www.croisieurope.co.uk, has announced details of two brand new 2015
itineraries that have been created specifically to honour the centenary of the
outbreak of World War I.
·
A
seven-day cruise between Ostend and Lille visiting Comines, Kortrijk
and Bruges. Highlights include a trip to
Diksmuide, the scene of bloody confrontations during WW1,
including a visit to the Trench of Death – one of the most
dangerous Belgian positions on the Western Front; a stop at the German cemetery
of Vaslo and a visit to Europe’s largest peace memorial, the
84-metre-high Yser Tower; a day in Kortrijk
including a visit to the British War Cemetery in Tyne
Cot, the largest of its kind in continental Europe; a visit to the
Passchendaele Museum and the Flanders Fields
Museum; a ‘Last Post’ ceremony representing the final
farewell to the dead; a trip to Poperingen, one of the only towns
not occupied by the Germans; the military cemetery and
hospital at Lijssenthoek; Arras and
Wellington Quarry – an enormous underground network created to
keep the troops together during the build up to the Allied offensive.
The cruise on the MS Victor Hugo departs
10th September 2015 with the reverse itinerary departing
16th September 2015. Prices start from £951 per person including
all onboard meals, complimentary beer and
wine at lunch and dinner as well as open bar throughout the voyage (not
including Champagne, special wines or fine brandies), all excursions, onboard
entertainment and port taxes.
·
A seven-day cruise
along the Marne Canal from Paris to Chalons-en-Champagne onboard the 24-guest MS
Raymonde visiting Lagny-Sur-Marne, Meux, Saint Jean Les Deux Jumeaux, Chateau
Thierry, Dormans and Epernay. Highlights include the Battlefields of the
Marne; the Museum of the Great War with over 50,000
objects and documents to peruse; the Remembrance Museum of
Belleau; the Aisne-Marne Cemetery where 2,289 soldiers who
fell during fighting in the summer of 1918 are buried; Fort
Douaumont, the largest of 19 defensive forts protecting the city of
Verdun which was abandoned by the French in 1915; Douaumont
Ossuary where the bodies of 130,000 unidentified soldiers from each side
are at rest together; and a visit to the Tranchée des Baïonnettes
(Bayonet Trench), a monument financed by the American George Rand in honour of
the 137th Infantry Regiment. Also included is a tour of the
Champagne Tourist Route and a guided tour of
Paris.
There
are three departures on 28th May, 8th July and
19th September 2015 with prices from £1,653 per person including all onboard meals, complimentary beer and
wine at lunch and dinner as well as open bar throughout the voyage (not
including Champagne, special wines or fine brandies), all excursions, onboard
entertainment and port taxes. 020 8328 1281 or visit
www.croisieurope.co.uk
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