The Rijks Museum was excellent! We did not have a Tour Guide. We were disappointed with the Canal ride. We expected that there would be either a live tour guide or at least ongoing information throughout the ride about Amsterdam, it's highlights, the sights we saw on the ride, etc. There was an occasional reference to a building or monument, but there was no direction to look or a description of the thing we were to view. All-in-all the Canal Ride was a disappointment.

We booked 9am tickets for the museum - barely a person there, so no need to 'skip the line'. Went straight to the Rembrandt section and had a relatively quiet 40 minutes before it became considerably more crowded. The building is beautiful. The collection comprehensive, and well presented. This museum is definitely one of the greats. Thoroughly enjoyed ourselves here. It was easy to find one of the docks for the cruise. Again, hardly any tourists (but there was a big line when we got off). The cruise was disappointing. The audio guide wasn't very informative, and at times it was confusing what to look at. The way the chairs were placed this would be very crowded and uncomfortable when full. We did it now, but it's not something I'd spend money on again.

We had a great day exploring the Rijksmuseum and cruising the canals! We had a little trouble hearing the guide due to the very loud conversation taking place behind us. We would definitely take advantage of this activity again if we found ourselves in Amsterdam!