Train from Rotterdam to Amsterdam

[lucky951]

We will be docking at Rotterdam at noon on a Monday and leaving at 2 pm on Tuesday. Since we don't have to worry about missing the ship if we return late on Monday night we were thinking of taking the train to Amsterdam on Monday. Has anyone done this? How easy is it? I know we can take the Princess Amsterdam on your own tour, but then we are fixed to their schedule.

Thanks

[FritzG]

We will be docking at Rotterdam at noon on a Monday and leaving at 2 pm on Tuesday. Since we don't have to worry about missing the ship if we return late on Monday night we were thinking of taking the train to Amsterdam on Monday. Has anyone done this? How easy is it? I know we can take the Princess Amsterdam on your own tour, but then we are fixed to their schedule.

Thanks

 

Are you on the 9/6/15 ta? If so, we're on the same cruise, and that's our plan, too. I'm checking into train times etc., so I'll post the info when I find it. We have the Amsterdam on your own tour booked, but we hope to cancel it and use the trains. Like you said, we don't have to worry about missing the ship since we're there overnight so it's worth a try.

Edited May 15, 2015 by FritzG

[Ine]

Trains are easy tod and very frequent. This website tells you all. There is a surcharge for the express trains.http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home

 

You have to take a tram or metro from the cruiseterminal to Rotterdam Centraal Station, it is too far to walk.

[FritzG]

Thanks! We'll probably be posting more questions as it gets closer to our sailing date.

[duckcougarfan]

For Rotterdam the transport website is ret.nl. You can buy a 2 day metro, tram, bus pass for E12.50 which is less than 2 round trips to the Centraal Station for the main trains out of the city. Using the aforementioned Netherlands rail web site journey planner you can even copy your schedule of trains giving times, any changes, even track numbers in the stations. Copy what you need before you leave for our cruise. We've visited some pretty interesting places around the country and it is seemless.

[FreestyleNovice]

The Intercity Direct train (small supplement) will do Rotterdam - Amsterdam in 42 minutes via a high speed track, tunnels and not much of a nice view.

 

See http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/arrange-and-buy/tickets-and-passes/intercity-direct

 

Regular intercity trains use the normal track and give you some good views of the Dutch landscape but take appr. 1.1hour

 

I would suggest the regular service to Amsterdam and the Direct back to Rotterdam to have best of both, views and speed.

Edited May 21, 2015 by FreestyleNovice

[HRPro]

Thanks for all the helpful information. We're also on the 9/6 TA on the Royal Princess and are planning to take the train to Amsterdam, so we will have more time in the City and return by train later in the evening. We have already cancelled Princess's Amsterdam On Your Own tour since we wanted more time and flexibility. Please post any information as we get closer regarding train schedules etc.

[Ine]

All schedules here, just fill in the day and time. http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/home

[rosebriarmary]

2 weeks ago, May 7, we docked with the Royal Princess in Rotterdam. A few people took the train to Amsterdam. The city of Rotterdam provided free shuttle buses to the Town Hall and from there it was a 10 minute walk to the train station. That was where the confusion started. You can either buy your tickets at a machine or go into a service area and take a number and wait to be called. To use the machine you had to have a chip and pin card . No one of the Americans we saw were able to avail themselves of this so we all had to wait for our numbers to be called. My husband and I were only going to Gouda but were standing with the Amsterdam people.Wait time was nearly half an hour and pretty frustrating. Be sure to get the express train as, when we met the folks after they came back, they told stories of 90 minute rides. That said they had a great time and used the shuttle to get back to the ship.

[FreestyleNovice]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

All info can be found at the English version of the NS.nl website, Ine shared the link to it above, tickets can also be purchased as e-tickets which you only will have to scan at the tourniquettes.

 

The staffed booth also charges a .50 Euro cent extra per ticket.

 

The fastest way and how the locals do it is to own an OV Chipkaart (OV Chip Card for all public transport in Holland), topped up with at least 20 Euro for use at the Dutch railways (forth and back also 20 Euro!) at check in.

Only the cost of an OV Chipkaart is 7.50 Euro and getting the refund for the leftover credit on the card is really a dealbreaker for tourists. And to top it up you will have to use those same ticket machines which require a PIN credit card.

 

The single use paper tickets from the booth are okay, sorry to hear you had a long wait. I guess e-tickets are the way to go, print them at home.

[HRPro]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

All info can be found at the English version of the NS.nl website, Ine shared the link to it above, tickets can also be purchased as e-tickets which you only will have to scan at the tourniquettes.

 

The staffed booth also charges a .50 Euro cent extra per ticket.

 

The fastest way and how the locals do it is to own an OV Chipkaart (OV Chip Card for all public transport in Holland), topped up with at least 20 Euro for use at the Dutch railways (forth and back also 20 Euro!) at check in.

Only the cost of an OV Chipkaart is 7.50 Euro and getting the refund for the leftover credit on the card is really a dealbreaker for tourists. And to top it up you will have to use those same ticket machines which require a PIN credit card.

 

The single use paper tickets from the booth are okay, sorry to hear you had a long wait. I guess e-tickets are the way to go, print them at home.

 

How far in advance can you purchase tickets? I just went on the website, but tickets are only available about one month in advance. Is this correct or is there some way you can do advance purchase further ahead?

[Mairnealach]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

All info can be found at the English version of the NS.nl website, Ine shared the link to it above, tickets can also be purchased as e-tickets which you only will have to scan at the tourniquettes.

 

The staffed booth also charges a .50 Euro cent extra per ticket.

 

The fastest way and how the locals do it is to own an OV Chipkaart (OV Chip Card for all public transport in Holland), topped up with at least 20 Euro for use at the Dutch railways (forth and back also 20 Euro!) at check in.

Only the cost of an OV Chipkaart is 7.50 Euro and getting the refund for the leftover credit on the card is really a dealbreaker for tourists. And to top it up you will have to use those same ticket machines which require a PIN credit card.

 

The single use paper tickets from the booth are okay, sorry to hear you had a long wait. I guess e-tickets are the way to go, print them at home.

 

Er, not quite. For e-tickets, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), only accept payment by Dutch bank card. They do not accept credit card payments. As visitors to the Netherlands are unlikely to have access to a Dutch bank account, this facility is of no benefit to them.

 

 

However, there is a work round. SNCB Europe, the international section of the more e-friendly Belgian Railways, sells e-tickets for travel in the Netherlands.

 

 

https://www.b-europe.com/Travel

 

 

The price is the same as tickets purchased directly from NS. Tickets are valid for travel on any train on the day selected, apart from high speed trains which carry a supplement. There is a standard fare for rail travel in the Netherlands so, unlike in Britain, there is no monetary advantage in buying tickets in advance.

 

 

Dermot

[HRPro]

Er, not quite. For e-tickets, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), only accept payment by Dutch bank card. They do not accept credit card payments. As visitors to the Netherlands are unlikely to have access to a Dutch bank account, this facility is of no benefit to them.

 

 

However, there is a work round. SNCB Europe, the international section of the more e-friendly Belgian Railways, sells e-tickets for travel in the Netherlands.

 

 

https://www.b-europe.com/Travel

 

 

The price is the same as tickets purchased directly from NS. Tickets are valid for travel on any train on the day selected, apart from high speed trains which carry a supplement. There is a standard fare for rail travel in the Netherlands so, unlike in Britain, there is no monetary advantage in buying tickets in advance.

 

 

Dermot

 

Thanks, this is very helpful although I'm still too early to book for September. The reason I want to book in advance is to avoid the lines at the train station for cruise passengers who will be disembarking all at once--hoping to get to Amsterdam as fast as possible. Having an e-ticket and being able to go directly to the train will be a huge help since we only have one day in Amsterdam.

[FreestyleNovice]

Er, not quite. For e-tickets, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), only accept payment by Dutch bank card. They do not accept credit card payments. As visitors to the Netherlands are unlikely to have access to a Dutch bank account, this facility is of no benefit to them.

 

 

However, there is a work round. SNCB Europe, the international section of the more e-friendly Belgian Railways, sells e-tickets for travel in the Netherlands.

 

 

https://www.b-europe.com/Travel

 

 

The price is the same as tickets purchased directly from NS. Tickets are valid for travel on any train on the day selected, apart from high speed trains which carry a supplement. There is a standard fare for rail travel in the Netherlands so, unlike in Britain, there is no monetary advantage in buying tickets in advance.

 

 

Dermot

 

Argh! Sorry for that. I forgot for a second that the NS was one of the less user friendly companies in Holland..

 

Why don't they just simply add PayPall, grrr..

[FreestyleNovice]

Here's some more info for those stumbling upon this thread, including the train stations which have machines which accept (chip/PIN) credit cards;

 

http://www.ns.nl/en/travellers/blinded-pages/holland-by-train.html

[HRPro]

Er, not quite. For e-tickets, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways), only accept payment by Dutch bank card. They do not accept credit card payments. As visitors to the Netherlands are unlikely to have access to a Dutch bank account, this facility is of no benefit to them.

 

 

However, there is a work round. SNCB Europe, the international section of the more e-friendly Belgian Railways, sells e-tickets for travel in the Netherlands.

 

 

https://www.b-europe.com/Travel

 

 

The price is the same as tickets purchased directly from NS. Tickets are valid for travel on any train on the day selected, apart from high speed trains which carry a supplement. There is a standard fare for rail travel in the Netherlands so, unlike in Britain, there is no monetary advantage in buying tickets in advance.

 

 

Dermot

 

Many, many thanks again. I was able to purchase my tickets online using your link for our September cruise with IC direct service from Rotterdam to Amsterdam--42 minutes each way. Happy to have the advance purchase option rather than waiting in line at the train station. Now just hoping the ship is on time coming into Rotterdam and that we can figure out the tram service from the port to the train station. Can you buy a tram ticket on the tram or do you have to purchase tickets at a station?

[FreestyleNovice]

You can purchase them on the RET tram.

 

A ticket for one hour/single way costs 3 Euro.

At a vending machine a daypass is 7,50 Euro.

 

 

http://www.ret.nl/en/service-and-sales/tickets-and-fares.html

[Despegue]

Just forget about Amsterdam and come to Belgium and visit Beautifull Antwerp!:)

 

Tickets on b-europe.com and b-rail.be And yes, you can of course pay with a credit card online. Or just go to a manned ticket booth and get a ticket there, no taking numbers nonsense and no surcharge.

We in Belgium have a lot of critic on our Railways, mand with reason, but they are definately better than their Dutch counterparts...

 

 

Travelling time between Rotterdam and Antwerp is between 30 minutes ( Thalys High Speed Train with seat reservation and surcharge) and 1 hour ( normal Intercity train).

 

Amsterdam is so overrated...

[FritzG]

Many, many thanks again. I was able to purchase my tickets online using your link for our September cruise with IC direct service from Rotterdam to Amsterdam--42 minutes each way. Happy to have the advance purchase option rather than waiting in line at the train station. Now just hoping the ship is on time coming into Rotterdam and that we can figure out the tram service from the port to the train station. Can you buy a tram ticket on the tram or do you have to purchase tickets at a station?[/

 

Are your tickets for a specific time, and if so, what happens if the ship is late? That is what is keeping us from booking online before we leave.

[Ine]

Many, many thanks again. I was able to purchase my tickets online using your link for our September cruise with IC direct service from Rotterdam to Amsterdam--42 minutes each way. Happy to have the advance purchase option rather than waiting in line at the train station. Now just hoping the ship is on time coming into Rotterdam and that we can figure out the tram service from the port to the train station. Can you buy a tram ticket on the tram or do you have to purchase tickets at a station?[/

 

Are your tickets for a specific time, and if so, what happens if the ship is late? That is what is keeping us from booking online before we leave.

 

Not a specific time only specific day if you prebook.

You can take either a tram or metro (underground) to Rotterdam Centraal station. Metro is a bit quicker, but the view from the tram is nicer. They both leave near the Erasmusbridge on the same side of the river as the cruiseterminal. You will see this the big white bridge from your ship.

All about Rotterdam public transport here: http://www.ret.nl/en/nc/homepage.html

Edited June 19, 2015 by Ine

[HRPro]

 

Not a specific time only specific day if you prebook.

You can take either a tram or metro (underground) to Rotterdam Centraal station. Metro is a bit quicker, but the view from the tram is nicer. They both leave near the Erasmusbridge on the same side of the river as the cruiseterminal. You will see this the big white bridge from your ship.

All about Rotterdam public transport here: http://www.ret.nl/en/nc/homepage.html

 

Thanks the site is very helpful. It looks like the metro is faster than the trams, so if we're running behind, we'll probably take the metro. Otherwise, we'll take the tram for better reviews.

[FritzG]

 

Not a specific time only specific day if you prebook.

You can take either a tram or metro (underground) to Rotterdam Centraal station. Metro is a bit quicker, but the view from the tram is nicer. They both leave near the Erasmusbridge on the same side of the river as the cruiseterminal. You will see this the big white bridge from your ship.

All about Rotterdam public transport here: http://www.ret.nl/en/nc/homepage.html

 

I don't know how the above quote was attributed to me--it wasn't my post.

 

Thanks for the information. I think we'll prebook in the next week or two.

Edited June 19, 2015 by FritzG

[HRPro]

If we want to take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Rotterdam Central Station to be sure we make our train, how much would taxi fare be? Would a taxi be faster than walking to the metro/tram station?

 

FritzG, the quote you mentioned was from Ine--one of the local Dutch experts on the Board. Not sure how it was attributed to you as I think she was responding to your post.

 

Susan

[Ine]

If we want to take a taxi from the cruise terminal to the Rotterdam Central Station to be sure we make our train, how much would taxi fare be? Would a taxi be faster than walking to the metro/tram station?

 

FritzG, the quote you mentioned was from Ine--one of the local Dutch experts on the Board. Not sure how it was attributed to you as I think she was responding to your post.

 

Susan

 

Yes it would safe some time, you skip the walking, and the time to buy a ticket and wait for the next underground train.

It is a guess, but I think E. 15.- will be the fare to Centraal Station Rotterdam.

[HRPro]

Yes it would safe some time, you skip the walking, and the time to buy a ticket and wait for the next underground train.

It is a guess, but I think E. 15.- will be the fare to Centraal Station Rotterdam.

 

Perfect, thanks so much Ine. That's very reasonable and will help insure that we can make our train on time.

 

Susan