Day 1 Amsterdam | Embark
Welcome to Amsterdam. Your suite ship is ready for boarding. Flights into Amsterdam must arrive by 3:30 pm. Guests must be on board ship by 5 pm.
Your day in Amsterdam is free to explore at your leisure. 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.
Day 2 Amsterdam
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Classic: Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a guided canal cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”
You may like to join a guided optional excursion to Muiderslot Castle, or a guided optional biking excursion to the Dutch countryside.
Alternatively, spend some free time this afternoon visiting one of Amsterdam’s many fascinating museums or galleries.
Day 3 Cologne, Germany
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Classic: Take a guided city walk of Cologne—with its soaring twin-steepled gothic cathedral.
Discovery: Choose a guided walking tour of Cologne’s important Jewish heritage sites.
Don’t miss the chance to enjoy free time over a glass of Kölsch pale lager—locally brewed for over 100 years! Local musicians will join us on board for live entertainment.
Day 4 Koblenz
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Classic: Take a guided city walk amid ancient fortresses walls, towers, squares, and monuments.
Classic: Visit the Sayn Manor House on a guided tour.
Spend free time on a cable-car ride, or a hike to see the mountain-top Ehrenbreitstein Fortress. Enjoy a leisurely walk across the town to shop or sample potato pancakes and regional wine. Later, enjoy live entertainment on board.
Day 5 Bernkastel
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
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 winemaking.
Grab Nordic walking sticks or a bike from the ship and explore the surrounding nature trails or leisurely hike up the hills for breathtaking views of the Moselle.
Day 6 Remich
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Classic: Join a guided tour of Luxembourg City—with its dramatic views, ancient ruins, and modern architecture along the deep gorge terrain.
Later, enjoy live entertainment on board your ship.
Day 7 Trier, Germany
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
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.
Classic: Join a history-focused Roman Trier guided tour to learn more about the history of Roman civilization in this Moselle River city, and visit the ruins of a 20,000-seat amphitheater and imperial baths.
Day 8 Cochem
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Classic: Join a guided walk of Cochem to see the charming town’s half-timbered houses and winding streets. Visit Cochem’s hilltop Reichsburg Castle with a birds-eye-view of the Moselle Valley and river bend.
Day 9 Boppard | Rhine Gorge | Rüdesheim
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Active: Go for a scenic walk this morning through the village of Boppard with your Avalon Adventure Host.
Alternatively, choose to explore Boppard’s beautiful views and forested surroundings on a bike ride or hike at your own pace. Spend some free time this morning visiting a local café for a cup of German coffee.
Enjoy the breathtaking views as you cruise through the spectacular Rhine Gorge on your way to Rüdesheim.
Discovery: Tour the incredible Mechanical Music Museum for a one-of-a-kind instrumental experience; based on your departure enjoy a local special treat.
Active: Take an open-air cable car ride to the Niederwald Monument. Ride or walk back down through the vineyards; based on your departure enjoy a local special treat.
Active: Enjoy a hike with your Avalon Adventure Host through the picturesque vineyards of Rüdesheim.
Day 10 Ludwigshafen
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
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.”
Active: Join your Avalon Adventure Host for a hike up Philosophers’ Way for an inspiring view of the city below.
You’ll have free time to stroll or shop this afternoon.
Day 11 Strasbourg, France
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
Active: Join your Avalon Adventure Host for a morning walk.
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.
You may also choose to join a guided optional excursion to the historic Maginot Line—an impressive installation of pre-WWII defensive fortifications designed to protect the eastern border of France or visit Alsace’s wine country today.
Alternatively, take some free time in Strasbourg to visit a museum, or stroll across the city center.
Day 12 Breisach, Germany
- Ship
- 1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
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.
Discovery: Visit Badische Winzerkeller, the largest German wine producer in Europe. Discover Germany’s southernmost wine country in Baden—ideally situated between the hills of the Black Forest and the Rhine River. Learn about the vintners’ process in the vineyards here, and enjoy a wine tasting.
You may choose to join a guided optional excursion to visit the charming village of Colmar in the morning, with its half-timbered medieval and early renaissance buildings.
Day 13 Basel, Switzerland | Disembark
Your cruise ends with breakfast this morning.