How I Rode the Train from Amsterdam to Luxembourg For a Mosel River Cruise

The only way I could get to Luxembourg to board my river ship for a Mosel river cruise was by train. That’s because my transatlantic cruise ended in Amsterdam.

It was a rare chance to board Norwegian Sun in Port Canaveral, Florida bound for Europe. After the two week crossing, we were scheduled to dock in Amsterdam in the early morning, giving me enough leeway to find a taxi to Centraal Station, Amsterdam’s rail hub. From there, I would board a train to Brussels, then change to the train heading to Luxembourg.

From Brussels, it was an unreserved train seat to Luxembourg (open ticket). Once in Luxembourg, I’d find a taxi to get me to Remich, where I would board AmaWaterways AmaLegro on the Mosel River.

AmaLegro would become my home for the next 28 days. Four weeks up and back on the Mosel and Rhine rivers.

Amsterdam Train to Luxembourg via Brussels

This was probably my fifth visit to Amsterdam’s train station so I quickly found the first class lounge. It’s located on the second level of the sprawling and very busy train station. The Thalys First Class lounge is upstairs at Platform 1. Glass elevators are available.

With a comfortable thirty minutes until departure at 10:30am, I tried to log on to the wifi, but alas, it wasn’t free but an bit expensive at 9.95 Euro for sixty minutes. It wasn’t worth it for only a 15-minute use.

My train’s boarding notice was posted on the overhead sign. Time to grab my thousand-pound suitcase and two small but well-packed carry-ons.

Boarding the Train in Amsterdam

At Amsterdam’s Centraal Station, the actual platform to board the trains is upstairs from the main passenger area. Luckily, the elevator was working so I didn’t have to haul my baggage up a long flight of cement stairs to the platform.

Coach 11, Seat 41. I stood on the mark as the train slid to a stop and the doors to Coach 11 opened right in front of me. Coach numbers are marked on the platform floor so you know where to stand.

The coach configuration was two/one and I booked the single seat. No need to climb over anyone if stuck in the window seat.

Halfway to Brussels, the train stopped. The conductor announced we’d be twenty-five minutes late. Not worried, I re-checked my ticket for Luxembourg.

No departure time was indicated. This meant I would simply check the departure sign in the Brussels station and find the next train to Luxembourg. It was about a two and one-half hour trip.

Boarding the Train from Brussels to Luxembourg

Brussels train station is fairly small, compared to Amsterdam. I found the departure sign and in ten minutes there was a train to Luxembourg.

I quickly wheeled my two-ton suitcase down the corridor and onto the (also working) elevator up to the platform. Within a few minutes I was on the train to Luxembourg.

I confirmed this by asking a young woman passenger (who reminded me of my daughter), “Does this train go to Luxembourg?” “Yes,” she replied, “I certainly hope so because that is where I am also going.”

Needless to say, we talked non-stop for the entire almost three hour ride to Luxembourg.

Taxi from Luxembourg to the Mosel River

Luxembourg’s train station is very small, as is Luxembourg, of course. Remich, however, was not as close to the train station as I anticipated.

The distance was more like twenty miles. Not the convenient four miles that I read somewhere.

An unexpected one hour taxi ride brought me to the banks of the Mosel River at 6:20PM and AmaWaterway’s AmaLegro. My elderly taxi driver who spoke no English, gladly wheeled my suitcase along the pier, up the steep gangway and into the lobby of the river boat. He wanted to peek inside the ship.

His heavy-set eyes opened wide as he slowly looked around and absorbed the ambiance of the elegant foyer and lobby. We shook hands and exchanged  “thank you” several times in various versions of French, Flemish, Luxembourgish and English.

Hardly a short travel day aboard two trains from Amsterdam to Luxembourg, but one well worth the effort. I missed a day tour of Remich because the train from Amsterdam to Luxembourg was late. However, I arrived just in time for the welcome aboard dinner.

A quick freshen-up in my new room (with a French balcony!) and I made my way to the dining room.

The next three weeks we’d slowly meander along the Mosel, Rhine, Main and Danube rivers. Twenty-one days, nearly three dozen cities and towns and only one boat. A river cruise is the best way to visit the interior of Europe and…you don’t have to pack and unpack to do it!

Disclaimer:  I was a guest aboard AmaWaterways. All opinions are my own and in no way affected this article.