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Danube
Sat 20 Sep 2025 - Thu 02 Oct 2025

Lower Danube and Transylvania Extension

Сruise

Gems of the Lower Danube and the Tale of Dracula

Touch history in Austria, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania, as you sail along the exotic lower Danube. Filled with natural wonder and wildlife, this section of the Danube River also divides the Capathian Mountains at the imposing “Iron Gates” gorge and meets the Black Sea’s natural estuary. Enjoy an overnight stay in the Romanian capital of Bucharest and a city sightseeing tour through this vibrant metropolis.

Extend your journey with a Transylvanian adventure by choosing a three-night, post-cruise land package and starting in Brasov for 2 nights. From here, tour the Carpathian town of Sinaia nestled in the Bucegi Mountains of central Romania and rich with monastic and royal history. Next day, explore Brasov and the Black Church, learning the fascinating story behind its name. Finally, be prepared to enter Dracula’s own Bran Castle where his spirit and story still live on. Spend another night in Bucharest and look forward to discovering its cultural wealth.

*Please note: The minimum number of participants for the land program is 15.

Company : Lueftner Cruises
Ship : AMADEUS Nova
Journey Start : Sat 20 Sep 2025
Journey End : Thu 02 Oct 2025
Count Nights : 12 nights

Schedule

Day Port Date Arrival Departure
1 Vein / Austria Sat 20 Sep
2 Vein / Austria Sun 21 Sep
2 Bratislava / Slovakia Sun 21 Sep
3 Esztergom / Hungary Mon 22 Sep
3 Budapest / Hungary Mon 22 Sep
4 Vukovar / Croatia Tue 23 Sep
5 Belgrade / Serbia Wed 24 Sep
6 Pigeon / Serbia Thu 25 Sep
6 Donji Milanovac / Serbia Thu 25 Sep
7 Sistov Svistov / Bulgaria Fri 26 Sep
7 Redhead / Bulgaria Fri 26 Sep
7 George / Romania Fri 26 Sep
8 Hârsova Sat 27 Sep
9 Fettesti / Romania Sun 28 Sep
9 Bucharest / Romania Sun 28 Sep
10 Brasov / Romania Mon 29 Sep
10 Bucharest / Romania Mon 29 Sep
11 Brasov / Romania Tue 30 Sep
12 Brasov / Romania Wed 01 Oct
12 Bucharest / Romania Wed 01 Oct
13 Bucharest / Romania Thu 02 Oct

Travel Terms & Conditions

PREAMBLE

These travel conditions are issued in the name of the carrier, Lüftner Cruises GmbH / A-6020 Innsbruck, for the travel programs included in this brochure. In the following, this is referred to as “the carrier”. The transportation of passengers and baggage on any of the vessels offered is governed solely by the Terms and Conditions of the Passenger Ticket Contract (available on request).

PAYMENT POLICY

A deposit of 10% per person is required to secure a confirmed reservation. When more than one cruise is booked, deposit and payment policies apply per cruise. The balance is due for payment no later than 20 days prior to departure, despite no further request for payment being made. All reservations are subject to cancellation if payments are not received by the due date, and in such a case the carrier is entitled to cancel the reservation/s in accordance with the cancellation fees specified in these terms and conditions. Upon full payment by the participant(s) of the amount specified in the invoice, the carrier agrees to arrange for the provision of the services as described in this brochure. Your payment or acceptance of a ticket constitutes your agreement to the terms and conditions of travel.

CANCELLATION POLICY

In cases of cancellation the carrier has the right to demand the following cancellation fees, calculated as a percentage of the travel price and dependent on the number of days left until the planned departure date:

 

Days Before Departure

121 days and more    10%
120 – 90 days    15%
89 – 60 days    35%
59 – 30 days    50%
29 – 15 days    80%
14 – 1 day(s)    85%
on departure day    90%
Cancellations must be made in writing. Cancellation invoices are due for payment as soon as they are received


Suites & Staterooms

Luxury accommodation in an outside river-view stateroom of your choice: Spacious Mozart Suites with a walk-out balcony, stateroom cabins on Mozart and Strauss Decks with drop-down Panorama Retractable Windows offering a wide-open view (except Amadeus Brilliant)
Individual climate control and in-room safe  
Choice of bed configuration in all categories (double or twin bedding)
Gourmet Dining

Gourmet dining featuring breakfast, multi-course lunches and dinners with menu choices (including vegetarian options), afternoon tea and late-night snack
Free-flowing hand-selected wines from the best wine regions of Europe served with dinner on board 
Coffee and tea available 24 hours a day in the Amadeus Club
Welcome and Farewell Cocktail Reception, Welcome Dinner and Captain’s Gala Dinner 
Voyage of Discovery

Personalized service of an experienced, multilingual AMADEUS Cruise Director 
AMADEUS digital audio system for all guided excursions 
Variety of enriching onboard programs, including fascinating lectures, cooking demonstrations, local cultural performances, and music by our onboard musicians 
Complimentary use of onboard bicycles for independent exploration 
Onboard fitness center open 24 hours a day
All port taxes, embarkation, disembarkation and lock fees included in your cruise fare 

Detailed cruise program
  • Day 1:

    Vein / Austria

    Vienna is the federal capital and largest city of Austria, and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city, with a population of about 1.9 million (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria's population), and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin.Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.

    Apart from being regarded as the City of Music[ because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be "The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud. The city's roots lie in early Celticand Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.

    Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver and San Francisco) for the world's most liveable cities. Between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne. In 2018, it replaced Melbourne as the number one spot. For eight consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey of hundreds of cities around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle's 2015 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within."

    The UN-Habitat classified Vienna as the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.

    Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world's number-one destination for international congresses and conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year.

  • Day 2:

    Vein / Austria

    Vienna is the federal capital and largest city of Austria, and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primate city, with a population of about 1.9 million (2.6 million within the metropolitan area, nearly one third of Austria's population), and its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 7th-largest city by population within city limits in the European Union. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was the largest German-speaking city in the world, and before the splitting of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in World War I, the city had 2 million inhabitants. Today, it has the second largest number of German speakers after Berlin.Vienna is host to many major international organizations, including the United Nations and OPEC. The city is located in the eastern part of Austria and is close to the borders of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. These regions work together in a European Centrope border region. Along with nearby Bratislava, Vienna forms a metropolitan region with 3 million inhabitants. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In July 2017 it was moved to the list of World Heritage in Danger.

    Apart from being regarded as the City of Music[ because of its musical legacy, Vienna is also said to be "The City of Dreams" because it was home to the world's first psychoanalyst – Sigmund Freud. The city's roots lie in early Celticand Roman settlements that transformed into a Medieval and Baroque city, and then the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It is well known for having played an essential role as a leading European music centre, from the great age of Viennese Classicism through the early part of the 20th century. The historic centre of Vienna is rich in architectural ensembles, including Baroque castles and gardens, and the late-19th-century Ringstraße lined with grand buildings, monuments and parks.

    Vienna is known for its high quality of life. In a 2005 study of 127 world cities, the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked the city first (in a tie with Vancouver and San Francisco) for the world's most liveable cities. Between 2011 and 2015, Vienna was ranked second, behind Melbourne. In 2018, it replaced Melbourne as the number one spot. For eight consecutive years (2009–2016), the human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Vienna first in its annual "Quality of Living" survey of hundreds of cities around the world, a title the city still held in 2016. Monocle's 2015 "Quality of Life Survey" ranked Vienna second on a list of the top 25 cities in the world "to make a base within."

    The UN-Habitat classified Vienna as the most prosperous city in the world in 2012/2013. The city was ranked 1st globally for its culture of innovation in 2007 and 2008, and sixth globally (out of 256 cities) in the 2014 Innovation Cities Index, which analyzed 162 indicators in covering three areas: culture, infrastructure, and markets. Vienna regularly hosts urban planning conferences and is often used as a case study by urban planners.

    Between 2005 and 2010, Vienna was the world's number-one destination for international congresses and conventions. It attracts over 6.8 million tourists a year.

  • Day 2:

    Bratislava / Slovakia

    Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia. With a population of about 425,000, it is one of the smaller capitals of Europe but still the country's largest city. The greater metropolitan area is home to more than 650,000 people. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia, occupying both banks of the River Danube and the left bank of the River Morava. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two sovereign states.

    The city's history has been strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions, namely (in alphabetical order) Austrians, Bulgarians, Croats, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Jews, Serbs and Slovaks. It was the coronation site and legislative center of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1536 to 1783, and has been home to many Slovak, Hungarian and German historical figures.

    Bratislava is the political, cultural and economic centre of Slovakia. It is the seat of the Slovak president, the parliamentand the Slovak Executive. It has several universities, and many museums, theatres, galleries and other cultural and educational institutions. Many of Slovakia's large businesses and financial institutions have headquarters there.

  • Day 3:

    Esztergom / Hungary

    Esztergom is a city in northern Hungary, 46 kilometres (29 miles) northwest of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there.

    Esztergom was the capital of Hungary from the 10th till the mid-13th century when King Béla IV of Hungary moved the royal seat to Buda.

    Esztergom is the seat of the prímás (see Primate) of the Roman Catholic Church in Hungary, and the former seat of the Constitutional Court of Hungary. The city has the Keresztény Múzeum, the largest ecclesiastical collection in Hungary. Its cathedral, Esztergom Basilica is the largest church in Hungary.

  • Day 3:

    Budapest / Hungary

    the capital of Hungary, in the northern central part of the country; population 1,712,210 (2009). It was formed in 1873 by the union of the city of Buda on the right bank of the Danube River with the city of Pest on the left.

  • Day 4:

    Vukovar / Croatia

  • Day 5:

    Belgrade / Serbia

  • Day 6:

    Pigeon / Serbia

  • Day 6:

    Donji Milanovac / Serbia

  • Day 7:

    Sistov Svistov / Bulgaria

  • Day 7:

    Redhead / Bulgaria

  • Day 7:

    George / Romania

  • Day 8:

    Hârsova

  • Day 9:

    Fettesti / Romania

  • Day 9:

    Bucharest / Romania

  • Day 10:

    Brasov / Romania

  • Day 10:

    Bucharest / Romania

  • Day 11:

    Brasov / Romania

  • Day 12:

    Brasov / Romania

  • Day 12:

    Bucharest / Romania

  • Day 13:

    Bucharest / Romania

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