Stromma Central Station - Amsterdam Canal Cruise — Attraction in Amsterdam

We booked a 5pm closed boat tour for the light festival. First of all, the address provided to us was incorrect - it led us to the ticket office. When we realized the address was wrong, we tried to ask the man inside, but he was just closing up and refused to answer one question for us. This led us on a frantic search around the area, which is crowded and quite difficult to navigate, to find the correct location on our own. We finally found a tent with Stromma branding, so I spoke to the lady, who looked at my tickets and told me that I had just missed the boat but to stand in line and I would be put on the next one. I was a bit confused because it was a minute to 5:00, but my friends and I followed her directions. A few minutes later, I overheard her tell someone that they could either wait here or board a closed boat tour instead. I told her that I had booked a closed boat tour. She realized she made a mistake and directed us to yet another tent along the canals.

So we raced to the other tent and were told again that we had missed the boat and to stand in the "standby" line. They said they could not guarantee that we are put on the next boat. It is based on the capacity of people who were on time. This is frustrating because had we had the correct address, we would have made it on time. The person at the Stromma tent had misguided us and this also made us late. After an hour of waiting at this second tent, we still had not gotten onto any boats so I spoke to the lady at the small ticket office next to this tent and the resolution we came up with was to come back later that night. The tour itself was underwhelming, but the main reason for my frustration with this entire experience was the unorganized way in which Stromma handles...

Absolutely terrible experience – avoid if you have children

We booked the yellow Stromma Central Station canal cruise (also known as "Canal Tours Amsterdam") expecting a relaxed, family-friendly outing. Our boat was scheduled for 6 pm, and we arrived at 5:45. I quickly ran across the road to grab a small Happy Meal for my three kids (simple chips, nuggets, and apple slices – no sauce, no mess).

When I returned, I found the skipper telling my wife our two-year-old couldn’t eat on the boat. I joked that at least he wasn’t crying, to which the skipper abruptly replied, “He’ll get chips on my seat.” This was shocking, considering other children were eating ice cream and many adults were drinking beer purchased directly from the cruise itself. Clearly snacks and drinks are allowed – so why were we singled out?

The skipper insisted I take the chips away, which caused my toddler to cry. Then he told me to give them back. Moments later, when our one-year-old made a small noise (not even a proper cry), the skipper said, “We can’t have babies crying on the boat.” At that point, I’d had enough and walked off with my family.

The way we were treated was appalling – zero patience for families on what is marketed as a family-friendly cruise. The receptionist did refund us, but the skipper even followed me off the boat trying to justify his behaviour instead of apologising.

If you have kids, avoid this cruise. The staff clearly aren’t equipped or willing to handle families, and the experience completely ruined what should have been a...

Booked a table for the pizza cruise. We were seated at our table, then one minute before departure we were forced out of our seats due to a mistake in the passenger list. We were forced to sit with a couple, obviously expected a private table as well. That left no room to it comfortable and eat. It made taking photos impossible due to the strangers we sat with having the window view that we expected for our $100 fare for two people. The pizza was average and served out of a box. The dessert is ice cream in a small cup with a wood spoon. Not a romantic even cruise in the least. Couldn’t eat due to frustration from being removed from the table we had been situated at for over 15 minutes. We had no choice but to stick it out because the boat left dock before we could get off. When I expressed my concern over the poor service and rude removal from table, they only said sorry a mistake was made. But that sorry cannot replace my only night in Amsterdam and our lack of photos which was the primary reason for the cruise. I do not recommend for these reasons and also because the dinner was a bit tacky with pizzas served to people in boxes and little kids ice cream cups for dessert. Plus if they shove you into a table with strangers you will not get photos and have almost no room to eat comfortable let alone have a private conversation about...