SHORE EXCURSIONS

Capture the moment by taking the perfect selfie photo in Mykonos! Selfie experts will teach you how to take the best selfie photo including composition, posing, lighting etc. Capture the spirit of this incredible destination.

Your tour will start with a scenic drive from the ship to the Beach of St. John. Your walking tour will have designated selfie stops at: • The Beach of St. John
• Little Venice
• Beach of Kalafatis
• Ano mera
• A Mykonian farm
• Mykonian Old Town

To make this experience even more fun, you will be provided with a selfie stick and utilize our Selfie Station in order to help catch the perfect picture. During your visit to the Mykonian farm, you’ll be able to enjoy some local wine traditional treats.

Experience local life by riding public transportation to several trendy neighborhoods where expats comfortably enjoy Lisbon’s leisurely lifestyle. A tram will take you through some of the city’s most affluent neighborhoods to the landmark basilica in Estrela. Queen Maria I ordered the church to be built to celebrate the birth of her only son, who sadly died two years before the church was completed in 1790. The queen rests in an elaborate tomb inside. Across from the basilica, you will find the 19th-century Estrela Gardens, an urban oasis with a duck pond, manmade caves and a wrought-iron bandstand. You are sure to see plenty of locals and expats relaxing on the benches and strolling the winding garden paths. After a traditional cup of espresso-like coffee known locally as “bica,” you will ride the bus to the Principe Real neighborhood. During free time there, you might stroll the botanical gardens, or simply take in the spectacular views.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Join Lisbon’s expats in the neighborhoods where they now reside.
• Get an authentic feel for what attracts the expats to Lisbon.
• Mingle with the locals, ride public transportation and spend free time exploring downtown.

Visit three acclaimed artists in their studios in Valldemossa, where you will see their works and discuss their creative processes. The village is an inspiring setting that is just as beautiful as it was when Polish composer Frédéric Chopin and French novelist George Sand wintered there in the 19th century. Valldemossa still attracts musicians, writers and most prominently painters, who come to capture the natural beauty. At the studio of Slovenia-born Bruno Zupan, you can expect to see his glowing landscape paintings and limited-edition serigraphs and lithographs. You will also spend time with Natasha Zupan, Bruno’s immensely talented daughter. She typically works in mixed media and describes her style as “the search for the heart of the matter.” The third artist is Guillermo Rodríguez, known simply as Guillermín. Many of his works are in white or black or a combination of the two colors. The white, he explains, represents the light of the soul, while black expresses fear.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Visit three artists in their studios in naturally beautiful Valldemossa.
• Discuss the creative process with the artists and what inspires them.
• View the artists’ works, which include landscape paintings and mixed media.

Bicycle through the Waterland, a classic Dutch landscape that is ideal for bicycling as it is flat and spectacularly scenic. A ferry will take you to the Waterland, where you will begin pedaling at a leisurely pace well suited to the area’s laid-back ambiance. You can expect to see farmers going about their daily lives, brightly painted wooden houses and an impossibly green countryside crisscrossed with canals and dotted with seemingly endless rivers and lakes. Almost half of the Waterland is water, held in check by a series of dikes, and the landscape couldn’t be more beautiful. Expect to pass cows grazing in fields, iconic windmills pumping water out of the lowlands and a number of seaside villages, one of which you will stop in for a drink. The Waterland is also a paradise for water birds, and you will likely see countless swans and geese and perhaps even a godwit, the national bird of the Netherlands.

Travel by panoramic coach on a tour that offers fascinating insights on the lives of those who make the sometimes-harsh landscape of Iceland’s Westfjords their home. Beginning from the pier, you’ll drive through the streets of Isafjordur and out along the coastal road for a tour of wondrously remote Bolungarvik, a fishing village towered over by its surrounding mountains. Nearby, you’ll stop at the outdoor Ósvör Museum, where a century-old fisherman’s hut has been restored, complete with the tools of the trade – and the fisherman.

On another leg of the journey, you’ll find yourself up amidst breathtaking views of the magnificent mountains of the Djup, largest of the West Fjords and the Buna River. Not far from that spot, you’ll stop to admire a beautiful stepped waterfall in Tunguskogur and take an opportunity to taste the freshest, clearest mountain water you may ever have encountered. Back in Isafjordur, you’ll stop in at the Maritime and Folk Museum, which calls one of the town’s oldest and best-preserved houses its home. The museum presents an excellent collection of artifacts related to the region’s maritime history – as well as a sizable accordion collection. Gotta have something to do during those long winters.

The old port of Mandraki, where this tour begins, is believed to be the site of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Historic sites abound in Rhodes, as you will soon discover after enjoying a panoramic view of the city and Rhodes Bay from atop Monte Smith.

Visit the fully restored 14th-century Grand Masters Palace, which contains beautiful alabaster windows, French and Venetian furniture, and floor mosaics with scenes from Greek mythology. It served as a fortress in times of war, and a residence for the Grand Master and a meeting place for senior knights during times of peace. As you continue down the Avenue of the Knights, where the knights lived, the cobblestoned street seems to exude a noble and somewhat forbidden aura, as its lofty buildings stretch in an unbroken wall of honey-colored stone, punctuated by huge doorways and arched windows. At the conclusion of this tour, you can either return to ship, or remain in the old town to explore further on your own.

Drive through the beautiful Andalucia region to an acclaimed cheese-producing village for an insider’s look at the artisanal process and to sample the most representative cheeses. Your host will be a farmer that tends payoya goats and Grazalemeña sheep, whose milk is used to produce the cheeses. The most well-known and award-winning cheese is El Bosqueño, a smooth textured, light-colored cheese. The farmer will lead you through the fields where the goats and sheep graze and walk you through the cheese-making process step by step. You will also browse a cheese museum with displays of cheese-making hand tools and exhibits detailing the history of cheese production in the area. Afterwards, you will enjoy a sampling that may include an emborrado cheese cured in olive oil and wheat bran. Other cheeses produced here are cured with fresh spices such as rosemary and paprika. To complement the experience, you will be served a glass of locally produced wine.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• See how several award-winning cheeses are produced at a farm in the town of El Bosque.
• Browse a cheese museum with displays that trace the importance of cheese in this region.
• Sample various cheeses made with milk from payoya goats and Grazalemeña sheep.

Stroll through two lesser-known neighborhoods that will present an authentic look at daily life, as you will experience them as a local. While browsing one of the most vibrant markets in the Corts neighborhood, you can expect to watch a lively interaction between the residents and the vendors, as they socialize and amicably haggle over prices. Later, over coffee at a nearby restaurant, you can discuss the experience with the guide and how it might differ from your upcoming stroll through the Sarria neighborhood, which is more affluent and traditional. While meandering through its pretty streets, you can sense that the neighborhood was once an independent rural village. Largely quiet and residential, Sarria offers a unique perspective of Barcelona life, as well-heeled celebrities, politicians and artists are among its residents. You will have the chance to mingle with the locals at one of the bakeries, in a church and later over tapas at Bar Tomás.

Capture the moment by taking the perfect selfie photo in Santorini! Instantly share your experience with family & friends on your favorite social media site as many of the stops will include wi-fi in real time. Professional photographers & selfie experts will teach you how to take the best selfie photo including composition, posing, lighting etc. Capture the spirit of this incredible destination.

Your tour will start with a scenic drive from the ship to the Aroma Avlis. Your walking tour will have designated selfie stops at: • Aroma Avlis
• The Blue Domes Churches of Oia
• Church Bells in Fira

Capture the moment by taking the perfect selfie photo in Athens! Instantly share your experience with family & friends on your favorite social media site as many of the stops will include wi-fi in real time. Professional photographers & selfie experts will teach you how to take the best selfie photo including composition, posing, lighting etc. Capture the spirit of this incredible destination.

Your tour will start with a scenic drive from the ship to Athens. Your walking tour will have designated selfie stops at: • Panathenaic Stadium
• The Olympieion
• The Hadrian Arch
• The Acropolis
• Aeropagus Hill
• Parliament House
• Plaka

To make this experience even more fun, you will be provided with a selfie stick and utilize our Selfie Station in order to help catch the perfect picture. End your picture-perfect day with Souvlaki tasting in Monasteraki and some free time.

Experience the real Florence by mingling with the residents at a popular market, sampling Florentine delicacies and browsing the less commercialized Oltrarno district. The fun will begin at San Lorenzo Market, which occupies a beautifully restored cast-iron building constructed in the 1870s. Although you may recognize some of the delicacies, be sure to ask the guide if you can’t identify something or don’t know its name. Chances are, you will see lampredotto, a Florentine specialty of cow stomach slow-cooked with vegetables and served on a crunchy bun. It is considered comfort food. After sampling a selection of more well-known products such as cheese, salami and olives, you will walk toward the Piazza del Duomo in the heart of the city. The famed Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore overlooks the square, and its dome has become a symbol of the city. Then, after stopping for a cup of creamy gelato, you will enjoy free time to explore the Oltrarno district.

HIGHLIGHTS:
• Mingle with the locals while browsing Florence’s popular San Lorenzo Market.
• Sample local delicacies such as salamis and cheeses and some more exotic ones.
• Explore Florence’s authentic, less commercialized Oltrarno district.

Enjoy an insider’s look at life in Edam by visiting a local family and touring a cheese-making facility to see how Edam’s famed cheese is produced. An enlightening walking tour will introduce you to the city, where you will see St. Nicholas Church and the Edam Museum, which occupies an 18th-century sea captain’s house. For a deeper understanding of life in Edam, you will stop by a centuries-old residence and enjoy coffee and cake with the owners. They will elaborate on the long history of their home, how Edam has changed just in their lifetimes and what the future may hold. Still, it is impossible to escape the draw of cheese in Edam. More than a quarter of the cheese produced in the Netherlands is the city’s namesake cheese, a soft variety made with less milk fat than most other cheeses. While touring a cheese-making facility in town, you will watch the process and then taste samples.