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Contact Information:
Peter Deilmann Cruises
1800 Diagonal Road
Suite 170
Alexandria, VA 22314
(800) 348-8287
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Why Peter Deilmann Cruises?
 Ranked top 10 in small-ship cruising by Conde Nast Traveler
Except for three inside cabins on Mozart, all ships offer only outside cabins
Luxurious and intimate floating-hotel experience
Exceptional service -- one crew member for every 2.5 passengers
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About Peter Deilmann Cruises
Editor's Note: German line Peter Deilmann Cruises will shut down its river cruise division beginning in 2010. The cruise line -- whose river cruise branch was a pioneer in marketing the river cruise concept to North Americans -- cites financial concerns as the reason. More here.
Peter Deilmann Cruises was a pioneer in bringing luxury to the river cruise industry. In the 1980's, the company was the first to design and build ships that reflected the style and amenities of oceangoing cruise ships but were keyed to the unique specifications of river cruising. The line continues to be a leader in luxury cruising. Readers of Conde Nast Traveler ranked Deilmann in the top 10 in small-ship cruising in 2006 for the seventh year in a row.
The privately owned German company, based in the Baltic town of Neustadt in Holstein, was founded in 1968 (North American headquarters are located in Alexandria, Virginia). Entrepreneur Deilmann began by operating freighters, and then expanded to passenger service along the coast of Germany. In 1980, he introduced his first ocean-going ship, the MS Regina Maris; it was built in 1966. The same year, he took delivery of the larger MS Berlin, a brand-new ship that Deilmann built with a consortium of German investors. The Regina Maris was sold to become a yacht in 1982; the Berlin remained until 2004 and after a short stint on the Ukranian market is now the exploration-oriented Spirit of Adventure for Saga Cruises.
Meanwhile, the luxury river fleet began in 1987 with the since-retired Danube Princess. The company's first brand-new river boats, the sister ships Prussian Princess (also retired) and Princesse de Provence, followed in 1991 in 1992; in 1993 the company's reputation got a major boost when they bought the Mozart, the most luxurious river vessel in Europe, from its original Austrian owners, who left the overnight river cruise market. (Almost two decades after being built, Mozart remains arguably the most luxurious riverboat in all of Europe -- and despite being the oldest in the Deilmann fleet, is still the flagship of the company's river fleet today.)
The river fleet continued to be built up in the later 1990's both with brand-new boats and a number of "nearly new" ones bought from competitors. The 1990's also brought expansion to the ocean-going fleet with the sailing vessel Lili Marleen in 1994 and then, in 1998, the 513-passenger Deutschland. Far larger than the company's previous ocean-going vessels, the Deutschland was also the first and so far only one to be marketed outside the German-speaking countries, and has gained a fine reputation for a very upscale, very traditional and uniquely German experience.
Peter Deilmann, by now a legend in the German cruise industry, died in 2003, but the company remains a family operation run by his twin daughters, Gisa and Hedda Deilmann. They continue to expand the company with new vessels and new programs. The recent retirement of the two smaller ocean-going ships, the Berlin and Lili Marleen, as well as some of the older riverboats like the pioneering Danube Princess, has increased the quality of the fleet and further focused the company on the luxury segment of the market.
Peter Deilmann Cruises offers some 270 departures on European river itineraries ranging in length from 7 to 17 nights sailing between late March and early November; the Deutschland offers cruises to Northern Europe from German ports in the summer and to other destinations worldwide during the rest of the year. There are special-interest programs with golf cruises on the Seine, Rhone and Danube; countryside cycling on cruises on the Danube, Seine, Rhone and Elbe in France, Germany, Austria and Hungary; and music cruises on the Danube and Seine. Travelers can book garden cruises on sailings on the Rhone, Seine, Rhine and Danube and new hiking cruises on the Princesse de Provence on the Rhone. Deutschland's ocean cruises also have a wide range of themes, from golf and gardening to the Finnish Tango.
Independent cruisetours include the Ultimate Cruise Tour to Lake Como, Venice, Paris and the Seine; and Best of the Elbe and Danube. Among perennial favorites, the company offers "European Capitals" with extensions to Prague and Munich; the "Romance of France," highlighting the south of France; and "Elbe Explorer," which features longer stays in Prague and Berlin on Elbe River cruises.
Read more
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Read More About Peter Deilmann Cruises Ships:
Casanova • Cezanne • Deutschland • Katharina von Bora • Mozart • Princesse de Provence
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