klfrodo Posted July 14, 2018 #1 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Wife Cheri and I arrived in Amsterdam on July 11, 2018. We arrived at AMS at around 8:30PM. Passport control was a breeze. I travel internationally for work. He had a few questions regarding all my stamps, asked me if I was a Government employee, laughed when I adamantly said no, then waved us through. Had advanced reservations through City Taxis for meet and greet outside arrivals. They were a no show. I called, they got ahold of a driver who called me back. He asked that I meet him outside Departures.??? WTH ? ? Anyway, we went upstairs and went outside of departures. Driver met us,,, said something about he is not allowed to pick up outside arrivals,,,,, either way, we got to Mövenpick Hotel in a matter of minutes. Would not recommend City Taxi for future use. Mövenpick Hotel Definitely high end. Higher end than we usually use. Staff is very nice. Cruise ship right outside our window every morning. Entrance to the cruise check in is about 50 yards from the Hotel front door. Royal has a deal that if you are sailing on Royal, put you bags outside your door by 10AM with Royal cabin tags and the next time you see your luggage will be at your stateroom Nothing close to hotel. You can catch tram 26 across the street to Centraal Station, or you can walk it. Sign says 6 minutes,,,, my fat butt says more like 15 to 20. Everyone in Europe says “it’s only 10 minute walk”,,,, me,,,, double it. Trams Cheri and I got the 72 hour IAmsterdam card. Works on all the Trams or GBT buses. Centraal Station is the start point and end point for everything in Amsterdam. A good rule for the Trams is that (picture your back to Centraal Station and you are looking out).. on your left is a Tram Station. All Trams that start and end there go out and places to the left of Centraal Station and return. All Trams that depart from the right hand side in the from of Centraal Station go thru Old Town and circle right of Amsterdam. Amsterdam itself What a beautiful and interesting city. The architecture is amazing. It’s an active city. I’ve never seen so many bicycles in my life. I don’t recall hearing so many languages in my life and yet feeling comfortable in my own skin with my only language of English. And yes,,, there are some party people here. If you have a negative feeling towards pot or have never smelled pot,,,, you WILL get the opportunity to experience being around it. If you smell a skunk,,,, there is pot nearby. Our first skunk was exiting the airport, 2nd,, standing outside at Centraal Station. Special thanks to Ine who is on this board and provides valuable help to anyone who asks. If there are any questions or someone requests clarification, please ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danish viking Posted July 14, 2018 #2 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Nice review but I think it would be better to post it in the Western Europe board so people looking for info about Amsterdam can find your post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare gnome12 Posted July 14, 2018 #3 Share Posted July 14, 2018 Nice review but I think it would be better to post it in the Western Europe board so people looking for info about Amsterdam can find your post. Except that Amsterdam is the first entry on this British Isles/Western Europe heading. Sorry, I just noticed that this post had been moved from Northern Europe. Please ignore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phabric Posted July 15, 2018 #4 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Thank you for the review. I will be on a roundtrip river cruise from Amsterdam and will be staying at the Mövenpick hotel for 3 nights in April. Did you eat at the hotel? How much was the taxi from airport to Mövenpick hotel? How was the airport leaving? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frisbeewife Posted July 15, 2018 #5 Share Posted July 15, 2018 I’m very interested in this review too - and not just because my name is Cherie so I immediately identified with you and your wife. :D Me and DH will be cruising from Amsterdam next May and I want to spend a few days pre-cruise to see the sights. I’m very interested in hearing where and what you ate as well as what sightseeing you may have done. Thanks for the review! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klfrodo Posted July 16, 2018 Author #6 Share Posted July 16, 2018 I was going to reply to another thread but sa that I had a couple of responses. While Amsterdam looks like a big city, in reality it’s very small. Cheri and I took the tram from Centraal Station to Anne Frank House, then returned via tram. Next day we took the tram out to the museum district (Van Gough, Etc) then took the tram back. Next day, Cheri had arranged a private walking tour thru Viator with a local. We met at the Stock Exchange and Alfi walked our butts off. But where I’m going with this is that where Cheri and I took trams,,,, Alfi unknowingly walked us to some of the same places. That’s how small the city actually is. I highly recommend a private walking tour. We learned a lot more with a personal touch. Of course our dogs are still barking 3 days later. (Sore feet, calf’s, and thighs) Canal tour is a must. Hotel We stayed at Mövenpick. Great hotel but not inexpensive. Not a great location other than ships dock outside your window they are that close. Nothing else close by. Eat at hotel or subway. Otherwise you take a tram into town (5 minutes) or walk (15 to 20 minutes) What did we eat? Everything. We YouTubed foods to eat in Amsterdam and tried most of it. Herring? Tried it Pancakes? Tried it. Bittenballen? Tried it. Yes, you’ll even find Starbucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phabric Posted July 16, 2018 #7 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Thank you for the information. Our precruise package has us staying at the Mövenpick hotel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogs4fun Posted July 16, 2018 #8 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Nice review - thanks for sharing. I have also stayed at the Mövenpick hotel during one of our trips to AMS - loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisingisforme Posted July 17, 2018 #9 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Loved your info.Thank you. We are sailing in Sept 2019 so always good to get an idea of what to expect. Thank you for taking the time to yo:)ur review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ine Posted July 18, 2018 #10 Share Posted July 18, 2018 Wife Cheri and I arrived in Amsterdam on July 11, 2018.We arrived at AMS at around 8:30PM. Passport control was a breeze. I travel internationally for work. He had a few questions regarding all my stamps, asked me if I was a Government employee, laughed when I adamantly said no, then waved us through. Had advanced reservations through City Taxis for meet and greet outside arrivals. They were a no show. I called, they got ahold of a driver who called me back. He asked that I meet him outside Departures.??? WTH ? ? Anyway, we went upstairs and went outside of departures. Driver met us,,, said something about he is not allowed to pick up outside arrivals,,,,, either way, we got to Mövenpick Hotel in a matter of minutes. Would not recommend City Taxi for future use. Mövenpick Hotel Definitely high end. Higher end than we usually use. Staff is very nice. Cruise ship right outside our window every morning. Entrance to the cruise check in is about 50 yards from the Hotel front door. Royal has a deal that if you are sailing on Royal, put you bags outside your door by 10AM with Royal cabin tags and the next time you see your luggage will be at your stateroom Nothing close to hotel. You can catch tram 26 across the street to Centraal Station, or you can walk it. Sign says 6 minutes,,,, my fat butt says more like 15 to 20. Everyone in Europe says “it’s only 10 minute walk”,,,, me,,,, double it. Trams Cheri and I got the 72 hour IAmsterdam card. Works on all the Trams or GBT buses. Centraal Station is the start point and end point for everything in Amsterdam. A good rule for the Trams is that (picture your back to Centraal Station and you are looking out).. on your left is a Tram Station. All Trams that start and end there go out and places to the left of Centraal Station and return. All Trams that depart from the right hand side in the from of Centraal Station go thru Old Town and circle right of Amsterdam. Amsterdam itself What a beautiful and interesting city. The architecture is amazing. It’s an active city. I’ve never seen so many bicycles in my life. I don’t recall hearing so many languages in my life and yet feeling comfortable in my own skin with my only language of English. And yes,,, there are some party people here. If you have a negative feeling towards pot or have never smelled pot,,,, you WILL get the opportunity to experience being around it. If you smell a skunk,,,, there is pot nearby. Our first skunk was exiting the airport, 2nd,, standing outside at Centraal Station. Special thanks to Ine who is on this board and provides valuable help to anyone who asks. If there are any questions or someone requests clarification, please ask. Good to read you enjoyed your time in Amsterdam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony O Posted July 31, 2018 #11 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Thanks KLFRODO about leaving luggage out for Royal to pick up. As we will be staying at hotel and cruising Royal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony O Posted August 1, 2018 #12 Share Posted August 1, 2018 So. I wanted to confirm what you needed to do for the luggage pick up at the hotel. After receiving an email from them they state that this service is only available if you book the hotel package thru Royal Caribbean. I assume this must be a European booking option. But KLFRODO thank you anyway as it's always helpful to pass on information Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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