Dutch_Travelgirl

Trains in the Netherlands are mass transit. You can’t book a train from Schiphol to Venlo, just like you can’t book a subway from Lower Manhattan to Upper Manhattan in New York. Trains have free seating and can’t be booked. You simply tap your credit card at the reader when you enter the train station, board the train, and tap out again when you leave the train station in Venlo. 
There are direct trains from Schiphol Airport to Venlo. They leave every hour at .19 and .49. So at 9:19, 9:49, 10:19, 10:49 etc etc etc. 
 

See the official website of the Dutch national railway company for fares, schedules and to buy tickets should you not wish to tap your credit card. 
https://www.ns.nl/en

Where do you want to take the train to? To somewhere in the Netherlands? Or to a destination outside the Netherlands? If so, where to?

On 4/15/2024 at 7:52 PM, wardwhitty said:

We went to Cas Abho and it was awesome.  The water is beautiful. Plenty of chairs to rent.  The beach is a little rocky but once in the water nice sandy bottom.  We got massages that were right at the shoreline and super relaxing. They have food and drinks available.  The day we were there was really busy so be patient. We are headed back there on our next cruise.

All this is available at Porto Marie too. On top of that, Porto Marie isn’t used as an excursion beach for cruise ship passengers, unlike Cas Abou. The complete middle section of the beach at Cas Abou is cordoned off on cruise ship days to be used exclusively by those on a tour from the ship. The small on-site restaurant/snack bar usually has difficulties coping with the crowds. 
Don’t get me wrong, I love Cas Abou, but I will never go there again on a day one or more cruise ships are on the island. 

5 hours ago, Cotswold Eagle said:

Their question about using insurance to get a cheap solo fare, though 😲

OMG! I just read that one. Wow, just wow.

From their recent posts, it seems that the OP has literally moved on and is now looking at cruises in other parts of the world. 

How will you arrive in Amsterdam? By plane? From where? Or by cruise? At which cruise terminal?

Either way is going to be very tight, but we can help you better if we know how you’ll arrive into Amsterdam. 

14 hours ago, shipshapegirl said:

my concern is when we get to Rotterdam Central are taxis available or will I need to call one when I get there?

There will be a line of taxis waiting outside the train station. Just follow the signs for taxi. 

51 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

I’m assuming credit cards aren’t used widely there due to the fees.

No, it’s not. Fees have nothing to do with it. As the previous poster already mentioned it’s a cultural thing of not wanting to go into debt when you buy your weekly groceries or daily cup of coffee. 

3 hours ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

So in grocery stores or restaurants in the Netherlands how do most people pay for their purchases? I thought everyone used credit cards now to avoid handling cash, especially after the pandemic. 🤔 

In the Netherlands credit card payments only amount to 1% of the total payment transactions. Cash payments make up 20% and the vast majority of payments (79%) is done by debit card. 

Apple Pay or Google Pay is just a different way of presenting your debit or credit card to the payment terminal. This means that you can only use it in places that accept the card you linked to your Apple or Google Pay. So if you’ve linked a credit card to your Apple/Google Pay, you can only use it in places that accept credit cards.
In the Netherlands, credit cards aren’t accepted everywhere. The supermarket chain Albert Heijn for instance, is known for only accepting credit cards in a few stores. 
You don’t need WiFi to use Apple or Google Pay, but you do need a card that’s accepted. 

7 minutes ago, jssabs said:

I'm more concerned with my arrival the day before and going from the baggage claim area to the hote

I don’t understand what you mean. I thought you arrived in Amsterdam from a cruise ship and flew out from Amsterdam the next day. Now it seems you’re flying into Amsterdam?

I can’t help but feel you’re overthinking this. The walk from the Sheraton to the check in counters is not more difficult than the average walk from the entrance of an airport to the check in desks. If you stay at the Sheraton, you’re basically already in the airport and you won’t be the only one with luggage. Just grab one of the free luggage trolleys and off you go. 
If you’re really anxious, you can do a test run without luggage the night before departure to see where you need to go.

@grimpil not sure why you pulled up this thread after 7 months, but yes both Bonaire and Curaçao have a resort named Chogogo. Which really isn’t that strange considering that “chogogo” is the word for flamingo in the local language on both islands. 

Not sure what you mean by the “tulip festival”, but it’s highly unlikely there will still be tulips in bloom in the flower fields. The flowers of the tulips are cut off by the tulip farmers to ensure that the plant uses all its energy to produce healthy bulbs instead of maintaining the flower. The cutting or heading is usually done in the first week of May, so if you’re here from May 9 onwards you’re too late. 

It’s not just cruise vendors in Amsterdam that don’t like American Express. If your only credit card is an American Express one, you will run into trouble all over Europe. I would strongly suggest to get a Visa or Mastercard. 
 

You don’t need to book a canal cruise thru your cruise company. There are dozens of companies that offer canal cruises in Amsterdam. Pick one you like, buy a ticket and board the boat. 

Tickets for what? And which US credit card?

Amsterdam is unlike other cities, like Paris or London, where a Hoho bus might work. The historical city center of Amsterdam where the main sights are located is very compact and highly walkable. It’s so compact, especially the UNESCO World Heritage Canal Zone, that busses like Hoho can’t drive there. Therefore a Hoho bus isn’t a good idea to get your bearings, because you won’t see the most beautiful part of the city. 
A much better idea to get your bearings is to take a canal cruise. A regular one, not a Hoho one. Lots of canal cruises leave from the central train station which is close to the cruise terminal. There is no need to book in advance, just walk up, buy a ticket and off you go!

In the Netherlands we have a saying about the weather in March: “Maart roert zijn staart” , which literally translates as March stirs its tail. You should expect anything and everything from sunny and warm to cold and rain or even snow or hail. Sometimes all of the above in 1 single day. 

17 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

although I wouldn't be confident that the landside restaurants in the airport would really be any better

Indeed. The landside restaurants at Schiphol Airport are fast food type places like Burger King, Starbucks etc. 

I’m sorry but I don’t know what else to suggest you. The city of Amsterdam has everything you are looking for, but for some reason you don’t want to go there. You don’t have to take all your luggage with you into the city. You can store your luggage in a locker and just take a small suitcase. 

Schiphol Airport and it’s immediate surroundings doesn’t have an area with restaurants etc where you can relax and people watch. It’s a sterile area with offices, warehouses, parking lots etc etc

Well, my suggestion would be to stay in the city right next to either the train station or a bus stop of the #397 airport bus. Anything is better than a sterile hotel area still many miles away from the airport. 
The Renaissance Schiphol Airport hotel may have the name of the airport in its name, but it’s not very conveniently located to get to the airport. If you check a map you’ll see that the runways are right between you and the terminal building and you can’t cross those. So you need to take a taxi or the complimentary shuttle bus to get to the airport. 
If you’re willing to take an airport shuttle to get to the airport, you might as well stay in town with all its restaurants and take the 15 minute train to the airport. 

10 hours ago, floridababa said:

We will be at hotel from 2:00 pm till the next morning.

Any help would be appreciated

Are you sure you want to stay that entire time in your hotel? There is nothing to see and do in the immediate area, no restaurants. 
Why don’t you just head out into the city? Take a canal cruise, walk around, visit a museum etc. 
Amsterdam is only a very easy and short train ride away from the airport. 

12 hours ago, emarismom said:

Has anyone done this tour from Rotterdam? I will be there in April and am thinking about doing this.  Any opinions?

What tour? Do you mean an excursion from the ship?

17 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Getting between Amsterdam and Rotterdam is extremely easy-- its like getting between New York and Philly on the train. Trains run frequently (the high speed Eurostar-- which used to be called the Thayls when I last used it on this route) takes only 39 minutes and is the best way to do it. They run slower speed trains but just take the faster nicer one-- fares are as low as $30 per person. 

It much cheaper and just as fast to take 

the Intercity Direct train from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. This train uses the same highspeed train line as the Eurostar/Thalys trains use, but unlike Eurostar/Thalys trains you don’t need to book a specific train on a specific date and time.

A single train ticket from Amsterdam to Rotterdam on Intercity Direct costs €20,80. With that ticket you can take any Intercity Direct train on the date mentioned on your ticket. 

Another option is to take the regular Intercity train which takes 75 minutes from Amsterdam to Rotterdam. A single ticket for that train costs €17,90

@MAVIP; my post was not in reply to the OP, but in reply to the recent post of @Loves2CruiseAlot  So yes, I indeed had a special meaning to suggest what I did