We are comparing Viking Tulips and Windmills and Grand Circle Holland and Belgium in Springtime river cruises. We's appreciate hearing from anyone who has taken either or has another to recommend. Since we are not avid cruisers, we question whether we would be wiser in cost-benefit and experience to simply use Amsterdam as a home base and rely on day trips or renting a car independently. (We're 75 and language limited) Any thoughts or suggestions?
Holland River Cruise or ???
Message Submitted by Wanda on Fri, 10/07/2011 - 11:12
Cruise vs. independent
I haven't taken either of the specific cruises you mentioned. I have done Uniworld's Amsterdam to Basel cruise and quite enjoyed the river cruise experience. It's a nice slow pace way of travel and everything is provided.
If you only want to see Holland and Belgium, however, I would recommend doing it independently. Language will definitely not be a problem in Holland; I never met anyone who did not speak English there. In Belgium you may occasionally run into someone who speaks little English, but if you know some basic French you will be O.K. You will, however, have to do your own travel planning rather than having a cruise director tell you where you are touring the next day so it will depend on your experience and comfort level with this. Public transport is very good in both countries and there is little need to rent a car; parking can be difficult in the cities.
We rented an apartment in Amsterdam on the Prinsengracht canal with two different tram lines nearby. In 30 minutes we could get from our apt. to the train station and be off for day tripping all over Holland. There were also options for group day tours by bus as well. Since we had an apt. we saved money on food just shopping at the local markets. In Belgium we also rented an apt. in Brussels although we found this city not quite as compact or quick to get around as Amsterdam. There are two major train stations here so researching which one would provide the best day tripping in advance of selecting an accommodation would be important.
If renting an apt. be sure to ask lots of questions in advance. Many are located in old buildings with steep stairs. Some have limited kitchen appliances. In Amsterdam we had a ground floor apt and in Brussels a top floor apt in a renovated building with an elevator. You also want to be close to public transportation and shopping.