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Home > Tauck > MS Swiss Emerald
 | Holland and Belgium in Spring (Brussels to Amsterdam)
Discount Code: 2061090404 | | Call for Low Prices! |
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| | Operator | Tauck | | Ship | MS Swiss Emerald | | Length | 10 Days | | Port Charges | Included | | Starting City | Brussels, Belgium | | Ending City | Amsterdam, Holland | | Regions | Holland, Belgium | | Rivers | Maas | | Departure Date | Apr 04, 2009 | | Return Date | Apr 13, 2009 |
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Cabin Pricing
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Cat2 |
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Cat4 |
| $3490 |
$3740 |
$4340 |
$4640 |
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Only with AffordableTours.com receive Low Unpublished Prices. Call us to receive our lowest unpublished price. We are having an unadvertised sale so please call to receive our lowest price!
| Set sail for 10 days aboard the Swiss Emerald. Depart from Brussels and visit highlights locations such as Bruges, Antwerp, Maastricht, Enkhuizen, Hoorn and Amsterdam. Onboard, enjoy all the fine amenities that Tauck World Discovery has to offer. | _2061.jpg) |
| CURRENT PROMOTIONS | -
2 for 1 Air
Special or Save $1000 per person on air!
Mention Promo Code: PR23
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ITINERARY
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1. Arrive Brussels
Tour begins: 6:00 PM, Hotel Amigo. A transfer is included from Brussels Airport
to the Hotel Amigo. Your five-star hotel - a member of The Leading Hotels of the
World - is ideally located in the heart of Belgium's capital, adjacent to Grand
Place, one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. We invite you to join us
this evening for a welcome cocktail reception followed by dinner.
Hotel Amigo ~ Meals D
* 2. Medieval Bruges / Embark Ship
Travel this morning through the Belgian countryside to beautiful Bruges in the
heart of Belgium's Flanders region. A UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for
its extraordinary architecture as well as for its reputation as the birthplace
of Flemish painting, Bruges enjoyed its "golden age" between the 12th and 15th
centuries, when it was a wealthy and vital port linking Flanders with the
lucrative Mediterranean Sea trade. A sightseeing tour and canal boat cruise
reveal the cobbled streets, half-timbered houses, flower-rimmed canals and
ancient arched bridges of this beautiful medieval city, one of the
best-preserved in Europe. You'll have some time to explore historic Bruges on
your own before traveling to Antwerp for embarkation on MS Swiss Sapphire or MS
Swiss Emerald. Please join us for a Belgian beer reception and Belgian-style
dinner aboard the riverboat tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BD
* 3. Antwerp / Albert Canal
A sightseeing tour of the port city of Antwerp includes the 1905 Central
Station, the opera house and city park. Visit Antwerp's historic Jewish quarter
- one of Europe's largest Jewish communities - and the Peter Paul Rubens House,
a museum in the reconstructed Renaissance-Baroque home of the 17th-century
Flemish painter, displaying his works and those of his contemporaries (may be
subject to weekly closures). See how fine Belgian chocolate is made on a visit
to a local chocolatier. Return to the ship and set off on a cruise through the
Albert Canal to Maastricht in the Netherlands. Join the ship's Captain for a
welcome reception tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
* 4. Maastricht / Château Neercanne
Rivaling Nijmegen as one of the oldest towns in the Netherlands, Maastricht is
said to contain more than 1,400 historic buildings and monuments. A walking tour
of Old Town includes the ancient remains of the city's medieval fortifications
and Helpoort, a steep-roofed gateway built in 1229. On Vrijthof Square, the
town's central lime-tree-shaded square, visit the 16th-century Spanish
Government House and the 1,000-year-old, Gothic-style Sint-Servaasbasiliek
(Basilica of Saint Servatius); it is one of the country's oldest churches, and
the latest in a series that have stood on the gravesite of St. Servatius since
the sixth century AD. Later, join us on a poignant visit to the Netherlands
American Cemetery in Margraten, the only World War II cemetery in the country.
Lunch today is a Tauck Exclusive - a memorable interactive culinary experience
at 17th-century Château Neercanne, the only terraced castle in the Netherlands
and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where you'll don a chef's hat, visit the
kitchen and enjoy an extraordinary meal served in the castle's Roman grottoes.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
* 5. Maas River Cruising / Nijmegen
Spend the morning cruising the Maas River through the scenic Dutch countryside
to Nijmegen, the Netherlands' oldest city, whose roots go back thousands of
years to Roman times. Ancient ruins and intact historic buildings alike document Nijmegen's storied past
- from the 8th-century Valkhof, once the stronghold of
Charlemagne, to the 14th-century church of Sint-Stevenskerk and the
well-preserved Grote Markt. Visit the Museum Het Valkhof to see artifacts such
as Roman coins, glassware and jewelry, as well as Nijmegen silver and guild
objects. Your riverboat docks in Arnhem tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
* 6. Airborne Museum / De Hoge Veluwe
From Arnhem, travel by land to Oosterbeek for a visit to the World War II
Airborne Museum, housed in a former Allied command center from the 1944
operation depicted in the film A Bridge Too Far. You'll also explore the
well-preserved streets of the old Hanseatic town of Deventer. Or you may choose
to visit De Hoge Veluwe National Park in Arnhem - the largest nature reserve in
the Netherlands - and, within it, the Kröller-Müller Museum, home to over 275
works by van Gogh. Rejoin the ship at Deventer and spend the afternoon cruising.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
* 7. Enkhuizen / Hoorn / Alkmaar
Cruise to Enkhuizen, considered one of the Netherlands' prettiest towns, a
former center of herring fishing laced with canals and historic buildings. A
walking tour features a visit to the open-air Zuiderzee Museum, a fascinating
complex of 140 rebuilt structures recreating life in a Zuiderzee (south sea)
fishing village between the 1880s and the 1930s. Your riverboat continues on to
the 650-year-old lakeside city of Hoorn on the IJsselmeer, once a prosperous
17th-century sea-trading port and capital of West Friesland that today is the
center of the Netherlands' farming region. It was also the birthplace of
explorer Willem Schouten, who in 1616 named South America's southern tip Cape
Horn in honor of his hometown. You have a choice of a walking tour of Hoorn to
discover its many intact 16th- and 17th-century house facades, or a journey to
the Alkmaar region in the Schermer polder. There, you'll visit the Schermer
Museum Windmill, dating from 1634, for a look at how windmills created the
polder, and the Zeezicht cheese farm for a tour and a cheese-making
demonstration.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
* 8. Discover Vibrant Amsterdam
Arrive overnight in Amsterdam; the Netherlands' lively capital city is a vibrant
blend of the historic and the contemporary, from its medieval core and
surrounding network of 17th-century canals, to the bustling shops, cafés and
rich cultural life of a 21st-century European metropolis. Have breakfast aboard
ship before departing for Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse, where millions of tulips,
daffodils and hyacinths are in various stages of bloom at this time of the year.
Following lunch aboard your riverboat, you'll enjoy a relaxing afternoon in
Amsterdam that's spent as you please. The Captain and crew bid you farewell at a
reception and dinner aboard ship tonight.
Aboard the Riverboat ~ Meals BLD
9. Disembark Ship / Canal Cruise
After disembarking the riverboat, begin an overnight stay in Amsterdam with an
inspiring visit to the famed Rijksmuseum, home to myriad works by the Dutch
Masters, including Rembrandt's The Night Watch. The Netherlands' capital was
designed around a system of canals built during the 17th century; enjoy a
luncheon canal cruise for a different view of the city. Your five-star
accommodations tonight are at the Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel in the heart of
Amsterdam.
Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel ~ Meals BL
10. Journey Home
Tour ends: Amsterdam, Netherlands. Fly home any time; a transfer from the
Renaissance Amsterdam Hotel to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport is included. Allow a
minimum of 2 1/2 hours for flight check-in. For additional hotel nights in
Amsterdam (or Brussels), inquire at time of booking. Meals B
* = cruise day
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WHATS INCLUDED
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- Gratuities to ship staff, drivers, Tauck Directors and Tauck Cruise
Director
- All private Tauck shore excursions - $690 Value!
- Overnight stays in Brussels and Amsterdam at 5-star hotels, centrally located
in the heart of the cities
- A Tauck Exclusive: Interactive culinary experience at Château Neercanne, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Visits to Keukenhof Gardens, Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum, and Museum Het Valkhof
in Nijmegen
- A scenic luncheon canal cruise in Amsterdam and a canal boat ride in medieval
Bruges
- A cheese-making demonstration and a visit to a 17th-century windmill museum in
the Alkmaar region
- Visits to the World War II Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, or Arnhem's
Kröller-Müller Museum
- A poignant visit to the Netherlands American Cemetery
- Breakfast & dinner daily and most lunches. Select meals in local restaurants;
wine with dinner on the riverboat
- Service charges, taxes, porterage, airport transfers and applicable fuel
surcharges
Land / cruise price per person, based on double occupancy, includes
cruise fare, most meals, port charges, wine with dinner aboard ship, shore
excursions, applicable fuel surcharges, and gratuities to Tauck Directors, Tauck
Cruise Director, ship staff, local guides & drivers, and on all included meals.
International Airfare is additional. Call Tauck for special rates on
international air, in coach or business, for travel originating in the U.S.
(subject to availability).
Itinerary Changes - Although not expected, Tauck reserves the right to
alter the sequence of ports or omit or substitute scheduled ports or attractions
at any time without prior notice. North and south itineraries are similar; ask
at booking for the Amsterdam to Brussels itinerary. Museums and attractions may
be subject to closure due to state, local or religious holidays. This cruise
includes a fair amount of walking in each city.
Please ask at time of booking about additional hotel nights before or
after your cruise, or about our Cruise Protection Plan.
Note:
Cruises of Apr 4 & 18 will not visit the Peter Paul Rubens House in Antwerp
due to weekly closures.
Pricing Categories
for Itinerary is as follows:
| Category 1 |
Category - 1 |
| Category 2 |
Category - 2 |
| Category 3 |
Category - 3 |
| Category 4 |
Category - 4 |
Cabin upgrades are available upon request! | | ^Top |
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| Note: All prices, itineraries, accommodations and dates are subject to change without notice and at any time by the river cruise operators. Availability is limited and must be reconfirmed at time of booking. Please call us toll free at 1-800-342-0019 to confirm availability and current pricing on all our discounted specials. The prices on this website are not guaranteed until a deposit has been made. We are not responsible for errors, omissions, or changes in these prices until a booking has been confirmed by one of our agents. | | |
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