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       - Grand European Serenade

Jun 6, 2008*
Jun 18, 2008
Jul 10, 2008*
Aug 5, 2008
Aug 23, 2008
Aug 27, 2008*
Sep 22, 2008
Oct 14, 2008*

*On these dates cruise operates from Bucharest to Amsterdam.

River Duchess
River Countess

1-888-942-3301

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West meets East on one grand exploration
This trip combines two wonderful itineraries, European Serenade and Eastern Europe Explorer, into one grand journey where you’ll experience both Western and Eastern Europe and visit nine countries, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania. This adventure gives you the chance to see countless historic districts, museums and churches—many of them UNESCO listed. And it provides you the opportunity to immerse yourself in the cultures of the countries you visit, observe the daily rituals of the locals and get an idea of what life is like in Europe’s historic cities and villages, not just today, but in centuries past.

Travel the old pathways of kings and queens
Sail through the heart of Europe for more than 2,200 miles. Enjoy the natural beauty of pastoral landscapes, the vineyards of the romantic Rhine and the Danube’s famed Iron Gates. Witness the dramatic changes in Eastern European countries since the end of the Cold War to the European Union membership. See the works of famous Dutch Masters at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Listen to the whimsical music from unique mechanical instruments while in Rüdesheim. And experience plenty of UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Cologne Cathedral, Bamberg’s and Regensburg’s Old Towns, Budapest’s Castle Hill district, the Upper Middle Rhine Valley with its many castles, and the wonderfully scenic Wachau Valley. This perfectly-paced trip truly is a voyage and value of a lifetime!

Who will enjoy this cruise: Those ready for a real quest and a life-enhancing experience that takes you from the colorful canals of Amsterdam to the captivating and reemerging cities of Eastern Europe.

DAY 1: Depart Home Gateway City to Amsterdam

DAY 2: Amsterdam (embark)
Arrive in Amsterdam where you’ll be greeted by a Uniworld representative and transferred to the ship. (D)

DAY 3: Amsterdam
Featured Excursion: City tour including Rijksmuseum visit. Your panoramic tour takes you past Mint Tower, Dam Square, the Royal Palace, Museum Square and across many canals. Visit the renowned Rijksmuseum, with priceless works of art by Vermeer, Rembrandt and other Dutch Masters of the Golden Age. (BB, L, D)

DAY 4: Cologne
Featured Excursion: Cologne walking tour and cathedral visit. Today’s tour takes you through the narrow streets of Old Town as you make your way to the magnificent Cologne Cathedral. Inside this UNESCO World Heritage Site, the earthly remains of the Biblical Three Kings of the Magi are believed to lay at rest. (BB, L, D) Note: On Sundays and Catholic holidays, guided tours inside the Cathedral will not be possible.

DAY 5: Boppard, Cruising the Romantic Rhine, Rüdesheim
Featured Excursion: Siegfried’s Museum. Irresistible Optional Tour: Rüdesheim Dinner and entertainment. During the morning, you’ll enjoy leisure time in charming Boppard. In the afternoon, you’ll sail along one of the most beautiful sections of the Rhine with its vine-filled slopes, and its 40 castles strung like pearls on the river’s ledges. This section of the river is so spectacular that it has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Later in the day you’ll reach Rüdesheim, where you’ll visit famous Siegfried’s Museum, showcasing one of the world’s best collections of mechanical musical instruments. (BB, L, D)

DAY 6: Rüdesheim, Mainz
Featured Excursion: Mainz walking tour and Gutenberg Museum. Mainz is famous for Johannes Gutenberg, the town’s native son who invented the printing press with movable type. Our walking tour of downtown Mainz includes a visit to the Gutenberg Museum. (BB, L, D) Note: Museum closed on Monday.

DAY 7: Miltenberg
Featured Excursion: Miltenberg walking tour. Your adventures along this breathtakingly beautiful section of the river begin with a visit to Miltenberg, a medieval town with crooked streets and leaning houses that are right out of the pages of a German fairy tale. Your walking tour takes you right into Old Town with its cobblestone streets and timber-frame houses. (BB, L, D)

DAY 8: Würzburg (Rothenburg)
Featured Excursion: Full-day tour of Rothenburg. Travel to Rothenburg, the best preserved medieval town in Germany. With half-timbered houses and imposing fortifications, the townscape is still much as it was in the Middle Ages. Taste the flavors of Germany during an included lunch at a local restaurant. (BB, L, D)

DAY 9: Bamberg
Featured Excursion: Bamberg walking tour. Arrive in the historical Franconian city of Bamberg. Our guided walking tour of this UNESCO World Heritage Site showcases the imperial cathedral, the Old Town Hall, the old fisherman’s houses of “Little Venice” and the New Palace with its baroque garden. (BB, L, D)

DAY 10: Nuremberg
Featured Excursion: Nuremberg city tour. Today’s tour takes you through Nuremberg, an archetypal German medieval city encircled by mighty defensive walls and red-roofed buildings. Discover the sights of Nuremberg and its World War II history during your panoramic tour and then explore the walled Old Town on foot. (BB, L, D)

DAY 11: Regensburg
Featured Excursion: Regensburg walking tour. An unspoiled gem and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Regensburg is a friendly town with quaint cobblestone streets, medieval alleys and historic Roman remains. On your walking tour, you’ll see the Cathedral of St. Peter, with magnificent stained glass windows dating from the 14th century, and the town’s famous 12th-century Stone Bridge. (BB, L, D)

DAY 12: Linz
Featured Excursion: Linz walking tour. Irresistible Optional Tour: Full-day excursion to Salzburg. The Danube serves as a dividing line between the modern city of Linz and its old “soul.” You’ll visit Linz’s Old Church built in the 1670s by the Jesuits, and you’ll be guided through the pedestrian zone, Alter Market, and the impressive Main Square. (BB, L, D)

DAY 13: Scenic Cruising Wachau Valley, Vienna
Featured Excursion: Vienna city tour. Irresistible Optional Tour: Vienna Concert. Today as we depart Linz, cruise through the heart of the picturesque, vineyard-rich Wachau Valley, a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, with its abruptly rising hills, and nestling baroque villages. Vienna’s compact historic city center is an exciting array of cafés and grand palaces, culminating at the magnificent gothic cathedral. Your city tour will take you along the stately Ringstrasse to the most beloved architectural wonder in all of Vienna, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, where Mozart was married in 1782. (BB, L, D)

DAY 14: Vienna
Spend the day at leisure, exploring this fascinating city at your own pace. (BB, L, D)

DAY 15: Vienna
Featured Excursion: Schönbrunn Palace. Irresistible Optional Tour: Vienna Woods. From former hunting lodge to stunning palace rivaling Versailles, Schönbrunn Palace is a must see on any visit to Austria. Our visit will concentrate on the Imperial rooms and the era of Franz Joseph and his beloved Empress Sissi, whose popularity throughout Europe through the Gilded Age was unmatched by any before her. Mozart, Austria’s most famous citizen was at the height of his creative powers when he lived here, writing perhaps his most famous works: The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. (BB, L, D)

DAY 16: Bratislava
Featured Excursion: Bratislava city tour. During your tour through the “Coronation City of Kings,” get acquainted with a sampling of the town’s eclectic architecture. Pass the 17th-century palace, Old Town’s Freedom Square, Peace Square, Bratislava Castle, Mirbach Palace and Primatial Palace. (BB, L, D)

DAY 17: Budapest
Featured Excursion: Budapest city tour. Irresistible Optional Tour: Half-day Szentendre. Your tour features the famous 19th-century Chain Bridge, the Great Synagogue, the Opera House, St. Stephen’s Basilica, the Parliament Building, the Castle Hill district, and the 19th-century Fisherman’s Bastion. (BB, L, D)

DAY 18: Budapest
Featured Excursion: Visit to a horse farm in the Puszta with show. Enjoy the day at leisure in Budapest or take an optional excursion to the countryside where you’ll see the Hungarian horsemanship of the Puszta. (BB, L, D)

DAY 19: Vukovar (Osijek)
Featured Excursion: Osijek with home-hosted lunch. Tour the Croatian university town of Osijek. After your tour, we’ll have lunch hosted by local Croatians who will share their culture with the help of interpreters. (BB, L, D)

DAY 20: Belgrade
Featured Excursion: Belgrade city tour. We start our tour with a panoramic drive through Belgrade, which means “White City” as it was destroyed 40 times and resurrected as many times. We will see Republic Square and the Belgrade Fortress in Kalemegdan Park. We’ll cap things off with a visit to St. Sava Cathedral. (BB, L, D)

DAY 21: Belgrade, Kostolac
Featured Excursion: Viminacium Archeological Site. Explore the archeological site of Viminacium, a former Roman city with luxurious villas and an amphitheater. Over 32,000 unearthed artifacts and well-preserved structures show their former grandeur. (BB, L, D)

DAY 22: Kostolac, Scenic Cruising the Iron Gates, Vidin
Relax onboard as we cruise the Iron Gates, a spectacular 80-mile long Danube gorge. (BB, L, D)

DAY 23: Vidin (Belogradchik)
Featured Excursion: Visit Baba Vida Fortress and the spectacular Belogradchik Rock Formations. We will visit the Baba Vida Fortress before driving to Belogradchik, a fairy tale world made of weathered red sandstone. (BB, L, D)

DAY 24: Rousse (Veliko Turnovo and Arbanassi)
Featured Excursion: Veliko Turnovo and Arbanassi. In Veliko Turnovo, see the Tzarevetz Fortress and enjoy a traditional Bulgarian lunch. After lunch, tour the Nativity Church in Arbanassi. (BB, L, Captain’s Farewell Dinner)

DAY 25: Silistra (Varna and Black Sea Cruise)
Featured Excursion: Balchik, Varna & Black Sea. Enjoy the Balchik Botanical Gardens. Visit Varna’s Archeological Museum, savor Bulgarian cuisine during lunch at a local restaurant, and enjoy an exclusive cruise on the Black Sea. (BB, L, D) Note: Navigation on the Black Sea may at times be closed by maritime authorities due to adverse weather conditions.

DAY 26: Oltenita (disembark), transfer to Bucharest
Featured Excursion: Bucharest city tour. Disembark the ship in Oltenita and travel to Bucharest via motorcoach. Enjoy a Bucharest city tour with a visit to the Palace of Parliament, the second largest building in the world, before checking into your hotel. (BB, L)

DAY 27: Bucharest
Irresistible Optional Tour: Transylvania Tour with visit to Bran Castle and Snagov Island. Spend your last day at leisure or go on an optional tour to Transylvania, the legendary “Dracula’s Castle,” and Snagov Island. (BB)

DAY 28: Bucharest, transfer to airport
Transfer from the hotel to the airport in Bucharest for your flight home.

*** Itinerary also operates in reverse: Bucharest to Amsterdam ***