Gene-Jockey

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 :)

Thanks to all so far. So, if taxis are plentiful outside the cruise terminal, at least most of the time, is there any advantage in pre-booking one via an online service. I usually like to pre-arrange things like this just so as not to leave anything to chance, and I guess that allows a guaranteed price as well, but is that a necessary step in people's opinions?

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:

In a separate thread I had asked about potential delays due to canal traffic when docking in Amsterdam. I have been reassured by several that, while there are never any guarantees, long delays are not common.

That said I still may have a tight booking situation if all does not run smoothly. The Koningsdam is scheduled to dock at 6 am and I have a flight back to Canada, via Air Canada, at 11:55 am, but I know Schiphol is a busy airport!

Usually I use the HAL transfers since I like that they handle all the luggage etc. But I know these may not get me to Schiphol the fastest since they have to wait for all passengers etc. This has been zero issue in the past since we always had an abundance of time.

All of that is to ask if taking the HAL transfer to the airport is still a safe bet, or should I consider booking a taxi/limo or similar and take my own luggage off the ship?

If a taxi is the preferred choice, can anyone recommend a good firm that is both reliable and reputable? Where does one normally meet taxis at the Amsterdam cruise terminal? Will we have to haul our baggage long distances from the ship to the taxi stand?

Kind thanks in advance for all advice.

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.

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.

No it is not common, all departures/arrivals etc. are planned. However due to the weather it might happen travel through the lock in IJmuiden takes more time. Last Sunday there was an emergency on the way back to Amsterdam. Patient was taken off the ship by heli in the night. Arrival in Amsterdam was just 15-20 minutes later, still time enough for passengers to disembark early.

Cruiseships only sail in Northseacanal, not in any other canal.

Thank you for your reply (an on the other board as well :) ) You have reassured me greatly. I will be flying direct from Amsterdam to Toronto via Air Canada so no USA airlines or other US issues per se. That said, I recognize security is tight wherever and whenever. I really did not wish to have to book an overnight in Amsterdam just to ensure flight connections, however. Amsterdam is a wonderful city to be sure, but I have visited before and a single overnight would not add much to the experience (other than $$!).

Thanks again.

I asked a similar question on the Holland America board but thought I would throw it open a bit more generally so sorry for the partial duplication.

Can anyone tell me how common it is to have delays in ARRIVING at Amsterdam's cruise port due to bottlenecks in traversing the canals and locks? I am trying to figure out minimum allowances for flight booking after the cruise and have no idea if on-time arrivals are the norm or if delays are common. I am not talking about disembarkation times, or airport congestion etc, only whether ships tend in general to get into Amsterdam on time, and if not, how much delay is there generally.

The place I would have asked this is on the Northern Europe Board.

 

Keith

Thank you. I will do that. Not sure if I can delete this one?

I asked a similar question on the Holland America board but thought I would throw it open a bit more generally so sorry for the partial duplication.

Can anyone tell me how common it is to have delays in ARRIVING at Amsterdam's cruise port due to bottlenecks in traversing the canals and locks? I am trying to figure out minimum allowances for flight booking after the cruise and have no idea if on-time arrivals are the norm or if delays are common. I am not talking about disembarkation times, or airport congestion etc, only whether ships tend in general to get into Amsterdam on time, and if not, how much delay is there generally.

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.

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.

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?

Hi all. My wife and I are contemplating our very first river cruise, although we have done many sea cruises (all with Holland America). On HAL, when they say twin beds convertible to a "queen", they really mean two full size twins so that it is truly the equivalent of a KING.

I am trying to ascertain what Avalon really means when they say "queen beds" i.e. the twins that can be converted to a Queen. In some stateroom photos they really do look like what I consider a (North American QUEEN) but in other photos they clearly look like what I would consider a full KING. I know that the Royal Suites say King, but I am not talking about that! In the Panorama staterooms, is it possible to get the "King" equivalent or are they really queen size? If they are truly queens (i.e. 60" wide) that could be a deal breaker for us I'm embarrassed to say....