Disembarkation in Amsterdam & Return Flight Time

[Kamfish642]

17 hours ago, Mary229 said:

If you immediately leave the ship by Uber and go directly you should be ok. Try to be at the airport no later than 11.   3.5 hours should be safe.  After my experience I would go 4 hours next time.  If you are on business class there is a lounge near the gates. 

I have HAL transfer from ship to airport.  Any idea when transport leaves ship for airport?

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Kamfish642 said:

I have HAL transfer from ship to airport.  Any idea when transport leaves ship for airport?

I have used the transfers before. Maybe it is just my perception but they don’t seem to leave until at earliest 8:30.   If you are docking in Amsterdam the taxi/Uber will likely be $75 with the fuel up charges and about 30 minutes.   You can also book a driver through some of the better taxi services, this is handy as they usually allow latitude in timing in case you are delayed leaving the ship.  You can cancel the transfers once you make a decision. 

[NukeTim]

Thanks for all the information and replies.  Decided to go to an airport hotel upon disembarkation and fly home the next day.  Will be checking in 4 hours early.

 

[redjanet17]

On 6/24/2022 at 2:49 PM, Kamfish642 said:

I have HAL transfer from ship to airport.  Any idea when transport leaves ship for airport?

May I ask how you booked the transfer from the ship to the airport? My husband and I will also be disembarking in Amsterdam and have an early evening flight back to London. I know we will probably have a few hours to kill but what with the mess airports are going through these days we'd like to play it as safe as possible. We haven't seen an option to book the transfer yet on the website. Is this something we can do on board or do we need to phone them in advance of the cruise? Thanks.

[kazu]

On 6/23/2022 at 4:31 PM, LAFFNVEGAS said:

Sorry I disagree, I checked on my return flights and to rebook for the next day there is nothing that gets me home unless I want to take 30+ hours the following day and then it would cost me $2600.00 more per person, that is not an option. We are flying Business Class so hopefully that will give us a slight advantage in getting through security which I am being told we do have seperate line for. I am more than aware of the problems but everyone keepspreaching about changing and just sometimes that is not a possible option and one just has to wing it and hope for the best.

 

Completely agree - prices have really gone up so one has to plan based on what they have.

 

I have flown out of Schipol B.C. (Before covid) and there was a huge difference if you were biz class.  Their lounges are lovely too 😉  Biz class does have a separate line.

i realize things are a mess right now, but with the easing of covid testing I think (hope) that will make a huge difference for you - especially being biz class.

 

I sure hope it does for me tomorrow at Pearson (which is also a mess) 😉 

 

 

[Mary229]

22 minutes ago, kazu said:

Biz class does have a separate line

Don’t bet on it.  I was biz class and in the biz class line and it took 2.5 hours and that was in May before the demand season.   Just be prepared to spend that $2600 

[Suncoastsailors]

On 6/22/2022 at 4:26 PM, NukeTim said:

Has anyone had any experience with disembarkation in Amsterdam and getting a return flight back to US on the same day?  With the recent problems with flights at Schipol airport, we're going in early for our Rotterdam cruise.  On return, we have the HAL transfer to the airport and Flight Ease recommends flights after 11:30am.  Schipol is saying arrive at the airport 4 hours early.  Really in a quandary whether or not to book a return flight on disembarkation day.  Thoughts?

We just got off the Jewels of the Seas June 8th. We got off the ship at 0710 and walking to the train station, took the train to Schipol. Arrived around 0800 for a noon flight. There were almost no lines at security or at the ticket counter. We had several hours to relax at the Airport. Lines at Schipol have been worse on weekends. Taxi cab was available at the port but they wanted $75 Euros to the airport. We enjoyed the walk along the water to the train station. Train drops you off inside the airport. Hope this helps. 

[Laminator]

52 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Don’t bet on it.  I was biz class and in the biz class line and it took 2.5 hours and that was in May before the demand season.   Just be prepared to spend that $2600 

I agree...Biz class line saved us 30 to 45 minutes with the airline checking in. No separate line for passport control which is also a mess. And hopefully your gate is actually in Amsterdam. There can be some very long walks there. 

 

Edited June 26, 2022 by Laminator

[Laminator]

38 minutes ago, Suncoastsailors said:

We just got off the Jewels of the Seas June 8th. We got off the ship at 0710 and walking to the train station, took the train to Schipol. Arrived around 0800 for a noon flight. There were almost no lines at security or at the ticket counter. We had several hours to relax at the Airport. Lines at Schipol have been worse on weekends. Taxi cab was available at the port but they wanted $75 Euros to the airport. We enjoyed the walk along the water to the train station. Train drops you off inside the airport. Hope this helps. 

You left on a Wednesday. We departed on a Tuesday. That is what saved us. Like you say weekends are really bad.

[B_A_H]

I just got off the Apex in Amsterdam yesterday.  The Rotterdam was docked in front of us.  Doing walk-off I was off the ship by 6:30AM.  Unfortunately, my ride was scheduled at 7:30AM.  There were plenty of taxis available and that would have saved me some time.  

 

Traffic to the airport was light because it was a Sunday.  Traffic in to Schipol at 8:00AM when I arrived was already backing up.  I was flying United which departs from terminal 3 along with AA.  Delta and KLM use terminal 2.  Terminal 3 when I entered was in chaos with huge lines of people and no clear cut way to see where the lines went or what they were for.  I walked around and approached the check-in counter from the back side.  I was flying business class and United had two check-in positions dedicated for it.  There were about 25 people in the business class line and at least 300 in the coach elite lines.  Both moved slowly.

 

Next after check-in was security.  There was a dedicated priority line.  Normally it's for first/business class and elite frequent flyers.  They were prohibiting elite frequent flyers through because it was so busy.  That meant a 15 minute argument per disgruntled elite frequent flyer as they were turned away which slowed the line down.  

 

Last stop was immigration.  Because of the dedicated first/business class line immigration went pretty quickly.

 

From what I observed.  Someone in coach with no status that arrived at the airport at 8:00AM would have likely missed an 11:15AM flight.  If they made it, it would have been barely.  I strongly suggest anyone departing Schipol do their research in advance so they know which terminal and check-in stand they are assigned before arriving at the airport.  You can find that out on the Schipol website by inputting your flight number.  That way you could figure out things like approaching the check-in stand from behind as I did.  When there's a sea of people you can't see signage and other types of directional information.  Google "KLM frequent flyer discussion" and you'll find a forum with a link to a thread entitled "mess at Schipol."  That thread has tips at the top and people posting daily about their experiences.  

 

From what I witnessed yesterday it's going to take months for Schipol to normalize.  

[fkfad]

On 6/26/2022 at 11:52 AM, redjanet17 said:

May I ask how you booked the transfer from the ship to the airport? My husband and I will also be disembarking in Amsterdam and have an early evening flight back to London. I know we will probably have a few hours to kill but what with the mess airports are going through these days we'd like to play it as safe as possible. We haven't seen an option to book the transfer yet on the website. Is this something we can do on board or do we need to phone them in advance of the cruise? Thanks.

This is the information regarding how to book a transfer...I hope this helps:

 

If you have not purchased a transfer through Holland America Line, one may be purchased for the day of embarkation/disembarkation (please include your final flight into the city of embarkation and the first flight out for disembarkation). Please have your travel advisor call Holland America Line at 1-877-724-5425 or 1-206-286-3900 with your Holland America Line six-digit confirmation number and flight itinerary (airline carrier, flight number, departure dates and times). Transfer reservations must be made and paid for at least 14 days prior to your sailing date. If you have purchased transfer service or pre-packages through Holland America Line, please refer to your itinerary for specific instructions.

[redjanet17]

1 hour ago, fkfad said:

This is the information regarding how to book a transfer...I hope this helps:

 

If you have not purchased a transfer through Holland America Line, one may be purchased for the day of embarkation/disembarkation (please include your final flight into the city of embarkation and the first flight out for disembarkation). Please have your travel advisor call Holland America Line at 1-877-724-5425 or 1-206-286-3900 with your Holland America Line six-digit confirmation number and flight itinerary (airline carrier, flight number, departure dates and times). Transfer reservations must be made and paid for at least 14 days prior to your sailing date. If you have purchased transfer service or pre-packages through Holland America Line, please refer to your itinerary for specific instructions.

Thank you!

[Laminator]

This may give you an idea of the troubles at Schipol!
American Airlines pauses ticket sales from Amsterdam as chaos continues (msn.com)

[durangoscots]

On 6/26/2022 at 7:34 AM, NukeTim said:

Thanks for all the information and replies.  Decided to go to an airport hotel upon disembarkation and fly home the next day.  Will be checking in 4 hours early.

 

Wise move.

[TheEmerson]

For April 2023 I am flying out the next day.  The cost of an overnight hotel is worth the hassle at the end of the day.  

[Traveling Library]

On July 2 our taxi (metered) from the Amsterdam cruise port to Schiphol was 75 Euro.

If you cannot stand or walk for 2+ hours I highly recommend that you ask for wheel chair assistance for your flight.  

Our flight was 2:40PM to Boston on Delta/KLM in Comfort Plus. We do not have Sky Priority status.

Left ship at 8:45 and took the worlds fastest taxi to Schiphol . Arrived 9:20AM.  

The KLM woman looked at our Comfort + ticket and let us in the Sky Priority check in area.  Economy people were being sent to different check in desk lines. Once checked in (the man noted we were 5 hours early but took our luggage) you join another line for security.  This line is split into two: Sky Priority/First/Business (not us) and Comfort+ and Economy (us). A long and slowly moving line will get you to the stairs to get to security.  Scan your boarding pass and then wait in an enclosed area (claustrophobia warning) for your chance to climb the stairs to yet another LONG line just to get to security (think Disney).  At this point people who had 11:30 or even a 12:30 flight (depending on gate location) realized that they were going to miss it.  Two people nicely asked to skip ahead but in most cases everyone stayed where they were in line. Once thru security there is another very short line to scan your passport and get it physically stamped and finally you are in the gate area. Arrival 11:50AM or 2.5 hours of lines.  You still have to get to your gate (some gates are not nearby) but once in the gate area all chaos disappears and it seemed almost serene to wander through the shopping opportunities to your gate (ours on concourse F was a 15 minute walk others are much longer). Our flight left 1/2 hour late which gave extra time to board for those who were still caught in the process.  

If you are Sky Priority/First/Business you will still be on lines but they probably are shorter and once in the gate area you can relax in the KLM Lounge.

Bon voyage! Buen viaje! Safe travels.