Amsterdam cruise port

Schiphol to the IJ in under an hour

Schiphol is about 15 miles from the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam on Piet Heinkade. A taxi takes around 30 minutes and averages EUR 45; Uber and Bolt also work here. The train is the easy budget route: a direct train to Amsterdam Centraal, then a 10-15 minute walk east to the terminal, or one stop on tram 26 (every 4-6 minutes) to Muziekgebouw Bimhuis.

Arriving early is not a problem. PTA has 24-hour lockers on its main deck - EUR 4 small, EUR 6 large as of 2026, coins only (EUR 1 and 2) - so you can drop bags and spend the morning in the city.

Check where your river ship actually ties up

River ships do not all moor by Centraal. The city-centre berths are spread along De Ruijterkade behind the station, at PTA itself, on the Javakade and Sumatrakade, at Westerdoksdijk and across the IJ at Buiksloterweg in Amsterdam-Noord. Others turn around outside the centre entirely, at Zaandam or Koog aan de Zaan, which means a coach or taxi rather than a stroll from the station. The berth on your final documents is the one to plan around.

Sea calls are being squeezed out

From July 2026 the city capped sea-cruise calls at its Veemkade terminal at 100 a year, down from about 190 in 2024. Around 90 calls a year are being redirected, most to Rotterdam, larger ships to IJmuiden, and some across the border to Antwerp and Zeebrugge. If your itinerary says "Amsterdam" but the ship has been moved, the line can generally change a port of call without compensation; affected ship-sold excursions are refunded.

Ships that do still call pay the city's day tourist tax for transit passengers - EUR 14.50 per person per day as of 2026, collected by the port - and from 2027 ships must be able to plug into shore power or lose their berth slot.