Tulip Season Cruise: The Netherlands & Belgium on Windstar Cruises

The Windstar Pride yacht hosts 312 guests and approximately 100 crew members, so you feel the exceptional service and attention to detail as soon as you check in. The staterooms are all roomy suites with walk-in closets and double sinks in the bathrooms, which offers a more comfortable stay in comparison to larger cruise ships.

Balcony Suite

The little personalized touches we received in our room every day made it that much more special!

The Netherlands

Embarking on the ship in Amsterdam, we had an overnight stay in port, which allowed us to visit the city at leisure since the port is within walking distance. After departing Amsterdam, we headed to Rotterdam, where there were different types of excursions offered through Windstar depending on activity level. We chose the excursion to the famous Keukenhof Gardens, where the tulips were in full bloom for the season. We had over two hours to explore the gardens on our own, which were incredible in their colors, variety, and jaw-dropping beauty.

The beautiful Keukenhof tulip gardens

The Star Pride docked in Rotterdam

Belgium

The next port stop was Antwerp, Belgium for another overnight stay. A benefit of small-ship cruising is the ability to sail both rivers and oceans, and we were docked mere steps from Antwerp’s historic city center! The first day, we took the Windstar excursion to Brussels, where we saw the major sights with time to explore on our own.

The next day, we took a bus from Antwerp to the medieval city of Ghent. We took a tour of this stunning city through its canals on a small boat, and had free time to explore by foot. We fell in love with this city because of its beautiful medieval buildings, colorful history, and charming canal-side cafes. After arriving back to Antwerp, we had some time to explore the city on our own before our ship’s departure to Brugge.

Ghent, Belgium via canal boat

Brugge (or Bruges) is a medieval city surrounded by two moats and four gates. Our excursion included a 20-min bus ride to the city gates, where we then took a guided walking tour of this UNESCO World Heritage city. We then arrived to the Chocolate Museum for a chocolate-making demonstration and tasting (Belgian chocolate is now my personal favorite!). After the chocolate tasting, our tour included a stop at the famous House of Waffles for a Belgian waffle tasting (served hot and fresh!). We then had some free time to explore this beautiful city before boarding the bus back to the ship.

Beautiful Brugge

Our next stop was scheduled to be in Harlingen, The Netherlands, but due to forecasted weather conditions preventing the ship from docking there, we ended up staying in port in Brugge for an extra day. We took this extra day to relax on the ship and enjoy the spa and sauna on board before heading back to Amsterdam the following day to disembark.

Sun deck with whirlpool and plunge pool

The Yacht Club library and café was my favorite spot to read and relax on board.

Windstar offered lots of great excursion options in each port, which were all well-organized and allowed free time to explore the city as well as guided tours and experiences. While this was a port-intensive itinerary, everything still felt relaxed and not rushed. The vibe on board is relaxed elegance and many guests who had sailed with Windstar previously knew some of the crew, and were very friendly to help us new cruisers! I got the sense that the majority of the guests were repeat Windstar customers, and spoke volumes about the loyalty they have to the cruise line because of their diverse itineraries and yacht-style ships.

The food on board was of excellent quality and taste, and we even got a tour of the galley on board where they explained how they source most of their ingredients locally at each port. There are two specialty restaurants on board that are at no extra cost but require reservations, so be sure to book in advance once you get on board.

You can also find several activities that can be reserved on board, such as wine tastings, a trip to the local produce market with the head Chef at one of the port stops, spa treatments, galley tours, and visit the bridge for a tour with one of the ship’s officers.

For more inspiration and insider recommendations, visit our Netherlands and Belgium pages.