Danube Rhapsody Cruise

Enjoy a full day city tour with your private guide and driver to the State Opera, the National Museum, Wenceslas Square, and Charles Square. Visit and walk around the Castle courtyards and see St. Vitus Cathedral. Continue along the Vltava to the Old Town, St. Nicholas Church, the Týn Cathedral and the Old Town Hall with its astronomical clock and apostles. Walk from the Powder Tower along the Royal Route to the Old Town Square, along Karlova Street to Charles Bridge and enjoy the view of Prague Castle. Your tour ends at Mala Strana (the Lesser Town).

Meet your driver for  a private transfer to Passau.

Welcome aboard!

You embark in Passau, the Bavarian city where three rivers meet. The ship casts off in the late afternoon and takes you through the series of scenic bends along the Danube known as the Schloegener Schlinge, after which there’ll be a welcome cocktail party before dinner is served on board.

Vienna is a port and the capital city of the Republic of Austria. Evidence of continuous habitation has been found since 500 BC, when the site of Vienna on the Danube River was settled by the Celts. Vienna is host to many major international organizations, such as the United Nations and OPEC. In 2001, the city centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[

Optional:

At midday, the vessel reaches Vienna, a city of music and joie de vivre whose specialities of Sachertorte and Heuriger (new wine) are just as famous as St. Stephen's Cathedral and the Imperial Palace. You can see Vienna’s most important sights on an optional sightseeing tour or explore this historic city on your own. Or you could join an optional guided bike tour through the heart of Vienna, exploring Austria’s capital and seeing its impressive sights by bike.

To participate in an optional shared excursion, please contact us for rates.

Optional:

There are two optional group excursions tonight while you're in Vienna, one of which you can add to your itinerary if you desire. The Vienna By Night excursion takes you through the Wienerwald up to the Kahlenberg, Vienna's best viewpoint, with a view of the city over vineyards, and continuing to the traditional wine village of Grinzing, where you'll visit a typical Huerigen (new wine) pub.  You can instead choose to go to the Vienna Mozart Orchestra concert, which features internationally renowned singers and soloists, who create a special atmosphere and recreate an authentic Baroque era concert, in costumes and wigs no less.

To participate in an optional excursion, please contact your travel consultant.

Bratislava is a port and capital city located in southwestern Slovakia, on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries. The history of the city has been strongly influenced by people of different nations and religions, namely by Austrians, Czechs, Germans, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Jews. One of the most prominent structures in the city is Bratislava Castle, on a plateau 85 metres above the Danube.

Optional:

This morning, a city sightseeing tour will cover Bratislava's major sights, including breathtaking views from the city's 13th century castle, over countryside where the frontiers of Austria, Hungary and Slovakia meet.

Please contact your travel consultant if you wish to include this optional tour in your itinerary.

Optional:

In the afternoon you can join an optional excursion to the Imperial Festival Palace Castle Hof. This complex of magnificent Baroque buildings was built in the early 18th century and its authenticity and diversity attracts Baroque enthusiasts from all over the world.

Please contact your travel consultant if you wish to include this optional tour in your itinerary.

Budapest is a port and the capital city of Hungary. It became a single city occupying both banks of the Danube River with a unification in 1873 of west-bank Buda and Óbuda with east-bank Pest. The Celts were the first to settle in the territory of Budapest, followed by the Romans, and later several other civilizations, creating a layered cultural past. Budapest's Castle Hill, the River Danube embankments and the whole of Andrássy út have been officially recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Optional:

This afternoon there will be an optional group sightseeing tour that you can add to your itinerary. Budapest is a city made up of two parts - Buda and Pest, built on opposite banks of the Danube. With its cobbled streets and medieval architecture, Buda is the older and more graceful part, while Pest, with its wide avenues and impressive 19th-century public buildings, is the administrative and commercial centre. East meets West in this fascinating city, which has an amazing variety of shops and restaurants.

To participate in this optional activity, please ask your travel consultant for pricing.

After dinner on board, a gypsy band and a Hungarian folklore group will entertain you while you ply up and down, viewing Budapest’s impressive illuminations, before slipping away downstream, towards Kalocsa, later in the evening.

Optional:

You may join an optional tour today which will visit the famous Market hall, admire the Castle Vajdahunyad and Széchenyi Baths and take a ride with the second oldest underground railway in Europe.

Optional:

After an early lunch, the vessel leaves Budapest without those passengers who have booked an optional shore excursion to Szentendre and Esztergom. This excursion follows the bank of the Danube to the small artists’ village of Szentendre, which is seen on foot. The drive continues up to the imposing ruins of Visegrad, from which there is a magnificent view of the “knee” of the Danube, and on to Esztergom, the highlight of this tour. This town is dominated by the country’s largest neoclassical (1820) basilica and one of the largest churches in Europe. After seeing round it, there’ll be a wine tasting session before rejoining the vessel, which has meanwhile come upstream from Budapest.

Any of the optional excursions can be added to your itinerary, should you wish. Please contact us for pricing.

Having already seen something of the Hungarian capital on your first day here, you are now free either to explore the city further on your own or join an optional excursion.

Back in Vienna, you have another day to experience the city.

Optional Activity:

An optional group excursion today will visit the Schonbrunn Castle, one of Vienna's most beautiful buildings. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Palace and Gardens of the incredible Schonbrunn remind of former imperial time, when this Rococo complex was a summer residence.

Contact your travel consultant if you wish to add this activity to your itinerary.

An optional excursion tonight will take you to the "Sound of Vienna" show where the Salonorchester "Alt Wien", one of the famous interpreters of classical music, sparks off a unique and beautiful show.

Melk is a port and city of Austria, in the federal state of Lower Austria, next to the Wachau valley along the Danube River. In a very small area, Melk presents a great deal of architectural variety from many centuries. The city is best known as the site of a massive baroque Benedictine monastery named Stift Melk.

Optional:

Optional tours today include a group excursion through more of the beautiful Wachau area, followed by a guided tour of the Benedictine Abbey of Melk. This excursion also includes a wine tasting.   Alternatively, you may join a guided bike tour along the lovely and varied scenery along the Danube Cycle Route- lush with meadows and vineyards.

Contact us to add an optional tour to your itinerary.

Tonight you'll experience the Captain's Gala Dinner and crew show. A pleasant evening is in store.

Arriving back in Passau, you'll disembark from your ship this morning and bid farewell to your fellow cruisemates.

Meet your driver for a private transfer to Salzburg.

Enjoy a panoramic, private 3hr tour of Salzburg, known as Mozart's town which features many historical buildings and interesting architecture. Since the 18th century until today you can hear the sound of Mozart's Magic Flute and other famous compositions between Salzburg historic walls. Gain an insight into the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque aspects of the city as Mozart saw it. End your tour with a visit to the newly reopened Mozart Residence, on Makart Square.

Enjoy a private transfer with your own vehicle and driver in Salzburg.