Bruges, Medieval Flanders, Amsterdam & The Dutch Bulbfields River Cruise - MS Geoffrey Chaucer
Holiday Highlights
- Explore Antwerp, visiting the Grote Markt, the Renaissance town hall and the opulent Brabo Fountain, and charming Bruges on guided tours.
- Experience a classic Amsterdam glass-topped canal cruise, viewing a variety of gabled buildings, bustling streets and historic bridges along the way.
- Visit the battle HQ of the British 1st Airborne Division at Oosterbeek and the Commonwealth War Cemetery.
- Marvel at the spectacular Keukenhof, the world's largest flower garden covering nearly eighty acres.
- Choose between a guided walking tour of picturesque Ghent or a poignant excursion to Ypres and Tyne Cot Cemetery.
What's Included
- Prices are per person, based on two people sharing a twin cabin with a limited number of sole occupancy cabins available, at the relevant supplement. The price includes:Â
- Full board during your cruise from dinner on your day of arrival until breakfast on your final day (except lunch on day 6)
- Free drinks package
- Complimentary on-board tea and coffee
- Complimentary on-board Wi-Fi (connection speeds may vary)
- All visits and excursions as mentioned
- Return flights (or Eurostar and Thalys for UK customers)
- Coach travel as mentioned
- Transfers from the airport/station to and from the port of embarkation
- English-speaking expert guides
- The services of a Riviera Travel Cruise Director and ConciergeÂ
Itinerary
Day 1
Arrival in Amsterdam - Your adventure begins in Amsterdam, as you board your five-star ship. The dedicated crew welcomes you aboard, ensuring you settle in to your extremely comfortable and well-appointed cabin. There’s time to familiarise yourself with your first-class floating hotel before experiencing the chef’s specially chosen menu for your first dinner on board.
Day 2
Keukenhof & Amsterdam - Breakfast is an on-board institution and you’re always assured of an enticing range of choices. Then we’ll visit Keukenhof, the heart of the glorious Dutch bulbfields. On arrival, nothing will prepare you for the dazzling spectrum of colours stretched out before you in the world’s largest flower garden, covering nearly 80 acres. The art of flower planting reaches breathtaking heights at Keukenhof, a gardener’s heaven created by more than seven million tulips, daffodils and other blooms set among a beautiful landscape of shimmering lakes, ancient trees, flowering shrubs and water gardens. Towards the end of our visit, you’ll have the choice of returning to the ship for lunch or staying longer in Keukenhof to explore further and returning to the ship later in the afternoon. Returning to Amsterdam, you’re free to explore as you wish. Amsterdam is an art-lover’s dream. You could visit the Rijksmuseum, an architectural marvel itself, it holds a magnificent collection of works by Dutch masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. Or, if post-Impressionism interests you more, you might prefer the Van Gogh Museum, housing the world’s greatest collection of works by this genius of a man.  For those with an interest in history, the Anne Frank Huis provides a poignant look at the war’s impact on real people’s lives. Anne’s record of the two years her family and friends spent in hiding is now a classic of Western literature, but the tiny, dark rooms put their experience into harrowing clarity. And the museum of the Dutch Resistance, the Verzetsmuseum, using personal stories, letters, artefacts, films and photographs to illuminate local resistance to end collaboration with the Nazis. After dinner, you can relax with a nightcap and enjoy the sounds of traditional Dutch music performed live on board. Â
It is extremely difficult to convey just how extraordinary this outstanding ship really is and exactly what distinguishes it from similar vessels. It would be very easy to just say ‘luxurious’ but it’s much more than that; we have deliberately avoided the current trend for a minimalist style where you could be anywhere in the world, creating instead a unique yet exquisite blend of understated taste, style and elegance at the highest level. Immediately striking is just how exceptionally spacious this new vessel is as you enter a gleaming, richly coloured marble-floored lobby flooded with natural light from a stunning atrium above. Moving inside, exceptional creativity from Europe’s finest design studio has produced a superbly balanced masterpiece of onboard style, utilising sustainable rich hardwoods, gleaming brass and polished copper, sparkling glass and intricate wrought iron. The ship is beautifully illuminated throughout – including the exterior and imaginatively furnished with harmonious colour schemes, all designed to create the serene atmosphere reflective of the golden age of cruising which time after time you tell us you adore.
The restaurant rivals the finest on shore establishments taking fine dining to another level complemented by delicate European porcelain, gleaming glassware and the intuitive service in which the Swiss excel. This superb vessel carries 44 in-house trained crew members serving just 167 guests (similar size vessels may carry well over 190 passengers) giving the ratio which our experience proves is concurrent with our first class service levels.
Cabins
A gleaming wood door opens revealing your exceptionally appointed suite. At 17 square metres (183 square feet), its generous dimensions are amongst the largest you will find on a cruiser gracing any European river. Imaginatively designed and appointed to the highest specification, with all the luxury you would expect to find in a smart ‘boutique style’ hotel, your comfort definitely won’t be compromised on any level!
The sparkling marble bathroom features a powerful fully glazed shower with a large ‘rainshower’ head, superbly refreshing after a hard day’s sightseeing. Clever design allows for ample space, and contemporary lighting, complimentary quality cosmetics and fluffy towels, makes preparing for the day ahead an absolute pleasure.
The chic styling of a talented designer’s eye extends to the entire suite with generous use of hand-crafted tropical hardwoods blended with premium fittings, discreet thoughtful lighting and a colour scheme of calming neutral tones, creating an ambience to put you in the most relaxed frame of mind from the very first minute! A full size bed assures a good night’s rest in crisp cotton linen of the finest quality - a turndown service each evening adds the finishing touch. Please note all suites have two twin beds with individual bedding which can be moved together or separated accordingly.
You will enjoy a particularly generous seating area with two chairs and a table, enabling you to unwind in comfort in the privacy of your own suite whilst a bow camera conveys live images of the ship’s progress to your flat screen TV, ensuring you won’t miss a thing. Careful consideration has been given to the tiniest details with individually controlled air-conditioning so you set the temperature that you desire, a hairdryer, safe, mini fridge, telephone and the convenience of tea (our meticulous planning even extends to familiar teabags!) and coffee making facilities ensure a home from home experience.
Suites on the Diamond and Ruby Decks have ‘French Balconies’ – panoramic floor to ceiling sliding glass doors bringing riverside life just that little closer!Â
View a 360 tour of the MS Geoffrey Chaucer