| | | | | Arrive | Depart |
| 6th06 | SepSep | 202222 | Frankfurt, Germany, embark on the Avalon Expression | | |
FRANKFURT, GERMANY (EMBARKATION) Welcome to Germany. Your Suite Ship® is Ready for Boarding. Flights into Frankfurt must arrive before 3 pm. Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm. EVENING CRUISE TO MAINZ |
| 7th07 | SepSep | 202222 | Mainz, Germany | | |
MAINZ. EXCURSIONS TO ELTVILLE Fantastical Forests and Famous Vineyards Visit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host. ACTIVE For some exercise before lunch, join a Guided Nature Walk along one of the Rheinsteig walking trails through Eltville’s idyllic forest and vineyards, OR: DISCOVERY Join a Guided Walk through the historic Old Town of Eltville am Rhein, well known as the City of Wine, with a Wine Tasting included, OR: CLASSIC Visit the Romanesque Beauty of Eberbach Monastery, the filming location of almost all the interior scenes of Umberto Eco’s dark medieval murder mystery “The Name of the Rose.” Sail to Rüdesheim this afternoon, where you will have time to discover this picturesque village. ACTIVE Enjoy an easy bike ride around Rüdesheim with your Adventure Host. Enjoy dinner on board while cruising to Bingen this evening. OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN BINGEN |
| 8th08 | SepSep | 202222 | Cruising | | |
| 9th09 | SepSep | 202222 | Bonn, Germany | | |
BONN Beethoven’s Birthplace Take advantage of some free time in Bonn this morning. COLOGNE Prost! Celebrate in the Rhineland ACTIVE For a unique view of Cologne’s history and beauty, join us on a Jogging Tour of the city, OR: DISCOVERY Discover the people and true spirit of Cologne on this fascinating guided walking tour through the Belgian Quarter, OR: DISCOVERY Visit Cologne’s Chocolate Museum and learn the process of chocolate production and ancient history of this food of the gods, OR: CLASSIC Take a leisurely Guided City Walk of Cologne for a view of her must-see sight, including the Old City and its soaring twin-steepled Gothic cathedral. Enjoy live entertainment on board this evening. OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO DÜSSELDORF |
| 10th10 | SepSep | 202222 | Düsseldorf, Germany | | |
DÜSSELDORF Avant-Garde Architecture and Amazing Altbiers Join your Adventure Host for today’s special activities. ACTIVE Join a City Biking Tour to discover interesting stories about the sights and the city itself along the way, OR: DISCOVERY Experience Düsseldorf’s Old Town and get an insight into its culinary diversity, OR: CLASSIC Join a Guided Tour of Düsseldorf. Visit the Old Town, but also discover its spectacular subway line, where each station has an individual magic character. Consider a Guided Optional Excursion to Düsseldorf’s microbreweries to try a variety of Altbiers. EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO ARNHEM |
| 11th11 | SepSep | 202222 | Arnhem, Netherlands | | |
ARNHEM Wildlife, WWII Valor, and Van Gogh ACTIVE Join a Biking Tour on the Hoge Veluwe National Park and admire its diversity of scenery, from dense forests to sand dune, OR: DISCOVERY Join a Guided Sightseeing to discover Arnhem—a key WWII operations site and home to impressive historical monuments and memorials—then visit a medieval castle for a regional herb and vegetable product tasting, OR: CLASSIC Take a Guided Tour of Arnhem’s Kröller-Müller Museum with the world’s second largest Van Gogh collection. NIJMEGEN Delicious Dutch Specialties and Famous Mills Consider a Guided Optional Excursion to the Windmill of Thorn or an Optional Cooking Workshop. EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO AMSTERDAM |
| 12th12 | SepSep | 202222 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | | |
| Amsterdam combines the unrivaled beauty of the 17th-century Golden Age city center with plenty of museums and art of the highest order, not to mention a remarkably laid-back atmosphere. It all comes together to make this one of the world's most appealing and offbeat metropolises in the world. Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, Amsterdam is known as the City of Canals—but it's no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory. Quite the contrary: on nearly every street here you'll find old and new side by side—quiet corners where time seems to be holding its breath next to streets like neon-lit Kalverstraat, and Red Light ladies strutting by the city's oldest church. Indeed, Amsterdam has as many lovely facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters. It's certainly a metropolis, but a rather small and very accessible one. Locals tend to refer to it as a big village, albeit one that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a major world destination. There are scores of concerts every day, numerous museums, summertime festivals, and, of course, a legendary year-round party scene. It's pretty much impossible to resist Amsterdam's charms. With 7,000 registered monuments, most of which began as the residences and warehouses of humble merchants, set on 160 man-made canals, and traversed by 1,500 or so bridges, Amsterdam has the largest historical inner city in Europe. Its famous circle of waterways, the grachtengordel, was a 17th-century urban expansion plan for the rich and is a lasting testament to the city’s Golden Age. This town is endearing because of its kinder, gentler nature—but a reputation for championing sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll does not alone account for Amsterdam's being one of the most popular destinations in Europe: consider that within a single square mile the city harbors some of the greatest achievements in Western art, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh. Not to mention that this is one of Europe's great walking cities, with so many of its treasures in the untouted details: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, hidden garden courtyards, shop windows, floating houseboats, hidden hofjes(courtyards with almshouses), sudden vistas of church spires, and gabled roofs that look like so many unframed paintings. And don’t forget that the joy lies in details: elaborate gables and witty gable stones denoting the trade of a previous owner. Keep in mind that those XXX symbols you see all over town are not a mark of the city's triple-X reputation. They're part of Amsterdam's official coat of arms—three St. Andrew's crosses, believed to represent the three dangers that have traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire, and pestilence. The coat's motto ("Valiant, determined, compassionate") was introduced in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina in remembrance of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam—the first time in Europe that non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime. AMSTERDAM, HOLLAND Colorful Canals of Amsterdam ACTIVE Join a Biking Tour through the Dutch countryside past polders, dykes, and quaint centuries-old villages, OR: DISCOVERY Attend a Painting Class and be inspired by the masters’ techniques. Paint your own canvas and discover your inner artist. An orientation walk will complete your experience, OR: CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided Canal Cruise to explore the iconic waterways and sites of Amsterdam. This afternoon consider an Optional Culinary Walk in one of Amsterdam’s famous districts, or an Optional Kayaking Excursion. Spend free time strolling at leisure through the galleries and cafés of Amsterdam. OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM |
| 13th13 | SepSep | 202222 | Amsterdam, Netherlands, disembark the Avalon Expression | | |
| Amsterdam combines the unrivaled beauty of the 17th-century Golden Age city center with plenty of museums and art of the highest order, not to mention a remarkably laid-back atmosphere. It all comes together to make this one of the world's most appealing and offbeat metropolises in the world. Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, Amsterdam is known as the City of Canals—but it's no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory. Quite the contrary: on nearly every street here you'll find old and new side by side—quiet corners where time seems to be holding its breath next to streets like neon-lit Kalverstraat, and Red Light ladies strutting by the city's oldest church. Indeed, Amsterdam has as many lovely facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters. It's certainly a metropolis, but a rather small and very accessible one. Locals tend to refer to it as a big village, albeit one that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a major world destination. There are scores of concerts every day, numerous museums, summertime festivals, and, of course, a legendary year-round party scene. It's pretty much impossible to resist Amsterdam's charms. With 7,000 registered monuments, most of which began as the residences and warehouses of humble merchants, set on 160 man-made canals, and traversed by 1,500 or so bridges, Amsterdam has the largest historical inner city in Europe. Its famous circle of waterways, the grachtengordel, was a 17th-century urban expansion plan for the rich and is a lasting testament to the city’s Golden Age. This town is endearing because of its kinder, gentler nature—but a reputation for championing sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll does not alone account for Amsterdam's being one of the most popular destinations in Europe: consider that within a single square mile the city harbors some of the greatest achievements in Western art, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh. Not to mention that this is one of Europe's great walking cities, with so many of its treasures in the untouted details: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, hidden garden courtyards, shop windows, floating houseboats, hidden hofjes(courtyards with almshouses), sudden vistas of church spires, and gabled roofs that look like so many unframed paintings. And don’t forget that the joy lies in details: elaborate gables and witty gable stones denoting the trade of a previous owner. Keep in mind that those XXX symbols you see all over town are not a mark of the city's triple-X reputation. They're part of Amsterdam's official coat of arms—three St. Andrew's crosses, believed to represent the three dangers that have traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire, and pestilence. The coat's motto ("Valiant, determined, compassionate") was introduced in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina in remembrance of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam—the first time in Europe that non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime. AMSTERDAM (DISEMBARKATION) Your cruise ends with breakfast this morning. |
