Day 1/Fri Depart USA
Evening departure. Meals and refreshments are served on board.
Day 2/Sat Athens
Morning arrival into Athens Airport, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Tonight experience on your own the Athenian dining scene and the city’s exciting nightlife.
Day 3/Sun Athens
Morning tour includes Constitution Square (Syntagma), the House of Parliament, and the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier. Admire the Evzones (palace guards) in their picturesque uniforms and the Presidential Palace. Stop at the Panathenian Stadium, where the first Olympic Games of modern times were held in 1896. On the Acropolis, visit its museum and the Parthenon, the monument that “puts order in the mind”. Afternoon is at leisure and in the evening, join the Athenians in the Plaka district for good food, fun and merriment. (B)
Day 4/Mon Athens/Piraeus/Cruise (Mykonos)
After breakfast, you transfer to the port of Piraeus and embark on the M/V Aquamarine. Sail to the picturesque isle of Mykonos, known for its windmills and lively harbor. Resume sailing in the evening. (B/L/D)
Day 5/Tue Cruise (Kusadasi/Patmos)
This morning arrive at the Turkish port of Kusadasi, where an optional excursion to ancient Ephesus is available. Later sail to Patmos where St. John the Divine received The Revelation, as found in the last book of the New Testament. Optional excursion to the Monastery and Grotto. Sail in the evening. (B/L/D)
Day 6/Wed Cruise (Rhodes)
A full day in Rhodes, the “Island of Roses”, famed for its Medieval Old Town and site of the Colossus of Rhodes. Optional visit to Lindos and the majestic Acropolis overlooking the bay. Sail in the evening. (B/L/D)
Day 7/Thu Cruise (Heraklion/Santorini)
Morning call at Greece’s largest island, Crete. Visit Knossos and the Palace of King Minos (optional). Later sail for the volcanic island of Santorini with its town perched high above the sea. Enjoy a magnificent sunset before sailing. (B/L/D)
Day 8/Fri Cruise/Piraeus/Cairo
Disembark in Piraeus and transfer to Athens Airport for your flight to Cairo, where you’ll be met and taken to your hotel. The balance of the day is at leisure. (B)
Day 9/Sat Cairo
Full day city tour including the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities with the world’s largest collection of pharaonic artifacts and treasures from Tutankhamen’s tomb. Next drive to the Citadel to view important Islamic structures, including the Muhammad Ali Mosque. In Old Cairo, we visit Al Moallaka Church (Hanging Church) and Ben Ezra Synagogue. End this city tour at Khan el-Khalili, Cairo’s labyrinthine shopping mecca. Best buys: gold, silver, papyrus, galabiyas, perfumes, antiques, and famous Egyptian cotton. Lunch is included during tour.(B/L)
Day 10/Sun Cairo (Giza Pyramids, Memphis & Sakkara)
Full day tour of the Giza complex, including the Pyramid of Khufu (the Great Pyramid), the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the Great Sphinx. After Giza proceed to Memphis, and tour the “open air museum”, site of the Colossus of Ramses the Second and the Alabaster Sphinx. The visit to Sakkara will include the Step Pyramid, the first pyramid ever. You will subsequently view the Pyramid of Teti. Lunch is included during tour. (B/L)
Day 11/Mon Cairo/Luxor/Cruise
Short flight to Luxor, where you will board your Cruise ship in time for lunch. Admire the temple complex of Karnak (ancient Thebes) and Luxor. Visit the necropolis on the Nile West Bank that includes the Valley of the Kings, the funerary temple of Queen Hatshepsut at Deir El Bahari and the Colossi of Memnon. Overnight on board ship in Luxor.(B/L/D)
Day 12/Tue Cruise (Luxor/Edfu)
Cruise through the Esna Lock to the ancient settlement of Edfu, located on the Nile West Bank. (B/L/D)
Day 13/Wed Cruise (Edfu/Aswan)
Travel by horse-drawn carriage to the Temple of Horus, the Falcon God, the major Ptolemaic temple. Of all the temples that remain in Egypt, it is the most completely preserved. Sail for Kom Ombo to visit the temples of Sobek and Haroeris. Sail to Aswan and overnight on board ship. (B/L/D)
Day 14/Thu Cruise (Aswan)
Enjoy a tour of the High Dam, an outstanding water project to prevent the Nile River from flooding. Also stop at the Granite Quarries, which in antiquity furnished the stone for the monolithal, colossal statues, obelisks, and shrines which are found throughout Egypt. See the Unfinished Obelisk and the Temple of Philae, dedicated to Isis, Goddess of Magic. The temple had to be relocated block by block to its current location because of the rising waters caused by the dams built on the Nile. End this day tour with a ride on a felucca, a typical Egyptian sailboat, to view Kitchner’s Island botanical garden and the Agha Khan Mausoleum. Overnight in Aswan. (B/L/D)
Day 15/Fri /Aswan/Optional Abu Simbel $225/Cairo)
After breakfast disembark and transfer to Aswan Airport for your short flight to Cairo or continue with Optional Tour to Abu Simbel.. Balance of the day is at leisure for a last visit to a shopping bazaar and to enjoy Cairo’s fun filled nightlife. (B)
Day 16/Sat Cairo to USA
(or extend your stay-see extensions below))
Morning transfer to Cairo International Airport for your return flight home. Meals and refreshments are served aloft. (B)