Flagship Amsterdam - Canal Cruise - Rijksmuseum — Attraction in Amsterdam

We booked the luxury cheese and wine cruise. At first I thought we had been scammed. The photos look NOTHING like the photos used to advertise the experience. The hostess then made it even worse because it said we would depart outside the Anne frank house but it actually departed the other side so we walked a bit around the block a few times trying to figure out what was going on. When we got to the boat we were disappointed… there weren’t any tables, white table cloths, pretty flowers, cushions etc. the boat was in fact a completely different boat to what was advertised. To make it worse, a “booze cruise” full of completely wasted students stopped next to our boat and were using the boat as a “bridge” to get to the port to make a pee. Then there was this HORRIFIC stench of sewerage. We were not amused. The tour guide, Phillip who was working in this boat, reassured us that we will still enjoy it. So we hesitantly got on board. Luckily the cruise was only 8 people so we had lots of space and attention which was good. We each shared a cheese board of “new and old” style Dutch cheese with Dijon mustard which was complimentary. We then thought we had to pay for drinks. But all drinks were free and you could have as much as you wanted. Wine/juice/soft drinks. Once we took off, the tourist guide was super knowledgeable and entertaining. Phillip is who made the tour fantastic! I would suggest that the website update their photos so you know what you are booking. Also, instead of these “soft drink” cups, plastic wine shaped glasses would have been way more classy. After all, I would still recommend this. The bad advertising and unprofessional hostess is why I gave a 4 star...

We found ourselves with some time to kill after dinner being shorter than we expected, so we made a last minute booking for a canal cruise.

We were not disappointed! Our guide was energetic, lively and funny, and shared lots of details about Amsterdam life and of the canals in general. Obviously there were key things they are told to discuss, but she fielded all of our off-the-cuff questions really well.

The reason I have 4 stars instead of 5 was because our arrival experience at the dock was haphazard and unprofessional. There are several companies with boats on the same dock, plus flagship Amsterdam offers different types of cruises, so it gets disorganised used fast. The lack of proper signage contributed to this issue. They clearly have college students needing summer jobs managing the dock but they didn’t communicate well at all, and a lot of times were busy laughing and chatting amongst themselves to notice that people were standing in the wrong lines, there were line jumpers and just general confusion.

I’d say to anyone looking to book: arrive decently early and don’t t be afraid to double check the directions you’re given by the staff, and ask questions. And once you’re aboard, relax and enjoy!

All of that arrival messiness was forgotten by the loveliness of the cruise and our guide. So generally, a win! Especially for a last...

We booked the “Abendliche Grachtenrundfahrt mit offener Bar” via GetYourGuide (operated by Flagship). The tour itself was very nice, with beautiful views of the city. We especially appreciated the young male guide, who was polite, friendly, and attentive.

Unfortunately, our experience with the second guide, a young lady, was disappointing. At the beginning she asked where everyone was from, but afterward it felt as though she focused her attention only on the Spanish-speaking guests. She spoke almost exclusively in Spanish with the couple seated next to us, refilled only their drinks, and explained things mainly to them. During this conversation she also made condescending remarks about Germany — perhaps assuming no one else on board would understand. However, I lived and worked in Spain for five years. As our group was from Germany, this left us feeling excluded and uncomfortable, which dampened what otherwise could have been a lovely evening.

We still enjoyed the sights, but we believe tour guides should be equally attentive and respectful to all guests, regardless of...