Getting There By Water
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Amsterdam is a busy port city and one of the top ten most important cruise ship harbours in Europe, although less than 100 cruise ships visited the city in 2002 and cruise passenger levels dropped to below 100,000 over the same period. Amsterdam’s business ports are run by Ports of Amsterdam (tel: (020) 523 4500; website: www.amsterdamports.nl), while information on cruise ship services is available from Amsterdamcruise (tel: (020) 551 2557; fax: (020) 625 2869; website: www.amsterdamcruise.com). The main cruise hub, which can handle two cruise ships at one time, is based at the funky new passenger terminal at Oostelijke Handelskade, located on the edge of the city centre (tel: (020) 5091 000; website: www.ptamsterdam.com), which is equipped with restaurants, bars and ATMs. The new Felison Terminal, on the IJ meer (tel: (0255) 545 420; website: www.felisonterminal.nl), was opened by the same operator in time for the summer 2003 season. The main ferry terminal for services around Europe is situated further south, at Hook of Holland (tel: (017) 438 9333), where the terminal has a restaurant but no banking or exchange facilities.
Ferry services: Cross-channel ferries are run by StenaLine (tel: (08705) 455 455; website www.stenaline.co.uk), which operates a rail/fast-ferry service from London (Liverpool Street) to Amsterdam (Centraal Station), via Harwich and the Hook of Holland. There are two services daily, one in the morning and one in the evening (journey time – 8 hour 40 minutes).
Transport to the city: Although within walking distance, trains and buses connect the new cruise terminals with Amsterdam city centre. The Hook of Holland is connected by an express rail link with Centraal Station.
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