Northern Europe Riviera Cruise

12 nights from Amsterdam, Holland to Southampton, England

May 17 – 29, 2012
Azamara Club Cruises Azamara Journey

Join Pied Piper Travel as we sail from gay-friendly Amsterdam for this unique itinerary in Northern Europe. The highlights of this cruise are overnight stays in Amsterdam, London and Paris to catch the exciting nightlife these cities have to offer! All this awaits you while you are pampered on the intimate, ultra-stylish Azamara Journey. Azamara Cruises are known for their unparalleled quality of service. This Pied Piper gay group cruise is the perfect combination of refined and stylish cruising.

Azamara's Journey

With just 700 guests, the Azamara Journey provides an intimate setting for those looking to cruise in comfort and style. Passengers will enjoy Journey's specialty restaurants, concierge amenities, Spa & Wellness Center, wine bar and daily enrichment programs. Additionally, the Journey offers more verandahs than most ships and all of their staterooms include a plasma-screen television, European bedding, Elemis bath products and more.

There's a timeless romance that begins when you wander aboard Azamara Journey. Because it's easy to fall for Journey's well-appointed amenities, impeccable service, gourmet cuisine, and warm and inviting atmosphere. So, give in and enjoy your every indulgence. You'll love how we make you feel.

Azamara Journey offers more of what you desire. Specifically designed to be smaller than most cruise ships and filled bow-to-stern with wondrous luxuries and appointments. And with just 694 guests onboard, you'll discover a more intimate way to travel. See for yourself how truly remarkable an Azamara voyage can be.

Forgot the crowds and experience a voyage tailor-made for today's discerning traveler aboard Journey. In addition to butler service in each stateroom and suite, Journey affords her guests more verandas than most cruise ships, so you can watch the world melt away into the fiery sunset.

Journey's also features two specialty restaurants, concierge amenities, our Spa and Wellness Center, a coffee café, a piano bar and a wine bar, live entertainment, daily enrichment programs (like wine and champagne tasting), and this is only her short list.

What's the perfect day at sea? At the pool? Reading a book? Or maybe you'd like to learn more about your next port of call and chat with a destination expert. Whatever tops your priority list, tops ours, as well. And if that means you want to nap in a deck chair, we'll be happy to bring you an extra blanket so you slip into undisturbed bliss. And don't forget the Mosaic Cafe - the ships' amazing get-together for a coffee or a glass of wine at night. It's the place to see and be seen. And what will it be in the evening? Dancing? A show? The casino? A quiet after-dinner drink in Discoveries Lounge? Or would you prefer to go ashore and sample the local scene? You can, because Azamara Club Cruises stays overnight in so many ports.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam has a personality all its own, including a long time reputation for tolerance. You'll be thinking of tulips and wooden shoes, perhaps Heineken beer, and some of the city's past inhabitants: Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Anne Frank, who wrote her famous diary hidden in a canal-side house. But do you know that Amsterdam has more canals than Venice (connecting a jigsaw puzzle of 90 islands), joined by some 1280 bridges (many illuminated by fairy lights at night)? Or that it boasts the oldest stock exchange in the world?

Flushing (Vlissingen), Netherlands

Holland's Zeeland is formed by the delta of three rivers – myriad waterways flowing around clusters of islands, where charming seaside villages beckon. Now dockyard for the Royal Navy, Vlissengen was long the port for the Dutch East India Company, and a hub for fishing, privateering, and the slave trade. Nearby Middelburg is the capital of the province, and a portrait of old Holland with its cobbled alleyways, abbey church and lavish 17th and 18th century merchant homes and storehouses lining the canals.

Antwerpen, Belgium

On the right bank of the Scheldt River is where you'll find the medieval town of Antwerp. The second largest city in Belgium and the second largest harbor in Europe, Antwerp is a cosmopolitan port filled with stunning architecture and prominent fashion; it's also the Diamond Capital of the World. Visit Grote Markt, one of the lovely town squares and admire the 16th century Guildhouses. The Cathedral of our Lady is filled with glorious triptychs by Baroque painter, Rubens.

Bruges (Zeebrugge), Belgium

In Bruges you can lose yourself in another time, wandering the maze of winding lanes or drifting along the canals of its medieval core, the whole of which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. You can also have a wonderful time discovering the fascinating stories behind the products for which Belgium is famous, in an unexpected array of museums. For sparkle visit the Diamond Museum, and for exquisite artistry the Lace Center. At Choco-Story, learn all about chocolate's origins and production. And for lots of fun and more tempting tastes, don't miss the Frietmuseum, dedicated to Belgian Fries, and presented with no doubt as to who actually invented this universally adored snack.

London (Greenwich), England

Six miles to the south of London is where you'll find a borough named Greenwich. Take time to discover Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and pause for a moment at the Royal Observatory, the sight of 0 degrees longitude and where each new day begins. See the Royal Jewels and black ravens at the Tower of London; take a ride on the London Eye or a double-decker bus; witness the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace. London offers a tapestry of historical sights.

Paris (Rouen), France

The first thing you will notice as you approach Rouen is the Cathedral of Notre Dame, towering high above the city, its 490-foot cast-iron spire the tallest in France. Get lost in the old town where half-timbered houses line a labyrinth of lanes, and stop for a moment at the Rehabilitation Cross, marking the spot where in 1431 Joan of Arc was consigned to the flames. Paris, City of Light, arbiter of fashion, food and wine, and radiating romance, is within easy reach. Stroll along the Champs Elysées, the most beautiful avenue in the world, take in the view from the Eiffel Tower, or immerse yourself in that nirvana for art lovers - the Louvre.

Southampton, England

Muse on voyages past as you sail in of Southampton, long a maritime center, its yards turning out warships for king and country from the Hundred Years War in the 14-15th centuries, to two world wars in the 20th. It was the departure point for the Mayflower in 1620, and for the ill-fated Titanic in 1912. The charms of London are not far away, but pray tarry in the south to explore other wonders, including Bath, with its natural hot springs and stunning architecture and the mysterious megaliths of Stonehenge, or venture all the way west to Lands End, and the wild moorlands and pirate haunts of Cornwall.