Arriving at Amsterdam – European River Cruise

Arrival procedures at Amsterdam airport was a breeze and there was hardly any security checks at all.  We couldn’t resist a stop for coffee and a croissant before making our way to to the NH Center Hotel where all passengers were to meet. Beware that NH Hotel is a chain and there are a number of them in the city center, so be sure that you get the correct address.

Boarding of the boat does not take place till later in the afternoon and therefore the tour allows for two rooms where passengers could go and freshen up after your flights.  For us it was particularly useful after our 30 plus hours travel time from home.  Instead of hanging around in the hotel, we walked around the old city centre and the weather was brilliant. We came across a little park and I made some friends of a different kind.

We went past the American Hotel and were quite interested in having lunch there, but decided to give that a miss ’cause we weren’t quite dressed for the posh dining room.  We were really glad for that decision as we came across a little cafe that had the nicest bagels I’ve ever tasted.  It was a huge surprise for me to find such great quality bagels in this tiny non-descript place.  The joys of travel!

After lunch you have the option of doing a trip to Zaanse Schans, a model village that’s famous for its windmills.  You return from this outing at around 5 pm, just in time to be transferred to the MS Poetry.  Checking in was efficient and although the cabin was not as large as the one on our Egyptian cruise, we were pretty satisfied with it.

Helen