First River Cruise

My husband and I are thinking of doing a once or twice in a lifetime trip in Spring 2017. I have never been to Europe or on a river cruise. The thought of a river cruise is intriquing and interesting.

For some reason the Amsterdam - See the Tulips itinerary appeals to me over some of the others. We are in Texas and every year we love taking pics of Bluebonnets when they bloom around this time of the year.

Do tulips in Holland bloom all year round or is it just in Spring? Just wondering after reading some of the postings about low water, high water, etc. and having to be driven in via bus. Not sure if that was just Danube cruising or Rhine as well.

Thank you.

Okay, I have done a little more reading and it appears as if blooming time is about 8 weeks in the Spring. Hopefully weather will cooperate when it is our time to go.

My husband and I are thinking of doing a once or twice in a lifetime trip in Spring 2017. I have never been to Europe or on a river cruise. The thought of a river cruise is intriquing and interesting.

 

For some reason the Amsterdam - See the Tulips itinerary appeals to me over some of the others. We are in Texas and every year we love taking pics of Bluebonnets when they bloom around this time of the year.

 

Do tulips in Holland bloom all year round or is it just in Spring? .

Just spoke to a friend taking a grand European tour including the tulips and she said that they bloom until May 17. Don't know exactly how the cruise lines come up with a specific date.

Have you heard about the tulip farm that is open to the public just north of Dallas? I wanted to take my grand babies but the blooming stopped sooner than they thought they would. This was their first year. The photos I've seen on their facebook page look wonderful and it's free to visit. You can purchase the tulips too. We were in Europe this year during the time they were open but it's definately on our to do list for next year!! Love our Texas bluebonnets!!!! They will always be my favorites!

Tulips can bloom anywhere from early April to mid May depending on weather. They are spectacular but you will need to book a year in advance because it sells out fast. You might also consider the Rhine from Bonn to Budapest...that's another favorite..

I have never done the Holland/Tulip Time river cruise, although it's high on my wish list (Maybe spring 2017?). In reading these boards it appears that as far as the cruising aspect goes, it's not particularly scenic. Not sure when the cruise lines start doing the Amsterdam to Basel itineraries. If early enough maybe you could still see tulips, but also go through the more scenic Rhine as well.

I had the Tulip Time cruise on my wish list until I read the reviews. The problem for me is that you have to go in April to see the tulips in full bloom, and that is likely to make the weather too cold and rainy for the rest of the trip [to my taste]. So now I'm looking for a nice southern itinerary where I could fly JFK to AMS, spend a day there going to Keukenhof, then fly on for the "real" trip.

The sections before Amsterdam on the Basel - Amsterdam and vice versa are mainly canals or canalized rivers. And the Netherlands are mostly flat compared to other countries. Hence, I think, the reason people find it not very scenic. The famous Keukenhof is not on a canal that the big ships use, busses take you there. I do not recommend going at the end of March and also tend towards your idea, hostjazzbeau, of splitting the holiday into two parts. I would suggest you have a look at the various cruise lines, meaning not only the usual North-American lines. You could fly into Amsterdam, spent a day there, then go to Keukenhof DIY the following day. There are a couple of cruise lines itineraries that start in Cologne cutting out the cruising in the Dutch canals. That way you get to see the Rhine. Most tours end in Basel, but CroisiEurope end their itineraries in Strasbourg as it is the company base.

When you go to google maps and switch to "Earth" have a close look at the area by zooming in. The photos that come up give you a good idea of what to expect.

There are a few threads and reviews about the Spring tours in the Netherlands here on CC.

Have fun planning.

notamermaid

I first visited Holland in 1982 in August. The Floriade was going on with plenty of blooming flowers. I suspect bulbs are kept in a controlled temperature location, then transferred outside.

I had the Tulip Time cruise on my wish list until I read the reviews. The problem for me is that you have to go in April to see the tulips in full bloom, and that is likely to make the weather too cold and rainy for the rest of the trip [to my taste]. So now I'm looking for a nice southern itinerary where I could fly JFK to AMS, spend a day there going to Keukenhof, then fly on for the "real" trip.

Hi Jazz, We did Tulip time in late April and not only were the flowers spectacular, but the weather was pretty nice too. We had one day at Kinderdijk when it was cold and windy, but on the plus side, that meant all the windmills were turning! I beg to differ about the scenery though. The only part of the trip that wasn't that scenic was around Rotterdam. But cruising north to the Zeider Zee was lovely and the ports were all wonderful. We started with pre-trip in Brussels and then bused to Amsterdam, which was a very nice ride.

Hello Hydrokitty,

good to hear you enjoyed the canals and the typical Dutch landscape. It has an appeal of its own and I enjoyed my land trips. One just needs to know that it is very different from the romantic Rhine upstream. Over its more than 1000km journey the Rhine changes so much and the scenery with it. And of course, you get off the Rhine in order to get to Amsterdam.

Brussels as a pre-cruise also sounds great, the town is so famous for its architecture and certainly worth visiting.

notamermaid

Wow! Thanks everyone for the wealth of info. I will have fun researching this project. Could be that I may change my mind and want to do a big boat and wait on the river cruise. But it is nice to have options as there is something for everyone.

Appreciate the help very much!

Hello Hydrokitty,

 

good to hear you enjoyed the canals and the typical Dutch landscape. It has an appeal of its own and I enjoyed my land trips. One just needs to know that it is very different from the romantic Rhine upstream. Over its more than 1000km journey the Rhine changes so much and the scenery with it. And of course, you get off the Rhine in order to get to Amsterdam.

 

Brussels as a pre-cruise also sounds great, the town is so famous for its architecture and certainly worth visiting.

 

notamermaid

Guten morgen, notamermaid! Yes, the Rhine is exquisite. Our first river cruise went from Budapest to Amsterdam and it is, IMHO, the most beautiful of ALL the cruises I've taken so far (6) and as a romantic cruise has no equal!!

Notamermaid

I was stationed at Wildflecken Germany in 1965 and will be doing a river cruise from Budapest to Cologne the end of Aug.

Hello dmrbmr,

which cruise line is it?

notamermaid

I had the Tulip Time cruise on my wish list until I read the reviews. The problem for me is that you have to go in April to see the tulips in full bloom, and that is likely to make the weather too cold and rainy for the rest of the trip [to my taste]. So now I'm looking for a nice southern itinerary where I could fly JFK to AMS, spend a day there going to Keukenhof, then fly on for the "real" trip.

just returned from tulips and windmills cruise, April 6-17.... weather was very nice, only a bit of rain one morning in Antwerp, then it cleared. In the adternoon in Brussels there was rain for a few minutes (we were waiting at our designated meeing point to go back to ship) - by the time we were assembled and ready to walk back to the bus, it had stopped.

Temps were in the50's in the morning and reached up to 66/68 in the afternoon, I believe we had one day where it hit 70.

We were at Keukenhof April 14 and there were a lot of flowers!

Just a note : the previous cruise, which was the first of the season, had miserable weather - rain almost every day. We had some glorious sunny warm days.

Carol

Hello dmrbmr,

 

which cruise line is it?

 

notamermaid

My wife and I will be on Vantage's River Splendor. Looking forward to seeing your beautiful country again.

OP, I just got home yesterday from a cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam. I have to say that the scenery was dismal---Lots of industrial areas. Also, check what day you'll be seeing the Keukenhof--we went last Saturday and the crowd was crushing. I think a mid-week visit may be better since locals would be working.

While I'm glad I did this cruise--my fellow passengers were engaging and the service and food stellar--I have to say it pales to other itineraries I've take with Uniworld, i.e.,the Rhine and Danube and Venice, Italy.

OP, I just got home yesterday from a cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam. I have to say that the scenery was dismal---Lots of industrial areas. Also, check what day you'll be seeing the Keukenhof--we went last Saturday and the crowd was crushing. I think a mid-week visit may be better since locals would be working.

While I'm glad I did this cruise--my fellow passengers were engaging and the service and food stellar--I have to say it pales to other itineraries I've take with Uniworld, i.e.,the Rhine and Danube and Venice, Italy.

Thanks much for the honesty...sounds like it could be like predicting the weather in Alaska. We had opposite weather both times we went.

Congrats, enjoyable experience

I'm just back from the Amsterdam to Basel cruise (Apr 14-21) on Viking Kara. We flew into Amsterdam Saturday night (arriving Sunday morning) and boarded on Tuesday afternoon. We did Keukenhof on the 13th and it was wonderful. There were a few areas that hadn't bloomed yet, but for the most part, they were up. I think we were only the 2nd cruise of the season for our boat. I know Keukenhof is only open 8 weeks or so a year, so plan accordingly. Our cruise sold out nearly a year in advance.

We LOVED this boat, the trip, the excursion, etc...

I'll be trying to post a review in the near future. We have been on 15 large ships prior and I'm going to have a hard time going back to them! Might even try the Mississippi River cruises when they hopefully start in 2017!

Hi Lisa - Fellow Texan here. We did Avalon's Amsterdam to Basel on the Rhine 3 years ago. It was also our first river cruise. We flew in to Amsterdam 3 days early and stayed at a bed and breakfast on one of the canals, a 10 minute walk to the train station and the city center. It was wonderful! We went to the flower auction at Alsmeer one day, Anne Frank's house (just down the block from our B and B) and to Zaanse Schanse one day. Recommend them all. The absolutely positively must do in Amsterdam is Keukenhof. It is a multi acre garden (think Butchart Gardens in Victoria or Bellengrath in Mobile), only it is just bulbs. 6 million of them. It is only open for about 6-8 weeks in the spring. They dig up the bulbs every year and replant the whole place. I think about 4 million of the bulbs are tulips. It is just indescribable. We spent a whole day there. We went mid April because it was our anniversary and it was a little cool, the the flowers were amazing. They plant the bulbs at varying depths so there are always bulbs in bloom while they are open. We loved our time in Amsterdam. We found the people friendly and absolutely everyone speaks English, so it is super easy to get around. We were glad we did the Rhine cruise after talking with some people on our ship who had done the tulip time the week prior. They were very disappointed with that week and said it was very industrial. They said the Rhine was much more picturesque. Have fun whatever you choose!

Have not yet been to The Netherlands - but, last year was in Istanbul on two different dates. The first approx 22nd April all the flower beds were full of flowering tulips and they were magnificent - returned on the 5th May to start a cruise and every flower bed had been dug up.

Have not yet been to The Netherlands - but, last year was in Istanbul on two different dates. The first approx 22nd April all the flower beds were full of flowering tulips and they were magnificent - returned on the 5th May to start a cruise and every flower bed had been dug up.

They do that at Keukenhof as well and when I asked them what they did with all the bulbs, like could I buy them, they said all bulbs were destroyed so their genetic coding couldn't be copied by a competitor! I was rendered speechless.

I'm just back on 04/21 from Rhine Getaway. I've started my trip report at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2202938