Downton Abbey, the TV costume drama from Britain that swept around the world, is still selling out cruises to Highclere Castle, the real-life setting for the series.

All 2019 cruises on European Waterways barge Magna Carta have now been sold out, so the company is taking bookings for 2020.

It is expected that a new movie of the Downton Abbey story in September will peak interest.

The tour takes guests through many of the rooms seen on the show, and lets them explore the estate’s expansive 1,000 acre parkland.

Magna Carta
Magna Carta

It is part of the classic cruise aboard the deluxe 8-passenger vessel, which cruises the River Thames. European Waterways is now accepting cabin bookings for 2020, starting at $4,750 per person, based on double occupancy.

Really passionate fans can charter the entire vessel for 2020, starting at $35,000, for up to eight passengers. Guests get an exclusive tour of Highclere Castle that includes meeting real members of the household and, possibly, Lady Carnarvon herself, the 8th Countess of Carnarvon and current resident.

“Highclere Castle looks magnificent on TV, but it’s even more impressive in person, with the splendour of its rooms and the castle’s beautiful parkland bringing the magnificence of the drama to life,” said Derek Banks, managing director of European Waterways.

Magna Carta’s excursion there shows how England’s aristocracy lived, but our guests will also receive the ‘royal treatment’ while on the barge throughout the entire cruise. They’ll be catered to by an attentive crew, who will spoil them with elegant meals of fine wine and gourmet cuisine every night – thanks to our on-board master chef – making this cruise truly ‘fit for a king.’”

As the name suggests, Magna Carta is a cruise ship which travels deep into British history.

Kings, dukes and earls left behind extraordinary legacies that still linger in the opulent royal residences along the river bank of the Thames.

Fans of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle can visit Windsor Castle, where the couple wed, or Hampton Court Palace, a popular setting for movies, like Pirates of the Caribbean, Vanity Fair and Sherlock Holmes.

See www.europeanwaterways.com.