Holland & Belgium in Springtime (2012)

Antwerp • Ghent • Veere • Rotterdam • Kinderdijk • Nijmegen • The Floriade • Amsterdam • Keukenhof • Hoorn • Enkhuizen
IN THIS SECTION:
Detailed Itinerary
Video: Travelers' experiences of Holland & Belgium in Springtime
The Floriade Horticultural Exposition
It's Included
Hotel & Ship Accommodations
Pre- & Post-Trip Extensions
Bruges, Belgium
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Optional Tours
Local Team & Insider Tips
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.

(Brussels)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta

9hrs

Baltimore, Houston, Minneapolis

12hrs

Boston, Detroit

10hrs

Chicago, Newark, Philadelphia, Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

Dallas, Denver, Orlando, Tampa

13hrs

Los Angeles, San Francisco

16hrs

New York (JFK)

8hrs

* 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 Brussels, Belgium. Routing is based on availability and subject to change. You will receive your final air itinerary approximately 14 days prior to departure.

(Amsterdam)

GATEWAY

TRAVEL TIME*

Atlanta, Minneapolis

9hrs

Boston, Dallas, Houston

10hrs

Baltimore, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington, DC (Dulles)

11hrs

Chicago, Orlando, Tampa

12hrs

Denver

14hrs

Detroit, Newark, New York (JFK)

8hrs

* 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.

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.

ALSO SEE:
2012 Itinerary and Prices
Photo Gallery
View all River Cruises in Europe
Solo Friendly Travel
Frequently Asked Questions
See all Program Directors, read Insider Tips, and more
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Pre-Trip: Bruges, Belgium

3 nights from only $695

Join an optional pre-trip extension in Bruges, Belgium, one of Western Europe’s greatest medieval cities. Originally a ninth-century fortress built to protect the Flemish coast from marauding Vikings, Bruges today retains its reputation as one of the best-preserved Old World cities on the continent. Its museums hold some of the oldest and finest collections you will find anywhere, and its narrow, winding streets meander through the city beside a centuries-old canal system.

Single Supplement: FREE.

Please note: Availability and price may vary by departure date. Please call for details.

Bruges is a pre-trip extension on the Antwerp to Amsterdam itinerary and a post-trip extension on the Amsterdam to Antwerp itinerary.

It's Included

  • Accommodations for 3 nights at the Grand Hotel Casselbergh or similar
  • 3 meals: 3 breakfasts
  • Included tour: Bruges walking tour and boat ride
  • Exclusive services of a resident Grand Circle Program Director
  • All transfers

Optional Tours

Oudenaarde ($115 per person); Scenic Belgium ($75 per person)

Day 1
Depart U.S.

Leave the U.S. today on your flight to Brussels. Please refer to your personal air itinerary for exact departure and arrival times.
Day 2
Arrive in Brussels/Transfer to Bruges/Orientation Walk

Arrive this morning or afternoon in Brussels. A Grand Circle representative will meet you at the airport and assist with the transfer to your hotel in Bruges.

The balance of the day is at leisure to relax after your overseas flight. You are invited to join an orientation walk that will acquaint you with both the neighborhood around your hotel and your travel companions. Lunch and dinner are on your own today.
Day 3
Bruges/City Tour/Canal Boat Ride
Meals Included: Breakfast

It is often said that the best way to see Bruges—where almost every street is lined with historic buildings—is on foot. So after breakfast, you'll set off on a walking tour of this city of canals, the former capital of West Flanders, and Europe's best-preserved medieval city. From the 13th to the 15th century (until the Zwin River silted over), Bruges was northern Europe's leading trade center, owing its prominence largely to thriving wool and textile industries. You'll see signs of this mercantile history in the beautiful houses built by the wealthy textile merchants.

Your walking tour takes you to the Church of Our Lady and to Market Square, with its distinctive belfry tower and carillon of 47 bells. You'll also see the Holy Blood Chapel, containing relics from the Crusades.

You then have a chance to see Bruges from another perspective—from onboard a boat navigating the city's winding canals. Back on terra firma, your tour continues with a visit to a local lace shop, where you'll learn about the artistry and craft involved in this traditional creation of Belgium. Lace-making has a long history but came into its own in the 15th century. Belgium soon gained a peerless reputation for fine lacework, and Bruges became a world center for lace.

After the morning tour, you have the remainder of the day at leisure. If you like, you can remain in town for shopping and independent exploration. Perhaps you'll spend some of your time taking part in one of the pleasurable pursuits of travel—finding an enticing restaurant for local cuisine. Seek out interesting spots to dine on your own for lunch and dinner today.
Day 4
Bruges/Optional Oudenaarde tour
Meals Included: Breakfast

Your morning is at leisure. You'll enjoy walking at your own pace around Bruges. No other European city has the medieval look and feel of Bruges. Even its 19th-century neo-Gothic restorations add to the ambience of the Middle Ages.

Lunch is on your own today. There are many lovely small restaurants to choose from. Your Program Director can offer suggestions. Continue your independent exploration.

Or, join an optional Oudenaarde tour that includes dinner. A motorcoach will bring you to Waregem, which lies in the valley of the Leie River, between Kortrijk and Ghent. Here, you’ll enjoy a guided tour of the Flanders Field American Cemetery. More than 360 American soldiers who died in Belgium during World War I are buried here—the smallest World War I American cemetery in Europe. You’ll then depart for Oudenaarde, where you’ll enjoy a walking tour. Once known as the “residence of the nobles,” Oudenaarde is situated on the banks of the Schelde River and offers impressive examples of Gothic architecture. In the city’s main square you’ll see the Town Hall, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Belgium’s most impressive medieval town halls. Oudenaarde is known for its textiles, and the art of creating intricate tapestry has been practiced here since the Middle Ages. You’ll view fine examples of these tapestries during a visit to the House de Lalaing, a stately 17th-century mansion that serves both as a restoration workshop and a museum for historic tapestries. Then, we have dinner at a local restaurant before returning to Bruges.

If you choose not to join the optional tour, dinner is on your own and your evening is at leisure.
Day 5
Bruges/Optional Scenic Belgium tour
Meals Included: Breakfast

This morning is yours to relax and explore at your own pace.

Or, join us for an optional Scenic Belgium tour. Travel to the coastal region and the town of Raversijde,where you’ll tour the remnants of the "Atlantikwal," the fortifications Germany set up to protect its western front. The Atlantikwal ran effectively from coastal France to Norway’s most northernmost city You’ll find some of the best-preserved examples of bunkers and buildings here, often restored with period furniture and equipment.

Continue by bus through Western Flanders’ flat fields and low-lying canals, past villages nestled among clusters of poplars, and we arrive in the former fishing village of Damme. In the 13th century this was the region’s busiest port; but like Bruges, its fate was sealed when the Zwin silted up. Along “Kerkstraat” you’ll find the main sights of this medieval town: the Gothic Town Hall and the twelfth-century Our Lady’s Church. After a leisurely stroll, you’ll board the local barge De Lamme Goedzak and enjoy a 40-minute cruise past the poplar-lined “Damse Vaart,” a canal linking Damme with Bruges. While cruising, you’ll even savor one of Belgium’s magnificent locally brewed beers.

Then check out of your Bruges hotel and transfer to Antwerp, where you'll board your ship on Day 2 of your Holland & Belgium in Springtime River Cruise.