The City of Rotterdam
This guide is tailored for cruise passenger visiting Rotterdam.
Why visit Rotterdam? Home to great architectural diversity, the city of Rotterdam is worth every visit. Also, many interesting events are taking place on a regular basis. As a result, the city has been attracting more and more visitors from all parts of the world. Those who have been here, make sure they come back again and again.
Architecture, museums, shopping, relaxation, visiting interesting places
In Rotterdam, old and new architecture coexist in perfect harmony. It is because of the great bombing back in 1940, making lovely buildings disappear forever. Luckily, some of these buildings did survive so today while visiting the state-of-the-art shopping centre, you might find yourself standing in front of an ancient building or historic bridge. Rotterdam is one of the best have-a-look-around cities by far. It is home to many remarkable statues where old and new almost become one, such as the Oude Haven (Old Port) or the Binnenrotte, home to the Laurens Church (1471) overlooking the longest open air market in Europe. There are also several interesting museums, most of which are at a stone’s throw from the terminal (World Museum, Maritime Museum, Boymans Museum, KunstHal).
Photo Gallery of Rotterdam
Erasmusbrug. Cross this bridge to get to downtown Rotterdam (from the ship)
Norwegian Breakaway at Cruise Port Rotterdam
The Sea Princess at the quay of the cruise terminal in the city of Rotterdam, July 13th 2013
Wereldmuseum as seen from the ship
Shopping Arcade
Oude Haven (Old Harbour) district with the White House
The Port of Rotterdam
Sailing into the city…
Cruise ships spend about two hours sailing on the picturesque Nieuwe Waterweg, after which they head towards the historic cruise terminal in the very heart of the city. There are no locks or any other air draft restrictions.
The Port of Rotterdam - the largest port in Europe - is a perfectly safe and cost- efficient port offering top-quality marine services. You will sail directly from the North Sea to the Rotterdam Cruise Terminal at the Holland America quay downtown. At the terminal a 698 metre quay is available. The depth along the quayside reaches 12 metres. Ships can turn around right in front of the terminal at Rijnhaven (turning circle is about 260 metres) or at Waalhaven (turning circle is about 400 metres).
Mooring downtown…
A wonderful option for transit calls.
A shuttle bus will be waiting for you. Alternatively, you may take the underground or tram (5 minutes’ walk) or perhaps you might fancy a walk across the Erasmus Bridge (approx. 15 minutes).
Cruise Port Rotterdam has been offering ship owners a One Stop Office where they can coordinate and streamline matters. Everything is taken care of promptly and efficiently, also on behalf of passengers.
Turnaround
Rotterdam’s ideal location: from one of the airports you can travel to pretty much any destination in the world. You can go for the Rotterdam The Hague Airport which is only 20 minutes away, Schiphol Amsterdam (approx. 50 minutes), Eindhoven Airport (60 minutes), or even Brussels Airport Zaventem (90 minutes). The cruise terminal can be reached within 15 minutes from the Central Station. From here, the new high speed rail will take you to Schiphol in 19 minutes, or to the charming city of Paris in 2.15 hours.
Renovating and modernising the cruise terminal
Port of Rotterdam is making economic progress. This is important when it comes to realising the main port’s key investment ambitions. The municipality (holding 70% of Port of Rotterdam, 30% belongs to the State of the Netherlands) is also investing in the port and cruise terminal.
Investments are also prompted by the increasing popularity of cruise shipping and the city’s determination to ensure more arrivals in the nearest future. “We should have the main adjustments ready by the time the largest cruise ship in the world, Oasis of the Seas, calls into our city in September 2014,” port alderman Jeannette Baljeu comments. “One of the special things about Rotterdam is the fact that a colossal ship like this can moor in the very heart of our city, just like that.”
Jeannette Baljeu and Ronald Paul (COO at Port of Rotterdam) are tremendously proud of these joint innovations. Baljeu, “Cruise passengers are pivotal to our city’s image and to its economy as well. Modernisation means we should be able to welcome 60 cruise ships every single year. And by offering more sightseeing packages, cruise passengers will become even more interested in visiting our city.”
Things to Do
Rotterdam’s cruise terminal is located in the very heart of the city
The Erasmus Bridge will take you there in only a few minutes. The Maritime Museum is within walking distance.
The Maritime Museum
The Maritime Museum was founded by King William III’s brother, Prince Hendrik. It started off with his collection back in 1874 and today it is among the three greatest maritime museums in the world. Some of the items (old cranes, historic ships, etc.) can be admired on the outside, in Leuvehaven. Inside you can visit old ship models and exceptional cartography: magnificent and original, manually drawn 15th century maps by e.g. Johan Blau. Also, you will love the impressive paintings portraying several historic events such as the sea battles between the Dutch and the English that took place between 1650 and 1680.
From the Maritime Museum, Beurstraverse is a stone’s throw away.
This shopping arcade is home to some 100 shops covering 60,000 square metres. Shoe shops, jewellery shops, bag shops, department stores and lots of good-quality clothing offered at very reasonable prices compared to other medium-sized and large West European cities. From here it is a lovely stroll to Lijnbaan which is another large, pleasantly crowded shopping area.
The World Museum, opposite the cruise terminal
The World Museum, opposite the cruise terminal and adjacent to the historic Veerhaven area. Here, historic and contemporary architecture exist side by side. The Worldmuseum (see photo, left) continues to receive important collections. Recently the Bodhimanda Stichting gave the museum a long-term loan of its collection of Buddhist art. This superb and unique collection had never before been shown to the public in its entirety. Its premier showing made the Wereldmuseum a world leader in the field of Buddhist art.
From the Cruise Terminal
You can visit the peninsula that is home to the terminal. Walk along the former building of the Holland America Line, now housing Hotel New York, to the tip of the peninsula where you are guaranteed an impressive view in every direction. Walking back along the other side you will see the Rijnhaven Bridge, which is the cycling and walking bridge that will take you to the Katendrecht district. From here, it is a 12 minutes’ walk to the monumental cruise ship ss Rotterdam, now serving as a hotel and restaurant.
Passing the Rijnhaven Bridge, you will find state-of-the-art restaurants and a lovely cinema, heading towards the Luxor theatre and the Erasmus Bridge, beautifully overlooking the cruise ship. From the Erasmus Bridge it is a pleasant walk to the city centre. Alternatively, you can hop on one of the shuttle busses which depart from the ship.
SS Rotterdam
The former Holland America Line-flagship ss Rotterdam is moored at a stone’s throw from the terminal as a hotel, restaurant and events location. ss Rotterdam is a unique monument with lots of interesting art onboard. In fact, the ship has one of the most beautiful terraces in all of the city, where one can enjoy a cup of coffee or a nice glas of wine, with a lovely view on the river Maas.
ss Rotterdam, just like the "Queen Mary" in Los Angeles, is a monumental piece of art in itself. In fact, art onboard has been integrated into the ship’s interior: from the banisters to the murals and Gobelin tapestry. Lots of art is ‘huggable’, which means you can touch it, like the stairwell’s glass walls and sculptures and statues which actually are part of the interior.
ss Rotterdam, open 7 days a week, free entrance.
Hotel, restaurants, bars, terraces with a view, live music, conference rooms, meeting rooms, offices… Leisure and working at one magnificent spot.
www.ssrotterdam.nl
Euromast
Boasting 185 metres, this mast is without a doubt one of the highest buildings in the city. The elevators can reach a speed of up to 4 m/s. That’s 100 metres in less than 30 seconds. From here a rotating cabin, called the Euroscoop, will take you to the top and back in 10 minutes. You get to see the city, port, your cruise ship and Rotterdam’s typical old and new architecture, co-existing in perfect harmony.
These are but a few hotspots near the terminal. There are many interesting places to visit in the city of Rotterdam. From the terminal you can use the free shuttle service or if you prefer to visit the city at your own pace, you may want to take the underground or tram which is only fives minutes away.
Splashtours
A landing stage exists near the cruise terminal.
Water taxis, as the name suggests, are used to carry passengers on the water.
In fact, Rotterdam has more water than Venice. It is perfect for reaching places in the blink of an eye. For instance, you can visit the Maritime Museum, definitely worth the effort. From here you can take Splashtours, a unique experience because the bus can actually drive and sail at the same time.
Notice: Content and travel advice presented is created by a port moderator and/or AI, courtesy of ChatGPT. It is specifically designed for cruise passengers visiting this port of call. A port moderator could be a local individual, destination expert, port authority, or a tourism agency. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, we recommend that you verify critical information like visas, health and safety, customs, and transportation with official sources before departure.