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Media Release – August 22, 2016
Stay in 3 French Chateaux as part of luxury new cruise tour
Book by September 15 and save up to $2000 per couple
Two new cruise tours to Europe next April offer Australians the chance to stay in three, fairytale French
castles and honour our war heroes on the historic, western front battlefields on Anzac Day.
Cruise Express has released two ‘Connoisseur France’ packages – a 19-night itinerary including a Seine
River cruise to the English Channel and a 25-night tour featuring a river cruise through the heart of Europe
from Luxembourg to Hungary. Bookings for either tour made before September 15, 2016, will receive
discounts of up to $1000 per person.
Both tours depart Australia on April 22, 2017, and begin from Paris with an eight-night, guided land tour of
France escorted by Cruise Express. The tour will showcase the wine, cuisine, culture, history and architecture
of France. Features include the chance to sip authentic champagne in the Champagne region and visit some
of the Loire Valley’s most spectacular chateaux such as Chambord, Chenonceau, Villandry and d’Azay-leRideau with their moats, turrets and ornamental gardens. A palace near Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci
once lived can also be explored.
Highlights include a moving dawn service on Anzac Day at Villers Bretonneux in the Somme region and a
total of five nights spent at three luxurious chateaux - Le Château de Rilly near Reimes, Le Château
d’Esclimont near Chartres and Château de la Bourdaisière in the famous Loire Valley.
Back in Paris, guests can choose from two, all-inclusive river cruises – a journey on France’s Seine River to
the beaches of Normandy or a longer cruise along the Moselle, Rhine, Main and Danube Rivers to Budapest.
The first cruise aboard Scenic Gem is a 10-night sojourn to Honfleur on the English Channel, including two
nights with sightseeing in Paris. Guests will float through wistful landscapes painted by famous French artists
like Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, whose homes and gardens are included in the complimentary
shore tour program. An elegant dinner and classical concert in the grand Benedictine Palace in Fecamp is
also a highlight.
The second cruise option begins with two-nights’ accommodation with sightseeing in Paris, followed by a
14-night cruise aboard Avalon Visionary from Luxembourg to Budapest past vineyard-cloaked hills, cliffhanging castles, sprawling abbeys and cobblestoned villages.
Each cruise includes shore tours and onboard beverages and ends with a flight home to Australia.
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The 19-night cruise tour, including the Seine cruise, is available from $12,990 per person, twin-share, while
the 25-night itinerary ending in Budapest is priced from $13,990 per person, twin-share. Fares include return
flights from Australia and savings of up to $1000 if booked by September 15, 2016.
Call Cruise Express on 1300 764 509 or visit www.cruiseexpress.com.au