Apparently the wind makes a grand appearance in the Netherlands in the spring. At least it did this year as I nearly lost my hat to Mother Nature on nearly every excursion during a recent Emerald river cruise. The week-long journey, marketed as a the Holland & Belgium in Bloom cruise, started and ended in Amsterdam with stops in Rotterdam (Netherlands), Willemstad (Netherlands), Antwerp (Belgium) and Nijmegen (Netherlands).

This trip was less about the river cruising (most of the sailing took place overnight) and all about the excursions. Emerald offers an included excursion at each stop, as well as active excursions (cycling in this case) and DiscoverMORE excursions that can be booked for an additional fee. I would have considered one of the cycling tours to see the flower fields in the countryside but it was still too early in the season and most of the flowers were not yet in bloom. Here’s a recap of our days before and during the cruise and the excursions my sister-in-law and I selected.

Pre and Post Cruise Days

We flew to Amsterdam a few days early to ensure there was enough time to leisurely explore this vibrant city. I’d been before but my sister-in-law, who was traveling with me, had not. Amsterdam is always alive and buzzing, but given that we arrived during a burst of beautiful spring days, everyone was out at enjoying the weather and zipping about the bike lanes.

We stayed at Art’otel Amsterdam for two nights. This art-themed hotel is in a historic building just across from Amsterdam’s Centraal Station. (Visitors can grab a fast and affordable train to this station directly from the Schiphol Airport.) Families should be aware that some of the art throughout the property depicts parts of the human body that may make some people blush–like the penis sculpture in the lounge. We didn’t mind it and quite liked being able to easily catch a tram or the metro from Centraal Station to wherever we needed to go.

There are plenty of reasons to visit Amsterdam, from the museums to the food and coffeeshop scene. We took advantage of the IAmsterdam card, which provides entry to over 70 museums and attractions, unlimited public transport, a canal cruise and a bike rental. On my previous visit here in 2024, I took advantage of the Go City Amsterdam Pass, which is similar in that it provides access and entry to a number of attractions and experiences. We used the IAmsterdam card to visit the not-to-be-missed Rijksmuseum (raise your hands, Rembrandt lovers), the Rembrandt House Museum, and the A’dan Lookout tower, We also fought our jetlag, somewhat unsuccessfully, on a canal boat tour.

Our first night, we shared some traditional Dutch dishes at Brasserie Van Speyk, including bitterballen, Dutch cheese with pickles and mustard, and apple tart. But it was our dinner the next night that was most memorable: a tasting menu at the Portuguese restaurant ARCA, located inside Art’Otel. The cocktail menu at the bar is also notable, with a signature cocktail menu with the theme “The Course of Life” that was developed by their award-winning mixologists.

We spent one additional night in Amsterdam, staying at the Doubletree by Hilton (also a convenient location to the Centraal Station) where we spent our last night soaking in the panoramic views of the city from LuminAir, the hotel’s rooftop bar and terrace, where we found yet another impressive menu of innovative cocktails and small plates.

Days 1 and 2: Amsterdam

We considered day one a “move in” day as we boarded and stayed put in Amsterdam, leaving us free to explore more of this vibrant city. We spent it walking the canals, soaking up the sun, and reuniting with friends who also happened to be in Amsterdam. We got to know our ship, the Emerald Destiny. The ship is similar to many river ships with one main dining room and a bar/lounge but what stood out was the indoor pool that can be covered and converted to a movie theater. We popped down after dinner our first evening to catch a showing of the Juliet Binoche film Chocolate.

I should also note that, while the cabins are small-like most river ships-the beds were very comforable with a firm mattress topper and quality linens. I loved this. An uncomfortable bed during vacation can be the kiss of death.

We remained docked in Amsterdam on Day 2 and took an excursion to Zaanse Schans, an attraction on the outskirts of Amsterdam that highlights many of the Dutch traditions, from working windmills, examples of traditional houses and demonstrations that included clog making and cheese making. Note that this attraction is very popular and gets very busy–and this was the day the wind blew my hat into a creek. The guide who rescued it unfortunately lost his iPhone to the murky waters. Sorry buddy. But maybe that was karma for the fact that he rounded up our group and had our coach driver take us through the backroads of the suburbs to talk about dams, pumps and water systems. While I recognize that this important given that 1/3 of the Netherlands is below sea level, that was not what we signed up for on this excursion. I’d suggest confirming with the cruise director or guide before you depart to ensure excursions are still aligned with the published descriptions.

Days 3 and 4: Rotterdam, The Hague, Willemstad

I had no idea what a gem Rotterdam is–rich in history due to its bustling port and known for its cutting edge architectural buildings, most of which were built after the city was heavily bombed during WWII. The included excursion in Rotterdam was a morning architectural tour and a visit to the market. I sat that one out due to work commitments but word came back that it was very cool, though much of the time was spent viewing the architecture from the bus.

The afternoon DiscoverMORE excursion (booked for an additional cost) was a trip to Delft, famous for its royal blue pottery. Upon arrival at the Royal Delft factory, we were quickly walked through the museum and then on to the factory. Though we didn’t have much time, the best part was being able to go behind the scenes to see the artisans creating the earthen ware. Not surprisingly, the tour culminated at the gift shot where we spent a very long time, which was good for those who wanted to shop (which wasn’t me). We then headed to the small city of Delft where we had a walking tour, learning some of the history of the city and frantically snapping photos of one beautiful spot after another. This was my favorite part of the day—particularly since we wrapped it by finding a local cafe where we could order a slice of traditional Dutch apple pie to celebrate the birthday of our travel pal, Judy.

After an overnight in Rotterdam, we took a morning excursion to The Hague for a quick tour of the Mauritshuis Museum, which is home to works of Dutch masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. This is a gem of a museum and we were grateful that Emerald was able to arrange private tours for us before the museum opened to the public. Once we returned to the ship we set sail for Willemstad, where we spent the afternoon. There wasn’t much to do there (barring the cycling adventure) but it was a cute little town and, honestly, we didn’t mind some down time to hang out on the ship.

Days 5 and 6: Antwerp, Belgium and Nijmegen, Netherlands

Antwerp was a delightful surprise. I’d never been and only got a quick spin around it this time as the cruise director decided to cut short a day trip to Bruges in order to allow people time to see Antwerp. Personally, I would have preferred to have more time in Bruges as it is a magical place and we didn’t have as much time as we had liked to explore and shop and samples available in most chocolate shops. It was another stunningly beautiful day and a small group of us weren’t connecting with our guide’s style so we decided to explore on our own. I hope I can get back to Bruges when I have more time, but this is the deal you make when booking cruises: You get a little time in a lot of places but not a lot of time in any one place.

When we arrived at Nijmegen many passengers opted to visit the Paleis Het Loo, once the summer residence of the Dutch royal family. But we needed a break from the group activities and went off to traipse the city on our own. We checked out the church perched on the top of the sloping city, shopped (new clogs!) and sipped on hot chocolates and chai lattes at a local cafe.

Day 7: Amsterdam and Keukenhof

Day 7 we returned to Amsterdam to finally experience spring in bloom during an excursion to Keukenhof Gardens. While most of the tulips in the outdoor garden had not yet bloomed, there were endless variations in the pavilions and plenty of other flowers on the grounds, from hydrangeas to hyacinths. Keukenhof is a Mecca for flower lovers during the two months of the year that it is open to the public, which means very large crowds. But it’s worth it.

Our last excursion, during the afternoon of our last day, was the “Hidden Gems of Amsterdam.” It was a bit of a misnomer as we didn’t see much we weren’t already aware of. I felt it might better be called a walking tour through Amsterdam neighborhoods. The first stop was what I found most fascinating as it was a visit to the Our Lord in the Attic Museum, a church built into the upper floors of three adjoined houses during the 1600s when church structures in the Netherlands were required to be Protestant and all other religions were forced to worship in more clandestine places.

The museum requires visitors to navigate narrow stairways, including an original oak staircase from the 1500s, to explore historically furnished living quarters, kitchens with Delft tiles, and the attic church complete with pews, a pulpit and an ornate altar. This is Amsterdam’s second-oldest museum, having opened to the public in 1888, it stands as Amsterdam’s second-oldest museum and was honored with the European Heritage label in 2024 for its cultural significance. I found it fascinating.