Our trip to the Netherlands April 2020
 

For those of you who have followed my previous threads about our adventures to the Canadian Rockies on the Rocky Mountaineer, and the Paris to Normandy Seine River cruise (via Avalon Waterways), here is the next, but I hope not the last, installment. I have just booked a Tulip Time Cruise, again with Avalon, for next April. You know I always plan well ahead. :) Here is the itinerary. After consultation with the +1, I chose the Garden and Nature Lover themed cruise, so there is an emphasis on gardens in addition to the regular tours offered. Of course, the stars of this trip are the beautiful tulips. I have been to some of the places on the itinerary, including Amsterdam and the spectacular Keukenhof Gardens. The +1 has been to Rotterdam. But there will be plenty new for us to see and experience. Really looking forward to this one.

https://www.avalonwaterways.com/river-cruise/tulip-time-cruise/waa/

More to follow up to the time of the cruise, as well as pics afterwards. Will be booking flights on Air France shortly. Really loved Air France for our Paris trip.

Should have included Belgium in the title, since two of the stops are Antwerp and Ghent!

I traveled on business to Amsterdam and Germany. I loved Amsterdam. Friendly people who spoke good English and the best beer anywhere. We toured the Heineken brewery did some window shopping and got to know the locals who invited us to their private club. I would like to take the river cruises and see the places you did. Are these the Viking cruises I see advertised.

Looks like a great trip, Deb. We did a DIY tour in early May 2016 to see the Keukenhof Gardens. Stayed in our favorite nearby town, Haarlem; took the train almost everywhere. As Ray said, the people are very friendly and English widely spoken.

My only issue with the Europe river cruises is this tiny print on your cruise: "n the event of technical or water level issues, it may be necessary to operate the itinerary by motorcoach or alter the program, including hotel overnight when necessary" We have a couple friends who have had to deal with this issue in the past year or two, which sort of takes away some of the "unpack once" concept of a cruise.

It is a gamble but I still think we’ll worth it. We will see.

Patty and I have discussed Viking’s Windmill and Tulip Cruise but much of the cruise is the same as what we will see this October. I am pushing for the Northern Lights cruise (the same one that Viking just had problems with) but Patty isn’t convinced yet being it is in the dead of winter plus above the Arctic Circle.

Water was not an issue on our trip in France. They have to put that disclaimer in there. It would never keep me from taking a river cruise. Mother Nature can disrupt any vacation.

And Ray - our cruise to France and this new one are with Avalon. I did a lot of research before booking our cruise in France and determined that Avalon was the best for what we wanted. Many passengers on our cruise reaffirmed that we made the right choice. Some of them had cruised with Avalon multiple times. I have nothing negative to say about the company or the boat. Just fantastic all around. We actually were on board a Viking boat docked at one of the ports we visited because the boats are sometimes stacked against a dock. We walked through a Viking boat to get to the dock. Viking is obviously a popular choice, just not the one I preferred.

Looking like Air France may not be the carrier. They do not have any direct flights to Amsterdam from Dulles. I definitely want direct going. Coming back don't really care. So I'm investigating a couple of other options. TBD...

David - the fjords of Norway, Northern Lights, etc have long been on my list of dream trips. Just not sure when we will get there. Logistics and cost are more of an issue.

Thanks for the referral, I only knew about Viking so that would be worth looking in to. Our friends got stranded on a Viking cruise due to water levels and had to go by motor coach. It is a gamble.