Another Cruise Ship Set to Skip Port of Amsterdam Because of Protests

A small group of environmental activities at the Port of Amsterdam are again causing a major cruise ship to skip the port.

The Disney Dream, which was scheduled to call on Amsterdam on Sept. 6, will instead skip the port and sail on to Zeebrugge (Bruges) in Belgium. The call is part of a 7-night British Isles Cruise from Southampton, which also includes a call at Hamburg and the Zeebrugge call.

The news was first reported by NL Times.

Disney notified its guests ahead of time via email, writing that “due to issues outside of our control at the port in Amsterdam, there is a significant possibility that the ship will not be able to dock, resulting in a missed port day.”

“Because of this, we have made the decision to modify your sailing and spend an additional day in Zeebrugge, Belgium.” Disney is offering all guests onboard a $250 credit because of the itinerary change.

TMR has reached out to Disney for comment.

There have been a few weeks of changes at the Port of Amsterdam because of protestors from the environmentalist group Extinction Rebellion. First, on Aug. 10, the group stopped Royal Caribbean’s Jewel of the Seas from docking at the port by blocking the locks the ship needed to pass through. The ship was forced to backtrack and disembark guests at the smaller port of Ijmuiden.

The following day, Aug. 11, protesters returned and again blocked the lock, this time delaying Seven Seas Mariner by about three hours.

The same protestors again stopped Serenade of the Seas on Aug. 18. The ship was able to dock after police removed the group of eight protesters. Later the same day, the British cruise line Ambassador Cruise Line switched its port of call to Ijmuiden in fear of a possible blockade.