Family River Cruising: Best of Netherlands & Belgium

This year, our family decided to get away for the holidays. After a really nice Christmas Market river cruise end of 2019 we wanted to get back to the European waterways. Holidays can be stressful with all the decorations, gifting, and planning. The river cruise took care of all the details, including a fun and festive New Year’s Eve celebration on the ship.

We started the trip early by going to Amsterdam and spending time with friends for a few days including Christmas Eve. It was so nice to see the city from a local’s point of view and The Hoxton hotel served as the best home base with a resident DJ, great dining, and incredibly hospitable service.

Once you get on the ship: you only unpack once and see several destinations. Perfect for this over-packer!

First Stop: Utrecht

This quaint town is known for its shopping and canal shop entrances that could be an artist, and local business tucked away. The organ museum was an unexpected highlight.

Second Stop: Veere

We stopped off at this small coastal town, which served as a nice day visit on that moody weather day. We toured the town and stopped at Auberge de Campveerse Toren's second-floor restaurant at the end for some bites and drinks in front of the fireplace.

Third Stop / Day: Ghent & Brugge

We made a day tour to two architectural stunning cities along canal networks, which have been on my list to visit since my initial barge-owning passion came to be.

Fourth Stop: Brussels

Home to the European Union and United Nations makes it a very diplomatic city, however, it is lightened up by its chocolate, waffles, and fountain Manneken Pis landmark. I decided to join a chocolate-making workshop to try my hand at the trade. It turns out, I’m OK with indulging in it just for fun. Tasty though!

We hopped back on the ship after a long, chilly touring day to the warmth and delicious Chefs’ Table onboard. Shortly after, we were delighted by this classical trio on board that was the sweetest ending to our day.

Fifth Stop: Antwerp

A beer-lover city! It was one of the places I was really looking forward to. We did a morning tour of the church for some cultural and famous works by Rubens. We shifted gears to the beer tour, and made stops at three places, each having a different character and backstory said our guide.

When we got back to the ship, it was NYE time, so we got cleaned up and had a grand ol’ time. The ship the day prior actually got stuck in the canal by Brussels due to some reckless barge driving that damaged the bridge severely. We had to go by vehicle from then on but the whole crew made it work!

Sixth Stop: Kinderdijk

A really special day was arranged by AmaWaterways when the Kinderdijk area and visits to the windmills are closed on New Year’s Day. They opened it especially for us and it was a real treat. It’s one of the most photographed sites in the Netherlands and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the area has these systems in place, the whole country is ‘working against the water’ as the locals would say to prevent flooding as it’s all below sea level.

On the way back, we took a quick bus tour through Rotterdam. It was enough of a teaser to warrant a trip back, and visit friends who are there too. Because the city was leveled in WWII, it was able to modernize and collaborate with world-famous talent to make it a marvel to behold.

Final Night

Back in Amsterdam - we had to do one night by the airport due to that bridge/barge incident but we didn’t miss out and thought we were all ready for bed before the journey home.

If you want to book this particular cruise, a holiday market cruise, or really any that might suit your style, don’t hesitate to reach out, since we have options and I’d love to book your passage ⚓️