Grand European Cruise (2012)

Amsterdam, the Netherlands • Germany: Cologne, Koblenz, Heidelberg, Weirtheim, Wurzburg, Bamberg, Nuremberg, Passau • Vienna, Austria • Hungary: Budapest, Kalocsa • Croatia: Vukovar, Osijek • Belgrade, Serbia • Bulgaria: Vidin, Ruse • Romania: Constanta, Bucharest
  • 27 days
  • from only:
  • $6590
  • $245 per day
    River Cruise Only
  • 28 days
  • from only:
  • $7540
  • $270 per dayIncludes international airfare and government taxes
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
It's Included
Hotel & Ship Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Brussels & Bruges, Belgium
Transylvania, Romania
Optional Tours
Know Before You Go
Your Travel Handbook
Air information
LearnMore
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Customize your trip

Learn how to customize your River Cruise, or view standard air routing and travel times. The choice is yours with our True Choice program.

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Customize your trip

With our True Choice Program, you can choose to stay longer before or after your trip on your own, or combine two vacations to maximize your value. Here are more ways to create the Grand Circle Cruise Line River Cruise that’s right for you:

  • Choose our standard air routing, or work with us to select the airline and routing you prefer
  • Make your own international flight arrangements directly with the airline, applying frequent flyer miles if available
  • International airport transfers to and from your ship or hotel are available for purchase
  • Stay overnight in a connecting city before or after your trip
  • Request to arrive a few days early to get a fresh start on your vacation
  • Choose to “break away” before or after your trip, spending additional days or weeks on your own
  • Extend your vacation with our optional pre- and post-trip extensions
  • Combine your choice of Grand Circle Cruise Line vacations to maximize your value
  • Upgrade to business or premium economy class

The air options listed above will involve an additional fee of $100 per person for confirmed requests (as well as incremental airfare costs based on your specific choice). This service fee will be waived for Inner Circle/Sir Edmund Hillary Club members.

Or, when you make your reservation, you can choose our standard air routing, for which approximate travel times are shown below.

(Amsterdam/Bucharest)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

9hrs

Boston, Houston

10hrs

Chicago, Denver, Miami, Orlando, Seattle, Tampa, Washington, DC (Dulles)

12hrs

Dallas

13hrs

Detroit

8hrs

Los Angeles, San Diego

14hrs

Newark, New York (JFK), San Francisco

11hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Amsterdam, Netherlands. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

(Bucharest/Amsterdam)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Chicago, Newark, New York (JFK), Washington, DC (Dulles)

13hrs

Boston

14hrs

Dallas, Detroit, Miami, Seattle

15hrs

Denver, Los Angeles, Orlando, San Francisco

17hrs

Houston, Tampa

16hrs

San Diego

20hrs

* Estimated total time, including connection and layover. Actual travel time may vary.

The information above reflects approximate flight times from the gateway cities listed to Bucharest, Romania. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

REFER and EARN

Earn increasing rewards as a Vacation Ambassador

REFER and EARN as a Vacation Ambassador with
the BEST referral program in the industry

Inspiring new travelers to join the Grand Circle Cruise Line family is a rewarding experience—both for you and your new travelers.

Share your love of travel with others and, for each referral who embarks on a Grand Circle Cruise Line trip, you will earn $100 in CASH or credit. With your 4th referral departing on a 2012 departure, your reward increases to $200 in CASH or credit per person. And once you refer 8 travelers departing in either 2012 or 2013, you'll earn a FREE trip valued up to $4,500 per household—which will bring the total value of your earned rewards up to $5,600.

And you are also passing along savings to your new traveler: We'll instantly deduct $100 off the cost of their reservation when they mention your name and Customer Number while reserving.

To learn more about the benefits of our Vacation Ambassador Referral Program, please call us toll-free at 1-800-221-2610
or click here.

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Pre-Trip: Brussels & Bruges, Belgium

3 nights from only $595
G25813

Join us on an optional pre-trip extension to one of Europe's great bustling cities and one of its most charming. Brussels is a thriving city with seemingly endless cultural and social events. It is a city full of fine museums and outstanding classic architecture, as well as a compact and carefully preserved 17th-century city center. Then discover Bruges; originally a ninth-century fortress built to protect the Flemish coast from marauding Vikings, it retains its reputation as one of Europe’s best-preserved Old World cities.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: This extension may not be available on all departures. Ask your Travel Counselor for details.

Brussels is a pre-trip extension on the Amsterdam to Bucharest itinerary and a post-trip extension on the Bucharest to Amsterdam itinerary.

It's Included

Brussels & Bruges is a pre-trip extension on the Amsterdam to Bucharest itinerary and a post-trip extension on the Bucharest to Amsterdam itinerary.

  • Accommodations—for 3 nights at the First-Class The Hotel Brussels or similar
  • 3 meals—daily buffet breakfast
  • Sightseeing—Brussels and Bruges city tour, plus stops in Antwerp, Belgium and Delft, the Netherlands
  • All transfers
Day 1
Depart U.S.

Depart on your flight to Brussels. Please refer to your individual air itinerary for exact departure and arrival times.
Day 2
Arrive Brussels, Belgium

You are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time and hotel check-in policy, you may not be able to check into your hotel room immediately upon arrival at your hotel. Your Program Director will advise you of our check-in status and activity schedule for the day when you arrive. Enjoy a brief walk to get acquainted with the area around your hotel. The rest of the day is at leisure to relax after your overseas flight or explore on your own. Join your Program Director, who will accompany you throughout both your extension and your main trip, and your fellow travelers for a Welcome Drink before enjoying dinner on your own. Your Program Director will have suggestions as you select a restaurant in the city.

Day 3
Brussels/City tour/Chocolaterie excursion

After breakfast, you’ll enjoy a walking and motorcoach tour of this lovely old city. Once a sleepy village that grew up around a chapel on an island in the Senne River, Brussels is now a thriving capital city and the headquarters of NATO and the European Union. It is second only to Geneva, Switzerland, in the number of headquarters of international organizations.

Everywhere you look, you’ll see beautiful architecture, and the special influence of Victor Horta, the famous Art Nouveau architect. You’ll see the buildings of the European Union and the Atomium, an enormous steel construction representing an iron atom, with nine spheres connected by walkways and escalators. Pass by the impressive Cinquantenaire arch, the Chinese Pavilion and Japanese Pagoda, and the Royal Park.

Along the way, we’ll stop at a famous local chocolaterie, where custom-made, personalized chocolate confections of the highest quality are a specialty. You’ll see how molds are made, how chocolate is prepared and poured, and how the artistic hand decorates. You’ll also attend a Belgian waffle tasting, featuring one of the nation’s specialties.

Your tour’s last stop is Brussels’ Grand Place. Here, you’ll walk through the famed market square and heart of medieval Brussels. The square is dominated by the magnificent 15th-century Town Hall, with its hundreds of little statues. Admire the square’s 17th-century buildings and guild houses with their golden inlays. You can remain here for lunch on your own, or return to the hotel with the motorcoach.

This afternoon, enjoy time to make your own discoveries.
Day 4
Bruges/City tour

After breakfast, you'll transfer to Bruges and then set off with us on a walking tour of this former capital of Flanders, a city still defined by its canals. Dating from the 13th century, Bruges is a living museum and a treasure trove of fine architecture. From the 13th to the 15th centuries, Bruges was the most important trading center of northern Europe, based largely on its thriving wool and textile industries. You'll see signs of this mercantile history in the beautiful houses built by wealthy textile merchants. Your walking tour takes you to Church of Our Lady and to Market Square, with its distinctive belfry tower and carillon of 47 bells. You also see the Holy Blood Chapel. Your tour continues with a look at Bruges from another vantage point—a tour aboard a canal boat. Then you'll visit a lace shop to see some of the world's finest lacemakers at work. You'll enjoy some free time to have lunch on your own and to explore independently.

Day 5
Bruges/Antwerp/Delft, the Netherlands/Amsterdam

After breakfast, enjoy your transfer to the Netherlands capital of Amsterdam. En route, you'll stop for a short tour of Antwerp's Old Town and visit a porcelain factory in Delft, known for its distinctive blue Delftware pottery. You'll make a stop during the transfer for lunch on your own, and arrive in Amsterdam in the late afternoon.

Tonight you join your fellow travelers on your Grand European Cruise River CruiseTour, following the activities as described on Day 2 of the main itinerary.