DEILMANN EXPANDS CYCLING PROGRAMS ON EUROPEAN RIVER CRUISES


SAILINGS ON SEINE, RHÔNE, ELBE AND DANUBE RIVERS

NEW YORK, April 21, 2006 – Cycling enthusiasts can sail the inland waterways of Europe, visit cities and towns and bicycle through the countryside on more Peter Deilmann river cruises this year. Deilmann is expanding soft cycling adventures this summer and fall on river cruises visiting the Rhône-Saône, Provence and Normandy regions of France, the Hanseatic and eastern regions of Germany and the Danube areas of Austria and Hungary. The cycling river cruise programs include pre- or post-hotel stays and opportunities to ride and explore the countryside. Deilmann is also introducing hiking river cruises in France.

Travelers can join cycling river cruises on Cezanne sailings on the Seine River from Paris in June, July and August; Princesse de Provence cruises on the Rhône from Lyon to Avignon in August and September; Dresden cruises on the Elbe from Hamburg in June, July and August; and Mozart sailings from Passau on the Danube in July and September. The hiking theme cruises from Lyon to Avignon are to Burgundy castles, Beaujolais vineyards and Provence in May-June and October. Deilmann also has a hiking theme ocean cruise on its 520-passenger luxury liner that sails from the Spanish island of Palma de Mallorca to Santa Cruz de Tenerife with hiking in the Canary Islands, Nov. 10-20.

The Seine River cycling tours start in Fontainebleau where there is dinner and an overnight stay in a four-star hotel. Particpants board the ship in Paris where the ship remains overnight. There are bicycle rides to the market town of Milly-la-Fôret and Rambouillet, visiting Chartres Cathedral and the Palace of Rambouillet. Bikers cycle along country roads through the scenic Pays de Caux to Tancarville Castle, along the river at Rouen to a Cloister ruin and through the Normandy landscapes to Monet’s house and garden at Giverny.

Cruise tour rates start at $3,285 per person in an outside twin cabin for seven nights on the ship, one night at the Napoleon Hotel in Fontainebleau with dinner and breakfast, six escorted cycling tours, bicycle rental and service, accompanying driver, refreshments, lunches and picnics, transfers, excursions and entrance fees.

The cycling cruises on the Rhône begin in medieval Pérouges with dinner and overnight stay at the classic Hostellerie du Vieux-Pérouges and a bike ride though the forests, fields and meadows of Lyon. Cyclists ride through the wine regions of southern Burgundy and Beaujolais, to the Ardeche plateau down to the bottom of the gorge, the medieval town of Viviers, to Les-Baux, the vineyards of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and to the Roman theater of Orange.

The ship sails roundtrip from Lyon and calls at Tournous, Chalon sur Saône, Mâcon, Trévoux, Tournon, Arles, Avignon and Vienne. The eight-night package starts at $2,620 per person for an outside twin cabin for the seven-night cruise and all meals, the Pérouges hotel overnight with dinner and breakfast, six escorted cycling tours, two wine tastings, lunches and afternoon picnic, transfers, excursions, entrance fees and farewell dinner in Lyon.

The Danube cycling river cruises aboard the Mozart begin with an overnight stay at the first class Hotel Residence in the lovely German town of Passau, two hours from Munich. The cycling excursions feature paths along the Inn River; a ride along the Danube through Austria’s Wachau wine region; small country roads, orchards and wine terraces leading to Vienna, a ride to “Heurigen” or rustic wine taverns in the Viennese Forest and along the Danube Bend to a Hungarian village.

The Danube cruise calls at the wine village of Dürnstein, overnights in Vienna and Budapest and visits Bratislava, capital of Slovakia. Rates start at $3,160 per person for an outside double or twin for seven nights on the Mozart and one at the Passau hotel with dinner and breakfast, the cycling program, lunches, picnics, transfers, excursions, fees and accompanying driver.

Biking cruise tour rates are up to $580 less than in 2005. Each day’s cycling mileage, on traffic-free paths and small side roads, is outlined in the program. Depending on the itinerary, non-cycling river cruise companions deduct between $400 and $800 from the cruise tour price. Deilmann also arranges air transportation, meet and greet services and transfers between airports and ships for all river cruises. Port charges are an additional $90 per person.

Cycling theme cruises and Great Rivers of Europe 2006 brochures are online for viewing and downloading at www.deilmann-cruises.com. For copies, cruise details and booking, contact a travel agent or Peter Deilmann Cruises at 1-800-348-8287 or by e-mail at pdcmail@deilmann-cruises.com.