Viking Tulips And Windmills -3/25/06.

[muzzy 10]

HI ALL! 4 of us booked on this cruise, us and sister and husband. Have done Viking once before withsister and had a great time, wonderful line. Anyone out there booked for this one yet? Muzzy

[muzzy 10]

Hello again, Am bumping this post to see if there are any recent enrollees for this cruise. Muzzy

[brendan1968]

Hi Muzzy. There are 16 of us from califronia that will be joining you on this cruise. I'm also traveling with my sister and her husband along with some friends. It's my first time on a river cruise. My sis and husband have done one last year and loved it. Hope to meet you there.

 

Brenda

[muzzy 10]

Hey there Brenda! so glad you got on board the roll call.16 is a nice sized group. Where are you from in CA? We live in New rochelle, NY and my sister is down in SouthCarolina, recently retired from N.J. Muzzy

[Bill S]

DW and I and 4 other couples will be doing the Tulips and Windmills Viking cruise on April 13, so when you all return, could you post a short review on how it went? Hope you all have a great time! Thanks!

[muzzy 10]

No problem, Bill, if the little grey cells allow me to remember the details! Muzzy

[brendan1968]

Hi Muzzy

 

We live in Bakersfield, Ca. It's about 2hrs. north of LA. My husband is retired and my sisters husband is retired. We love to cruise. I'm looking forward to this cruise because it is different from what I'm use to. We went to the Med and greek isles in Oct. It was a trip of a life time. Keep in touch between now and the trip. We look forward to meeting you and your sis.

 

Brenda

[muzzy 10]

Hello Brenda, We have friends and relatives all over CA-San Diego,LA, Pismo Beach, San FRancisco area, and up noth in COOL, CA.- but no one in Bakersfield. I think you will like river cruising; less than 200 passengers and a most pleasant way to tour. Our other cruises have been mostly Caribbean except for a Barcelona round trip Med cruise. Very addicting pastime. Muzzy P.S.: Whoops, forgot about Bermuda and Canada. We always meet nice people like yourselves.

[brendan1968]

Goodmorning Muzzy,

 

You sound like me and my husband. We have cruise all over the Caribbean, Mexico, Alaska, Panama canal, Canada & New England, Bermuda. Our sons are grown and moved away so we travel as much as possible. Have you been to Amsterdam before. We are going to try to get from the airport to the boat on our own. Do you have any info on how to do that. Hope to hear from you soon.

 

Brenda

[muzzy 10]

Brenda, we will probably take a cab, altho'it will not be inexpensive. it will be easiest. train and then cab from station to boat would be a lot less but dragging the luggage..........kind of a pain. i have not been to AMsterdam but I do know nothing is cheap there. I have a Rick steves book which I need to study . Also , my sister is going 2 days early and may have s ome advice via email. Muzzy

[brendan1968]

Hi Muzzy

I know it's been awhile. Just wanted to check in and see if you are getting as excited as we are. We are getting our clothes together. I hope we dress warm enough. You know us California people. We don't know what cold is. Also what airlines are you flying? We are on Swiss air connecting in Zurich and arriving in Amserdam at 7p. We are just going to take cabs to the boat. We ordered our euros today. The exchange rate wasn't bad. Hope to hear from you soon, and anyone else that will be going on this trip.

 

Brenda

[pacmom]

Youwill love Amsterdam. It is a beautiful, clean city. There are many ATMs--so need to buy euros ahead. The airport is a zoo. We were there at the end of a cruise, so don't know much about the train from the airport to the city. We stayed a week after our Black Sea to Amsterdam trip with Uniworld--fabulous trip. We stayed at the Renaissance in City Center. There was a shuttle to the airport for 11euros each. Leaving was very smooth. Maybe R Steves has something about a shuttle that you can order online from home. Cheaper than a cab. If you can spend any extran time in Amsterdam, do it. So much to see--great public transportation and a real walking city. Enjoy! Pat

[Venturagirl]

Hi, Pacmom. DH and I will spend 2 days in Amsterdam on our own before our Viking 14 day cruise in June. I'd love some details on the things you saw that you thought were the best. Did you follow published walking tours or just wander around on your own? Any restaurant recommendations? Your advice would be greatly appreciated since you seem to have loved the city and we have so little time to pack everything in!

[pacmom]

Venturagirl, will look in my journal for some suggestions---we are great public transport users. There was a tram stop just around the corner from our hotel. We also ate most of our dinners right near our hotel. There was a group og about 6 different ethnic restaurants. Will search and get some names. Pat

[muzzy 10]

Hi Brenda, Good to hear from you. I am trying not to get too excited because there is a chance we may not go... motherin law has not been well and tho she seems stable now( albeit innot great condition) we a re taking it day by day. that being said, if all is well we will be arriving on Delta the AM of cruise at 7:30. Definitely take layers of clothng; Amsterdam could be cold and damp. Hi Pat, and thanks for your info. I will try to find out if that shuttle will stop at the pier area. I thought it just goes to some of th e major hotels. Keep checking in here; will be grateful for any info which I will pass along to my sister who is getting there 2 days ahead. Muzzy

[pacmom]

Hi Venturagirl and Muzzy-----got out the journal, so here goes. The day we arrived there was an included canal and bus tour. In the evening our cruise director Erick took us on a walking tour of the red light district. Don't try to take any pictures--girls get upset. Some of them lead "double" lives. There is even a day care center provided for their children. There is a home there with "the Church in the Attic" We toured it during the day. Very interesting--not only did the Jews have to hide, so did the Catholics. It is still in use for weddings. We went to the Van Gogh museum, also ate lunch there. We have found that museums in general have good lunches. There was a strip of restaurants across from our hotel..We ate at two, and Argentinian steak house and the Turkish restaurant. Both quite good and very quiet. We took the tram to the Ship Museum--fascinating look at Dutch Exploration. Went to the Zoo in the rain had lunch there--palatable. Great fun watching the animals trying to get in out of the rain. Our big splurge was a canal dinner cruise with 2 Aussie couples from our cruise. Great food and fun. There is a coctail hour cruise which a lot of people seem to take. Don't miss the Rijk's museum. You will see it post-renovation. We had a very good lunch at a small cafe nearby.--the Van Gogh. This is right across fromA's "Rodeo Drive" Nice place for an after lunch stroll. The Anne Frank House. If you go to no other museum, this one is a must. Go in the early evening--no tours very few people. It is something I'll never forget. The Heineken Museum on the site of the original brewery--self guided tour. Two stops for free beer--very nice, reasonable gift shop. Two highly recommended restaurants---the Koepel Cafe, literally attached to our hotel--very good lunch and good drinks in a very relaxing atmosphere. The other we weren't able to get a reservation--India Pura--a rice table restaurant. The flea market was not as good as some others we've been to. The floating flower market is a feast for the eyes. Make sure your bulbs are labeled for US import. We shared a grand marnier pancake at one of the restaurant across from the market--yum. Be careful of some of the brown cafes--you can get high just standing at the door. One of my twins had some friends who had been in A. He told us to never go downstairs in any cafe, because that's where the legal "stuff" was. Good luck--ENJOY. Any more questions? be glad to try to help.

[Venturagirl]

Great information! I can't thank you enough. I've seen mention of the trams in my Frommers, but it is not clear where you get tickets for them. Do you buy tickets on the tram or at some central location? We will be staying near Leidse Square so not near to the Central Station to buy tickets there.

[Bill S]

Ventura Girl: we were in Amsterdam last summer and I cannot recommend enough Rick Steves' Amsterdam/Brussels book--extremely helpful with information about local transportation means, fares, locations for tickets, etc. He lays it all out for you. His maps of Amsterdam, though klutzy looking at first glance, really are easy to follow/understand. His book will save you time and money and still provide you with timely info on all the attractions. His style is both very informative and entertaining.

 

Hope you all have a great trip and remember to post a review--we will be doing the same cruise on April 13! :)

[Venturagirl]

Thanks, Bill. It figures I got the wrong guidebook! I think we are doing different cruises, though. I'm doing Viking's Grand European Tour on Viking Pride, leaving 6/25. I entered this discussion because there was talk about Amsterdam. But I will be posting a cruise report and hope you do the same, especially since you are leaving first.;)

[Bill S]

VenturaGirl: Not a problem-hope you have a great cruise, wherever it is! I will be sure to post a report.

[brendan1968]

Hi everyone,

 

Just checking in. We are only 4 weeks away. Muzzy, hope your mother-in-law is doing better and you are still able to go. Going to Las Vegas tomorrow. I'm going for r & r. Hubby is going to leave some money. I'll check in when I get back.

 

Brenda

[muzzy 10]

Hi Brenda, Mom inlaw is still hanging in there, and we are planning on going, keep fingers crossed. Hope you have luck in Vegas, you will need some spendding cash in Europe. Only four weeks to go, am looking foward to this trip. TTYL, muzzy

[brendan1968]

Hi Muzzy,

 

We got our doc's today. Having a party for the group tomorrow. I've been watching the weather. Looks like snow and ice. My sis says it will be warmer by the time we go. I hope I dress warm enough or I'll be miserable. We had a good time in Vegas. All I did was shop ,read and sleep. Hubby gambled and won a little. My husbands name is Dan. Sister is Shirley and her husband is Jim. We are looking forward to meeting you and your gang. We have a great group of friends that travel together a lot. I'll introduce you to them on the boat. Take care and keep in touch.

 

Brenda

[muzzy 10]

Hello, Brenda, Glad to hear Dan didn't lose his shirt and tha t you all had fun. Amsterdam can't be any colder than Here! I just hope it isn't windy, it's the windchill that gets ya. Emailed my TA ; he hasn't recieved docs yet from Viking and will call them. 3 weeks to go!! i am very much looking forward to meeting you both and your friends. I am Margie, husband Arnie, sister Ann and her husband Tom. i know we will all have a great time. Muzzy

[brendan1968]

Hi Muzzy,

 

Had our party last night. We had a great time. Everyone is so excited. Can't wait until the 24th. I'm wearing my new walking shoes in the house all day today to break them in. So far so good. We are gooing to try to pack light, so if you see us in the same clothes just pretend that it's the first time. Not looking forward to the flight. I'm going to take something to sleep. Hope it does the job. Talk to you soon.

 

Brenda