A couple of days ago, Scott and I took a dinner canal cruise here in Amsterdam. We’d been dying to get out on the water ever since our quick stint on a boat during the Eating Amsterdam food tour. We opted for the 2.5 hour dinner cruise with Holland International, because it’s always nice to get some food and drinks included as you’re enjoying yourself!
The cruise comes with a four course meal, a small amuse bouche, a glass of bubbly when you get on board and then unlimited drinks throughout the meal. This proved a bit lethal for us, as our friendly waiter kept topping up our glasses of wine which led to a bit of a hangover the next day. But hey ho, no-one’s complaining, right?
Amsterdam canal cruises like this one stay in and around the central canal ring of the city, meaning that you don’t venture too far from the main city. I was amazed that there was enough water to cover in 2.5 hours but the time flew by and before I knew it, we were docking back at Central Station and I hadn’t even finished my coffee! As boats like this one can’t have a real kitchen on board (I would assume that’s fire risk?), the menu is fairly limited. I would say that I enjoyed all of the food, but the salad, soup and dessert were the best parts because they hadn’t required much preparation and tasted fresh. As with an airline, when you have limited kitchen facilities, it’s difficult to make someone a main course, but our vegetarian lasagne was decent and I was glad that it came with asparagus because I was worried it would be too small a portion.
There wasn’t much commentary about the places we were passing, I think because the staff were so busy serving us and getting the food ready, but I don’t think anyone minded because they were too busy eating and drinking! I’d say it was just nice to be able to look out from the water and admire the pretty buildings and scenery. But if you’re just visiting the city for a weekend and want a cruise that has a little more in-depth background to the city and its history, then this isn’t the right choice for you. You’d do better booking on one of the daytime cruises that don’t include food or drink.
The line outside the Anne Frank House was still *huge* at 9.30pm. Flabbergasted.
Holland International run many cruises throughout the year for different budgets, interests and age groups. You can check their website for more information.
I was invited as a guest of Canal Company, who run the cruises, but all opinions are my own.
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