Azamara Inspired Amsterdam, Because We Had The Time

Posted onAuthorChris Owen

While day one of our two-day stay in Amsterdam was spent leisurely walking a self-guided tour of the city powered by the Azamara Club Cruises smartphone app, day two brought a bit more focus. Wanting to be sure we visited a number of the many museums in Amsterdam, we started by visiting Vincent Van Gogh.

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The Van Gogh museum is in a part of town heavily populated by venues of that sort, all highlighted on the AFAR-charged Azamara Club Cruises app. Photos? Not allowed but we managed to click off a few before being informed (caught) by museum guards.

 

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Interestingly, while one might expect to see an abundant amount of security at the world-class museum, Van Gogh and related artist works are in open display with nothing between visitors and the canvas.

 

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Amsterdam museums are popular tourist attraction with the Rijksmuseum,Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House and the Stedelijk Museum the most popular choices.

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The Heineken Museum is also a popular choice. Technically the “Heineken Experience”, the venue is a former brewery where visitors get a full history of the brand as well as the process of brewing it and how it has changed over the years.

 

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A popular choice for us, visiting sidewalk cafes as we do in every port possible, just to drink in the local flavor of the place. What we actually have to drink or eat; secondary to the people watching opportunities.

 

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That Azamara Quest is in Amsterdam for two days is yet another example of how the destination-focused cruise line values our experience at the places they visit above many other considerations.

 

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I have been to Amsterdam a number of times with a variety of cruise lines over the years. I can’t recall a more enriching, pleasurable or memorable experience ever, largely due to being in the city for multiple days. Further qualifying the experience, our visit occurred when the Sail Amsterdam event had filled the harbor with hundreds of small ships, few of which we would get close enough to see.

 

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That Sail Amsterdam happens once every five years was no surprise. That we could not get close to the event from our docking position in Amsterdam indeed was. Prior to sailing, we had visions of Azamara Quest being docked in the center of it all, surrounded by sailing ships in all directions. This was not something Azamara promised, even though the Sail Amsterdam event was listed as a highlight of our itinerary.

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Instead, our second day of exploring Amsterdam on our own brought even more interesting scenes as we connected with the destination in a way only possible because we had the time.

Here are some scenes from our second day in Amsterdam, scroll down for more on our time in Amsterdam via Pinterest and Facebook.

Just joining us?  Catch up here, a number of ways:

Complete Journal– From pre-cruise planning to after sailing reflection and every step in between, right here, updated daily as we sail in our Engaging Azamara Summer Baltics Cruise Journal

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