Dutch Dreams

Amsterdam to Amsterdam  - 9 days

Day 1:	Depart Home Gateway City to Amsterdam
Day 2:	Arrive Amsterdam Arrive at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport and be greeted by a representative who will escort you to the ship. (D)
Day 3:	Amsterdam Featured Excursions: City Tour and Rijksmuseum Optional Tours: See Amsterdam at its romantic best with a candlelight canal cruise, complete with fresh local cheeses and lovely wines. Onboard Highlights: Captain's Welcome Dinner Spend your first full day in Holland's largest city, Amsterdam. Your guided tour will take you though the canal-lined streets where you'll view the Mint Tower, Dam Square, the Royal Palace and Museum Square. Visit the renowned Rijksmuseum, which holds the most important collection of Dutch paintings in the world, including Rembrandt's The Night Watch. (B, L, Captain's Welcome Dinner)
Day 4:	Enkhuizen and Hoorn Featured Excursions: Enkhuizen Walking Tour with Zuider Zee Museum, and Hoorn Walking Tour Optional Tours: See Hoorn and the countryside like the Dutch -on a bicycle! You'll cycle past lush green meadows, farmhouses and quaint Dutch villages. Onboard Highlights: Exciting Local Entertainment Depart Amsterdam in the early morning and travel to Enkhuizen, a lively trading center since the 17th century. Walk Old Town, where you'll see the Drommedarisa magnificent tower built in 1540 to keep watch over the port. You'll then proceed on to the Zuider Zee Open Air Museum, a museum village portraying life on the Old Zuider Zee. During your afternoon walking tour through Hoorn, you'll uncover its rich seafaring history, with its old harbor and admiralty buildings. Your guide will point out and explain the markings on medieval buildings noting the former inhabitants' trades. Hoorn was also home to the Dutch East India Company. (B, L, D)
Day 5:	Volendam Optional Tours: Visit the home of Edam cheese -those familiar red-wax wrapped spheres -for a real local "taste"of the Netherlands, and step back in history with a visit to the quaint fishing village on Marken Island. Our next port of call is Volendam, another small town where you can experience early Dutch life. Spend your day at leisure exploring this small fishing village on the IJsselmeer. Your ship is conveniently docked in the heart of the village, making it easy for you to discover Volendam. Be on the lookout for some locals still dressing in traditional costumes. Visit a clog making shop and try on a pair of the traditional wooden shoes! (B, L, D)
Day 6:	Nijmegen and Dordrecht Featured Excursions: Liberation Museum Onboard Highlights: Exciting Local Entertainment The oldest city in the Netherlands, Nijmegen dates back to Roman times. We'll visit the Liberation Museum situated in nearby Groesbeek to learn about Nijmegen's more recent history and the role this part of the Netherlands played during World War II. (B, L, D)
Day 7:	Dordrecht and Schoonhoven Featured Excursions: Kinderdijk Windmills Optional Tours: Walking tour of Gouda, with a visit to St. John's Church, the Waag (Weighing House), Grote Markt and Town Square. Includes a waffle making demonstration and delicious syrup waffle with coffee! Onboard Highlights: Insightful Lecture This is quintessential Holland -narrow unique architecture and windmills. You'll drive from Dordrecht to Kinderdijk, where you'll discover 19 well-preserved windmills, which were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. During the afternoon, we sail to Schoonhoven, where the ship will dock providing you with time to explore this quaint town on your own. Known from the Middle Ages as"Silver Town," there is still a silver and goldsmith school here and numerous jewelry and silver shops. (B, L, D)
Day 8:	Rotterdam Featured Excursions: Keukenhof Gardens and Rotterdam Harbor Cruise Onboard Highlights: Captain's Farewell Dinner Visit the Keukenhof Gardens, one of the most impressive public gardens in the world with over seven million bulbs planted on over a 70-acre site. And then during the afternoon, you'll take a harbor cruise through Rotterdam. (B, L, Captain's Farewell Dinner)
Day 9:	Depart Amsterdam Disembark the ship and transfer to the airport in Amsterdam for your flight home.