Disembarkation in Amsterdam

[Skicruiser55]

I am looking at pre-booking a private transfer to the AMS airport.  What is the earliest time I can expect to be off the ship (we are in a Neptune suite)?  We have a 12:40 flight.  I have ships transfer booked but thinking it might be easier and faster to book our own transfer.  

[syesmar]

It’s hard to say because there are factors that can cause delays. We have been the very first off the ship in Amsterdam before, getting off at 7am (the scheduled time). But the last time we were in Amsterdam, we were delayed and didn’t arrive until 7:45am or so.

[YourWorldWithBill]

There was a thread here about last spring having very long delays getting through security lines at the AMS airport, causing difficulties connecting to flights. I've heard that it's gotten better, so you're surely okay. 

 

Our return flight was 10:00, so we decided to spend a day in Amsterdam after disembarkation.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Many things could happen.

[JeffElizabeth]

Agree. One cruise the locks weren't working properly and we missed our flight. 

[Sir PMP]

4 hours ago, Skicruiser55 said:

I am looking at pre-booking a private transfer to the AMS airport.  What is the earliest time I can expect to be off the ship (we are in a Neptune suite)?  We have a 12:40 flight.  I have ships transfer booked but thinking it might be easier and faster to book our own transfer.  

8:00 am off the ship, 9:00am at the airport, plenty of time.

[Mary229]

What month?  I left, walking,  the Hilton Schiphol at 7:15 am and barely made my 11:45 flight.  That was late May. 
 

I have to assume it will be more normalized this year, last year was the start up year and it was a disaster 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Mary229

[Skicruiser55]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

What month?  I left, walking,  the Hilton Schiphol at 7:15 am and barely made my 11:45 flight.  That was late May. 
 

I have to assume it will be more normalized this year, last year was the start up year and it was a disaster 

I hope so.  It will be a Saturday in July.  We will have priority checkin so that will help (I hope).  I booked air with Flight Ease.  

[Mary229]

17 minutes ago, Skicruiser55 said:

I hope so.  It will be a Saturday in July.  We will have priority checkin so that will help (I hope).  I booked air with Flight Ease.  

Watch the Schiphol website for updates on wait times, they do keep the website updated with problems.   I was Priority and that meant nothing.   
 

I would schedule for as early as possible, A private driver will wait.  Usually there is a built in wait time .  

[Skicruiser55]

1 minute ago, Mary229 said:

Watch the Schiphol website for updates on wait times, they do keep the website updated with problems.   I was Priority and that meant nothing.   
 

I would schedule for as early as possible, A private driver will wait.  Usually there is a built in wait time .  

Still wonder if I am better off using private driver instead of the ship’s transfer - that it might save time.  I wish now I’d booked a later flight.  It’s an acceptable Flight Ease schedule so I assume if there’s delays they will have to get me re-booked. 

[Mary229]

19 minutes ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Still wonder if I am better off using private driver instead of the ship’s transfer - that it might save time.  I wish now I’d booked a later flight.  It’s an acceptable Flight Ease schedule so I assume if there’s delays they will have to get me re-booked. 

Private drivers are great.  You can email/text  them ahead of time and make them aware of your concerns.  I have book marked some recommended services.  I will be back in a moment with a link

[Mary229]

2 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Private drivers are great.  You can email/text  them ahead of time and make them aware of your concerns.  I have book marked some recommended services.  I will be back in a moment with a link

Here is one.  https://schiphol-taxi.nl/en/services/schiphol-taxi-vanaf-de-standplaats 
 

some of our Dutch members could probably give you others.  @VMax1700 might have better suggestions 

[syesmar]

17 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

…I was Priority and that meant nothing.   
 

I would schedule for as early as possible, A private driver will wait.  Usually there is a built in wait time.

The last time we were in AMS (2019), our flight got canceled. Though we were AA Business Class, they did not open Priority lanes for the passengers on the canceled flight as we awaited re-booking. It took a looong time. Thankfully I had a list of backup flights for the next day.

Though we always take the train to get to AMS, we took a taxi and made great time (it was a Sunday). Insurance reimbursed us.

The times over the years I’ve traveled through AMS there hasn’t been a Priority lane for AA passengers going through security. Is this still the case?

[Mary229]

1 minute ago, syesmar said:

The last time we were in AMS (2019), our flight got canceled. Though we were AA Business Class, they did not open Priority lanes for the passengers on the canceled flight as we awaited re-booking. It took a looong time. Thankfully I had a list of backup flights for the next day.

Though we always take the train to get to AMS, we took a taxi and made great time (it was a Sunday). Insurance reimbursed us.

The times over the years I’ve traveled through AMS there hasn’t been a Priority lane for AA passengers going through security. Is this still the case?

There was a Priority line but last year there seemed to be plenty of new staff and it was taking them 20 minutes to check in a single bag. Rumor is AMS had fired all of their workers during the pandemic and just about everyone was new and fairly incompetent.  Hopefully they have all been trained by fire and this year will be much easier. 

[syesmar]

31 minutes ago, Skicruiser55 said:

Still wonder if I am better off using private driver instead of the ship’s transfer - that it might save time.  I wish now I’d booked a later flight.  It’s an acceptable Flight Ease schedule so I assume if there’s delays they will have to get me re-booked. 

The ship’s transfer has to wait on the other passengers to board the bus, so keep that in mind.

Having Flight Ease should give you the help you would need in case of issues. I’ve never used it, but there are some great tips on this forum from those who have.

All the Best!

[syesmar]

@Mary229 did you have a Priority Lane going through security after check-in? Thanks!

[Mary229]

7 minutes ago, syesmar said:

@Mary229 did you have a Priority Lane going through security after check-in? Thanks!

No. That was actually the easy part.  If you fly with carryon only or luggage forward it might be a lot easier.  It was the check in lines which were crazy. Security was slow but nothing like check in. When I entered the checkin line there were maybe 15 couples in line. 2 hours later……I was at security.  They were brutal in security/customs but it wasn’t a terrible wait, worse than DFW but not terrible.  Customs and security was maybe 45 minutes.  Schiphol does require a lot of walking so allow time 
 

One curious thing was since I had sailed transatlantic they wanted to see my HAL boarding pass to see how I had entered Europe.  Well I had been in Europe 3 weeks after I debarked HAL and did not have my boarding pass.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Mary229

[VMax1700]

We used staxi.nl to take us from Schiphol to Rotterdam and collect us after our cruise and deliver us to Schiphol again.  Would use them again.  The driver will contact you via Whatsapp or SMS, so you will need data or cell phone coverage.

 

[Iamthesea]

4 hours ago, Mary229 said:

What month?  I left, walking,  the Hilton Schiphol at 7:15 am and barely made my 11:45 flight.  That was late May. 
 

I have to assume it will be more normalized this year, last year was the start up year and it was a disaster 

 

How was the walk...how long did it take?  We are staying at the Hilton Schiphol on our last night in Amsterdam and have a flight at 10:35am.  Now wondering when we should leave the hotel.  We will have luggage to check in.  What is "luggage forward"?

3 hours ago, Mary229 said:

No. That was actually the easy part.  If you fly with carryon only or luggage forward it might be a lot easier.  It was the check in lines which were crazy. Security was slow but nothing like check in. When I entered the checkin line there were maybe 15 couples in line. 2 hours later……I was at security.  They were brutal in security/customs but it wasn’t a terrible wait, worse than DFW but not terrible.  Customs and security was maybe 45 minutes.  Schiphol does require a lot of walking so allow time 

Security at AMS is brutal...especially if passing through going from one flight to another.  I have never been treated so badly as I was going through their security at AMS.   My carry-on was turned inside out, and the matron (as I have since called her) broke my fingernail when she shooed me away from the case after she asked me to reach for something inside.  Weird and crazy!!!

Edited April 28, 2023 by Iamthesea

[Mary229]

8 hours ago, Iamthesea said:

How was the walk...how long did it take?

First understand, it is closer from the lobby than it is from the taxi stand.  Schiphol is an elongate airport, review the maps on their website before your travels.  From the lobby of the hotel to the checkin is an at least 10 full minutes for a brisk walker, maybe more.  We laughed when we finally boarded that we had gotten all of our steps in just at the airport.  HAL has a luggage shipping program in some locales, I think it is called luggage forward, maybe luggage direct.  Anyway there are quite a few luggage shipping programs out there. I have never tried them but it might be worth looking into. 

[BobbiSox]

I have a long historty with HAL and I whenever I cruise with them, I do everything cruise related through them, including transportation of course, and without fail I buy the insurance. If anything goes wrong, and it has, HAL takes care of everything. They will rebook flights, pay for your hotel and meals when needed, and provide transportation. I have heard horror stories involving passengers who booked anything outside of HAL, for anything. 

[Ockatty]

We are on the Rotterdam disembarking in Amsterdam tomorrow. Our prepaid ship transfer was canceled onboard because the flight is before 1:00. They told us to take a cab.

[Mary229]

1 hour ago, Ockatty said:

We are on the Rotterdam disembarking in Amsterdam tomorrow. Our prepaid ship transfer was canceled onboard because the flight is before 1:00. They told us to take a cab.

I am surprised that they did not disclose that when you booked.  Any tour/transfers I have had with HAL give that information in the description before purchasing.  It should be easy to get a cab or Uber at the terminal.  I see no alerts on the airport website.  Here is their tool with their expected congestion report.  https://www.schiphol.nl/en/my-travel-day/today

[Skicruiser55]

1 hour ago, Ockatty said:

We are on the Rotterdam disembarking in Amsterdam tomorrow. Our prepaid ship transfer was canceled onboard because the flight is before 1:00. They told us to take a cab.

Being new to HAL I am glad I asked this question since I would be impacted having bought the HAL transfer.  Based on this information I will pre-arrange a private transfer,  

[syesmar]

1 hour ago, Ockatty said:

We are on the Rotterdam disembarking in Amsterdam tomorrow. Our prepaid ship transfer was canceled onboard because the flight is before 1:00. They told us to take a cab.

We took a cab on a Sunday in 2019 after disembarking and it cost right at $85 USD for the 2 of us. We got at the airport in good time with no traffic issues. After previous sailings, we’ve walked/taken a tram/taken a taxi to the train station and then a train to Schiphol, but the taxi was by far our easiest mode getting to the airport.

All the Best!

Edited April 28, 2023 by syesmar