The rivers are alive with The Sound of Music

Saga’s Salzburg and the beautiful Wachau Valley river cruise features a two-night hotel stay in the musical city of Salzburg to ensure guests have time for a few of their ‘favourite things’ during the special anniversary year of The Sound of Music.

The city offers much more, too, with the magnificent cathedral and narrow lanes lined with burgher's houses, cobbled streets and horse-drawn carriages. Salzburg was the birthplace of Mozart and his former home can be found on Getreidegasse.

The cruise will visit  Vienna where in the evening guests can enjoy an optional after-dinner concert in the heart of the city featuring works by Mozart or Strauss.

10 nights from £1,498 departing Heathrow (with local flight options from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle and Norwich) to Munich on 23 April and 21 October 2015. Extend the holiday by two nights in Vienna from £249.

The cruise is exclusive to Saga passengers and the price includes UK travel service, two nights in hotel, all meals, wine, beer and soft drinks with lunch and dinner on the ship, welcome cocktail party, entertainment and activities on the ship, two excursions, all gratuities, porterage and travel insurance.

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Relive The Sound of Music With Titan

Calling all Sound of Music fans, here is a cruise experience - and an exclusive opportunity - just for you! Titan Travel, in conjunction with their river-cruise partners Uniworld, are offering guests travelling on selected river cruises this summer the unique opportunity to meet and hear performances by Elisabeth von Trapp.

As the granddaughter of the legendary Maria and Baron von Trapp, whose story inspired The Sound of Music, Elisabeth (above) will share the “sounds of music” with guests on a choice of 2014 itineraries for departures from June to September. 

Guests sailing on the 8-day Enchanting Danube itinerary, from Budapest to Passau, will be able to join Elisabeth in Salzburg at the beautiful Mirabellgarten as she performs songs from the famous film. A highlight of the performance will be the chance for guests to participate in a sing-along of “Do-Re-Mi” at the famed garden where the original 1964 scene was filmed. Elisabeth will also be performing a range of Gregorian chants, 12th-century mystic Hildegard of Bingen tunes, some early American hymns and her own original compositions. 

Guests sailing on the 14-day European Serenade and 7-day Danube Discovery and Prague itinerary will also be treated to “the sounds of Von Trapp” with an exclusive on-board performance. 

Prices for the August 3 departure of the Enchanting Danube cruise start from £2,729 per person, including flights, 7-night full board cruise on board the River Beatrice, transfers, excursions with English speaking guides, unlimited complimentary drinks, gratuities, Wi-Fi, taxes and Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service.

More info: call 0800 988 5867 or visit www.titantravel.co.uk/uniworld.

The new edition of World of Cruising is now out, and you can see the digital version online on our home page at www.worldofcruising.co.uk. To subscribe at our special offer rate for 2014, see this link. 

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Christmas On The Danube

AmaWaterways 'Christmas Time' cruise is a 7-night sailing between Nuremberg and Budapest on 10 departure dates from the end of November until just after December 25, making it an ideal way to see the Yuletide markets and take in Europe’s festive atmosphere.

Nuremberg is home of the world’s largest Christmas Market, where more than 100 red and white canvas-topped booths offer an assortment of unique children’s toys, tinsel angels, dolls, dollhouses and gingerbread. In Regensburg, one of Germany's best preserved Medieval cities, complimentary guided tours take in the Old Kornmarkt's festive stalls adorned with fir branches and the “royal” Christmas markets at the Thurn and Taxis Palace, a very traditional handicraft Christmas market where craftsmen can be seen making their goods. In Passau, guests enjoy an optional tour to Salzburg, the `Sound of Music' city, with its numerous festive markets and tourist attractions, and on to Melk, to visit the magnificent baroque Benedictine Abbey.

In Vienna, guests have the opportunity to see some of the numerous Christmas markets in Austria's capital, including the 60 traditional Christmas market stalls at the Imperial Schönbrunn Palace, and to take in a concert or opera (at extra cost). The cruise concludes in Budapest, festively decorated for Christmas, and an illuminations cruise past the city after a farewell dinner on board enables guests to see the city at its finest.

AMA's 7-night Christmas Time cruise costs from £1,265pp, including all meals, wine with dinner, complimentary daily tours and excursions, free Wi-Fi and free use of on-board bicycles, but excludes flights. Departures are on November 21, 28 and 29 and December 5, 6, 12, 13, 19, 20 and 27.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury river cruise experts.

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The Blue Danube - Westbound

Here's a great look ahead to some wonderful European river-cruising in 2013 with upmarket American operator Tauck, with an early-booking sample price of just $4,490 for a 12-day voyage. Here's how they put it.

Glide past fairytale castles and medieval villages aboard MS Swiss Jewel and MS Treasures on one of Tauck's popular Danube River cruises. Explore Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Cesky, Bratislava and Budapest – plus the castle-studded Wachau Valley – taking in views of the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, and Hungary. 

Attend a private Imperial Evening with dinner and music at a palace in Vienna; a wine tasting in Dürnstein; a day in Mozart's Salzburg; or medieval Cesky Krumlov; take an exclusive  private tour of Baroque monastery libraries in Prague; discuss contemporary issues and historic events in Slovakia with a resident expert; and enjoy evenings of cultural entertainment on and off your riverboat. 

In Vienna, see the Imperial apartments at The Hofburg or tour opulent Schönbrunn Palace. Admire frescoes, stained glass windows and stunning architecture as you spend two nights each in Budapest and Prague in city-centre hotels, checking out remarkable bridges, cathedrals, museums and grand Habsburg palaces. It's definitely a Danube River cruise to remember!

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's luxury river-cruise experts.

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Become A Silver Travel Reviewer and WIN a £3,000 Mozart-themed Danube River Cruise

Working closely with cruising experts The Cruise Line Ltd throughout July, the over 50s travel advice and holiday review website, Silver Travel Advisor, is offering free entry to a prize draw to win a Mozart-themed Danube river cruise for two with Noble Caledonia. The voyage includes performances by the London Festival Opera and presentations about the life, times and music of Mozart by guest speaker Roddy Greenburgh.

To be in with a chance of winning, entrants simply need to sign up for free membership of the site to be included in the draw and both new and existing members posting a travel review at www.silvertraveladvisor.com will be additionally be entered into the prize draw for every new post they upload.

Silver Travel Advisor provides a forum for members aged 50 and over to upload impartial travel, restaurant and days-out, and offers mature travellers free advice from travel industry professionals.

The site’s July prize draw is for a week-long cruise on board Noble Caledonian’s magnificent MS Johann Strauss, taking guests on a musical journey along the Danube in celebration of Mozart’s life, from Hungary to Bavaria through Slovakia, visiting the cities of Budapest, Vienna, Bratislava and Salzburg, enjoying some of Mozart’s finest work in idyllic settings. The prize is worth around £3,000 and includes all meals, return scheduled flights from London, 7 nights aboard Johann Strauss on full board including wine, beer and soft drinks with dinner, all excursions and gratuities, travelling in November 2011.

Silver Travel Advisor’s MD Debbie Marshall said: “River cruising and cultural experiences both come high on our members’ holiday wish lists and Noble Caledonian’s Mozart river cruise is just the kind of holiday our members love to take. We look forward to welcoming new members and reading all the new holiday and travel reviews posted during July and wish all entrants the best of luck.”

Visit www.silvertraveladvisor.com or The Cruise Line Ltd. You can also find out more in the new summer edition of World of Cruising magazine, published this week.

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AmaWaterways Latest Luxury River-Cruise Offers

Here are three more great offers this summer for river-cruises with AMAWaterways, taking in Russia and their Legendary Danube route.

1st June: Russian Waterways, saving up to £365pp

There are big savings of £365pp off a spectacular 11-night voyage from Moscow to Uglich, Yaroslav, Goritsy, Kizhi and Svirstroy, finishing in St. Petersburg along the Volga-Baltic waterways and through Europe’s two largest lakes, Onega and Ladoga. The cruise costs from £2,314 per person, including cruise and port taxes, all meals, champagne breakfasts and wine with dinner, daily excursions, and transfers and return flights (maximum value up to £360pp) from London.

June 27: Legendary Danube, saving up to £428pp

There are also savings off this 7-night Danube River cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest, with prices from £1,649 per person (was £2,077pp), fully inclusive of all taxes, meals, etc. The sailing cruises to Budapest through the charming towns and beautiful vistas of Hilpoltstein, Regensburg, Passau, Salzburg, Linz, Melk and Vienna.

July 8: Legendary Danube, saving up to £426pp

This 7-night Danube cruise from Nuremberg to Budapest now has prices from £1,709 per person (was £2,135pp), inclusive of taxes, all meals, excursions, transfers and flights from London or Manchester. Again, it cruises through Hilpoltstein, Regensburg, Passau, Salzburg, Linz, Melk and Vienna.

For more info, visit www.amawaterways.co.uk or contact the river-cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Cruising in style to the Christmas Markets.

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Christmas away from home can be an enjoyable experience, especially if you find somewhere that makes the experience even more magical. Now luxury river cruise operator AMA Waterways is offering a series of romantic European river cruises to take in the famous Christmas markets of Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Hungary.

The company is featuring a seven-night Christmas Time Cruise on its luxury river cruiser AmaLyra sailing between Nuremberg and Budapest, with ample time in the markets at Regensburg, Passau, Melk, Vienna and, for Advent with a Hungarian flavour, Budapest. There's also an optional excursion to romantic Salzburg and, in Budapest, a special evening's sailing past the dazzling Christmas illuminations that light up the riverfront in the heart of the city.

Departing from Budapest to Amsterdam on December 20th, there is a one-off, 14-night Christmas and New Year cruise celebrating both festivities on board, with seasonal dinners and a convivial, party atmosphere for each. The AmaLyra will be in historic Melk on Christmas Eve (the day Austrians celebrate Christmas) until 10pm and then sailing to Linz and Passau.

There are also two Rhine Winter Voyages during Advent on sister ship AmaLegro, with plenty of opportunity to explore Christmas markets in ports between Basel and Amsterdam. The itinerary includes the markets of Freiburg, Strasbourg, Speyer, Worms, Rudesheim and Cologne, where each market is different, from the medieval themes of French Strasbourg to the pretty market in Rudesheim and the impressive display in Cologne, in the shadow of the magnificent cathedral with more than 160 wooden stalls. There are two departures, on November 26 and December 3.

Prices for all cruises are from £1,199 per person, including an allowance of £200 towards flights, all meals on board (breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner), unlimited wine with dinner, a daily sightseeing programme, folklore and musical performances, bicycles for use in port, a high-tech in-cabin entertainment system and free internet access.

For further details, look up http://www.amawaterways.co.uk/.

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