Holland & Belgium

• Exclusive cruise through the canals and rivers of the Netherlands and Belgium.
• Created in our tradition of innovative programming and educational travel.
• Access to ports unavailable to larger vessels and included excursions throughout your program.
• Specially arranged excursion to the Kröller-Müller Museum, home to one of the world's largest van Gogh collections.
• Four UNESCO World Heritage sites: 17th-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht; Mill Network at Kinderdijk-Elshout; Historic Center of Bruges; and Belfries of Belgium.
• Amsterdam Pre-Program Extension and The Hague Post‑Program Extension.

Arrive at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS). Transfer into the city, where those arriving early may enjoy a panoramic sightseeing tour on the way to the port. From there, you will embark the Viva Enjoy.

Enjoy a light lunch on board the river boat before disembarking for a private cruise through Amsterdam’s world-famous UNESCO-inscribed canals, which have been connecting the city since the early 17th century. Cruise under iconic bridges and past brightly colored houses, stately stone buildings and hundreds of cyclists!

Return to the river boat to settle in to your cabin and attend a Welcome Briefing and lifeboat drill. Tonight, join your fellow travelers for a Captain’s Welcome Reception, followed by a Welcome Dinner on board this evening. Raise a glass to your upcoming Dutch adventure!

Wake this morning to breakfast on board as we arrive in Nijmegen, a vibrant Dutch city layered with more than 2,000 years of history. Disembark for a visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum, considered one of the best in the Netherlands. Its world-class collection includes masterpieces by Claude Monet, Georges Seurat, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian and many others.

After the museum tour, return to the river boat to savor a delicious lunch on board. Afterward, disembark for a walking tour of Nijmegen. Stroll through the historic city center to see ancient Roman ruins of chapels and other structures in Valkhof Park, as well as a bunker from World War II. You will also see the Dutch Renaissance De Waag building—the Weigh House that served as a gateway to the city in the early 17th century.

Return to the boat and attend a forum to learn about modern life and the cultural heritage of the Netherlands as we depart Nijmegen. Enjoy dinner on board this evening.

After breakfast on board this morning, disembark in Dordrecht for an excursion to see the famous windmills of Kinderdijk. For more than 700 years, the canals, windmills and pumping stations here have drained the land for agriculture and protected it from flooding. Today this network of 19 authentic windmills built between 1722 and 1761 to keep water out of the polder is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is the largest assembly of windmills in the Netherlands, and these finely preserved structures are now considered national monuments.

After the tour, return to the river boat for lunch as we cruise to Willemstad. Here, you will have two choices for your afternoon excursion.

Delta Works. The flood-control project known as Delta Works, one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, manages river run-off, storm surges and flooding in the Delta region of the Netherlands. In addition to being the largest flood protection system in the world, Delta Works attracts visitors to its beaches and nature preserves.

Veere City tour. Stroll the city center, passing historic buildings dating to the 15th and 16th centuries, including the town hall. See the enormous Grote Kerk, a late-gothic church founded in 1342. Learn about the town’s unique relationship with Scotland as you view the Schotse Huizen, or Scottish houses.  Nowadays, yachts have replaced the fishing boats and trading boats that once filled the harbor in this charming seaside town.

While you are touring, the river boat will sail to the fishing village of Bruinisse, where you will re-embark for dinner on board this evening as we cruise to Belgium.

Wake this morning to breakfast on board as the boat arrives in Antwerp, where we'll dock for two days. Disembark for a scenic drive through the Flemish countryside to Bruges, the capital of West Flanders. Your immersion into historic Bruges features a stroll by the Gothic Hall, seat of city government for more than 600 years, and past the city’s UNESCO-designated belfry and tower. You will also visit the Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo’s “Virgin and Child” marble sculpture. Conclude your tour with a walk past the historic Market Square in the old city center—cradled on both sides by the river Reie.

Return to the boat for lunch on board, followed by a walking tour of Ghent, one of Belgium’s oldest cities.

Explore the medieval heart of Ghent, where you will admire the windows and Gothic steeples of St. Bavo’s Cathedral and see Hubert and Jan van Eyck’s magnificent altarpiece “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb”—the most frequently stolen artwork of all time. See the UNESCO-inscribed Belfry of Ghent, the tallest belfry in Belgium.

Enjoy dinner on board this evening.

After breakfast, disembark for a tour of Antwerp.

Known as Belgium’s “second city,” Antwerp is among the five largest seaports in the world. Famous for its diamond trade and fine arts legacy, the old city evolved within 16th-century fortifications. It is home to four of the world’s 18 diamond exchanges and an abundance of Flemish Renaissance treasures.

Stroll through narrow, winding streets to see the Cathedral of Our Lady, a 14th-century icon that was restored some 500 years later. One of the finest Gothic buildings in the Netherlands and the largest cathedral in Belgium, the cathedral contains an impressive collection of art—including such works by Peter Paul Rubens as “The Assumption of the Virgin Mary,” “The Raising of the Cross” and “The Descent from the Cross.” Its UNESCO-inscribed belfry is the tallest in Belgium. From there, walk by the 16th-century Belfry of Antwerp City Hall, another UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

Return to the boat for lunch on board and an afternoon at leisure as we sail toward Rotterdam.

After breakfast on board, you will depart this morning for an excursion to Delft, hometown to the painter Johannes Vermeer and the legendary Delftware pottery.Discover the history of the iconic blue and white earthenware that has been made at these factories since the Dutch East India Company brought Chinese porcelain to Holland in the 17th century.

From there you will travel to Keukenhof Gardens, known as the “Garden of Europe,” for an afternoon excursion. A boxed lunch will be provided for you to enjoy on the way.

A breathtaking tapestry of color and fragrance when its more than 1,000 floral varieties reach full bloom between mid-April and early May, the Keukenhof is truly a sight to behold. Meticulously landscaped with tranquil ponds, placid streams and winding, tree-shaded paths, this vibrantly hued oasis originally formed part of the Teylingen Castle estate, where, in the early 15th century, Countess Jacoba of Bavaria tended an herb and vegetable garden. The gardens of Keukenhof (translating to “kitchen garden”) were re-designed in 1857 by Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul Zocher, paving the way for the gardens we know today. In 1949, leading flower bulb growers and exporters created a plan to use the estate to exhibit spring-flowering tulips. When the park opened to the public in 1950, it was an immediate success—drawing 236,000 people during the first year alone. The nearly 500-acre Keukenhof has since developed into a display of bulbs adored by visitors from around the world.

Tonight, join your fellow travelers for a Captain’s Farewell Reception, followed by a Farewell Dinner on board this evening.

Enjoy breakfast on board as the river boat arrives in Hoorn. Named for its horn-shaped harbor, the city was chartered in 1357 and was a lively port throughout the medieval era. But it wasn’t until the Dutch Golden Age in the late 16th century that it would truly flourish and prosper. Hoorn was one of six headquarters for the Dutch East India Company, and their ships sailed across the world and brought back such exotic spices as pepper, nutmeg and cloves to sell at a large profit—wealth that simultaneously ushered in an age of fine art and innovations in science.

Disembark for a walking tour in this charming city to experience the ambiance of its historic harbor and admire the Hoofdtoren—an early 16th-century tower and one of the last city defenses still standing.

Return to the boat for lunch on board and an afternoon at leisure as we cruise back to Amsterdam.
Savor your final dinner on board tonight.