Belgium comes aboard the river cruise club

Visitors can take a luxury self-drive cruiser on the Flander’s waterways in Belgium through peaceful countryside and ancient towns and cities, from the fairytale facades of Gent, Belgium’s Flemish capital, to the meandering canals and hump-backed bridges of Bruges, otherwise know as the ‘Venice of the north.’

Inland waterways holiday specialist Crown Blue Line also offers more cruising opportunities to start a holiday at one base and finish at another, letting cruisers explore further afield. These new one way options have been added in the south of France, Burgundy, Alsace-Lorraine and Germany and are extremely attractive and convenient, even for short breaks.

Sarah Singleton, marketing manager, said: “We are always looking for exciting new cruising destinations for our clients and Belgium fitted the bill. The network of canals and rivers and close proximity of places to visit means that visitors can tailor their cruise to take in as much or as little as they want.

“Belgium is also a great destination for first time cruisers. It is easily accessible from the UK for a taster short break and there are very few locks to negotiate.”

Boat hire prices for 2007 start from £830 (only £208 per person) for a one week holiday. To avoid the straightjacket of a package Crown Blue Line lets clients make their own travel arrangements to the base, but help and advice is always freely on offer and an excellent route-planning service ‘Via Michelin’ has now been added to the Crown Blue Line website.

Twenty three new boats have also been added to the Crown Blue Line fleet, already the largest of its kind in Europe, with the new two cabin Tango available across more regions in France as well as on the Thames, plus the three cabin Calypso and four cabin Salsa are available throughout France. The Salsa also makes its first venture into Italy around the beautiful region of Venice.

For more information or to request a copy of the new 2007 brochure visit www.crownblueline.co.uk or call 0870 160 5635.

Image caption: The Crown Blue Line sales team welcomes Belgium to the 2007 cruising programme.

Issued for:     Crown Blue Line 

Issued by:      Hare Carding Communications Group. Tel: 023 9232 4528

                        Contact: Rob Jordan

Editors Notes:

·         Crown Blue Line is the market leader in inland waterways cruising and has been offering quality boating holidays for over 35 years. Crown Blue Line is part of the First Choice Holidays PLC Group

With over 700 boats across 29 scenic bases in eight countries, Crown Blue Line offers the widest possible choice of cruising region covering England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Holland
Crown Blue Line’s high quality fleet of cruisers is superbly styled, comfortably equipped and rigorously maintained to a high standard
The breadth of range within Crown Blue Line’s fleet means that any size of group can be comfortably accommodated, from two up to ten, and with no previous boating experience required
Cruising on inland waterways gives the freedom to explore at the perfect pace and is an idyllic way to discover the culture, art, history and cuisine of a region
From watersports to wine tasting, all kinds of activities lend themselves to a cruising holiday, with the most popular including cycling, horseriding, fishing and birdwatching
The main boating holiday season runs from early April to late October
Adding to the inherent freedom and flexibility of cruising, Crown Blue Line offers weekend and short breaks, 9, 10 and 11 day options, one-way routes and extra weeks
Many European bases are close to airports served by low cost airlines and sales staff at Crown Blue Line are pleased to advise on travel options, transfers and other arrangements – call 0870 160 5635
For brochures, details of special offers and other information call 0870 160 5635 or visit www.crownblueline.co.uk