Haarlem

[SOShrink]

When a river cruise (Uniworld to be specific) stops in Haarlem on their Keukenhof/Haarlem day, where do they actually dock? We are trying to figure out if we can actually spend some time in Haarlem on our own after the full day Keukenhof Garden Tour.

[rogerdawhip]

The ship does not dock in Haarlem. you are bused from Amsterdam.

[Ritabob]

This spring on the Tulips and Windmills tour the River Queen's docking address was Haarlem :thv Floresstraat. It was an easy bike ride to the town square, but the walking tour was bused to the Teyler museum.

[Ine]

This spring on the Tulips and Windmills tour the River Queen's docking address was Haarlem :thv Floresstraat. It was an easy bike ride to the town square, but the walking tour was bused to the Teyler museum.

 

That address means the ship is docked in Spaarne, near Floresstraat. North of city center. haarlem is a charming old town. Visit the big old Church at Grote markt. Its organ is famous, it seems even Mozart played on it.

Edited October 31, 2015 by Ine

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree with Ine! We spent a day there years ago, and loved just walking around. And we lucked out to hear someone actually playing that organ that Mozart played. Charming town.

[SOShrink]

I agree with Ine and Wendy and I can't believe they make you choose between Keukenhof and Haarlem on the same day! Haarlem is one of Holland's best kept secrets described by the NY Times as a "classic Dutch city with a village feel" and is even admired by Rick Steves in his book and video. Mind you, I am not complaining against Uniworld. Every cruise itinerary has difficult choices!

Getting back to the Tulips and Windmill day 3 tours, I imagine that they leave Amsterdam by bus in the morning going to the Keukenhof Gardens and the tours meet the ship in Haarlem at the end of the day, where it hopefully docks overnight before setting sail for Hoorn the next morning. Therefore, if we have any energy left, we can opt to spend a few hours in Haarlem walking around on our own. I was just trying to get an idea where they dock and if it's on the Spaarne River, that looks like it could be near the center of town or maybe a long walk or short cab ride away. Can we hear from more people who have actually done this cruise even if you have already done so on prior threads?

Ine, where do you live in the Netherlands? And I hope you weren't affected by the recent hurricane in Mexico....I studied in Guadalajara and we used to go to Puerto Vallarta (PV) on long weekends!.

[Ine]

I agree with Ine and Wendy and I can't believe they make you choose between Keukenhof and Haarlem on the same day! Haarlem is one of Holland's best kept secrets described by the NY Times as a "classic Dutch city with a village feel" and is even admired by Rick Steves in his book and video. Mind you, I am not complaining against Uniworld. Every cruise itinerary has difficult choices!

Getting back to the Tulips and Windmill day 3 tours, I imagine that they leave Amsterdam by bus in the morning going to the Keukenhof Gardens and the tours meet the ship in Haarlem at the end of the day, where it hopefully docks overnight before setting sail for Hoorn the next morning. Therefore, if we have any energy left, we can opt to spend a few hours in Haarlem walking around on our own. I was just trying to get an idea where they dock and if it's on the Spaarne River, that looks like it could be near the center of town or maybe a long walk or short cab ride away. Can we hear from more people who have actually done this cruise even if you have already done so on prior threads?

Ine, where do you live in the Netherlands? And I hope you weren't affected by the recent hurricane in Mexico....I studied in Guadalajara and we used to go to Puerto Vallarta (PV) on long weekends!.

 

It will be walkable, but it will take some time. As far as I know there is no public bus from Spaarna into city center, but certainly your cruise director can tell you where the nearest busstop is or how to get a cab.

I was not born in Haarlem but grew up and worked there for many years. We now live in the Zaan region, not too far from Zaanse Schans. At the moment I am still in The Netherlands but leave to Vallarta next month for a stay of 4 -5 months. I love GDL, very nice old city center, nice markets and great shopping.

The hurricane fortunately never reached Vallarta,so absolutely no damage there, it made landfall more south.

[Ritabob]

Tulips and windmill tour on the River Queen 2015. First tour of the season. Generally speaking the weather was not the best and it was a bit early for the tulips, so our CD, Wouter was doing his best to keep everyone happy....And we were happy! He arranged the bus tour to Keukenhof with two return times, so you could get back in time to also go into Haarlem for a look see, or you could stay at the gardens for the whole day. As I mentioned before, it was a short bus ride into the centre of town and it was an easy bike ride if you wanted to burn off a few calories.

[SOShrink]

So, here's the final answer. I emailed Uniworld customer service (this is my 6th Uniworld trip and they have always been quick to respond and helpful). "The Maria Theresa will actually not dock in Haarlem , but rather in Amsterdam. The excursions (choice of Keukenhof Gardens or Keukenhof Gardens/Harlem Walking Tour will depart from the pier in Amsterdam via motor coach. The ship will depart Amsterdam 4 AM to arrive in Hoorn by 8AM." So, Roger from Sun Tan Valley was right after all! Therefore, we will have another evening in Amsterdam to go to a concert or enjoy the nightlife, making 3 nights total that we will be docked in Amsterdam which is fine by me as long as we are actually in Amsterdam near Centraal Station rather than in a remote industrial area, which has been a controversial discussion of a prior thread.

[Ine]

In case you want to see Haarlem while being docked in Amsterdam. It is a short trainride away, many frequent trains, easy to do.

http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home

[SOShrink]

Thank you for that useful site, Ine. I also remember years ago taking a 30 min bus ride to Haarlem from Schiphol Airport. It looks like the cruise line gives you the option of going to Keukenhof for half day and the other half to Haarlem which is nice for those who have been to Keukenhof before and want to see it again but don't need the whole day.

[JPH814]

We are doing the Uniworld tour ending in Amsterdam. Our itinerary says

"Day 7 – Hoorn (Enkhuizen)

Day 8 - Amsterdam (Haarlem)

Day 9 - Amsterdam

Day 10 - Amsterdam (disembark)"

 

We are arranging to meet up with our daughter in Amsterdam. Here is my question: will we be in docked in Amsterdam during the day on Day 8? Or will we be docked in Haarlem? When will we actually get to Amsterdam?

[laverendrye]

We are doing the Uniworld tour ending in Amsterdam. Our itinerary says

"Day 7 – Hoorn (Enkhuizen)

Day 8 - Amsterdam (Haarlem)

Day 9 - Amsterdam

Day 10 - Amsterdam (disembark)"

 

We are arranging to meet up with our daughter in Amsterdam. Here is my question: will we be in docked in Amsterdam during the day on Day 8? Or will we be docked in Haarlem? When will we actually get to Amsterdam?

 

I will be on that cruise departing Antwerp on Monday 4 April. From the Cruise Companion issued for the trip, it seems clear to me that the ship remains berthed in Amsterdam on Day 8. There are two choices for excursions: one is an all-day visit to the Keukenhof, the other is a morning visit to the Keukenhof, return to the ship for lunch, and then an afternoon visit to Haarlem. It seems a waste of time to me to have to return to Amsterdam for lunch, but perhaps that is to accommodate people who only want a half-day excursion. I'm also a bit surprised and disappointed that the Haarlem tour includes a visit to the Teylers Museum instead of the outstanding Frans Hals Museum.

 

On another note, Uniworld has switched incoming flights from Brussels to Amsterdam for those who arranged their air through Uniworld, and will pick up any passengers for this cruise at Schiphol whether they booked through Uniworld or not. My carrier Air Canada is currently allowing any passengers on their flights to Brussels to switch to another AC European gateway at no extra charge, and I had no difficulty in switching to Amsterdam. Uniworld will have a desk at Schiphol to meet all incoming passengers.

[laverendrye]

Update from the River Queen. We are now in Ghent, having left Antwerp yesterday after two days in port. Uniworld's arrangements to meet passengers in Amsterdam rather than Brussels went very smoothly and the bus transfer to the ship from Schiphol Airport took about 2 hours. The only visible changes to security aboard that I noticed were that we had to identify our bags before they were out aboard and the doors to the ship are locked while in port and require your card to be scanned before opening.

 

The Cruise Director announced a change from the Cruise Companion Itinerary and we will be docking in Haarlem on Day 8 rather than in Amsterdam and so will proceed to Amsterdam that evening.

 

There are only about 40 to 50 of us aboard as many had apparently cancelled for this trip. Nonetheless, Uniworld is maintaining it usual high standards of service and the cruise so far has been great. We spent a pleasant day and a half wandering around Antwerp and people have been going about their business as normal despite the recent incidents in Brussels. This was certainly the case in Ghent as well. We leave Ghent this evening for the Dutch port of Veere.

[JPH814]

Update from the River Queen. We are now in Ghent, having left Antwerp yesterday after two days in port. Uniworld's arrangements to meet passengers in Amsterdam rather than Brussels went very smoothly and the bus transfer to the ship from Schiphol Airport took about 2 hours. The only visible changes to security aboard that I noticed were that we had to identify our bags before they were out aboard and the doors to the ship are locked while in port and require your card to be scanned before opening.

 

The Cruise Director announced a change from the Cruise Companion Itinerary and we will be docking in Haarlem on Day 8 rather than in Amsterdam and so will proceed to Amsterdam that evening.

 

There are only about 40 to 50 of us aboard as many had apparently cancelled for this trip. Nonetheless, Uniworld is maintaining it usual high standards of service and the cruise so far has been great. We spent a pleasant day and a half wandering around Antwerp and people have been going about their business as normal despite the recent incidents in Brussels. This was certainly the case in Ghent as well. We leave Ghent this evening for the Dutch port of Veere.

 

Hello and thank you for this updated information. we will be boarding the River Queen on April 22.

 

The change of itinerary worries me since we have arranged to meet our (adult) daughter in Amsterdam on the morning of Day 8 (April 29th) and travel with her to Haarlem. May I ask you a favor: if you could ask the cruise director the reason for the change and if this a common deviation of itinerary. ( I spole with the Uniworld Corporate Office today and they have no indication of a change in our itinerary.) We might need to make some changes to our plans with our daughter. I will be monitoring this post - hopefully you can get an answer.

 

I am glad your trip is going well and the flights were handled smoothly. I was just informed this morning that our scheduled flight from Philadelphia to Brussels on April 21 will be cancelled as well so we will get to see a bit of the countryside from a bus.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Edited April 8, 2016 by JPH814

[laverendrye]

I spoke with the Cruise Director who told me that for this season at least the Tulips and Windmills cruise would be stopping in Haarlem. She was not aware of the reason but I can only surmise that Amsterdam is becoming so crowded with river cruise boats that berths are at a premium. For example, the morning there were 6 cruise boats in the small port of Hoorn, including two from Viking. It also makes more sense to stop closer to the Keukenhof especially when it is combined with a visit to the town of Haarlem.

 

The weather for the past two days has been beautifully sunny-- unusual for these parts.

[JPH814]

Thank you for the information about Haarlem. It is confusing that the Uniworld Corporate Office is not aware of a change. Do you think you could pass on my email address to the cruise director and ask her to contact me? This change in itinerary - assuming it affects our cruise beginning April 22 - will require a some adjustment to our plans.

 

Thank you so much for your help and information

 

Joe Henry

choirmast@aol.com

[JPH814]

I was able to get in touch with the cruise director. I think things will work out well. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.