July 28, 2026

We ported in Rotterdam at 11:00am. We have shifted one more time zone ahead of home, making us 7 hours ahead of home. The heat is holding still and it is 81 degrees today. Because of the short port time today, I decided to book a tour through Disney Cruise Line. We left the port around noon and took a bus to Amsterdam. The drive was 90 minutes.

I did sleep for a bit of this, but I was impressed with the system of waterways and bike paths for what appeared to be the entire route. I saw many bikers and also people in kayaks right along the highway. There was always a bike lane next to every car lane and there were bikes everywhere!

When we got into Amsterdam, we immediately got on a canal cruise. I chose to sit outside for better views, and it was hard to hear what the guide was saying. I did enjoy the views on the cruise. The canal area seemed so quiet and simple.

After the canal cruise, we were dropped off in the city square. We were given one hour to walk around. Basically, we were plopped right in the tourist mecca. The area was quite busy. We hadn’t ate yet, so we went in search of food. Again, the tourist center is not my ideal food location, but we didnt have much time. We ended up with fries and stroopwaffles.

After that, we had about 20 minutes so we went back to the meeting point.

I definitely want to spend more time in Amsterdam. We didn’t leave port until 12pm, arriving in Amsterdam at 1:30pm. We took a 1 hour canal cruise. After the cruise, we took a 15 minute walk to town square, and had approximately 1 hour there. We took another 15 minute walk back to bus. It took an hour and a half to get back and we got back around 6pm for a 7pm departure. If I knew what I know now, I would have saved Amsterdam for a completely different trip and spent time enjoying Rotterdam. There just wasn’t enough time.

My outfit of the day: I asked Jack to take a picture, and he took one picture and didnt tell me when he was taking it.

Tomorrow is a day at sea as we make our way to Norway! See you Thursday!