Air travel

Joanne: I never wait for luggage to be delivered to my hotel on transferring flights. I carry a 21" rolling bag, and a small backpack. If you follow Rick Steves' packing list on this website, you can travel indefinitely with what you carry on the plane.
Even my wife has "seen the light" when it comes to traveling lite.

Two hours should be fine, since Amsterdam is not one of the crazy, huge airports of the world. In all my years of traveling, I've had my bag delayed just a few times. Without fail, it has been delivered the next morning. However, being a worrywart, I always prepare for something to go wrong. In my carry-on I have my toiletries, meds, a complete change of clothing, something to sleep in, folder with itinerary and hotel contact info, and house key. Bags can be delayed on return trips, too. BTW, I think there's a website on which you can find information about airline baggage handling complaints.

A retired engineer with access to a spread sheet is a pathetic thing. That being said, I have used the Kayak app on my i-pad to track the the departure and arrival times on a flight we will betaking later this year. In the last month, Delta 18's arrival time has averaged 2 minutes early which is just great except for a couple of times when it has been 1 hr and 59 min. late and 1 hr. and 10 min. late from Detroit non-stop to Heathrow. Two hours is normally a decent connecting time if things go right but about 10% of the time they won't. If you have to go through security to get from your arrival gate to your departure gate, your luggage may have a better chance than you of making the connection if things don't go just right. Some of the major airport web sites have guidelines for connections, it would be a good thing to check them. Personally, I would would go for the longer layover. Killing time in an airport is low on my list of fun things to do but missing a connection is lower.

2 hours is fine for a connection in Amsterdam. It is one of the better airports to connect through. If your flight is late and you miss your connection, they'll put you on a later flight. You should always carry on your essential items (like meds) and a change or two of clothes. Ironically, I've never had my luggage lost on a short connection. I've had my bag delayed 5 times in 25 years of travel, but to be fair I used to travel a lot. The times it has been lost have been non-stops and long connections. Four of the five times it was delivered the next day. One time it was missing for five days.

Luggage is rarely delayed, and when it is delayed, it's usually by one day or so. Of course, the exceptions cause serious problems and get a lot of attention. But it's "dog bites man" vs. "man bites dog." When people have no problem with their airline connections, they don't run and post it all over the Internet; when they have a problem, they do, so it gives the impression that problems are common. They aren't - which doesn't mean that you shouldn't prepare a bit. So, you should pack your carryons with everything you will need for your first two days. That will cover you for all but the most unusual situations (long delay or total loss of your luggage). All valuables, medicines, etc (things you can't lose) should be in your carryons. Then, relax.

Only once did we have a problem with our bags not making it - it was on a flight from SFO, stopping in Frankfurt and then onto Sweden. It was only one of our bags, and they delivered the bag the next morning - thank goodness. We were taking gifts, and the bag that was late had all the gifts in it. I always make sure my carry-on has all the essentials just in case.