14-night Europe: France, Spain, Germany & Portugal Cruise

An Exploration of Lisbon (8 hours)

Highlights:
Lying north of the River Tagus estuary and stretching over seven hills, Portugal's capital city has much to offer.  Receive a warm welcome at the port by your private guide and driver and from here commence your engaging tour of Lisbon.

Explore the Belem district with its magnificent Jerónimos Monastery, an extraordinary example of Portugal's 'Manueline' style of architecture. Once populated by monks, the UNESCO-listed monastery was commissioned by King Manuel I to celebrate Vasco da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India in 1498. Time permitting, visit Torre de Belém (Belém Tower), one of Lisbon's most iconic buildings and symbolic of Portugal's great Age of Expansion.

Next, it's time for a refreshment stop, where you may wish to sample the famous and scrumptious Pastéis de Belém (Portuguese custard tarts). From here you return to your cruise ship.

• Discover the beautiful Belem district with its magnificent Jeronimos Monastery
• Behold the priceless treasures on display at the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum and try the exquisite pasteis de nata local pastries

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Queluz, Sintra and Estoril (8 hours)

Highlights:
Venture outside of Lisbon to explore Queluz, Sintra and Estoril during your private shore excursion. Take the short driver to the sumptuous 18th-century Queluz Palace, where you can admire the magnificent formal gardens and azulejo-lined canals.

Afterwards visit Sintra, the summer retreat of Portuguese monarchs and Moorish emirs before them. Today, this town, nestling on the north side of the Sintra Mountain, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Stroll through the town where charming streets are filled with fine handicraft shops. You then descend to Guincho beach for a fabulous view of Cape Rock, the westernmost point of the European continent and continuing to the resort town of Estoril on the scenic coastal road with fantastic views, en route back to your cruise ship.

• Explore Queluz Palace, the summer residence of the Portugese Royal Family
• Take a short drive to Sintra, the summer retreat of Portuguese monarchs and a UNESCO Word Heritage Site

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Highlights of Lisbon (4 hours)

Highlights:
See Belem Tower, one of Lisbon's iconic buildings and symbolic of the nation's Age of Expansion. Admire the impressive collection of painted and gilded Baroque coaches at the National Coach Museum.

Tour Duration: 4 hours
Tour can operate: Morning/Afternoon

Wheelchair Accessible: Please enquire for more information

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions: 

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Portugal: Porto Wine Excursion - 4 hours

Highlights
In this tour you’ll discover all about the wines from the city of Porto!

You will start the tour by doing a sightseeing tour from the port (located in Matosinhos) to the city center. After that, you'll visit the first winery with high quality of Douro wines for a Douro red and white wines tasting as an exclusive experience.

Then you'll visit a second Port Wine company (Real Companhia Velha) for another special Port Wine tasting. Real Companhia Velha is simply the oldest Port Wine company in Porto, established by a king in 1756. When this tour is finished you will return to Porto Pier.

What's included?

• Private guided tour (4h)
• Visit and wine tastings
• Transportation

• Meals and drinks not mentioned
• Souvenirs
• Gratuities

Highlights of Porto (4 hours)

Highlights:
Take in the attractive surrounding with visit to the opulent Stock Exchange Palace and St Francis Church. Enjoy a port wine tasting at one of the famous riverside lodges in the pretty Riberia district.

Tour Duration: 4 hours
Tour can operate: Morning/Afternoon

Wheelchair Accessible: Please enquire for more information

Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions: 

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Amsterdam: An Introduction to Amsterdam – 4 hours

Meet your driver at the Port in Amsterdam for a private transfer to the city centre where your guide is waiting to meet you for a walking tour of this beautiful city. Begin at Dam Square, bordered by the Royal Palace and enjoy wonderful views of the canals and gabled houses of the mercantile quarter before visiting the house in which Anne Frank wrote her celebrated diary during the last war*. After your tour, transfer in the comfort of your own private vehicle back to your ship.

*tickets for the Anne Frank House sell out very quickly and are subject to availability. Guides are not allowed to accompany you into the house itself, but will be waiting for you at the end of your visit (approx. 45-90 mins)

Highlights:

• Tour Anne Frank's house

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 4 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Amsterdam: Highlights of Amsterdam - 8 Hours

Spend the day exploring Amsterdam in the hands of your expert guide. You are met at the port and transferred to Dam Square where your morning’s walking tour includes the notable Royal Palace.  Admire the views of the canals and the gabled houses of the Canal Ring district, where you will visit the house in which Anne Frank wrote her celebrated diary during the last war*.

After lunch explore the beautifully-restored Rijksmuseum, to admire the stunning collection of masterpieces from the seventeenth-century Golden Age, including works by Rembrandt and Vermeer. No visit to Amsterdam would be complete without seeing the delightful Van Gogh Museum, home to many of his famous works as well as those of other Impressionists and Post-Impressionists.

*tickets for the Anne Frank House sell out very quickly and are subject to availability. Guides are not allowed to accompany you into the house itself, but will be waiting for you at the end of your visit (approx. 45-90 mins)

Highlights:

• Visit Anne Frank's House
• Explore the Van Gogh Museum

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Amsterdam: The Three Sisters, Delft & Den Haag - 8 Hours

You are met at Amsterdam port for a full-day excursion outside of the city. Head south into the countryside for a photo opportunity at the impressive Three Sisters Windmills in Stompwijk. As over a third of the Netherlands lies below sea level, windmills were initially designed to pump vast amount of water out, thus protecting land from flooding. Today, these silent giants draw many visitors every year for their charming appearances.

From here, you travel on to Delft, world-renowned for its famous blue and white pottery and one of the most beautiful towns in the Netherlands. Take in the town’s architectural gems and charming ambience, which are best appreciated by walking along its small canals with their graceful humpbacked bridges.

Following this, enjoy a privately-guided tour at the Royal Delft Experience, where a painter shares the passion behind the production of this stunning 17th-century earthenware during a special demonstration.

After lunch at leisure, you continue to the Hague, the home of the Dutch Royal Family and the administrative capital of the Netherlands; walk the Inner court past the Government buildings and take the opportunity for a photo stop at the International Court of Justice. You may like to visit the Mauritshuis Museum, which holds one of the world's finest collections of paintings, including Rembrandt, Steen, Hals, Rubens and Van Dyck, or you may choose to visit the Panorama Mesdag, which hosts the Panorama, one of the largest canvas paintings in the world (subject to opening times).

On your return journey, stop at Scheveningen beach for some spectacular views before continuing back. (8 hours, driver and guide)


Highlights:

• Witness the majestic windmills known as the Three Sisters
• Delve into Delft's artistic heritage

• Private transport by luxury car or minivan
• An expert local guide for 8 hours
• Entrance fees to all sights and museums
• All taxes

• All cruise travel, personal items, meals and associated costs
• Gratuities

Hamburg – Gem of the Elbe river (6 hours walking tour)

Highlights:
 
Meet your hand selected driver-guide to discuss your interests for the day before getting started into the famous 800 year old Hanseatic port city, the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam
 
Pass the container and cargo terminals of the world’s largest ware house complex ‘Speicherstadt’ built in the late 19^th century with gabled roofs and small towers
 
Drive along Inner Alster Lake and the main shopping and financial area before reaching the Outer Alster Lake, one of Hamburg's finest residential areas surrounded by lovely promenades and elegant villa gardens
 
See the impressive Elbphilharmonic hall, designed by the star architect team Herzog & de Meuron and inaugurated as Hamburg´s main concert hall in the year 2017
 
Continue touring the city center with its mixture of modern and historic architecture, the ruins of St. Nicolai, St. Peter's Church and the incredible old City Hall, built in Neo-Renaissance style, as well as the Reeperbahn of St. Pauli, one of the world's largest red-light district
 
Stop at the lively Fish Market and watch traders while enjoying a snack of fresh catch
 
Time permitting attend a short organ recital at 12:00 noon at the baroque St. Michael´s Church, the emblem and landmark of Hamburg
End of tour at the ship or at place of interest
 
You might want to visit Miniature Wunderland the model railway attraction, the largest of its kind in the world (we will gladly arrange timeslots for you)
 
Tour Duration: 4 hours
Tour can operate: All day
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Touring with one of our excellent driver-guides
• Transportation in luxury car
• All taxes

• Meals
• Optional admissions
• Tipping at your discretion

Hamburg – Gem of the Elbe river (6 hours walking tour)

Highlights:
 
Meet your hand selected driver-guide to discuss your interests for the day before getting started into the famous 800 year old Hanseatic port city, the second largest port in Europe after Rotterdam
 
Pass the container and cargo terminals of the world’s largest ware house complex ‘Speicherstadt’ built in the late 19^th century with gabled roofs and small towers
 
Drive along Inner Alster Lake and the main shopping and financial area before reaching the Outer Alster Lake, one of Hamburg's finest residential areas surrounded by lovely promenades and elegant villa gardens
 
See the impressive Elbphilharmonic hall, designed by the star architect team Herzog & de Meuron and inaugurated as Hamburg´s main concert hall in the year 2017
 
Continue touring the city center with its mixture of modern and historic architecture, the ruins of St. Nicolai, St. Peter's Church and the incredible old City Hall, built in Neo-Renaissance style, as well as the Reeperbahn of St. Pauli, one of the world's largest red-light district
 
Stop at the lively Fish Market and watch traders while enjoying a snack of fresh catch
 
Time permitting attend a short organ recital at 12:00 noon at the baroque St. Michael´s Church, the emblem and landmark of Hamburg
End of tour at the ship or at place of interest
 
You might want to visit Miniature Wunderland the model railway attraction, the largest of its kind in the world (we will gladly arrange timeslots for you)
 
Tour Duration: 4 hours
Tour can operate: All day
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Physical Activity Level: Light

Inclusions:

• Touring with one of our excellent driver-guides
• Transportation in luxury car
• All taxes

• Meals
• Optional admissions
• Tipping at your discretion