Australians offered a place in the official Australian government ballot for Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli in 2015 have about two weeks to accept or decline their place at next year’s centenary Dawn Service.
Next Anzac Day, 25 April 2015, will see the main commemorative event at Gallipoli in Turkey, on the centenary of the Anzac landings there. For those successful in the ballot, the deadline to confirm attendance at the commemorations is 11.59 pm AEDT Saturday, 25 October 2014. Travel booking details must also be provided by this time.
Australians are being encouraged to accept or decline their place as soon as possible, as many others are on the waitlist and need time to organise their trip.
Even at this late stage, an excellent option exists to take part in once-in-a-lifetime event that will let you join fellow Australians at Gallipoli 100 years on. An unforgettable Anzac Day cruise/tour caters both for those who were successful in the official ballot and for those who missed out.
Sydney-based operator Horizons Cruise and Tours, a member of the Travel Partners Group, has a few spaces left on a fully escorted 14-day cruise/tour that visits Gallipoli and tours the Somme battlefield in France, where so many Diggers fought and lost their lives.
The tour heads to Gallipoli Cove aboard the Louis Cruises luxury cruise ship M/V Louis Cristal. Prices for the cruise/tour are very reasonable, starting at A$6742 twin share per person, including return flights from Sydney.
As David Lyons of Horizons Cruise and Tours explains, passengers who were successful in the official Government Dawn Service ballot will be transferred ashore by Louis Cruises and escorted to Anzac Cove and after to Istanbul.
Those who were unsuccessful in the Dawn Service ballot need not miss out, as the tour goes ashore at Anzac Cove on the Thursday before Anzac Day, avoiding crowds. Rather than anchoring in the Anzac Cove area on Anzac Day,
M/V Louis Cristal will anchor at a designated and respectful distance during the Centenary Dawn Service, a cruise highlight which will be screened live to the ship’s poolside and theatre.
The M/V Louis Cristal cruise and the tour comply with all Turkish Government rules governing Anzac Day 2015.
The cruise forms part of a special 14-day tour centenary cruise/tour package, departing Sydney on 15 April 2015. The package includes eight nights aboard M/V Louis Cristal. Sailing from Athens, the ship heads to Turkey, taking in the exotic ports of Istanbul, Limnos, and Izmir – with focus on Gallipoli – a shore excursion to Anzac Cove, North Beach and the Ari Burnu beach cemetery.
After the screening of the Centenary Dawn Service, the ship will return to Istanbul. From there, passengers will fly to Paris for a tour of the Somme battlefield.
Inclusive of round-strip airfares from Australia, prices for the cruise/tour, including return flights from Sydney, begin at A$6742, twin share per person. For single cabins, prices begin at A$7767. A full list of prices, along with deck plans of the ship and other details, can be seen on: www.horizonscruisetours.com.au
SOURCE: Horizons Cruise and Tours