Has anyone taken a tulip cruise with Viking?

[sharkster77]

(A duplication of a post on the "Ports" page that has not gotten much traffic)

 

We are booked on Tulips and Windmills with Viking next April.

 

On one day, there is an included morning excursion to Bruges (an option is to take a full-day tour of Bruges).   I think the ship is docked in Ghent at that time.

 

Here's my question:  is the ship docked close enough to central Ghent to walk into town?  We appear to have the afternoon free, I would hate to be that close to the Ghent Altarpiece and not check it out.

[Squawkman]

We did tulips with Viking this past spring. We did the morning Bruges excursion and honestly don’t remember if there was access to Ghent in the afternoon. FWIW, at some point during the cruise, we were informed that we would disembark in Rotterdam (not Amsterdam). This was not an issue for us as we used Viking air and did not do any extensions. I believe Viking supplied transportation to Amsterdam for those who had post cruise plans there, but not sure if anyone had issues.

[pontac]

3 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We are booked on Tulips and Windmills with Viking next April.

 

We are booked on this cruise 27 March 2024 - 5 April 2024 so while I doubt I'll remember this thread then, if you don't get an answer you can rely on jog my memory next March

[sharkster77]

45 minutes ago, pontac said:

 

We are booked on this cruise 27 March 2024 - 5 April 2024 so while I doubt I'll remember this thread then, if you don't get an answer you can rely on jog my memory next March

We sail on the 5th, when you are ending---we may cross each other on the gangplank!

 

I sent a question to Viking about this, and they didn't really answer my question, except to say the ship is docked in Ghent until 10PM--be back on board by 8PM.  Never said how easy it would be to visit Ghent on our own.

[Host Jazzbeau]

We did a Tulip Time cruise on AMA last year.  My notes show that the walking tour of Ghent required a bus, and after we staying in Ghent on our own to see the Altarpiece etc. we had a 15-minute cab ride back to the ship.  

 

AMA had offered three choices for Bruges, Ghent, and Bruges/Ghent.  Only the all-day Ghent tour was scheduled to visit the Altarpiece, and that tour was cancelled for lack of interest – but the AMA Cruise Director bought retail tickets for DW and me so that we would see it after the 1/2 day Ghent walking tour.  It was absolutely worth structuring our day around!  Not only is the Altarpiece magnificent (and restored to like-new condition), but they have created an excellent introductory exhibit to give you context.  We spent at least an hour in the cathedral in the pre-exhibit in the crypt wearing VR [Virtual Reality] headsets and then up to the altarpiece itself.  Note that you must buy timed tickets in advance.  For more information, here is my blog of our cruise [Ghent is in post #7]:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2875948-review-of-tulip-time-cruise-on-amaserena-april-17–25-2022/

[sharkster77]

Thanks @Host Jazzbeau, I have time to sort this out, but your info is very helpful.  As I said, I could not go to Ghent and not see the altarpiece!  As far as I can tell, Viking does not have excursions into Ghent, included or additional.  Something I plan to pester someone about!

[Mitina]

2 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

except to say the ship is docked in Ghent until 10PM--be back on board by 8PM.  Never said how easy it would be to visit Ghent on our own.

I'm pretty sure the ship docks in Antwerp.  We have the Bruges & Ghent Pre and the last day of the extension we spend time in Ghent, but then are driven to Antwerp to join the ship.  No answer from Viking on how much time we have in Ghent.  Makes it tough to reserve a timed ticket on our own for the Altarpiece.

[sharkster77]

2 hours ago, Mitina said:

I'm pretty sure the ship docks in Antwerp.  We have the Bruges & Ghent Pre and the last day of the extension we spend time in Ghent, but then are driven to Antwerp to join the ship.  No answer from Viking on how much time we have in Ghent.  Makes it tough to reserve a timed ticket on our own for the Altarpiece.

Viking did tell me the ship left Ghent (not Antwerp) at 10PM.  Did not see a extensions from Viking that did Bruges and Ghent.  Saw Amsterdam pre and post, and The Hague.

 

EDIT:  Bruges and Ghent are extensions on "Holland and Belgium", a different itinerary than "Tulips and Windmills".  @Mitina, you must be on Holland and Belgium? A major difference between the two is that H & B does Keukenhof at the beginning, while T & W does it at the end.

Edited September 6, 2023 by sharkster77

[Mitina]

54 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

you must be on Holland and Belgium?

We are on Holland & Belgium, but sailing the Bruges to Amsterdam direction.  We'll do Keukenhof at the end (closer to mid April)

[sharkster77]

9 minutes ago, Mitina said:

We are on Holland & Belgium, but sailing the Bruges to Amsterdam direction.  We'll do Keukenhof at the end (closer to mid April)

Ah, OK.  On Tulips and Windmills, we sail AMS to AMS.  Doing a post-extension in The Hague. We do Antwerp, Bruges, and Ghent in Belgium.

[Traveler145]

We are on the Viking Holland and Belgium cruise beginning April 22, 2024, in Amsterdam, and are waiting for excursions to be posted.  For anyone who has visited Keukenhof on a Viking excursion, can you tell me if Viking gives you much free time to explore the gardens on your own?  The description of the optional excursion on Viking’s website includes a statement about free time to explore the gardens, but the  description of the included excursion does not. There are reviews from a few years ago that seem to indicate that on the included excursions Viking gives you a choice of spending three hours at Keukenhof or staying five hours and taking a later bus back to the boat.

Thanks very much.

[knoxclone]

We visited Keukenhof on a the Viking Tulip Time cruise in March of 2018. We arrived shortly after opening, and were provided two departure options.  

 

We started with a short guided tour, explaining the history, and layout or the site, and from there  you could either stay with the guide or be turned loose with instructions on where to meet the guides to return to the buses. 

 

 

 

Edited January 7 by knoxclone
typo

[Squawkman]

2 hours ago, knoxclone said:

We visited Keukenhof on a the Viking Tulip Time cruise in March of 2018. We arrived shortly after opening, and were provided two departure options.  

 

We started with a short guided tour, explaining the history, and layout or the site, and from there  you could either stay with the guide or be turned loose with instructions on where to meet the guides to return to the buses. 

 

 

 

We experienced the same on our Viking tulips cruise this past year.

[Traveler145]

Thank you.

[ural guy]

Just throwing this out there, a bus runs from Keukenhof directly to Central Train Station, dropping you off on the water side, so a 15 ish minute walk to the cruise port docking spot.  This may help if a shuttle doesn't line up with what you want to do.

 

If you're really into plants, stop in Leiden and visit the botanical gardens, established in 1590's!  Leiden is an easy spot to do a precruise on your own.  Less than 20 minutes from Schipol by train, same distance to Keukenhof by direct bus so you can get your leisurely visit in.  There are combo bus/garden entrance tickets.  

[Traveler145]

Thank you.  Great information.