Question about Excursion vs Disembarkation Day on B2B

[FearTheFrog]

I will be on the 14 day Viking Sagas and Norse Legends cruise that is out of Amsterdam. That is a Back to Back cruise, which we have never done before.

 

The boat docks at 7am and sails at 4pm. For those that have experience sailing B2B itineraries how much time realistically will we have onshore? Will we be able to get off the boat close to 7am, or since it is a disembarkation might that time get held up a bit? And how soon will they require us to be back onboard?

 

I am trying to determine if we have time to go to Waterland. There are only a couple of excursions listed for that day, and none sound very interesting for our travel party that includes 2 kids. There is an Enterprise Rent a Car very close to port and we are considering just going that route.

[CruiserBruce]

You should be able to get off close to the 7am starting time. You will receive direction as to when you have to be back on, and whether you need to attend the life boat drill. This portion seems to be inconsistent outside of the US.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I assume that you are booking your own excursion. Plan on making arrangement for 8 AM. Always allow time for the worst of the mob to leave the ship -- like the self disembarkation people hauling their own suitcases, etc. off the ship. They really tie up the elevators.

Since the ship leaves at 4, you need to be on 1/2 hour before the ship sails -- just like a regular port day.

I doubt if you will have to go through another lifeboat drill since you be in a foreign port.

You will get a letter on the last full day of the first segment explaining everything.

[GregnChris]

On all of our B2B cruises, both in Europe and South America, we have been required to attend the lifeboat drill for both segments. I believe that Holland is strictly enforcing this since the Costa Concordia disaster. The drill is usually scheduled before the all-aboard time, around 3:00 or 4:00pm. I think that if you miss the main one, you can take a "make up" later in the evening.

 

On the Zuiderdam this last time, the muster went quite fast as they used portable scanners to scan everyone's room key instead of calling out room numbers.

 

As previously stated, you will get a letter the night before, telling you how you can exit the ship, how to re-board, and when to attend the drill.

 

Greg

[FearTheFrog]

Thank you. These are helpful responses. I saw this wording on the website so it made me a little concerned about when B2B passengers would get to leave the boat (emphasis mine). But perhaps that is the rare instance and not the norm? Or perhaps just the disembarkation travelers and not the excursion travelers?

 

The ship’s estimated arrival time at the port of disembarkation is shown on your cruise itinerary. Generally, the ship is subject to certain government procedural requirements

upon arrival. Once completed, all guests will be allowed to disembark. Disembarkation is usually completed within two to four hours after the ship’s arrival. All guests are required to disembark the ship at this time.

 

To Kraizy Kruzers: yes, we would plan to rent a car and go to Volendam, Markum, and Edam. However, it we weren't off the boat until 9 or 10am then that would not be the best use of time that day and we should plan to visit those town in the days leading up to the cruise. In other words, we have 3 days before the cruise and then the one day in the middle of the cruise to see Amsterdam and the surrounding areas. I am trying to plan the best use of our time, and plan what to do pre-cruise and what we will save for excursion day. (doing the excursion on our own, of course).

[Keith1010]

For you it will be like any port.

 

I think 8:00 AM would be a good time to expect that you can get off the ship.

 

Keith

[Ine]

Thank you. These are helpful responses. I saw this wording on the website so it made me a little concerned about when B2B passengers would get to leave the boat (emphasis mine). But perhaps that is the rare instance and not the norm? Or perhaps just the disembarkation travelers and not the excursion travelers?

 

 

 

To Kraizy Kruzers: yes, we would plan to rent a car and go to Volendam, Markum, and Edam. However, it we weren't off the boat until 9 or 10am then that would not be the best use of time that day and we should plan to visit those town in the days leading up to the cruise. In other words, we have 3 days before the cruise and then the one day in the middle of the cruise to see Amsterdam and the surrounding areas. I am trying to plan the best use of our time, and plan what to do pre-cruise and what we will save for excursion day. (doing the excursion on our own, of course).

 

Be aware that traffic on the highway between Rotterdam and Delft/The Hague often is extremely busy, even after rush hour traffic often comes to a standstill. So on the way back absolutely take enough extra time.

Also parking in Amsterdam is very expensive, E. 5.- for 30 minutes in city center is possible. Often you need to pay with creditcard or bankcard in machines.

If you want to see Marken and Volendam that same day, I advise you to skip Amsterdam as you only have a few hours.

Maybe you can reconsider traveling that much for those hours and visit Delft instead, a small nice old town, not that far away from Rotterdam.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Ine