Day 6: Antwerp
Wanting to see more of the area, we booked a Brussels excursion through A-ROSA. We were the only English speaking guests on the bus tour so A-ROSA provided us with our own guide who sat in the back of the bus with us providing English narration.
KidTripster Tip: As previously mentioned A-ROSA is a German-based cruise company. Most guests spoke German. However, all crew members spoke both English and German. Signage on-board, menus, etc. were presented in both languages. During our sailing, there was another American family on-board, and a few British families. Â
It took about 40 minutes to get to Brussels. Along the way, we stopped at the Atomium. The unique structure was designed and built for the Brussels World’s Fair in 1958. It wasn’t intended to stay up past the fair, but it quickly became a symbol of Brussels and a tourist attraction, now drawing over 800,000 visitors a year. We weren’t able to go inside, but we had a chance to snap a few photos before continuing on.Â
Parking in Brussels is tricky, so the bus driver dropped us off outside the main square and we walked into the city as a group. We could choose between a guided tour of the area – or time on our own to explore.Â
We stayed with our English speaking guide who promised to show us the highlights in the time we had available. We walked through a beautiful covered arcade filled with shops. Then we walked over to the famous peeing boy statue aka Manneken Pis. For a tiny statue (just 19 inches tall), he’s a big tourist attraction. The statue was built in 1388 and used as a water fountain. We visited on a day when he was naked, but he has lots of outfits for special occasions.
We had a little extra time, so we got some snacks and took photos in the square before joining up with the rest of the group to head back to the bus. We drove past the United Nations, and our guide pointed out notable political sites.
The bus had us back to the ship in time for lunch. We spent the afternoon playing games and reading books. We also sat on our balcony for an interesting viewpoint of the SENA as it passed through many narrow locks. The walls were so close we could have touched them as we passed by (we were told not to!).
The dinner buffet theme was Indonesian, a nod to the home country where many of the restaurant crew hailed from. The food and decorations were colorful.
Keep reading: click the #8 button below to see how we spent our last day on-board the SENA.
