Amsterdam pre-river cruise

That all sounds correct. Depending on which train you catch, there is usually a spot to keep your bag near you, or you can stand near the doors with your luggage. Plenty of YouTube options to watch if you want to see what to expect - here's one example: https://youtu.be/sJyPq-efoxo

Since you are only there two nights and are planning two day trips you don't seem to have much time for Amsterdam proper. If you have must see things (e.g. Rijksmuseum, Anne Frank House, Van Gogh museum) make sure you buy time slot tickets in advance.

Yes you can walk everywhere. The area you will be staying is not the most charming, so dont judge AMS by it. I have never reserved a time at the Rijks, but did at Van Gogh (if you decide to go there) and of course the Anne Franke huis requires a reservation. You will have a packed schedule in those two days if you are trying to visit Keukenhof and Zaanse Schans. Both will take the majority, if not all of a day each. You will be near the Our Lord in there Attic Museum which was one of the most memorable places I visited because it is such a specific, intimate slice-of-life experience of an old Dutch house and the way Catholics managed to keep practicing their religion when it was outlawed. Maybe between your hotel and the Rijks you can walk around the "9 streets" for the charm factor. But I'm offering ideas when you will have so little time.

Please note. Amsterdam is full of people riding bicycles who will have no guilt for running you over if you step in front of them while walking. It's hard not to step into a bike lane when the streets and sidewalks are narrow, but always look. They ride fast and are not required to yield to pedestrians. Look at the bike parking lot outside the Central Station and see what I mean.

The river boat docks are behind the station (north) as you indicated BUT -- they also extend some distance to the east of the station. So make sure you have the dock number and locate it on a map. It is a very long walk from one end of the docking area to the other. Also, it is a short cab ride from the airport to downtown. With luggage I would just grab a cab to the hotel.

Thanks for all the good advice! This trip is to celebrate our 40th
anniversary (last November).

If you want to visit the Rijksmuseum this April you will most definitely need to book a time slot well in advance. From February until June The Rijksmuseum hosts the once in a lifetime Vermeer exhibit. Ticket sale for the Vermeer exhibit started about a month ago and several time slots for certain dates in April are already sold out. The Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum also need to be booked well in advance.
The same goes for a hotel btw. In normal years, April is already peak peak season for Amsterdam because of the tulips being in bloom. The Vermeer exhibit will only add crowds onto the crowds. Prepare for high hotel rates!!

I highly recommend that you add more time to Amsterdam, a minimum of one more day. Or does your river cruise spend time touring there?
We enjoyed our (Mekong) river cruise with AmaWaterways, much better than other river boat companies we had traveled with before.
Enjoy!

Here is the link for the Vermeer exhibition Dutch_Traveler referenced if you are interested.

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/whats-on/exhibitions/vermeer

You may have found this already but here is the information page from Keukenhof on transport to the gardens. They say "information coming" so I've got it bookmarked and check about once a week or so. I think there is a bus service from Central Station to the gardens which would be easy for you to do.

https://keukenhof.nl/en/plan-your-visit/

I'll also add that when you are planning, 2 nights really only gives you 1 full day in a location. You will have your arrival day but if you are coming from the US you may have jetlag/travel tiredness to deal with that afternoon. Unless the cruise does a day in Amsterdam, I'd also recommend you add a night if you can especially since you've got 2 days trips you want to do.

The river cruise does offer a day for Amsterdam as well.

What hotel did you book? We are also going in a couple days before our river cruise. Having a hard time deciding on hotel. Must have an elevator. We’re over dragging luggage up stairs.

@kwooton9 we opted for the Ibis Central, because we wanted to be near the train station. We really did not examine the details too closely, but it seems like it will serve.