River line Cruise MPS Amsterdam

[technoman]

Just got back from a nice short break on a river trip in amsterdam.

We booked the 4 day break with Diamond holidays and the trip was with River Line Cruises. Firstly when we booked the holiday 4 months ago our pick up point was Eastbourne, 2 weeks before we were due to depart we were told the pick up point would be Brighton at 5AM in the morning this would of meant parking in Brighton at a cost of £12 a day. We asked what our options were and were told we could cancel if we wished or use the Ramada hotel at Dover for an additional cost of £90 and a 2 hour drive each way. We opted to go to Dover and booked the hotel for a lower cost direct but no offer of compensation from Diamond in fact totally unhelpful and not interested.

We got collected at 9am by the coach and some people who had been collected at Poole by the same coach had been on the coach since Midnight! We arrived at our destination at 6.30Pm a pleasant driver called Ian from Parnhams got us their safely.

The boat we were on was the MPS Amsterdam we were allocated cabin No 1 which we were told had restricted view ( no view apart from the sky so if you were a plane spotter that was ok). Very Very small from only 1metre of space when pull down beds were in place would not like to have been in this room for the nine day trip on the Rhine. The food on the boat was excellent and the staff were all very good and friendly. There was an organist playing and singing in the evening. A pint of beer was 4.5Euro and a spirit with mixer 5Euro. Cocktails 5.5 Euro similar prices in the bars in Amsterdam it is not cheap but probably similar to London prices.

The boat was supposed to cruise to Vollendam the first night but it was too windy so it did not sail so we stayed in Amsterdam that was nice and the Red light district was an eye opener and not too seedy.

The following day set sail for Kampen most of the trip was boring with vast open areas of water with one Lock to add to the interest. It was a nice smooth trip and a lovely sunny day and Kampen is a nice little town. The following day we got off the boat and took the coach to Kukenoff the flowers were beautiful and that was the main reason for the trip we were told by the rep that March is too early to go and that April is best and I think we hit it just right. We spent 3 and a half hours at Kukenoff, which is long enough to explore the place. Whilst we were here the boat set sail back to Amsterdam and we took the coach back there to meet it. This meant we only had 1 Day out of 4 cruising on the boat.

Had another trip around Amsterdam on the evening to the more upmarket area this time and the canals were nice to walk along.

If I was doing a trip like this again I would want to find out more about the boat and the room in particular and also how much cruising could be expected.

[exbodcon]

Had an enjoyable mini cruise on the mps Amsterdam last year but have recently been on their other ship the mps Lady Anne on The Four Rivers cruise. Paid for a better cabin this time and had lovely picture window which opened.

Instead of the coach option which I agree can mean a very early start decided to drive to Dover the night before and stay at the Ramada with car parking included.

Verdict: overall good value for money.

Cabins: worth paying more for a better one

Food: adequate

Courier (Brenda) : excellent.

[rhineroy]

We have just got back from a marvellous cruise on the MPS Amsterdam.We booked it over a year ago with The River Cruise Line to make sure of getting one of the larger cabins on the promenade deck.We have been twice on her sister ship the Lady Anne ,so know that early booking is essential if you want one of the promenade deck cabins.

We also found our own way to Dover to avoid a lengthy coach trip,we were picked up on a coach at the docks at 09:00 & after a pleasant drive through France & Germany were on board by18:30.

Our bags were taken to our cabin & we had time to unpack & shower before the evevning meal.We found the food to be very good,with a breakfast buffet,lunch was a set three course,and dinner was a four course meal with a choice of main course & dessert.These were chosen from a menu the previous night.There was also early risers tea & coffee served from 06:00 to 07:30,mid morning served at 10:00.With unlimited tea & coffee at breakfast,lunch & dinner !

Ours was a slow seven day trip down to Basle and did not involve any night time travel.We did leave on a couple of occasions at 04:30 or 05:00 but once we were underway we went back to sleep easily enough.

We also benefited from sunny weather ,so spent most of our spare time on the sun deck enjoying the views while topping up our tans! If the weather had turned out wet there were more than enough comfy chairs in the Lounge plus a bar if you fancied a beer .

There were excursions every day for those who wanted them,we went on most & found them to be good value for money ,with our Cruise Manager Terry very friendly,helpful & knowlegeable'.The Captain & crew were all friendly & polite & went out of their way to help if required.We even got a tour of the Wheelhouse,surprise,no wheel!More like the control room of the Starship Enterprise.

The only down side to this particular Cruise was the two day Coach trip back to Calais from Basle with an overnight stay in Reims.We had enough time to explore Reims Cathedral & the Ibis hotel we were put up in was fine ,but the evening meal & breakfast next day were of very poor quality,which marred an otherwise splendid trip.

Would we go again ? Yes but we would choose a cruise with less coach travel to & from the ship.To end I must steal a quote from Salad Muncher " Cheap doesn't alwaya mean poor"as other Cruises with bigger cabins & more expensive prices still only got to see the same things we did.