Bruges, Medieval Flanders, Amsterdam and the Dutch Bulbfields River Cruise - MS George Eliot
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:
- Full board during your cruise from dinner on your day of arrival until breakfast on your final day (except lunch on day 6)
- Free Superior 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
- 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 Concierge
Itinerary
Day 1
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 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. Free afternoon in Amsterdam 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.
The five-star MS George Eliot – named after one of the leading English novelists of the 19th century – is 110 metres of fine Swiss engineering and craftsmanship. As with all Riviera Travel cruise ships, MS George Eliot was built to the highest specifications and strict safety regulations by Scylla AG, world-renowned builders of the most modern cruisers in Europe.
Guests are welcomed in the elegant lobby with its gleaming marble floor, well-lit by sophisticated lighting. Thoughtful design is on tasteful display throughout the ship – sustainable hardwood furniture, intricate wrought-iron work, and polished copper and brass are beautifully complemented by soft leather and sumptuous Italian fabrics.
MS George Eliot offers the convivial ambience and personal service of a luxury boutique hotel. With 36 staff serving just 132 guests, the experience is far more intimate and enjoyable.
There are 70 luxuriously appointed suites and cabins, which all feature an en-suite bathroom with shower, individually controlled air-conditioning, flat-screen TV, hairdryer, safe, mini fridge, telephone and facilities for making tea and coffee. Complimentary Wi-Fi is available throughout the ship.
For information about life on board our European river cruise ships, click here.