One of the things you have told us is that paying for your river cruise 12 or 15 months ahead of time is an irritation to an otherwise great experience.
AMA Waterways has also heard this feedback, and they think that paying 12 WEEKS ahead of time is a bit more reasonable than 12 months (or more) in advance.
You’ve probably heard of AMA Waterways, but you might be wondering how they are different than the other river cruise companies out there.
All of the river cruise companies that we deal with in Europe offer a luxury guest experience, so they are LESS differentiated than the ocean cruise lines. This means you’ll have a fantastic experience regardless of who you travel with, but it does make it confusing if you’re trying to make a decision between river cruise lines.
AMA Waterways fares include transfers, a choice of several different included shore excursions in every port, beer/wine with meals, and wifi on the ship.
When we’ve travelled with AMA Waterways, there’s a few things that stood out for us:
- The Rooms – there are window rooms available for those looking for the best price, but most of the rooms on decks 2 and 3 are combination veranda and French balcony (you get both!). So the room feels much larger.
- The Wellness Coordinator – each sailing has a crew member on board that can lead more active shore excursions, as well as offering fitness, yoga and pilates classes on board the ship included in your fare. There is also a small gym on board for those that wish to stay active.
- Bicycles for Borrowing – it’s nice to be able to go for a bike ride right off the ship in your spare time. You might even be able to ride along the dike to meet the ship at the next port of call!
- Happy Hour – Beer and wine is included with your meals, and for the hour or so before they start seating for dinner, there is a happy hour in the main lounge where your drinks are also included. It’s a small thing, but a nice touch.
- Choice of Shore Excursions – in most ports of call, you have a choice between 2, 3 or 4 different included activities. This works really well if you’re travelling with group of people that may have different interests. My favorite example of this is in the Rhine port of Rudesheim, where AMA offers a choice of six different included excursions. You can choose 2 of those excursions. This is much better than the standard walking tour of the town.
- Trip Extensions – There are some interesting pre and post cruise land packages, and on many of those, the cruise manager travels with you on the extension.
- Itineraries – AMA Waterways is the only company operating on the Magdalena River in Columbia, and the Chobe River in Southern Africa (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa & Zimbabwe). Imagine doing an African Safari from a River Boat!
AMA operates on all the main European rivers, as well as Egypt, Viet Nam/Cambodia, South Africa, and Columbia. They do a number of themed cruises each year, so they are a good choice if you’d like to do a Wine or Golf Themed Cruise.
I am leaving today to travel AMA’s Mekong itinerary in Vietnam and Cambodia… so I’ll have fresh product knowledge to share soon about this exciting itinerary. I will be travelling with Kim, our Head of Sales, but Bob and the rest of our team is still at our office “minding the store”. If you have any specific questions about the Mekong or AMA Waterways in general, they’ll be able to respond. Any detailed questions about the Mekong itinerary, they will collect and send to Kim and me while we’re there, and we’ll chase up the answers for you.
Today’s Travel Opportunities
We have a private sale running with AMA for the month of September. For any cruises booked this month, we can offer:
- $100 per person on board credit on ANY AMA WATERWAYS cruise
- $200 per person on the select sailings. Some of these special departures are listed below.
- If you want to travel in 2023, (there’s still space on some Christmas Markets Cruises) we can get them to throw in Pre-Paid Gratuities.
- THE CATCH: Must be booked by September 30.
Christmas Markets on the Danube departing December 11, 2023 for 7-nights
- Visit Vilshofen, Passau, Linz, WEISSENKIRCHEN, Vienna, ESZTERGOM, Budapest
- Prague/Munich pre/post available
- $3499 for a window. $5198 Veranda,
Tulips Time Cruise departing March 28 for 7-nights
- Visit Amsterdam, Hoorn, Middelburg, Ghent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Schoonhoven,
- Amsterdam pre/post available
- Window: $2560. French Balcony: $3859. Twin Balcony $4459. Prices reflect 20% off.
Magna on the Danube departing July 21 or Aug 4, Oct 27 for 7-nights
Magna is twice as wide as a standard European River Boat, but only holds 20% more guests – so the rooms are much bigger, and there’s more public space.
- Visit Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Krems, Linz, Passau, Vilshofen,
- Extensions available to Prague or Budapest
- Window: $3520, Veranda $5819. Prices reflect 20% off
Rhine Castles & Swiss Alps departing August 12 or November 4 for 7-nights
- Visit Amsterdam, Cologne, Rhine Gorge, Rudesheim, Ludwigshafen (for Speyer or Heidelberg), Strasbourg & Basel
- Pre/Post available to Amsterdam and/or Lake Como, Italy.
- Window $3200, French Balcony $4499, Twin Balcony $5099
WINE CRUISE: Vineyards of Rhine & Moselle departing June 26 for 7-nights
- Visit Amsterdam, Cologne, Rudesheim, Mainz, Lahnstein, Cochem, Bernkastel, Luxembourg.
- Pre/post available in Amsterdam and/or Paris
- Window $3499, French Balcony $4898, Dual Veranda: $5498. Prices reflect $500 OFF
Portugal: Douro River departing July 6 or November 12 for 7-nights
- Round-trip from Porto. Visit Entre os Rios, Regua, Pinhao, Vega de Terron, Barca d’Alva
- Pre Extension available to Lisbon
- Window: $3799, French Balcony: $5098, Veranda $5698. Prices reflect $500 off
Mekong River (Vietnam & Cambodia) departing September 30 for 7-nights
- Visit Ho Chi Minh City, My Tho, Cai be – Sa Dec, Tan Chau, Phnom Penh, Oudong, Kampong Tralach, Oknhatey, Angkor Ban, Kampong Cham, Siem Reap.
- $1999 for a 251 square foot twin balcony. Price reflects $1000 off per person
- Available trip extensions to Ho Chi Minh City, Siem Reap, Hanoi and/or Halong Bay
Have something to say about this?
Join the conversation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PamperedCruiser/posts/pfbid027tAUZ5Jfh2As6i6VcgiMzZBkwUeJHxtA5AFiJQgZcD3ZFies1B12jZa1B39FgnFFl
If you’re planning a trip, I’d love to help! Click here or call 800-876-0168 to get in touch today.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Sue Bradley
Sue Bradley
