Holland & Belgium Tulip Tours & River Cruise Travel Packages

06/14/2019

Waste of money.

Service

The arrival was very poorly planned. Sitting in the bar of the ship for 8 hours was a big waste of my time. Also selecting flights that leave very early in the mornings didn’t make for an enjoyable start and departure. Timing of tours didn’t leave enough time for shopping or revisiting the area. Instead on moderate walking, it should have been listed as a lot of walking. Bed sank in at middle and door didn’t lock. I had to go to the front numerous times about the door. The exercise room didn’t have heavy weights. Worst trip I ever took.
Tour

See previous message. Poor planning for arrival and departure.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Springtime Tulip River Cruise. We're very sorry for the issues you experienced and that your overall tour experience was sub par. Your feedback will be reviewed by upper management so that the necessary corrections and adjustments can be made.

Collette Support

05/15/2019

Enjoyed the trip very much. The tour managers were wonderful.

Service

Collette was great. Disappointed in the meals and choices, should have have more alternate choices as other cruise lines have. I know this is not Collettes choice but thought it would help. Some meals I did not have a choice that I would eat. Some of the crew on ship were rude, not to me but I heard comments under their breath when asked something by other guests
Tour

All the cities, the gardens, but needed more time in each place, felt rushed at times. Did not have enough time in Keukenhof Gardens at all.

05/15/2019

Service

The entire tour was very well organized with all details covered, but I would have like to have had more time in Keukenhof Gardens. We only had two hours to see the entire garden. We really liked the tour guides too. They were very knowledgeable about the area they were covering. The staff was very good . Everyone had a very helpful, friendly manner including all the boat crew.
Tour

My favorite activity was going to Keukenhof Gardens as I am a plant lover, and was so excited to be able to see so many beautiful flowers. That is the reason I did not give 5 stars, because of the short time to see Keukenhof Gardens. We needed a half day there.

05/14/2019

We had a wonderful trip, learned a lot about the countries.

Service

Kept us well informed of the activities, had good background of the areas we visited.
Tour

we visited new cities, old cities, tourist areas, museums. Most memorable experience was the Kinderdijk.

05/14/2019

IceFor the most part it was a good value. The add on excursions were pricey

Service

Food service Ttransportation were well done.
Tour

Poor scheduling of tours. Tried to cram too much in each day.

05/13/2019

Service

Flights scheduled got us there, but Airline didn't know we needed Gluten Free meals; however, Delta staff bent over backwards to find us something we could eat.
Tour

Great time! Lueftner Cruise-Amedeus Brilliant have excellent staff/ship/etc. Our Collette Reps were amazing! Marieka & Polina did everything in their power to make us comfortable and make sure we enjoyed the trip

05/13/2019

Service

The tour guides were excellent. The air reservations and seating were very good. The sites visited and the local guides were all very good. Throughout the whole cruise there was only one guide that was a little dificult to understand and would not listen to any requests. The Collette guides are aware and were going to note it on their reports.
Tour

We covered a lot of territory in the short time of the cruise. The towns in Belgium were wonderful and we had enough free time as well as tour time. We were going for the tulips and unfortunately it was the only rainy day we had. The tulip fields were headed the day before but we still thoroughly enjoyed. the Keukenhof gardens. The windmill tour was great as was the guide. Her ancestors were millers so our tour was very personalized. The Delta City Works was also a great tour. It was very fascilnating. We were glad that we spent 2 days in Amsterdam before the cruise began. We would encourage anyone taking this tour to take advantage of a few days in Amsterdam. It was an inviting city.

05/12/2019

A Perfect Trip to a New Culture

Service

Based on our experience with a Collette tour, I could certainly recommend them to others. Two pre-trip planning/informational meetings answered many of our questions. Since we chose to go a day earlier than the rest of the group, Collette arranged for lodging and transport from the airport. All aspects of the trip (sites visited, tour managers, tour guides, river/canal cruise boat, airline arrangements) were top drawer. The booklet provided that detailed flight, cruise line, daily itinerary, local weather projections, travel tips was an excellent guide. We particularly appreciated the primer on tipping. Any time we called Collette, a human being answered the phone and patiently answered our questions.
Tour

It is difficult to pinpoint a favorite memorable experience, but I would have to say it's the people we encountered: fellow travelers, Collette employees, riverboat crew, and, of course, the locals we rubbed elbows with in The Netherlands and Belgium.

05/12/2019

Service

Collette service is great. Collette's contract with the Amadeus River Cruise line is not. It is just OK and does not measure up to the high standards we have learned to expect with Collette.
Tour

I did not have a particularly favorite moment.

05/12/2019

Service

Everything was taken care of . I didn't have to do anything but show up.
Tour

I loved the day tours especially Amsterdam early in the morning before the crowds. I would book this trip but not over the Easter Holidays as it was very crowded and hard to take photographs without having hundreds of people in the photo.

05/12/2019

Service

Great trip with professional and knowledgeable tour guides
Tour

Great experience. Loved everything

05/12/2019

The trip was as advertised...saw tulips and windmills...

Service

Very well planned and organized....since first time didn't know what to expect....would have liked to see more of the countryside as we went from place to place but since happened at night and most times we had ships on both sides made it a little difficult to even see shore at times.
Tour

since it was advertised as a tulip tour just a little disappointed that we only saw one tulip farm and one area where the windmills were...I would have liked to see more gardens....

05/09/2019

Frustrated

Service

We were over all pleased with the service of the ship and the crew. Our only complaint would be is the lack of free time. We have a tour of a town and then we are sometimes given 45 minutes to shop or look around. We had the same problem when we took a tour to Italy . I am not sure we will take another tour with Collette.
Tour

Visit to Keukenhof Gardens. We were only given 2 hours there.

05/09/2019

Service

Collette made our trip very easy. They arranged everything and kept me well informed.
Tour

The tour was wonderful. The Tour people were great. Everything was made easy for me. The ship was very clean and the people who took care of us were great.

05/09/2019

I enjoyed the river cruise very much, excellent itinerary and pace.

Service

As always Rhona Forman provided excellent support and customer service before, during and after the trip.
Tour

As always, Collette did a good job. Very good value. Friendly staff on the ship. Excellent tour managers.

05/08/2019

Very disapointed in the food. When I went in sept, I loved the food.

Service

I did not like the food. Loved the trip down the Rhine better in Sept. Liked the rooms better on that ship in sept.
Tour

The scenery was not that pretty this time. Not crazy about the tours either.

05/07/2019

Service

I was disappointed that we only got to spend 2 1/2 hours at Keukenhof since the trip was promoted as "see the tulips". There were no alternative activities provided if you did not purchase an optional tour. In the future, I would review the itinerary more carefully. Food was very good on the ship.
Tour

Keukenhof , windmills, and open aitr museum.

05/06/2019

Service

No complaints, all staff was very friendly and helpful.
Tour

Enjoyed river cruising and all the countryside.

05/06/2019

Service

A well organized tour program. Excellent service. Could improve on the English language. (leaders & guides)
Tour

Very good tour program......

05/06/2019

Service

Our service is booking the tour was very pleasant
Tour

The name is a little misleading. I expected more tulips and better scenery. The river time was mostly industrial.

05/06/2019

Service

Yes I enjoy traveling with Collette. They take care of all the details which I like and any problems I might have.
Tour

I enjoyed the trip was not disappointed.

05/05/2019

Best trip ever!

Service

Very well organized and good use of time
Tour

Excellent organization and use of time. Excellent food

05/05/2019

Put your trust in Collette when you travel.

Service

Collette is so easy to deal with when you call regarding a tour. The representatives are polite, cheerful, and ready to answer any questions you may have. You tell them what you want and they do the rest. They keep in touch with up dates as the time progresses. I do and will continue to recommend Collette.
Tour

This was our first river cruise and we were well pleased with our experience. The accommodations and staff were beyond our expectations. The variety in the excursions was nice. Of course our favorites were Keukenhof Gardens and Kinderdijk with the windmills. We were pleasantly surprised with the Deltaworks Project and the history and engineering. The only thing I would like would be one more day in Amsterdam with an optional tour of Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh Museum.

05/05/2019

Service

Have scheduled the Alaska trip.
Tour

Highlight were the tulip garden but had inadequate time for a comprehensive visit. Flight travel was very traumatic with inadequate time to manage connections with no help from your staff. Inadequate time was scheduled for shopping in every location.

05/05/2019

Service

great tour directores and great tours
Tour

everything was great except we had two tours stating at 8 am on our first day after having 6 hour jet lag it was very tiresome and made for a very tiring day need more time for us to adjust to the jet lag times especially for most of your travelers over 65

05/05/2019

This was a trip of a lifetime......our bucket list trip to Kunkenhof.

Service

Our tour guides/managers were terrific. Bobby and Sylvia. They cared and TOOK care of all of us. They had a sense of humor....which is so important. We thought our meals were excellent and we bonded with our table mates.....2 other couples traveling alone. The crew was very thoughtful.......and they had a good sense of humor too. We also enjoyed all the guides for the various ports and trips. We learned so much.
Tour

The Flower Show at Kunkenhof was a favorite as was a trip to see Ghent and Bruges. I wish we had more time at each location.

05/05/2019

Disappointing

Service

Disappointed as had expected to see tulips and tulip fields while we cruised the canals. Went to tulip garden on last day. Visits to old town nice. Great architecture, but booked to see tulips.
Tour

Disappointed as had expected to see tulips as we cruised the canals. Visits to towns ok, but not what I wanted to see.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Springtime Tulip River Cruise. Your feedback will be reviewed in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

05/05/2019

Service

Well planned schedule. Pace just right with understanding guides who anticipate group needs in advance.
Tour

Beautiful ship, excellent itinerary, relaxing travel, and variety of tours.

05/01/2019

Service

The representative was very personable and knowledgeable. He went out of his way to answer questions.
Tour

great tour but would have been nice to be able to see Middleburg and spent more time in Bruge Difficult to rate tour manager as she did not spend much time with us. there were three buses, two tour managers, and we often were not the bus who had someone

04/30/2019

Service

Jay and Jennifer from Reno Nevada are great
Tour

The Amsterdam River tour and the Tulip tour were very good.

04/30/2019

Service

Tours included are good
Tour

Tulip tour and Amsterdam Canal tour were good.

04/30/2019

Service

Collette and Joe Mahalchik were excellent. Leuftner cruise line was average. The ship needs to be updated, they needed more staff in the dining room. Had to wait a long time to be served if you were the last table. Didn't like the fact that you couldn't get a soft drink at lunch, when other river cruise lines do. So, would order the unsweetened iced tea, took a while at lunch to get it. Asked the server for a slice of lemon for my tea and was told they would have to ask the chef if they had any???? Then served a lunch with a wedge of lemon and never came back to bring me a lemon or address it with me for my iced tea.
Tour

Did already above. please read. Check out was a horror. They gave a time frame of two hours. The lines were very long, only one person settling accounts. Had to wait over an hour to check out.

04/30/2019

Service

The first day of the trip was handled poorly. As our room on the ship wasn't ready till the afternoon, we should have had city tour and lunch somewhere to kill time rather than sitting on the boat. At least on the bus, the exhausted one could have napped comfortably and the ship wouldn't have us under foot. I will definitely think about another Collette trip as this one was not all it could have been.
Tour

This was not one of my better Collette trips, but I did enjoy the tulips and windmills.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Springtime Tulip River Cruise. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Product Design Team in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.

Collette Support

04/28/2019

Would not try Collettee again and will not recommend them.

Service

The boat tour was if you had never done one before. The timing was off, the best experiences had the shortest time, we waited needlessly many times, one was waiting till be could get to our rooms on board, waiting for buses to arrive, waiting, waiting, waiting. The tour guides were average, have had much better on many other tours. The Collette tour leaders were not even responsible for the counts of participants getting to and from the tours. If it hadn't been for the representative from the boat to give us information there wouldn't have been any.
Tour

The boat was OK but needed to be upgraded. The beds and chairs had holes in them where you would sink in. Not acceptable. The best places were the windmills and Brudges and we only spent a few hours in each. More time spent in towns with nothing to see.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Springtime Tulip River Cruise. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.

Collette Support

04/28/2019

Okay riverboat tour of Netherlands and Belgium.

Service

I have traveled with Collette many times and have enjoyed the personal attention of their tour managers. This was a riverboat tour with 2 managers for many people and very little interaction.
Tour

I was prepared for the weather but it was still uncomfortably cold and damp. The best part was the excellent town tour guides - very knowledgeable and enthusiastic.

04/28/2019

Service

From Collette I signed on for what turned out to be a lovely cruise on Dutch and Belgian waterways that featured exciting excursions each day. Highlights were seeing the area of19 working windmills built 1600's-1700's (and touring one) as well as our visit to Keukenhof Gardens and the acres and acres of Tulips. I enjoy traveling on Leuftner Amadeus ships and definitely will sign on for another Collette trip using them. I highly recommend Collette--they tend to everything and any interaction I have had with them from the Rhode Island headquarters (including their insurance folks) down to the tour guides has always been 1st rate.
Tour

See original comment--have combined comments of these two sections there.

04/28/2019

The day of arrival could be handled differently other wise they do a good .

Service

The over all service that Collette provides is good. However the arrival day in Europe could be handled better. Arriving at a River boat early morning and not being able to get to a cabin until late afternoon could be handled differently with possibly a tour of the city and /or area. People are tired and need something to occupy them.
Tour

The beautiful Gardens of Keukenhof

05/17/2018

Service

Great ship, great Tour Managers
Tour

Tour was great as exprcted from Collette.

05/16/2018

Service

Collette tours are very well organized and include a variety of events sure to please their customers. Accommodations are great and the tour managers pleasant, knowledgeable and helpful.
Tour

The entire tour was enjoyable but I especially liked the Deltaworks Project.

05/16/2018

Service

We have tavelled with Collette on a few trips and always found the service excellent. The tours are well organized and the accommodations excellent. The tour managers are very knowledgeable and helpful.
Tour

The Keukenhof Gardens and the windmills

05/14/2018

Service

I have used Collette for years without an issue. We would call and their people talked to us and everything went as planned. This time I called for Tulip cruise. First I was told I could use their web site or one of their 3rd party planners. I tried the web site and it was nice but it wouldn't work with flight. I had to call back. Person who helped was nice. She had to send my over to the air department. That person was nice and after a while we were done. A few months before trip Collette poc called to tell us they were moving us from Newark to JFK. We were not happy but we weren't given any choices. Night before trip we tried to print boarding passes. No luck. Called Collette and after a long time on the phone their poc told us she couldn't help and I had to call Delta. I called Delta and had to wait 2 hours for a person worried that we didn't have a flight. They finally came on and saved the day. When Collette changed airports that did not create new tickets. In the end, the airport change also stopped Collette from picking us up because it was 11 miles over their limit. It cost us $200 for tolls and parking.
Tour

The Amadeus Queen ship was wonderful. The place was very clean. The entire staff were amazing. They were friendly, professional and made you feel welcomed every day. Good at all place was great. Full bar with daily specials were fun. Beer and wine with dinner was a lovely touch. The planned trips were incredible. One better then the next. It was our first river cruise but won't be the last. We are already looking at other Amadeus cruises. Their people, ships and tours are each 5 stars.

Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Springtime Tulip River Cruise. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.

Collette Support

05/14/2018

horrible

Service

Our airport and flight has been changed from Newark to JFK which Newark takes 40 minutes, JFK takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. The tolls were considerably more. All the times we traveled with Collette we never been transported to the airport. Collette may have saved money but at a great cost to us when you consider the tolls and parking which mounts to over $200 a trip. Collette also didn't reissue the airline tickets and we found out when trying to get e-tickets which took over 3 hours on the phone to include an hour with Collette (Collette couldn't help us) to get it reconciled with the airline. Very frustrating.
Tour

Although this was the most expensive trip we been on Tulip River Cruise was a pleasure.

After reviewing your reservation we are still waiting for receipts in order to process your reimbursement. Please send in your transportation receipts or contact our office if you have any questions

Collette Support

05/11/2018

This was the vacation of a life time!

Service

This was one of the best trips I have had. The staff was excellent. The food was excellent, the excursions, tour guides and bus drivers were excellent. The Tulips were unbelievable. The weather was perfect and sunny. I could have not asked for a better vacation.
Tour

Everyone had a great time and it was fun and professional. Awesome! Awesome! Awesome! Everyone was excellent the best crew ever.

05/10/2018

Terrific

Service

Everything was terrific—ship, food, service, etc
Tour

Tulip farm was outstanding as were all tours

05/16/2017

Great experience

Service

The river boat experience was great. Tour guides were excellent.
Tour

Windmills and tulip gardens

05/14/2017

Service

Enjoyed the tour very much. One minor problem was travelling at night - our stateroom must have been directly above the engine. The tours were interesting, the view as we travelled were beautiful, and food was great, and getting to know the others on the tour was interesting. A very good time. The two tour guides on board were great and helped solve any problems.
Tour

Tulip gardens and Delta Works tour were my top two - very different but hard to judge which was best.

05/14/2017

Great experience. I would definitely recommend this trip.

Service

The tour directors, *Personal details removed by Feefo* were excellent and ensured that we were well informed and kept the needs of those with disabilities in mind.
Tour

KINDER DIJK AND the tulip gardens

04/29/2017

Definitely plan do do more river trips!

Service

We did this trip as our first River cruise and enjoyed it immensely. We had trouble getting to the ship because if weather delays. Collette was in touch with us all throughout that time monitoring our where abouts. Our guide personally met us at the airport to make sure we got to the cruise on time! The vessel's crew was great on service and were very Attentative! The food was really great.
Tour

We enjoyed all stops but two favorites were Dalta Waterworks and Keukenhof Gardens

05/24/2016

Service

The responsiveness of the customer service department to phone calls was extremely good, timely and knowledgeable.
Tour

The 2 Collete tour managers were seldom seen. Favorite experience was the tulip gardens and Delta Dam excursion.

05/17/2016

Disappointing

Service

Disinterested

Hello! Craig here at Collette.\n
\nSorry to hear you had a less than satisfactory experience. Could you provide us more insight into how we could have made your time on tour with us more enjoyable? \n
\nWe strive to constantly better our product, service, and customer satisfaction. We encourage all feedback as it allows us the opportunity to identify problems and work to make the necessary corrections.
\n
\nLooking forward to hearing from you.

Collette Support

05/17/2016

Service

This was my second Collette tour. This time there was a problem getting my documents, and I think there should have been more communication and follow up by Collette with my travel agent.
Tour

Since the tour was entitled Tulip Cruise, I think there should have been more than 2 1/2 hours at the KUKENHOFF Gardens.nthe included excursions were nice, but the trip felt rushed at the end. The two highlights were both on the last day

05/17/2016

Service

The crew on the river cruise was great especially in the dining room . The food was great
Tour

Seeing all the beautiful tulips

05/10/2016

Service

Well done
Tour

Enjoyed traveling the Low Countries

05/09/2016

PROFESSIONAL!!!!

Service

We had a great time Collette has all the bases covered from home pick up to home drop off. Professional is the best word I can use.
Tour

The whole trip.was a wonder experence. The only thing I would change is if you are leaving from California leave a day early. We got there at 10 PM and sailed the next morning.

05/09/2016

Service

They always answered any questions we had and communications was excellent.
Tour

The trip met our expectations. It was well planned and not lacking in experiences. The local guides were well informed and friendly.

05/05/2016

We can't say enough good about how Collette makes our vacations happen!

Service

Ordering our river cruise in the Netherlands and Belgium was easy and fast. For a number of years we have had no problem signing up for trips through Collette. All of our experiences have been wonderful and we tell so many people how we get what we pay for with Collette. Our river cruise was just perfect. Our Collette guides did a great job and we saw far more than we thought we would. We will be booking our next vacation with Collette soon.
Tour

We truly enjoyed the company of so many people on the boat. The entertainers, singers, were wonderful. The excursions were all so good. We enjoyed looking at the land with its houses, livestock, etc. as the boat went from port to port. The canal cruise in Amsterdam was very interesting.

05/04/2016

Tulip River Cruise

Service

Service was good on all stops.
Tour

The trip was nice and very inclusive but a notch or two above my energy level, too much walking. the Keukendof Gardens were magnificent. On foreign trips the guides should have good English. The Collette guides were not bad but the Cruise Director on the ship was very nice but had a heavy Romanian accent that was hard to understand.

04/27/2016

Helpful, knowledgable, professional, pleasant.

Service

All our questions were answered in a timely fashion. The staff were easy to deal with. Our first tour experience with Collette was not positive, but with a travel credit and a buy-one-get one half-off offer, we decided to give Collette a second chance. We were glad we did.
Tour

Our tour manager was Boryana. She was good. She was competent, but as is the case with many Central Europeans, very serious, and more focused on tasks. Jane Pritchett was the Tour Manager for the other half of the 87 person tour group, and she was outstanding--personable, upbeat, very helpful, positive, kind, caring, genuine. Both did their jobs well, we just preferred Jane's style. The ship was amazing, and the staff was great. We would definitely like to ravel on that cruise line again. The tour inclusions were very good. We liked the places we visited. There was a lovely balance of walking, standing, and riding. Great daily guides, very informative. We liked the tours and then the free time to do a few things on our own. The trip was great from start to end! Collette went out of their way to make it possible for four of us to visit the Airborne Museum in Arnhem. Only one person booked and paid before the tour left the US, and Collette not only honored their commitment to take the trip with one or more people, they paid the costs for all of us to go there. My father was a pilot that dropped the paratroopers on Sept. 17 for Operation Market Garden which the museum in Arnhem commemorates. It was very important for my husband and me to get there, and we are very impressed and grateful that Collette made that possible. Thank you.

04/27/2016

Service

**

04/27/2016

Excellent service

Service

Very knowledgable guide, very pleasant, always ready to help.
Tour

Everything about the tour was good - last day seeing the tulips was our highlight - we love flowers.

04/27/2016

Service

Excellent service at all times, met interesting people, food was spectacular, Keukenhof Gardens are breathtaking to say the least.
Tour

Delta Works tour and Keukenhof Gardens