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Europe Cruises.

Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Stand in awe before the works of Michelangelo in Italy or Gaudí's distinctive architecture in Spain. Wonder at delicate masterpieces in Oslo's Hadeland Glassworks. Witness the remains of ancient civilisations in Greece and Turkey. Tour Palace Square in St Petersburg, Russia. From the fjords of Norway to the waterways of Venice to the ruins of the Mediterranean, explore the richness and beauty of Europe in a totally new way. You can also bring your adventure inland on a Europe Cruisetour – a unique combination of cruise holiday and land tour by luxury motorcoach or train. Venture from Madrid to Toledo and Barcelona; explore the famous Champs Élysées in Paris and the streets of London; cruise the peaceful Lake Como and the canals of Venice or visit Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance, and the holy grounds of the Vatican City in Rome. If you're ready for the holiday of a lifetime, you've found it. Start planning your adventure today – it really will be.

• The most innovative, modern ships
  
  Royal Caribbean sails 11 amazing ships in Europe – offering the largest capacity in Europe this summer, as well as the most innovative ships ever to sail this part of the world. See the coastlines where history was made from the top of onboard rock-climbing walls and ice skate across the Adriatic Sea. Savour five-star speciality dining that rivals any found on land or unwind with an indulgent Vitality Spa treatment. There are incredible memories to be made on land and on board.
  

• Outstanding Gold Anchor® Service
  
  As you sail the old continent, enjoy Royal Caribbean's exceptional Gold Anchor® Service at every turn. Our stateroom attendants, waiters and other crew members are ready to anticipate your every need, delivering a highly personalised level of service you won't experience from any other hospitality provider.
  

• The widest and most varied selection of itineraries
  
  We've shaped thousands of years of history into 117 fascinating sailings that will meet the desires of every European explorer. Newbies can take a whirlwind tour of must-see landmarks seen in films, while experienced travellers can go off the beaten track to quaint towns. Cathedrals, castles and museums will wow history buffs, while the Holy Land's legendary sites will bring ancient civilisations to life.
  Embark on a journey of eternal cities and everlasting memories. Reserve your sailing today.

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting the Black and Aegean Seas.Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and other bodies of water to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea and connected waterways to the southeast. Yet the borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are somewhat arbitrary, as the primarily physiographic term "continent" can incorporate cultural and political elements.

Europe is the world's second-smallest continent by surface area, covering about 10,180,000 square kilometres (3,930,000 sq mi) or 2% of the Earth's surface and about 6.8% of its land area. Of Europe's approximately 50 states, Russia is the largest by both area and population (although the country has territory in both Europe and Asia), while the Vatican City is the smallest. Europe is the third-most populous continent after Asia and Africa, with a population of 733 million or about 11% of the world's population. In 1900, Europe's share of the world's population was 25%.

Europe, in particular Ancient Greece, is the birthplace of Western culture. It played a predominant role in global affairs from the 16th century onwards, especially after the beginning of colonialism. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European nations controlled at various times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania, and large portions of Asia. Both World Wars were largely focused upon Europe, greatly contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the United States and Soviet Union took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east. European integration led to the formation of the Council of Europe and the European Union in Western Europe, both of which have been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Etymology

In ancient Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess whom Zeus abducted after assuming the form of a dazzling white bull. He took her to the island of Crete where she gave birth to Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. For Homer, Europe (Greek: Εὐρώπη, Eurṓpē; see also List of Greek place names) was a mythological queen of Crete, not a geographical designation. Later, Europa stood for central-north Greece, and by 500 BC its meaning had been extended to the lands to the north.

The name of Europa is of uncertain etymology. One theory suggests that it is derived from the Greek roots meaning broad (εὐρ(υ)- eur(u)-) and eye (ὤψ/ὠπ-/ὀπτ- ōps/ōp-/op(t)-), hence Eurṓpē, "wide-gazing", "broad of aspect" (compare with glaukōpis (γλαυκῶπις 'grey-eyed') Athena or boōpis (βοὠπις 'ox-eyed') Hera). Broad has been an epithet of Earth itself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion. Another theory suggests that it is actually based on a Semitic word such as the Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" (cf. Occident), cognate to Phoenician 'ereb "evening; west" and Arabic Maghreb, Hebrew ma'ariv (see also Erebus, PIE *h1regʷos, "darkness"). However, M. L. West states that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor".

Most major world languages use words derived from "Europa" to refer to the "continent" (peninsula). Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu (歐洲), which is an abbreviation of the transliterated name Ōuluóbā zhōu (歐羅巴洲); this term is also used by the European Union in Japanese-language diplomatic relations, despite the katakana Yōroppa (ヨーロッパ?) being more commonly used. However, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan (land of the Franks) is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa.