Uniworld Belgium to Holland cruise in March 2017

Hi,

I just booked this Uniworld cruise on River Ambassador going from Brussels to Amsterdam. Has anyone done this Tulip Time cruise and have information and ideas to share? Thanks.

We're doing the tulip cruise in April on the River Princess. It will be our second Uniworld cruise and we're looking forward to it. We're sailing on Holland America from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, spending four days in Rome, then flying to Brussels to start the Uniworld cruise.

Hi,

 

I just booked this Uniworld cruise on River Ambassador going from Brussels to Amsterdam. Has anyone done this Tulip Time cruise and have information and ideas to share? Thanks.

We did the tulip cruise with Vantage several years ago. It's wonderful. I checked out your itinerary which is quite different than ours but there were several stops that we made...

Brussels: your city tour I'm sure will take you to see the Atomium, Palace and Manekin Pis and Main Square....we did Brussels as a pre-trip so we had more

time to explore than you will, but it's a wonderful city. Try the Kriek beer!!! It's not to be missed.

Antwerp: You have a choice between two tours and it's basically up to you as to whether you want to see Rubens home or do a beer tasting. (see Kriek above)

Schoonhoven OR Kinderdijk: We did both and I would recommend Kinderdijk unless you're interested in buying silver. Schoonhoven is a delightful, scenic city but it's primarily a shopping stop. Kinderdijk is where the windmills are and while it can be windy and cold, it's not to be missed.

Amsterdam: Of course you'll choose the all day at Keukenhof....otherwise you'd be doing this trip at some other time, right? Don't worry about lunch, there's a lovely restaurant on the premises with a fantastic pea soup...and the gardens are just mind-blowing! Plenty of places to sit and rest your feet and the walking is easy.

Thanks for the suggestions. We are staying an extra 2 days in Brussels and Amsterdam so we can take in all the sights in these 2 cities.

Thanks for the suggestions. We are staying an extra 2 days in Brussels and Amsterdam so we can take in all the sights in these 2 cities.

Great!! Then may I suggest in Amsterdam that you take the canal boat tour and visit the Rijks and the Van Gogh if you like art or if you're a real flower lover, and I mean passionate kind, see if you can get to Aaslmeer for the flower auction. It was an option on our tour and it was an highlight of the trip for me, but tulips are my favorite flower. I also suggest to everyone who's flying home from Amsterdam to get a window seat because the sight of the rows and rows of tulips in all different colors will blow your mind!

In Brussels see if you can get reservations for dinner in the Atomium. Like the Eiffel Tower it's pricey but where else can you eat inside an atom? :D

Thanks for the recommendations. Is it better to eat lunch or dinner inside the Atomium?

Thanks for the recommendations. Is it better to eat lunch or dinner inside the Atomium?

We had lunch.....Lunch is served from 11:30 to 2:30 and reservations are required. Menu is a la carte. View is spectacular. Food is about what you would expect it to be. Dinner is even pricier.

Thanks for the suggestions. We are staying an extra 2 days in Brussels and Amsterdam so we can take in all the sights in these 2 cities.

If you have an extra day in Brussels I recommend (based on having lived there for 3 1/2 years) taking a day trip to Bruges, a lovely town full of canals and medieval buildings. It is an easy 1 hour or so ride by train.

Great!! Then may I suggest in Amsterdam that you take the canal boat tour and visit the Rijks and the Van Gogh if you like art.

It is worth getting tickets to both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum on line so you can avoid the lines which could be long during tulip time. I also recommend the audio tour in the Rijksmuseum -- it is one of the best we have ever experienced. The Van Gogh Museum audio tour wasn't nearly as good but it was still helpful and interesting.

Thanks. How soon ahead of time should I order the online tickets? Thinking of doing it a month in advance. Also need one for Anne Frank's House I believe. I have been to Bruges once on a day tour and loved it! Was going to visit Bruges again if the public transportation option is easy to do since we'll have 3.5 days in Brussels.

Thanks. How soon ahead of time should I order the online tickets? Thinking of doing it a month in advance. Also need one for Anne Frank's House I believe. I have been to Bruges once on a day tour and loved it! Was going to visit Bruges again if the public transportation option is easy to do since we'll have 3.5 days in Brussels.

The Anne Frank House should be ordered as far in advance as possible (one month in the summer is too late; not sure about the timing in the spring). We ordered our museum tickets on line the day before last summer (height of the tourist season). Obviously the museums handle many, many more visitors than the Anne Frank house.

Look up the train schedule to Bruges - I think they are close to hourly.

Also, I don't know if you've ever been on Uniworld before. If so, I don't need to tell you how great they are. If not, you are in for a real treat. We've been on 3 cruises in the last year (Budapest to Amsterdam last August, the Seine in May, and the Rhone in June) on 4 different ships (we had a ship change - handled exceedingly well due to low water - on last summer's cruise) and can't say enough good things about the crews, cuisine, ships, excursions, etc.

Another recommendation for Belgium: if you have any interest in history, especially WWI, make a day trip to Ypres in the heart of Flanders fields. It is accessible by train and there are a number of private companies that offer tours once you arrive (http://www.toerisme-ieper.be/en/page/383-414/private-battlefield-tours-with-guide.html). It is a truly sobering visit best done on a sunny day although a rainy day (of which there are many in a Belgian spring unfortunately) gives one even more appreciation for the miserable conditions.

It is worth getting tickets to both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum on line so you can avoid the lines which could be long during tulip time. I also recommend the audio tour in the Rijksmuseum -- it is one of the best we have ever experienced. The Van Gogh Museum audio tour wasn't nearly as good but it was still helpful and interesting.

It looks like I can buy the online tickets to Anne Frank house 2 months in advance and the other 2 museums the week of our visit. Thanks for sharing all these tips!

The Anne Frank House should be ordered as far in advance as possible (one month in the summer is too late; not sure about the timing in the spring). We ordered our museum tickets on line the day before last summer (height of the tourist season). Obviously the museums handle many, many more visitors than the Anne Frank house.

 

Look up the train schedule to Bruges - I think they are close to hourly.

 

Also, I don't know if you've ever been on Uniworld before. If so, I don't need to tell you how great they are. If not, you are in for a real treat. We've been on 3 cruises in the last year (Budapest to Amsterdam last August, the Seine in May, and the Rhone in June) on 4 different ships (we had a ship change - handled exceedingly well due to low water - on last summer's cruise) and can't say enough good things about the crews, cuisine, ships, excursions, etc.

This will be my first river cruise in Europe so I don't know quite what to expect. I have done land trips and Mediterranean cruises previously. However the online reviews on Uniworld have been pretty positive so I am really looking forward to the trip! Our cruise and airfare are booked at reasonable or great prices.

It is worth getting tickets to both the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh museum on line so you can avoid the lines which could be long during tulip time. I also recommend the audio tour in the Rijksmuseum -- it is one of the best we have ever experienced. The Van Gogh Museum audio tour wasn't nearly as good but it was still helpful and interesting.

The audio tour I had at van Gogh was fine but it was pre-renovation.. newly renovated Rijks is fabulous! And canal cruises are right across the street but definitely but tickets as far ahead as possible to save time and waiting on lines.

It is too early to know if you will see many tulips in the field by then. In general most tulips bloom end of April/beginning of May.

This depend how the weather in winter/spring has been and will be.

In Keukenhof however they will have tulips in the greenhouse.

It is too early to know if you will see many tulips in the field by then. In general most tulips bloom end of April/beginning of May.

This depend how the weather in winter/spring has been and will be.

In Keukenhof however they will have tulips in the greenhouse.

Ine's right, I didn't see your tour date till I just went back. We went in late April.

We did the Uniworld Tulips and windmills tour this year. We boarded April 21. I can answer questions you may have.

It was wonderful. Uniworld is great and it was a very informative and fun trip. It was our second uniworld trip and we have booked another one already.

One side note - it was cold. I mean cold - like it was snowing the day we visited the windmills on April 26. And you will be there a month earlier than us. Bring a hat and gloves.

We had to choose between Bruges and Ghent. Both were offered as included excursions with Uniworld so no need to plan your own transportation. Wish we could have done both. Decide ahead of time. We chose Ghent and were glad we did...the trip to Bruges required an additional 45 minutes each way on the bus...for us, it was the tie breaker. We saw the Ghent altarpiece but missed the Bruges Madona. Both are great towns.

We did not really stay two full days in Amsterdam. It said on our itinerary that we would stay in Amsterdam the day we go to Kukenhof. Instead, the boat pulled into Haarlem that day. We did the half day at the Gardens (plenty for us) and also did a tour of Haarlem. Then during dinner we sailed to Amsterdam and got in about 10 PM. No big deal, but it might make a difference in your planning.

We were advised not to try to go inside the Anne Frank house. We were told we would need to devote at least two or three hours - even with reservations/tickets. Not worth it to us when we really only had one day in Amsterdam. But your interests may vary.

There were plenty of flowers in Kukenhof on April 29 - and some people actually said it was after the peak. But not sure what you will find in March.

Let me know if I can help with any other questions.

I did this tour in 2010. We were at Keukenhof on April 28 and I was comfortable in just a 3/4 sleeve shirt. The weather was lovely. But at the beginning of the trip I was in heavy fleece with a scarf, gloves and earmuffs.

I'm not really a flower person and I expected to take the first return to the ship. I LOVED it and spent as long as I could enjoying the flowers. We were there at the absolute peak for the gardens. I hope that you have an early spring because you are going much earlier than I did.

The previous poster said that they actually docked in Haarlem the day they went to Keukenhof. I wonder if that was a sign of how busy the docking area in Amsterdam was. We did our ezcursion directly from Amsterdam.

I have been to both Bruges and Ghent (on different trips) and enjoyed both. Personally I would choose Bruges, but I don't think you would go wrong choosing either.

Joe,

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I couldn't find arrival or departure times for Brussels and Amsterdam on my invoice from Uniworld. When did you get that information? Do you still have the daily program that you can share with me? Is the excursion to Ghent or Bruges offered on first or second day in Brussels?

I should have 2.5 days in Amsterdam not counting the second to last day of the cruise so I hope to fit in the 3 museums and canal cruise.

I need to pray for an early Spring then to be able to see the tulips in full bloom. Will check the weather beforehand and pack accordingly.

Joe,

Do you have the same itinerary?

Brussels 03-26-2017

Brussels 03-27-2017

Antwerp 03-28-2017

Maastricht 03-29-2017

Venlo, (Nuenen), Heusden 03-30-2017

Schoonhoven (Schoonhoven or Kinderdijk) 03-31-2017

Amsterdam 04-01-2017

Depart Amsterdam 04-02-2017

I was just there mid April this year. Loved the cruise but the weather was absolutely freezing some days. It even snowed when we were in Bruges and rained a lot. But then some days were wonderful, although crisp. The day we spent at Keuchenhoff was perfect for photo taking. It's a great itinerary that I could easily do over again.

Hi,

 

I just booked this Uniworld cruise on River Ambassador going from Brussels to Amsterdam. Has anyone done this Tulip Time cruise and have information and ideas to share? Thanks.

We did the Uniworld 'Tulips and Windmills' cruise beginning on the 27th of March last year. Although this is not the same itinerary, there are some stops that are the same...ie, Keukenhof gardens, which we visited on the 3rd of April, 2015. The gardens were lovely, although not at their prime. The shuttle bus to the gardens from the ship drove past fields of colours that were amazing.

Weather at that time of year will have you tested on mixing and matching layers of clothing . Bring a raincoat . The ship does provide umbrellas, but on a windy day there were more turned inside out umbrellas and wet people. And while wearing a raincoat you have both hands free.

The River Ambassador is one of our favourite ships. Be forewarned, unless you booked a suite, your cabin will be cozy. (tiny) However, the bed will be sooo comfortable, the towels plush, and when someone else cleans your cabin twice a day, you can overlook the squishyness for a week.

Feel free to ask specific questions,

RB

Since I am staying extra 2 nights in Brussels and Amsterdam, I want to book hotels and museum tickets to match the ship's itinerary. How soon will I know what is the departure and arrival information and what optional tours are offered by Uniworld? Thanks.

Julia

Joe,

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I couldn't find arrival or departure times for Brussels and Amsterdam on my invoice from Uniworld. When did you get that information? Do you still have the daily program that you can share with me? Is the excursion to Ghent or Bruges offered on first or second day in Brussels?

 

I should have 2.5 days in Amsterdam not counting the second to last day of the cruise so I hope to fit in the 3 museums and canal cruise.

 

I need to pray for an early Spring then to be able to see the tulips in full bloom. Will check the weather beforehand and pack accordingly.

One thing Joe mentioned that I think needs a response and that's if you intend to visit the Anne Frank house. If you are at all claustrophobic be VERY careful. The staircase to the attic is very steep and very narrow. I am mildly claustrophobic...one look and I knew I couldn't do it. As for Brugge or Ghent...that's a terrible choice to have to make. Both of them are fabulous cities. You'll just have to go back. :D

Weather in Amsterdam is unpredictable....at the very least bring a hoodie!!