By
Rebecca Gibson |
Avalon Waterways has partnered with rail operators to offer passengers high-speed train travel and overnight city stays as part of their European river cruise packages in 2015.
Customers can now opt to travel to their cruise embarkation point via train, or combine flights and train travel with city stopovers.
While Avalon already has an established partnership with Eurostar, it will work with
rail operator Voyages-sncf UK to offer high-speed connections from Paris, France, to the Swiss cities of Basel and Zurich on the TGV Lyria network. In addition, the company will join with Alleo to offer rail services from Paris to Frankfurt and Munich in Germany.
“We are delighted to be working with the experienced team at Voyages-sncf UK to provide our customers with the flexibility of an alternative to air travel to join our European cruises,” said David Binns, general manager of Avalon Waterways. “We can tailor-make journeys to suit individuals by adding overnight city stays to make the most of their stay, have an extra day to sightsee before boarding a train or simply vary the way they travel by taking the train on the outbound journey and flying home on the return.”
Guests embarking on a river cruise in Basel can now add an overnight hotel stay in London, UK, before travelling by train to Paris, where they can add another hotel stay and then take a train to Zurich.
Alternatively, those sailing on the line’s 13-day Upper Rhine to the City of Music cruise can take a train from London via Paris to Zurich, before taking a coach transfer and joining the ship at Basel. The return journey includes the option of train travel from Vienna, Austria, to Zurich, where guests can enjoy an overnight hotel stay, before boarding a train to return to the UK via Paris.
Meanwhile, guests selecting the 13-day European Splendour itinerary can travel from London via Paris to Zurich, before enjoying an overnight stay in a Zurich hotel and taking a train to Vienna. On the return journey, guests can opt to take a train from Amsterdam via Brussels to London.