Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:12:06 +0100

TORONTO – GLP Worldwide Expedition Travel and Tours is offering travel agents an opportunity to experience one of the fastest growing and developing destinations in Eastern Europe with a fascinating 9-day agent fam from only $499 CAD per agent on the luxurious MS Amadeus Elegant – one of Lüftner Cruises’ newest ships which was built in 2009.

The 9-day cruise program with optional shore excursions features the romantic Great Plain of Hungary, the famous Danube rise in the Carpathians, the fascinating nature reserves of the Danube delta, the culture of Bucharest, Belgrade, and Budapest and finishing off in style with the imperial city of Vienna. The registration deadline is August 13th so agents shouldn’t delay to insure their spot – contact GLP Worldwide today at (905) 258-7778, Ext. 227 or email Jessica Chu at: jchu@glpworldwide.com.

Agent Fam Itinerary

Sept. 05, Sunday -Constanta / Embark (D) Embark at Constanta on Ms Amadeus Elegant at 5 pm. Enjoy a welcome reception and dinner on board your floating home for the next 9 days.

Sept. 06, Monday – Constanta /Black Sea/Harsova (B/L/D) This morning we sail at 7:30 am and pass through through the lock Agigea. After having passed through the lock, we will disembark and drive back to Constanta, where the guide will show us Constanta’s Roman Mosaics and visit the Archeological Museum. After a little walk in Constanta, we depart for Mamaia where we have lunch in a restaurant near the beach. After lunch, we have free time to enjoy the beach or take a walk at the beach promenade. At 15:00, we drive to Harsova where we disembark again at 16:30.

Sept. 07, Tuesday – Giutgiu /Rousse / Nikopol (B/L/D) Today we get off the boat in Rousse and take a full day included excursion to Veliko Tarnova, the former capital of Bulgaria with lunch at local restaurant, rejoining the ship in Nikopol in the late afternoon.

Sept. 08, Wednesday – Iron Gates / Carpathians (B/L/D) We spend a leisurely day cruising upstream through Romania and into the waters of Serbia. Some 450 miles from Rousse, we reach 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. A little further, we reach the so-called Iron Gates. In ancient times, this was the most hazardous part of a journey along the Danube, as ships had to steer carefully through a narrow gorge with high cliffs on either side. While the water level is higher and the shipping hazards removed, the journey is still of interest. We will want to be on deck as the ship maneuvers through the two locks by the Djerdap power stations. This afternoon we cruise a particularly scenic stretch of the river, as the Danube passes through the Carpathians and the foothills of the Balkans.

Sept. 09, Thursday – Belgrade, Serbia /Novi Sad (B/L/D) We reach Belgrade, capital of Serbia and Montenegro, in the morning. This city was built at the junction of the rivers Danube and Save, and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times during its 2,000-year history. Our included half-day morning tour has a visit to the Kalemegdan fortress, and brings you to the port of Novi Sad, where our vessel will be waiting in the late afternoon. After lunch there is an included sightseeing tour of Novi Sad, including a stroll through the old quarter and a trip by coach up to the Peterwardein fortress, a massive defensive fortification that was the masterpiece of Vauban, an 18th century French architect. This evening, we invite you to enjoy a Serbian Folkore show on board.

Sept. 10, Friday – Vukovar/Mohacs (B/L/D) The vessel docks at Vukovar in Croatia in the early morning from where we do the excursion to Osijek and the Croatian Danube Basin. Osijek is the administrative and economic centre of Eastern Croatia. It is the country’s 4th biggest city, and is situated on the Drava River. This tour includes the church of the Raising of the Holy Cross and the Tvrda that was built from 1712 – 1722 as a military fortress.

Sept. 11, Saturday– Budapest/Esztergom/Sturovo (B/L/D) Budapest is a city made up of two parts: Buda and Pest, built on opposite banks of the Danube. Buda is the older and more graceful part, with its cobbled streets and medieval architecture, while Pest is the administrative and commercial centre, with wide avenues and impressive 19th-century public buildings. East meets West in this fascinating city, and this can be seen in the variety of shops and restaurants. This morning we offer an included tour of the city. In the afternoon, we will drive from Budapest, along the banks of the Danube, to the charming artists’ village of Szentendre. Enjoy a city walk there before you re-embark Amadeus Elegant and set sails for Bratislava in the early evening.

Sept. 12, Sunday – Bratislava, Slovakia (B/L/D) We spend the morning in the city of Bratislava, the capital of the Republic of Slovakia and a city which celebrated its 2000th anniversary in 1991. Our tour will introduce us to the delights of Bratislava from the old quarter to the fortress that overshadows the city and the river. This evening we set sail for Vienna at 6:00pm while we enjoy the captain’s gala Farewell Dinner and a show by the crew.

Sept. 13, Monday– Vienna (B) We arrive at Vienna in the morning and say farewell to the MS Amadeus Elegant as we disembark this morning.

Optional Pre tour:

Sept. 4th – Met at Bucharest airport and transferred to Intercontinental Hotel. Welcome dinner at hotel. (D)

Sept. 5th – Morning panoramic tour of the old town and then visit Village Museum and Parliament Palace including English speaking guide. After lunch, transfer to Constanta to board the MS Amadeus Elegant at 5pm. (B, L)

Pre tour price – $350 CAD per person based on twin share/single supplement is $80 pp. Includes transfer, 3 meals, one night’s hotel accommodation, half day tour of Bucharest and transfer from Bucharest to Constanta.

Cruise Rate:

Twin share: CAD$499 pp for IATA agent (twin share) and CAD$599 pp for travel companion.

Single supplement: CAD$400 pp. Port charges are included. Air and air taxes are not included and can be purchased through GLP. Bucharest is the closest airport to the start destination of the fam. Transfer from Bucharest to Galati is $120 pp. The itinerary outlines various excursions but the fam price does not include these. Shore excursions can be purchased at CAD$300 pp. Onboard gratuities are excluded from fam price. These can be precollected and prepaid. Transfers not included.

The MS Amadeus Elegant is one of the newest ships in the fleet from Lüftner Cruises which GLP Worldwide represents in Canada. This luxury ship has 68 cabins and 8 Amadeus suites and features a sun deck, fun pool, bar, Panorama Bar and Deck, Amadeus Club with Internet Café, restaurant and Vital Club/Spa.

For further information please contact GLP Worldwide at tel: (905) 258-7778 or toll-free at (866) 760-1987; fax: (905) 258-7779; email: info@glpworldwide.com. For a complete listing of cruises and land tours GLP Worldwide Expedition offers go to www.glpworldwide.com

July 22, 2010   Posted in: Cruise Ships

We’ve done a Mediteranean cruise with P & O on the Oriana, calling at Barcelona, Elba, Rome, The Vatican City and Gibralter, and a Baltic cruise ( Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, St. Petersberg (2 nights) and Tallin in Estonia, with Royal Caribbean, booked through The Liverpool Cruise Club on line)
We enjoyed both cruise lines; P & O are slightly more formal and there seemed to be less on-board activities, but they had the edge on food and presentation in the dining room. On the other hand, the help-yourself buffets on RCIL were definitely better in that there was more selection for all meals (I loved their salads selection for lunch).
Entertainment on RCIL was more glitsy and Broadway style.
If you can get hold of a Berlitz travel book called "Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships" by Douglas Ward you will find it very rewarding as he does in-depth reviews on every cruise ship afloat (over 250 of them!)
The book is distributed in the US by Langenscheidt Publishers, NY, so hopefully you will find a copy in your local library – it’s expensive at around £20 here in England and is published anually.
We usually reckon that both these Lines charge around £100 per person per day.
She isn’t coming to Europe yet, but have a look, on line, at RCIL’s new ship which goes into service in December, I think. She’s called "Oasis of the Seas" and will be the biggest cruise liner afloat.