NEW YORK, June 18, 2007 "“ Peter Deilmann Cruises is expanding the no-smoking restrictions on its European river fleet to include all areas inside the vessels without exception beginning in 2008. The policy will become effective at the start of the river cruise season in March 2008, the cruise line announced today.
Peter Deilmann Cruises, which operates a fleet of nine river vessels, first extended the smoke-free areas on its ships in 2005 to include all cabins and corridors along with its no-smoking policy in the restaurants. Now smoking will only be permitted on the open decks.
"We are happy to have our river ships smoke free now that the laws in Europe are evolving to ban smoking indoors and we are adjusting our policy to reflect this shift in sentiment. The changing attitude in Europe helps us please our American guests even more", Ron Santangelo, Deilmann's North America president, said in announcing the new policy.
"This change fits surprisingly well with the growing interests of the majority of Americans who seem to prefer non-smoking environments. Over the years, more and more of our guests have indicated such preferences and we are absolutely delighted to offer them a smoke-free restaurant, a smoke-free lounge for evening entertainment and smoke-free cabins and corridors," Santangelo said.
"Along with the best crew to passenger ratio, the attractive ambience of our traditional vessels, our highly rated continental cuisine and the exceptional quality of our service, this will be another good reason for American guests to sail with Peter Deilmann Cruises on the rivers of Europe," he added.
Deilmann Cruises offers more than 270 European river sailings each year ranging in length from seven to 14 nights from late March through October (through mid-November in France) that bring passengers into the heart of Europe's cities, towns and villages. Seven of the eight ships in regular passenger service are rated five stars; one is rated four star and the ninth vessel operates charters.
The 110-passenger Heidelberg sails seven-night cruises on the Rhine, Moselle and on Dutch and Belgian canals. The five-star vessel calls at Rhine cities and towns in four countries visiting Amsterdam, Cologne, Rüdesheim, Koblenz, Basel, Strasbourg and the wine towns of Bernkastel, Cochem and Trier on the smaller Moselle River. Ghent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Bruges and Brussels are destinations on roundtrip sailings from Amsterdam.
The 96-passenger Casanova offers seven-night cruises on the Rhine, Moselle, Main-Danube Canal, Neckar and a 14-night grand cruise between Amsterdam and Budapest. Casanova also has seven-night cruises on the Danube round-trip from Passau (just two hours from Munich). However, the 200-passenger Mozart sails the main program for Deilmann on the Danube, also round-trip from Passau. Mozart has the largest cabins of any river vessel at 203 square feet and has two fixed suites at 406 square feet. Both ships also offer 10- and 11-night Danube cruises from Passau to Vienna, Budapest, Bratislava and other cities and towns to the Black Sea in Romania.
The 100-passenger Cezanne sails weekly from Paris round-trip on the Seine on itineraries that feature an overnight stay on board in Paris. She also offers sailings between Rouen and Paris. Cruises call at towns and villages where the Impressionist painters lived and worked. Also in France, Deilmann offers Rhône and Saône river cruises from Lyon round-trip on the 148-passenger Princesse de Provence to the Beaujolais, Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Macon-Villages vineyards and the historic Provencal cities of Avignon and Arles. Some voyages also operate between Arles and Lyon. The French cruises set sail through Nov. 10.
The Frederic Chopin and Katharina von Bora, both 79-passenger ships, sail alternately from Prague and Potsdam (Berlin) on seven-night cruises on the Vltava, Havel and Elbe rivers. Lively Berlin and the Czech capital of Prague are the beginning and culmination of these voyages to historic places that include the Martin Luther town of Wittenberg, Meissen and beautifully restored Dresden. The 106-passenger Dresden also cruises the Elbe, but sails instead between the Baltic Coast city of Hamburg and Dresden.
Seven-night river cruises begin at $1,470, per person twin in the April, October and November value seasons. The 2007 Great Rivers of Europe brochures are currently available from travel agencies and Peter Deilmann Cruises and the 2008 brochure will be published in September. For copies, call 1-800-348-8287 or e-mail pdcmail@deilmann-cruises.com. To view and download Great Rivers of Europe and theme cruise brochures online, log on to www.deilmann-cruises.com.
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