In Transit: Depart US/Canada on international overnight flight.

Morning: Arrival at Marco Polo Airport (VCE). Transfer to the MV Aegean Odyssey.

Afternoon: Embark the MV Aegean Odyssey. Welcome orientation to the program at 5:00 PM in the "Observation Lounge" on board the ship.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: There is no better way to begin our journey than with a morning walking excursion of the magnificent sites of Venice. We will see the Piazza San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs, and visit the Doge's Palace.

Lunch: Road Scholar lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: In the afternoon, you are free to explore Venice on your own - walk to the Rialto or the Accademia or simply indulge in a Bellini in Harry’s Bar.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: If there is one memory to take home with you, it is the sight of St. Mark's Basilica, the cathedral of Venice, and this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity the see this remarkable building at its very best. This evening, St. Mark's will be reserved for Voyages to Antiquity guests who will be treated to a private visit and the breathtaking sight of the famous mosaics illuminated in a spectacular light show. The church was built in 828 as a tomb for Saint Mark, whose body was spirited out of Alexandria hidden in a casket of pork, a bit of intrigue you can see memorialized in the mosaics above the church door. After a 976 fire, the church was rebuilt and served as the Doge's private chapel. As such, it was a place of immense wealth and power that it became known as the Golden Church, or Chiesa d'Oro. For example, the Four Horses of St. Mark in front are replicas of the Roman sculptures inside, brought back by the Venetians after the sacking of Constantinople. These horses originally had giant rubies in their eye sockets. The interior reinforces the jewel-encrusted Byzantine effect with its galleries high above the naves, massive chandeliers and over 40,000 square feet of mosaics. Works by Tintoretto, Bellini and Mantegna - to mention a few - adorn the walls. The Treasury brims with wealth from centuries of conquest. A visit here is an unforgettable glimpse into the heights reached by La Serenissima, as The Most Serene Republic of Venice was called.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Enjoy some free time to take a gondola ride through ancient canals or explore the legendary Peggy Guggenheim collection. Or, if you'd like, choose one of the two optional excursions the ship will offer this morning to either the islands of Murano, Burano & Torcello or to Frari Church & Scuola di San Rocco (additional cost, bookable on board). Please see the Optional Excursions page for a full description. For those who wish to participate in the optional excursion or return to the ship, transportation will be arranged by your Group Leader.

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: Enjoy free time on board as the ship begins its cruise to Split. Road Scholar cocktail party in the Observation Lounge.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: When Emperor Diocletian shook up the Roman Empire by abdicating in 305AD, he had his retirement residence ready: a lavish palace he had just built in Salona, now Split, in his native Dalmatia. Admire this amazing palace complex that, when completed, held three temples, a massive mausoleum, and could accommodate 9,000 people. For an intimate perspective on how life was organized, this excursion includes a walk through the palace cellars. The city of Split grew inside and around this palace, with the population retreating behind its walls when under attack, and then spilling out beyond them in times of peace. Today the Palace of Diocletian is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but don’t expect a deserted ruin. Discover instead a vibrant warren of museums, galleries, shops and restaurants mingled with medieval fortifications, pre-Romanesque churches and Gothic chapels. Renaissance palaces testify to a time when Split was a key port of the Venetian Republic. The excursion visits Diocletian’s massive octagonal mausoleum, converted into a cathedral in the 7th century and named after a Christian martyred during that emperor’s persecutions. You’ll also excursion the city museum where 15th-century furnishings recapture aristocratic life in that period. Other sights include the palace’s monumental Golden and Silver Gates and the columned Peristyle Square. Following the excursion, there will be free time to visit the colorful local market or explore Split on your own.

Lunch: Lunch on board or at a local restaurant on your own.

Afternoon: Free time. This afternoon you may choose to continue to explore Split on your own, or visit the delightful island of Trogir (additional cost, bookable on board).

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture. Depart for Korcula at midnight.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: At sea. We will spend the morning cruising the gorgeous islands of Hvar and Brac.

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: From pirates to princes, Korcula has had many masters, all seeking to use this island to ease their passage along the Adriatic. The Greeks who first colonized the island in the 6th century called it “Black Corfu” because of the thick forests. Mythology provides an earlier 12th-century BC founder, the Trojan hero, Antenor. Much of Korcula's architecture dates from the 15th and 16th centuries when the island was part of the Republic of Venice. This morning's walk takes us from the ship to Old Town with its Venetian towers, 14thcentury walls and fishbone layout, designed to take advantage of refreshing winds. Visit the impressive Cathedral of St Mark, which took over a century to erect, perched overlooking the town. Local stone masters left examples of their art in such details as the 15th-century lion portal, the island's boat wrights gave the main aisle the feel of a ship's interior and a splendid Tintoretto presides behind the altar. The tour also visits the 14th-century Bishop's Palace, where the art collection includes works by Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Tiepolo. Next, at the 16th-century Gabrielli Palace, view the City Museum's array of Greek and Roman artifacts, as well as objects detailing the island's shipping history. Korcula lays claim to being the birthplace of Marco Polo in 1254, and our walk takes us by his family home. Some 22 centuries ago, when the island was a favorite resort for the Greeks, the writer Athenaios praised the local wine, so before sailing, why not try a sip of the island's crisp white wine at a nearby cafe?

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a guest lecture as the ship departs for Dubrovnik.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Lord Byron called this majestic walled city “the pearl of the Adriatic,” and it is easy to see why. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is held to be the best-preserved walled city in the Mediterranean with a seafront setting and dramatic mountain backdrop. The city skyline is a medley of bell towers, copper domes and massive 10th-century walls. Dubrovnik was founded in the 7th century AD and was a powerful independent republic from 1358 to 1808, when Napoleon conquered the city. Today the city is an inspiration in self-resurrection. Despite a destructive earthquake in 1667, Dubrovnik has managed to preserve its beautiful Gothic, Baroque and Renaissance churches, monasteries, palaces and fountains. This morning’s walking excursion of the Old Town takes you along the city’s main street, the Stradun or Placa, once a sea channel connecting two ancient settlements. Visit the Dominican Monastery, home to a beautiful 15th-century Gothic cloister and the city’s finest collection of Renaissance paintings. Next, the Franciscan Monastery is home to Europe’s oldest pharmacy, founded in 1318 and still in existence. Your walk continues past such landmarks as the Sponza Palace with its elaborate stone exterior, the Baroque Church of St Blaise and Onofriou’s Fountain. Admire the Cathedral of Our Lady, originally built in the 12th century, destroyed in the 1667 earthquake and triumphantly rebuilt. View Titian’s Assumption over the main altar and, in the Treasury, one of Europe’s finest collections of gold and silver, including the bejeweled skull of St Blaise. Following the excursion there will be free time to explore the nooks and crannies of the Old Town.

Lunch: Lunch on board or at a local restaurant on your own.

Afternoon: In the afternoon and evening you are free to relax or continue exploring this charming city.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: At sea. Enjoy the Observation Deck if the weather is nice, or dive into a good book from the ship's library. Attend a talk by your Road Scholar Group Leader.

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: At sea. Relax, attend an afternoon lecture, or treat yourself to one of the many spa services offered onboard.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Many a conqueror set his sights on Syracuse, one of the largest and wealthiest cities of ancient Europe that, at the height of its power, rivaled Athens, Carthage and Rome. In 661, one of these invaders, Emperor Constans II, made it the capital of the Holy Roman Empire but that honor brought with it horrific imperial taxes. To pay them, we are told that wives became prostitutes, husbands were sold as slaves and children taken from their parents. The nightmare ended in 668AD when Constans was slain by a Greek bath attendant wielding a soap dish. Enjoy a walking tour of the city’s outstanding collection of Greek and Roman ruins including the Roman Amphitheater of Augustus and the 2nd-century BC Altar of Hieron (where as many as 400 bulls were sacrificed at one time in celebration of the Eleutherian Feast). Next, visit the Latomie of Paradise, huge caverns that served as a source of stone for the city’s monuments and also as a prison: 7,000 Athenian prisoners of war were held here in 413BC. One of the most impressive of these caverns is called the Ear of Dionysus in reference to its extraordinary formation and remarkable echo. The highlight of this tour is a visit to the 5th-century Greek theater where many of Aeschylus’s tragedies were first staged. Complete your morning with a tour of the vast Paolo Orsi Museum, named after the noted archaeologist responsible for many discoveries on this island.

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: At sea. Take advantage of the ship's well stocked library that has a wide selection of volumes covering classical history, literature, art, architecture, and philosophy. Attend a talk by your Road Scholar Group Leader.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: A gem of a day. During Roger II’s reign as King of Sicily (1130AD to 1154AD), Palermo became a great maritime power and also the channel through which Greek and Arabic thought passed into Europe. The embracing spirit of Roger’s reign is gloriously expressed in many of the great buildings of Sicily, but nowhere more perfectly than the Palatine Chapel, built during the 1130s and 1140s. This is the king’s masterpiece – a miraculous fusion of Latin, Byzantine and Arabic architectural design. Creamy marble is inlaid with gold leaf, Byzantine mosaics blanket entire walls and the ceiling of carved wooden coffers speaks of the finest Arabic design. The palace in which the chapel is housed had its start in the 9th century AD, when the Emir of Palermo built on the site of a Punic Roman stronghold. Roger II turned the building into the city’s main fortress and his sumptuous palace, then crowned it with this jewel of a chapel. Following your visit to the Palatine Chapel, the walking tour continues to nearby San Giovanni degli Eremiti, built by Roger II in 1132, a Norman church with Arabic domes and a Romanesque cloister. Drive next to Palermo Cathedral, site of the huge porphyry tomb of Roger II, as well as the silver urn that contains the remains of Palermo’s protector, St Rosalia.

Lunch: Road Scholar lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: It is an hour and a quarter drive to Segesta, once an advanced center of the Elymian civilization. The city is thought to have been founded in the 5th to 4th century BC by a combination of exiled Trojans, Phocaeans from Greece and Sicans of Sicily. Segesta was well defended, located on a vast plateau between two peaks and surrounded by walls. Presiding in splendid isolation is a stunning Greek theater and the majestic 36-columned, 5th-century BC Doric temple. This archaeological jewel is in an extraordinary state of preservation and makes a superb sight amid its surroundings of rolling hills.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Travel just a short distance out of Palermo to discover Monreale Cathedral, considered by many to be the most beautiful Norman church in Italy. Designed by William the Good in 1174, the church offers visions of beauty, grace and the divine. The exterior’s thick walls and powerful towers have the look of an austere fortress, but just step inside: it is the interior that is this cathedral’s true glory. The large nave with its side aisles and gray granite columns draws the eyes upward to 12th-century gold mosaics that cover over one and a half acres of wall space. The tour also visits the Benedictine cloisters, a magnificent synthesis of Romanesque and Arab architecture. Admire the serenity of the courtyard with its graceful arcade featuring 216 sets of twin columns and pointed Arabic arches. Later, enjoy free time in the main square before we return to the ship. The ship will offer an optional extension of this excursion to Palazzo Gangi, a magnificent private residence dating to the 15th century (additional cost, bookable on board).

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: A lunchtime sail takes the ship through the Lipari Islands where we will see the island of Stromboli. Its constantly active volcano is visible from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean."

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: At sea. Enjoy the spectacular views as we spend the morning cruising the Amalfi Coast.

Lunch: Lunch on board.

Afternoon: An hour's drive along the Bay of Naples brings you to Pompeii, considered the world's finest example of an ancient Roman town. The city, buried for centuries by hot ashes in 79AD, is a virtual time capsule of that era. In the company of a professional guide, visit the patrician mansions, baths and temples at the site. Step inside to admire the brilliant Pompeian Red walls, elaborate frescoes and gardens adorned with sculptures. View the sobering ash replicas of the citizens caught in their final moments. These bring to life the words of Pliny the Younger, an eyewitness, who described the terror of the eruption with its "broad sheets of fire and leaping flames."

Dinner: Dinner on board or explore local fare on your own.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture. The ship overnights in Sorrento.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Free time to explore Sorrento's alluring architecture or to enjoy a gelato in the Piazza Tasso.

Lunch: Lunch on board or enjoy local fare on your own.

Afternoon: An afternoon and evening at leisure to enjoy the delightful clifftop town of Sorrento and take in the spectacular views of the Bay of Naples.

Dinner: Dinner on board.

Evening: Attend a shipboard guest lecture.

Lodging: MV Aegean Odyssey

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast on board.

Morning: Disembark in Civitavecchia and transfer to Rome. Morning panoramic sightseeing excursion through the fabulous city of Rome.

Lunch: Lunch at a local restaurant.

Afternoon: We will enjoy a guided walking excursion of Rome. Highlights include the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Trevi Fountain.

Dinner: Explore local fare on your own.

Lodging: Grand Hotel Beverly Hills

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch

Breakfast: Breakfast in the hotel dining room.

Morning: Enjoy a guided field trip to the Vatican.

Lunch: Explore local fare on your own.

Afternoon: Free afternoon to explore Rome on your own. You may wish to explore the Pantheon, or behold stunning views of the city from the top of the Spanish Steps.

Dinner: Farewell dinner in a local restaurant.

Lodging: Grand Hotel Beverly Hills

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining room.

Morning: Transfer to Rome Leonardo da Vinci - Fiumicino Airport (FCO) for departures.

Meals Included: Breakfast