Need to get the final posts up from our trip earlier this year as just about to embark on another trip next week and determined to to post as we go this time.

We arrived back in Amsterdam and checked into the Mövenpick Hotel which we choose as it was the pickup point for out seven day Tulips and Windmills Tulip cruise tomorrow. We had a fantastic room overlooking the lake after hot showers and room service we enjoyed watching the sun disappear below the Amsterdam horizon.  The hotel was a little on the expensive side if booked through tour company but I was able to secure a good deal on hotels.com (A$196.39 much cheaper than quoted by cruise company $442 for the pre-cruise night). It was worth it to be settled in place and well rested before we had to checkin for cruise at 1pm

Up early the next morning headed in to centre Amsterdam to replace the bag that had parted company with one of it’s wheels conveniently while we were walking from the station to the hotel in the rain and towards the end the fine hail.  We must have looked like exhausted drowned rats when we checked in. After a yummy breakfast is a small French cafe we bagged a bag at the de Bijenkorf department store and headed back to the hotel to check in on our cruise.

Day one of cruise – 9th April 2014

At check in we were offered an optional pre-cruise 1/2 day cheese and windmill tour which we signed up for and really enjoyed the afternoon and it really set the scene for the next seven days.  This tour was like a little slice of Holland”
Working windmills, clog making, cheese making and tourist shopping all in one historic park. Zaanse Schans is the first ever industrial park in the world that had over 1100 industrial windmills in its prime. You get to go inside different working windmills (paint making, oil making and wood cutting)

We boarded at 5pm and settled into our beautiful cabin aboard the MS Impression which is part of the Avalon Waterways fleet. 


We attended the welcome reception and  speeches in Panorama Lounge before dressing for dinner, and what a dinner it was.  


The whole dining experience was far and above our expectations. The food and wine was sensational and service was top notch.  After some beautiful cheeses with our coffee we headed back to the cabin. 

We turned in and watching the riverbank slide by was a pleasant way to drift off to sleep. Our first night on board was an insight to what the next seven days are going to hold for us.

Overnight we sailed to Schoonhoven it was really relaxing with the gentle movement of the ship during the night. 









During the late evening and night we sailed through a number of locks.
I was able to watch this through the webcam on board which we could view from our TV.