Schiphol Airport chaos

[Rustyman]

We fly to Rome from Edinburgh via Schiphol, Amsterdam as that was a “free” light through Celebrity, in less than 2 weeks. I note that the airport is a mess just now, all passengers transiting through Schiphol have been told that today they can’t travel with hold luggage due to problems at the airport, so cabin carry on only. Furthermore they have said to ensure you have a long time between transfers due to problems at the airport, Celebrity have given us just over an hour! So looks like hand lagged only may be required and we’ll miss our Rome flight anyway!

Anyone else facing similar concerns? Booking a direct flight is very expensive just now so not an option. I can see us spending a day or 2 to get to Rome vis Schiphol and arriving at the cruise having lost our hold cases, oh the relaxation of a holiday in the summer of 2022 😎.

[Lena11033]

I don't have an option for a direct flight from where I am, even if I did Toronto airport is a mess as well. Honestly I spent 2 hours on the phone to air canada to get them to give me the first flight of the day out of my city so that it gives me several hours to connect in Toronto.

The luggage situation, they are still letting us check bags but I've heard lots of stories of luggage not arriving same time (coworker took 2 and 4 weeks to get her 2 bags) so if anyone sees me wearing just sports clothes I'm apologizing now lol

Coming back I don't have the option for a long connection, like you it's just over an hour and I have work the next day.  I've already spoken to my manager because the chances are right now I'm not making that second flight back so will be in Toronto over night

[Beamafar]

We’re in a similar situation.  Flying from Dublin to Nice via Schiphol for an Azamara cruise in two weeks’ time with KLM.   We have 55 minutes between flights.   I discussed this with our TA as we’d considered booking a direct flight the day beforehand and staying overnight in Nice.  He’s of the opinion that there’s no need as there are plenty of options available, including Air France, as they’re a sister company of KLM.

 

Worst case scenario is we miss the ship and embark at the next port (for which we won’t incur any costs).  We’re now bringing a cabin bag each with enough clothes to get us by for a couple of days should our luggage not make it.  I’m refusing to get stressed about a situation that might not arise, but should it, stressing won’t change anything. 

[Rustyman]

Evening Chic night could be shorts and T shirt this summer, at least I’m guessing there will be a lot of people in a similar position. I’m only glad we’ve 2 nights in Rome pre cruise so time to make the ship and buy a couple of things if the luggage goes awol.

 

[Rustyman]

5 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

We’re in a similar situation.  Flying from Dublin to Nice via Schiphol for an Azamara cruise in two weeks’ time with KLM.   We have 55 minutes between flights.   I discussed this with our TA as we’d considered booking a direct flight the day beforehand and staying overnight in Nice.  He’s of the opinion that there’s no need as there are plenty of options available, including Air France, as they’re a sister company of KLM.

 

Worst case scenario is we miss the ship and embark at the next port (for which we won’t incur any costs).  We’re now bringing a cabin bag each with enough clothes to get us by for a couple of days should our luggage not make it.  I’m refusing to get stressed about a situation that might not arise, but should it, stressing won’t change anything. 

Not stressing about it, just a bit peed off and not putting anything in the hold that we can’t afford to lose. 
The positive is that for once we’ve booked the whole package through Celebrity so are covered for anything that may go awry. If the worst comes to the worst there’s always the coffee bars of Amsterdam 😉.

[Beamafar]

13 minutes ago, Rustyman said:

Not stressing about it, just a bit peed off and not putting anything in the hold that we can’t afford to lose. 
The positive is that for once we’ve booked the whole package through Celebrity so are covered for anything that may go awry. If the worst comes to the worst there’s always the coffee bars of Amsterdam 😉.

We, too, bought the whole package with the cruise line, which has worked out really well, so far, for us, as our embarkation port was changed from Genoa to Nice.  We were able to get the flights changed without extra cost (Azamara was going to bus us from Genoa to Nice - a 2 1/2 bus journey after 2 flights - no thanks!).

 

Originally we were going to organise our own flights and would have booked direct to Milan.  Travel is now becoming a very risky business, indeed.

[anniegb]

KLM and Schipol have always had the worst reputation for very poor MCT/transfer times between flights.

I have the scars. IF I have to use Schipol, I allow a MINIMUM MCT of 3 hours.

Good Luck everyone.

[Susanb10567]

1 hour ago, Beamafar said:

We, too, bought the whole package with the cruise line, which has worked out really well, so far, for us, as our embarkation port was changed from Genoa to Nice.  We were able to get the flights changed without extra cost (Azamara was going to bus us from Genoa to Nice - a 2 1/2 bus journey after 2 flights - no thanks!).

 

Originally we were going to organise our own flights and would have booked direct to Milan.  Travel is now becoming a very risky business, indeed.

How quickly did Celebrity change your flights? 
 

United canceled my flight for my Edge cruise out of Rome. Apparently it was unconfirmed in April but it only dropped off my United Ap on 6/29 (it was a codeshare with Swiss Air) was never contacted by Flights by Celebrity and my travel agent says they weren’t either. When I first contacted Flights by Celebrity they said 30 days …which I thought was excessive..now they are saying it could be another 30 days..

 

Planning travel used to be fun…now I just hope I get there..I just bought new carry on luggage so I can try and pack effectively in that in case my checked bags don’t make ..that is if I ever get a flight.

 

I think this is the one and only time I book with flights by Celebrity. I could of rebooked immediately with United if I had booked on my own since they canceled.

 

 

 

[Beamafar]

Our flights were booked with Azamara - not Celebrity.  Sorry if I’ve caused any confusion.   I was just responding to the general topic of transferring in Schiphol.  

[Beamafar]

8 minutes ago, anniegb said:

KLM and Schipol have always had the worst reputation for very poor MCT/transfer times between flights.

I have the scars. IF I have to use Schipol, I allow a MINIMUM MCT of 3 hours.

Good Luck everyone.

We’ve transferred through Schiphol on very tight slots many times without incident.  Our favourite airport to transfer in.  These times are an aberration.  Many airports are experiencing similar problems. 

[john1970]

2 hours ago, Rustyman said:

We fly to Rome from Edinburgh via Schiphol, Amsterdam as that was a “free” light through Celebrity, in less than 2 weeks. I note that the airport is a mess just now, all passengers transiting through Schiphol have been told that today they can’t travel with hold luggage due to problems at the airport, so cabin carry on only. Furthermore they have said to ensure you have a long time between transfers due to problems at the airport, Celebrity have given us just over an hour! So looks like hand lagged only may be required and we’ll miss our Rome flight anyway!

Anyone else facing similar concerns? Booking a direct flight is very expensive just now so not an option. I can see us spending a day or 2 to get to Rome vis Schiphol and arriving at the cruise having lost our hold cases, oh the relaxation of a holiday in the summer of 2022 😎.

 

If you are spending some time in Rome before the cruise you might consider sending a case to the hotel using one of the luggage transfer companies.

[Mark_T]

22 minutes ago, Beamafar said:

We’ve transferred through Schiphol on very tight slots many times without incident.  Our favourite airport to transfer in.  These times are an aberration.  Many airports are experiencing similar problems. 

That has been my experience too, for many years, but right now though the reality is very different it seems unfortunately.

[Rustyman]

11 minutes ago, john1970 said:

 

If you are spending some time in Rome before the cruise you might consider sending a case to the hotel using one of the luggage transfer companies.

Thanks John1970, but……..just looked into this and thought it a good price, £35 a case however the company Sendmybag.com say they can’t accept standard shipments to Italy without need to pay duties and taxes! 
it ain’t easy going on holiday this year😀.

Re the transfer time being too short in Schiphol, trying to get hold of Celebrity to see if they can rebook a later transfer can take much longer!

[TraderSam]

2 hours ago, Rustyman said:

Not stressing about it, just a bit peed off and not putting anything in the hold that we can’t afford to lose. 
The positive is that for once we’ve booked the whole package through Celebrity so are covered for anything that may go awry. If the worst comes to the worst there’s always the coffee bars of Amsterdam 😉.

This! We have always booked flights, hotels, cruises, etc ourselves and for the first time in 30 odd years, we are currently thinking that it would be safer to book a package through Celebrity.

Plus, flying from Scotland, direct flights are often with low cost airlines and I’m not sure travel agents or Celebrity use them so there’s usually a stop somewhere and so many airports are struggling😔

Might just stick with St Andrews😉⛳️

 

[laurieb]

On 7/21/2022 at 3:32 AM, Beamafar said:

We’re in a similar situation.  Flying from Dublin to Nice via Schiphol for an Azamara cruise in two weeks’ time with KLM.   We have 55 minutes between flights.   I discussed this with our TA as we’d considered booking a direct flight the day beforehand and staying overnight in Nice.  He’s of the opinion that there’s no need as there are plenty of options available, including Air France, as they’re a sister company of KLM.

 

Worst case scenario is we miss the ship and embark at the next port (for which we won’t incur any costs).  We’re now bringing a cabin bag each with enough clothes to get us by for a couple of days should our luggage not make it.  I’m refusing to get stressed about a situation that might not arise, but should it, stressing won’t change anything. 

I would highly recommend getting there a day ahead of time!  You never know if one of your flights will be canceled.  Hav e you checked with Azamara to make sure you could join at the next port?  They weren't allowing it earlier this year

[Beamafar]

25 minutes ago, laurieb said:

I would highly recommend getting there a day ahead of time!  You never know if one of your flights will be canceled.  Hav e you checked with Azamara to make sure you could join at the next port?  They weren't allowing it earlier this year

Thanks for the advice but the flight for the day before has now shot up in price, so we’re going to risk it.  For what it would cost for the flight, we could use that money for a hotel stay in Nice if we can’t embark.   

[Beamafar]

On 7/22/2022 at 4:49 PM, laurieb said:

I would highly recommend getting there a day ahead of time!  You never know if one of your flights will be canceled.  Hav e you checked with Azamara to make sure you could join at the next port?  They weren't allowing it earlier this year

Having given it some more thought, and finding a Ryanair flight direct to Nice, the day before embarkation, for half the cost of Aer Lingus, we’ve decided to go ahead and book it.  We weren’t confident that our luggage would transfer planes with the 55 minute layover in Schiphol  - never mind us making it.  It’s a small price to pay for the lessened risk.  If we encounter any problems with the Ryanair flight, at least we’ll have the following morning’s flight bookings to fall back on. 

[laurieb]

I think you made a very wise decision!  I hope you enjoy your cruise 😊

[AF-1]

Boy reading all your stories makes me wonder why I chose to fly home out of AMS next July

[Azulann]

Does AMS have  a hotel connected to airport? Looking at flights  June 24 2023: CPH to MSP with 13hr 10 min layover in AMS.  

Our multi city  flights from MSP to  Stockholm  thru AMS(5hr layover) is just fine on June 7  on Delta/KLM.

Good price for the whole deal is $1330.

[FlyerTalker]

The Schiphol website is your friend:

 

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/at-schiphol/hotels

 

Mercure and Yotel are inside security - the others are outside.

[Azulann]

6 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

The Schiphol website is your friend:

 

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/at-schiphol/hotels

 

Mercure and Yotel are inside security - the others are outside.

Thank you . I was on the Schiphol website but could not find the hotels .  

[Coolcruise02]

My daughter and I just stayed at the CitizenM. It was small but a nice bar/lobby area. It took us less than 5 minutes to walk to the check-in area.