RA-Travelbug Posted January 5, 2020 #1 Share Posted January 5, 2020 My husband and I are flying to Amsterdam this spring and our flight arrives at 8:30 in the morning. We need to get a hotel since we arrive on May 1 and our river cruise leaves on May 2. The questions are: where should we get our hotel? close to the airport or closer to the port? Also, do most hotels have a luggage room? Assuming we will need to store our luggage somewhere so we can explore a bit. Link to post Share on other sites
Roz Posted January 5, 2020 #2 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Definitely closer to the port so you can take advantage of all that Amsterdam offers. It's a phenomenal city. I've never stayed at a hotel in the US or Europe that wasn't able to store my luggage while I toured until it was time to check in. 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Ine Posted January 5, 2020 #3 Share Posted January 5, 2020 All hotels in the vicinity of Centraal Station are close to the cruise terminal at Pien Heinkade.. Centraal Station is easy to do by train from the airport. Movenpick Hotel is above the cruise terminal. Public transport in town is excellent so more or less any hotel will do. Donot stay near the airport. Most hotels will be willing to accept your luggage, but always check when making a reservation. There is luggage storage too at Centraal Station or use one of the independent storage companies. https://www.amsterdam.info/central-station/luggage-lockers/ Riverships however have some different dockingplaces, most of them west or east of Centraal Station. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Joebucks Posted January 5, 2020 #4 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Anytime I cruise, I always do a hotel the day before. I try to make it a combination of location in the city/near the port, but leaning more towards the city. Most ports are by big cities anyway so you can get a fantastic location while not being too far away. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Roz Posted January 5, 2020 #5 Share Posted January 5, 2020 In addition to the Movenpick, check out Doubletree Centraal Station. 3 Link to post Share on other sites
Bizmark'sMom Posted January 5, 2020 #6 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Definitely stay near Centraal Station. That puts you in walking distance of just about everything in Amsterdam, and close to where the river ships dock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
RA-Travelbug Posted January 6, 2020 Author #7 Share Posted January 6, 2020 Awesome, thanks for all the tips 🙂 Link to post Share on other sites
John Bull Posted January 6, 2020 #8 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) As others have commented, a hotel in the city centre. Anywhere from centraal station to Dam Square, or by one of the canals off to the west (toward Jordaan) for a much quieter yet still convenient location. The cruise terminal is a ten -minute walk behind centraal station. Most hotels will store luggage for you, and usually free-of-charge, if you arrive before check-in time or leave your luggage for the rest of the day after check-out - but it might be worth confirming this before booking. JB Edited January 6, 2020 by John Bull 1 Link to post Share on other sites
gnome12 Posted January 7, 2020 #9 Share Posted January 7, 2020 17 hours ago, John Bull said: As others have commented, a hotel in the city centre. Anywhere from centraal station to Dam Square, or by one of the canals off to the west (toward Jordaan) for a much quieter yet still convenient location. The cruise terminal is a ten -minute walk behind centraal station. JB Most of the river cruise ships do not moor at the cruise terminal; they moor right behind centraal station. (It was about a 5 minute walk through the station to my UniWorld ship in 2010.) 1 Link to post Share on other sites
sharkster77 Posted January 7, 2020 #10 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Amsterdam is a fun, walkable city--don't do yourself a disservice by staying at the airport! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
3rdCoastFan Posted January 7, 2020 #11 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Also, you may luck out with your hotel room being ready early. It happened to us on our cruise last April. It was nice to take a shower and change before heading out into the city. It's also very tempting to immediately nap if you get into the room early, though. You know best how you respond to jet lag but powering through that first day and avoiding naps usually works best for me! 1 Link to post Share on other sites
texasstar Posted January 10, 2020 #12 Share Posted January 10, 2020 We stayed at the Kimpton which is not to far from Centraal station. It is a very nice hotel, the staff is very accommodating, it is near the tram stops, or you can walk to many of the sights. I agree, Amsterdam is a beautiful city. Another tip, if you do want to visit the Anne Frank house, you need to get your tickets online 2 months prior to the day you want to visit. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
Ryan208 Posted January 12, 2020 #13 Share Posted January 12, 2020 Just be aware that not all river cruise ships dock near the central train station. When we took a Rhine cruise with Viking in 2018 our ship was docked at Coenhaven which was an industrial area about a 15 minute cab ride from our hotel near the Rijksmuseum. (We flew in a few days early and toured Amsterdam on our own.) Viking let us know the docking location about a week or so before the cruise. Link to post Share on other sites
JPH814 Posted January 19, 2020 #14 Share Posted January 19, 2020 Be careful we have been to Amsterdam twice on Uniworld. One time we were docked within walking distance of Central Station, the canals, Anne Frank House etc. The last time ( April of 2019) we were a good 20 minute cab ride from the tourist areas. Amsterdam is getting very crowded with river cruise ships. My advice: take a cab or train from the airport to a nice hotel in the middle of what you want to see. Then take a cab to the ship. How much are you spending on the cruise? $20k. Will a $20 cab ride break the bank? Link to post Share on other sites
Roz Posted January 20, 2020 #15 Share Posted January 20, 2020 17 hours ago, JPH814 said: Be careful we have been to Amsterdam twice on Uniworld. One time we were docked within walking distance of Central Station, the canals, Anne Frank House etc. The last time ( April of 2019) we were a good 20 minute cab ride from the tourist areas. Amsterdam is getting very crowded with river cruise ships. My advice: take a cab or train from the airport to a nice hotel in the middle of what you want to see. Then take a cab to the ship. How much are you spending on the cruise? $20k. Will a $20 cab ride break the bank? JPH, thank you for the advice. Did you know ahead of time that your Uniworld ship wasn't docked near Centraal Station? When I sailed from Amsterdam at the end of 2018, my hotel was in the city center and the ship was near Centraal Station. I had walked all over Amsterdam, but I opted for a taxi to get me to the ship. Walking over those cobblestones while dragging a suitcase and carrying an overnight bag seemed like a bit much. I wasn't able to board the ship but they took my bags and I was able to do more sightseeing and shopping before officially boarding. Link to post Share on other sites
JPH814 Posted January 20, 2020 #16 Share Posted January 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Roz said: JPH, thank you for the advice. Did you know ahead of time that your Uniworld ship wasn't docked near Centraal Station? When I sailed from Amsterdam at the end of 2018, my hotel was in the city center and the ship was near Centraal Station. I had walked all over Amsterdam, but I opted for a taxi to get me to the ship. Walking over those cobblestones while dragging a suitcase and carrying an overnight bag seemed like a bit much. I wasn't able to board the ship but they took my bags and I was able to do more sightseeing and shopping before officially boarding. I Had the location before I arrived. But I did Not really check it on the map. I had assumed it was the same location we had docked In 2018. Bad assumption. When we were in Amsterdam in 2018, my daughter met us and she stayed at the Renaissance . It was about a 10 minute walk from the dock. So this cruise, we stayed at the Renaissance for 2 nights Pre Cruise. Great location and great hotel. Walked to everywhere When it was time to go to the ship, I Was not going to schlep 2 weeks worth of luggage even that short distance we would have to walk. so we took a cab. I was surprised when I gave The driver the address and it ended up being about a 15 minute drive. But my point is this: if you are planning any sightseeing in Amsterdam, get a hotel near what you want to see. Invest in the taxis. Your time is too valuable. Another point - most cruise lines have pre-cruise hotels. If you book one of them, the transfers from airport to the hotel and hotel to the port are often included. Link to post Share on other sites
Roz Posted January 20, 2020 #17 Share Posted January 20, 2020 Good thing you read your docs, and a reminder to us all. What if you had set out on foot with all your luggage and got to the dock, only to find your ship wasn't there? Link to post Share on other sites
3rdCoastFan Posted January 21, 2020 #18 Share Posted January 21, 2020 @texasstar, we also stayed at the Kimpton and agree with your comments. Great location and great staff - we would absolutely stay there again. On our April 2019 Rhine cruise with Viking, we, too, got the dock outside the city center at the Westerhoofd location. It was fairly easy to get there in an Uber and Viking ran shuttles back and forth from the dock to Centraal up until the early evening. I think we were told about a week or two ahead of time that the boat would be there. The Port of Amsterdam lists this as a 'turnaround' location - perhaps for boats that do not overnight in Amsterdam, there's more of a chance you may get sent there. Viking's Rhine Getaway does not include an overnight stay Link to post Share on other sites
gnome12 Posted January 21, 2020 #19 Share Posted January 21, 2020 44 minutes ago, 3rdCoastFan said: The Port of Amsterdam lists this as a 'turnaround' location - perhaps for boats that do not overnight in Amsterdam, there's more of a chance you may get sent there. Viking's Rhine Getaway does not include an overnight stay I would think that a turnaround port is one where passengers are embarking and disembarking; they need more room for buses to pick up people and luggage. A day stop (and I'm not sure there is any such thing for a river cruise boat in Amsterdam) would be people getting off for the day and they would be more likely to be docked near the centre of town. Link to post Share on other sites
Mike R 2018 Posted January 26, 2020 #20 Share Posted January 26, 2020 Viking put us up at the Pulitzer Amsterdam, a wonderful hotel. Wherever you stay, you may want to do what I did. One moning I got up early, had a cup of two of coffee, then hit the streets of downtown Amsterdam with my camera at 6 AM on a weekday. Traffic was light, few people (and bicycles!) were on the streets and the shadows on the buildings were great for my photographs. I had a truly enjoyable 2 hour walk in a beautiful city for free- and got several excellent photos. If you can do it, it's worth it! 2 Link to post Share on other sites
Rorygirl4528 Posted January 27, 2020 #21 Share Posted January 27, 2020 I’ve stayed at the Doubletree Centraal Station and this time I’m staying at the Park Plaza Victoria across from the train station. I like the location of both to walk to the river cruise docks. I don’t know which company you are going with but I’ve seen Vantage, Viking and Uniworld plus a couple of others docked there on our last three cruises. if you haven’t found a room yet I’d do it ASAP. We are going on the Tulip Cruise mid April coming in two days early. I reserved rooms last October. Just checked the hotel again and no rooms available. Also the rooms were very expensive since it’s a popular tourist time there. 1 Link to post Share on other sites
RA-Travelbug Posted February 8, 2020 Author #22 Share Posted February 8, 2020 On 1/19/2020 at 1:56 PM, JPH814 said: My advice: take a cab or train from the airport to a nice hotel in the middle of what you want to see. Then take a cab to the ship. How much are you spending on the cruise? $20k. Will a $20 cab ride break the bank? Exactly! Thanks for all the advice and comments everyone 🙂 We have our hotel booked at the Mercure Hotel at Sloterdijk Station We are good with it being in a quieter industrial area and have already looked at the trains and transit system. It seems convenient being one train stop from the airport (or cab depending on how we feel!). We will pack super light and use a luggage storage somewhere if the hotel does not have luggage storage available (have sent them an email but haven't heard back yet). Yes, we will book Anne Frank House when we are able to (2 months prior from what we can tell) but that's pretty much all I would want to book for that first day. **fingers crossed -- here's hoping we can sleep on the plane ** Our ship is Avalon Waterways -- we are doing the Tulip Time 8-day cruise from May 2 - 9. They will contact us fairly soon as to where the port actually is. We will be doing a pre-cruise excursion to Zaanse Schans which we are really looking forward to! Link to post Share on other sites
Mike R 2018 Posted February 12, 2020 #23 Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Super! Take dozens of pictures of that beautiful city. The Anne Frank tickets are usually sold out in hours once they're available online. Westerkerk church with its great views is a two-minute walk from Anne Frank's house. Have fun! Edited February 12, 2020 by Mike R 2018 Link to post Share on other sites
island lady Posted February 13, 2020 #24 Share Posted February 13, 2020 We are doing it a bit differently. We will be 24 days on RCI Jewel, coming back into Amsterdam and disembarking on the same day we board Viking's Grand European river cruise. Not sure how far the ocean cruise ship dock is from the Viking river cruise dock. Link to post Share on other sites
Ine Posted February 13, 2020 #25 Share Posted February 13, 2020 1 hour ago, island lady said: We are doing it a bit differently. We will be 24 days on RCI Jewel, coming back into Amsterdam and disembarking on the same day we board Viking's Grand European river cruise. Not sure how far the ocean cruise ship dock is from the Viking river cruise dock. What day will that be? You probably can check the locations on the website of the cruiseterminal Amsterdam. https://www.ptamsterdam.com/cruise-calender/# In general Jewel will dock there, but location of riverships is often not that far away. However riverships have more docks in Amsterdam. Link to post Share on other sites
.jpg.19dd0baf8138b7706a0ab0815c3d6e95.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now