Celebrity Apex Iceland/Ireland Leaving From Amsterdam (June 2023)

[jamacka]

I've got a few questions I hope somebody can help with.

 

1. What hotel would Celebrity likely put us in if we were to book a pre-cruise hotel through them?
2. What dock do the Edge Class ships usually dock at? The one downtown or the one on the coast?

We're starting to look at our options for this cruise next year.  Trying to figure out if we should book our own flights and pre-cruise accommodations or let them look after it for us, since they'd probably include transfers as well.  Or should we go it alone get our own flights and find an Airbnb someplace.  We've never been to Amsterdam so know nothing about the best areas to stay in.

 

So any advice would be welcomed.

[Mr. Click]

Always price your flights and pre/post cruise hotels both ways. Sometimes Celebrity can save you money, sometimes they can't.   Be the smart shopper.

 

When we have done cruises to or from Amsterdam we stayed at the Doubletree Centraal Station.  Great location, just across from the central train station so easy access to trains, trams and canal boats.  Easy  walking to lots of places too.  I don't know where the Edge Class ships dock but the S Class ships docked about a 10 minute walk from the Doubletree.  Easy walk even with luggage.  It is so close that taxis don't really want to take you....

 

Allow yourselves plenty of time to explore Amsterdam, there is so much  to see.  If you want to visit the Anne Frank be sure to book a few months ahead.  

[SbbquilterUT]

I would second the Doubletree Centraal station - easy trip in by train from the airport.  If possible go in early as you can walk so much of Amsterdam or use the tram system.  We will be sailing that cruise in August this year and I am so looking forward to it.  

[cangelmd]

Just got off the Apex on the British Isles cruise and we are booked on Iceland/Ireland on Silhouette next year,

I don't know where Celebrity would book you, but we stayed at the Movenpick which is literally next door to the cruise terminal. The day of embarkation we pulled together our suitcases, trundled them over to the terminal and dropped them off early. It add a full half day, almost a full day to our time in Amsterdam. There is a tram stop right across the street from the hotel. It goes directly to Central Station and from there you can go anywhere in Amsterdam. We booked about 6-7 months in advance. Movenpick is very popular with cruisers and there were groups from Viking and AMA Waterways that came and went while we were there.

The hotels right at the train station would be an easier trip from the airport - you could have gotten to the Movenpick, but it would require more luggage schlepping than I want to do on vacation and right after getting off an 8 hour flight. We opted for easy on embarkation day.

[jamacka]

Thanks so much for all this advice.  Location is everything so being close to transportation is a plus.  It would be really handy if we could get Celebrity to do the transfers the morning of the cruise.  That's a time saver.  We'll ask when we call.

 

Flights are a worry too.  We can't fly too many places direct from Halifax, NS and we'd really like to avoid Toronto but maybe by next year the airlines and airports will have their acts together. We may fly into Paris, tour around there and then rent a car and drive to Amsterdam.  

[Turtles06]

37 minutes ago, jamacka said:

We may fly into Paris, tour around there and then rent a car and drive to Amsterdam.  

 

If you do start in Paris, you might want to look into the fast train from Paris to Amsterdam, rather than trying to deal with a car rental and return and traffic in either city. 

 

https://www.thalys.com/choose-your-language-and-your-country

[jamacka]

7 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

If you do start in Paris, you might want to look into the fast train from Paris to Amsterdam, rather than trying to deal with a car rental and return and traffic in either city. 

 

https://www.thalys.com/choose-your-language-and-your-country

That's a good point.  I guess we have to scope out the area.  We've never been to Europe. We thought there might be a scenic route and my husband thought he'd like to check out some of the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France and maybe spend a day or 2 in Bruges.  We'll check out the trains and see if we can schedule those stops.

[TMLAalum]

Ditto @Turtles06 recommendation of train from Paris to Amsterdam. To visit the D-day area you could book a long day trip from Paris or even an overnight. Bruges is well worth a visit.

 

How much time do you have? IMHO it might be better to follow the adage less is more. What you don't see on your first trip to Europe gives you all the more reason to return!

 

Also, do check out the Ports of Call Europe forum where you will get even more help from your Cruise Critic friends! Europe Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

[Denny01]

I assume the OP, @jamacka, is on the same June ‘23 Apex cruse we are. There is an active Roll Call for our cruise where we are discussing hotels and so on. 

 

We’ve done Amsterdam a few times. Yes, staying in a hotel right near the terminal is good especially if you are going to just fly in the day prior and spend one night. But if you are going to stay a few days (we are planning for 3 or 4 nights), then you might consider other options.

 

we are staying in a hotel near the Rijksmuseum and Van Goth museum at the park. Still pretty close to all kinds of stuff including the ship. The city trams are Very easy to use and so on. So consider that too.

 

Come on over for more discussions by those on your cruise. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2816080-june-6-2023-apex-12n-iceland-ireland/page/2/

 

Den

[jamacka]

16 minutes ago, TMLAalum said:

Ditto @Turtles06 recommendation of train from Paris to Amsterdam. To visit the D-day area you could book a long day trip from Paris or even an overnight. Bruges is well worth a visit.

 

How much time do you have? IMHO it might be better to follow the adage less is more. What you don't see on your first trip to Europe gives you all the more reason to return!

 

Also, do check out the Ports of Call Europe forum where you will get even more help from your Cruise Critic friends! Europe Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

Thanks.  Less is more might work since we're doing a back-2-back... first to Iceland and then the Norway fjords.  We might very well be travel-worn by the end of it.  To be honest, I'm not overly interested in schlepping around cities.  😔  and I'd rather spend more time in Bruges and Amsterdam than Paris. (sorry Paris)

[jamacka]

10 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

I assume the OP, @jamacka, is on the same June ‘23 Apex cruse we are. There is an active Roll Call for our cruise where we are discussing hotels and so on. 

 

We’ve done Amsterdam a few times. Yes, staying in a hotel right near the terminal is good especially if you are going to just fly in the day prior and spend one night. But if you are going to stay a few days (we are planning for 3 or 4 nights), then you might consider other options.

 

we are staying in a hotel near the Rijksmuseum and Van Goth museum at the park. Still pretty close to all kinds of stuff including the ship. The city trams are Very easy to use and so on. So consider that too.

 

Come on over for more discussions by those on your cruise. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2816080-june-6-2023-apex-12n-iceland-ireland/page/2/

 

Den

Hi Denny... we sail June 6, 2023.  Then we're doing the back-2-back Norway cruise following Iceland. 

I'm making note of all these recommendations for hotels.  We're pretty strong walkers so being within walking distance of highlights would be great.  

I'll check out the roll call.

[cangelmd]

31 minutes ago, jamacka said:

Thanks.  Less is more might work since we're doing a back-2-back... first to Iceland and then the Norway fjords.  We might very well be travel-worn by the end of it.  To be honest, I'm not overly interested in schlepping around cities.  😔  and I'd rather spend more time in Bruges and Amsterdam than Paris. (sorry Paris)

I need a map, but I think you should consider with what you have said, flying into Amsterdam, rent a car, drive to Normandy and Bruges (I think they may be on opposite sides of Amsterdam), then leave car at Schiopol a day or so before cruise and finish with a night or two in AMS.

Traffic out of CDG is truly spectacular, NYC or Chicago spectacular, with weird gas stations! But when you get out into the countryside in France driving is not too difficult. Schiopol is a busy airport, but a relatively easy in and out. We were not in a car rental in AMS, but just observing going to and from the airport and to and from Keukenhof gardens, I think it would be easy for first time Europe visitors to do a car rental in the Netherlands out of that airport.  
Trains are great, but cars are still a bit more flexible

[jamacka]

10 minutes ago, cangelmd said:

I need a map, but I think you should consider with what you have said, flying into Amsterdam, rent a car, drive to Normandy and Bruges (I think they may be on opposite sides of Amsterdam), then leave car at Schiopol a day or so before cruise and finish with a night or two in AMS.

Traffic out of CDG is truly spectacular, NYC or Chicago spectacular, with weird gas stations! But when you get out into the countryside in France driving is not too difficult. Schiopol is a busy airport, but a relatively easy in and out. We were not in a car rental in AMS, but just observing going to and from the airport and to and from Keukenhof gardens, I think it would be easy for first time Europe visitors to do a car rental in the Netherlands out of that airport.  
Trains are great, but cars are still a bit more flexible

That is an excellent idea we haven't considered.  Thanks

[mtempelaar]

On 6/5/2022 at 5:01 PM, jamacka said:

I've got a few questions I hope somebody can help with.

 

1. What hotel would Celebrity likely put us in if we were to book a pre-cruise hotel through them?
2. What dock do the Edge Class ships usually dock at? The one downtown or the one on the coast?

We're starting to look at our options for this cruise next year.  Trying to figure out if we should book our own flights and pre-cruise accommodations or let them look after it for us, since they'd probably include transfers as well.  Or should we go it alone get our own flights and find an Airbnb someplace.  We've never been to Amsterdam so know nothing about the best areas to stay in.

 

So any advice would be welcomed.

My husband is from the Netherlands, and we always recommend staying at a hotel by Centraal Station.  Doubletree is a great option but there are others around there as well if the price point is too high.   There’s a Hampton Inn but seems a bit further of a walk to get to Centraal Station.

 

Benefits of that general location:

1) Easy train ride from Schipol airport

2) Main tram transfer spot is right by the train station with access to two of the most important trams going towards tourist sites

3) Safe

4) Near location to catch a variety of canal dinner cruises

 

Think of Amsterdam as hub and spoke, where Centraal Station is the hub.  It’s also a great place to hop on local light rails to get to places outside of Amsterdam.   
 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by mtempelaar
Adding info

[jamacka]

17 minutes ago, mtempelaar said:

My husband is from the Netherlands, and we always recommend staying at a hotel by Centraal Station.  Doubletree is a great option but there are others around there as well if the price point is too high.   There’s a Hampton Inn but seems a bit further of a walk to get to Centraal Station.

 

Benefits of that general location:

1) Easy train ride from Schipol airport

2) Main tram transfer spot is right by the train station with access to two of the most important trams going towards tourist sites

3) Safe

4) Near location to catch a variety of canal dinner cruises

 

Think of Amsterdam as hub and spoke, where Centraal Station is the hub.  It’s also a great place to hop on local light rails to get to places outside of Amsterdam.   
 

 

 

Thanks.  Seems we have a good idea of the area we should stay.  We'll pinpoint a hotel in the Central Station area