Alkmaar (Netherlands North Holland)
Cruise Port schedule, live map, terminals, news
Region
Europe Rivers
Local Time
2024-12-11 12:38
42°F 5.8°C
Gentle breeze3.7 m/s
45 °F / 8 °C 37 °F / 3 °C
Alkmaar is a North Holland Canal (river) cruise port, city and municipality in the Netherlands's North Holland province, with population around 110,000. The closest to Alkmaar "cruise cities" are Hoorn (east) and IJmuiden (southwest). The town is best-known among foreign and domestic tourists for its outdoor cheese market (open April through September on the Waagplein).
The settlement was founded in the 10th century and in 1254 received its city rights. In August-October 1573 (during the 80 Years War / 1568-1648 between Spain and the revolting Holland, Belgium, and Luxembourg) the town was sieged by Spanish forces. The town was interlinked via Noordhollandsch Kanaal (1824), Alkmaar-Den Helder railway (1865) and Alkmaar-Haarlem railway (1867). The A9 highway links with Amsterdam and Den Helder.
Noordhollandsch Kanaal (North-Holland Canal) has length approx 75 km (47 mi) and links Den Helder (north) with Amsterdam (south) via Alkmaar and Purmerend. This inland waterway was built (dug) in the period 1820-24 to shorten the sea access to Amsterdam City. However, due to vessels' increasing size (length, width, and draught) as well as the many bridges, sluices, and curves, the waterway soon became inadequate for sea-going ships. Plus, the canal's water freezes during winter months. Noordzeekanaal (North Sea Canal) in 1865-76 linking directly Amsterdam with IJmuiden was built for this reason. Today, the North Holland Canal is used exclusively for commercial river shipping, recreational boating (yachts, hotel barges, cruise ships, tour boats) and water management.
As cruise port, Alkmaar is included in the regular schedule of one of Europe's largest river cruise companies - Nicko Cruises (brand of Mystic Cruises). The next table shows the ports sequences of Nicko's Alkmaar-visiting itinerary (12-day "Holland and Germany") between homeports Amsterdam and Berlin.
| Date / Time | Port |
|---|---|
| 16 Jul / 17 Jul - 11:00 (overnight) | Departing from Amsterdam, Holland |
| 17 Jul 15:00 - 17:30 | Alkmaar |
| 17 Jul 21:30 / 18 Jul - 03:00 (overnight) | Den Helder, Holland |
| 18 Jul 09:00 - 13:00 | Lemmer, Holland |
| 19 Jul - 11:30 | Groningen, Holland |
| 19 Jul 19:00 / 20 Jul - 12:00 (overnight) | Leer, Germany |
| 20 Jul 14:00 - 19:00 | Papenburg, Germany |
| 20 Jul 22:00 / 21 Jul - 06:00 (overnight) | Dorpen, Germany |
| 21 Jul 13:30 - 13:45 | Oldenburg, Germany |
| 21 Jul 21:00 / 22 Jul 12:30 (overnight) | Bremen, Germany |
| 22 Jul 21:00 / 23 Jul - 05:30 (overnight) | Nienburg-Weser, Germany |
| 23 Jul 13:00 - 16:30 | Minden-Weser, Germany |
| 23 Jul 23:30 / 24 Jul - 09:00 (overnight) | Hannover, Germany |
| 24 Jul 13:00 - 13:30 | Peine, Germany |
| 24 Jul 21:30 / 25 Jul - 05:00 (overnight) | Calvorde, Germany |
| 25 Jul 17:00 / 26 Jul - 09:00 (overnight) | Brandenburg an der Havel, Germany |
| 26 Jul 13:00 - 17:30 | Potsdam, Germany |
| 26 Jul 19:30 / 27 Jul (overnight) | Arriving in Berlin, Germany |
The cruise tour is operated by the riverboat MS Frederic Chopin and priced from ~USD 2700 pp.
River cruise ships in Alkmaar berth directly in downtown. The town's 3 cruise docks can handle boats with max LOA lengths 130 m (Kanaalkade), 120 m (Noorderkade) and 90 m (Voormeer).