Recently somebody asked if any of us had been on the Holland and Belgium Tulip river cruise. I did that trip last month--April 13-20. It was fabulous! Great itinerary, excursions, ship, guides--everything. And the tulips! Can I put "wow" in all caps? WOW! I'll do my best to answer any questions you have.
Holland and Belgium Cruise Comments
- Thread starter JenaRuns
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rebeccam31
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2013
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I was also on that trip! My daughter and I had the loveliest time.
I'll be glad to tell you about our excursions. They were all great with one exception, which I'll get to in a minute.
Kampen: Tulip Field Visit. We rode the bus to the Tulip Picking Garden in Marknesse, where we got to pick 10 tulips each to take back to the ship and decorate our cabin. (We picked only five each, because the vases ABD provided were small.) The lady who owns the farm gave us a short orientation presentation, explaining how to pick the tulips. We were also given a cup of coffee or tea, as well as a spicy cookie so good that I did my best to replicate it when I got home.
Middleburg: Walking Tour and Zeeuws Museum. I enjoyed this tour, hearing about the history of the city.
Ghent, Belgium: In the morning--Walking tour with Canal Cruise. This involved a lot of walking on uneven, cobblestone streets, but it was enjoyable and I learned a lot. The canal cruise was relaxing and gave us a fine perspective on the ancient city.
Ghent in the afternoon--Nibbling Through Ghent Tour. This was the one excursion that was less than ideal. There were close to two dozen in our group, too many people to fit into the tiny shops we visited. And the samples were very skimpy (for example, two tiny hard candies and one wafer at the first shop). The tour also involved a painful amount of walking, with blocks and blocks and blocks between stops, often duplicating the routes we had taken on the morning tour. The ABD guides were as distressed as we were, so I'm certain this will be fixed.
(My one gripe with ABD's plan for Ghent: We didn't get to see the famous altarpiece that the Monuments Men were so determined to liberate from the Nazis. You have to pay and get a timed ticket to see it, and we lacked these. Surely ABD could arrange for us to see the main attraction.)
Antwerp, Belgium: Morning--Floralia Flower Exhibition at Grand Bigard Castle. This was fantastic. Gorgeous tulips all over the huge garden, which we were able to explore on our own. We couldn't go inside the castle, but it made for great photos. I could imagine the Three Musketeers galloping over the ancient bridge and up to the castle. It was an awesome excursion.
Antwerp in the afternoon: Antwerp Walking Tour and Cathedral of Our Lady. This was another excellent tour that included seeing a huge painting by Rubens, movingly explained by our local guide. An option was to climb about a zillion steps to the top of the southern tower. Four of our group, including me, passed on this. Our ABD guide Michaela (am I spelling that right?) took the four of us across the square to a sidewalk cafe, bought us hot drinks, and we enjoyed a fine break and chance to visit while the others climbed. It was an excellent example of ABD's willingness to accommodate everybody.
Delft: Morning--Royal Delft Factory Tour. This one exceeded my expectations. The tour was something I would never have thought to do on my own. We each painted a tile to take home as a souvenir. I'm a disaster at every form of art and thought this would be a painful experience, but it was fun. We also had time to shop for beautiful Delft items in their factory shop. Fun all around!
Delft in the afternoon--Kinderdijk. Dutch windmills! A boat tour! Meeting a miller! Learning about those iconic windmills! Having another stroopwafle! Great afternoon.
Amsterdam: Morning--Keukenhof Gardens. There are no words to describe this garden. They put out seven million tulip and daffodil bulbs every year. Seven million. Absolutely breathtaking. Go there. Don't miss it.
Amsterdam in the afternoon--Canal Cruise. This was well-planned and executed. Good route. Good narration. At the end, the skipper very kindly offered to take us back to the city center if we preferred that, which several of us did. Good on him!
That's it for the excursions. I highly recommend all of them except for the Ghent food tour. We also did a couple of pre-trip days in Amsterdam, because we wanted to see the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijkmuseum (Vermeers and Rembrandts), and also do a food tour (Adam and Eve was the company and it was most excellent) and have afternoon tea (The Duchess, incredible!).
I hope this helps!
Kampen: Tulip Field Visit. We rode the bus to the Tulip Picking Garden in Marknesse, where we got to pick 10 tulips each to take back to the ship and decorate our cabin. (We picked only five each, because the vases ABD provided were small.) The lady who owns the farm gave us a short orientation presentation, explaining how to pick the tulips. We were also given a cup of coffee or tea, as well as a spicy cookie so good that I did my best to replicate it when I got home.
Middleburg: Walking Tour and Zeeuws Museum. I enjoyed this tour, hearing about the history of the city.
Ghent, Belgium: In the morning--Walking tour with Canal Cruise. This involved a lot of walking on uneven, cobblestone streets, but it was enjoyable and I learned a lot. The canal cruise was relaxing and gave us a fine perspective on the ancient city.
Ghent in the afternoon--Nibbling Through Ghent Tour. This was the one excursion that was less than ideal. There were close to two dozen in our group, too many people to fit into the tiny shops we visited. And the samples were very skimpy (for example, two tiny hard candies and one wafer at the first shop). The tour also involved a painful amount of walking, with blocks and blocks and blocks between stops, often duplicating the routes we had taken on the morning tour. The ABD guides were as distressed as we were, so I'm certain this will be fixed.
(My one gripe with ABD's plan for Ghent: We didn't get to see the famous altarpiece that the Monuments Men were so determined to liberate from the Nazis. You have to pay and get a timed ticket to see it, and we lacked these. Surely ABD could arrange for us to see the main attraction.)
Antwerp, Belgium: Morning--Floralia Flower Exhibition at Grand Bigard Castle. This was fantastic. Gorgeous tulips all over the huge garden, which we were able to explore on our own. We couldn't go inside the castle, but it made for great photos. I could imagine the Three Musketeers galloping over the ancient bridge and up to the castle. It was an awesome excursion.
Antwerp in the afternoon: Antwerp Walking Tour and Cathedral of Our Lady. This was another excellent tour that included seeing a huge painting by Rubens, movingly explained by our local guide. An option was to climb about a zillion steps to the top of the southern tower. Four of our group, including me, passed on this. Our ABD guide Michaela (am I spelling that right?) took the four of us across the square to a sidewalk cafe, bought us hot drinks, and we enjoyed a fine break and chance to visit while the others climbed. It was an excellent example of ABD's willingness to accommodate everybody.
Delft: Morning--Royal Delft Factory Tour. This one exceeded my expectations. The tour was something I would never have thought to do on my own. We each painted a tile to take home as a souvenir. I'm a disaster at every form of art and thought this would be a painful experience, but it was fun. We also had time to shop for beautiful Delft items in their factory shop. Fun all around!
Delft in the afternoon--Kinderdijk. Dutch windmills! A boat tour! Meeting a miller! Learning about those iconic windmills! Having another stroopwafle! Great afternoon.
Amsterdam: Morning--Keukenhof Gardens. There are no words to describe this garden. They put out seven million tulip and daffodil bulbs every year. Seven million. Absolutely breathtaking. Go there. Don't miss it.
Amsterdam in the afternoon--Canal Cruise. This was well-planned and executed. Good route. Good narration. At the end, the skipper very kindly offered to take us back to the city center if we preferred that, which several of us did. Good on him!
That's it for the excursions. I highly recommend all of them except for the Ghent food tour. We also did a couple of pre-trip days in Amsterdam, because we wanted to see the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum, and Rijkmuseum (Vermeers and Rembrandts), and also do a food tour (Adam and Eve was the company and it was most excellent) and have afternoon tea (The Duchess, incredible!).
I hope this helps!
Oh, you also asked if there's anything helpful an adult cruiser should know. I would say to ignore all those blogs that tell you to wear cute shoes so you won't look like a crass American tourist. Forget it and wear athletic shoes. Those stony medieval streets are murder to walk on. And everybody was wearing athletic shoes.
I'd also highly recommend coming to Amsterdam a couple of days early. There's so much to see there, and hardly any of it is included in the ABD itinerary. Oh, and learn early in your visit to ride the city trolleys. It's easy--you don't even have to buy a ticket. Just swipe your credit card when you get on and when you get off. This saves you a ton of walking.
Schedule a food tour with the Adam and Eve folks. Our guide Todd showed us all around, providing loads of food we would never have found on our own, and sharing history with intelligence and good humor. This was a highlight.
Another highlight was our afternoon tea at the Duchess. The menu was delicious and unique in our experience, and the view and ambience were delightful.
One thought: ABD put us up at the Movenpick Hotel. It was very convenient to the cruise terminal but not to anything else. In my nightmares I still slog through the hike to Centraal Station over and over.
I'd also highly recommend coming to Amsterdam a couple of days early. There's so much to see there, and hardly any of it is included in the ABD itinerary. Oh, and learn early in your visit to ride the city trolleys. It's easy--you don't even have to buy a ticket. Just swipe your credit card when you get on and when you get off. This saves you a ton of walking.
Schedule a food tour with the Adam and Eve folks. Our guide Todd showed us all around, providing loads of food we would never have found on our own, and sharing history with intelligence and good humor. This was a highlight.
Another highlight was our afternoon tea at the Duchess. The menu was delicious and unique in our experience, and the view and ambience were delightful.
One thought: ABD put us up at the Movenpick Hotel. It was very convenient to the cruise terminal but not to anything else. In my nightmares I still slog through the hike to Centraal Station over and over.
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Mathmagicland
Disneyland - the original since 1955
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2014
- Messages
- 2,987
There is a tram stop (Bimhuis) up & across the road from the hotel, which goes to Centraal Station where you can catch the various tram lines into the city.
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