TimF1975

I'm taking a cruise that arrives in Rotterdam at 7:00AM. Is it reasonable to think that I can make it to AMS in time for a 1:15PM flight? I've never taken a cruise before and have never been to the Netherlands before so I'm not sure of the timings for each.

Aviatrix

Let's work this backwards...:

1.15 departure (long-haul, I presume?) => you want to be at the airport at 11.15 (slightly later will do, but let's work on 11.15)

The train journey from Rotterdam Central takes between 25 and 45 minutes, depending on the type of train - so that's 10.30.

I don't know where the port is in relation to the train station, but it can't be more than an hour by taxi - so that's 9.30

This means that as long as you can be off the cruise ship by 9.30 you should have no problem (never having been on a cruise I don't know how long it takes to get everybody off the ship).

stut

It's very central - just next to the wonderful old HAL terminal on Wilhelminakade (just the other side of the Erasmusbrug). It should only take 5-10 minutes to Rotterdam CS. Annoyingly, the great little Watertaxi service can only take you to Rotterdam-Blaak station, which is hardly worth the effort.

Do bear in mind that Rotterdam Centraal is currently under serious renovation works at the moment. I don't know how they've advanced since last summer when I was there, but there was little apart from the platforms and some temporary structures.

Buying train tickets can be a hassle, as a result. Unless you have a Maestro card, you will need to queue up at the temporary ticket office, and pay there, including a supplement. You can buy print-at-home tickets online at http://www.ns.nl/, but make sure you buy an 'open' ticket unless you're very confident about your disembarkation time.

Your destination station is Schiphol. You may actually end up with enough time for a very quick trip into Amsterdam and back by train.

JoostvD

I think it is a little better than that now. Bear in mind, when the stations undergo major works, the NS usually assigns extra workers to the station to help with questions.
All tickets, unless they are for special trains, like Thalys, ICE, etc., are usually open tickets. If you reserve seats, however, it will not be an open ticket. It is not a very great distance, so taking the non-special train with no seat reservation should be no problem.

You also could try to get an OV Chipkaart. With this, you do not need to buy train tickets. You would have to buy the card before your trip and be sure it has enough pre-paid value for the journey. You can look here (http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/) for more information (look for UK at the top).

stut

[QUOTE=JoostvD;15401138]I think it is a little better than that now. Bear in mind, when the stations undergo major works, the NS usually assigns extra workers to the station to help with questions.[QUOTE]

Ah, glad to hear it. I was over with my bike in the summer, and, as I don't have a Maestro card, found it rather irritating to have to find somewhere to park my bike, unload my panniers, queue up, etc, so I could get my 'dagkaart fiets' and ticket!

True, but if you're booking online from Rotterdam to Schiphol, the first option that the NS site throws up is the Fyra, with the 'actie tarief' being promoted quite heavily at the moment.

Yes, I wish I'd done this (not that it would have helped with the bike). However, IIRC you still need to get a supplement if you want to use the Fyra service (or is this something you can buy on board?)

JoostvD

If you use this page: http://www.ns.nl/reisplanner-v2/index.shtml you can just not check "toon hogesnelheidtreinen" and you won't see Fyra. But, you can always choose to ignore it anyway.

The NS stopped selling tickets on the train several years ago. If I remember correctly, you will have to pay for a ticket and a large penalty if you go on a train without a ticket. Yes, there is a supplement for Fyra, but it does not make much sense to use it except in a few special circumstances - for example, if you must be somewhere at a certain time and you cannot leave before a certain time.

By the way, if you use Google maps, the NS has worked with Google and the routeplanner now includes NS trains for the entire country. Bear in mind, I use goggle.nl, I assume it also works in other countries as well.

TimF1975

Thanks for all the feedback everyone -- very helpful.

thijsseh

The ov chipcard is not really an option for a once-off train journey. First of all, you will have to buy the card itself (I think 7.5 Euros), then you will have to register for 'pay-as-you go travel' (its called 'reizen op saldo' in Dutch) which can only be done via the internet. Then you will have to load a minimum of 20 Euros onto the card in order to be able to use it. I travel to the Netherlands fairly often (a few times a year) and although I found it a major hassle to get the ov thing all organised, its worth it for me. But for once - off use, its a nightmare. Why they did not benchmark with the Oyster card (London) is beyond me. That's so user friendly, takes just a few minutes after you arrive at the machine at LHR before you are on your way.

JoostvD

Not all of this is correct. For example, if you already have a railway discount card (voordeelurenkaart), the OV function is free. Also there is no fixed price (7,50 is the advised price, but some transport companies charge less). You can also give value to the card after you arrive here in any value you like. You need to go to the customer service window and tell them how much you would like and, of course, give them the money.

But, I agree with you there are problems with it. Nevertheless, even for someone coming here only once a year a 7,50 charge is not a great expense considering that no more tickets have to be bought, that the card is also valid on local buses and trams, and that the value of the card can be (somewhat) easily increased at machines in supermarkets, for example. The cards are, I believe, valid for five years, so even someone coming once a year can get good value.

thijsseh

I certainly agree that for 'recurring' trips, even if it is fairly irregularly, the ov chipcard is a good option. To me (and as you also mention), the main benefit is that you don't have to buy loose tickets any more for trains, trams and buses (and the metro in A'dam and R'dam). That's why I have one and I am happy with it.
But for the OP, who is arriving on a cruise and has to get to Schiphol (and presumably has no future travel plans to Holland) , I would advise against it, on the grounds already mentioned (especially the registering for 'reizen op saldo', which cannot be done at a window at the station but only via internet (I have been assured of this several times at Amsterdam CS and other stations). For completeness, this registration is not required for travel on other forms of public transport, only on the train (NS). But since the OP wants to take the train, thats really a problem.

roberto99

Since the OP is just taking a one-off trip, why not just buy a ticket from the ticket vending machine?

Second class: € 10,70 (perfectly fine for the 24-47 minute trip)
First class: € 18,20

Unfortunately, unless the OP has a chip credit card, payment must be with COINS ONLY.

janwillem

the ticket vending machines accept coins? that's new to me. I thought if you want to pay cash you need to go to the ticket window (and pay 50 cents extra for the privilege)

JoostvD

The Dutch rail, to update the ticket machine, for example, for OV cards, has just added the function to older machines. So, there is not now one official NS ticket machine. Here, for example, are two machines, both updated for the OV card, but using two different paying systems. I believe the older machine on the left can accept coins.

kaka

back then (2007) there are always coin machines (1-2) in delft station. i'd assume most other stations have a few of those as well.

and when i was last there, i asked someone who was buying a ticket to sort me out as well. and i could pay her cash: bills AND coins.

YVR Cockroach

For whatever reason, I could never get the ticket machines in AMS to accept my Euro coins. Maybe they only liked the Dutch Euros?