Most Viking guests have extra time in Amsterdam around the cruise. Viking Longships often start or finish their Rhine and Dutch itineraries here with a night or two in the city, and that is the perfect window for a day that is not on rails. Below you can follow the Viking fleet live, check the 2026 and 2027 docking dates and find the exact quay your ship uses. Sailing the Rhine? Low water can change itineraries at short notice, so check our live Rhine water level tracker before you travel.
We offer a relaxed private or small-group alternative to the ship’s coach excursions: your own guide, your own pace, and only the things you actually want to see. From the canals and the Rijksmuseum to a day out at Keukenhof or the Zaanse Schans windmills, we build the day around you. We meet Viking Longships every week, so we know which berth your ship takes and what fits between arrival and all aboard. We work backwards from your departure time and keep a buffer, because missing a Longship is nobody’s idea of a souvenir. Tell us your dates.
Not sure which Viking ship or sailing is yours? Find my river cruise matches your line and dates to the ship, its Amsterdam berth and how long you are alongside.
Viking Longships have a design draught of 1.60 m. That means the ship needs roughly 1.70 m of water to keep clearance under the keel.
The shallowest point we track on the Rhine today is Kaub at 1.12 m, measured 7 October 2026, 18:00 (Europe/Amsterdam). That is not enough for a 1.60 m ship at that point.
See live water depths at every Rhine gauge or check the Danube.
Viking and the ship's captain decide whether a ship sails, not this page. This is water level information we receive from the official gauge services (PEGELONLINE, Rijkswaterstaat, BAFU), converted into navigable depth. A ship also changes its own draught by taking on or releasing ballast, and at high water the limit is bridge clearance rather than depth. Always check with your cruise line.
If Amsterdam is a port call mid-cruise rather than your start or finish, we shape the day around the hours your Longship is actually alongside.
Every Viking call below comes straight from our Amsterdam river cruise calendar, updated automatically as berths are assigned.
When the Rhine runs low, Viking is one of the lines most likely to swap ships or add a coach transfer, so it is worth seeing how the river is running on our daily Rhine water levels tracker before you sail.
Viking ships berth centrally in Amsterdam. These are the quays used for Viking calls, each with a map so you know exactly where to meet:
Piet Heinkade, city centre · 20 min walk to Centraal
Right on the IJ waterfront in the city centre, a 10 minute walk or one tram stop from Central Station. LP is your berth number, and “via Muziekgebouw” or “via Vriesseveem” simply tells you which walkway leads to your gangway.
Western IJ waterfront · 12 min walk to Centraal.
On the western IJ bank, a 12 minute walk from Central Station. The berth borders the Jordaan, which puts the Noordermarkt, the Nine Streets and the Anne Frank House all within a 20 minute stroll of your gangway.
Behind Central Station, west side · 5 min walk to Centraal
Behind Amsterdam Central Station, on the west side, so you are inside the station within 5 minutes of stepping ashore. The Dam, the canal ring and the Jordaan are all within an easy and very pleasant walk.
Western harbour · 15 min taxi or ship shuttle
A working harbour about 4 kilometres west of the centre, used when the central berths are full. Nothing lies in walking distance, so plan on a ship shuttle, a 15 minute taxi, or a private pickup right at the gangway.
Viking publishes its own clock, and it is tighter than most guests expect. On European sailings, embarkation generally begins at 12:00 and a light welcome buffet is served at the same hour, but only Explorer Suite and Veranda Suite guests get into the room straight away. Everyone else waits until 15:00. On the final morning, every stateroom has to be vacated by 09:00.
That creates two windows that are very easy to waste. Noon to three on arrival day is enough for a canal cruise, a wander through the Jordaan or a first look at the Rijksmuseum, with your bags already aboard and nothing to carry. The last morning is longer still, because 09:00 to an afternoon flight is a full half day once somebody else is holding your luggage and doing the driving.
Nine Viking itineraries begin or end here, from the eight day Rhine Getaway down to Basel and the ten day Tulips and Windmills round trip, up to the twenty three day European Sojourn through to Bucharest. Amsterdam is a first or last impression far more often than it is a passing call. Viking also sells its own two and three night Amsterdam hotel extensions, which tells you the line already expects you to want longer here.
Longships carry 190 guests and 53 crew over 443 feet, and Viking is strictly adults only, 18 and over, written into the passenger ticket contract rather than merely implied. That shapes a day ashore: no children to plan around, a group comfortable being guided, and a real appetite for whatever the included walk leaves out.
Viking’s included excursion
Your private day with us
Tell us your sailing date and what you would love to see, and we will plan the rest. Plan your private day
Viking’s included excursion is a coach and a headset, shared with a large group and run to a fixed clock. It is fair value and gives you an overview. What it cannot do is stop when something catches your eye.
A private day works the other way round. Your guide starts with what you want to see and how you like to travel, then walks at your speed, lingers where you are enjoying yourself and skips what you have seen before. Fancy a coffee on a canal-side terrace, or twenty more minutes with Rembrandt? You just say so.
Viking calls here more than any other line, and its Longships berth centrally, usually at Westerdoksdijk, the Passenger Terminal or along De Ruijterkade. We meet you at the gangway, are underway within minutes and have you back on board long before all aboard.
Want more than the included coach tour? Tell us your sailing date and we will build the day around it.
Sailing with Viking? Alongside your tours, we can arrange a private Schiphol airport transfer or a chauffeur to take you from the airport to your Viking ship or your hotel, and back again, timed around your embarkation and disembarkation. Arrange a private transfer.
We look after guests from every river and ocean line calling in the Netherlands. Pick your cruise line to see the tours, berths and docking details that apply to your ship:
Viking Longships berth centrally, most often at Westerdoksdijk, the Passenger Terminal, along De Ruijterkade or at Coenhaven, all a short walk or transfer from the old town. Your exact berth is shown in the schedule above.
For a couple, a family or a small group it often works out similar or better, and you get your own guide, no coach and no fixed group. We are happy to give you a clear quote for your dates.
Viking Vidar, Viking Sigrun, Viking Einar, Viking Kvasir and Viking Rolf are among the regulars, and the schedule above shows exactly which Longship is in on which date.
Yes. Your guide meets you at the gangway or terminal, or your hotel if you are staying on, and the day runs entirely on your timing.
The sooner the better for peak season, but we can often arrange a guide at short notice too, so do get in touch even close to your sailing date.