AWARD-WINNING DEILMANN CRUISES SCORES GOLD WITH CONDÉ NAST TRAVELER AND TRAVEL+LEISURE READERS


PORTHOLE MAGAZINE READERS VOTE LINE “BEST RIVER CRUISE”

NEW YORK, Nov. 29, 2004 – Peter Deilmann’s river and ocean fleet once again scored high marks with U.S. travelers in surveys conducted by the prestigious Condé Nast Traveler and Travel + Leisure magazines. Readers of both magazines voted Peter Deilmann Cruises one of the top ten small-ship cruise lines for 2004 in the surveys conducted this year. At the same time, readers of Porthole Cruise magazine selected Peter Deilmann Cruises as the “Best River Cruise” for 2004. The Deilmann rankings are in the November issues of all three magazines.

This is the fifth time that Deilmann Cruises was named to the Condé Nast Gold List of the 10 best small-ship cruise lines. In past years, Deilmann Cruises has scored the highest of any cruise line - a perfect 100% - for its European river cruise itineraries, the highest - 95.5% - for food of any cruise line large or small, and 95.3% for service, second only to one other line.

Deilmann passengers who responded to this year’s Condé Nast survey continue to give the line very high marks for service, itineraries and food with one commenting the “level of service is second to none” and another saying the itineraries are “very eclectic, something that will appeal to everyone.” Among river vessels, Deilmann ships have the highest passenger-to-crew ratios: 2.5 to 1.

A pioneer in the river cruise industry in the 1980s, Peter Deilmann was the first to design and build ships that reflected the style and amenities of ocean-going cruise ships but were keyed to the unique specifications of river cruising. The line continues to be a leader in luxury cruising. Based in the Baltic town of Neustadt in Holstein, the privately owned German company was founded in 1968 and has its North America headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia.

In 2005, Deilmann will introduce a new route for the five-star Cezanne along the Seine River from Paris, with stops in Le Havre, Rouen and Vernon (Giverny). Two five-star ships are being repositioned because of continuing low water levels on two rivers. Instead of the Po River in Italy, the Casanova will be sailing the Rhine and Moselle rivers, the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and the Danube. Instead of the Vistula in Poland, the Frederic Chopin will cruise the Vltava and Elbe rivers between Prague and Potsdam (Berlin) and the Oder River between Germany and Poland with cruise tours to Gdansk and Warsaw in Poland.

The four-star Princesse de Provence, also based in France, will continue to sail the Rhône River between Lyon and Avignon visiting wine regions and Provencal towns. Other Deilmann river ships are the five-star Heidelberg, which debuted this year on the Rhine and Moselle; the five-star Mozart and four-star Danube Princess which sail the Danube; the five-star Katharina, which offers alternate weekly sailings from Potsdam (Berlin) and Prague; and the five-star Dresden, which has alternate weekly sailings from Hamburg and Dresden.

Entrepreneur Peter Deilmann began by operating freighters, and then expanded to passenger service along the northern coast of Germany. His first ocean-going cruise ship, the MS Berlin, marketed exclusively in German-speaking countries, entered service in 1980. The luxury river fleet began in the mid-1980s and grew in the 1990s and 2000s. In 1998, Deilmann launched the 513-passenger luxury ocean liner MS Deutschland on cruises around the world, and this coming year, the five-star ship will sail to South America, Western Europe, the Mediterranean, India, South Africa and Indian Ocean islands.

Peter Deilmann died in November 2003, but the company remains a family operation run by his two daughters, Gisa and Hedda Deilmann. They will continue the company’s innovations with new routes and new ships. The fleet will sail with nine river vessels in 2005 following the retirement last month of the smallest ship, the 29-cabin Konigstein. Seven of the nine ships are now five star with the Mozart offering the largest cabins - 203 sq. ft. - of any river ship in the world and the newly built Heidelberg with cabins of 190 sq ft.

For information on all the ships and their sailing itineraries, the 2005 Great Rivers of Europe and Grand Hotel Voyages brochures, contact Peter Deilmann Cruises at 1-800-348-8287 or e-mail: pdcmail@deilmann-cruises.com. The web site is www-deilmann-cruises.com