Home to the Anne Frank House, Canals, Flower markets, the Van Gogh Museum and the famous red light district, Amsterdam has been a firm itinerary favourite for many years of both Mini Cruise and Northern European City Cruisers, however, the City of Amsterdam has now announced that they will introduce a tourist tax for visitors to the Netherlands Capital.

The new Tourist tax Levy of 8 Euros will be an addition to the port fees and taxes already included in the cruise fare, but an added expense for cruisers to consider when choosing their ideal itinerary, it will be applicable for all passengers visiting the city during their cruise enjoying an overnight stay and will be introduced from January 2019, Anyone starting or ending their voyage in the city will not have to pay

Cruise and Maritime Voyages have taken the decision to replace calls to Amsterdam and instead have come to an agreement with the local authorities and will instead dock in Rotterdam – 43 Miles away from the city

Other cruise lines have made comment to the recent tourist tax however Holland America & P&O Have no plans to change itinerary and other popular cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean & Fred Olsen have stated they will monitor the situation before making a decision.

Rotterdam is most definitely a destination cruisers shouldn’t overlook – Take a trip to the idyllic town of Delft – Famous for its blue Porcelain, Take a trip to the Hague – The third largest city in the Netherlands or even visit Rotterdam’s own Oceanarium complete with an Underwater tunnel surrounded by Sharks

So what does that mean for cruisers wanting to visit Amsterdam?

The Netherlands is very easily accessible with a fantastic transport network, on my most recent cruise with Cunard in August we docked in Rotterdam and took the train to Amsterdam – A return ticket is 35 Euros for the fast train from Rotterdam central and will take you to Amsterdam central – From here the city itself is easy enough to navigate whether you decide on a Relaxing Canal cruise or explore Dam Square on foot.

So will this change affect your next cruise? Will you still be keen to visit the city?

Eliza x