21 - 29 May 2011

Rates, additional charges and conditions are subject to change, and to
currency fluctuation, without notice - Errors and Omissions Excepted updated Updated March 2010

INCLUDED FEATURES

CANCELLATION POLICY

• 121 days or more - 20%
• 120 - 90 days - 30%
• 89 - 60 days - 50%
• 59 - 30 days - 70%
• 29 - 0 days - 100%
• Cancellations must be made in writing.

PROGRAM Bucharest
* 1 night in the 5* Radisson Hotel in Bucharest (or a similar hotel) incl. breakfast and Welcome Dinner
* sightseeing programs and transfers by deluxe motor coaches as outlined in the itinerary
* experienced, English speaking guide during the programme

Day 1
You spend the night at the Radisson Blu Hotel Bucharest. This hotel is centrally located beside the Parliament Palace and has a health club, a choice of restaurants and different bars. A welcome dinner is served at the hotel this evening.

Day 2
This morning we have arranged an included city sightseeing tour of Bucharest. This sightseeing tour shows you the city centre, Parliament Buildings, and the Memorial to Freedom. The highlight of the tour is a visit to the open-air Village and Folk Art Museum in Herastrau Park, on the outskirts of Bucharest. Here you can see reconstructions of old peasant houses from all over the country, complete with furniture and fittings, and other farm buildings including barns, granaries and windmills. After an included lunch, you are taken by coach to the small port of Hirsova. You embark the ship in the late afternoon. Enjoy a welcome cocktail and dinner on board this evening.

Day 3
In the morning the vessel reaches the Danube Delta, which covers an area of about 4,340 square kilometres. It is famous for the diversity of its wildlife, which includes 20 pairs of white-tailed eagles and 3,000 meadow vipers. In total, there are 5,140 species of flora and fauna residing in the delta, including 300 species of birds and 30 of fish. We continue along St George’s Channel to the very first kilometre of the Danube, almost to the point where it meets the Black Sea. You will have some time to enjoy a walk in St. Gheorge.

Day 4
In the morning the vessel stops shortly in Silistra. From here you can join the excursion (€ 50) to Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Varna is the largest seaport on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is located about two hours ride south of where the Danube River enters the Black Sea, and is an interesting day trip from the Danube River and eastern European river cruises. The Varna Archaeological Museum is the first stop in the city. This museum is famous for its Varna Gold, which was found in graves at the Varna Necropolis, a cemetery dating back to over 4000 BC. The museum has a map of the cemetery and many artifacts, all marked on a cemetery map. The age and scope of the necropolis is amazing. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant on the beach close to the city. After lunch you can make a stroll along the golden beach. In the afternoon you will drive to Rousse, where the ship is already waiting for you. There will also be a traditional
Bulgarian evening on board.

Day 5
The ship will leave Rousse in the very early morning reaches at noon the Bulgarian port of Nikopol, where we start today’s excursion to Pleven (€ 25). This takes us back to ancient Roman times, when it was called Nikopolis ad Istrum and was known as the town of Victory. We then drive across the picturesque Danube plain to Pleven, which is one of the biggest and most important cities in Northern Bulgaria and has famous museums. There will be time to stroll through the city centre, absorb its atmosphere, buy souvenirs if you wish, and end up at the Balkan Hotel for a glass of Bulgarian wine. The ship leaves Nikopol in the evening, and sails upstream overnight.

Day 6
We spend the day at leisure, cruising through Romania and into the waters of Serbia and Montenegro. Some 450 kilometres from Rousse our ship reaches the narrow Kazan Gorge, where a tablet with a Latin inscription commemorating the emperor Trajan can still be seen etched in the rock. A little further on, we reach the Iron Gates, which for centuries constituted a hazardous stretch of the Danube, as ships had to steer carefully through a narrow gorge with high cliffs on either side. Today, the water level has been raised and the shipping hazards removed, but the journey is still of interest, and you will be able to observe the various manoeuvres as the ship passes through the two locks by the Djerdap power stations. In the afternoon we ply a particularly scenic stretch as the Danube passes through the Carpathians and the foothills of the Balkans.

Day 7
We reach Belgrade, capital of Serbia and Montenegro, in the morning. The city is built at the junction of the Danube and Save rivers, and has been destroyed and rebuilt 20 times during its 2,000-year history. A city tour of Belgrade (€ 30) takes place this morning. The main point of interest is the Kalemegdan fortress, dating mostly from the late 18th century, which encloses the tomb of the Turkish Grand Vezir, Ali Pasha. You also enjoy a panoramic tour of the city by coach. If you choose to participate in this excursion, you will rejoin the ship in Novi Sad, where the ship will be waiting in the early afternoon. After lunch there is an optional sightseeing tour (€ 30) available. A stroll through the city recalls the time of the Austro-Hungarian Danube monarchy. On the way to Sremski Karlovci you pass by the fortress Peterwardein, which was built as one of Europe's largest defence objects in the 18th century. Sremski Karlovci awaits you with a series of cultural and historical monuments. Discover during a tour in the baroque old town the cathedral, as well as the Patriarch’s Palace and the
theological school. On the second-last evening of your Danube cruise, the captain will be delighted to welcome you to the Captain’s Gala Dinner.

Day 8
Today the vessel reaches the small battlefield town of Mohacs after lunch, from which there is an optional Puszta-excursion (€ 46). This excursion takes you through the Hungarian lowlands to a Csarda (a large kind of farm), where you witness an unforgettable Hungarian horsemanship performance. After tasting some regional wines, the tour continues past the famous red pepper fields back to the charming little town of Kalocsa, where a short organ recital is scheduled in its cathedral. Finally you visit the world’s only red pepper museum and a folklore museum, where you can buy among other things, items from traditional knitting handicraft. The ship leaves Fajsz after dinner.

Day 9
Your cruise vessel docks in Budapest, capital of Hungary, in the morning. Check-Out after breakfast. End of the program.

Day 1
You embark in the Hungarian capital Budapest on the vessel in the late afternoon. Our tour manager will then welcome you with a cocktail before the welcome dinner on board. In the evening a gypsy band and a Hungarian folklore group will entertaining while cruising along Budapest’s impressive illuminations.

Day 2
Today the vessel reaches the small town of Fajsz in the morning, from where there is an optional Puszta-excursion (€ 46). This excursion takes you through the Hungarian lowlands to a Csarda (a large kind of farm), where you witness an unforgettable Hungarian horsemanship performance. After tasting some regional wines, the tour continues past the famous red pepper fields back to the charming little town of Kalocsa, where a short organ recital is scheduled in its cathedral. Finally you visit the world’s only red pepper museum and a folklore museum, where you can buy among other things, items from traditional knitting handicraft. The ship leaves Rousse after dinner.

Day 3
In the morning the ship will dock in Novi Sad. After breakfast there is an optional sightseeing tour (€ 30) available. A stroll through the city recalls the time of the Austro-Hungarian Danube monarchy. On the way to Sremski Karlovci you pass by the fortress Peterwardein, which was built as one of Europe's largest defence objects in the 18th century. Sremski Karlovci awaits you with a series of cultural and historical monuments. Discover during a tour in the baroque old town the cathedral, as well as the Patriarch’s Palace and the theological school. We reach Belgrade, capital of Serbia and Montenegro, in the late afternoon.The city is built at the junction of the Danube and Save rivers, and has been destroyed and rebuilt 20 times during its 2,000-year history. A city tour of Belgrade (€ 30) takes place this afternoon. The main point of interest is the Kalemegdan fortress, dating mostly from the late 18th century, which encloses the tomb of the Turkish Grand Vezir, Ali Pasha. You also enjoy a panoramic tour of the city by coach. After dinner, the Belgrade evening excursion (€ 40) takes you to Skadarlija, the well-known artists´quarter. Before noon the vessel leaves the port of Belgrade and speeds on towards to Bulgaria.

Day 4
This morning we cruise along a particularly scenic stretch of the river, as the Danube passes through the Carpathians and the foothills of the Balkans to the “Iron Gates”. In ancient times the Iron Gates were a hazardous part of the journey along the Danube, as ships had to steer carefully through a narrow gorge with high cliffs on either side. Today, the water level has been raised and the shipping hazards removed, but the journey is still of interest, and you will be able to watch the manoeuvres as the ship passes through two locks by the Djerdap power stations. A little further on, the ship enters the narrow Kazan Gorge. A tablet with a Latin inscription commemorating the Roman Emperor Trajan can still be seen etched into the rock at this point. The vessel continues cruising overnight towards Bulgaria and Romania.

Day 5
In the morning we reach the Bulgarian port of Nikopol, where we start today’s excursion to Pleven (€ 25). This takes us back to ancient Roman times, when it was called Nikopolis ad Istrum and was known as the town of Victory. We then drive across the picturesque Danube plain to Pleven, which is one of the biggest and most important cities in Northern Bulgaria and has famous museums. There will be time to stroll through the city centre, absorb its atmosphere, buy souvenirs if you wish, and end up at the Balkan Hotel for a glass of Bulgarian wine. In the afternoon the cruise continues to Rousse. There will be a traditional Bulgarian evening on board.

Day 6
In the morning you can join the excursion (€ 50) to Varna on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Varna is the largest seaport on the Black Sea in Bulgaria. It is located about two hours ride south of where the Danube River enters the Black Sea, and is an interesting day trip from the Danube River and eastern European river cruises. The Varna Archaeological Museum is the first stop in the city. This museum is famous for its Varna Gold, which was found in graves at the Varna Necropolis, a cemetery dating back to over 4000 BC. The museum has a map of the cemetery and many artifacts, all marked on a cemetery map. The age and scope of the necropolis is amazing. Lunch will be served in a local restaurant on the beach close to the city. After lunch you can make a stroll along the golden beach. In the afternoon you will drive to Silistra, where the ship is already waiting for you. On the second-last evening of your Danube cruise, the captain will be delighted to welcome you to the
Captain’s Gala Dinner.

Day 7
Today the vessel reaches the Danube Delta, which covers an area of about 4,340 square kilometres. It is famous for the diversity of its wildlife, which includes 20 pairs of white-tailed eagles and 3,000 meadow vipers. In total, there are 5,140 species of flora and fauna residing in the delta, including 300 species of birds and 30 of fish. We continue along St George’s Channel to the very first kilometre of the Danube, almost to the point where it meets the Black Sea. You will have some time to enjoy a walk in St. Gheorge.

Day 8
We dock in Hirsova in the morning. After disembarkation a coach takes you to the Romanian capital of Bucharest. There is an included city sightseeing tour. This shows you the main city centre sights, including the parliament and the Memorial to Freedom. A stop will be made during the course of the tour for an included lunch. The highlight of the tour is a visit to the open-air Village and Folk Art Museum in Herastrau Park, on the outskirts of Bucharest. Here you can see reconstructions of old farm houses from all over the country, complete with their furniture and fittings, and other buildings such as barns, granaries and windmills. After Check-In in the hotel in Bucharest this evening a farewell dinner in the hotel will take place.

Day 9
After breakfast in your hotel – check-out. You are free to explore Bucharest independently. End of the program.