The Rhine & Moselle for Wine Lovers (Northbound)

Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the Swiss, French and German borders. It is located on the bend of the River Rhine and benefits from a Mediterranean climate. It is the third most populated city in Switzerland and has been the commercial hub for Swiss arts and culture since the Renaissance. In 1967 the people of Basel voted to acquire two paintings by Picasso, who was so moved by the Basel people that he donated 3 paintings and a study to the city's Kunstmuseum (Museum of Fine Arts). Visit the Augusta Raurica, one of the largest Roman archaeology parks in Switzerland, and enjoy a river crossings over the River Rhine by non-motorised ferries. During the summer months, time is spent outdoors, either swimming in the River Rhine, dining al fresco, enjoying open air concerts, cinema, street parties and festivals. Basel is home to over 20 restaurants that have won GaultMillau or Michelin awards, and boasts Switzerland's largest collection of theatre shows, including modern contemporary dance, touring and puppetry theatre.

BASEL, SWITZERLAND (EMBARKATION) Welcome to Basel. Your Suite Ship® is Ready for Boarding.

Flights into Zürich or Basel must arrive by 3 pm.

Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm.

Enjoy dinner and explore the ship on your first night on board.

EVENING CRUISE TO BREISACH

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Breisach is a town located in Southwest Germany on the French border. The town is situated in the Rhine Valley on the banks of the river Rhine and dates back over four thousand years. Breisach and its history can be experienced through the City History Museum, which houses a permanent exhibition taking you from Stone Age through the Celtic, to the Romans and Middle Ages, right up to modern day. St Stephen's Cathedral is home to the city’s famous art treasures, the wheel wells, which are housed in the neighbouring Radbrunnenturm with the forty one metre deep water well. The cathedral is also home to many other treasures including the High Altar of Master HL and wall paintings by Martin Schongauer as well as High Gothic and Roman architecture. A visit to the Blue House, the former Jewish Community Centre, is highly recommended. Now owned by the Friends of Former Jewish Community House Breisach it exhibits memorials to Breisach’s Jewish heritage.

BREISACH, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO BLACK FOREST Winemaking and the Beautiful Black Forest

Visit the Adventure Center for today’s activities with your Adventure Host.

ACTIVE Enjoy the view on a relaxing bike ride along the Rhine with your Adventure Host, OR:

DISCOVERY Take a full-day Guided Tour to the charming village of Colmar in the morning, with its half-timbered medieval and early renaissance buildings, followed by a visit to a countryside chateau wine cellar, OR:

DISCOVERY Join a full-day Guided Tour to the magical Black Forest to experience the Vogtsbauernohf open-air-museum, visit an authentic water mill, and see a traditional butter-making demonstration, OR:

CLASSIC Join a Guided Tour to explore Freiburg’s medieval city center, sheltered by the Black Forest amid vineyards and gardens of the Upper Rhine Valley.

EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO STRASBOURG

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STRASBOURG, FRANCE A Grand Cathedral and La Petite France

ACTIVE Discover Strasbourg by bike with your Adventure Host, OR:

CLASSIC Take a City Sightseeing Tour, including the city’s Gothic, stained-glass cathedral with its celebrated ancient murals and astronomical clock, as well as the magical La Petite France District.

DISCOVERY Join an enchanting Guided Tour along the famed Alsace Wine Route to discover the heart of France’s wine country and sample several local wines.

EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO SPEYER

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Speyer is a town located in southwest Germany situated beside the river Rhine. Originally founded by the Romans, it is one of the oldest settlements in Germany and is situated in the popular wine growing region of the Palatinate. A key attraction of Speyer is the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, which is one of the most celebrated culture-history museums in Germany. It features five permanent collections including Prehistory, Roman Times, Cathedral Treasury, Modern Era and Wine Museum. Not far from the museum, visitors will find the Imperial Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which is considered the largest preserved Romanesque church in Europe. Originally constructed by Konrad II, this magnificent and looming building was intended to demonstrate the Lord’s religio-political claim to power against the papacy. Speyer has been producing wine since its Roman beginnings and wine tasting, festivals and events are popular all year round. The town is popular for outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling as well as guided walking tours of the town.

SPEYER, GERMANY. EXCURSION TO HEIDELBERG Philosophers’ Views and the World’s Biggest Wine Barrel

ACTIVE Join your Avalon Adventure Host for an inspiring walk in Heidelberg, the Philosophers' way, OR:

DISCOVERY Enjoy a Guided City Tour, including a visit to the Wine Museum to learn about the history of viticulture and wine production, OR:

CLASSIC Enjoy a Guided Tour to Heidelberg Castle to see the ruins of the magnificent renaissance treasure towering above the city, and its famed Great Vat, the “World’s Largest Wine Barrel."

DISCOVERY Onboard food and wine pairing dinner hosted by your Master of Wine.

OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN RÜDESHEIM

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RÜDESHEIM–RHINE GORGE Breathtaking Views

This morning leave Rüdesheim after breakfast and enjoy the breathtaking views as you cruise through the spectacular Rhine Gorge on your way to Koblenz.

DICOVERY Enjoy an onboard wine and cheese tasting hosted by your Master of Wine.

KOBLENZ

Fortress Walls and Manor Halls

ACTIVE Explore Koblenz's Mosel side by bike with your Adventure Host, OR:

CLASSIC Take a Guided City Walk amid ancient fortresses walls, towers, squares, and monuments, OR:

CLASSIC Visit the Sayn Manor House on a Guided Tour.

Later, enjoy live entertainment onboard.

EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO BERNKASTEL

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BERNKASTEL Hillside Vines and German Wines

Join your Adventure Host for today’s special activities.

This morning, enjoy a leisurely sailing.

ACTIVE Join your Adventure Host for a hike in this beautiful area, OR:

CLASSIC Take a Guided Walking Tour of the charming wine village of Bernkastel—with its medieval marketplace and 17th-century gabled timber-framed houses.

DISCOVERY Join a Wine Tasting to experience the tradition of legendary German wine making.

EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO GREVENMACHER

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GREVENMACHER. EXCURSION TO LUXEMBOURG Ancient Worlds and Old-World Charm

CLASSIC Join a Guided Tour of Luxembourg City—with its dramatic views, ancient ruins, and modern architecture along the deep gorge terrain.

During lunchtime, enjoy a short sailing to Trier.

TRIER, GERMANY

Ancient Worlds, and Old-World Charm

ACTIVE Wander and Discover Trier. Follow your Adventure Host for a Walk in and around this city, OR:

CLASSIC Take a Guided Sightseeing tour of Trier—Germany’s oldest city with ancient remnants dating from 144-152 AD. Starting from Porta Nigra, walk through the city center.

DISCOVERY On board wine tasting hosted by your Master of Wine.

EVENING/OVERNIGHT CRUISE TO COCHEM

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COCHEM The Charm of the Moselle Valley

Ask about today’s energizing or relaxing Adventure Host activities.

ACTIVE Bike along the Moselle River with your Adventure Host, OR:

DISCOVERY Visit the former bunker of Germany's Central Bank (Deutsche Bundesbank) and immerse yourself in the underground vault where millions of German Mark were kept during the Cold War, OR:

CLASSIC Join a Guided Walk of Cochem to see the charming town’s half-timbered houses and winding streets. Visit the hilltop Reichsburg Castle with a bird’s-eye-view of the Moselle Valley and river bend.

Enjoy a short cruise to Alken, where you have free time to explore at your own pace. Alternatively, select a Guided Optional Excursion to Eltz Castle.

EVENING CRUISE TO COLOGNE

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Cologne is a city in western Germany located across the Rhine river. It is the oldest in Germany, dating back 2000 years and is considered the region’s cultural hub. The city is known for its iconic landmark of the twin-spired Cologne Cathedral set against the reconstructed Old Town buildings. When in Old Town, visit the historic Old Town Hall and the Roman Church Great St Martin, or take time out and sit at one of the traditional breweries and enjoy the scenery around you. Historical sites such as the Roman Dionysus mosaic and the medieval Overstolzenhaus are worth a visit too. Another iconic sight in Cologne is at Hohenzollern Bridge. Here, local and tourist couples affix padlocks to the railings of the bridge and swear their loyalty to each other, they then throw the key into the Rhein to ensure everlasting love. Cologne is home to over 30 stages providing cabaret, free ensembles, theatre and dance and also celebrates its openly gay culture.

COLOGNE Prost! Celebrate in the Rhineland’s Capital City

ACTIVE Enjoy a bike ride like the locals in Cologne with your Adventure Host, OR:

DISCOVERY Choose a Guided Walking Tour of Cologne’s important Jewish heritage sites, OR:

CLASSIC Take a Guided City Walk of Cologne—with its soaring twin-steepled gothic cathedral.

Spend free time over a glass of Kölsch pale lager—locally brewed for over 100 years!

DISCOVERY Onboard wine and chocolate tasting hosted by your Master of Wine.

AFTERNOON/OVERNIGHT SAILING TO AMSTERDAM

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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 Canals of Colorful Amsterdam

ACTIVE Start your day joining your Adventure Host on an early morning walk in Amsterdam, OR:

CLASSIC Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”

During tulip season, you may take a Guided Optional Excursion to Keukenhof gardens—with more than seven million tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths, as well as other bulbs, planted each year. Outside of tulip season, join a Guided Optional Excursion to Zaanse Schans to see historic windmills and charming Dutch houses.

Alternatively, choose an Optional Biking Tour to discover the countryside.

You may choose to spend some free time this afternoon visiting one of Amsterdam’s many fascinating museums or galleries.

OVERNIGHT DOCKING IN AMSTERDAM

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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.

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