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. You may choose to join a guided optional excursion to beautiful Zaanse Schans where you’ll see a wonderful collection of well-preserved historic windmills and Dutch houses.

Set sail while enjoying dinner on your first night onboard.

Classic: Join a full - or half-day Guided Tour of breathtaking Keukenhof—known as the “Garden of Europe”—for its 70 acres of lush parkland, lakes, and the world’s largest flower gardens—with more than seven million tulips, daffodils, and hyacinths as well as other bulbs, planted each year.

Take some free time to relax on the harbor-side in Rotterdam with an artisan beer, a slice of apple tart and a koffie verkeerd, a typical Dutch drink of half coffee, half milk. Take a bike from your ship to explore Rotterdam and the surrounding area. Before dinner, enjoy a cruise through Rotterdam harbor. Later, enjoy live entertainment onboard.
 

Classic: Take a Guided Tour of this sophisticated city to visit the central Grote Markt, lined with 16th-century guildhall houses. You’ll also see the beautiful city hall, the Cathedral of Our Lady with its stunning altarpiece paintings by Rubens.

You may choose to join a guided optional excursion to the nearby capital, Brussels—considered home to the European Union, and admire its magnificent palaces and cathedrals. You might prefer to take time on your own to indulge in Antwerp’s signature Belgian waffles and crêpes—or explore this bike-friendly city from its old wharves to its legendary diamond district.
 

You’ll have time for an early-morning walk (or jog) to explore the architecture and canals of Ghent—“Belgium’s best-kept secret.”

Classic: Explore Ghent—“The Diamond of Flanders”—with a Guided Sightseeing Tour of this showcase of medieval Flemish wealth. You’ll visit St. Bavo’s Cathedral—with its remarkable Flemish artwork.

You may choose to join a Guided Optional Excursion of Bruges to explore its canals, cobbled streets and medieval buildings. You’ll see its crisscrossed canals, the 13th-century belfry of Market Square, and charming patrician houses.

Classic: Join a guided walking tour of the historic merchant city of Middelburg—with its 15th-century gothic Town Hall. You’ll learn about the spice trade of this Dutch harbor capital of Zeeland, its prosperity in the Dutch East India Company trading, and origins as a stronghold city. Enjoy its winding cobbled streets and canals that circle Old Town.

Spend some free time biking or walking through Middelburg to sample Babbelaar cookies, fries, or beer before cruising to Veere this afternoon.

Discovery: Join a guided tour of the Delta Works, the largest flood-protection system in the world, and a miracle of modern technology.
 

Active: Join your Avalon Adventure Host for a Nordic Walking in Willemstad.

Classic: Join a Guided Walking Tour of Willemstad and discover its many beautifully restored buildings from the 17th and 18th Century.

Discovery: Later, enjoy a Cheese Tasting on board as you prepare to sail to Amsterdam.

Discovery: Discover Aalsmeer Flower Auction—the largest in the world, where around 20 million flowers are sold every day. Later enjoy a typical Dutch breakfast, 

Classic: Explore the iconic waterways of Amsterdam on a Guided Canal Cruise past stately homes of Amsterdam’s “Golden Age.”

This afternoon choose among the many Guided Optional Excursions available.Take some free time to explore Amsterdam’s colorful streets and canal houses, galleries, and shops.

Transfer from your Avalon Ship to the train station, to begin your Monograms package. Travel to Paris by high-speed train (first class).

Morning guided sightseeing includes a drive past the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides, Place de la Concorde, the Arc de Triomphe and a stop to take photos of the Eiffel Tower from one of the best panoramic viewing points. Also admire the heart of the city from a different perspective on a Seine River cruise. Embark your comfortable boat near the Eiffel Tower and spend a relaxing hour gliding by many of the city's important landmarks such as the L'Institut de France; Notre Dame Cathedral; Hôtel de Ville, the city's municipal headquarters; the Conciergerie, formerly a notorious prison where Marie-Antoinette spent the last days of her life; famous Louvre Palace and museum; and much more.