Luxury Rhine, Danube, Elbe, and Rhone Cruise Liner Shut Down in 2010

German luxury riverboat cruise liner Peter Deilmann Riverboat Cruises is going out of business and shutting down all Rhine, Danube, Elbe, Seine, and Rhone boats from the 2010 season.

photo credit: martinroell

As has been suspected for some time, luxury German riverboat cruise liner Peter Deilmann Riverboat Cruises (Peter Deilmann Flußkreuzfahrten) is going out of business at the end of the 2009 European river cruise season. Peter Deilmann has already sold some boats and suspended cruises on less popular rivers including the Elbe but from 2010 Peter Deilmann will not operate any riverboat cruises at all in Europe.

Peter Deilmann continue as a very up-market luxury ocean cruise liner. All Peter Deilmann riverboat cruises will continue until the end of 2009. (Nicko Tours took over many of Peter Deilmann’s river boats and European cruise routes from 2010.)

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Travel by Train from the Hauptbahnhof and FRA Airport for Rhein Boat Trips

Day trips and boat pleasure cruises on the Rhine River (Rhein) and Loreley Valley can easily be done from Frankfurt am Main Hauptbahnhof and Airport (FRA) in Germany.

photo credit: randwill

Regular day pleasure boat cruises on the Rhine River (Rhein) do not depart from Frankfurt am Main but can easily be arranged. Fast trains from the Hauptbahnhof and Frankfurt International Airport (FRA) allow even passengers with a few hour stopovers to enjoy cruising Germany’s most famous river and see popular sights including castles and the Loreley Rock. It is  a short train ride from the main station or directly from the airport to Rhine towns including Rüdesheim, Bingen, and Koblenz which are ideal departure ports for Rhine river valley day pleasure cruises.

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Dom Cathedral, Chagall Church Windows, Roman Ships, & Gutenberg Museum

Top sights in Mainz are the Romanesque-Gothic cathedral (Dom), Chagall windows, and the Roman Ships and Gutenberg Museums. Transportation from Frankfurt Airport is easy.

photo credit: Luhai Wong

The historic city Mainz is a popular destination for travelers with a short stop-over at Frankfurt International Airport. Many travelers prefer Mainz to more modern Frankfurt and transportation by train is equally easy to either city. The top sights in Mainz include its large cathedral (Mainzer Dom), the Gutenberg Museum, Roman Ships, and the magnificent blue Chagall windows in the St Stephan church.

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The Rhein / Rhine / Rijn in Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland

The Rhine River, Europe’s premier waterway, flows from the Swiss Alps to the North Sea through Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, France, Germany, and the Netherlands.

photo credit: jessicafm

Traveling along and on the Rhine River has long been popular. Europe’s premier waterway has been very important for commerce in the pre-industrial era and although the Rhine is now less vital for trade, the river is still very much used commercially. The Rhine is also very important for tourism. Boat cruises – from short day-trip excursions to multiple-day cruises – are very popular. The banks of the Rhine are also popular with hikes and cyclers while simply driving through parts of the Rhine Valley is most enjoyable too.

The Rhine River is 1,320 kilometer (820 miles) from its source in Alps in Switzerland to the North Sea in the Netherlands. The Rhine River is Der Rhein in German, Rhin in French, and Die Rijn in Dutch.

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Best Rhein Riverboat Trips from Köln, Bonn, and Düsseldorf

Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) offer cheap day trip cruises on riverboats on Rhine River (Rhein) from Cologne, Bonn, and Düsseldorf, to Remagen, Linz, and Koblenz.

photo credit: el_tommo

Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD), the largest operator of day cruises on the Rhine River (Rhein), offer many roundtrip cruises in both Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf. However, most Rhine River day cruises on this section of the Rhein are from Bonn to Linz. Many more cruises are available in the Middle Rhine (Loreley) Valley between Koblenz and Rüdesheim / Bingen.

Rhine River day pleasure boat cruises are generally available from late March to end October. The high season is from late April to early October when more Rhein cruises are operated. Winter cruises on the Rhine is rare but sightseeing cruises in Cologne (Köln) and Düsseldorf are popular during the Christmas market Advent season.

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Tour the Rhein and Loreley Valley on Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) Riverboats

Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) is the best-known day-trip riverboat cruise line on the Rhine River. Several further boats tour the Loreley Valley between Rüdesheim, St Goar, and Koblenz.

SS Goethe Historic Rhine Steam Boat

The Rhine River is a very popular day-trip destination from cities such as Cologne (Köln) and Frankfurt am Main. Trains run on both banks of the Rhein but nothing beats a cruise on the river itself. Köln-Düsseldorfer (KD) has the largest number of boats on the Rhine River and many cruises through the lovely Loreley Valley. However, several further companies operate cruises on the Rhine and past the Lorelei.

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Short Riverboat Pleasure Trips from Frankfurt on the Mittel Rhein

Cruising on riverboat on the Rhine, especially the Mittelrhein with the famous Lorelei Rock, is a popular day-trip excursion from Frankfurt am Main, Airport or Cologne (Köln).

photo credit: Daxis

A day-trip excursion including a pleasure cruise on a riverboat on the Rhine River is for many travelers a highlight of a German vacation. Few tourists can afford luxurious, multiple-day riverboat cruises on the Rhine River (Rhein) but shorter day cruises are more common and fairly cheap. The Loreley Rock (Lorelei) is the most popular spot along the romantic UNESCO-listed Mittelrhein – many riverboats cruise this section of the Rhine River. Great public transportation links bring the Rhine within easy daytrip reach from Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt International Airport (FRA), Mainz, Wiesbaden, and Cologne (Köln).

Many cruise lines have special savings offerings for children, pensioners, birthdays, anniversaries, and even cyclists.

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