Reflection - Amsterdam Please Share Experiences

[njaloha]

I'm beginning research into a possible future cruise on the Reflection in August 2020 - British Isles 12 night and I've bumped into a Google Maps curiosity for my inexperienced brain.  I've never been to Europe let alone Amsterdam.  I'm wondering how the ships leaving Amsterdam get out to the Sea and be still my kerthumping heart, is it a canal and a lock???  WOW.  It looks like the two 'roads' across the lock slide back (Middensluisweg and Noordersluisweg).  This alone is worth the price of admission.  How cool is that!!! 😲

 

I'd love to hear stories of folks who have done this cruise or any cruise out of Amsterdam through the canals and the lock.  😀  At the risk of sounding goofy and/or niave, is it as amazing as I hope it could be?  Is there a lot of daylight in August to see the sights as you cruise by?

 

I'm also trying to decide between Azamara Scotland Intensive and the Reflection British Isles (2 overnights, Dublin and Glasgow) which covers more of Europe and Ireland hitting Belgium and France. 😵

 

I would also love to hear stories from folks who have done Reflection British Isles and what you were able to do in Portland, Dover, Cherbourg France and Zeebrugge Belgium.

 

Thanks to all!

[cruisestitch]

For port information try the destinations boards and TripAdvisor.

 

there are no locks involved in getting Reflection out to sea.  Sorry.  The road you see next to the Cruiseport actually goes into a tunnel so Reflection sails on top of it, in a way.

[wendyam76]

These were taken on our Baltic cruise from Amsterdam on Silhouette in 2016 - first night enroute to Rostock. 

Wendy 

[realnice46]

3 hours ago, njaloha said:

I'm beginning research into a possible future cruise on the Reflection in August 2020 - British Isles 12 night and I've bumped into a Google Maps curiosity for my inexperienced brain.  I've never been to Europe let alone Amsterdam.  I'm wondering how the ships leaving Amsterdam get out to the Sea and be still my kerthumping heart, is it a canal and a lock???  WOW.  It looks like the two 'roads' across the lock slide back (Middensluisweg and Noordersluisweg).  This alone is worth the price of admission.  How cool is that!!! 😲

 

I'd love to hear stories of folks who have done this cruise or any cruise out of Amsterdam through the canals and the lock.  😀  At the risk of sounding goofy and/or niave, is it as amazing as I hope it could be?  Is there a lot of daylight in August to see the sights as you cruise by?

 

I'm also trying to decide between Azamara Scotland Intensive and the Reflection British Isles (2 overnights, Dublin and Glasgow) which covers more of Europe and Ireland hitting Belgium and France. 😵

 

I would also love to hear stories from folks who have done Reflection British Isles and what you were able to do in Portland, Dover, Cherbourg France and Zeebrugge Belgium.

 

Thanks to all!

We have sailed out of Amsterdam twice, you sail down the canal for a while I don’t remover any locks. Be sure to eat dinner a little later so you can be out on deck .

also try to plan at least 3 nights in Amsterdam. So much to see. Public transportation I great makes it easy to visit some of the small villages. If you plan to see Anne Frank’s house make sure to make reservations well in advance. The boards on Cruise Critic will be a big help with your planning.

[njaloha]

2 hours ago, wendyam76 said:

These were taken on our Baltic cruise from Amsterdam on Silhouette in 2016 - first night enroute to Rostock. 

Wendy 

Wendy great pics. Just what I was looking for.

That looks like a lock to me!!!!!

Psst, I'm Wendy too. 😉😉

[wendyam76]

5 minutes ago, njaloha said:

Wendy great pics. Just what I was looking for.

That looks like a lock to me!!!!!

Psst, I'm Wendy too. 😉😉

So funny!!! I’ve looked back my journal and I’ve written that we went through locks! It was fascinating watching it all - Sky Lounge was the place to watch it.

Wendy

[rdt10]

These are from inside the lock on the Eclipse from Amsterdam last August. Not much room on either side. They are in the process of building a new set of locks next to the existing. It was interesting, but a very slow process to raise the ship to sea level. If you look on google maps the lock is close to IJmuiden.

Edited March 20, 2019 by rdt10

[njaloha]

Yes rtd10

I looked at Google and that's what caught my attention. Thanks for these interesting  pics!!😃

[njaloha]

10 hours ago, rdt10 said:

These are from inside the lock on the Eclipse from Amsterdam last August. Not much room on either side. They are in the process of building a new set of locks next to the existing. It was interesting, but a very slow process to raise the ship to sea level. If you look on google maps the lock is close to IJmuiden.

Whoa that is tight!!! 

[njaloha]

16 hours ago, realnice46 said:

We have sailed out of Amsterdam twice, you sail down the canal for a while I don’t remover any locks. Be sure to eat dinner a little later so you can be out on deck .

also try to plan at least 3 nights in Amsterdam. So much to see. Public transportation I great makes it easy to visit some of the small villages. If you plan to see Anne Frank’s house make sure to make reservations well in advance. The boards on Cruise Critic will be a big help with your planning.

We were thinking of doing an Amsterdam pre cruise  and a Paris post cruise!!

[drakes2]

9 minutes ago, njaloha said:

We were thinking of doing an Amsterdam pre cruise  and a Paris post cruise!!

I did the Scandinavian cruise in July of 2016 twelve nights Amsterdam to Sweden. Loved every minute. Two hours in the channel before we went out to the open sea.  Weather was perfect. 

[Devo1459]

We are on the Reflection this coming June 26th sailing out of Amsterdam.  We were in Amsterdam about 5 years ago as we ended up there after a Med Cruise out of Barcelona. Amsterdam is an awesome city and a lot to do there.  We are flying in 2 days early so we can spend one day exploring the some other cities by train....Delft, the Hague etc. 

I'm pretty sure its locks you go through to get out to sea.

[downsmead]

A number of cruise companies are no longer docking in Amsterdam as it has introduced a tourist tax. They now dock elsewhere which involves being bussed into Amsterdam. Not sure if X has stopped as well, you may wish to check this out.

[upwarduk]

56 minutes ago, downsmead said:

A number of cruise companies are no longer docking in Amsterdam as it has introduced a tourist tax. They now dock elsewhere which involves being bussed into Amsterdam. Not sure if X has stopped as well, you may wish to check this out.

I believe they are docking in Ijmuiden.

[njaloha]

2 hours ago, downsmead said:

A number of cruise companies are no longer docking in Amsterdam as it has introduced a tourist tax. They now dock elsewhere which involves being bussed into Amsterdam. Not sure if X has stopped as well, you may wish to check this out.

What do you mean by "bussed in to Amsterdam "?

[njmelis24]

We are on the Aug 2020 sailing and can’t wait! Been to Amsterdam several times before but never cruised from there; just wanted to chime in and say hi from a fellow NJer (now relocated to AR) 😁

[downsmead]

6 hours ago, njaloha said:

What do you mean by "bussed in to Amsterdam "?

Taken by coach

 

[njaloha]

4 hours ago, downsmead said:

Taken by coach

 

To Amsterdam where there's no ship? 

I'm confused. The cruise I'm talking  about is round trip Amsterdam not stopping as a port on an itinerary.  

[njaloha]

11 hours ago, njmelis24 said:

We are on the Aug 2020 sailing and can’t wait! Been to Amsterdam several times before but never cruised from there; just wanted to chime in and say hi from a fellow NJer (now relocated to AR) 😁

Hi there

Looking forward to your review!!!! 🌼😀

Thanks for chiming in and have a great cruise... Wait... That's the itinerary I'm looking at....8/10/20!! 😀 

[downsmead]

3 hours ago, njaloha said:

To Amsterdam where there's no ship? 

I'm confused. The cruise I'm talking  about is round trip Amsterdam not stopping as a port on an itinerary.  

Apologies, I hadn’t realised it was from Amsterdam - yes X are home porting there so will have to continue to use it!! It will be interesting to see what they do in future years as a number of the cruise lines are using Ijmuiden instead (eg Cunard, P&O, MSC).

 

[njmelis24]

12 hours ago, njaloha said:

Hi there

Looking forward to your review!!!! 🌼😀

Thanks for chiming in and have a great cruise... Wait... That's the itinerary I'm looking at....8/10/20!! 😀 

😁😁come aboard!

[bigbenboys]

We've been to Amsterdam a number to times. I was their once work 60 days. What a great city. While I do like large hotel chains. Amsterdam has some nice small hotels. I enjoy staying at Max Brown Hotel Canal District Amsterdam. What I will say is the stairs are narrow and No elevator. You can walk to the ship from hotels near the The Amsterdam Central Train Station.

[bobndee]

We sailed the Eclipse out of Amsterdam last July to the British Isles.  I don't recall any locks.  The cruise terminal was quite close to the main Amsterdam train station and right next to the Movenpick Hotel.  We stayed at the Hampton by Hilton Amsterdam Centre East hotel and were able to walk to the terminal.  It had easy access to trams and the staff were very helpful in making arrangements and giving advice.

[Redtravel]

Love Amsterdam. Have flown in and stayed a week. Have stopped on cruises. Have embarked and disembarked many times. Always adding a day or more stay in Amsterdam. There is so much to see. I never get tired of staying in Amsterdam. Book a hotel and enjoy.  Amsterdam is that good. Also,  I have been on Reflection recently. I have been on Azamara many times.  Port is big. Can accommodate many ships and riverboats. Move in and out through big locks. I would opt for Azamara . Smaller ships can dock closer to Central station.

[Gimpy McFarlan]

We sailed the Baltic on Eclipse last summer out of Amsterdam. We docked at the port near the central train station.