Our timing for this cruise was fortunate, since northern Europe had a warm winter, and the tulips were in full bloom. We could see tulip fields from the air before our landing in Amsterdam. We had the opportunity to see the fields on several occasions, as well as a tour of the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens. An excursion to a tulip farm was extremely informative. We had no idea that most of the tulips grown outdoors in fields are not sold as flowers but are instead the means of growing larger bulbs for sale.

We were also moved and educated by a tour of the Watersnood Museum, which commemorates the flood of 1953. It was one of the best-designed museums we have ever seen, and well worth the trip.

We enjoyed all of the ports on our cruise and the included excursions. Hoorn was especially notable for the hour long stop in a private home for wonderful Dutch apple pie, coffee, and conversation with the family The Arnhem tour and museum provided fascinating background on Operation Market Garden near the close of WWII. Kinderdijk taught us a lot about the history of land reclamation in The Netherlands, as well as an opportunity to see 19 historical windmills as part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We toured Rubens home in Antwerp, as well as a cathedral including several of his paintings and altarpieces. The stop in Bruges was one of the main reasons we booked this cruise, and this beautiful medieval city did not disappoint us. We loved a canal cruise there, as well as a similar cruise in Amsterdam on our first day. Read more