom and Dürnstein in Austria and Hungary. Ten- and 11-night cruises that reach the Black Sea are offered between Passau and Romania’s Tulcea in June with included charter air between Tulcea and Frankfurt.

Fares are $1,691 to $5,376 per person, double, for the seven-night sailings and $2,995 to $7,815 for the 10- and 11-night cruises.

The Elbe, Havel and Moldau Rivers, as well as the cities of Berlin and Dresden, are on the cruise itineraries of three Deilmann ships: the Frederic Chopin and sister ship Katharina, which offer alternating weekly sailings between Potsdam, just outside of Berlin, and Prague and the Dresden, which makes it way along the Elbe River between Dresden and Hamburg.  

All three vessels take in the smaller towns of Wittenberg, Meissen and Bad Schandau, with a variety of sightseeing opportunities including, Fortress Königstein, the birthplace of Martin Luther’s Reformation, Meissen’s porcelain and Saechische Schwiez National Park. Seven-night cruises are $1,597 to $4,110 per person, double.

The Cézanne sails along France's Seine, roundtrip from Paris and between Paris and Rouen, visiting the Normandy region along the way.  

Highlights include Giverny, where the home and gardens of Monet are located, Honfleur, with its half-timbered houses, scenic harbor and medieval buildings, Les Andelys, beneath Château Gaillard, the castle once inhabited by Richard the Lionhearted and Rouen, the capital city of Normandy where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.  Prices are $2,003 to $3,300 per person, double.

The 110-passenger Heidelberg offers seven-night Rhine itineraries.  Among them, a round-trip from the capital city of Amsterdam, with port calls in large and small Dutch cities such as, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Middleberg, and the Flemish cities of Ghent, where an optional excursion is available to take in the city of Bruges, Antwerp (for Brussels) and Volendam in Belgium.  

Another itinerary includes, the voyage from Amsterdam to Mainz (Frankfurt), combining the Rhine and Moselle Rivers, and calling at the modern port city of Rotterdam, Cologne with its grand cathedral, Koblenz at the confluence of the two rivers, and the Rhine wine town of Rüdesheim.  

Other itineraries include a Rhine sailing, between Amsterdam and the Swiss city of Basel, with port calls in four countries including, Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland, and a variety of sailings between the cities of Düsseldorf, Basel, Cologne, Basel, Trier and Mainz. Fares range from $1,600 to $3,402 per person, double.

The river cruises are designed for both the first-time and frequent vacationer. Port Charges of $130 per person are additional and fuel surcharges have been discontinued for 2010.  All offered shore excursions feature a new personalized audio headphone system that guarantees the accompanying guide can be heard under all circumstances.

Both hard copy and downloadable versions of the 2010 Deluxe “Great Rivers of Europe” brochure will be available this fall.  

Visit www.deilmann-cruises.com.