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Echoes Of Empires

Aboard Nautica with Oceania Cruises

Departure Date

4 July 2024

Duration

9 Nights

Fly Cruise From

£4,547pp

Cruise Reference

ART-5ECOC11

Cruise Overview

Amsterdam combines the unrivaled beauty of the 17th-century Golden Age city center with plenty of museums and art of the highest order, not to mention a remarkably laid-back atmosphere.

It all comes together to make this one of the world's most appealing and offbeat metropolises in the world.

Built on a latticework of concentric canals like an aquatic rainbow, Amsterdam is known as the City of Canals—but it's no Venice, content to live on moonlight serenades and former glory.

Quite the contrary: on nearly every street here you'll find old and new side by side—quiet corners where time seems to be holding its breath next to streets like neon-lit Kalverstraat, and Red Light ladies strutting by the city's oldest church.

Indeed, Amsterdam has as many lovely facets as a 40-carat diamond polished by one of the city's gem cutters.

It's certainly a metropolis, but a rather small and very accessible one.

Locals tend to refer to it as a big village, albeit one that happens to pack the cultural wallop of a major world destination.

There are scores of concerts every day, numerous museums, summertime festivals, and, of course, a legendary year-round party scene.

It's pretty much impossible to resist Amsterdam's charms.

With 7,000 registered monuments, most of which began as the residences and warehouses of humble merchants, set on 160 man-made canals, and traversed by 1,500 or so bridges, Amsterdam has the largest historical inner city in Europe.

Its famous circle of waterways, the grachtengordel, was a 17th-century urban expansion plan for the rich and is a lasting testament to the city’s Golden Age.

This town is endearing because of its kinder, gentler nature—but a reputation for championing sex, drugs, and rock ’n’ roll does not alone account for Amsterdam's being one of the most popular destinations in Europe: consider that within a single square mile the city harbors some of the greatest achievements in Western art, from Rembrandt to Van Gogh.

Not to mention that this is one of Europe's great walking cities, with so many of its treasures in the untouted details: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, hidden garden courtyards, shop windows, floating houseboats, hidden hofjes(courtyards with almshouses), sudden vistas of church spires, and gabled roofs that look like so many unframed paintings.

And don’t forget that the joy lies in details: elaborate gables and witty gable stones denoting the trade of a previous owner.

Keep in mind that those XXX symbols you see all over town are not a mark of the city's triple-X reputation.

They're part of Amsterdam's official coat of arms—three St.

Andrew's crosses, believed to represent the three dangers that have traditionally plagued the city: flood, fire, and pestilence.

The coat's motto ("Valiant, determined, compassionate") was introduced in 1947 by Queen Wilhelmina in remembrance of the 1941 February Strike in Amsterdam—the first time in Europe that non-Jewish people protested against the persecution of Jews by the Nazi regime.
In 1895 work began to construct a new seaport and harbour next to the tiny village of Zeebrugge, situated on the North Sea coast.

Today the fast-expanding port of Zeebrugge is one of the busiest in Europe and its marina is Belgium’s most important fishing port.

Many attempts were made to destroy this important port during both World Wars.

Zeebrugge is ideally located for discovering the historic city of Bruges, and delightful seaside resorts with long sandy beaches can be visited by using the trams that run the whole length of the Belgian coast.

Please note that no food may be taken ashore in Belgium.

We shall not be offering shuttle buses to Bruges, but you may visit the city on an optional excursion: those visiting Bruges should note that there may be quite a long walk from the coach to the town centre.
Just 22 nautical miles down river from the Tower Bridge in London, Tilbury is a popular turnaround port for cruises visiting Baltic and Northern European destinations.

Cruise Itinerary

Aboard Nautica

Launch Year: 2000 Length: 181 Width: 25.5 Currency: USD Capacity: 656 Crew Count: 409 Deck Count: 9 Cabin Count: 342

Elegantly charming, Nautica’s lounges, suites and staterooms boast luxurious, residential furnishings and her decks are resplendent in the finest teak, custom stone and tile work. Nautica offers every luxury you may expect on board one of our stylish ships. She features four unique, open-seating restaurants, the Aquamar Spa + Vitality Center, eight lounges and bars, a casino and 333 luxurious suites and chic staterooms, nearly 70% of which feature private verandas. With just 656 guests to pamper, our 400 professionally trained staff ensure you will wait for nothing.

In a dramatic re-inspiration process, Nautica will become a completely redesigned ship without peer. Every surface of every suite and stateroom will be entirely new, while in the public spaces, a refreshed colour palette of soft sea and sky tones will surround a tasteful renewal of fabrics, furnishings and lighting fixtures that exquisitely encompasses the inimitable style and comfort of Oceania Cruises. From the bejewelled new chandeliers in the gracious Grand Dining Room to the beckoning Reception Hall, Nautica will celebrate a rejuvenation so sweeping, you will find it positively unimaginable to resist her welcoming embrace.

Nautica Facilities

Nautica Includes

Cabin Details

The generous dimensions of our suites and staterooms afford the ultimate in luxury. A fashionable colour palette blends sea, sky and comforting earth tones to create a soothing environment that invites relaxation. Every suite and stateroom on board will be imbued with an even more luxurious ambiance, featuring designer residential furnishings, fine fabrics and plush draperies, chic lighting and much more.

Suites Add Another Dimension

All of our suites are uncommonly spacious for added comfort. The Suites are adorned in designer fabrics and furnishings echoing the serene seas and expansive skies, becoming calming and tranquil oases of quietude and relaxation. Penthouse Suites offer oversized living and dining areas, and marble and granite-clad bathrooms with a shower.

Our palatial Owner’s Suites and Vista Suites offer everything you would expect in a world-class hotel, elevating sea-going opulence to new levels. Resplendent with custom Empire-style furnishings from Italy on board, each has its own bedroom, dining area and so much more.

Suite & Stateroom Amenities

  • Ultra Tranquility Bed, an Oceania Cruises exclusive
  • Free and unlimited soft drinks replenished daily in your refrigerated mini-bar
  • Free still and sparkling Vero Water®
  • 24-hour Butler service in all suites
  • Bulgari amenities
  • Free room service menu 24 hours a day
  • Signature Belgian chocolates with nightly turndown service
  • Wireless Internet access
  • All Suites and Staterooms are Smoke-Free
  • Suites and Staterooms

ULTRA TRANQUILITY BED

Awaken refreshed and revitalised from the new custom-designed Ultra Tranquility Bed, featured in all of Oceania Cruises’ suites and staterooms.

  • Custom-designed mattress featuring 3,000 encapsulated micro-springs, which ensure a peaceful night's sleep with zero noise upon movement
  • Quilted with advanced silver-threaded fabric and specially designed thermo-fibre for luxurious comfort
  • Plush down comforter
  • Hand-quilted throws

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