M/S Clipper Adventurer

Arrive in Rome and transfer to one of the city’s deluxe hotels, where a hospitality suite has been reserved for your convenience. Enjoy time at leisure before your scenic transfer to the nearby port of Civitavecchia, where you embark the Clipper Adventurer.

The enchanting town of Naples is located at the foot of Mt. Vesuvius along the curving shoreline of Italy’s Amalfi Peninsula. You may spend the day at leisure, sampling Naples’ sunny insouciance and spectacular scenery on your own, or join one of two optional excursions. Both begin with a panoramic tour of Naples, and continue on to either Sorrento, the charmingly picturesque village perched on a high plateau above the magnificent Amalfi coast, or Pompeii, the incredibly well-preserved ancient city buried by volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in A.D. 79.

Capital of the Italian province of Sicily, Palermo sits on the island’s northwest coast in a marvelous inlet described by Goethe as “the most beautiful promontory in the world.” Mountains crown the city, gardens dress it in green, the sea caresses it, and the sky covers it with a gossamer blue veil. Explore this beautiful city on your own today, or join one of two optional excursions; enjoy a panoramic tour of the city, followed by time at leisure for personal exploration, or travel to an archaeological site that traces the remains of the ancient town of Segesta and its Doric-style temple.

Enjoy a relaxing day at sea. Onboard experts will give informal presentations in the spacious lounge that will preview upcoming visits and events.

Early this morning, you transit the narrow Corinth Canal aboard the Clipper Adventurer, one of the only cruise ships in the Mediterranean able to traverse the 81-foot-wide passage that connects the Ionian and Aegean Seas. Although the Canal was first conceived by the Roman Emperor Nero in 66 B.C., it wasn’t until almost two millennia later -- in 1882 -- that construction of the passageway actually began. You’ll dock in Piraeus, gateway to Athens, after breakfast, and enjoy time at leisure in this ancient city -- originally named for the goddess Athena and recently refurbished and refreshed in preparation for the 2004 Summer Olympics. Alternatively, join an optional excursion that includes visits to the Acropolis -- the center of life in Athens for more than 3,000 years -- and the Archaeological Museum. This afternoon, sail through the Aegean to M´ykonos, where you tie up just before dinner.

The island of M´ykonos offers visitors beautiful landscapes, picturesque white painted villages, windmills, hundreds of little churches, and some of the most extraordinary golden beaches in the world. Explore this magnificent island on your own today, or join one of two optional excursions. One includes a panoramic tour of the island and a visit to the village of Ano Mera and the 16th-century monastery of Panaghia Tourliani. Browse through the monastery’s museum, or refresh yourself at the tavernas and pastry shops clustered around Ano Mera’s picturesque central square. Alternatively, explore the island of Delos, one of the most important sanctuaries of ancient Greece and revered as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Wander through the ruins of temples, theatres, sculptures, and houses dating back to Greece’s most illustrious epoch. Delos was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.

The island of Rhodes is the sunniest place in all of Europe, enjoying more than 3,000 hours of sun each year. The walled medieval city of Rhodes is among the finest in Greece and in the whole of the Mediterranean; its Upper Town is easily one of Europe’s most beautiful Gothic ensembles, while Lower Town presents an eclectic mix of both Gothic and Ottoman architecture. Explore this cosmopolitan city on your own, enjoying its timeless quality. Or join an optional tour that winds through the ancient acropolis and medieval precincts before ending with a walking tour along the Street of Knights to the Great Hospital and the Palace of Grand Masters.

Throughout the ages, few events have so stirred the imagination and intellect of mankind as has a total eclipse of the Sun. Today, in the company of onboard astronomers, you will have the rare opportunity to witness this spectacular phenomenon, standing under the shadow of the Moon and watching Earth darken. The path of the Moon’s umbral shadow begins in Brazil at sunrise and extends across the Atlantic and northern Africa into the Mediterranean and on to central Asia. The duration of totality will be less than two minutes near the sunrise and sunset limits, but will be as long as four minutes, seven seconds in Libya at the moment of greatest eclipse. The path of totality will encompass your premier viewing position in the Aegean, where you will be ideally situated to fully appreciate the mystery and majesty of this celestial event.

Onboard Expert Frank N. Bash, Ph.D., served from 1989 to 2002 as Director of McDonald Observatory, one of the world’s foremost astronomical research institutions and a pioneer in public outreach and informal science education. A native of Medford, Oregon, Bash earned his bachelor’s degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon; his master’s degree in astronomy from Harvard University; and his doctorate from the University of Virginia. A well-known and widely published specialist in radio astronomy, Bash joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin in 1969. He has served as Chairman of the Department of Astronomy, been named the Frank N. Edmonds Regents Professor of Astronomy, and was named to the teaching excellence Hall of Fame at UT Austin in 1984. As a researcher, Bash is interested in large-scale star formation processes in spiral galaxies. As Director of McDonald Observatory, Bash led the effort for design, funding, and construction of the magnificent new 11-meter Hobby-Eberly Telescope at the Observatory in West Texas, which has the largest primary mirror in the world. The cost-effective design of the Hobby-Eberly makes it possible, for the first time, to contemplate construction of the next generation of telescopes, of up to 29 meters in diameter. Bash has also led the effort to expand the public-outreach programs of McDonald Observatory, including the Visitors’ Center, which provides workshops for K12 science teachers, and StarDate radio, which reaches millions of people each day in English, Spanish, and German.

Believed by some to be Plato’s lost continent of Atlantis, Santorini is naturally alluring, and its jagged coastline forms a striking bay. Ascend to the island’s highest point and enjoy magnificent, panoramic views. Explore on your own or join an optional tour of excavated Akrotiri, an ancient Minoan city preserved for 4,000 years beneath a blanket of volcanic ash. Continue to the Antoniou Winery, where you will have the opportunity to sample some of the best wines on the island as you enjoy stunning views from the winery terraces.

Following breakfast, disembark the Clipper Adventurer and transfer to the airport in Athens for your return flight to the United States.