Amsterdam and Floriade aboard MS Arena

Local departure by coach or Home Connect service, then to Amsterdam, where we board our ship for our six-night cruise.

Spend the morning in Amsterdam. The cosmopolitan city of Amsterdam offers something for everyone, from romantic canal cruises, art, shopping, culture, history and much, much more. Spend time admiring the attractive 17th century merchant houses and the floating flower market or simply relax in a canal-side café. We return to ship for lunch onboard and this afternoon cruise onwards to Hoorn.

After lunch, why not join an optional excursion to the Medemblik Bakery, a quaint two-story museum where you’ll see how traditional Dutch specialities are made, including ‘gevulde koek’, which is an almond paste cookie and ‘speculaas’ which are delicious gingerbread cookies.

We return to the ship in Den Helder for a relaxing evening on board as we cruise towards Harlingen.

We return to the ship at lunchtime and sail onwards to Kampen arriving later this evening.

This morning you can join an optional excursion to Het Loo Palace. This impressive 17th century palace was the favourite summer residence of the Dutch Royal family and still displays the exquisite interior and magnificent ornamental gardens. We return to the ship at lunchtime and sail onwards to the traditional town of Lelystad where there’s time to explore this lively little port as we are berthed here overnight.

Included excursion by coach to the Floriade World Horticultural Expo. Once every 10 years in the Netherlands, we are treated to the world's ultimate flower show in a spectacular festival of flowers. In 2022, the Floriade World Horticultural Expo takes place in the Dutch town of Almere and will be spread over five themed zones across an enormous 66 hectares and is also a celebration of plants, vegetables, fruit and produce. We rejoin our ship in Amsterdam for our final night.

Disembark and return home.