Noordam

22 Night Adriatic & Ancient Explorer cruise departing from Istanbul to Rome onboard Noordam.

Launched in 2006, the ms Noordam is the newest member of our renowned Vista-class ships. Named for the Northern compass point, she embraces the latest industry and environmental technologies such as her use of a diesel-electric power plant for optimal energy efficiency and an Azipod propulsion system that maximizes maneuverability.

Onboard ms Noordam you will discover museum-quality paintings such as an oil painting of the city of Utrecht painted in 1842, as well as contemporary art like the series of photographs of music greats Dizzy Gillespie and BB King. One of the most valuable pieces of furniture onboard the ship is a remarkable inlaid chest flanked by carved wooden 17th-century Baroque columns. Made in Germany in 1885, the chest is inlaid with ebony and precious stones. Enjoy an onboard IPod self-guided tour of the complete Noordam art collection. The ms Noordam exemplifies the classic style of ocean travel with contemporary amenities and modern enhancements.

Highlights of this cruise:

Istanbul, Turkey
Cross the Galata Bridge to the old city, past the Süleymaniye Mosque, whose 174-foot dome was once the highest in the Ottoman Empire. Pass the ancient city walls, built by Constantine, and beneath the epic Roman aqueduct. You've come for spice; for the scent of curry, saffron, and myrrh; for a taste of something ancient. A cruise to Istanbul (nee Constantinople nee Byzantium) with Holland America Line takes you to the world's only two-continent metropolis, thick with nearly 10 millennia of history.

Mykonos, Greece
Informality rules on this sunny isle where pleasure-seekers from around the world come to play. Ramble along narrow streets past white-washed houses and blue-domed churches, bouganvillea-covered walls and thread-like, step-laden footpaths leading everywhere.

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey
Ephesus is a beautiful ghost. In the first century B.C., the city was one of the largest cites in the world. It's amphitheater sat 24,000 people. Its Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Library of Celsus was perhaps the finest in creation. Today, the amphitheater is a ruin, the temple is gone, and the library is a shell, open to the sky. Still, your cruise excursion will reveal glory in the old stones. Ephesus has one of the largest collections of ruins in the eastern Mediterranean. Prime among them is the library, whose two-story façade still stands, and the house said to be the last residence of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Rhodes, Greece
Rhodes (the Greek island) shines green and white in the blue of eastern Aegean. Just 11 miles from Turkey, Rhodes is strewn with small towns, littorally. Notable among them is Lindos, with its stunning Acropolis. Rhodes (the city) is located at the northeastern tip of the island and was merely one of the most glorious cities of antiquity. The Colossus of Rhodes stood more than 100 feet high at the edge of the harbor and was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world before an earthquake toppled it in 226 B.C. Of the statue, nothing remains, but Rhodes Old Town, a World Heritage Site, endures as one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Europe and a place of pilgrimage for cruise travelers.

Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt
Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria offers museums filled with mummies, as well as access to the Pyramids and Sphinx.

Piraeus (Athens), Greece
Where the West Was Born
There's no escaping the Parthenon. The temple to Athena looms over Athens from its perch atop the Acropolis, and it looms across the Western imagination as an icon of art and civilization. You may as well give in and start your cruise visit there. And why not? Completed in 438 B.C., the temple still astounds as the flowering of Greek art and architecture. When you come down off the hill, be sure to visit the Ancient Agora, Syntagma Square, the National Archaeological Museum, and the city's infinite impromptu byways. As you sample some souvlaki or a frappe, take a glance back up the hill from time to time and give the goddess her due.

Santorini
Your harbor on this island was created by a volcano in 1500 BC., and the effect is still explosive: steep cliffs rise from sea level, cubist white houses glow in the Aegean sun.

Venice
Your eyes deceive you as you get closer. An entire stone city concocted from spires and cupolas seems to float on water. The optics seem off, but by now you're too far charmed to turn back. Cruise to Venice with Holland American Line and start easily. Have a bicerin, a hot mix of espresso, drinking chocolate and whole milk. Then step out into the palatial arcades and outdoor cafes of St. Mark's Square. Ready? Now you can really get going. Venice has 117 islands and a million stories of empire, longing, and glory.

Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik, you Adriatic jewel box, where did you get that red? The city's old town is walled all around, with ramparts that drop to the sea and enclose a town of closely clustered buildings, mostly attired in white walls and brilliant red rooftops. Explore town highlights on your cruise, like Roland's Column, the Bell Tower, or the Old Port. Outside of town, go for a swim in the limpid waters at Lapad or Banje beaches. Or head to the top of Mount Srd for a view of the city, the beaches, and away west to Italy.

Corfu
Fortresses flank your entrance to this most beautiful of the Ionians. Lose yourself in the Venetian old town or head north for dramatic seascapes.

Rome
Step off the cruise ship, linger at a sidewalk cafe in the early evening and take in the pageant: the taste of your cappuccino, the kiss of warm air, the immaculately attired locals just getting their evenings started. Rome is nicknamed the Eternal City, and rightly so, for the array of icons - the Colosseum, the Pantheon, Castel Sant'Angelo, the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica - and for the role it played shaping the Western world. But there is perhaps a less-recognized genius in the way the city embraces the sensual side of life, as if to acknowledge there's no eternity like the present.