Amsterdam Canal boat tour

[CruiseDirections]

We will be on Vantage "Castles on the Rhine and Danube" this fall. They offer 3 optional tours all of the rest are included. Has anyone done the canal boat in Amsterdam on your own or would it be better to book through the cruise line? The advantage I see is that it is at the beginning of the cruise and offers a chance to get to know others traveling on the same cruise. Is it easy to do on your own or less expensive? For the other two options I think I might wait until I am on the ship to decide unless anyone has some other ideas.

 

Thanks,

Nancy

[Ine]

Canalboatrides are offered at various places in Amsterdam, msot of them around Centraal Station. In general they last about 1 hour and depart frequently.

http://www.rederijkooij.nl/index_en.html

Also nice is the wine/cheese cruise at night.

Another option is the hopon/off ship http://www.canal.nl/hopper/en/hop-on-hop-off

[aussietraveller58]

Hi The canal cruise was fantastic - but exactly the same as you can do yourself. No real advantage doing it with your cruise people. What are the other options you can choose from? We did a day trip to a cheese factory/windmill famr and then a boat to Marken , a little fishing village. The cheese factory was terrible but Marken was gorgeous .

[Talisker92]

I recommend the hop on hop off canal boat. We also took the wine and cheese boat ride, but it does not get dark in the summer until very late

[Paulinda]

This was an included 'tour' on our Avalon cruise. It was OK as it was the first tour of our trip and it was a cool and rainy day. Perfect for sitting in a sheltered location and watching the world go by. The narrative by the tour guide was informative too.

 

I guess if this is an optional tour on Vantage I would compare the price they are asking to the 9euro price quoted on Ine's website. But it is also a good way to meet your fellow cruisers.

[CruiseDirections]

Thank you everyone for the responses, these are a lot of good ideas.

[Talisker92]

We did the Castles cruise last year with Vantage. The pictures and story are on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

[GiannaD]

We will be on Vantage "Castles on the Rhine and Danube" this fall. They offer 3 optional tours all of the rest are included. Has anyone done the canal boat in Amsterdam on your own or would it be better to book through the cruise line? The advantage I see is that it is at the beginning of the cruise and offers a chance to get to know others traveling on the same cruise. Is it easy to do on your own or less expensive? For the other two options I think I might wait until I am on the ship to decide unless anyone has some other ideas.

 

Thanks,

Nancy

 

We've been on the Castles on the Rhine... and Tulip Cruises with Vantage in 2007 and 2009. We did the canal cruise both times in Amsterdam and enjoyed gliding through the canals and hearing the narrative. The routes were different each time. They usually serve wine, cheese and some other snacks which are OK. It is a good way to get an idea of the sights of Amsterdam if you haven't been there before. As far as meeting your fellow passengers you can do that better on the Vantage ship. The canal boats are long and low and you remain seated with only the chance to meet the people at your table. One consideration of taking the Vantage tour vs. doing it on your own is where your ship will be anchored or if you are on a pre-cruise stay where your hotel will be located. We were near Central Station one cruise and quite a distance away on the second cruise. It was easier to just get on the bus provided by Vantage and be taken directly to the dock and back to the ship or hotel. The ship docking places are assigned by the dock master so you never know where the ship will be docked.

 

What are the other two optional tours? Maybe I can comment on them.

 

We've been on the Explorer and Navigator and will be on the Odyssey in September if you have any questions about the Vantage ships I will be happy to respond.

 

You will love the cruise.

[CruiseDirections]

 

What are the other two optional tours? Maybe I can comment on them.

 

We've been on the Explorer and Navigator and will be on the Odyssey in September if you have any questions about the Vantage ships I will be happy to respond.

 

You will love the cruise.

 

GiannaD,

Thank you for any advise you can give, the other two tours are Weltenburg Monastery Half Day (5 hour)Tour in Regensburg at $89 per person and Heurigen Evening Tour including dinner and wine in Vienna (3 hours) at $79 per person. Have you done either of these tours? They both sound like good ones.

 

I am sure we will love everything about this trip.

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

[CPT Trips]

Weltenberg is a very interesting tour. Do you also get the Danube Gorge boat excursion.

[CruiseDirections]

Weltenberg is a very interesting tour. Do you also get the Danube Gorge boat excursion.

 

The description states there is a motor coach ride from Regensburg to Kelheim where we will have lunch, after the monastery it says the motor coach transfer via a small cruise ship pontoon to the docking spot where the ship will be waiting our return. It sounds like a boat ride is included, I hope so.

 

Nancy

[CruiseDirections]

We did the Castles cruise last year with Vantage. The pictures and story are on our website http://www.stevekathytravels.com

 

SJGOCH

Love your website, great photos and narative on the Castles cruise, we also did the Baltic out of Copenhagen so enjoyed seeing and readking that one too!

 

Thanks,

Nancy

[GiannaD]

GiannaD,

Thank you for any advise you can give, the other two tours are Weltenburg Monastery Half Day (5 hour)Tour in Regensburg at $89 per person and Heurigen Evening Tour including dinner and wine in Vienna (3 hours) at $79 per person. Have you done either of these tours? They both sound like good ones.

 

I am sure we will love everything about this trip.

 

Thanks,

 

Nancy

 

We did the Heurigen Wolff evening excursion in 2007 and have been to two other heurigens outside Vienna. On the bus ride you will get to see parts of Vienna,some of the countryside, some vineyards and the town of Neustift where the heurigen is located. The restaurant is a large venue with many dining areas. We were in a picturesque courtyard with live vines, and other plants. The atmosphere was quaint. The food and wine were good and hearty. We had live entertainment provided by instrumentalists (accordion etc.) and a singer all in traditional Austrian costumes. It was mid October but the area was comfortably heated. We enjoyed the evening.

 

We have not done the monastery tour.

 

A poster mentioned the Rhine Gorge. It is part of your itinerary and quite spectacular with all the castles high on the cliffs above the river.

[CruiseDirections]

Thanks Gianna, I just booked all three-they all sound good and I like paying for it ahead of time so I won't have to worry about them filling up and not being able to go. We will be returning home mid-October, did you have chilly weather on your trip? I am going to pack layers and a waterproof rain coat, is that what you would suggest?

 

Thanks for your help,

Nancy

[GiannaD]

Thanks Gianna, I just booked all three-they all sound good and I like paying for it ahead of time so I won't have to worry about them filling up and not being able to go. We will be returning home mid-October, did you have chilly weather on your trip? I am going to pack layers and a waterproof rain coat, is that what you would suggest?

 

Thanks for your help,

Nancy

 

 

We were on the river Navigator from late September to Mid October as you will be. We went from Amsterdam to Budapest. We had mostly cool sunny fall days and layers were definitely the way to go. It was sometimes foggy on the rivers during the night and early morning and "burned off" as the morning went on. One morning there was a trace of frost on the deck. Because you are on a boat on the water you will likely need a jacket and/or fleece when on deck. I packed fleece gloves and used them a few times. I usually wore jeans, a sweater and turtle neck during the day and was very comfortable. We didn't have any rain but you definitely need some type of rain gear as one layer just in case. The ship usually has umbrellas available. Some people had hats and scarves but I didn't use any.

 

There are lots of hills and cobble stones so you most definitely need good comfortable walking shoes.

 

Although I saw a few October is not really a time of year for shorts, capri pants or sandals.

 

We'll be on the Odyssey from Bucharest to Vienna the same time of year so maybe the ships will pass!

 

Enjoy your trip

[CruiseDirections]

Gianna, I will keep an eye out for the Odyssey. Thanks again for all your good advise.

 

Nancy