CastleCritic

That's thinking it through, The only time Ive seen that happen with AMA was this May in Bulgaria and it was the tour guide paying for the toilets. I dont think the cruise line had anything to do with it. Know that on anything that is Amsterdam to anything past Mainz (ie. the Main canal to Nuremberg and then onto the Danube towards Budapest/Bucharest) that there are going to be a LOT of days where the main thing the ship does is sail on the Main. Theres just too many locks for them to cover the distance by being in port all day. I know Ive posted examples from my cruise through there on AMAWaterways before to illustrate this. Sometime the ship will even move without you to make up that few more hours and you may in fact beat it to the dock (in fact I would count on it, this was a sticking point with a poster last year how often this happened and how much time they spent waiting for the ship to show up) and its likely only staying long enough to get everyone back on board. The Rhine and Danube itself there is usually a lot more time in port or if the ship is moving there is a decent chance its going somewhere to let you off again later that day. Ive never really been bored on a cruise, sometimes those partial days can be a good relief from the fairly active schedule of a week (or two) long river cruise.

I have a booking for jewel for next year, right now its showing $29.99 vs 18.99 for internet which IMO is too much Last week it was $19.99 and I think the internet went to $17.99. thats still like a $40 premium but not a big enough one that I didnt do it.

I've absolutely called an audible and changed excursions based on the weather, and I know others did on my last cruise since the bike tour DOES have a list and people didn't show up (and it was threatening to rain and did drizzle a bit). And I brought a color home with me once.

Pretty sure the only thing I ever had to wait to sign up for was bikes (where you have to sign the waiver) everything else you should be able to do through the web site ahead of time. There WILL be some things they want a good head count on, and the cruise director will make these very clear on the first night briefing on the weeks stuffs... But even then Ive never seen them actually check you off a list. So I wouldn't sweat it if they really have things blocked on the online registration and you want to do them, you can mark something else or nothing at all.

Pretty similar, you blindfolded me and walked me through the side door on a 135M or 110m AmaWaterways ship and I could walk to reception, the lounge, the restaurant, and probably the sun deck and tell you of a ship of that type that Ive sailed on just by figuring out the minor (or major in the case of AMAMagna) differences between them.. And I could find A room on any of the 3 decks, just might not be the one Im staying in 🙂 Some people really dont like packing/unpacking and not all the lines send the staff with you when you transfer which messes up the flow of the vacation at least a little.

possibly, but there should have been a lookout on the stern who could clearly see what was going on. Its true that all he can do is say "dolphin 50 feet captain", not "youre about to hit the dock" if hes not providing good info to the bridge whoever was actually maneuvering and the captain wouldn't have known how close they were. and obviously these things don't stop on a dime so there should have been a lot of warning/communication.

It may be a visibility thing. Ive seen their ships but I cant recall ever walking through one. As Ive said before when my mother and I decided on our first cruise one of her TA friends gave her catalogs for viking because...of course...Uniworld and AMAWaterways.. I had never heard of the other lines before I saw them on that cruise. AMA's flights are pretty flexible, you just have to call them to do it. Ive done it 2? 3? times so far and always knew what flights I was on before I paid them and it was cheaper than me doing it myself. And Im pretty picky and know all the routes and the public prices before I even call. I even had them back off the origin flight time for a connection by one flight so that the connecting time was more plausible (looking at you 40min layover I was offered for the ocean cruise I just booked)

Ill second Amawaterways Ive done 5 cruises with them so far in europe with another booked for Egypt. Ive been through viking ships on a few occasions and certainly seen their groups in almost every port doing the same thing we were. Have nothing bad to say about viking other than they do charge for some of their excursions (AMA does not).

I think some have firsthand knowledge of them, but from the outside (seeing their groups and ships) they appear to be aiming at a more budget approach than say Viking or AmaWaterways. Also take a look when you are researching to see what is really included in the Fare. Food, drink, even excursions, Viking for example has one free and several paid excursions in each port but AMA with VERY few exceptions (Ive seen it once in 5 cruises) includes every excursion in their fare. As far as Im concerned the itinerary comes before everything else, assuming I can sleep and will be well fed. I'll pay a little more for it..

Also Christmas 2025 might be a bit far off to book at this point. I know AMAWaterways hasn't even announced their 2025 cruises for Europe outside of Portugal.(other places like Egypt/africa/asia yes, I have a January 2025 cruise in Egypt with them)). I looked at (large online booking site) for Christmas 2024 and there was still decent availability for several cruise lines, so I wouldn't sweat it quite that much if you are going in 2025. Just look at cruise lines and be ready when they announce 2025 if its not up.

Your take is correct on pretty much everything you said from my 2019 recollections. I didnt find the Passau castle hill that hard I dont remember where we were on the Rhine or moselle that we hiked up to one that was MUCH MUCH worse. Durnstein fortress (I was in a hurry) I messed up my foot for years trying to do that on my own (the organized version was rained out) and ended up turning about halfway because I was afraid of hurting myself further or having a heart attack with no one else around. (Cruise manager was at the bottom of the hill and I got a pretty disapproving look, we became pretty good friends by the end...but I was limping out of the restaurant every night from that point). Bonus castle points in salzburg you can just beeline for the funicular when the organized tour ends and go up there, its a good one.

Having done a cruise on another company in 2021(AMA, 2 really if you count US river cruises), thats not an excuse for a bad cruise, unhelpful staff, and especially bad food.

JFK is probably the best connected airport in the us. I tend to avoid it when I can due to the New York area being the one place I can Almost guarantee seeing canceled or seriously delayed flights every time I’m at the local airport. Went through there last year to get to and from Paris (which I can now get to direct again) and it went fine to be fair

Since my next cruise Is an ocean cruise on viking voyages from Athens, I called them expecting to (in addition to getting a better deal) find they were using virgin Atlantic for their pre-arranged flights...The two companies dont even have a marketing agreement much less a formal one, they didn't even suggest them(Delta/KLM was what I was quoted), and VA was SIGNIFICANTLY higher than Delta or AA when I looked on my own.

Bratislava is the main reason I have to do the western Danube again at some point. I had a wine cruise when did Vilshofen to Budapest and they skipped it. Then I booked my next trip to take a train there from Vienna before heading on to Budapest for my eastern Danube cruise....in October 2020....yeah..... (finally took the cruise in May but didnt get by Bratislava on the way)

on disembarkation you can have AMA arrange a taxi if that is what you are asking, and they will have a Time that gets you to the banhof at the time you ask for. Vilshofen is a tiny place otherwise I suspect that Ubers would be available as the drivers would know that there is a ship that needs to unload.

I called VV to get an air quote, it was more than I could have booked myself and they only were offering base economy, not anything better.

That has to be an urban legend, there is no reason why Viking would care if it was non-stop or not. its more likely someone insisted on a specific flight or carrier and the difference in price was $2000 and thats how that story started. Its quite possible they have an agreement with say Delta but not United, for less than advertised tickets, and depending where you live that can result in better or worse connections.

The only reason why insurance companies are able to even sell their plans is because this is true in the US as well, I would say a rather high percentage of US citizens taking European cruises have private insurance of some kind that doesnt' work as soon as you leave the country. In my family we actually had a family member die on vacation (in the US) where we had to use the trip insurance (though in that case the base insurance paid for all except the deductible, which was submitted to the travel insurance in addition to some of the travel expenses and some portion of the funeral expenses as I recall). I will never convince my mother to travel without travel insurance after that....

Some of the other AMA ships do have ice machines, but its usually one in the same area where the hotel manager/cruise director desks are on 2nd deck. And yes more than once I went down to the ice machine at the midpoint on 2nd deck on AMAMagna, was nice.

Ive been weighing that question myself. I have an ocean cruise in October in Athens. I live in a mid sized city where the international flight choices are London Paris Iceland (yes this seems weird...but its true), there isn't a connection to Athens from there. My choices were Fly to NYC, fly directly to Athens, if this flight is canceled or I miss it, I dont have another direct option for another day, now Im having to get to Europe (hub) and then on to Athens. Fly to London or Paris, once Im there I have options, either with BA or Airfrance directly or by either taking a train (ok not to Athens...but most places) or just finding a budget airline. If that (one a day) flight to europe gets canceled them Im basically in the same boat having to catch a flight to NYC or Charlotte or Atlanta or Boston and then make a second hop. If its just late I can probably just catch a later flight in the hub. Its a bit of choose your poison. Its also worth considering what times these flights get into the city. Usually the US to europe flight is going to land between 6a and 8a. which is about 2-4am as far as your body is concerned. Then having to get to the ship (either from there or on another flight) and probably still getting there before they will let you in into the room...it can make for an unhappy day if you dont sleep well on planes...and I dont. (also as I think I touched on briefly the Athens to NYC flight gets in at like...10pm and you're now there overnight).

Probably not on AMA, all the excursions are included. on almost every itinerary, Ive paid for one in 5 cruises with them (none were offered on the other 4 either) Tips, drinks or merchandise is about it. I don't drink so the only thing on my bill at the end of the week are the tips,

Yes Ive found that the first round of recommendations I get from AMAWaterways either ends up being like 45 minute connections in someplace like JFK that tends to suffer from delays at the worst possible time (on the trip I mentioned above my connection was Newark and we ended up with a hour ground stop due to "wind" which is why the lady's later flight got canceled because they didnt get the plane out, I ended up running between gates to make it). I just have them book me on one flight prior and it usually works out...so far. I haven't been offered any of those dumb connections by the river cruise line but I was for an upcoming ocean cruise where the top choices coming home were "fly to London...and connect the next day" and "fly to NYC...and connect the next day)

cheaper, but other than that its basically the same as using a travel agency, if something happens you have someone to call to deal with the airlines. Last time I went to Basel actually I sat next to a viking passenger who had her flight canceled hours before departure and they were able to find a way to get her there. (fun coincidence she was on the same airline leaving from the same place I did, I caught the previous flight and made it). I have both booked my own airfare with the cruise lines and done it directly depending on circumstances. I'm also pretty picky about airplanes and connections....

Egypt like a lot of places, has rules for who can run the tours and own the ships. For example in Egypt you book the cruise through AMAwaterways for the AMADahlia or AMALilia with their logo on the side, but the ship is actually partially owned by and run by Wings Egypt because of local laws. That means that while AMA has a say in how the ship is run it will differ from their European ships. I cant find any info on how Viking is doing it, but their ships at least do look different than the rest of them.