Konigsdam Norway - port to AMS transit time?

[SumoCitrus]

Hello,

 

I’m taking a Norway cruise this summer that I am looking forward to. I’m a little concerned about disembarking. We are scheduled to return to Amsterdam at 7am on a Sunday and my flight back to the states leaves at 11am.

 

How long does it take to disembark and get to AMS airport? How reliable is that 7am docking time?

 

Any advice for this first timer is appreciated.

[hastinc]

The arrival time of 7am is dependent upon the traffic using the North Sea canal and Lock. Our Cruise arrival last July was delayed until after 8am.

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

This is not going to be a fun morning. This flight time (booked before you researched any of the logistics, I assume?) is going to be crazy tight. Keep in mind you have a higher level of security checks flying direct to the US, which take additional time.

 

Good luck! Carry your bags off ASAP, grab a cab, and pray. Any issue here is going to hurt you significantly. If there is a way to change this flight to a later time, I would strongly suggest it.

[sue1898]

We did this last July with a noon flight and it was tight. We were first group off and claimed our bags right away at the port and had no wait for a cab. Delay began at the airport where check in / security lines were long and we had little time to spare. Our air had been booked by HAL but it was a hectic morning.

[cbr663]

With a flight leaving at 11 you will need to check in at the airport no later than 8. (Edit to Add: Schiphol Airport recommends that you should arrive 3 hours early for flights outside Europe).

 

 

We experienced 2 items of delay during our cruise in June '17:

 

- as mentioned already, increased security at the airport made for long delays,

- Amsterdam traffic was horrendous. We took a bus service and will never again. Hire a personal car or taxi that will take you directly to the airport. The bus that we took spent nearly 40 minutes going around in circles picking up other passengers. We made it (we arranged for a pick up 3 hours prior to flight), but we will never do a bus service again.

 

You will definitely need to be the first off the ship and grab a taxi directly to the airport. Best of luck.

Edited February 17, 2018 by cbr663
Add additional information

[SumoCitrus]

Assuming we arrive on time at 7am, what are the techniques for being first off the ship? Keep your bags with you? Is this something the cruise line can help with if we inform them of the tight schedule?

[cabinluvn]

Amsterdam airport is a madhouse. Security lines are long and very slow. They pull a lot of people out for extra checking and are in no hurry to pass them through. My husband and I both got pulled out of line for extra scrutiny because he had packed the camera in his carry on and I had packed my CPAP, neither of which was allowed, apparently. We had to wait in yet another line for our turn to have our baggage opened. My husband was then pulled out again at the boarding gate, where everything in his carry on, pockets, even the inserts in his shoes, were wiped with the cloth looking for drugs. He is 70 years old and is far from looking suspicious. However, we told all the people who were doing this that we appreciated the extra security. My point is that getting through the airport is slow. There is no TSA precheck. Furthermore, if you are taking the ship’s shuttle to the airport, it was lines boarding the buses and loading baggage. Not to make you super anxious, but it will be very, very tight to make an 1100 flight

 

 

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[Ine]

Assuming we arrive on time at 7am, what are the techniques for being first off the ship? Keep your bags with you? Is this something the cruise line can help with if we inform them of the tight schedule?

 

Yes absolutely, you need to take all your luggage off yourself to save time. Then take a cab to the airport. Traffic will be ok on Sunday morning, however it can be busy at the airport.

Donot expect help from the cruiseline, since you arranged the flights yourself.

If your ship is on time it can be done.

However as others mentioned delay on arrival is possible.

[CruiserBruce]

Assuming we arrive on time at 7am, what are the techniques for being first off the ship? Keep your bags with you? Is this something the cruise line can help with if we inform them of the tight schedule?

 

As discussed here frequently, HAL (and most other cruise lines) have a procedure for determining who gets off the ship first. You will be asked during the cruise when you need to get off. You need to select "Self assist", which means you will carry all your bags off, and you don't require any assistance at all, no wheel chair, and no ship's transfers. You will then be put in either the first or second group off the ship. I agree with Ine, the ship will not assist you...you set this up.

 

Last time we docked in Amsterdam, the were only two agents checking passports, which caused a huge line...but it moved reasonably well. You need to be at the head of that line.

 

You need to hope there is no delays in arriving, docking or clearing the ship for people to get off. As mentioned before, run off the ship, and grab a cab. It is 25-30 minutes to the airport, but the process at the airport can be slow as well.

[SumoCitrus]

Thanks for all the info! We'll look into changing the flight to the following day. If that isn't feasible, we'll make the best of the mad dash! ;p;p;p

[Ine]

Since you state your cruise is to Norway,(not to the Baltics or Iceland etc.) there will be no passportcontrol upon arriving back in port in Amsterdam. So that saves some time.

[SumoCitrus]

Since you state your cruise is to Norway,(not to the Baltics or Iceland etc.) there will be no passportcontrol upon arriving back in port in Amsterdam. So that saves some time.

 

 

That's good to know. We usually travel light so I think grabbing the bags and attempting to get off in the first wave is a decent strategy. The airline tickets are proving cost prohibitive to change. United might have a priority check in at AMS (I am not sure) - we are traveling in Business class maybe that will make things a little quicker at the airport.

 

Another thing I noticed, the port notes that this cruise on July 1 departs from "Waterland Terminal - Elbaweg 10 - 1044 AD AMSTERDAM"

 

Is this located away from the normal dock location?

 

Thanks again for all the advice.

[Copper10-8]

..............................My husband was then pulled out again at the boarding gate, where everything in his carry on, pockets, even the inserts in his shoes, were wiped with the cloth looking for drugs. He is 70 years old and is far from looking suspicious. However, we told all the people who were doing this that we appreciated the extra security. My point is that getting through the airport is slow. There is no TSA precheck. Furthermore, if you are taking the ship’s shuttle to the airport, it was lines boarding the buses and loading baggage. Not to make you super anxious, but it will be very, very tight to make an 1100 flight

 

 

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Just a heads up; that particular check you described conducted by Schiphol private security at your departure gate on your 70-yr old husband was not for narcotics; it was for explosives.

The initial checks conducted by Dutch military police (Koninklijke Marechausee) are for passport control and, after that by a private security company, for personal and carry-on luggage screening. Secondary checks at the departure gates at Amsterdam-Schiphol have been conducted for pax on U.S.-bound flights since 9/11, and include a series of screening questions.

There have been numerous complaints about the delays at passport control at Schiphol and, as a result, they are supposedly opening more booths and adding more KMAR officers.

[Ine]

That's good to know. We usually travel light so I think grabbing the bags and attempting to get off in the first wave is a decent strategy. The airline tickets are proving cost prohibitive to change. United might have a priority check in at AMS (I am not sure) - we are traveling in Business class maybe that will make things a little quicker at the airport.

 

Another thing I noticed, the port notes that this cruise on July 1 departs from "Waterland Terminal - Elbaweg 10 - 1044 AD AMSTERDAM"

 

Is this located away from the normal dock location?

 

Thanks again for all the advice.

 

Yes indeed. Elbaweg is NOT the regular cruiseterminal. Elbaweg is more west of city center, check google maps for details. You probably need a cab to get there since public transport in that area is bad. Closest trainstation is Amsterdam Sloterdijk, but again you need onward transportation.

In the past some cruiselines (I am not sure about HAL) offered shuttles to/from the cruise terminal. So check HAL before traveling.

Indeed most airlines have special counters for those flying businessclass.

[Tennessee Titan]

Our experience was that the long line at AMS was to check luggage. Carry on saves at least an hour at peak times...

[MisterBill99]

I'm also doing this -- Norway cruise returning on a Sunday and my flight is at 10:55am. My TA told me that HAL's earliest flight available to book was 11am, so they think that it's doable (well other than the extra 5 minutes). I also plan to carry our own luggage off. As was previously mentioned, there is no immigration to deal with since you're not leaving the EU, so that is a big time saver. Last year when we did a British Isles cruise from Amsterdam, we were off the ship in minutes. We did have a long line at the airport, but if we can get there by 8 I'm pretty sure we will be OK and hopefully have a few minutes to relax in an airport lounge.

 

Last year, we used a taxi company that I booked online - staxi.nl, because they had a 25 euro flat rate special. The only problem I had was that they did not know where to pick us up. Perhaps it would be easiest to tell them to pick us up at the Movenpick since it's more obvious, or just arrange something with them in advance. Or use someone else more accustomed to picking people up at the pier. The trip to the airport was pretty fast, and that was on a weekday.

Edited February 19, 2018 by MisterBill99

[WeRockChalkKU]

First time in Amsterdam. Wondering about taking the train from port to airport. We have no trouble rolling our luggage and getting it on/off most trains. How is the terrain between the port to the train. This would also be on a Sunday. How far is after getting off the train at the airport to baggage check? Taxis are fine but not if we have to “fight” to get one at the port and instead we can use that time to get to the train station.

Appreciate any thoughts/input about this.

[Ine]

First time in Amsterdam. Wondering about taking the train from port to airport. We have no trouble rolling our luggage and getting it on/off most trains. How is the terrain between the port to the train. This would also be on a Sunday. How far is after getting off the train at the airport to baggage check? Taxis are fine but not if we have to “fight” to get one at the port and instead we can use that time to get to the train station.

Appreciate any thoughts/input about this.

to baggage check, but certainly not that long. It depends what airline and what destination.

 

It is an easy flat walk to Centraal Station. Watch out for the many bikers, donot walk on their path. Will take about 10/15 minutes.

Trainstation is right under the airport. Difficult to tell how long your walk will be, but certainly not that long. It depends what airline and what destination. Check more details on this site: https://www.schiphol.nl/en/

[WeRockChalkKU]

to baggage check, but certainly not that long. It depends what airline and what destination.

 

It is an easy flat walk to Centraal Station. Watch out for the many bikers, donot walk on their path. Will take about 10/15 minutes.

Trainstation is right under the airport. Difficult to tell how long your walk will be, but certainly not that long. It depends what airline and what destination. Check more details on this site: https://www.schiphol.nl/en/

 

Thank you for your help.