Rhine Treasures Cruise (Superior Cabin)

Arrival transfer and embarkation in Cologne aboard “MS VISTARIO”. Check in begins at 4:00 pm; if you arrive earlier, you may leave your luggage at reception and explore the city. We enjoy a welcome cocktail and dinner, then set sail – we sail overnight.

We wake to the most scenic reach of the Rhine – the 65 km UNESCO listed Romantic Rhine, famed for dramatic landscapes, historic significance, castles, vineyards and the Loreley legend. In the early afternoon we arrive in Rüdesheim, the rowers’ town, for an included guided visit, after which you have free time to explore. We sail overnight.

We wake in Speyer, a small German city of around 50,000 on the Rhine in Rhineland–Palatinate. You have free time to wander its streets and, if you wish, visit the largest surviving Romanesque cathedral – the Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption and St Stephen – one of Germany’s three Imperial Cathedrals alongside Mainz and Worms. Over lunch we set course for Strasbourg and continue overnight.

Today we enjoy Strasbourg, capital of the Alsace region and one of Europe’s most scenic areas. This morning we join an included tour – beginning by coach and continuing on foot through the historic centre and main sights. After lunch we resume sailing toward Basel and cruise overnight.

In the morning we enjoy an included visit to Basel – Switzerland’s oldest university city – taking in the market square with its richly decorated red sandstone town hall and the cathedral that blends late Romanesque and Gothic styles. By mid afternoon we begin sailing toward Breisach and continue overnight.

Early this morning we arrive in Breisach, a small town of about 16,000 whose particular charm you can enjoy during free time. Despite centuries of war that damaged much of its heritage, it still preserves traces of its artistic past – notably the solid Church of St Stephen, begun in the late 12th century. We resume sailing over lunch and continue overnight.

By late morning we arrive in Mannheim, where you have free time to explore this university city at the meeting point of the Rhine and Neckar. It is where Karl Drais built the first two wheeled vehicle in 1817, where Carl Benz’s first car drove the streets in 1886, and where Julius Hatry constructed the world’s first rocket powered aircraft in 1929. In the afternoon we arrive in Mainz, where you also have free time. We sail overnight. Due to port authority decisions, we may dock in Worms instead of Mannheim – in that case you will have free time in Worms. We sail back towards Cologne overnight.

After breakfast we disembark. Cabins must be vacated by 9:00 am, though you may leave your luggage on board and stay in the common areas, or head out to enjoy the city until your scheduled transfer. End of services.