Europe Cruises: Excursions

Enjoy some of Santorini’s highlights when you visit a winery and the beautiful village of Oia. Your first stop will be at one of the island’s wineries where you’ll taste some of the best wines in Santorini, renowned for their quality. From here, you’ll continue to Oia situated on top of an impressive cliff, offering unrivaled spectacular views over the Aegean. This traditional village offers charming houses and quaint narrow streets, blue domed churches, sun-bathed verandas and, plenty of shops, taverns and cafes. Many artists have fallen in love with this idyllic setting and their presence is obvious in the many art galleries. After arriving in the village, you leave your coach for a stroll around the narrow streets with its old beautiful houses and the tiny picturesque shops. Note: Tour involves walking for approximately 1/2 mile on level, some steps and cobblestone streets. Amount of walking and exertion during free time is up to you. Not recommended for guests on wheelchairs. Temperatures can reach extreme highs during summer months; we recommend that you drink a lot of water and use suitable sun protection. Most tours end in Fira where you’ll board a cable car to return to the pier (cable car ticket will be provided). Lines for the cable car are very long, especially during summer months or when there are several ships in port; please allow sufficient time to return to the tender landing pier. less

Visit Stockholm’s oldest and coziest quarters, the Old Town of Gamla Stan. Witness the historic elegance of the exterior of the dominating Royal Palace, and travel through the narrow, twisting alleys and cobblestone streets. You’ll also see Stortorget and the Great Square, the hub of the Old Town, dominated by the old Stock Exchange, today housing the Nobel Museum and the Swedish Academy. Rejoin your coach and continue through the city center and on to the Nordic Hotel in the heart of the city, where the world’s first permanent ice bar is located. The interior is kept at -5° Centigrade all year round. The whole interior, including glasses, is made of pure, clear ice from the Torne River in Northern Sweden. A complimentary drink in an ice glass will be served and the staff will tell you more about the bar and its construction. After tasty drinks you’ll drive to Djurgarden, a favorite getaway spot for Stockholm residents. In the Vasa Museum, you’ll see the Swedish warship ‘Vasa’, once considered the pride of Sweden’s navy. The present museum is built around the restored 17th century warship, which sank in Stockholm’s inner harbor on her maiden voyage in 1628. Its salvage in 1961, with more than 12,000 objects on board, is one of the most important events in marine archaeology. Note: You’ll spend approximately 25 minutes in the ice bar. Depending on the licensing laws, non-alcoholic drinks will be served if the bar is unable to offer vodka. Tour sequence may vary in order to avoid congestion at the venues. There are cobblestone streets in the Old Town. You’ll have some free time for lunch on your own in the Old Town or City Centre. less

Driving from the port to the center of the island, arrive to Monumento al Campesino; situated one next to the other, the house museum and peasant monument were built to immortalize the hard work of Lanzarote’s peasant community whose efforts materialized in La Geria, a unique production of agricultural goods from a dry and arid land. The peasant monument known as the Monument to Fertility was designed by Cesar Manrique with water tanks from old fishing boats elevated onto a rock platform. The strength of this work is found in the mixing of local and traditional architectural elements such as bright white color and round lines with the modern use of recycled materials assembled as a “meccano”. The sculpture placed in the geographic center of Lanzarote has the effect of a lookout and, from its approximately 50 feet (15 meters) of height of superposed boat tankers, becomes a water metaphor; the water element has become a symbol of the peasant’s hard life. The house museum contains an extraordinary collection of utensils and instruments used by the peasant community throughout history to work, transport and store products, or simply to live. After a short drive through the dramatic wine landscape of La Geria, you’ll arrive at Bodegas La Geria for a tour of the wine cellar and a taste of the local wine. La Geria wine cellar is one of the most important in Lanzarote and the Canary Islands. It is located in the heart of Lanzarote’s main wine producing area. Built at the end of the 19th century by the Rijo family, it experienced crucial technological improvements after the takeover in 1993 by its current owners, allowing the production of high quality wines. Next, you’ll visit El Grifo Wine Museum, housed in ancient bodegas dating back to 1775 and built on top of the solidified lava from a volcanic eruption. A true example of local architecture, the cellar is marked by the simplicity of its construction materials: extraordinary thick walls made of volcanic stones and plaster combined with ceilings supported by long wooden beams, mainly coming from derelict ships. The exemplary ethnographic collection dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries gives the visitor an opportunity to observe the evolution of wine making equipment. Cesar Manrique´s monument to the mythological griffin placed on the road indicates access to the museum. During the visit at El Grifo, you’ll taste three different local wines with the assistance of a professional sommelier. Note: You must be at least 18 years of age in order to participate in the wine tasting. less