Getting ready for cruise from Rotterdam

[KBC73]

We are on the Anniversary Cruise from Rotterdam to Fort Lauderdale and we have a couple of questions.

 

I can't print luggage tags or boarding pass from HAL website, and I can't seem to have them sent to email. I get an error message.

Should I wait a couple of days and try again?

 

We don't have an international cell phone and it seems all the taxis from Amsterdam to Rotterdam want a cell number to notify you about pick-up.

Is it possible to hail a cab at the airport to Rotterdam?

[Jammu2]

Do you have a lot of luggage?

 

The train is great. Leaves every half hour. But it can be tricky if you are dragging a lot of bags.

 

There are cabs, of course. There are also coaches.

 

Hope you have a wonderful trip!

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

When you arrive at the port ask for a luggage tag. 

[Ine]

Look for the sign of official cabs at the airport. Donot take one of these that are offered to you inside the terminal, most of the times they are not official and often overcharge. 

[VMax1700]

9 hours ago, KBC73 said:

We don't have an international cell phone and it seems all the taxis from Amsterdam to Rotterdam want a cell number to notify you about pick-up.

There is free wifi at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

Use WhatsApp for contact as it does not need 'an international cell phone'.  

We booked a car with staxi.nl and driver contacted us by WhatsApp.

The instructions from staxi.nl were clear and precise and all worked well.  (It is necessary to go up one level from arrivals to departures to meet the car.)

Otherwise use the train. The train platforms are below the airport terminal.  Tickets can be purchased in machines or the ticket office within the terminal Plaza area.

 

[Nang]

We used the train to get from Amsterdam to Rotterdam and return back  to Schiphol in September. Used cabs from the train station in Rotterdam to the cruise terminal and vice versa.  Just went to the cab rank at either end. Was easy peasy. Cab fare was 25euro to and 20euro back (there was quite a queue of cabs trying to get into the cruise terminal to drop off passengers but exiting was much quicker).

[luvn2cruzzz]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

There is free wifi at Amsterdam Schiphol airport.

Use WhatsApp for contact as it does not need 'an international cell phone'.  

We booked a car with staxi.nl and driver contacted us by WhatsApp.

The instructions from staxi.nl were clear and precise and all worked well.  (It is necessary to go up one level from arrivals to departures to meet the car.)

Otherwise use the train. The train platforms are below the airport terminal.  Tickets can be purchased in machines or the ticket office within the terminal Plaza area.

 

Thanks for your information. Is it clearly marked from the baggage area how to get to the departure level?  

[VMax1700]

46 minutes ago, luvn2cruzzz said:

Thanks for your information. Is it clearly marked from the baggage area how to get to the departure level?  

Yes, the airport is very well signed. You need to head to Departures 3 so you will take an elevator up one floor. There are plenty of elevators.  If you arrive to Arrivals 1 it may be a bit of a walk to the elevators, but it is inside and comfortable.

Here is a link to the website for staxi. 

https://www.staxi.nl/en/pickup-locations/schiphol-airport-pickup/

If you scroll down the page you will see the instructions for meeting your driver.  The driver may call you, but he uses Whatsapp for the call, so no cost to you (just stay inside the terminal to ensure the wifi signal!)

I was a little apprehensive when I booked them, but after our experience from the airport to Rotterdam, I went ahead and booked them for the return journey at the end of our cruise.

I booked with 'Cash Payment to driver'

 

p.s. the Rotterdam is a great ship!  You will surely enjoy it.

p.p.s. Verifly is worth the effort!  It certainly speeds up the boarding process in Rotterdam.

Edited October 3, 2022 by VMax1700
forgot to post link!

[rodndonna]

28 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

p.p.s. Verifly is worth the effort!  It certainly speeds up the boarding process in Rotterdam.

 

Agree - when our colour was called to board, there was a ton of people in a queue. We were asked if we had Verifly - said yes  -and voila - went to a separate empty queue.

 

I suspect because there was such a large component of Europeans who are not familiar with Verifly, that was the reason the Verifly line so short.

[Tjcal]

We took train from Schipol to Amsterdam. The train that we took was a direct train to Rotterdam Centraal. Took about 30 minutes. Then  we took a tram available right outside station to wilaminapier which took about 15 minutes. Then a 10 minute walk to cruise terminal. Train was about 19 Euros and Tram was 4 euros. 4 euro senior tram to pass  got us 24 hours of use of tram,metro and buses in Rotterdam. We are seniors and I do like trains. We had 1 large bag each and 1 carry on and it was pretty easy. You can pre buy train tickets good for essentially all day. I pre bought train online thru 9292 app. You can also buy tram tickets as well but I did not. Your phone becomes your ticket. 

[luvn2cruzzz]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Yes, the airport is very well signed. You need to head to Departures 3 so you will take an elevator up one floor. There are plenty of elevators.  If you arrive to Arrivals 1 it may be a bit of a walk to the elevators, but it is inside and comfortable.

Here is a link to the website for staxi. 

https://www.staxi.nl/en/pickup-locations/schiphol-airport-pickup/

If you scroll down the page you will see the instructions for meeting your driver.  The driver may call you, but he uses Whatsapp for the call, so no cost to you (just stay inside the terminal to ensure the wifi signal!)

I was a little apprehensive when I booked them, but after our experience from the airport to Rotterdam, I went ahead and booked them for the return journey at the end of our cruise.

I booked with 'Cash Payment to driver'

 

p.s. the Rotterdam is a great ship!  You will surely enjoy it.

p.p.s. Verifly is worth the effort!  It certainly speeds up the boarding process in Rotterdam.

Thanks for your information.  I come in to Arrivals 3 so sounds like that is closer.  I sailed on her maiden voyage last fall and loved her and thanks for the verify information.  Also, how much are they adhering to boarding times?

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, luvn2cruzzz said:

Also, how much are they adhering to boarding times?

The staff were checking boarding times before granting access to the terminal.

[KBC73]

23 hours ago, KBC73 said:

I can't print luggage tags or boarding pass from HAL website, and I can't seem to have them sent to email. I get an error message.

Should I wait a couple of days and try again?

I called HAL late today and the person I talked to was able to email the boarding passes and luggage tags to me.

 

One less thing to worry about.