Christmas Markets on the Rhine River with the Dlx River Cruise Ship MS Leonora with THY
Cruise at a glance
Day-by-day itinerary
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DLX RIVER CRUISE LEONORA WITH CHRISTMAS MARKETS ON THE RHINE GERMANY – FRANCE Düsseldorf (*Cologne) – Koblenz...
DLX RIVER CRUISE LEONORA WITH CHRISTMAS MARKETS ON THE RHINE
GERMANY – FRANCE
Düsseldorf (*Cologne) – Koblenz - Romantic Rhine Section – Rüdesheim - Worms /Speyer
(*Heidelberg) – Strasbourg 1 night stay(*Colmar) – Stuttgart
The ship cannot dock at ports marked with the (*) symbol. (*) Cities and towns marked can be visited by private vehicle.
FLIGHT INFORMATION
DIRECTION
DATE
FLIGHT CODE
ROUTE
DEPARTURE
ARRIVAL
OUTBOUND
16.12.2026
TK 1523
IST – DUS
08:00
09:20
RETURN
20.12.2026
TK 1706
STR- IST
18:50
23:55
Day 1 ISTANBUL – DÜSSELDORF
December 16, 2026 / Wednesday Meeting at the Turkish Airlines counter in front of the International Terminal of Istanbul Airport at the designated time, followed by check-in and passport procedures. Departure from Istanbul on Turkish Airlines flight TK 1523 at 08:00 to Düsseldorf, arriving at 09:20 local time. After arrival in Düsseldorf, transfer to our ship via the vehicle waiting for us at the airport.. Check-in procedures will be done after 14:00. For guests who wish, an extra tour of Germany's most popular cities, Cologne & Düsseldorf is available.. Afterwards, transfer back to the ship and check-in procedures are completed. Our ship departs from Düsseldorf today at 17:00.Day 2 KOBLENZ - PASSAGE THROUGH THE ROMANTIC RHINE SECTION - RÜDESHEIM
December 17, 2026 / Thursday We will dock at Koblenz port at 06:00 in the morning. Guests who wish can join the extra tour organized by our guide, which includes viewing the Moselle River, the Koblenz and Mountain Cable Car Tour. We take the cable car up to Ehrenbreitstein Fortress and enjoy a bird's-eye view of Koblenz's famous German Corner, where the Rhine and Moselle rivers meet. Afterwards, we take a walking tour in Koblenz and visit the Christmas Market. Our ship will depart from Koblenz port at 12:00. The Romantic Rhine Passage, the most beautiful part of the Rhine River, is underway. During this cruise, over 20 castles from the Middle Ages and magnificent views can be seen. After our ship arrives in Rüdesheim at 19:00 in the evening, it will remain at the port until 01:30 at night.Day 3 WORMS - SPEYER
December 18, 2026 / Friday We arrive at Worms port at 09:00 in the morning. After a short technical stop, our ship will head towards Speyer at 09:30. Our ship will arrive in Speyer at 12:30 noon and depart from Speyer at 20:00 in the evening.
Guests who wish can join the extra Heidelberg Tour. We tour Heidelberg, a city whose majority of the population consists of students. Heidelberg is also famous for its printing presses and printing machines named after the city. Among the places to see are Heidelberg Castle, the giant barrel Grosses Fass exhibited in the castle cellars, Carl-Theodor Brücke (commonly known as the Old Bridge), and Heiligegeistkirche (Historical Church) located right in the center of the old town. After the tour, return to our ship waiting for us at Speyer port.Day 4 STRASBOURG
December 19, 2026 / Saturday We arrive at Strasbourg port at 08:00 in the morning. Our ship will remain anchored in Strasbourg tonight.
In the morning, we start the extra Strasbourg and Colmar City Tour with our guests. Strasbourg, added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1988, also houses the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. As the seventh largest city in France by population, we first visit the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. After a photo break in front of the building, we come to the historic city and begin our walking tour. In this tour, historic streets, Notre Dame Cathedral, Rohan Palace, Kammerzehl, shopping streets, and Kleber Square are among the places to see. Afterwards, we walk to the Petit France (Little France) neighborhood with guests who wish. Our tour ends with free time in central Strasbourg. Those who wish in Colmar can explore the city in detail with the extra mini train.Day 5 STRASBOURG – STUTTGART – ISTANBUL
December 20, 2026 / Sunday After breakfast, disembarkation procedures and transfer to the airport before your return flight. For guests who wish, an extra panoramic Stuttgart city tour is available.. We see the New Palace, the Town Hall, and the Konning Strasse shopping street from the city center. After visiting the Christmas market at Markplatz, there is free time and transfer to the airport. After check-in and passport control, we depart from Istanbul Airport at 18:50 local time on Turkish Airlines flight TK 1706. After our arrival in Istanbul at 23:55 local time, our tour concludes.CANCELLATION & REFUND TERMS
Based on the date of cancellation request relative to the reservation, the following deduction amounts or rates will apply.
TIME BEFORE DEPARTURE FROM RESERVATION DATE
APPLICABLE DEDUCTION RATE
180 days prior
%10
179 – 159 days prior
%15
158 – 120 days prior
%25
119 – 90 days prior
%30
89 – 60 days prior
%50
59 – 45 days prior
%60
44 – 30 days prior
%75
29 – 10 days prior
%90
9 days or fewer days prior
%100
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MS LEONORA SHIP SPECIFICATIONS The ship, which began its voyages in 2008 under the name Avalon Scenery, was later renamed Ms Leonora. In 2025...
The ship, which began its voyages in 2008 under the name Avalon Scenery, was later renamed Ms Leonora. In 2025, complete renovation works were finished. The ship is 110m long, 11.40m wide, 5.85m high, and has a total of 3 decks with 67 cabins; the passenger capacity is set at 138. French balcony cabins are 16 m² in size. All cabins feature amenities such as air conditioning, TV, telephone, minibar, safe, hair dryer, clothes hanger, towels, shampoo, and more. Onboard, approximately 40 friendly staff members will serve you. Additionally, on the Sun Deck, the topmost deck of the ship, you can enjoy free sun loungers, tables, and seating areas to fully savor the river experience. At the restaurant section on the lowest deck of the ship, you can have your breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the table specified onboard. In the Club Lounge Bar area prepared for you at the rear of the ship, you can spend pleasant time playing card games, backgammon, okey, and other games. In the Lounge section located at the entrance of the ship, you can follow local shows, presentations about rivers, ‘’Welcome’’ and ‘’Farewell Cocktail’i’’ events, and activities like ‘’Tea & Coffee Hour refreshments’’. Also, thanks to the Turkish program delivered to your cabins every night, you can easily follow the schedule for the next day.
What's Included
Airport taxes & Port taxes
4-night full-board accommodation on a Deluxe River ship, built in 2008 and completely renovated in 2025 (Within full board, service begins with dinner on the embarkation day and ends with breakfast on the disembarkation day)
Airport transfers (on embarkation day and disembarkation day)
Live music and activities on board
Coffee & tea station available all day on board and afternoon tea service
Welcome cocktail
Captain’s Gala Cocktail, Gala Special Menu
Luggage handling service on the first and last day of the ship
Professional Turkish-speaking guiding and assistant services
Tourist city taxes (50 Euro)
TURSAB mandatory professional liability insurance
Not Included
Visa fee and service charge
Domestic connecting flight ticket
Ship Crew Service Fee (calculated at 15 Euros per person per night, totaling 60 Euros per person, will be added to your cabin account)
All alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on board
All kinds of personal expenses
Entrance fees to museums and archaeological sites not specified in the program
Travel & Health Insurance and Surcharge premium (for guests aged 65 and over)
Tips for the driver and guide
International خروج tax fee
General Information
Important information regarding your flight;
* The airport meeting time is generally 2 hours 30 minutes before the flight, and the details will also be communicated 2 days before the tour departure. Due to security checks at European airports, you will be transferred to the airport 3 hours before the flight on the return journey.
* Departure and arrival times are local times and are determined by the airlines..
* There is limited availability for domestic flight connections; availability must be checked during the final reservation and the booking must then be processed accordingly.
* Cities offering connections other than Ankara and Izmir must also be confirmed.
* Confirmed domestic flight connections are valid for the most suitable domestic flight available within 24 hours.
* Domestic connection prices may not be valid for groups. Please ask about our special prices.
* The Operator Agency is an intermediary between the airline and the passenger and is subject to the Hague Protocol of 28.09.1955. There may be a risk of delays on scheduled and special flights, or flight times may change before the existing tour and flight. The Operator Agency is obliged to notify you of these changes as soon as possible. Our passengers purchased the tour knowing and accepting that flight details may change.
What you need to know about OUR RIVER TOURS;
- There is no minimum participation requirement for our tour. It is definitely operated in December and is conducted with a Turkish-speaking guide.
- Guests holding an ordinary (Bordeaux) passport need a visa. Multiple-Entry / Multiple Schengen)
- Guests holding a Green Passport and Service Passport do not need a visa.
- You must have a passport valid for 6 months from the end date of the trip and not older than 10 years.
- Obtaining foreign currency in Euros before your trip will make cash payments easier when shopping.
- For purchases of 100 Euros or more, you may request a tax refund form. You can have your tax refund processed at the last point where you leave the European Union, after customs and similar procedures.
- There are no doctors or medical personnel on river ships. In emergencies, reception will call medical teams from the nearest healthcare facility to the ship within a very short time. However, for all health-related needs, our ship stops at the nearest point to medical facilities and assists in the immediate transfer of ill guests to hospitals or similar institutions. We also recommend that you bring the medications you regularly use along with your prescription and obtain comprehensive travel health insurance.
Medical services provided on the ship and at healthcare facilities are chargeable.
- We do not believe that you will encounter any health-threatening problems with the meals served during your river cruise. Nevertheless, when you are not on the ship, we recommend that you be careful about food and drink, consume only bottled water, avoid ice, milk and dairy products, consume meat and fish products that you are sure have been thoroughly cooked, and choose fruits such as bananas and pineapples that can be peeled.
- Since you may enter more than one country during your journey, the local time applicable to each port visited by the ship will be stated. As your disembarkation and boarding will be according to the time of the port where you are located, please arrange your schedule accordingly.
- During navigation on river ships, especially when crossing borders, your mobile phone line can be used if it is enabled for international calls (roaming). Sometimes, your mobile phone may lose signal because there are no base stations in wooded areas.
- For the captain's Welcome & Farewell Cocktail evenings during your journey, we recommend that our male guests bring a suit and our female guests bring an evening dress. If travelling during the summer season, we recommend bringing t-shirts, short- and long-sleeved shirts, cotton trousers, shorts, comfortable walking shoes, a light jacket for the evenings and a thin sweater that can be easily put on and taken off. In addition, you may bring a hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, earplugs against possible noise, a camera, a video camera, their chargers and spare memory cards. In winter, we recommend clothing that allows you to move comfortably and keeps you warm. The open areas of the ship can be cool in every season during navigation.
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served in the Main Dining Restaurant on the ship. In addition, afternoon tea and light snacks at night are served in the lounge area upstairs.
- The electrical outlets in the cabins are the same as those in Türkiye.
- Accommodation in hotels before or after the river cruise program may not be at the same standard as our river ship. They should not be expected to provide the same services. During fairs, congresses, concerts, events, sports tournaments and similar periods, hotels may be used at distances exceeding the stated number of km’s. Triple rooms may be provided subject to hotel availability, and the bed offered to the 3rd person in such rooms may be smaller than standard beds. Triple rooms consist of 1 large bed and 1 extra bed. Since extra beds consist of beds referred to as folding beds and coach beds, participants are deemed to have declared that they accept any congestion and bed type that may occur in rooms for reservations involving a 3rd person and/or child. Child discounts are valid for one (1) child staying with 2 adults and belonging to the age group specified in the pricing section.
- If hotel accommodation is included in the tour program in addition to our ship, the included breakfasts are served according to the breakfast culture of the country visited and generally consist of a limited menu of butter, jam, bread, tea or coffee, commonly known as a continental breakfast, and may be served in a separate room allocated to the group
SOME TECHNICAL INFORMATION ABOUT OUR RIVER TOURS;
- The times stated in the program have been obtained from Turkish Airlines‘ and Scylla Cruise. Otto Cruise is not responsible for any changes that may occur to the times. Therefore, in the event of any change in schedule, Otto Cruise may make changes to the days without altering the content of the program or the services included.
- The durations, places to be visited and sequence of tours at the ports are determined by the operator company and may be changed or completely cancelled when necessary.
- Otto Cruise shall not be responsible for natural disasters such as rises or decreases in river water levels, or force majeure situations such as strikes occurring in lock chambers / canals or the inability to dock at the planned port.
- Otto Cruise shall not be responsible for out-of-program situations that may occur in such cases, such as changes of port or changes in the arrival and departure times at the port.
- During air travel, each passenger is entitled to take one piece of luggage into the cabin measuring 36 cm (height) x 23 cm (width) x 56 cm (length). In addition, each passenger is entitled to take one suitcase weighing a maximum of between 20 and 23 kilos, provided that it is checked into the aircraft's baggage hold.
- One of the dinners you will have during the cruise is a formal dinner, and our guests are expected to bring formal attire for this evening.
- During check-in on the ship, each guest will hand over their passport and receive their cabin key. Passports may be collected in some cases for the ship's manifest and local procedures. Passports will be returned within the same day.
- Guests who will make their onboard expenses by credit card must register their credit cards at reception within 5 days after the journey begins. No charge will be made to your credit card and no specific amount will be blocked during the registration process.
- *The ship's departure times must be strictly observed. At ports, you must board the ship no later than 45 minutes before our ship's departure time. Otherwise, you may not be allowed to board the ship. Otto Cruise shall not be responsible for such a situation. Transportation costs required for passengers who miss the plane or ship to rejoin the tour shall be borne by the passengers themselves.
- It is strictly prohibited to bring alcoholic beverages, irons, hair dryers, water heaters, bottle warmers, electric blankets and similar items onto the ship. A hair dryer is available in every cabin, and a water heater is available in many cabins.
- At the beginning of our cruise, luggage tags in specific colors will be assigned for your luggage. Filling out these tags completely is extremely important to ensure that your luggage is delivered correctly to your cabins.
- Your luggage may not arrive at your cabin immediately on the first day of the ship's departure. Therefore, it is advisable to put your essential items in a small hand bag and carry it with you on the first day you board the ship.
- On the first day of your journey, a safety drill and presentation will be held so that you can familiarize yourself with the evacuation procedures in an emergency. Participation is extremely important. Your guides and the ship employee responsible for your room will direct you to the meeting point for the drill.
- Every evening on the ship, a detailed program for the following day will be left in your cabin. This program contains complete information about all activities on the ship, entertainment events and important notes.
- We kindly ask you to take care of all your personal belongings throughout the tour. There is a safe in all cabins on the ship where you can store your valuables. Our agency assumes no responsibility for the loss or theft of money and valuable personal belongings left in the cabin or luggage. Support will be provided for sending your found belongings to you by collect-on-delivery cargo service from the country where they were found.
At the end of your cruise, the tags to be left in your cabins the night before must be attached. You must place your luggage outside your cabin doors early in the morning; it will then be collected and lined up in front of the buses that will provide the transfer. Passengers will collect it here.
All departure dates
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