Should we stay another night in Amsterdam?

[Laurie JJ]

We are fortunate enough to be going on a Norway Arctic Circle cruise next July from Amsterdam.  We are coming early from the states to spend 5 days in London and southern England and then flying over to Amsterdam the day before our cruise.  It will be a long trip so we were hoping to fly home on disembarkation day but the best flights I'm looking at leave Schipol at 11:40 am with a change of planes in London.  Is that too early?  Or should we plan to stay a night in Amsterdam post cruise and catch that same flight the next day?  

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Laurie JJ said:

It will be a long trip so we were hoping to fly home on disembarkation day but the best flights I'm looking at leave Schipol at 11:40 am with a change of planes in London.  Is that too early?  Or should we plan to stay a night in Amsterdam post cruise and catch that same flight the next day?  

Personally I would stay in Amsterdam the night and fly in the morning. Schipol, while better than it was a year ago this time, is still notorious for security delays etc which can slow you down considerably and frankly with an 11:40am international flight coming off of a cruise, you don't have much room to be slowed down. 

 

You are maybe 20-30 minutes from the cruise terminal to the airport if there isn't a ton of traffic. Could you make it? Probably. But it doesn't leave much wiggle room for anything to go wrong and it would be a colossal pain if you did indeed miss the flight. Amsterdam is a lovely place to get a nice hotel for the night, have a leisurely day after your cruise, and then get up and fly. 

[CCJack]

4 hours ago, princeton123211 said:

Personally I would stay in Amsterdam the night and fly in the morning. Schipol, while better than it was a year ago this time, is still notorious for security delays etc which can slow you down considerably and frankly with an 11:40am international flight coming off of a cruise, you don't have much room to be slowed down. 

 

You are maybe 20-30 minutes from the cruise terminal to the airport if there isn't a ton of traffic. Could you make it? Probably. But it doesn't leave much wiggle room for anything to go wrong and it would be a colossal pain if you did indeed miss the flight. Amsterdam is a lovely place to get a nice hotel for the night, have a leisurely day after your cruise, and then get up and fly. 

Agree.... timing is too tight for my liking...   Last summer we flew out of Schipol and the airport recommended arrival 4 hours ahead of flight.   Many, many people missed their flights in that airport.   Better now, but things could change again.   I would take the lower stress option and spend the night.  

[Laurie JJ]

Thank you both for your input!  Looks like we’ll “suffer” through another night in Amsterdam. I really don’t mind the excuse to explore another day in what looks like a beautiful city. 

[cruiseaholic78]

Here is a useful link with Schiphol info.

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/

Rosalyn

[Laurie JJ]

12 hours ago, cruiseaholic78 said:

Here is a useful link with Schiphol info.

https://www.schiphol.nl/en/

Rosalyn

Thank you!

[spirit rev]

This is a suggestion for getting from London to Amsterdam. The Eurostar has several trains, some direct, between the 2 cities. A direct train takes about 4 hours. Why not take the train and avoid airports  completely for that part of your trip?

Edited August 21, 2023 by spirit rev

[Laurie JJ]

4 hours ago, spirit rev said:

This is a suggestion for getting from London to Amsterdam. The Eurostar has several trains, some direct, between the 2 cities. A direct train takes about 4 hours. Why not take the train and avoid airports  completely for that part of your trip?

I'll look at that too.  Thanks!

[Globaliser]

On 8/19/2023 at 6:22 PM, Laurie JJ said:

We are coming early from the states to spend 5 days in London and southern England and then flying over to Amsterdam the day before our cruise.

 

14 hours ago, spirit rev said:

This is a suggestion for getting from London to Amsterdam. The Eurostar has several trains, some direct, between the 2 cities. A direct train takes about 4 hours.

 

In relation to this part of the trip, the train is indeed a good idea.

 

But if you ultimately do decide to fly then don't forget that there are flights from London City Airport to Amsterdam. If you're already in central London, this could make much more sense than schlepping out to Heathrow for the short flight over to Amsterdam.

[Meander Ingwa]

Agree with @Globaliser  I am returning from Norway via A'dam to City Airport, which is a quick 15 minute ride to my hotel near Greenwich.  A small airport is always more pleasant.  But I do love a train ride and if the schedule works, that is a great option , too.  It may be slower, but infinitely more interesting to see the sights whizz by.  Plus the advantage of trains overall is they leave from and arrive in the heart of the city, saves on the logistics of that.  For A'dam that means you arrive just a few blocks from the ship port

[badtwin]

Slightly off topic but related to Amsterdam early flights.. 

 

We are flying Delta/KLM.  I know from websites there are check-in kiosks at KLM area of Schipol.  Will US citizens be able to check bags at kiosk for an international flight to USA?

 

I know to get an appointment for security  but I have heard the bigger issue for travelers is the check-in lines with the airlines.  I am happy with a kiosk if they will let us.

 

Does anyone know from experience?

 

I will try to find out from airline but it would give me more comfort to hear from someone with real recent experience.