MAVIP

Apologies to @CruiserBruceand @Ine that I did not scroll down to see your replies before typing mine.

Wishful thinking? Where could NS find those spare Thalys trains? In Paris, in London or? And 2nd: there is a lack of personnel at the railway company NS too, so another question: where to find extra engine-drivers? 3rd: Extra trains between all others on the busiest parts of the "rails" in our country?

Especially if my DH or anybody else decides for a walk in the early morning with walking sticks. We had an outside on deck 2 once, so I know.

I donot know the exact ins and outs nowadays, but not only personnel of the ms Rotterdam etc, but police, customs, port agents etc need to be present in the cruise terminal at the moment disembarkation starts..... . Or: it depends on availability of civil servants too. (And, if you ever heard stories/jokes concerning the inhabitants of Amsterdam and Rotterdam: in Rotterdam we work harder, so maybe disembarkation and transfers starts earlier at the Cruise Terminal in Rotterdam....No guarantee, JMO.) 07:00 self disembarkation and a taxi drive of 50 minutes at a Sunday morning might be Just In Time for the 12:15 flight in the wellknown airport circumstances this "post Covid" summer. In a case like this we would reserve one of the nice hotels at a few minutes from the Cruise Terminal and spend the quiet Sunday walking and sightseeing.

Hello Rotjeknor, Please see "Late Change of embarkation port" , started by Nang 9 hrs ago.

Perfect, or read for e-ticket (so you will experience no problems with special cards etc): https://9292.nl/en and train connection in time to embark as first passenger embarking 😉 https://9292.nl/en/journeyadvice/station-schiphol-airport/rotterdam_rotterdam-cruise-terminal/arrival/2022-07-24T1111?extraInterchangeTime=0&flexStop=True&flexAddress=False instead of the tram I would suggest the Metro (subway). Tram however can be a little bit easier as it leaves and arrives at street level and at least you see a tiny little bit of Rotterdam and crossing the river you see the ms Rotterdam at your right hand side. Enjoy.

I just saw in the port schedule that the Rotterdam is expected to be in Rotterdam the 31st too from 07:00 - 17:00 https://www.cruiseportrotterdam.nl/cruise-calls/ I try to follow all the news, but I did not read anything up to this moment about an end date (just messages of HAL passengers here in Holland speculating to embark too at Rotterdam at later dates, homeport of the Rotterdam) The situation at the locks is caused by the low level of the rivers sweet water and the fear of the salt water rising further into the farm lands etc, which cannot be reversed (?right word?) and harmfull for crops etc.

You already found www.ns.nl? If not maybe this will interest or help you a little bit: normal "Sprinter" trains without changing trains from Amsterdam CS tot Rotterdam CS for example (not too many passengers maybe) leaving at 10:20 and 10:35. takes 1 hour 14 or 13 minutes. Price: 2nd class € 16,90, 1st class € 28,22. NS International Intercity Direct (no stops, € 2,70 extra costs) for example leaving at 10:08 and 11:08. takes 41 minutes. The train of 11:08 is marked as possibly very busy, the one at 10:08 as "busy". Departure at Spoor (rail, perron) 14a. From Rotterdam CS to the cruise terminal in Rotterdam is a short ride by taxi. Or by Metro/subway Costs € 1,44 with a OV card you might have bought for your days in Amsterdam; I do not know other prices.....sorry. (right from the station to Wilhelminaplein - Metro D direction De Akkers! 6 minutes). 8 minutes walk to Cruise Terminal. Please enjoy your stay and your cruise.

The reason is the lock of IJmuiden. Water level is too low and the lock drastically reduced the number of ships that can enter. In NL we are trying at this moment to reduce salt water replacing the rivers sweet water. I hopes this helps a bit to understand the change. And the people in Rotterdam will be glad to receive you Sunday!

Absolutely.

Good evening Ine, Second time in Geiranger we booked seats in an 16-seater too, but in May this year the small bus could not be reserved anymore. JMO: maybe they reduce traffic up and down the small roads by using the bigger busses.

Fully agree @hallasmand @Ine Did for the 2nd time the Panorma Exclusive tour in May. Costs $58 per adult. Reduction for children. Booked the HAL excursion 1st visit to Geiranger; the difference is the guide.

In May we used the shuttle provided from Jekteviken to the center of Bergen (beside the tourist information office). Later HAL passengers in the Netherlands reported they used the shuttle too. It really is a short walk to Floibanen. I hope you can enjoy the view from the top of Floibanen. Happy cruising!

I agree, but once our cabin was not ready, we greeted the cabin stewards at work, left our carry-ons in the cabin, put valuables/handbag in the locker, and left for lunch.

No retail in the building (quite a few shops in the nearby Central Station), May 1st: Priority check in for passengers with Covidtest results (others had to be tested in that period). Priority line for stars and suites: yes, but no difference in the end. Navigator and originals on paper used for embarkation. From handing our luggage to the porter the whole process took 30/45 minutes if I remember well. If I understand well Verifly did not make much of a difference (or even none) for passengers embarking in Amsterdam. I hope you will get more reactions.

No, I am very sorry, but maybe someone else gives you the perfect answer. If you have to go from Schiphol to the cruise terminal in Rotterdam: Railway station at schiphol: train takes 36 minutes (few € extra for IC train) 1 minute walk to Metro Station Quay 3 and take metro D direction De Akkers . 6 minutes metro (3 stops...) to Metrostation Wilhelminaplein. 8 minutes walk to Cruise terminal. Elevators etc in metrostation available.

The one at the Prinsengracht is closest to your hotel. Prinsengracht 13, 1015 DKOpening hours: mon, tue, wed, thu, fri: 08:00 - 15:15, sat, sun: 10:00 - 15:15 Enjoy your stay and cruise! Spoedtest.nl - Corona test with travel certificate.html

Please see #13 from @SeeSun&Sea I forgot to quote his/her advise of 5-20% sambal in a dutch pea soup. I only know of dutch friends born and or lived in Indonesia for a long time, who could eat spoons full of sambal (and the hot kind...).

You better move your question to "Northern Europe & Baltic Sea".

You ever tried 20% in a dutch pea soup? 🥵

Would greatly astonish me if that was a quality newspaper.

I hope you are kidding and not drinking it, but use it for your CPAP instead.

https://www.gvb.nl/validity-tickets-visitors complete information. And the desk of Holland Tourist Information where IMO you can buy both tickets: Arrivals 2 Schiphol Plaza. Open from 7 AM to 10 PM

To answer your 1st message on CC: everything I ate at any of the HAL ships I sailed.

You do not mention the period in which you are travelling. We f.e. visit end of August - September and as I understand, all puffins are gone by then. If I am wrong, let anyone please correct me.