Excursion Details on Viking Tulips and Windmills Cruises

I know each port on a Viking cruise has a guided walking or bus tour that passes by many of its main sights, but could anyone who has taken a Tulips and Windmills cruise in 2016 tell me what attractions or activities you actually entered or saw in detail while on your included tours? Also what optional tours can you remember that were offered?

Thanks!

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I took the cruise ten years ago, and so my information is probably out of date. Some highlights included Palais Het Loo, the Kinderdijk, and the Delta Works. Bruges is a beautiful place, but the visit was too short--we spent three days there on our own in 2015. When we stopped in Arnheim, we took a bus on our own to visit the museum on Operation Market Garden.

I've uploaded a feedback document that I sent Viking, back then. It has comments on specific excursions.

--Dav

Tulips and Windmills Cruise Feedback.doc

Dav, thank you for your review and input as I found it very helpful. I think Viking agreed with many of your suggestions as some of the stops have changed over time. As far as I can tell, we won't be stopping in Volendam, Nijmegen, Dordrecht or Middleburg, but will be visiting Hoorn, Bruges and Ghent in their place. Amsterdam, Arnhem, Kinderdijk, Antwerp, Veere, Rotterdam and Keukenhof have remained on the itinerary.

We, too, are to go into Paleis Het Loo, a Kinderdijk windmill and the Keukenhof Gardens. We will also go into the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp and the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. I can't tell if we will visit any other attractions or just"see" them from the outside. Can you remember if you went inside any other attractions that were on your guided walk? Did you go inside anything by the Delta Works or just view them from the boat?

May I also ask what cities/towns (besides Amsterdam and Brussels) you felt you really could have used more time on your own to properly see? As I said in the OP, I hope to visit the area for a number of extra days both before and after my cruise, and am trying to figure out my loop itinerary, locations to stay overnight and very special places not to miss. I'd go back to places that were really neat but covered too superficially, but would move on past those that were covered enough on the cruise. Of course, it would all be subject to change. I'd just like to start out with a pretty good plan so I could book my locations to stay overnight. Thank you in advance for input.

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I don't know about Viking, but there isn't really anything to see at the Delta Works if you don't go inside.

Oh come on the Delta Works is the most amazing feat of engineering, superb photo opportunitys one of the modern sights of The Netherlands and Europe. Okay just my humble opinion one experience not to be missed. CA

Oh come on the Delta Works is the most amazing feat of engineering, superb photo opportunitys one of the modern sights of The Netherlands and Europe. Okay just my humble opinion one experience not to be missed. CA

I'm sorry if you misunderstood me. If you want to understand what you are seeing properly, you need the explanations provided inside by the museum. You also get views from the inside that you can't see from the sides. It IS amazing. I'm saying that in my opinion, no tour would take you there without bringing you inside.

We will also go into the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp and the Church of Our Lady in Bruges. I can't tell if we will visit any other attractions or just"see" them from the outside. Can you remember if you went inside any other attractions that were on your guided walk? Did you go inside anything by the Delta Works or just view them from the boat?

 

May I also ask what cities/towns (besides Amsterdam and Brussels) you felt you really could have used more time on your own to properly see?

Keep in mind that this was ten years ago.

Yes, the walking tour did go into the cathedral in Bruges, although it didn't stay long. You get to see one of the few Michelangelo statues outside of Italy. And, yes, you go inside the Delta Works.

Bruges and Antwerp deserve more time. We spent two days in each in 2015 (on our own), and we could have spent more. Bruges is a good starting point for a tour of the World War I sites in Flanders--take a look at Quasimodo Tours.. We haven't been to Ghent, but every time we see pictures we regret skipping it.

--Dav

Thanks, Dav. You've been super helpful.

Canal archive and gnome12, thanks for sharing your thoughts. What part did you visit? Did you go into any areas other than the museum?

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The museum itself is built into the works. You walk through inside and read and see about how it works, and the history of flooding in the area. Then you come out and get to climb up one of the pillars so that you are right by the water (although looking from above).

This is something I'll definitely want to see. Is the climb up on steps or a ladder? As a guess, about how many steps up would you say?

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We did Viking's Tulips & Windmills in April '12. We overnighted on the ship in Amsterdam, and on our 1st full day had the choice of an optional tour to Delft, which we did. It was a lovely tour. Delft is a picture-postcard town and the tour included a stop at one of the Delft ware factories and some time for shopping.

Horn was also one of our stops and after our included walking tour, my husband & I went back to the ship for lunch and then went back out to explore the town further, it was so interesting.

When we visited Bruges, we we given a choice to stay for 3 or 5 hours and we stayed for 5. Same at Keukenhof, which was spectacular.

We also visited Archer and Antwerp and had plenty of time at both ports.

What I especially loved about this cruise was the opportunity to walk off the ship and into town at most towns, or to return to the ship for lunch and go back into town for further exporation.

Becki

This is something I'll definitely want to see. Is the climb up on steps or a ladder? As a guess, about how many steps up would you say?

 

 

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The steps were metal I think, but wider than a ladder. They can be slippery in the spray. I think there were about 20 steps outside. If I remember there are also steps inside. Sorry I can't remember morr details, but I enjoyed it both times I was there.

Here are a couple of photos from the Delta Works.

--Dav

We did this river cruise with Viking in late April 2016. Yes the excursions had changed from the years before so not sure what you will have. On arrival day went into Amsterdam to New Church on Dam Square and bought 2 museumkarts. They were good at 400 + places in the Netherlands.

Following the cruise we spend a long weekend in Amsterdam by ourselves and it worked very well to have the museum cards. We used it the first day to see the church and the Royal Palace then back to the ship to do an intro walk with a guide of Amsterdam. As I recall on the intro walk, we did not go into anything but gave us a good chance to see Red Light District and areas around the Dam Square. Next morning tour was a canal boat ride and a walking tour of WesterKerk and Jordan area. We went in the church on our free time.

That afternoon we went to Delft and it was market day. I went to the flower market and bought 5 or 6 dozen tulips that had not opened yet for 6 euros. During the trip, they slowly opened.

Did the walking tour with Viking and toured the small delft factory right in town where we learned how to tell the real delft and had good walking tour of the town. During our free time we shopped and visited a church and had a stroopwaffle.

Next day - Arrived early in Hoorn, so we got off the ship by ourselves and just walked around the town by ourselves. Had a good 1 1/2 guided walking tour with Viking. We also did the home tour in historic area of Hoorn. After lunch we did the Tulips and Windmills excursion. We went to a family farm which does tulips and seed potatoes. We really enjoyed this. The farmer's wife did the tour. She did a presentation on raising tulips while we sat at tables and had tea with little tea pastries. She encouraged us to stand in the fields of tulips and take pictures. We also toured their factory where bulbs and tulips are prepared for market. We were pleasantly surprised how much we enjoyed it.Then it was down the road to her friend's house where she explained their potato farm and their turbo windmill. We actually went inside the turbo windmill.

Next day enjoyed our trip to Palais Het Loo. Nice tour of gardens and building. Afternoon we did the Operation Garden excursion since we both enjoy the history of World War II. Did the cemetery and visited the Hartenstein Museum.

Next day - Kinderdyk a must see. You do go in one of the windmills and they have a presentation they give in a separate building besides a guided walking tour to the windmills. We had already done this so we were hoping to do the excursion to see them make cheese but since it was Sunday the place does not do it on Sunday.

Next day - Antwerp - Good walking tour. Viking paid for us to go into Cathedral of our Lady. Don't miss paintings by Ruben. Woodwork of choir and pulpit should not be missed. Only had about 15 minutes to visit shops. After lunch we did the optional excursion, Delicious Antwerp. We enjoyed this excursion.

Next day Brugee. Walking tour covered a lot of area. We did not have time to go into the Church of our Lady. We had 40 minutes free time. Good overview if you want to return for later visit.

Next day - Watersnood Museum, Veere, and Delta works. We enjoyed them all. Went in the museum and free time in this little town of Veere. I think at the Delta works we just got off the bus and looked around. Very, very windy there.

Next Day - Keukenhof Gardens. We arrived early because when we were leaving, people were really coming into the gardens. We were here on April 28th. the gardens were in full bloom. Simple walking tour and then on your own. Had plenty of time.

We took optional excursion to Haarlem. Wonderful lunch included with visit to Frans Hal Museum and a walking tour. We did the church on our free time. Excursion was just okay not grand.

We had rain, ice pellet rain, snow, wind, and sunshine. Fellow passengers were looking for places to buy gloves, hats and warm jackets. We always take a good goretex jacket and then layer underneath. Yes, we had our hats and gloves. We were pleasantly surprise how much we enjoyed this trip with Viking. Our weekend in Amsterdam was a perfect end to our trip.

Dear All,

I'm so sorry that I've been away from this thread for a while. Everyone, thank you for the fantastic feedback.

Gnome12 - thank you for the info on the museum and steps. I was hoping to go into the museum and that it would be near where you could enter the structure. Good to know that I'll be able to make it up the steps if I divide them into three or four "bursts".

Dav - the pictures are great. It helps to see where I'd go and what my view could be. I am really looking forward to seeing it all.

Becki and bellemere - I really appreciate all of your detailed feedback. I know excursions and visited sights change from year to year, but your comments let me know what I should really try to see and what locations I should really try to come back and visit in more detail after the cruise.

It sounds like you all had great trips and I'm looking forward to using your feedback for planning my visit in 2018.

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Don't know how your day in Arnhem looks, but I'd certainly consider taking in the Open Air Museum. It's of the most popular tourist attractions in the Netherlands, yet none of the river cruise companies seem to include it. They've taken buildings from all over the Netherlands and rebuilt them there. There are "living history" activities. We took in the little paper making house and enjoyed it.

You can take a cab, but I would recommend the bus that leaves from the train station. The station was about 5 minutes walk from our docking location, and the bus (#3) took about 20-30 minutes to get there. Our bus driver spoke English and he (along with our fellow passengers) were eager to help us.

http://www.openairmuseum.nl/

I think the reason companies don't include it is that the amount of time people want to spend varies and that is hard to organize.

FuelScience - Thanks for recommending the Open Air Museum, the link to their web site, and the info on how to get there. I really think I'm going to plan on going back there if I don't get to see it while on the cruise.

gnome12, good point. This would especially be true for me. I do like to spend extra time at a location that piques my interest and this looks like it could just be one of those.

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The Open Air Museum is great, I was able to visit that and the AIrborne museum the same day in 2015, using the bus system. Each place is a single bus ride from the train station, and is as easy as Fuel says. It helped that my hotel was directly across from the bus/train station.

That trip was solo, I enjoyed the Open Air so much that I'm taking my wife in September. They have a 1920's tram that makes a loop around the museum, I believe 7 stops in all its so big. Really looking forward to our return, Arnhem is great.

Vantage started a cruise there last year, Arnhem to Basel, unfortunately it only lasted a year. They are back to the standard Amsterdam to Basel.

We did this trip with Vantage in 2010 and only thing I would add that may or may not be offered now is the optional tour to Aalsmeer for the flower auction. It's an early morning tour but if you're a flower lover it's worth getting up for and on my trip it was offered the morning of the day we went to Keukenhof.

Everyone,

Thank you for all the helpful input!

ural guy and FuelScience - I now do plan to go to the Open Air Museum. I checked my cruise's general itinerary and it seems like it is offered as an optional tour in the afternoon, but using all of your suggestions, I think I'll go on a different optional tour on that day, then and come back on my own (I'm planning on renting a car and-going back to/visiting for the first time-sights of personal interest I didn't see on the cruise) and spend as much time there to slowly absorb everything as I want. This looks like just that sort of place and I never would have known it without your suggestions.

Hydrokitty - I didn't see the Aalsmeer Flower Auction listed for my cruise, but I had been considering going there as a personal day trip either pre or post cruise. I am NOT normally a morning person, but your endorsement has convinced me to make sure that I do make it a definite stop. I know I would enjoy it.

~ Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I go...

1. public transportation from Amsterdam to Alsmeer and then continue with public transport to Keukenhof (pre Cruise)

Pre Cruise allows me to see the gardens days ahead of the cruise stop (different flowers in bloom?) or

2. go to both via rental car post Cruise?

Is the public transport tricky or time consuming? I use a rollator for distance walking. I don't want to take a timed tour to these locations because once again, I'd like to feel unpressured in staying as long as I wish. I am planning on staying in the area both before and after my cruise so that I have the opportunity of three different time periods in which to see the gardens.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Jean

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Everyone,

~ Does anyone have any suggestions? Should I go...

1. public transportation from Amsterdam to Alsmeer and then continue with public transport to Keukenhof (pre Cruise)

Pre Cruise allows me to see the gardens days ahead of the cruise stop (different flowers in bloom?) or

2. go to both via rental car post Cruise?

Is the public transport tricky or time consuming? I use a rollator for distance walking. I don't want to take a timed tour to these locations because once again, I'd like to feel unpressured in staying as long as I wish. I am planning on staying in the area both before and after my cruise so that I have the opportunity of three different time periods in which to see the gardens.

Thanks for all of your suggestions!

Jean

We did the flower market on our own. We took the 172 bus from in front of Centraal Station (left the station around 7:00 a.m.). It takes about 50 minutes to get to Royal Floraholland. As described in the second link below, you can take a couple of buses to get to the airport from there, or you can get a taxi for about €30 (15 minutes). From Schiphol you can get a bus to Keukenhof (third link). It might just be easier to rent a car...

https://www.royalfloraholland.com/en/about-floraholland/visit-the-flower-auction/aalsmeer/

https://www.european-traveler.com/netherlands/holland/visit-aalsmeer-flower-auction-near-amsterdam-schiphol/

https://keukenhof.nl/en/plan-your-visit/how-to-get-there-copy/

FuelScience, thank you for the links. I know it's relative, but how long would you say a good slow observation and reading of signage would take at Royal Floraholland?

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I would think 2 hours is probably sufficient. It's a significant walk on an overhead walkway to the trading area--remember you're in one of the largest buildings in the world. But a lot of the fun is seeing what's going on on the warehouse floor.

I would think 2 hours is probably sufficient. It's a significant walk on an overhead walkway to the trading area--remember you're in one of the largest buildings in the world. But a lot of the fun is seeing what's going on on the warehouse floor.

I agree 2 hours is plenty of time. As I recall it was a self guided tour at least by the clock, which I never did get the hang of, but watching the trams filled with flowers is mesmerizing! And you don't have to walk around if you don't care to...the scene below you is constantly changing. It's hard to describe but it is unforgettable..