Reliability of Arrival time in Port of Amsterdam due to canal traffic?

I am trying to ascertain what is the "reliability" of scheduled docking times in Amsterdam at the end of a HAL cruise. The cruise I am looking at (Koningsdam, next August) returns to Amsterdam and the scheduled arrival is 6 a.m. But EVERY schedule always says it is "dependent on canal times". I realize that the ship has to traverse the North Sea Canal and maybe others to dock, but I don't know how reliable the timing is. I need to book a flight home the same day as disembarkation and if we get in at 6:00 as scheduled that is one thing but if there are any significant delays due to canal traffic etc I might get into trouble.

Does anyone have experience in Amsterdam? How literally can I take the 6 am arrival in the wake of all the "disclaimers" about the canal dependency?

If I recall we arrived at 7a, then disembarked around 9a to collect our luggage and get to the airport for a 1:30p flight. Arrived in D.C. around 4p EST

I've sailed into Amsterdam any number of times, including twice this past summer. We have always been docked by about 7:00 AM, with disembarkation starting by about 7:30 AM. I suspect the disclaimer is in the arrival time to cover HAL, just in case.

However, there will always be a chance the ship doesn't arrive on time, and you need to be able to deal with that. I would not book a flight too early.

For the two of you who said the ship was docked by about 7 a.m., can you tell me if that was the scheduled time or was it an hour late. The schedule of the Koningsdam trip I am looking at says it will arrive at 6 a.m. and I am therefore wondering how close to 6 a.m. it is *actually* likely to be. No one can ever promise in advance for sure, of course, but I wondered what the "on time history" was.

What time is your flight?

Assuming the ship docks at 6 am, it does not mean that disembarkation starts then. Luggage has to be unloaded etc. I was up early when we arrived in Rotterdam to see the scenery and, while we arrived early, disembarkation did not start until around 7:15 - 7:30 am.

We were scheduled to dock at 7am. As was said, this doesn't mean you'll be leaving the ship at 7. I'd suggest not booking a flight before noon simply because even after arriving at the airport there were long lines to check bags and long lines to go through the scanners.

On our Koningsdam cruise this past July, we had a delay arriving back to Amsterdam. The scheduled arrival time was 07.00am, however, because of a delay with the locks, we didn't dock until around 08:00am. I think the first people started disembarking by 08:30am. Some people missed flights, but we were lucky as our flight home wasn't until later in the day.

For the two of you who said the ship was docked by about 7 a.m., can you tell me if that was the scheduled time or was it an hour late.

Scheduled arrival time matters less than scheduled first disembarkation times. I don't know what time my cruises were scheduled to arrive; we were in early, though. I was awake enough to see that.

However, the ship has to be cleared by the local authorities, and that time is set, regardless of whether or not the ship was early. As noted by kazu, luggage has to be off-loaded, staff has to be ready to move people along.

As noted, too, check-in at the airport can take quite a while. For those heading to the US there is a separate step to go through. Distances to the gates can seem to be miles! Three hours is not too long to allow.

Thank you all for your answers so far.

I guess I should have said that the flight we want goes out at 11:55 a.m. I do realize that the time of docking is not the time of disembarkation (not our first cruise :) ) and I am familiar with the process. HAL's own advisory is not to book a flight earlier than 4 to 4.5 hours prior to ESTIMATED arrival time, so an 11:55 flight is OK from that perspective. But that does not count for delays in arrival. On the 6 HAL cruises we have taken to date I cannot recall a single one that was not docked at or very close to the scheduled time, often even a bit early. But I have never sailed into Amsterdam where the ship's captain has less control over locks and canal traffic and that is the part I am fretting about. If it is common to be on time despite the canal, then I am fine. If it is common for ships to arrive an hour or even 2 hours LATE because of canal bottlenecks, then that is my concern.

Thank you all for your answers so far.

 

I guess I should have said that the flight we want goes out at 11:55 a.m. I do realize that the time of docking is not the time of disembarkation (not our first cruise :) ) and I am familiar with the process. HAL's own advisory is not to book a flight earlier than 4 to 4.5 hours prior to ESTIMATED arrival time, so an 11:55 flight is OK from that perspective. But that does not count for delays in arrival. On the 6 HAL cruises we have taken to date I cannot recall a single one that was not docked at or very close to the scheduled time, often even a bit early. But I have never sailed into Amsterdam where the ship's captain has less control over locks and canal traffic and that is the part I am fretting about. If it is common to be on time despite the canal, then I am fine. If it is common for ships to arrive an hour or even 2 hours LATE because of canal bottlenecks, then that is my concern.

I think another concern should be the Schipol Airport. I read on the ports boards to allow 3 hours to get through security, passport and further security check points beginning in the summer of 2017. They have tightened security even more because of terrorism. That alert came from a person living in Amsterdam.

Just in case this information is of help to you.

Last Sunday Koningsdam docked at around 07.30 in Amsterdam due an emergency on the ocean just a few hours before reaching the mainland. Disembarking was only delayed for about 15-20 minutes, people got off the ship around 8 a.m.

Traveltime by cab on Sundaymorning is less then 30 minutes, so a flight at 11. is very doable. Also transfer by HAL were offered at various departure times.

Indeed 3 hours is a most nowadays also due to high security for USA flights. If flying Delta you will have an extra check before getting to the gate.

And just one more heads up; in order to get to Amsterdam via the Noordzee kanaal, the ship has to go thru the locks at IJmuiden (at the North Sea coast) All though not by any means as busy as the Panama Canal, it can still incur delays there . Enjoy that journey!

And just one more heads up; in order to get to Amsterdam via the Noordzee kanaal, the ship has to go thru the locks at IJmuiden (at the North Sea coast) All though not by any means as busy as the Panama Canal, it can still incur delays there . Enjoy that journey!

Thank you. Your reply was exactly the point of the original question: recognizing the there might be delays going through the locks/canal, the question was how likely is it that such delays occur, or is that generally factored into the arrival time. Obviously there are factors that cannot be predicted in advance, but if ships are notoriously late because of canal traffic, that is a good thing to know. I gather from other answers that it is not that common for long delays to be encountered at the locks/canal.

Thank you. Your reply was exactly the point of the original question: recognizing the there might be delays going through the locks/canal, the question was how likely is it that such delays occur, or is that generally factored into the arrival time. Obviously there are factors that cannot be predicted in advance, but if ships are notoriously late because of canal traffic, that is a good thing to know. I gather from other answers that it is not that common for long delays to be encountered at the locks/canal.

Delays at the locks and/or once in the NZK under pilotage are not that comon, but there's always Mr. Murphy to take into account :cool:

Delays at the locks and/or once in the NZK under pilotage are not that comon, but there's always Mr. Murphy to take into account :cool:

HaHa! Mr Murphy and I are fairly well acquainted :) But it's good to know he is not a common visitor to the canal! Thanks for your insights.

I will just add one last word of warning.

Ok, I don't like to be stressed nor worried.

The earliest flight anyone booked out of Amsterdam on our Rotterdam sailing was 2-2:30 pm. It's only 45 minutes from Rotterdam to Amsterdam.

but, we heeded the warnings. While I stayed on and went to Paris, a number of roll call members went to fly home.

A friend told me it went smoothly but if they had been on an earlier flight it would not have happened.

I would seriously consider changing that flight to a bit later in the day. Why not have a leisurely disembarkation with no worries?

Of course, the decision is yours, but I wouldn't risk it. JMO and reports from my roll call members.

I will just add one last word of warning.

 

I would seriously consider changing that flight to a bit later in the day. Why not have a leisurely disembarkation with no worries?

 

Of course, the decision is yours, but I wouldn't risk it. JMO and reports from my roll call members.

I understand your POV and advice. Problem is, for any reasonable flight, I do not have any options later in the day. If I did I would have opted for that for sure :)

The choice is take the 11:55 flight the same day, or stay overnight and have the added expenses just to catch the same flight the very next day. My budget says take the flight the same day. My anti-stress aversion makes me think twice :confused:

The Koningsdam arrival into Amsterdam on 23 July was approx 45 minutes late due to delays at the canal lock. Arrival was to be at 7am but disembarkation started at approx 7:45am.

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Hey G,

After many years of sailing experience, I have learned that you should never, ever expect a boat or ship to arrive on time.

Even if it does arrive at 06:00, you won't disembark for several hours.

Ira

Last Sunday Koningsdam docked at around 07.30 in Amsterdam due an emergency on the ocean just a few hours before reaching the mainland. Disembarking was only delayed for about 15-20 minutes, people got off the ship around 8 a.m.

Also I remember that the Captain said that while the locks might cause a delay, the authorities usually would try to give priority to cruise ships.

Hey G,

 

After many years of sailing experience, I have learned that you should never, ever expect a boat or ship to arrive on time.

 

Even if it does arrive at 06:00, you won't disembark for several hours.

 

Ira

That's interesting that you should say that. My experience has been quite different. I have only sailed on HAL mind you, but after 6 cruises I don't think there was ever a time a ship docked late (i.e. more than a few minutes beyond schedule) and in fact most of the time were docked and tied up early. Now having the ship cleared and actually getting off and getting luggage etc is a very different story - but I don't ever recall a ship we were on being particularly late. Guess we have been lucky :)

I understand your POV and advice. Problem is, for any reasonable flight, I do not have any options later in the day. If I did I would have opted for that for sure :)

 

The choice is take the 11:55 flight the same day, or stay overnight and have the added expenses just to catch the same flight the very next day. My budget says take the flight the same day. My anti-stress aversion makes me think twice :confused:

Personally I would stay in Amsterdam at least one day but I hear you on budget constrictions.

I know the flight you are talking about since it is one of two we have potentially booked.

KLM has a flight that goes at 4:55 pm if you are not using FF miles. Hope that may help.